The plot thickens..

Newbury Town Council accused of acting "tyranically, unlawfully and unfairly" after refusing resident's request for allotment back

NEWBURY Town Council have been accused of acting “tyrannically, unlawfully and un-fairly” by refusing a Wash Common resident’s request to get his allotment back.

Simon Kirby was evicted from his plot by the town council in 2012 after he complained that its notice period for rent increases was unlawful.

West Berkshire Council’s Trading Standards team upheld his complaint and agreed that the review term of the tenancy agreement was unfair.

However, his repeated attempts to “right an injustice” led to him being labelled a “vexatious complainant” by the town council and ended in a court case costing the taxpayer in the region of £10,000.

At a Newbury Town Council meeting earlier this month, Mr Kirby gave an impassioned 10- minute presentation in which he asked for councillors to give him his plot back.

During the presentation, Mr Kirby described the council's treatment of him as “humiliating and insulting”.

Following the presentation, council leader David Goff asked Mr Kirby whether he would be prepared to accept five conditions if it decided to offer him his allotment back.

Mr Kirby said he was happy to agree to four of them, but did not feel it was reasonable to agree to the fifth, which was to obey everything the site steward told him to do, saying that he “would not dig his potatoes and onions in the nude” if told to.

This week the council wrote to Mr Kirby informing him that it had rejected his request.

The letter said: “Your descriptions of the conduct of the council as “unfair”, “unlawful”, and “dishonest” are, in our opinion, wholly unfounded and without merit. While you hold and publicly express those views, we do not believe that a working relationship with you is possible.”

The letter added: “From the disproportionate and unreasonable time that has been taken up by council officers in dealing with your communications, we have concluded that it is not possible to deal with you on a rational basis.

“Moreover, you have no legitimate grounds of grievance. Once you failed to pay the 2009 rental, the council was fully within its rights to terminate your allotment lease. After consideration of all these factors, your application was unanimously rejected by the full council.”

Reacting to the decision, Mr Kirby said: “To ask me to swear loyalty and obey to everything the site steward says is unfair and wrong.

“I’m happy to obey any reasonable request and always have been. I’m renting a service from the council, which doesn’t give them the automatic right to have control over me.

“It’s tyrannical, unfair and unreasonable. There is no accountability at the council and I find that scary.”

Mr Kirby now plans to write to Trading Standards and West Berkshire Council’s standards board.