Allotment Minutes October 2009

Winford Parish Council  Eighth Annual Meeting of Allotment Holders held at Church Farm House on Saturday 24^th October 2009.

PRESENT

Les Toogood, Sarah McDiarmid , Joe and Philippa Herring, Philip Martin, Janet Teggin, Debbie Langton, Sue Carruthers, Martin Edmonds, Hugh Gregor, Alan Parker, Bridget Smith,

APOLOGIES

Wesley Toogood and Simon Thomas.

The meeting began at 10.05 am

The minutes of last year’s meeting were taken as the agenda.

There have been no further problems with illegal car parking.

Trimming of hedges will be done on the allotment working party day in March, Les has offered to tidy them up a little before then.  A vote of thanks was given to Les for cutting back the trees last year.

Plastic sheeting is still available from Les but it is no longer biodegradable.

Animal Intrusions; none this year, just a few cats.

Water Pressure; the position is the same as last year i.e. providing sprinklers are not used, the pressure is acceptable.  Hugh requested that tenants should look out for leaks.

Rubbish; there are no obvious signs of fly tipping this year.  For any waste other than organic material, Hugh reminded us that there is a civic amenity site at Backwell.

Seed Orders; these may be placed, as usual, through Ros Nichols.  Janet mentioned that not everything in the Sutton Seed catalogue is obtainable in this way.  Again small orders are unlikely to be cost effective.

Theft; earlier in the year, Les mentioned, his hose pipe and its fittings had been taken.

Hugh called for vigilance and for tenants to lock tools and other equipment in sheds.

Philippa Herring stated she is happy to continue  working as the co-ordinator and in addition to sending the minutes to the members, will also e-mail them to Mike Teggin to post on the parish website.

Working Parties; the Japanese Knotweed has been sprayed and will now continue to be sprayed every year until it gives up.  It was suggested that we dig it out again on the next working party day.

One of the paths leading to the tap is very overgrown and although it can be tackled on the day, it should be kept tidy by the allotment keeper all year, as set out in the rules.

There was a discussion over plot 2A and whether it should be divided into more manageable areas but since much of it has been tidied recently, it was not considered necessary to take any action this year.

The date for the next working party is Saturday, 27^th March 2010 at 10.am

Please come equipped with any necessary tools.

Should anyone think of any extra tasks which could be done on that day, please contact Philippa on 474270 and she will make the others aware.

AOB

Hugh thought it might be useful to find extra land for more allotments, since he feels that the credit crunch is far from over and that we may have a long list of people waiting for plots over the next year.  Martin asked why the PC couldn’t lease some extra land and Hugh suggested the green space at Winford Heights might be suitable.  Bridget commented that since there is only one person waiting for a plot it seems unnecessary at the moment, but if anyone feels strongly enough about it, a letter to the PC would ensure its discussion at the monthly meeting.

FEES

The annual rent is going up from £10 for a standard sized plot to £12 in 2010.

BUYING BULK COMPOST

The compost can be delivered but only in 3 ton loads.  There were not enough tenants at the meeting who wanted enough compost to share between them.  Although, Les kindly offered to collect it for Sarah, who had raised the question, Bridget explained that it has to be weighed and a chit issued in order for the PC to receive payment from N. Somerset council. It is not clear whether Simon Banks, who normally delivers for the PC will able to manoeuvre his trailer up the slope.  The alternative is to collect single bags for £1 and move it by car.  The price per ton is £15.  No satisfactory solution has been reached so far.

Bridget had received a complaint about cars speeding along Parsonage Close.  The tenants felt that would be quite difficult, since it is narrow and cars are usually parked along one side.

The meeting closed at 11 am