Frequently Asked Questions

• On the AGM and all the changes to the BDAC

Why do we need to change the BDAC and its Constitution

The BDAC is currently a constituted body – it has a constitution which any organisation needs to function BUT it is not incorporated so it is not a ‘legal entity’.  This means that its decisions are the responsibility of the individual people on its governing body, the Executive Committee and if anything goes wrong, they are ‘severally and individually liable’.  This is a risky and vulnerable position to be in when important decisions are being made and the organisation is dealing with legal issues.  If the BDAC’s income and expenditure increases significantly and, for example, we started employing staff or signing contracts other than the one we have with Birmingham City Council, we need to be incorporated so that the BDAC as a body is shouldering the responsibility NOT the individuals on the Committee.

The decision to become incorporated was made at the BDAC Annual General Meeting in March 2024 when the following motion was carried by a large majority of the 161 people in attendance and supported by 67 postal votes as well . 

‘That the existing BDAC Constitution be changed to facilitate Incorporation as Birmingham and Districts Allotments Cooperative Limited via the Cooperative Association model sponsored by National Allotment and Leisure Garden Society and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.’

What is happening about the Constitution at the moment?  Didn’t the AGM last year make the necessary changes and voted by an overwhelming majority to move things along?

At the last AGM in March 2024 we voted for two main things:

1. To become incorporated and to choose the Co-operative model as the most suitable legal structure for the BDAC.  This was on recommendation from the National Allotment Society
2. To make Associations the core members of the BDAC, and take out individual tenants as BDAC members.

At that time, the view on the Executive was that BDAC would continue to serve ALL plotholders as well as Associations and their Committees BUT we could rely on Associations to handle consultation with the plotholders at site level.   There are possibly around 6000 tenants and it seemed unrealistic to think that an organisation run purely by volunteers could communicate and consult with that number.  

A year later two things have happened to change that view:

1. Our legal advisors have said that unincorporated Associations (at site level) cannot be voting, shareholding members of the BDAC because they are not legal entities and without having a legal entity, you cannot hold a share or vote.   At the moment, it seems that only a few Allotment Associations are incorporated so we could have ended up with only a handful of members!
2. Increasingly we are finding that quite a number of Birmingham Allotment Associations are having problems with finding people willing to serve on their committees or becoming officers 

So the reality is that we currently can’t expect them to do lots of consultation if they don’t have the people or the resources to do that easily – in a way which doesn’t take up a lot of time that most can’t spare – especially if their have work, care or other commitments as well as their plots to maintain.

Hence the move to ‘reinstate’ the tenants as THE MEMBERS of the BDAC, with each tenant having a £1 share and a vote.   On the other hand the Associations are still part of the BDAC. But they are AFFILIATED MEMBERS with no shares and no votes.   And if Associations want to influence things through votes, they will need to talk to their plotholders and get them to vote for what the Association has discussed and agreed.

Which constitution is operating at the moment and who is making the decisions?    

The 2014 version (in green cover) is still as amended by the March 2024 AGM when Associations became the primary members.  This was agreed overwhelmingly with only 7 votes against.  

The other change to the existing constitution which was agreed at this AGM was to the composition of the BDAC – Clause 2 which now reads as follows: 

“2. The business of BDAC shall be conducted by the executive committee which will consist of:

2a Three Executive Officers – Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer, and not less than seven and not more than twelve Executive Members. Executive Officers are to be elected annually at the AGM, with any incumbent permitted to re-stand.

2b All Executive Members shall be elected at the AGM of BDAC Limited. Executive Members are elected for a three-year term, with any incumbent permitted to re-stand.”

This change was carried overwhelmingly at the AGM attended by 161 people and in addition all 67 postal votes supported it.  

The rest of the clauses on Executive members remain as per the old Constitution (until the new Co-op Constitution is agreed by the Financial Conduct Authority).  These are as follows:

“Clause 3:  Should a member of the Executive fail to attend half of the meetings of the Executive, without adequeate explanation, he/she shall vacate his/her place before or at the next AGM.

Clause 4:  The Executive shall have the power to co-opt if there is a vacancy on the Executive Committee.

Clause 5: All members of the Executive shall be elected at an AGM of the BDAC. “ 

Currently (1^st May 2025) there are 9 Executive Members in addition to the 3 Officers.  So if all these continue beyond the 17^th May AGM, there will be up to 3 vacancies for new people.

When does the new constitution (=BDAC Co-op Rules) replace the old 2014 constitution (the one in the green cover with the 2024 AGM amendments)

When it is accepted by Financial Conduct Authority, after we have submitted the 

Rules Document being put forward at the 17^th May AGM.

Can anyone stand for the Executive of the BDAC?

The existing BDAC constitution (in green cover) does not stipulate who is eligible to stand for the Executive but Clause 2 does say that “On election all members of the Executive shall cease to just represent his/her Allotment Association at all BDAC meetings” which suggests that the people who wish to stand for the Executive are part of an Allotment Association.  Normally this would mean that they are tenants on a site but there are lots of active people on sites who are not tenants – eg partners of the person on the tenancy agreement.

In the new BDAC Rules, this anomaly is made clearer as follows in Clause 10.4

“Tenure of any post as a Committee Member shall be voluntary, unpaid and open only to Members of the Society. Arrangements will be put in place by the Committee for the re-imbursement of appropriate and legitimate out-of-pocket expenses.”

This would mean that partners of tenants could not stand for the Executive – but if they did wish to do so, it should be possible for them to swap the tenancy agreement to their name.  Birmingham City Council does not allow joint tenancies for partners, so there is no way round this problem if a couple share one plot.  Alternatively, in incorporated associations with partners being Associate members, they should be eligible.

More generally, it only makes sense for people to stand for the Executive if they have the time, energy and experience to contribute, as it is a demanding role to have to take decisions affecting around 100 sites of all types across the city.    You don’t have to be on an Association Committee but it helps if you are aware of the issues that Committees have to deal with.  

Tenants from BDAC Directly Managed sites with Associations/Committees can also stand (if the motion on BDAC membership is passed on 17^th May).

How do you stand for the Executive of the BDAC?

Ideally, inform the Secretary in advance of the AGM of your intention, but you can also put your name forward at the AGM.  You need to have a proposer and someone else to second the proposal.     These two people could be from your site/Association or from another one.

If there are more people wanting to be on the Executive than vacancies, then it’s a contested election, and the BDAC members present (and eligible to vote), will need to know something about the people nominated.      So having some information ready to hand will be helpful.  This could also be written down and given to voters.    Relevant information includes:

• Your name
• Your association (if there is one) and the site you are on
• District in Birmingham where your site is located (this tells people whether the Executive members come from different parts of the city)
• How long you have been a plotholder and/or an active gardener
• Your Association involvement eg Secretary, Committee member since……….
• Anything else relevant to do with your site/association (very brief) or allotments generally

As we are aiming for members to be involved for at least a 3 year term, think about your main aspirations are and why you would like to be on the Executive.  What will you be able to contribute to the BDAC and the future of allotments in Birmingham?  What experience or skills do you have which will make you a useful member of the Executive during the coming period which will be challenging.     Being able to offer a very specific skill or experience will make for a good Executive team with a variety of backgrounds.

If you are reading this before the AGM on 17^th March 2025,  please send your nomination and some information by email by Wednesday 14^th May, which will enable us to print it out for the AGM.

Executive members can also be co-opted to fill vacancies, in between AGMs.  So that’s another option for people who are not sure whether to stand at the AGM.  

How can individual tenants influence what’s going on?   Isn’t it unrealistic to think that they will spend time trying to understand what’s happening?

Ensuring as much democratic decision making as is possible is just as difficult in an organisation like the BDAC as it is in society as a whole.  It’s not going to be perfect, but it’s better than the alternative.    Currently, many people in the UK don’t vote in elections – national and local – but we still respect the decisions about representatives made by people who do exercise their rights to vote.

For BDAC with potentially around 6000 or so tenants who will be eligible to vote – if we agree the membership changes on 17^th May, how can the BDAC:

• get people interested enough to participate and try and understand what is happening and what could happen in the future.  
• get people to VOTE and/or register their views in other ways so decisions can be made for the future of allotments in the city and the BDAC’s role in that.

The details of the Constitution are important and we do need a good turn-out for the Annual General Meeting so as a body, we can discuss and debate before making a decision about how the BDAC is going run itself in future.

But just as important is what all the active people do.  This means the people who currently manage their sites as best they can with very little support and few resources – the Committee members and officers and others on the sites who keep things ticking over in a way which benefits the majority who just want to work on their plots.    If this includes you, then talk to your plot neighbours when you’re having a break from weeding and planting, and put them in the picture about how things operate at the moment, your role and what that involves and how you’d like to see things in the future.

That should generate discussion which can then be relayed to the active people in the BDAC and we have more chance of coming up with plans and strategies which have a chance of succeeding.   It all depends of course, on whether the Council is prepared to listen and negotiate with us on how to manage allotments better.

At various points, there will be an opportunity for everyone eligible to VOTE on significant changes.   Then we have to use all means of getting a good turn-out – whether that’s at meetings like AGMs or Special General Meetings, via voting on-line through the BDAC website, or postal/email votes.    

Can Associations choose whether to be members of the BDAC?

When the BDAC was established, all associations on sites owned/managed by BCC automatically became members, with no membership fee.  Committees/Associations don’t have to use any of the ‘services’ such as advice and information which the BDAC provides – and some don’t.  However, if there are situations where the BDAC has to get involved as part of its Management Agreement with BCC eg where an Association considers eviction is appropriate for a tenant, or when complaints are made.   In these situations the BDAC is expected to investigate and try to resolve the issues through mediation or other means.

In these situations, Associations cannot choose to decline BDAC membership 

Can tenants choose whether to be members of the BDAC?

At the moment, many tenants are not aware that the BDAC exists or know what it does – unless someone on their committee makes a point of reporting things to open meetings or they have a newsletter, for example.  Before last year and with the proposals being put forward on 17^th May, ALL tenants are automatically members and cannot opt out for the same reasons as associations not being able to opt out.   It’s currently part of the tenancy agreement they sign that their site association is a BDAC member and that on occasions, the BDAC may need tenants’ contact details for advisory or mediation purposes (GDPR Notice relating to Data Protection, and they cannot choose to opt out of these if things happen on the site.

How will tenants pay for their £1 share? 

This is a one-off payment, not a yearly addition to rental.  It’s possible that the £1 shares can be paid by the BDAC for everyone eligible, rather than set up a system for collecting this small amount from individual tenants. 

Will there be a membership fee?

This is something for the future and does not have to be decided now.  The option is there in the new Constitution (Rules) to have one if it’s approved by the voting membership to charge a membership fee – to the Affiliated Members which are the Associations.

Currently some Birmingham Associations charge a membership fee to their site’s tenants, payable to the Association for meeting expenditure.  This is on top of the Council rent for plots which gets passed on to the Allotments Dept.  Others don’t charge membership fees but raise money for site improvements in other ways.  This variation will probably continue, so the issue of membership fees for the BDAC is unlikely to be decided soon.

What happens to plotholders on sites with no associations or committees?

Currently 8 sites have no associations of any sort.  1 of this is totally unoccupied and the other 7 are managed by the BDAC, as part of their agreement with the Council, for which a grant is paid annually of £9,500.  This covers everything else that the BDAC does through its volunteer Executive as well as managing the 7 sites which have around 108 plots between them.  

With the new proposals, all the tenants on these plots will have the same rights as people on sites with associations, and direct access to advice and support from the BDAC.  This is limited to what is manageable by volunteers on the Executive (or others) and whatever resources can be made available.  

Are Associations bound by their Management Agreement with Birmingham City Council if they haven’t signed it? 

Yes, they all signed in 2014 and legally it just rolls forward until it’s replaced with a new one. Even if current Committee members of Associations were not involved in 2014 and the people who did sign it are no longer around, their Association is still bound by that agreement.  

If the 2014 Agreements (Associations’ Management Agreements with Birmingham City Council) ran out in 2019, what operates at the moment?   And why doesn’t the Council ‘come to the negotiating table’ about an Agreement which ran out 6 years ago!

Agreements like these don’t run out until they are replaced with a new one.  

Last year, the BDAC agreed to extending the old agreement for another year (from April) on the basis that the Council would be willing to negotiate about a ‘new deal’.   This year we said we are not willing to extend co-operation beyond a further year which ends March 2026.

Why Birmingham City Council seems to be delaying negotiation is no doubt partly to do with the bankruptcy situation and the fact that everything in the Council is having to go through scrutiny by the bankruptcy Commissioners.   That aside, we don’t know and it’s a question only the senior staff and councillors of BCC can answer.  Things seem to be moving but nothing significant to report as yet.

Individual Associations can give notice to terminate their Agreement but they then lose all BCC financing and support.  BCC would probably convert them to a Directly Managed status.  That is not something BDAC would push for or welcome.

Is the BDAC planning to take over managing allotment sites?

This is not part of any strategy discussed at Executive level.  Associations currently operating will carry on managing sites – whatever future arrangements there are with BCC.  As with many other things in our society, there will continue to be variation from one site to another in what happens.  Some sites are ‘quiet’ with plotholders just maintaining their plots, while others have active committees which organise all sorts of extras including improved facilities, events and links with the local community.  

The BDAC is committed to supporting associations and their committees which are run in an accountable and democratic way, and helping to ‘build capacity’ at site level by tackling   the problems of recruiting and keeping volunteer Committee members and Officers.  That is the best way to raise standards of site management so people wanting a plot near where they live can expect a minimum level of facilities, and that rules which benefit everyone are respected by all plotholders.  

Will associations be able to make their own Rules in future?  

The Council Rules have not been changed since 2016 when water harvesting requirements were introduced, apart from the banning of bonfires in March – another rule change which BCC introduced with BDAC approval.    Some clearly need updating, while others are sensible and most if not all plotholders would agree them.  A few are controversial, possibly because people may disagree about the prime purpose of allotments and what should be allowed when people rent them.

The question is should we have the same Rules for all sites no matter which part of the city they are and whether or not they are big or small or have active committees or not.

This is something where the BDAC can help to organise discussion and debate – so we can arrive at common viewpoints about the things that matter to everyone, and establish some minimum standards.  These should form the basics of Rules which are respected and can be enforced if people ignore them for their own convenience at other people’s expense.  If it was a free-for-all with every Association making up its own rules about everything, we could end up with very popular sites with long waiting lists at one extreme, and other sites which can’t attract or keep anyone for long.

It should be possible to have some variations and flexibility – on the basis that some Associations may be in a better position to manage certain activities which can create problems if mishandled.   Having barbecues, keeping chickens and bees – these are examples of activities which do need extra conditions in place in order for them to be acceptable on an allotment site.

If Associations can manage most of the management functions for their sites, why can’t they keep most of the rent money?   

This is a good point and more longstanding plotholders may remember a time years ago when around 12 associations had agreements which accorded them a greater share of the rent money than associations get these days (which is 10% plus an amount called the Devolved Budget which is supposed to cover water bills, repairs and maintenance & 3 other items)

One of the ideas the BDAC is looking at is an Agreement which would enable Associations to select the level of management they prefer.   So if they do more, they keep a greater % of the rent.

Currently, some associations choose to do their own ground maintenance – cutting the communal grassed areas and so on, so they do have more money than those relying on BCC Parks Dept to do it.  But they don’t get as much as the Parks Dept is paid for the same work.  All the different aspects of management need to be looked at for a fair system to be worked out, and currently BDAC is asking if the next Agreement will make changes in 3 areas:  Rent collection, Grounds maintenance contracts and handling the Flo Pickering funded improvement works.   If we succeed with these, it could well mean that every Association gets more money to run the site.  After that, there could be variations between sites– and that is some way further ‘down the line’ along with the issue of associations or the BDAC having leases for allotment land.  

Why are some sites in better condition than others?  This doesn’t seem fair

Some are a lot older than others and so may have better or worse facilities because of when they were established and what resources were available for allotment sites at the time.  Some sites are in less accessible places or have difficult neighbours such as commercial concerns or industrial units rather than residential properties.  Perimeter fencing may be a particular issue in a number of areas making sites less secure when the money is not available to mend or renew it to a good standard.

While we can’t make them all equal, the BDAC has a role to play in ‘levelling the playing field’ and advising/supporting associations which can’t offer the benefits of modern toilets, electricity, a nice clubroom etc.   Some of these extras can be grant funded if they are too expensive to be put in place through fundraising events – which is how the best equipped sites have often paid for improvements.  

This brings us back to the Associations and their committees – if well run, these are the means by which sites will become good places to be.  And that’s up to the individuals who join them and put extra effort into organising, not just minding their own plots.  It’s not a surprise – benefits come to those sites where committee members go the extra mile and take their tenant members with them, persuading people to contribute to developing the site in a way which works for everyone.    .