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National Society of Allotment & Leisure Gardeners Ltd From Peter Horrocks – Regional Representative e-mail peter.horrocks@newcastleallotments.co.uk 6 Moor Road North, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne NE3 1AD - Tel 0191 285 6412 Another invitation to take a break from your autumn clearance activities and join your fellow gardeners from the North East of England at the regional panel meeting to be held at the Belmont Working Man’s Club & Institute, Carrville, just outside Durham City.. This will take place on Saturday 17th October at 2.00pm, and is an occasion not to be missed. Sparkling wit and repartee, hints and tips; all members are welcome, not just secretaries of allotment sites, but any gardeners who wish to participate. The venue can be reached from the A690 to or from Durham, leave at the slip road marked ‘Belmont’ and proceed along the road more or less in a straight line for about a mile. At a fork in the road with a large church in the middle of the fork take the left hand road and proceed for another three quarters of a mile. The club is down a lane, Grange Road, just before a Ford car saleroom/garage on the left hand side. Good secure free parking and a canny pint await you at this informal occasion. Belmont Social Club welcomes the NSALG Regional Meeting and would like to remind members attending that as well as a fine range of draught and bottled beers and soft drinks, they are pleased to serve toasties and teas/coffees before and during the meeting.
MINUTES OF THE NORTH EAST REGIONAL MEETING HELD 11th July 2009
Welcome from the chair Tony Williamson welcomed the assembled gardeners to the meeting and especially introduced the newcomers and made them welcome. Present Tony Williamson (Chair, Prudhoe Allts), John Doherty (Secretary, Preston Lane Allotments), Peter Horrocks (Regional Rep, Treasurer, Littlemoor ), Joan Russell and Brian Whittington (Prudhoe Allts), Liz Horrocks (Littlemoor Allotments), Neil Storey and Cath McCluskey, (Rossmere Allts Hartlepool), Les Leng, John Hays, Laurie Leck, Wendy Leck & Dot Wales, (Burn Valley Hartlepool), Tim Day and Derek Stephenson (Stranton Allotments Hartlepool), John Monkhouse (Smithfield Road Allts Darlington), Alan Ritchey (Shepherd’s Way Washington) , John Nicholson & Alan Nicholson(Coronation Bishop Auckland), Terry Rourke and Mrs V Rourke (Moorside Allts Consett), David Stocks (Red House Farm) George and Yvonne Cranmer, (Old Penshaw Allotments), Barry Tray (Pollards Allotments Bishop Auckland), Derek Lindsay (Hummersknott A-A), John Outhwaite (Hexham), Bill Parry (Glebe Road Darlington), Tim Wright (Red Machine Allotments), Russell Hogg (Ridge Terrace A-A), Geoff Lilley and Brian Gretton (Briarfields Hartlepool) and finally Joe McCabe and John Hetherington (Wheatbottom Allotments) Apologies Jacqueline Clarke, Lawrence Taylor, Nicola Loose, Bob Elliot, Susan Paxton, Jane Elsdon, Pat Hays, Jim Wilson and Geoff Ridley. Minutes of the Last Meeting These had been circulated and after being amended as below were accepted as a true record of the proceedings of the last meeting. Amendment: Newton Aycliffe wished to clarify their situation. They had been merely reviewing their situation and the value they are getting from continuing membership. At no time had they proffered their resignation. Matters Arising There were no matters arising. Correspondence Received by the Regional Rep. Regarding Smithfield Road’s wasted land which is attracting dumping; Peter has been in touch with Darlington Council but no progress because the Allotment Officer has retired and has not yet been replaced. Pelton Grange have an outstanding query on rises in rent and where the local council is spending the money. Hartlepool Council are still attempting to charge tenants £70 for planning permission for allotment sheds and greenhouses. NSALG are adamant that planning permission is definitely not required for those sort of buildings on an allotment site. Red House Farm have a similar dispute with North Tyneside. High Jobs Hill’s site has been tidied up and now has plots of varying sizes, some quite small. The Committee has attempted to enforce a ban on hens on the smaller gardens. The discussion that followed emphasised that Allotment Law states that this ban would be illegal. Hens and rabbits are allowed by law to be kept on allotments, end of story. There was also a discussion on the value of having smaller ‘starter gardens’ for first time tenants. It appears to have a lot of merit in sorting out serious gardeners from those who really don’t have the expertise or will to persevere with a plot. The issue of using allotment land as a car park in Yarm is still very lively. Yarm Town Council apparently handed the parking problem to Stockton Borough Council who want to take some allotment gardens for car parking and then divide up the remaining ones so as to make a larger number of smaller gardens. Opinion is very much on the side of the allotment holders at the moment and a public consultation exercise is taking place. Land which was vacant in the town centre for years has been built on recently – pity! The land under Yarm Viaduct appears not to be available in contradiction to the situation in Chester-le-Street. The issue of smaller gardens is worthy of discussion at a future meeting and will be considered for the October meeting. Regional Rep’s Report The NSALG Annual General Meeting was held on 6th June there were 16 staff / management committee members and 48 members present. At the open session on planning delegates were informed that all land may be considered for development. The magazine has produced savings due to using lighter weight paper with corresponding savings in postage. The past 12 months has seen a 13,500 increase in affiliated members with a corresponding increase in income of £27,000. Peter had attended the Scottish Allotment Gardeners Society annual meeting at Dunblane. The attendance was over 100 out of a membership of 3000. As usual the meeting had been interesting and successful. Widdrington has had problems with an asbestos scare and a contamination incident which led to a site being closed. The site is now being redeveloped with raised beds but the council say that planning permission is needed for these. Clarification is being sought from head office. Carlisle council are charging tenants for water according to site meter readings. This has led to surcharges of £9 per plot on one site! Peter has attended the North East Allotment Officer’s Forum which attracts an attendance of around 25 officers from councils around the region. Tony speaking from the chair noted that there have been two working allotments at the Stoneleigh Royal Show. Apparently there was a lot of interest in ‘Grow your Own’. ARI Report John reported that the ARI has continued to facilitate the Allotment Officer’s Forums roughly every 6 months and that ARI is still attracting a lot of requests from sites in the region. Obtaining grant funding and improving security are still the most common issues. He had attended the Society of Council Clerks Annual Meeting to speak on allotments. As a result of the local authority reorganisation a lot of allotment sites are now being run by Parish Councils who inherited them from the now extinct District Councils. John is always pleased to offer assistance to councils who have queries about running allotments. ARI is liaising with NSALG both locally where we have excellent relations with each other and nationally. John is always pleased to receive queries from sites and emphasised that his services are cost free to those using them and that the web site and other ARI services are freely available to all. Seed Scheme The NSALG Seed Scheme catalogue will be arriving shortly and members are reminded what good value it represents. Sites requiring a seed catalogue for each affiliated member have only to telephone Head Office to request them or you can do what our Chairman does and choose a selection of seeds to sell in your site shop. Our Secretary spent 10 minutes outlining how the seed scheme works and how to organise your order so as to fit in with the demands of the Kings Summary Sheet. The main thing is to remember to have a look at the summary sheet before checking member’s orders and working out your totals. You can then organise totals to fit in with King’s needs. Your commission will be maximised if you get your order in before the early order date around the middle of November and you will receive your seeds by Christmas. Potatoes and Sundries may be delivered separately. On a show of hands the majority of the members present used the Seed Scheme and were satisfied with both the seeds and the service provided. Member’s Forum Tony, speaking from the Chair, said that the Hexham Courant has reported difficulties in Corbridge because there is now a Unitary Authority and allotments have gone to Parish Councils to administer. Our Regional Rep reported receiving requests for help. Both NSALG and ARI are available to help Councils in difficulty. Joe McCabe asked for assistance in finding grant funding for a site project. John put his ARI hat on and gave him information after the meeting to get him started. George Cranmer, Old Penshaw asked about the situation regarding waiting lists. Old Penshaw have a waiting list of 28 for their site of 39 gardens. This reflects national trends and local authorities are watching with interest to see if this demand is sustained. John Monkhouse reported that Darlington are giving those interested in applying for an allotment a complicated and somewhat intrusive questionnaire to fill in even before they have applied for a garden. Barry Tray, Pollards Allotments, Bishop Auckland is somewhat confused about exactly who his new Local Authority is; he requested guidance on how to respond to them demanding a £300 fee for planning permission for allotment sheds. Peter was very quick to point out that NSALG have investigated this matter and are certain that allotments are classed as ‘Agricultural Land’ which means no planning permission is needed. Refer their request to NSALG Legal Department and don’t pay a penny! Terry Rourke, Moorside, Consett has encountered a similar problem with his authority when he wanted to install a grant funded container. He is unable to find out who has taken charge of allotments post April 1st. With regard to L A changes, Northumberland are continuing to look after allotments until 2010 at which point they will be handed over to Parish Councils. Alan Ritchey, Shepherd’s Way, Washington drew the meeting’s attention to composted green waste which is available from some councils. Apparently Joe Swift on BBC Gardener’s World got 30 tons delivered to his site. (I bet he didn’t move a shovelful himself). This material is an excellent soil conditioner but availability varies from council to council. It is usually free. Get it if you can. David Stocks, Red House Farm has been looking at gaps in policies and has identified the lack of a Health & Safety Policy for allotments. Is there any existing H & S Policy for allotments or any Dispute Procedure? (Peter H will supply him with a H & S leaflet produced by Newcastle Council) The ARI has suitable guidance for doing your own Risk Assessment which is available free from the Website (or as paper copy for a small charge). Peter said that NSALG do offer a Mediation Service which is normally delegated to him as Regional Rep. Tees Valley have an organisation which will offer mediation in disputes. Also, David sought advice on Watering. John drew the meeting’s attention to the RHS Website which is freely accessible and free to use. www.rhs.org.uk and also to the Garden Organic site www.gardenorganic.org.uk . Most of the latter is freely available to non-members and it contains a very informative two page entry on watering. John Nicholson Coronation Allotments, Bishop Auckland, has a problem with a sewer running through the site and emitting bad smells from time to time. He has had difficulty getting either Northumbrian Water or his local Council to accept responsibility. The Chairman stated that you need to go through Environmental Health and this was confirmed by Russell Hogg from the floor who has been a Building Control Surveyor for a Local Authority in the past. “If it is a public sewer then it belongs to Northumbrian Water. Environmental Health have clout when it comes to a public nuisance like this creating flies, rats and bad smells”. John Monkhouse, Smithfield Road had two queries. 1) A tenant has moved 15 miles away. Can he keep his allotment? Peter: It is permissible to keep it if you move away but it must be kept in good condition. 2) Smithfield Road has recently had two new tenants who have turned out to be bad tenants. What can be done? Once again Peter spoke, ”This is best handled at the initial letting stage by having an appointment letter which gives them 3 months to sort out their garden or their tenancy is immediately terminated. In the present situation look carefully at your rules and if the new tenants are in breach of rules then enforce them or use the breach to terminate the tenancy”. From the Chair: “It might be worth our while to have a session in the future on termination of tenancies”. David Stocks, Red House Farm has had a problem tenant who went to the allotment officer over a dispute only to find the officer backed the association and its rules. George Cranmer, Old Penshaw outlined the procedure used by his association which has two week periods between letters of termination. John Monkhouse wondered whether a money bond of £5 , £10 or more would concentrate the mind of the tenant. Rossmere Allotments reported that they have received a grant of £5,000 for a garden for the disabled which will be handed over on 31st July. They also have a community project and a schools project with school gardens and a garden club. A member complained that his secretary’s name had been missed off the last attendance list. John replied that the attendance list was one of the hardest items to complete in these minutes. Subsequent investigations actually showed that the secretary wasn’t on the list as he hadn’t attended the meeting! Tony told the meeting that Joan Russell, Prudhoe Community Garden, has been honoured to receive the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. The meeting offered her congratulations. Date of Next Meeting Saturday 17th October 2009 2.00 pm at Carrville. The meeting closed at 4.00pm
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