| Minutes of Allotment Association Meeting, Wednesday, November 8th at Town Council Art Gallery. | |
| Present | Kay West (acting chair), Sue Morris (minutes sec), Heather Davies, Mary Locock, Charlie Cross, Stuart Sidebotham (Leominster Grounds Officer) |
| Apologies | Hilary Tuite, David Saunders, Graham Millard |
| Minutes | Circulated and approved |
| Autumn Fair | Raised £57.60. Shared insurance with Claire’s craft stall, thanks to her and everyone who contributed time and plants and produce. Next time remember folding chairs. |
| Harvest Supper | Held at Forbury, on Friday, October 6th. About 30 people attended this enjoyable evening and awards were presented. Prizes of £10 gift vouchers for Philpott’s were appreciated. |
| Manure Delivery | Thanks to Claire and family for organizing this large load. It went very well and there was a lot of cooperation. The sale of the rest of the load has raised £77.55 for Association funds. We hope to repeat the delivery. |
| King’s seed Catalogue and seed order | 3 orders received so far. The cut off to get your orders to John Braithwaite at 11 Ryelands Road is November 11th. |
| Waiting List | 18. There are some plots becoming available but some need tree or drainage work before they can be let out. There are three vacant mini plots but these are awaiting more topsoil. |
| Jobs done on the site | Stuart’s team have removed the old community tool shed and replaced it by a much better one donated by Graham Millard. Kay has done some internal improvements.
Stuart has accepted a tender from a groundworks company to investigate the severe waterlogging on one of the plots. Unfortunately, the tracks are currently so wet that it is impossible to take machinery or vehicles on to them. This has prevented some other jobs including moving the gate. The tree bog roof has been repaired. An IBC has been installed behind the community shed and is already full.
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| Progress on Bat boxes | The Sheds Together group have made 2 bat boxes at £16 each. This was paid for by LAA. More have been ordered from Eaton Barn and will be paid for by the Town Council. The delay is because they only use recycled, donated wood and are waiting for some untreated timber to be donated. The boxes need to be sited on tall trees either on the track or on Gin Hall Green. Sheds Together also make bird boxes at £5 each. |
| Rat Control | There are a number of rats on the site at the moment. New legislation will require new metal bait boxes to be sited under or close to sheds or under decking and not close to hedgerows. The bait boxes contain non-toxic food with a dye which enables the LeoPest officer to find where the rats are. LeoPest want to get 25 new boxes in place to get ahead of the new rules. Plot holders will be asked before any boxes are installed on their plots. |
| Treasurer’s report | Since our last meeting we have received £57.60 from the plant fair and £44.60 from the raffle at the Harvest supper. Expenditure of £10 for the plant fair and £11 for refreshments and a further payment for 2 bat boxes of £16. The available balance at the bank is £1237.46 plus the money from sale of manure. |
| Membership | is now standing at 24. Hilary has been in contact with Sarah in the office and she can see no reason why we cannot send membership forms out with the rent renewal notices in the spring, Stuart is already aware of this and Sarah was going to run it past Julie at a staff meeting yesterday. The current forms will need to be amended to make sure that the plot holders understand clearly that the Association membership fee must be paid to the Treasurer and not to the Council. This will have the effect of giving us more viable numbers to work with as well as more income available to enable more benefits for our members. |
| Dates of 2024 meetings | January 10th, March 6th, July 14th, September 8th, November 6th |
| AOB | Charlie Cross asked about lease renewal, which Julie is negotiating with the landowners. Mary Locock requested help in restoring her fence. Charlie suggested a barbecue and skills share event in the summer.
Sue will find out the cost of an IBC with a rain-collecting roof which could possibly be installed on the row where there are no water tanks. |
| Members were thanked for their attendance. The meeting closed at 8.10 pm. | |
Day |
Date |
Event and venue |
Time |
| Wednesday | January 10th | Town Council offices |
7.00pm |
| Wednesday | March 6th | Town Council offices | 7.00pm |
| Sunday | July 14th
September 8th |
Community shed, allotments site | |
| Wednesday | November 6th | Town Council offices | 7.00pm |
