AC January 2025 Agenda
Dear Councillors Bowell, Fowler, Halls, Rose and Shinkins-Hoppe.
Assistant Clerk Louise Brown.
You are hereby summonsed to attend the next meeting of the Allotments Committee on Tuesday 14 January 2025 at 8:00pm at The Institute.
AGENDA
28.25 To receive apologies for absence.
29.25 To receive declarations of interest, if any.
30.25 To adopt the minutes of the meeting held Tuesday 24th September 2024.
Please see appendix 1.
31.25 To receive reports from the Clerk.
Please see appendix 2
32.25 To receive and discuss the reports from the Allotments Association and
make any recommendations to Council.
Please see appendix 3.
33.25 To consider increasing the admin fee for new tenants, to cover plots that are left in a poor state and charges for leaving tyres.
Please see appendix 4.
34.25 To consider reviewing our provision of an annual skip for all tenants.
35.25 To consider tree management on plots at the allotments.
36.25 To consider and confirm management of tenants that go on holiday for long periods.
37.25 To consider the allotment roadways and car park.
38.25 To agree date of next meeting.
TBC June 2025 at 8pm.
Appendix 2 - Reports from the Clerk
The hedge surrounding the allotments has been requested to be cut by the farmer.
2 oak trees offered by a local resident have been planted at the allotments.
After lengthy communication regarding management of a plot in poor condition, the tenancy came to an end and a new tenant has now taken the plot on and overhauled it.
One plot has been returned and reallocated and another has been reclaimed over the Christmas period.
The assistant clerk received communication regarding the tree on plot 32, advising that the roots were coming up in an allotment plot. The asst clerk contacted the Allotments Association to look into the tree as it is on their plot. The tree is a cherry and the Allotments Association are in communication with the plot holder.
The Allotments Association contacted the Parish Council regarding tanks 2 and 9 – no.9 has had the pipe replaced and tank mended. The maintenance men investigated tank 2 and found no fault.
There were a number of problems with the padlock at the allotments. The maintenance men have replaced it and the problem is now resolved.
A skip was provided at the allotments between the 8-11 November 24. The skip is meant primarily for new tenants to use and whatever space left after for existing allotment holders to use for items that are difficult to remove. The skip was full in just over an hour. A couple of tenants complained about how quickly the skip was filled, and the Asst Clerk reminded the tenants that the Parish Council are not required to provide a skip. The Allotments Association members reorganised the skip to be able to fit more things in.
Anyone wishing to keep hens is required to report keeping any number to DEFRA rather than if they held over 50. National Allotments Society Magazine issue 4 2024, page 10.
We have had fly-tipping left at the allotments behind storage container, which has been removed and also spare rubble left from the skip, to be used on the roadways which was left next to the storage container. The maintenance men have asked for this not to happen as it hinders their access to the storage container.
The water was turned off in December 2024 and will be turned back on in early March 2025.
Appendix 3 - Allotments Association Report
Our report for the 14th January PC meeting
The time between September and December is a relative quiet time on the allotments . Below are the main events and issues
1. The allotment shop was closed on 1st October , to be re -opened in early spring. But we are still currently taking orders from plot holders for seeds and plants which we arrange to supply from wholesalers.
2. We have continued to arrange for the supply of woodchip, manure and Alpaca poo from local farms
3. We turned off the water supply in November and drained the water tanks to protect them from freezing conditions . The water will be turned on again in the spring.
4. We continue to hold our regular committee meetings and publish our news letter
5. We held a soup and rolls morning on site on 3rd November as a social event for all plot holders and used it as a get to know you, especially for new plot holders. Most of the soup was homemade and was served free of charge
6. We also competed as a committee team in a Waterton Alms pub quiz .
Items that are giving us cause for concern and or require PC support are.
1. We have a rat problem occurring on site. Myself and several plot holders have reported brussel and parsnip vegetables being totally ruined by rats . This is a problem that has occurred before and we had hoped we had seen the back of it. A major source of the problem could be from abandoned plots and badly maintained plots. We need 3 things from the PC to help us
a) Regular inspections and strict warning letters/evictions to those plot holders where the plot appears abandoned or are not being maintained .We are aware you have a protocol and you are applying it but as we are unaware of who is receiving these warnings it appears that several plot holders are being treated too leniently .
b) Ensure that any new plot holder is fully aware of the plot they are taking on ,and if it looks like a considerable amount of rubbish needs to be cleared they deal with it or a skip is provided . If there are a number of new plot holders who need to clear rubbish perhaps a skip could be organised for them to share. See also item2
c) Send letters to all plot holders to avoid piles of waste building up on their plots in which rats prosper (we will also send out this message in our newsletter)
2. Although the autumn skip passed off with relatively few problems some members of the committee had to remove rubble and bricks to avoid overloading,. The instructions given to the plot holders was a general instruction from Mick George which was much too loose and covered household waste, so next time there needs to be a more focussed message.
Unfortunately within a few hours of the skip being delivered it was full, where new plot holders had used it to clear their plots , This is not what the skip is intended for as it is for all plot holders. If new plot holders need major clearance skips should be provided for them. At previous meetings it has been suggested by the committee that a signing on fee of £100 should be applied which could be refunded if a plot is well maintained or used to fund skips when the plot is returned in a poor state. We have had no response to this suggestion
3. At the last meeting we raised the need to replace our wooden storage shed on the car park as it is beyond repair. We are looking at a metal container or a shed both of similar proportions. We were told at the last meeting to put this on hold until we had confirmation to go ahead from the PC . We haven’t heard anything yet
4. The roadways and car park are becoming severely pot holed with the concern that some vehicles could be damaged. We are trying to do some patch and mend by using broken bricks and hard core retrieved from the skip but the task is too big and as reported at the last meeting will need professional repairs.
Appendix 4 - Admin fee changes responses from LALC and NAS
Please contact Deeping St James Parish Council for this information.