ALLOTMENT holders in Nailsea are to be asked if they want to become self-managed.

Members of the town council’s Leisure Facilities Committee agreed to include voting slips with The Nailsea Allotment Association’s annual newsletter in April.

The move would see tenants form a committee, enabling them to make decisions for themselves, which would mean a quicker turnaround than having issues go through the town council, as was done previously.

Town clerk Ian Morrell said: “I have spoken to clerks in other towns and parishes and when good committees are formed, it works really well.

“However there are risks, for example when a town council handles waiting lists they do it fairly but when allotment holders are in charge they sometimes allow ‘special favours’ for people.”

The town council has 137 allotments at its Whitesfield Road site and 58 at Engine Lane, with 90 people on the waiting list.

The Times reported in December that the town council has been discussing the potential development of allotments at Gaulacre, in Engine Lane, in a bid to reduce the three-year waiting list.

The council, which received positive feedback from allotment holders in a meeting regarding self-management at the Scotch Horn Centre last April, would like these to be self-managed from the start, if given the go-ahead.