Request to keep bees on Barnard Castle allotment creates quite a buzz

ALLOTMENT-based apiarists in Barnard Castle will have to sign up to a four-page agreement if they wish to keep bees on their plots.
Members of the town council’s services committee were told a request had come from one of the tenants at the Raby Avenue allotments to keep hives, while another enthusiast, currently on the allotment waiting list, had also expressed an interest.
Cllr Roger Peat said this had caused quite a buzz in the council office and allotment services officer Yvette Farren had looked into the issue.
“It is amazing how much there is to keeping bees and what has to be taken into account,” he said.
As a result, Ms Farren has drawn up a draft agreement.
It states that anyone wishing to keep bees must provide evidence of training from a recognised body such as the British Bee Keepers Association as well as being a member of an organisation affiliated to the association.
The keeper must also be covered by public liability insurance and put up signs at their plot warning of the presence of bees.
The town council also states that allotment-based bee keepers must not sell the  honey produced from their hives. If an application to keep bees is received, neighbouring allotment holders will be given a minimum of four weeks to give their views.
Service committee members said only the allotment sites at Raby Avenue and the Demesnes were suitable for housing hives.
Cllr Belinda Thompson backed the prospective bee keepers.
She said: “If it is done properly, it is a good thing. If they have had the training and got the insurance, it should not be a problem.”
Members approved the draft bee keeping agreement.
Councillors were told there were currently 13 people on the waiting list for an allotment in the town, with no new applicants so far this year. Improvements to paths at the gardens in Raby Avenue and the Demesnes were completed last month.
Cllr John Yarker said this was much needed.
“The path at Raby Avenue was dangerous and it was easy to slip off.”
The meeting was also told Ms Farren would attend the National Allotment Society Northern Region Allotment Officers’ Forum in Morpeth on March 22.