Allotment holders in Glasgow will get free top soil, as part of a range of measures the council claims will off-set a price hike of almost 400 per cent.
The rent rise will start in 2024 and is to see the current amount jump from £34.50 to £170 annually next year for a full plot.
Critics have suggested the rise, which would be the first in over a decade, will not be affordable for many allotment holders.
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But the council said there were a range of measures to off-set the cost, including providing plot holders with free topsoil - something they suggested would outweigh the increase in fees.
And they said payments can also be spread across the year, and revealed the increase would be phased in over the next five years..
SNP councillor Ruairi Kelly revealed the measures after being challenged by a Labour politician over the increase at last week’s full council meeting and asked how it can be justified and if consultation had taken place.
Councillor Kelly insisted it was still “good value” and equivalent to 50p a day for the full annual fee.
He stressed prices had stayed the same for 14 years and the change will make the service “financially sustainable” for the future.
The convener for neighbourhood services and assets said: “A series of mitigations are in place for those who face socio-economic or financial difficulties.
“The concessionary rates remain in place for people on benefits, full-time students and people over 60-years-old and the increase will be graded over a five-year period.
“We are also looking at having the rental fee spread across the course of the year rather than paid all at once.
“The increase will allow us to retain the concessionary rates and any surplus will go back into the service that supports allotments across the city.”
He added: “Also the FARE charity has been working on a new pitch at Stepford Park and thousands of tonnes of topsoil will be made available free of charge to allotment plot holders.
“The value of topsoil for individuals will outweigh any increase to fees.”
Labour councillor Ann Jenkins said: “If this administration had consulted with allotment users in Springboig and Riddrie they would have said they are a community within a community including single parents, young families and pensioners. They would have said that their allotments help with their mental health and many of them can’t afford a 400 per cent increase. Knowing that how can the city convenor justify a 400 per cent increase to those communities?”
Councillor Kelly replied: “A raft of mitigation measures fully recognises the impact of the fees increase particularly on those groups who may struggle.”
He said Glasgow fees are broadly in line with comparable councils.
Scottish Greens councillor Jon Molyneux said he had written to the trustees of the Lord Provost charitable funds asking if they would consider covering the cost of those who can’t afford the rent sot they don’t lose their patch.
Councillor Kelly said he is happy to look at individual cases after being asked if he would support that.
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