Members are advised that all Portsmouth Allotment Beekeeping sites come under the jurisdiction of our Association under an Agreement with Portsmouth City Council dated April 1998.
In 2024 an updated beekeepers agreement came into place for all those wishing to keep bees on a site managed by Portsmouth City Council. The terms and conditions include:-
- Beekeepers must be full Registered Members of our Association
- Undertaken a recognised training course(s)
- Be experienced with 2+yrs successfully managing own colony (on occasion it may be possible to approve someone with less experience, if they are under the regular supervision of a competent Association member)
- Site and Health & Safety requirements to be adhered to
These terms and conditions are in place to protect the public and maintain their trust in our wonderful hobby and our beautiful pollinators.
Any members who wish to keep bees on a PCC site, should:
- Contact portsmouthbeekeepers@gmail.com for a copy of the PCC Allotments Beekeepers Agreement Form.
- Return their completed forms to be countersigned by the authorised PDBKA trustee and submitted to the PCC Allotments Manager for processing.
- The PCC Allotments Manager will then allocate a site if available.
- Annually PDBKA will confirm that the individual has maintained their membership and insurance cover with the PCC Allotments Manager.
The Committee has worked closely with PCC to identify sites to both maintain and extend the opportunities available for Beekeeping on their Allotment sites. Members must however be aware that these are public sites, some allotment holders and visitors may be nervous or allergic, good husbandry is required to not negatively impact of peoples enjoyment of their allotments, and therefore additional care and attention must be taken when keeping bees on an allotment. For these reasons, it is vital members adhere to the above procedure and the conditions stated within the beekeepers agreement to ensure we maintain our good relationship with allotment holders, the public and Council officials. Please be aware that if an individual does not have a countersigned agreement form, or fails to maintain their membership with Portsmouth & District Beekeeping Association, they must remove their colonies and equipment from the site with immediate effect.
The National Society of Allotments and Leisure Gardens highlights that agreement between all parties is the key, but do remind and emphasise the fact that nobody has the right to keep bees on an allotment and some councils do not allow this on their sites.
At PDBKA, we are proud that our members have successfully been keeping bees on PCC allotments for over the last 10 years, and the benefit of having bees nearby can be seen by allotment holders, with many having commented on the increased yield of fruit and vegetables (particularly broad beans) once a hive has been accepted on to an allotment. The benefit for the beekeeper is the enjoyment of caring for these wonderful pollinators and regular bumper harvests of honey, with reported yields of more than 210lbs from a single national hive.
Both parties can therefore benefit from a combination of a responsible, experienced beekeeper and happy, informed allotment holders.
