Polytunnels on allotments: check site rules before ordering (UK)

Research status: no allotment tenancy, site rule or official guidance has been verified for this draft. Treat the steps below as a way to request the rules and a written decision for your own site.

Find the current terms for your plot

Identify who manages the allotment and who can give a decision about changes to a plot. This may be set out in your tenancy or site paperwork, or the site may direct you to a named committee or office. Use the contact route in your current documents and ask which version of the terms applies to you.

Look for sections concerning structures, alterations, plot use, shared paths, boundaries, maintenance, and approval requests. These are search prompts, not a claim that every agreement contains those headings. Save the document name, date or version, and the clause or page you need explained. If a rule is unclear, ask the site manager to point you to the wording they are applying.

Make a specific proposal

Before writing, gather a dimensioned sketch of the proposed footprint and its position on your plot. Mark plot boundaries, nearby shared routes, existing structures and the direction of the entrance. Note the proposed model or a provisional description, its overall dimensions, how you expect it to be used, and the fixing or base information supplied by its maker. If you have not chosen a model, say which details are estimates.

The polytunnel size guide explains how to make a bed-and-path footprint drawing. For an allotment request, add the plot context so the site can assess the actual location rather than an isolated rectangle. Label it as a proposal until the site has considered it.

Ask the site body for a written decision

Send the sketch and the relevant clause or question together. Ask whether the proposal is permitted under the current terms, whether written approval is needed before ordering or installation, who decides, and what information they need to consider it. Ask about any site-specific conditions that might affect the proposal, such as its position, dimensions, appearance, access, maintenance or removal.

Keep the request narrow and factual. If the site asks for changes, request the revised proposal or conditions in writing and update the sketch before relying on an earlier exchange. A conversation can be useful, but keep a dated note of who you spoke to, what was discussed and what remains undecided.

Keep a decision record

Store the current tenancy, rules, sketch and correspondence together. Add a short record so you can see what was decided without relying on memory.

If you change the footprint, position, model or use, send the revised details and ask whether the earlier decision still covers the plan.

Site approval and a public planning enquiry answer different questions. If you need to check the latter, use the planning-permission enquiry guide to prepare a separate request to the relevant public authority. A reply from the allotment body should not be treated as the public authority's decision, or vice versa.

Message template

The following is an ordinary template for a first enquiry, with fill-in fields for your own details. It is not a formal application form.

Subject: Request for a decision on a proposed polytunnel at [site name], plot [number]

I am the tenant of plot [number] at [site]. I am considering a polytunnel at [marked position on attached sketch], with proposed dimensions of [length, width and height, or “not yet selected”]. Its intended use is [brief description]. The proposed model is [maker and model, or “not yet selected”].

Please tell me which current tenancy term or site rule applies, whether this proposal needs written consent, who makes that decision, and what further information you need. Please also confirm any conditions I should include in a revised drawing. I will wait for the site’s written response before treating the proposal as approved.

Attached: [dated sketch], [relevant page or clause], [maker’s document if available].