Keeping Bees on an Allotment

[Cherry111]

Hello all,
I have approached my local allotment society regarding keeping a colony or two of bees on their ground. The committee would very much like that but have been told that the insurance would be prohibitive. I'm not sure of the protocol regarding bees on an allotment. Does anyone already do this and if so, what are the legal implications please? Many thanks.

 

[For want of a better word]

If you are a BBKA member with a few colonies and insure with them ( BDI ?)... I believe you will have third party liability insurance that would defend a case of negligence, should one be brought against you.
However if negligent beekeeping was proven in Court the cost to you could be horrendous!

Keeping bees on your allotment seems to be dependent on many factors... negativity of allotment committee members being one !!..I tried to get to keep a couple of colonies of bees once on an allotments I helped to set up... gave up in despair!

Yeghes da

 

[alldigging]

Who has told them that the insurance is prohibitive? What are they telling insurers?

If they are your hives then where will you keep them - actually on a plot (and then do you have to tend the plot too?) or in some spare land.

We have an apiary on our allotment and have just got grant funding to move the apiary to the other end of the site. (Long story) We will be carrying out training and education of people in the area who are interested in finding out more about bees.

The new apiary will have a big fence around it and a locked gate. This will hopefully keep them safe. We had an arson attack earlier in the year.

The council were fully supportive of us having bees on site and are writing it into the lease for the site that we can keep them here.

 

[For want of a better word]

Who has told them that the insurance is prohibitive? What are they telling insurers?

If they are your hives then where will you keep them - actually on a plot (and then do you have to tend the plot too?) or in some spare land.

We have an apiary on our allotment and have just got grant funding to move the apiary to the other end of the site. (Long story) We will be carrying out training and education of people in the area who are interested in finding out more about bees.

The new apiary will have a big fence around it and a locked gate. This will hopefully keep them safe. We had an arson attack earlier in the year.

The council were fully supportive of us having bees on site and are writing it into the lease for the site that we can keep them here.

So pleased to hear of a success story after the misery of the despicable attack on your colonies... and educating the antis is the best way forward!
Excellent news

Yeghes da

 

[Tom Bick]

Just working on setting up a 4th apiary on an allotment site. Three are on spare patches of land that I have maintained and one is an actual small plot planted with wild flowers. Two of them I have an official agreement to keep bees on site. Two of the sites are shared with other beekeepers. I have never been asked to provide proof of insurance and they have taken my word at that.

What's important is you make the sites safe and anyone close to, disturbed by the bees, the top people on site and people who show an interest know they will and get a jar of honey

 

[pargyle]

There's been quite a few threads on here about beekeeping on allotments ... it's a mixed bag I'm afraid ... some are lucky and are well supported by the allotment holders but there's always going to be someone who gets stung by YOUR bees ... whether it's a bee, a wasp or a midge it will be your fault !! So .. have a Plan B up you sleeve in case you need to move them quickly and if it was me I'd start off with a small and docile colony (or even an empty hive !) until they get used to them...

There's a thread here:

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=35364&highlight=allotment

and an interesting one here:

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=33060&highlight=allotment

 

[snelgrove]

I have two colonies on an allotment, as mentioned if anyone gets stung by anything bumbler or wasp you get the blame. I am allowed a maximum of 2 hives. Gentle colonies and a few jars of honey to the local allotment holders goes along way.

 

[Amari]

If you are a BBKA member with a few colonies and insure with them ( BDI ?)... I believe you will have third party liability insurance that would defend a case of negligence, should one be brought against you.
However if negligent beekeeping was proven in Court the cost to you could be horrendous!
Yeghes da

No, BDI only insures for loss of a colony due to foul brood disease. Membership of BKA automatically gives you quite separate insurance for damage or injury to third parties - surely worth ££££ for peace of mind - to my mind anyway.
To return to the OP: I was refused permission to keep bees on my parish council-owned allotment ten years ago. In retrospect I'm glad. I have five colonies and once or twice a year for no apparent reason one or more become bad tempered. Not worth the stress to me or to my fellow plot holders.

 

[thorn]

If you are a BBKA member with a few colonies and insure with them ( BDI ?)... I believe you will have third party liability insurance that would defend a case of negligence, should one be brought against you.
However if negligent beekeeping was proven in Court the cost to you could be horrendous![\QUOTE]

The insurers not only pay for the defence, but also any award of damages against you, so if you're insured the cost may be horrendous but it won't come out of your pocket.

That said, I've spent years trying to find a claim for damages for negligence arising out of beekeeping, whether successful or unsuccessful, to no avail. If any of you know of one, please let me know.

 

[drex]

5years ago I obtained permission in writing from council to keep bees on my plot. Last year we had a new town clerk who revoked that permission. No reason given. I appealed and lost. Have a plan B as already mentioned.

The bees are still where they originally were, as it turned out that piece of land was not owned by the council but the farmer on the other side of the hedge. He was most enthusiastic about my beekeeping.

 

[Hivemaker.]

That said, I've spent years trying to find a claim for damages for negligence arising out of beekeeping, whether successful or unsuccessful, to no avail. If any of you know of one, please let me know.

Do you mean an insurance claim?... there is a legal claim mentioned in the thread below, and another somewhere else on the forum quoted by Poly hive, cannot find that one just at the moment though.

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=8143

 

[Cherry111]

Thanks everybody, for all of your responses. Yes, I am signed up with the BBKA and my association has a meeting this week so I can always canvas opinions there. I suspect however, that I will leave it as I'm not keen to add stress to my life! The allotment association is a fairly recent venture I think and I suspect that those running it are still finding their feet. Very much like me with my bees.
Thanks everyone.

 

[thorn]

Do you mean an insurance claim?... there is a legal claim mentioned in the thread below, and another somewhere else on the forum quoted by Poly hive, cannot find that one just at the moment though.

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=8143

It's interesting, but Irish (and more than 100 years old). I've not been able to find any case in negligence arising out of beekeeping in English law.

 

[isc26]

This document may be some use. It was produced in Newcastle Upon Tyne to set a baseline for keeping bees on allotments. It is a few years old now so some details like insurance cover value has changed. http://www.newcastleallotments.co.uk/BeeGroup/NABG governance final.pdf

 

[Barbarian]

A couple of my local allotment associations had financial benefit from having bees amongst the other plots.

Grants were obtained for fencing, hives, bees and all. The projects folded and the colonies were sold off.

 

[Cherry111]

Thank you isc26 for posting that link. It makes interesting reading. Yes Barbarian, I'd have thought that most allotment societies would be crying out for a colony or two of bees. The difference they would make should be enough to encourage anyone and maybe one or two people may even decide to take up the hobby themselves.

 

[Amari]

Thank you isc26 for posting that link. It makes interesting reading. Yes Barbarian, I'd have thought that most allotment societies would be crying out for a colony or two of bees. The difference they would make should be enough to encourage anyone and maybe one or two people may even decide to take up the hobby themselves.

Sounds a bit optimistic to me. On my allotment, not far from three apiaries, it is bumble bees that do most of the work on the raspberries. I rarely see a honey bee on the broad bean or strawberry blossom.

 

[kevrhcfag]

Thank you isc26 for posting that link. It makes interesting reading. Yes Barbarian, I'd have thought that most allotment societies would be crying out for a colony or two of bees. The difference they would make should be enough to encourage anyone and maybe one or two people may even decide to take up the hobby themselves.

You haven't had an allotment have you? They can be a very strange bunch from one extreme to the other and everything inbetween. The main consideration is what happens if a plot holder has a bad reaction from a sting. This can cause a lot of conflict and people taking sides, beekeeper saying it could be any bee and could happen anytime etc. and others blaming the bees. The reality is that if this does happen, having bees on the site does increase the risk of being stung, simply there are more bees around. What needs to be agreed up front is what cause of action is taken if this happens, does the plot holder not come, give up his allotment (why should he?), take his chances (which is not nice for someone who might be wary) or do the bees get moved off site. It can very easily and quickly get out of hand and very messy / nasty.

 

[Fatbee]

I agree and ultimately the best solution to the above scenario is to remove the bees. So have a back up apiary

 

[beebot]

I have had bee on my allotment for 2 years without any problems except when mowing close to hives so I make sure the grass around the apiary is cut by me. People have been very supportive but if somebody gets stung who knows. I have got a plan B & C though.