DRAFT AC 3 February 2026 Minutes
Minutes of the Allotments Committee on Tuesday 3 February 2026 at 8:00pm held at the Institute.
Present: Councillors Fowler, Halls, Leader, Rose, Shinkins-Hoppe.
The Chair of the Allotments Association attended.
Assistant Clerk Louise Brown took the Minutes.
26.26 To receive apologies for absence
Apologies were received from Councillor Bowell.
27.26 To receive declarations of interest, if any.
No declarations were received.
28.26 To adopt the minutes of the meeting held Tuesday 9th September 2025.
The Minutes were agreed to be a true representative and signed.
29.26 To receive and discuss the reports from the Allotments Association and
make any recommendations to Council.
The Chair of the Allotments Association requested to respond to the Minutes of 9th September 2025, regarding Cllr Bowell’s ideas for point 6 and the last paragraph of the Public Forum. The Allotments Association will not spray the weeds in the roadways; they feel it is Parish Council responsibility. Furthermore, Cllr Bowell suggested that the Allotments Association raised their fees and fund raised to be able to source things needed. The Allotments Association have recently raised their fees to meet the insurance increase and they also hold events such as ‘soup and roll’, throughout the year to fundraise.
Please find below the Allotment report from the Deeping St James Allotment Association for the 3rd February meeting.
1) Our main concentration has been the replacement of our storage shed on the main car park. Our first attempt at getting funding to replace the shed was unsuccessful. The cost of a new shed was nearly £2000, and although United Charities would fund half, our share of £1000 proved prohibitive. As a result of a suggestion from a fellow plot holder and following a letter sent to Portakabin explaining our problem we were offered a second hand Kabin at no cost. Following a meeting with the plot holder we established what work needed to be done to the Kabin to make it suitable for our use and the plot holder agreed to undertake this in his own time before it would be released to us. We are however, responsible to pay for the £300 cost of transportation to site.
This triggered the need to remove the existing shed which was in danger of collapsing and was also a safety hazard.
The shed was demolished in November but as the PC would not let us burn it on site. So, volunteers broke up the structure and it was removed at our expense in a skip.
Although the replacement was to be at no cost to us will still have to pay £300 for transportation and we have already paid £100 to remove the old shed in the skip. We hope United Charities will help us with a donation.
To make arrangements for the delivery of the new Kabin, at our request the PC arranged for overhead tree branches to be removed to allow crane access and committee members have had to prepare the site to accept the Kabin. This has resulted in a new area to be cleared to enable the Kabin to be positioned further along the car park to provide additional car parking space to replace the area lost when the PC container was located on the car park.
We are expecting the Kabin the be delivered on 30th January.
2) To help fund our share of the above costs the committee arranged for the delivery of 50 sacks of 20kg of chicken pellets from Doncaster. These were sold to plot holders at a profit but also at competitive prices.
3) In October we held a soup and rolls event as a social gathering for all plot holders. The event proved very successful with many plot holders turning up on a cold lunchtime for a warm cup of soup and a chat. A small donation was requested.
4) As we want being a committee member not to be just work we entered a team in a December Quiz at the Waterton Arms as a social event. We did quite well!!
5) We turned off the site water in November to try and protect the troughs from ice and frost damage, date for turning on TBA.
6) We run a successful seed purchasing service for plot holders where seeds can be purchased at a fraction of the price at garden centres. Orders have been taken with the first deliveries expected in January.
7) We continued to publish our newsletter to plot holders with a special addition at Christmas.
8) We are now in the process of planning events for 2026.
9) We our holding our AGM in the Institute on March 24th at 7.30
Items we want to raise at this meeting are:
1) The condition of the car park. The pot holes are getting so large there is a danger car suspension of plot holders’ vehicles or even council workers vans could be damaged.
Councillors advised that they would be looking at this in agenda item 31.26 later in the meeting.
2) We have been told that we could be offered limestone from a wall being demolished. As we now do not have any willing plot holder with a vehicle able to transport the stone we are making a request for help with a PC vehicle. The limestone could be used to fill some pot holes.
Councillors asked for more information, such as how much there is, where is it from. The Chair of the Allotments Association is to find out and alert Cllr Halls, who will check with Cllr Fowler, to see if this would work.
3) As we will be turning the site water back on in the next month or so we want to make the PC aware that this can sometimes result in leaking water taps or connections needing maintenance.
Councillors noted this point.
4) Having created a new area for the kabin we have become aware that several feet of car cark towards the hedge has been lost from overgrown brambles and such like. It would be useful if this could be retrieved by the PC.
Cllr Halls advised that she would go and look in the better weather with a maintenance man to see if any work would be viable. This is also dependent upon maintenance team work schedules.
The Allotments Association Chair referred to agenda item 33.26, advising that the Allotments Association have found that the meet and greet of new tenants has been beneficial, encouraging a better quality of tenant. They suggest taking a photo of the plot being handed out when a new tenant takes a plot on; requesting that the tenant pays a refundable deposit, which is returned a year later if the plot is considered in an acceptable condition. The Allotments Association also wish new tenants are given a shortlist of key things for new tenants to remember when offered a plot. The Allotments Association were requested to provide the shortlist of key things, for the Council to approve.
30.26 To receive reports from the Clerk.
Councillors were advised about two areas of concern with trees that are too large for their plots. Councillors are still to view these trees and consider action.
Councillors have now been and viewed the two sites with potential trees that are too large. One plot has been managed, the other is still in breach and a letter will be sent.
The Farmer was contacted to come and tidy both the perimeter hedges of the allotments site and also adjacent to the entrance of the site. The maintenance man has also had a tidy in the meantime.
A skip was ordered and delivered on Friday 14th November 2025 and collected on Monday 17th November 2025.
A maintenance man was asked to come and weed spray the roadways at the allotments, which was completed.
A tree contractor was hired to manage an ash tree situated outside plot 62, which had dropped a branch. The work was completed on 12th November 2025.
The Allotments Association requested a tree branch to be removed from the trees in the far corner of the car park, so that a portacabin can be located there in place of the shed. A contractor was hired to manage the trees in the far corner of the car park, which was completed on 12th and 14th November 2025.
The Allotments Association went on to ask if they could burn the shed in the car park. The Parish Council stated that under no circumstance would this be acceptable, due to the potential for combustion of the road plainings and possible chance of fire spreading along the allotments.
The water was turned off around the 16th December 2025 and will be turned on again in the spring.
The Parish Council has been advised of a potential intruder on an allotment plot 51 (Dec 25). Maintenance team asked to be vigilant.
The Allotments Association advised that rats were a problem on the allotment site. The Assistant Clerk had previously sent (on 19 June 2025), an email to all tenants regarding this, advising that tenants were able to use non-poison traps and also provided with an information pamphlet created by Cllr A Bowell. Furthermore, tenants were reminded to raise wood, clear or minimise their miscellaneous piles and turn their compost to prevent places for rats to nest.
There has been a turnover of ten plots since October and all vacant plots are now allocated.
31.26 To receive an update on the state of the potholes and roadways from Cllr Fowler, including how many pot holes, what materials can be used, how they can be fixed and an assessment of the cost.
A document was shared from Cllr Fowler showing the sizes and number of pot holes located in the allotments, Cllr Fowler also provided a breakdown in possible costs to remedy the situation.
Cllrs agree in principle to the repairs stating that quotes need to be obtained in keeping with our Standing Orders. RECOMMENDED to Full Council with a view to collecting 3 quotes to include supply and lay tarmac to potholes during the summer 2026. Estimated fee £3,000.
32.26 To consider what our distance radius is for accepting tenants on our waiting lists.
Councillors agree that a 2-mile radius is an acceptable limit to receive applications.
33.26 To resolve to end the meet and greet with new tenants and allow the office to offer plots out directly, according to our agreed system with DSJ residents having priority. New tenants/tenants are to approach the office with queries.
It was agreed that prospective tenants should approach the office for an induction. RECOMMEND to F,P&P to install a card machine in the office to help take payment of fees.
34.26 To agree date of next meeting.
To be agreed at the Annual Parish Council Meeting.
Meeting closed 9pm.