Old Park Farm Garden Holders Association

10.30 Chairman opens meeting, apologies
Minutes of meeting held 1st October 2023
Matters arising
Chairman’s report
Treasurer’s report
Rent bills
Secretary’s report
Plot inspection results
Hedges &Trees
Plot changes & requests inc Plot 2, Ronnie & Winnies shelter
Theft, Main Fence damage, Lock change, Food hygiene
Federation news
Barry’s request for General Meeting. Link to F.C.A.
Items for A.G.M. Discounts, Honorariums
Rolled over. Shooting ban, Composting toilet, Lower carpark, Notice board, Web site
AOB
Confirm date of next meeting
Close
If you wish to add to the Agenda please phone Steve Yorke on 01158491526 or contact in person

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Present: Steve Yorke, Mark Robinson, Winnie Beck, Jane Bowden, Carol Brier, Charles Dewa, Tom Hutchison
Apologies:
Observers: David Kirkham, Mick Tagg, Barry Mitchell, Michael Graham, Simon Hudson, Paul Hibbs, Diane Yorke, Roy Lawson
Meeting opened at 10.30 am and the minutes from the previous meeting held on 20th August 2023 were read out by SY and accepted without change (Proposed WB, seconded by TH).
Matters Arising.
Were covered during the meeting
Treasurer’s Report
• Financial Situation: £7647 in the bank with £3342 available after liabilities plus the value of the stock. The amount will increase as there are still some rents outstanding – 5 not paid and 14 not been offered a lease until improvements are made. The only potential issue with outgoings is the possible cost of replacing the locks and keys. MR advised that our financial situation is fine. The new tables had been purchased.
Secretary’s Report
As acting Secretary, SY reported that he and MR were keeping things ticking over although the negotiation over the new lease may be problematic without a Secretary.
• OPFGHA had accepted the invitation of the local federation to be in the first round of negotiations given that our lease would be one of the earliest to run out.
• BBQ and Show: Had gone well. Costs were £140 (drinks), £187 + £22 (food), £74 (utensils/disposables) giving a total of £424. Receipts were £240 (raffle), £147 (auction), £170 (donations) giving a total of £557 meaning a net profit of £133. Although the aim is not to make a profit, this is very welcome, especially the amount received in donations. There was a vote of thanks to JS for all the hard work that he put into this event.
• Plot inspections and Plans: 14 people had not been offered rent bills in line with the new inspections policy. All have been spoken to and given guidance on improvements required by 1st November when a further inspection will be made. Trees and hedges are the main issue. One member offers a hedge cutting for a fee to be negotiated with the tenant in a private arrangement.
• Vacancies: There are about 10 plots to let and about 18 people on the waiting list. SY will be meeting prospective tenants and proposes a more stringent assessment of their commitment.
• Rent bills: All have been sent out.
• Theft: Sadly, there had been 2 reports of theft from plots with fruit and tools being stolen. SY reiterated that if anyone was caught stealing, they would be evicted from the site immediately. No-one should enter another plot uninvited unless there was a suspected emergency, concern over water being wasted or the plot was being inspected. SY advised against people locking themselves inside their plot whilst working in case of accident or illness.
• Abuse: There have been a number of cases in which abuse has been reported. If verbal abuse is witnessed or if it is written, the perpetrator will be dealt with in line with the policy and may eventually be expelled. Generally, it is better to try to resolve things between each other or where there is known to be animosity, to avoid each other. If issues cannot be resolved, then members are advised to approach a Committee member.
• Burning: Given recent complaints the Committee will monitor the smoke produced on burning days. Tenants should take care to reduce the smoke produced by ensuring their fire burns fiercely rather than smouldering, that items on it are appropriate and are dry. No plastic may be burned. Consider not burning if it is a hot day when neighbours will have windows open. Use the communal bonfire organised by SY and be prepared to assist him with it.
• Plot moves: A number of moves have been agreed subject to certain conditions. CB will take on Bernard’s old plot provided that she replaces the fence in her old plot and leaves it in good shape. Michael is moving to Jim Goldie’s old plot provided that the caravan on it is removed and his fence is sorted out. Plot 66 has been let to Althera and Adam. This gives them a second plot, but it was agreed to do this as an exceptional case as the plot is severely neglected and unattractive to prospective tenants and takes account of the good work that Althera and Adam have done over the years on their current plot.
• Requests for change of plot/additional plot: In future it was agreed that any requests for plot changes should be put in writing and the response of the Secretary should also be in writing to avoid any miscommunication and ensure transparency.
• Email from Lisa Goulbourne (Plot 1) and JS’s Reply: The two emails were read out. There was some disquiet about the tone and content of the email from Lisa. It was noted that whatever had or had not been said to her, it would be highly unusual for a person to be given a second plot after such a short amount of time even though it was recognised that she had made good progress on her current plot. As there were still people on the waiting list, current plot holders should not be given second plots as per the Letting Policy. In relation to her complaint about the road stone not being used, it was noted that anyone can use it to fill in potholes at any time or can join the working parties. Few people had volunteered for the last one, possibly due to it being advertised at short notice. It was proposed that in future working parties should be held on a regular day, e.g. Burning Sunday, so everyone knew when they were. In conclusion, no-one wished to pursue the proposed vote of no confidence. During the discussion it was noted that the Secretary’s job is voluntary, often not seen or appreciated and is particularly demanding. It is really important that people look at issues from the whole Association perspective, not just their own. It was also pointed out that members need to be respectful of each other, particularly those working to keep the Association running.
• Carol’s query: Already dealt with
• Barry Mitchell’s emails: Barry had asked for 3 items to be placed on the agenda:
a. The method of getting items onto the Agenda. SY explained that he had added ‘stevebee’ as an additional means of people sending items to him for consideration at a Committee meeting. They could still contact him directly. If they miss the agenda being published, then things can still be brought up under AOB.
b. Committee Meetings: Barry had contacted the National Society to ask about having an open meeting before the Committee meeting. It was felt that this would be too onerous and that the current situation in which any member was free to attend meetings and could speak at them was sufficient and working well.
c. Response from NSALG: Barry had also written to the National Association to ask about the need to have a General Meeting whenever a member is being asked to leave the Association, e.g. following a series of unsatisfactory inspections. The response from the Legal Advisor at the NSALG was that we are currently following our Registered Rules correctly. Barry disagreed with this advice and was advised to hold a separate meeting with any others who shared his views. It was pointed out by several people present during the long debate over this that that there was a need to be pragmatic in order to keep the Association functioning in a timely manner. In addition, much time and energy can be wasted by focusing too much on specific issues rather than managing the site responsibly and practically.
Any other Business
• Water: Water will be turned off after November 5th
• EGM: An EGM had been proposed in order to elect a new Secretary, but this was postponed pending a decision from John Stooke.
Rolled over items:

Meeting closed at 12.16pm.
Date of next meeting: Sunday 12th November in the polytunnel

Please note that, all members are more than welcome to attend Committee meetings and enter into debates (although they cannot vote). This will enable you to know what the Committee does and to contribute to the running of the Association.

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Present: Steve Yorke, John Stooke, Mark Robinson, Charles Dewa, Winnie Beck, Karol Brier, Tom Hutchison.

Apologies: Wendy Thomas, Jane Bowden.

Observers: Lisa Golbourne, Diane Yorke, Barry Mitchell.

Meeting opened at 10.35 am

Minutes of meeting on 16^th July 2023 accepted, proposed by Winnie seconded Tom

Matters arising. Charles reported back after discussions with various professional bodies that there were no problems to humans or animals with using old engine oil as a wood preservative. 

Chairman’s report. The Chairman pointed out that this is a committee meeting concerned with the day to day running of the association and not a lengthy debate on whether certain rules had died or been revived, Barry Mitchell was not happy with this and chose to leave the meeting.

Also reported a tap left on resulting in loss of £35 to £40 worth of water. The person concerned did not think he left the tap on and maybe someone else turned it on to make trouble

Treasurer’s report.  £5,383 in bank £2,146  available for projects.

Mark also wished to tender his resignation as Treasurer at the A.G.M. in March. Anyone interested in this position and would like to shadow Mark to learn how things work please contact the committee

Secretary’s report: – Thanks to last Sundays working party and others who helped later on to get plot 2 into a let able state. Concern was expressed over Wilf Haydon’s health and state of his plot. The Secretary is in contact with his son to find a solution.

The new tables had not yet been purchased due to the concern of any costs that would be incurred should both Padlocks and keys require replacing, MR advised that purchasing the new tables wouldn’t be a problem. JS advised that he would look the possibility of purchasing second hand Abloy padlocks that could the internals changed to match our keys.

Nottingham Federation: – We have been invited to take part in discussions with Nottingham City Council over the New Proposed Lease along with two other sites whose lease runs out just before our lease. It was agreed to take part.

Barbecue: – An issue had been raised regarding Simon Hudson buying the drinks, Simon has been made aware. John agreed to get the drinks if Simon decided that he no longer wished to assist, Lisa also agreed to serve if required.

Plot inspection results: – Warning letter or Bill. After 2 separate inspections by two different people and the chairman the results were very similar. The results were divided into 4 groups depending on the state of the plot. It was decided the 2 worst groups would receive a warning letter along the lines of the draft letter suggested by the chairman. The number of plots failing were 23 and concerning 20 plot holders.  It was also noted that over the entire site many internal hedges and trees where getting out of hand and all gardeners should be aware of their responsibilities.

Rent bills: – It was agreed the Rent bills should be sent out to the remaining plot holders as usual.

A.G.M. March 2024: – It was proposed to enquire about using the Scout hut in case the weather is poor, JS will speak to Wendy Thomas, and to consideration should be given to moving the 2025 AGM to June.

Held over items,  Plot sizes,SY, tap,JS, shootng,JS, inventory,JB, web site,KB, composting toilet,JS, notice boards,JS.

A.O.B. Charles proposed a round of thanks to Winnie for her Sunday B.B.Q.

Confirm date of next meeting  1^st  October 2023.          Close  12.00

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