Good evening all
Due to recent lockdown and social distancing rules it has not been possible to arrange the usual committee meetings, but recently we successfully held a meeting using the Zoom application. The minutes of that meeting will be posted as soon as I have them.
The main discussion was around the position we are in with the council and the proposed new lease/management agreement and in what direction we should go. We are currently drafting a letter asking the council to postpone the signing of a new lease for upto 12 months to enable us to thoroughly explore the implications of the options available, we are also seeking advice from the National Allotment Society and hope to hear back from them this week. The Association is in a slightly different position to some of the others in that a number of us are new to the roles that we have voluntarily undertaken and are still learning how the Association works as well as trying to understand the new lease position.
Should the council refuse our request for a postponement a decision would have to be made very soon, and as it is such a big decision it would have to go to a vote so in the very near future you will receive a written communication from the Association given to you on site or by post. It will outline the pro’s & con’s of each of the options we have available, please read carefully then tick the appropriate box for the option you vote for, it should then be returned via the Association post box. Should you have any queries regarding anything outlined please don’t hesitate to email me.
Jane Bowden and I have agreed that we will open the shop at the weekend, observing the social distancing guidelines, day/s and times to be confirmed, but at the moment getting hold of stock such as compost and growbags has been quite challenging as there is a national shortage of both. It seems that during the period of lockdown the population has taken to gardening. I have spoken to two suppliers that have advised that it may be two weeks before they can deliver to us. As soon as i have confirmation of stock being delivered i will post an update.
The installation of the new fence between the main gate and the railway gate is due to start on 4th of June and is expected to take a couple of days to complete.
Access to site via the railway gate this coming Saturday 6th will be restricted for a while as I will be taking down some trees/oversized hedges on the perimeter of Winifred’s plot, sorry for the inconvenience but they need to come down to keep within both the Association and Council guidelines regarding hedges.
That’s all for now, I will see you around on site, stay safe.
John Stooke
Chairman
Old Park Farm Garden Holders Association 