Rye Council seems to have a cast iron case that Rother has no power to control the town's two allotments at Love Lane and South Undercliff.

Rye is the only parish or town in the district where control of the allotments is not local.

Rye Allotments Association have argued for years that Rother Council has no legal right to run the allotments.

They have long feared Rother could sell the land off for housing development and have complained about steep price rises.

They were backed by Rye Town Council, who took up the fight on their behalf and accused Rother of having an entrenched position.

Rye Council called in the legal big guns and a QC, after a series of meetings, confirmed that Rother has no rights to manage allotments and that they should be controlled locally.

Ironically it was the town who handed the allotments over to Rother, with many other local assets, after the old Borough Council dissolved in 1974.

The newly formed Rye Town Council considered it was in the best interest of local tax payers and together with the allotments Rother acquired the Ypres Tower, Rye Cemetery, the water pump, in Church Square and the old Town Wall, in Cinque Ports Street.

Rye Town Clerk Richard Farhall said: "The problem with that decision was that the Local Government Act 1972 specifies that where a parish council exists it should be the local allotments authority.

"Over a number of years Rother District Council has argued that the titles to Rye's allotments, at Love Lane and South Undercliff, were transferred to it lawfully and that they are temporary and not statutory allotments."

Calling them temporary gives Rother more options to sell off the allotment land for other purposes. Statutory allotments cannot be sold off with out permission from the Secretary of State.

Now Rye Town Council, through its legal advisor, has asked Rother to cease control of the allotments and hand them back to Rye on a mutually agreed date between September 30 this year and April 1 2009.

But the indications are that Rother will challenge this.

A meeting is set to take place shortly to try and find a solution.

Roy Godwin, secretary of Rye Allotment Holders Association, said: "It is very frustrating. From what I hear Rother is being very inconsistent in what it is saying and seems determined to keep control of the allotments.

"We have known all along that Rother has no right to be controlling our allotments and that they are statutory and not temporary."