Southdown Shaw News
Spring 2012
Chairman’s Notes
Dear Plotholders,
We hope that the 2012/13 season will be exciting with long-awaited upgrades to the water system taking place. We also hope the hosepipe ban will not cause too much distress.
We have applied to Awards For All for a £10,000 grant to replace and extend our water system. We hope to know whether we have been successful by the end of March and if so it is anticipated that works will commence sometime in April. (This time scale has been delayed by one month due to a back log of work at Awards For All) One of the main features of the new system is that we will be installing a ring main system which will mean that the water pressure on usage should be the same for all plotholders irrespective of where their plot is. This will be a welcome enhancement as with the current system water pressure can vary depending on whereabouts on the site the water is being used. The works should take about 4 to 5 days and during this time the central driveway will be closed and there will be significant earthworks. We will be guided by the contractor who will be undertaking the works and if he recommends that the site is closed during this time then we will do so. We will let you know more when we know more. Unfortunately with the hosepipe ban coming into force, the benefits of these improvements will not be appreciated in the near future.
The committee will be undertaking a series of weed walks during the year. At the time that you read this we will have already undertaken our first weed walk and identified the plots which appear to have had no activity this year and which are in need of attention. We will be looking again at the identified plots and reviewing all other plots at the end of April 2012 and weed letters will follow accordingly.
Further to discussions at the A.G.M. last year, the procedure will be that once a weed letter is sent to a plotholder, the plotholder will be on probation for the remainder of the year. Plotholders on probation will have their plots reviewed every 30 days and if the plot is considered not to be up to scratch then there will be an automatic eviction. We are looking to ensure that all plots are of an acceptable standard. If, however, there are reasons why you are unable to maintain your plot then please let the committee know.
This year to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee the site will be open for the public to view on Sunday 3rd June 2012.
Our Open Day will be Sunday 15th July 2012 and we are hoping that local clubs/concerns may wish to be stallholders this year to make the day more interesting for plotholders and the local community. Please support the day by attending and any offers of assistance and ideas will be welcome.
In addition to the best plot awards which are presented at the AGM, this year the committee will be awarding the plots which we feel have maintained a consistently good standard for the whole season.
Best wishes for the growing season.
Martin Entwistle, Chairman of Meopham & District Allotment Association
Waiting List
We have 9 people on our waiting list.
Water Usage and Security
Hosepipe Ban
Allotments are NOT exempt from the hosepipe ban.
We are allowed to fill watering cans from the communal taps but we are NOT allowed to attach hoses to the standpipes.
The Allotment Association could be fined £1000 for breaking the ban.
Anyone found using a hose will be immediately excluded from the site.
Save Water - Stop Allotment Rent Rising
Dates For Your Diary 2013
April 1st
Allotment water is turned on. This has been delayed from the usual date due to the adverse weather. Please make sure all taps are turned off after use and report any water leaks to a committee member.
Tuesday 1ST May
No bonfires are allowed until 31st August due to the proximity of farmers crops
Sunday 3RD June
Allotments open to the public as part of the Meopham & District Parish Council Queens Diamond Jubilee celebrations
Sunday 15TH July Open Day for plotholders, friends, family and the local community to look around the site. Several stalls will be present including plant sellers for the garden and allotments.
1st October
Plotholders can start having bonfires. Please make sure the bonfires are fully extinguished before leaving the site and give consideration to other persons on the allotment, and our neighbours, regarding smoke and fumes.
31ST October
Water for the allotment is turned off
Weed Walks
The committee will again be having regular weed walks and checking on Health and Safety
Please maintain plots to a reasonable standard and according to the tenancy rules.
Control weeds as these cause problems with neighbouring plots. Overgrown plots, or those not cultivated to the requirements of the tenancy agreement will receive warning letters. Please keep your paths clear around your plot. Keep grass cut down. Prune your overhanging trees and hedges to keep paths clear. Paths through plots must have a gate.
Deadly Nightshade Warning
Last year a plotholder reported finding Deadly Nightshade growing on his plot. As the name suggests it is extremely poisonous. The berries, when ripe, are dark like Blackberries and attractive to children, they even taste sweet. The seeds could have been dropped by a bird and spread onto other plots. The plant is described and illustrated on Wikipedia
Committee Members
Phone numbers are available on the Allotment notice board
Chairman Martin Entwistle
Vice Chairman Ken Jones
Secretary Trevor Page
Treasurer David Lightowler
Security / Water Steve Edwards
Newsletter Editor Robin Lee
Membership Sec. & Events Organiser Janet Cumner
Committee Member John Walsham
Letting Officer Laraine Shinn
Website Mike Shipway
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2011
Spring 2012
Chairman’s Notes
Dear Plotholders,
We hope that the 2012/13 season will be exciting with long-awaited upgrades to the water system taking place. We also hope the hosepipe ban will not cause too much distress.
We have applied to Awards For All for a £10,000 grant to replace and extend our water system. We hope to know whether we have been successful by the end of March and if so it is anticipated that works will commence sometime in April. (This time scale has been delayed by one month due to a back log of work at Awards For All) One of the main features of the new system is that we will be installing a ring main system which will mean that the water pressure on usage should be the same for all plotholders irrespective of where their plot is. This will be a welcome enhancement as with the current system water pressure can vary depending on whereabouts on the site the water is being used. The works should take about 4 to 5 days and during this time the central driveway will be closed and there will be significant earthworks. We will be guided by the contractor who will be undertaking the works and if he recommends that the site is closed during this time then we will do so. We will let you know more when we know more. Unfortunately with the hosepipe ban coming into force, the benefits of these improvements will not be appreciated in the near future.
The committee will be undertaking a series of weed walks during the year. At the time that you read this we will have already undertaken our first weed walk and identified the plots which appear to have had no activity this year and which are in need of attention. We will be looking again at the identified plots and reviewing all other plots at the end of April 2012 and weed letters will follow accordingly.
Further to discussions at the A.G.M. last year, the procedure will be that once a weed letter is sent to a plotholder, the plotholder will be on probation for the remainder of the year. Plotholders on probation will have their plots reviewed every 30 days and if the plot is considered not to be up to scratch then there will be an automatic eviction. We are looking to ensure that all plots are of an acceptable standard. If, however, there are reasons why you are unable to maintain your plot then please let the committee know.
This year to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee the site will be open for the public to view on Sunday 3rd June 2012.
Our Open Day will be Sunday 15th July 2012 and we are hoping that local clubs/concerns may wish to be stallholders this year to make the day more interesting for plotholders and the local community. Please support the day by attending and any offers of assistance and ideas will be welcome.
In addition to the best plot awards which are presented at the AGM, this year the committee will be awarding the plots which we feel have maintained a consistently good standard for the whole season.
Best wishes for the growing season.
Martin Entwistle, Chairman of Meopham & District Allotment Association
Waiting List
We have 9 people on our waiting list.
Water Usage and Security
Hosepipe Ban
Allotments are NOT exempt from the hosepipe ban.
We are allowed to fill watering cans from the communal taps but we are NOT allowed to attach hoses to the standpipes.
The Allotment Association could be fined £1000 for breaking the ban.
Anyone found using a hose will be immediately excluded from the site.
Save Water - Stop Allotment Rent Rising
- Tear newspaper into strips and place into your trench when planting beans and potatoes to retain moisture
- Grow crops under horticultural fleece to cut evaporation
- Water in the cool of morning or evening – water at the roots
- When watering avoid sprinkling or using a water can rose except for seedlings
- Mulch as much as possible
- Compost everything – it is laborious but essential for good gardening
Dates For Your Diary 2013
April 1st
Allotment water is turned on. This has been delayed from the usual date due to the adverse weather. Please make sure all taps are turned off after use and report any water leaks to a committee member.
Tuesday 1ST May
No bonfires are allowed until 31st August due to the proximity of farmers crops
Sunday 3RD June
Allotments open to the public as part of the Meopham & District Parish Council Queens Diamond Jubilee celebrations
Sunday 15TH July Open Day for plotholders, friends, family and the local community to look around the site. Several stalls will be present including plant sellers for the garden and allotments.
1st October
Plotholders can start having bonfires. Please make sure the bonfires are fully extinguished before leaving the site and give consideration to other persons on the allotment, and our neighbours, regarding smoke and fumes.
31ST October
Water for the allotment is turned off
Weed Walks
The committee will again be having regular weed walks and checking on Health and Safety
Please maintain plots to a reasonable standard and according to the tenancy rules.
Control weeds as these cause problems with neighbouring plots. Overgrown plots, or those not cultivated to the requirements of the tenancy agreement will receive warning letters. Please keep your paths clear around your plot. Keep grass cut down. Prune your overhanging trees and hedges to keep paths clear. Paths through plots must have a gate.
Deadly Nightshade Warning
Last year a plotholder reported finding Deadly Nightshade growing on his plot. As the name suggests it is extremely poisonous. The berries, when ripe, are dark like Blackberries and attractive to children, they even taste sweet. The seeds could have been dropped by a bird and spread onto other plots. The plant is described and illustrated on Wikipedia
Committee Members
Phone numbers are available on the Allotment notice board
Chairman Martin Entwistle
Vice Chairman Ken Jones
Secretary Trevor Page
Treasurer David Lightowler
Security / Water Steve Edwards
Newsletter Editor Robin Lee
Membership Sec. & Events Organiser Janet Cumner
Committee Member John Walsham
Letting Officer Laraine Shinn
Website Mike Shipway
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2011
Meopham & District Allotment Association
Southdown Shaw News
Volume 11
Spring 2011
Chairman's Note
Meopham & District Allotment Association and Meopham Parish Council have been negotiating a new tenancy agreement for over a year following the Parish Council’s requirement to update tenancy agreements for land leased to us and other sites in Meopham. The agreement is now finalised following an adjustment to keep the rent, which the Association pays to the Council, capped to a biannual inflationary increase. There have been several amendments to your tenancy agreement and these are included with your renewal.
The new agreement is different from the old agreement in that the Association will now be self governing, responsible for the water repairs and any other maintenance on the allotment site.
It is proposed that the committee will apply for grant funding to replace part or all of the very old water system currently in use and we hope to be in a position to do this in 2011. (We have already met with Funding Buddies to discuss the application process for grants and we have had positive feedback that we may meet the criteria that is required). At the same time, we will need to nurse the old system until it is replaced. We currently have another small leak which we have identified to the pipework running alongside the large car park with the notice board. The committee has noted several occasions where the tyres adjacent to this car park have been removed to allow access and we believe that the plotholders who have done this have then driven into the car park, without driving over the steel plates provided, and may have caused this leak. The tyres should not be moved under any circumstances. If any plotholders see this happening, please report this to a committee member so that action can be taken.
At the recent Extraordinary General Meeting plotholders were asked to complete a form to comment on what changes they would like to see at the allotment site.
The meeting was attended by 43 voting plotholders and their companions.
The provision of compostable toilet facilities on site was a request made by the majority of forms received back from plotholders. We did, however, only receive 17 completed forms and we would emphasise that unless we can prove to Meopham Parish Council that there is a requirement for this facility then we will not receive permission to proceed. Plotholders have been requesting toilet facilities on site for years but we need to be able to gauge how many people want this and as such we ask you to reply YES or NO to the question on the slip provided with your renewal. As you are aware, the committee has previously approached the Council to request this but have been turned down. If a significant number of people wish us to proceed, we can approach the Council once again to find out whether they would reconsider the request and if so we will apply for a grant for this purpose. The committee agrees that a site of this size and location should have these facilities as we believe that there should be no qualitative barriers to plotholders’ right to garden.
It has been brought to the attention of the committee that some plots are being worked by people who are not registered as the plotholder. This is not actually permitted under the terms of your tenancy agreement and in effect this action means that people are “jumping the queue” of the waiting list. For this reason, we are asking you to confirm that you are the person working your plot. Officially, the committee is within their rights to give you one month’s notice to quit your plot. If however you are, for example, experiencing health problems and someone is helping you out, it would be helpful if you please let a committee member know.
We would remind plotholders that 75% of their plot is required to be cultivated within 12 months of taking on a tenancy. The committee will be looking at this in detail when they next meet on site and again we are within our rights to give you one month’s notice to quit when you have not adhered to this. We clearly do not want to go down this route but again it is not fair to other plotholders who adhere to this rule. Plotholders who have not cultivated their plot as per the agreement will be asked to meet a committee member on site and discuss a work plan to rectify the situation.
Finally, I have pleasure in advising that we have our own website under construction and would suggest you take a look at what has been done so far. The address is http://meopham-allotments.weebly.com We will welcome your comments on what topics you would like to see included in the website. I would like to extend my thanks on behalf of the committee to Mike Shipway of plot 14H who has done an excellent job in creating the website for us.
Martin Entwistle
Chairman
Southdown Shaw News
Volume 11
Spring 2011
Chairman's Note
Meopham & District Allotment Association and Meopham Parish Council have been negotiating a new tenancy agreement for over a year following the Parish Council’s requirement to update tenancy agreements for land leased to us and other sites in Meopham. The agreement is now finalised following an adjustment to keep the rent, which the Association pays to the Council, capped to a biannual inflationary increase. There have been several amendments to your tenancy agreement and these are included with your renewal.
The new agreement is different from the old agreement in that the Association will now be self governing, responsible for the water repairs and any other maintenance on the allotment site.
It is proposed that the committee will apply for grant funding to replace part or all of the very old water system currently in use and we hope to be in a position to do this in 2011. (We have already met with Funding Buddies to discuss the application process for grants and we have had positive feedback that we may meet the criteria that is required). At the same time, we will need to nurse the old system until it is replaced. We currently have another small leak which we have identified to the pipework running alongside the large car park with the notice board. The committee has noted several occasions where the tyres adjacent to this car park have been removed to allow access and we believe that the plotholders who have done this have then driven into the car park, without driving over the steel plates provided, and may have caused this leak. The tyres should not be moved under any circumstances. If any plotholders see this happening, please report this to a committee member so that action can be taken.
At the recent Extraordinary General Meeting plotholders were asked to complete a form to comment on what changes they would like to see at the allotment site.
The meeting was attended by 43 voting plotholders and their companions.
The provision of compostable toilet facilities on site was a request made by the majority of forms received back from plotholders. We did, however, only receive 17 completed forms and we would emphasise that unless we can prove to Meopham Parish Council that there is a requirement for this facility then we will not receive permission to proceed. Plotholders have been requesting toilet facilities on site for years but we need to be able to gauge how many people want this and as such we ask you to reply YES or NO to the question on the slip provided with your renewal. As you are aware, the committee has previously approached the Council to request this but have been turned down. If a significant number of people wish us to proceed, we can approach the Council once again to find out whether they would reconsider the request and if so we will apply for a grant for this purpose. The committee agrees that a site of this size and location should have these facilities as we believe that there should be no qualitative barriers to plotholders’ right to garden.
It has been brought to the attention of the committee that some plots are being worked by people who are not registered as the plotholder. This is not actually permitted under the terms of your tenancy agreement and in effect this action means that people are “jumping the queue” of the waiting list. For this reason, we are asking you to confirm that you are the person working your plot. Officially, the committee is within their rights to give you one month’s notice to quit your plot. If however you are, for example, experiencing health problems and someone is helping you out, it would be helpful if you please let a committee member know.
We would remind plotholders that 75% of their plot is required to be cultivated within 12 months of taking on a tenancy. The committee will be looking at this in detail when they next meet on site and again we are within our rights to give you one month’s notice to quit when you have not adhered to this. We clearly do not want to go down this route but again it is not fair to other plotholders who adhere to this rule. Plotholders who have not cultivated their plot as per the agreement will be asked to meet a committee member on site and discuss a work plan to rectify the situation.
Finally, I have pleasure in advising that we have our own website under construction and would suggest you take a look at what has been done so far. The address is http://meopham-allotments.weebly.com We will welcome your comments on what topics you would like to see included in the website. I would like to extend my thanks on behalf of the committee to Mike Shipway of plot 14H who has done an excellent job in creating the website for us.
Martin Entwistle
Chairman
