Non-metric units

The request was successful.

Dear Wroughton Parish Council,

The council shows a price of £5 per perch at:
http://www.wroughton.gov.uk/allotments

As I understand it, the council is breaking the law because the primary price must be metric. Equivalents may be given in non-metric units but only as secondary to the primary metric price. When supermarkets use non-metric units, that's how the law is enforced on them by councils.

Thus the following are legal:
"20p per square metre"
"20p per square metre (£5 per perch)"

For example:
***********************
http://www.burstowpc.co.uk/allotments.php
"... a rent of 20p per square meter ..."
***********************

but the following are illegal:
"£5 per perch"
"£5 per perch (20p per square metre)"
"£5 per perch (a perch is 25 square metres)"

I appreciate this issue may have been overlooked. Adoption of ordinary units will make allotments more accessible to newcomers.

1. Does the council have any correspondence, documents, or minutes relating to metric prices?

2. Will the council adopt metric units for primary official prices within the next two years?

Yours faithfully,

David Johnson

clerk@wroughton, Wroughton Parish Council

Dear Mr Johnson

The Allotment Agreement issued by the Parish Council and the offer letter
all state the size by Perch and in metric (1 Perch = 25.3 square metres).
This means that any member of the public taking on an allotment knows the
size. All our allotments are recorded by perch.

The Parish Council sets the price by Perch.

I will arrange for the website to be changed to indicate the metric
measurement of a perch.

I will make some enquiries to find out if we are breaking the law.

Thank you for bringing this matter to me attention

Regards

Joyce

Joyce Holman, Clerk

Wroughton Parish Council

Tel: 01793 814735

Email: [Wroughton Parish Council request email]

show quoted sections

Dear Joyce Holman,

Thank you for your reply. And thank you for saying the website will be updated.

If the parish council sets prices by the perch then I'm sure it's just been overlooked. Now that you're looking into it, I'm sure the council and Swindon trading standards can work together on it.

I hope the council is able to adopt an official primary price in square metres within the next two years. I'll watch the website for future changes and read council minutes to see how the issue progresses.

In the meantime, this FOI request can be closed as successful. I appreciate the time you have given, and will be giving, to this issue.

Yours sincerely,

David Johnson