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Welcome and introductions

The Chair welcomed the attendees, and each person briefly introduced themselves.

There were 13 attendees in all, with 2 apologies for absence: Pete and Rod.

Report from the committee

Committee members gave summary of progress in the past 18 months, as follows:

Positives:

The council workpeople have been good at clearing derelict plots and keeping the major paths clear

Pete and Pete have been managing the supply of chippings – a vote of thanks to them – this is a great help to all plotholders

Pete has been keeping the toilet in good order – thanks again to him

The site is cleaner now we must manage our own green waste – less dumping of rubbish

Many of the new plotholders who joined since February 2022 are very active

The social events have worked well, in spite of the weather

The allocation of plots to new plotholders is being handled very well, initially by Alice (with thanks for her work over the past 18 months), and now by Georgina and Lorraine. We have two new plotholders since July

Less positive:

There has been a problem with vandalism: heavy metal objects thrown over a fence have broken glass. The police have been informed

People have intruded, coming over the fence. Some vandalism took place. Allowing plot 9 to grow brambles again might help with this

There have been thefts, of wheelbarrows and produce. Note: plotholders should mark their items with name or plot number for easy identification

Committee elections

All members of the committee stood down, and were elected again unopposed. Others were invited to step forward if they wished. In summary:

Plot allocation: Georgina and Lorraine. Proposed by Alice and seconded by Martina

Site rep: Geoff. Proposed by Lyn and seconded by Alice

Communications: Geoff. Proposed by Alice and seconded by Keith

Meeting notes: Lyn. Proposed by Martina and seconded by Geoff

Two roles did not have volunteers: Infrastructure and Chair.

Other committee members without a specific role remain: Alice, Rod, Martina, Graham and Dennis. Two more members of the committee were elected:

Stuart, proposed by Georgina and seconded by Alice

Dave, proposed by Lyn and seconded by Lorraine

In all we have 11 committee members.

Developing a constitution

The Chair explained that we don’t currently have a constitution, but that it could be beneficial in our dealings with the council or any other external bodies. It is straightforward to put one in place: we use the template supplied by Nick and complete the relevant sections. Suggestions made for:

Our aims:

Support and educate, share experience of growing

Cultivate community spirit

To enable people to grow food for their own household

Who are members? Tenants or their representatives

Finance section: be explicit that we do not handle finance

The Chair will take on board the above suggestions in creating the first draft. It will be available on the website for comment before adoption at a future committee meeting.

Any Other Business

Find some way of getting keys back from ex-plotholders – a deposit maybe? This would improve our site security

Have a social the first weekend of every month, from April to October, alternating Saturdays and Sundays. The next one will be 3-4pm on Sunday 1st October

Planning permission relating to the main gate – status seems uncertain. Need to check

There’s a need for an updated tenancy agreement on the website

Chippings: Geoff is offering his contact details to support Pete for site access for the chippings providers. He is available mornings only

We need further water taps to be installed. However, shortage of funding is a problem – advised to lobby local councillors

Confirmation that plotholders are allowed to burn crop waste in winter, provided the fire is always attended

Geoff knows a source of horse manure, where the owner has offered to deliver the stuff to our site, provided someone shovels it into bags. Geoff and Stuart offered to undertake this

Date of next AGM: within 15 months of this one.

Notes taken by Lyn, plot 40