CREWE Town Council has reached a 50-year lease agreement of its allotments – though three sites have opted to shun the agreement.

The allotment sites have now been leased on a 50-year basis to the Crewe Town Allotment Federation, which are now able to sub-lease the sites to the individual site associations.

The council said they are committed to supporting the Federation in helping to move the allotments in Crewe from a state of ‘historic neglect’, to ‘adequate’ and on to ‘exemplary’.

By the end of 2015/6 the Town Council will have invested £65k in the allotments, which has been allocated to sites via the Federation.

Cllr Suzanne Brookfield, one of the lead members on allotments, said: “This is a defining moment and we recall the approach from the allotments in 2013 after we inherited the sites from Cheshire East on our formation.

“The allotment holders wanted to have control and autonomy. We have enabled that for all the eleven sites that were so active and instrumental in the formation of the Federation.”

However, three allotment sites in Crewe – Walker Street, Hulme Street and Ford Lane – have chosen not to join the Federation, after consulting with the council over the Christmas period.

Cllr Brookfield said the Federation and the council are putting in place measures to allow plot holders to pay their annual rent to the council.

The council will hold that money on behalf of the Federation, which will be given to associations once they have legal entitlement to levy a rent.

In turn the Federation will issue plot holders with a tenancy agreement that can be subsequently transferred to the relevant association.

Cllr Brookfield said: “Those three remaining sites are encouraged to join the Federation, but they have free will in such matters. They do need however to take a sub-lease from the Federation.

“We therefore encourage the three Associations to talk to the Federation and secure a sub-lease before the end of March.

“If this isn’t possible then we invite all plot holders to make contact with the Council to secure their interest in their plots for 2015/6.

“Traditionally, plots are deemed to have been vacated if payment is not received within three or four weeks. We will follow that policy and ask that payments to the council are made by May 1.’