Archive for the ‘Services’ Category

Time For A Moan

Posted in Notices, Services on 15th Jun 2017|

Following a couple of recent incidents might I remind everyone of the following.

All of the committee members of the association are volunteers.  None are paid and all work, of which there is plenty, is carried out by some of them purely on a goodwill basis.

This work takes many forms from administration of the gardens as a whole including the following:

  • Rent collection, management and delivery of bills, chasing up of late payers.
  • Management of tenants details.
  • Banking of cash, money management and account keeping.
  • Seeking, interviewing then hiring and firing of garden holders.
  • Dispute management.
  • Ordering, taking delivery of and storage of supplies.
  • Selling of and accounting for supplies.
  • On and off site meetings with council officials.
  • Organising gardeners to comply with changing council standards.
  • Organising social events.
  • Running social events.
  • Organising deliveries of chippings.
  • Organising deliveries and removal of skips.
  • Organising communal areas / storage of recyclable materials.
  • Removal of dangerous materials from site such as asbestos.

This is just a sample of the many administrative​ tasks required and does not take into account the recent lengthy work to renegotiate the ​current lease which remains ongoing since 2007.   This has entailed the establishment of company status for the gardens and the need for policies to be established complying with company law.

All of this of course does not touch on the physical maintenance of the gardens and grounds such as

  • Hedge trimming.
  • Grass cutting.
  • Gate and fence mending.
  • Plumbing excavation and repairs.
  • Road maintenance.
  • Pallet collection storage and distribution.
  • Collection of dangerous materials.
  • Tree maintenance and removal.
  • Until recently communal fires now stopped because of garden holder abuse.

This is not a definitive list.

All of this work is done free and gratis and done for the garden membership as a whole with no expectation of thanks.  Could we therefore ask those of you who wrongly think that this is done for our own personal reward to think again.  We are not your employees and  we too have our own gardens to maintain in addition to all of the above.

A little thoughtfulness before presumptions are made about our roles would be appreciated along with the occasional provision of some of your time to help with the upkeep of the estate.  The gardens are a community and just as much your responsibility as that of the committee.

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Pedestrian Gate

Posted in News, Notices, Services on 10th Apr 2017| Leave a Comment »

For the information of all allotment holders on the main site.  The pedestrian gate fitted alongside the new main gates has been fitted with a new lock, utilising your main gate key, and can now be used where vehicular access is not required.  The pathway inside the gate has been laid with concrete to make access safer also.  Please be aware of the scaffold pole set into the new concrete to hold back one of the main gates when in use.  As with the main gates do not leave the pedestrian gate unlocked when unattended.

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Communal Bonfires And Recycling Bay

Posted in Events, Notices, Services on 10th Apr 2017| Leave a Comment »

We offered to put on communal bonfires to help individuals get rid of non or hard to compost materials. Disappointingly even after the notice put out on March 20th the day after the AGM, when this was discussed, some still thought that it was appropriate to put plastics, carpets, a table, sheets of metal, insulating material and wheelbarrow loads of soil, brick debris and vegetable matter on the pile to be burned.

This is not appropriate!  Some of the rubbish put on the fires lately are health hazards to the person firing the bonfire, never mind the potential environmental damage.

Until further notice there will be no communal bonfire on the main car park. So do not put waste matter there anticipating someone else will get rid of it.

There should be little cause to burn anything through the summer months most garden produce can and should be composted.  Hedges especially privet will compost and no one should be cutting that for the next two months because of nesting birds. The recycling centre at Lenton Lane also takes green waste for free.

The recycling bay was set up to be an exchange of useful things between gardeners not a lazy person’s dumping ground. Beer cans, empty bin liners, bricks and party hats are not at all useful to the greater majority here, they are also things that may put your tenancy at risk if the owners are discovered!  Take your rubbish home don’t expect other people to get rid of it.  If the rubbish continues the bays will stop.

A small few of us have to deal with this abuse, to take the rubbish off site, to check the fires are safe and worst of all to set these fires, without benefit to themselves in fact quite the contrary.  It’s a shame that a few people are willing to abuse a service that could be a benefit to all.

If this causes individuals a problem please don’t hesitate  to contact me and come and have a chat.

A big thank you to Eddie Scothern for his generosity in offering to use his privately paid for skip to get rid of the carpets and other rubbish and helping to clear up.

Jackie Medcalf

Secreatry.

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Asbestos Removal

Posted in Events, How To, Notices, Services on 21st Mar 2017|

Very shortly we will be visited by an Asbestos removal firm, they are coming to do an assessment of our problem and give a quote for the removal of our stock pile.

If you have any asbestos pieces left on your garden will you either take it yourselves to the pile outside Steve Yorke’s garden or contact me urgently to come and have a look at it.

It is really important that we get rid of this stuff once and for all so please check your gardens as a matter of urgency and get back to me. Please pass the word around to others who may not be aware of this.

Thank you
Jackie

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Compost Sales

Posted in Sales, Services on 20th Feb 2017|

For the information of all.  Compost and other supplies are now on sale from the association hut off the main car park.  To make things easier the hut will be staffed between 10am and 12 midday on Saturdays and Sundays for the next few weeks to facilitate sales.

Please be aware that these supplies are already selling fast and that at least a quarter of the compost we had delivered last week has already gone as well as half of the bamboo canes.  If you want some you need to come and get it while stocks last.  The price of supplies available are as follows:

  • Mother Earth Compost 70 litres – £4.20
  • Growbags – £2.60
  • Growmore Granules – 25 Kg – £16.00
  • Fish Blood and Bone Feed – 25 Kg – £12.00
  • Canes 8ft – £0.40 each
  • Lime – £4.30

If you want supplies outside of these times please find Steve Williams, Steve Yorke or Jackie and Steve Medcalf when they are available.  Also try and remember to bring the correct money for the items you want to buy as we struggle for change at times.

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Main Gate Closure

Posted in Events, Notices, Services on 19th Oct 2016|

Please be aware and make a note that the main gate to the allotment site through which you take your vehicles will in all likelihood be closed and completely unusable to vehicles and also on foot, on Wednesday 2nd and Thursday 3rd of November 2016.  This is to facilitate the replacement of the gates and to allow the concrete of the new posts holding the gates to set.  In effect this means that whilst you will be unable to take vehicles in through the main entrance you will still be able to access the allotments ON FOOT via the alternative gate lower down adjacent to the railway bridge.  Vehicle access via the alternative gate is theoretically possible although the road way is rough and not recommended for vehicle use.  If you do decide to take your vehicle in via this route you will do so entirely at your own risk.  These dates are at this point provisional and will be confirmed by next Thursday the 27th October.

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Old Park Farm CIC Revised Tenancy Agreement

Posted in News, Notices, Services on 2nd Sep 2016|

For the information of all members we publish below the document given to all new tenants when they take on a garden from the association.

OLD PARK FARM ALLOTMENT

The tenancy agreement for the above allotment is for 6 months this is standard practice for a new tenant. If after 6 months we can clearly see that progress is being made on the allotment in line with the standard tenancy agreement and not in a way to the detriment of the garden holders then then agreement will continue. The rent will be due again by the 1st October 2016. It is the expectation that the rent is paid before that date. Bills will be sent out approximately 6 weeks before. The presumption is that non-payment by that date without prior arrangement means the tenancy will end. Please note we are expecting a rent rise from the council which means that our rents will have to go up to match the standard rate set.

The full tenancy agreement is attached. It is also on the web site.

If there is anything you want to know please contact me.

Basic rules and advice are as follows. The garden is for you; you cannot run a business from it or sublet it.

You are allowed to sell surplus crops but you should not be growing to sell.

The hedges need to be kept around the agreed height of 5ft to 6ft.  It is your responsibility to maintain them and the area of pathway outside the garden.

The garden needs to be at least 50% cultivated and as weed free as possible.

A third of the garden can be non-permanent buildings, e.g. Greenhouses, sheds etc. You need to talk to me before you build any new structure on the garden.

You are allowed a rest area.

Please protect our environment and do not bring any rubbish, building equipment used in any business or soft furnishings onto the garden.  If you leave the gardens we expect you to remove all tools and equipment and any other items brought onto the garden that are not part of the fabric of the garden.

You are no longer allowed to use old carpet as a weed suppressant, the chemicals leach into the ground. Any old carpet you find on the ground should be removed.

You can have a controlled bonfire on your garden. Do not leave it unattended. Please do not put green cuttings on it or anything else that will cause a smoke nuisance. No chemicals, plastics or rubber or roofing felt or any oil based product. Please note your fire is your responsibility if you cause a hazard the council will prosecute you as individual not the association.

You may only have a fire on the 2nd Sunday in the month. You can have bonfires during the week of 5th November.  Dates are published on the web site.

The water supply comes off the mains so is drinkable (however I recommend you run some through the tap first) the water bill costs more than the rent. Use it sparingly, save water in barrels. Do not leave a hose attached to the tap and controlled by the hose, it can leak. Do not leave sprinklers on unattended. Make sure you have turned off the tap. If you see a leak please REPORT it. If you cause water to be wasted by not following the rules you could face a water bill! The water is turned off after bonfire night in November and will be switched on again in March.

We sell compost at a non-profit price available from early in the New Year.  It is sold from the committee garden. Details will be posted when we have some.

The keys are very important to us. Keep them safe.  They remain our property at all times. You will receive the deposit back if you leave us when you return them. If we have a burglary I will automatically tell the Police if I have keys that have not been returned. Do not lend them out to any unauthorised person. Do not let people into the garden who have not got a key. If in doubt about such a request ring me. ALWAYS lock the gate behind you; this is for the safety of all of us and our belongings.

Do not under any circumstances go onto any other garden without the invitation of the garden holder. This includes unoccupied gardens. Anyone found taking property no matter how small from another garden will face the immediate sanction of the withdrawal of the tenancy. Any theft will be reported to the police.

The Chairman’s name is Steve Yorke, his gardens are at the far end and to the right of the main pathway. You are welcome to take pallets and if you ask him he will bring them up to you on a trailer.

The treasurer is Steve Williams whose garden is number 54 next door but one to me.

I hope you enjoy being a member of our association.

 

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Help With Hedges

Posted in How To, Services on 20th Aug 2016|

If anyone needs help getting their hedges into decent condition before the coming council inspection please contact Jackie.  There are a couple of people willing to help for a reasonable charge.

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