Allotment rents will go up by a flat rate of £2 a year from 2007/8, Ipswich Borough Council has decided.
This rise of less than 4p a week brings the charge for a 10 rod plot up to £28 a year for pensioners and the unemployed and £32 a year for the full rate. This increase had been recommended by allotment-holders.
The Council has also decided to review plans to bring in a separate water charge for allotment-holders from next year. The Council and allotment-holders will now work together to save water.
Councillor Judy Terry, the Council’s Arts, Culture & Leisure portfolio-holder, said: “We need to investigate wastage through old pipes which may be leaking, and also security, to reduce incidents of vandalism, when fields are flooded overnight, destroying plotholders' crops. We very much appreciate the way in which the allotment-holders have entered into the debate and highlighted areas of concern."