BATTERY LANE ALLOTMENT ASSOCIATION
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 24th June 2022
MINUTES
Attendees: Mike Adams, Chairman, Carey Randall, Chris Ratcliffe, Joyce Ratcliffe, Sam Starkey, Michaela Bowden. Danny Bowden. Janet Chamberlain, Joe Chamberlain Sean Coulton, Sue Coulton, Peter Donnelly, MikeSarah Mulvey, Neil Mulvey, Liz Edwards, Julia Bullock, Ken Bullock, Tony Bishop. Ann Bishop, Neville Griffiths, Laura Beesley, David Beesley, Jason Stafford, Ethel Brocklebank, Derek Watson, Tony Quinn, Tony Cregan, Ronnie Cregan, Kate Farmer, and Sarah Lound
1.Apologies received from Irene Costigan, David Tomlin, Steve Plant, Roy Tongue, Steven Grosscurth, Julia and Malcolm Kindon, Steve Roberts, Tim Brierly, Robert Peters
2. Chairman’s Opening Statement.
Mike Adams welcomed everyone to the meeting and said how good it was to be back to normal after the travails of COVID. He also said how good the site was looking.
3 Minutes of Last Meeting were distributed and accepted as being a true record. Proposed Tony Bishop, Seconded Derek Watson – carried unanimously
4 Matters Arising – only one action from the last AGM – for Carey to ask Laura Beesley if she will continue to audit the accounts. Laura has agreed to do this.
5. Secretary’s Report. Carey said we have two vacant plots and as of three days ago, 8 people on the waiting list. David Pendleton has not yet vetted these people to ensure they are eligible, but he is getting a steady rise in the number of enquiries. The rent demands for this year have not yet gone out, so no one needs to worry that they haven’t paid. Carey has paid as she was the ‘guinea pig’ for the new BACS payment option.
The monthly inspections with David P have been ongoing since February. David has adopted what he calls the gentle nudge approach, which means any plot that falls below the required standard without prior explanation will have a photo emailed to the tenant with a request for a plan to correct the situation. So far this has brought good results. Only if no plan is forthcoming (and adhered to) will an Improvement Notice be sent.
The on-site toilet is now in the control of Catalyst who use plot 3. They are directly responsible for its maintenance. We have agreed with them, and the Council, that limited access will be given to plot holders who are in need of such a facility. There are a small number of padlock keys available and holders will have to sign for them. Chris Ratcliffe is responsible for handing them out. In due course a sanitizer unit will be attached to the outside of the toilet together with a sign detailing the ‘rules of engagement’.
Carey thanked Roy Togue, the Site Manager and his team – Flavio Rae, Wei Wen Liang, and Joe Chamberlain for their excellent work in site upkeep. She also thanked Colin Bolton for servicing our machinery.
The access road has now been repaired by Tar Mac – not very well. We won’t get anything else done now for years. the fact that it’s been done at all is down to the tireless work of Ken Bullock and David Pendleton. Ken Bullock has now taken on the task of approaching the Borough Council about the huge trees that border the southern aspect of the site.
Carey reminded everyone that the annual £5 subs would be due from 1st July
6. Treasurer’s Report
Chris Ratcliffe distributed the accounts which showed a small profit for the year of about £150. There is still about half the manure to be sold, so this figure should rise.
7 Election of Committee. Mike said he would stand down as Chairman if anyone else wanted the role. Deathly silence (except for the karaoke from the adjoining room). He said that if no one had any objections, we would re-elect the committee en block. Proposed Liz Edwards, Seconded Sarah Mulvey and carried unanimously.
8 Best Allotment Competition. Mike awarded the trophies as follows:
Best large plot David Tomlin
Best Medium Plot Jackie Jack
Best Small Plot Liz Edwards
Best Newcomer Carol and David Pickering
Best Overall David Tomlin
Congratulations to all the winners.
Carey went on to explain some changes for next year. At present there are three judges that score out of 10, independently of each other and the scores are amalgamated to find the winners. This year some of the scores were very close. The Bishops have suggested that a Highly Commended category be introduced – no actual prize but a certificate. We are also going to introduce an extra 10 bonus points per plot for sustainability. Under this heading would be things like making and using your own compost, collecting rain water, upcycling objects to use on the plot, having wild flowers to attract beneficial insects. The exact distribution of the points will be discussed by the judges and everyone will be informed before next year’s competition is run. The last change will be an extension of the ineligibility of winners to take part from one year to three years. This would give a chance for more people to win. This would not apply to the Newcomers category, they will go into the general mix. Previous winners will be eligible for a Highly Commended certificate.
9. Bees. We have been approached by a gentleman called Peter Monks to allow him to keep bee hives on the site. He has been sent to the Parish Council, but the Council has asked for our views before making a decision. At first, most of us were all for it. However, after some research by Ann Bishop and Mike Adams, the committee meeting held 10 days ago voted unanimously again it. There was quite a bit of discussion, and Tony Quinn said we should get mor information before making a decision. Tony will do the investigating and report back. Action Tony Quinn AGM 1
(Post meeting note). Tony will email the members (via Carey) to ask what people would like to know and he will try to gather salient facts as opposed to hearsay.
10 Social Events.
Chris said we used to have an annual quiz, plus a coffee morning and BBQ, the latter two being held on site. Carey said she was more than happy to prepare another quiz, to be held at the end of October in the Social Club.
After some discussion it was decided to hold two coffee mornings, one at the start of the growing season on a Saturday, and one at the end of the season on a Sunday. This would give the best chance of everyone being able to attend at least one of them. If the weather turns against us we can use the polytunnel on plot 3. We could also have a plant sale at the end of the season.
11. Site Security. Carey said that this had been discussed at the committee meeting held 10 days ago. With the spiraling cost of food, and the fact that more people know about the allotments after the COVID restrictions, it would be sensible to take precautions against crop thefts. She suggested that we keep the entrance gate locked. This would at least deter would-be thieves as hopefully no one would want to climb over the gate with a big sack of purloined spuds. After discussing the pros and cons, it was decided to keep the gate locked from 16:00 onwards.
Once the nights get longer, this will be less of a problem. Anyone leaving the site anytime after 15:30 needs to lock the gate, even if there are still people on site. Chris needs to put a notice on the gate reminding people to lock it. Action Chris Ratcliffe AGM 02
12 AoB
a) Chris said the shop would open for the last time this year tomorrow. There is not much stock left and anyone who wants anything can either phone him or tell Carey when she’s on site.
b) Sarah Mulvey asked whether we charge for hiring out the equipment, as this would contribute to costs of servicing. At present we only have a large rotovator and we used to charge for people to use it. Sarah said that new plot holders probably didn’t know that it was available to hire. There is also a generator, although this needs servicing and its battery changing up. It could be very useful for anyone wanting to run their own electric power tools.
c) Sarah asked if we could have a Facebook Page. Yes we can – Sarah will do it.
Action Sarah Mulvey AGM 03
Post meeting note – it’s already up and running the next day.
d) Sarah said for the record that David Pendleton is very slow to answer emails, and several people agreed.
e) Wild Flowers. It was felt that growing wild flowers around the ‘verges’ outside the plots would be a good idea. Mike said we could order some seeds from Kings Seeds when we next do the annual order.
f) Sarah Lound asked if we could have a communal skip to take away some of the ‘rubbish’ that gets left when plots change hands. Chris said the council had provided a huge skip some years ago and it was filled very quickly with all manner of stuff, some of which did not come from the allotment tenants. He also said we could do it if it was only there a couple of days and someone policed what was put in it (some things like old tyres will be rejected by the Borough Council). Action Chris Ratcliffe AGM 04
There being no further business, the meeting closed at 20.30
Action # Who What Status
AGM 01 Tony Quinn Email to canvass bee questions Done 28/06/22
AGM 02 Chris Ratcliffe Note on gate re locking it Done 28/06/22
AGM 03 Sarah Mulvey Facebook Page for the group Done
AGM 04 Chris Ratcliffe Investigate getting a skip New