Minutes of the Allotments Committee on Tuesday 14th January 2025 at 8:00pm held at the Institute.
Present: Councillors Bowell, Fowler, Halls, Rose, Shinkins-Hoppe, Leader and Neville.
The Chair of the Allotments Association attended.
Assistant Clerk Louise Brown taking the Minutes.
28.25 To receive apologies for absence.
No apologies were received.
29.25 To receive declarations of interest, if any.
No declarations of interest were received.
30.25 To adopt the minutes of the meeting held Tuesday 24th September 2024.
The Minutes were agreed as a true representative and signed.
31.25 To receive 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.
The Councillors had a discussion about the purpose of the skip and who it was ordered for. Further skip comments are made in section 34.25.
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.
32.25 To receive and discuss the reports from the Allotments Association and make any recommendations to Council.
Councillors raised the issue noted in the report regarding rats at the allotments, options were put forward in how to manage them with the Allotments Association. Councillor Bowell referred the Allotments Association Chair to a document he had written a few years ago, that had been sent out to tenants in 2021, and asked if it had been followed.
The Allotments Association Chair advised that he felt a large problem is caused by plots being kept in a poor state and that Council should be strict with these plot holders. Following this, it was discussed that compost should be turned regularly and piles of rubbish should not be left. The Council advised that plots are being monitored more closely and protocol is being followed. Discussion was had regarding not using poison due to secondary poisoning, however rat boxes were still considered but not agreed, for the perimeter of the site.
Councillors plan to discuss this further and come back to the Allotment Association as necessary.
Councillors also talked about the pot holes in the allotment’s roadways and car park. The Allotments Association stated that they had tried to fill them with some postcrete and rubble. Weight and speed limit was discussed with regard to vehicles. Councillors again advised that they would look into how this can be managed. Further investigation is discussed in agenda item 37.25 below.
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.
The admin fee has been discussed previously and Councillors have been looking to find the best way to help cover costs for plots left in a poor state. Councillors argued that the £100 admin fee proposal was too much to ask. It was agreed that the admin fee should be raised to £50 for new tenants and tenants requesting a second plot only. Recommended to Full Council for approval.
Council are aware that tenants bring car tyres to plots for use to plant things in. When a tenant leaves a plot, the tyres are left and the parish council foots the bill for removal. Councillors have taken the decision to ban tyres from the site. Tenants are to remove the tyres at their own cost. This stipulation will be added to the tenancy agreement.
34.25 To consider reviewing our provision of an annual skip for all tenants.
Currently a skip is ordered annually under the premise that it is intended for the new tenants to be able to get rid of unwanted belongings from the previous tenant to the plot taken. After this, other tenants can use the space that is left in the skip to get rid of things that are not easy to get rid of at home.
The Allotments Association would like further restrictions added to the instructions given out to the tenants advising what can and cannot go into the skip. This brought on conversation about tenants burning their wood and composting their green waste.
Councillor Rose proposed that no skip was to be provided, however, no other Councillors agreed with this proposal. It was counter-proposed by Councillor Shinkins-Hoppe that the parish council continue to provide a skip annually, this was seconded by Councillor Fowler. A vote was taken and six of the seven councillors voted to continue to provide a skip.
Councillor Bowell requested the opportunity meet with a Bourne Town Council Allotments Councillor and tenant, to see how allotments are run in their parish. The assistant clerk is to arrange this.
35.25 To consider tree management on plots at the allotments.
The parish council manages the perimeter trees and hedges. There is concern about some of the trees overhanging the car park. A survey has previously been completed on the trees and the trees of concern were managed as required. The allotments will be included in the next planned tree survey of the parish.
36.25 To consider and confirm management of tenants that go on holiday for long periods.
A reference was made regarding the September 24 Minutes agenda item 24.25, where this topic was raised but not concluded. Councillors suggested that tenant’s approach either the Allotments Association or friends to manage their plots, if they are due to be away from the site for a prolonged period of time. Councillors asked the Chair of the Allotments Association who was present at the meeting, if they could bring this up at one of their meetings.
The Chair of the Allotments Association confirmed that as yet, this had not happened, so they were asked again to do so.
Councillors went on to agree that any tenants that plan to go away for long periods of time are not exempt from the Tenancy Agreement conditions. If a plot is not being maintained, the breach protocol will be actioned and adhered to. It is advised that if a tenant plans a long holiday, that they find cover to water and weed as a minimum for the duration; contact details for this temporary cover should be advised to the Council.
37.25 To consider the allotment roadways and car park.
The parish council has spent a considerable amount of money on the roadways and car park over the last few years. A way needs to be found to manage the pothole problem, whether filling with rubble that can be found. Councillors considered installing a weight limit and adding speed limit signs as it was deemed that it was cars, rather than trucks and lorries creating the damage.
As the allotments are set in a field, tenants are to manage their own risk on site with regards to potholes.
Councillor Fowler is to complete site checks every two months between May-October and one site check between November-April, checking size and depths of the potholes. A form is to be drawn up and completed by Councillor Fowler and the office advised of the findings.
38.25 To agree date of next meeting.
To be confirmed at the Annual Parish Council Meeting.
Meeting closed 9:10pm.
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.
