Points you might like to include when you write your email to allotments@exeter.gov.uk 

Please use any of the ideas below and add your own if you wish. 
This email should be sent as soon as possible so that it is received before 16.February 2024 and should be copied in to your councillors. (Google in Exeter City Council find my councillor to see who your ward Councillors are)
 Don’t delay! Do it today!!

Background, to make the email/letter personal

•	I have an allotment at…………..
•	I have had my plot for………….years
•	My allotment is important to me because…………I grow a lot of my own food...It gives me exercise and fresh air... it means that I see other people….I enjoy the company of the others on the site...I’ve made friends amongst the other tenants...I can relax, being out in the fresh air...I enjoy being amongst plants and nature...it benefits my feeling of well-being... it benefits my mental health...I enjoy being able to provide for my family and friends...it stops me feeling isolated...I have a busy and stressful job and it helps me reduce my stress levels.

•	Other people (family and friends) who benefit from my allotment are……..
•	 have donated my surplus produce to the Community Fridge/ Food Bank

I object to the way this consultation has been handled because

•	I did not get the notification about the proposed increase in rents until………
•	I never received the letter/email but was alerted to the proposed increase by my fellow tenants.
•	I didn’t understand the letter
I found it difficult to work out what increase I might actually pay.
•	I don’t understand what a “subsidised service” is and there’s no explanation
•	I don’t understand where the £25,000 figure comes from+ and there’s no detail in the letter.
•	I was not given enough information to be able to understand where savings are possible.
•	The three week consultation period is too short for me to think of other ideas for saving money. With more time and information that might be possible.

This has made me feel

•	Confused... anxious... that I will lose my plot... treated badly by ECC...uncertain about what will happen next...worried that I will not to be able to afford my rent…
angry...that my Council is not working for me
I want 
•	More information about the income and outgoings in the Allotment service
•	More time to consider the information so that I and my fellow tenants can suggest ways in which savings might be made