Present: Jane Bowden, John Stooke, David Kirkham, Mark Robinson, Charles Dewa, Vanesa Odell, Simon Hudson
Apologies: Steve Williams, Tom Hutchinson
Minutes from 26th May (Zoom meeting) 2020: These were accepted.
Matters Arising:
Insurance for Trustees: DK reported that he had got a quote for £65 pa. It was pointed out that future Committees may not agree to pay this, leaving Trustees exposed to liability.
VO reported that organisation membership of NASGA offered individual garden holders the opportunity to join at much reduced rates (£3 compared to £30) provided there were 10 members from the organisation. They also offer liability insurance for members for £65 pa which would cover theft from gardens.
There has been no response from the Council (James Dymond) regarding our requests for a postponement of the new lease and a meeting with him to discuss it. (see below)
There had been no response from the Secretary of Whitemoor Allotments in response to a request to meet with her. This is important as we can learn from their experience in terms of the new lease and the change of legal status so we need to ask again (DK)Water usage: from 23 May to 22 June we had used 235cu.m. costing approximately £350. This is a similar amount to previous years and is within budget.
Shop: JS had obtained stock for the shop and would be selling it over the next week. It was agreed to ask tenants via the website to contact JS or SH to place their orders and arrange collection. (JS/) Given the fact that some of the fertiliser stock is slow moving and tenants might not know how to use it, it was agreed to check the instructions on the bags and to repack some of it into smaller, more user friendly sized bags. and to advertise these on the website. (JS/SH) It was agreed that there would be a survey of gardeners about future items to stock once we have an up to date email data base. (JS?)
JS is still keen to start ‘coffee/social mornings’ to link with the shop. This really needs the hut to be sorted out, especially the roof (asbestos). It was agreed that JS would work with Steve Yorke to draw up a plan and estimates for replacing the roof with felt for the committee to consider. (JS) JS indicated he wanted to sort this out this year.
Treasurer: £3700 had been paid out for the new fence and we are awaiting an invoice for compost/growbags of £236. This will be covered by sales. Currently there is £5195 in the bank. Taking into account monies tied up, e.g. key deposit money, we currently have about £1500 of disposable income available until October when the new rent money comes on stream. JS had obtained a quote for replacing the fence next to SH’s allotment of £1600 plus VAT
It was pointed out that at some point we would need to replace all the keys and locks to the site because approximately 20 keys were unaccounted for and could make the site insecure. This will be a large expenditure.
Secretary:
New lease: JB explained that the ‘areas of interest’ on the voting slip were there with a view to sharing the Secretary’s job out among sub groups in a similar way to Whitemoor. Generally the draft letter for tenants was accepted with some suggested improvements:
CD asked that security be added to the list of areas of interest on the voting slip (JB)
DK suggested simplifying it still further but adding in an example of the cost implications for each option for an average plot (DK/JB)
SH pointed out that he could obtain any alcohol licence required. at a cost of approximately £25 pa.
It was agreed that there should be one vote per tenant (approximately 65) not per plot.
A number of areas for discussion with the Council and/or NAS were identified:
What happens if we don’t ‘pass’ the inspection? (Currently we would not get the 75% rebate but, under Option2 there will be no rebate.
How long do we get to meet the new demands of the new lease/management agreement
What happens about the leak that we currently know about outside our boundary, and about leaks in future. Future leaks might be covered by insurance but we need to ask for the current leak to be fixed before accepting the new lease. DK has already informed the Council about the expected losses each day and the Council have agreed to come back on this ‘when Covid 19 allows’.
How close are the Council to finalising the new lease with the NAS (the lady from the NAS had indicated that some clauses were still under discussion)What will happen about the disposal of asbestos (and the cost of this) in future? (We know there are two buildings on site with asbestos roofs.
JB agreed to draft an email to Mr Dymond .
Other Issues from the Secretary:
Security: 2 intruders had been found on site on Friday 12th June around 9pm and had been escorted from the site. They were wearing gloves but not carrying anything and could not explain how they got in. They seemed to be ‘casing’ the place. There were no signs of forced entry anywhere. Tenants have been warned.
Water Usage: The Water Usage policy agreed at an EGM is now on the website and tenants’ attention drawn to it. One person has left their tap on 3 times and has been spoken to. DK has issued a written warning that a further breach of the policy would result in a £30 fine and failure to pay would result in eviction. The Committee supported this action. CD agreed to contact the person concerned and to discuss the need for all tenants to meet their tenancy obligations. SH suggested building a sample roof and guttering system for IBC containers in a public area to show tenants how they could collect their own rainwater. He agreed to obtain more information on this in terms of a plan and approximate costs. (SH) IBCs have often contained chemicals so need thoroughly cleaning before using. JS offered to pressure wash any IBCs on a Saturday morning if they are taken to his work.
Hedges: 5 plots holders had been spoken to about their hedges and 3 of these were now acceptable. DK was following up on the others. (DK)
Cultivation: A number of plots are showing no signs of cultivation. DK has spoken to plot holders and, where people have been self isolating, he, JS and SW have done work on the plots to keep them under control. Given the current growing conditions, more work will soon be needed on grass and hedges. DK will approach the relevant plot holders to find out what they are planning. Where appropriate verbal warnings followed by a written warning will be given. This was agreed. (DK). In addition there are a number of other plots causing concern, particularly with hedges, but there is currently no time to pursue these.
Working Party: DK proposed that we should restart working parties following social distancing rules. The next one will be on 4th July and will tackle some of the following: pot holes, tidying around the hut, putting a gate into the orchard, clearing the car park in the annexe, weed and top up the new path with road stone, work on plots of self isolators. DK to advertise the date and priorities for the 4.7.20 WP. (DK)
Rats: There have been reports of rats on site. There was concern about using poison to deal with them because of the potential risk to wild life. JS agreed to investigate alternative methods for dealing with them. (JS)
Date for next committee meeting – 28/7/20 at 7pm via Teams.
Old Park Farm Garden Holders Association 