Allotment Association Minutes 9th Feb 2019

GLEN ALLOTMENTS ASSOCIATION

MINUTES OF ASSOCIATION MEETING HELD AT 10:00 AM ON

SATURDAY, 9 TH FEBRUARY, 2019

Members Present: Claire Kennard, Chairperson
Norah Godfrey, Treasurer
Efro Tooms, Acting Secretary
Les Gee
Mariela Munoz del Valle
Ann Harper
John Harper
Dorothy Godfrey
Celina Gee
Andy Holt
Susie Braithwaite
Audrey Johnstone
Dave Matthews
Margaret Matthews
Guest: Adam Myers, YACIO
Apologies: Tara & Dave Mason

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
Motion to approve the Minutes of the last meeting held on 2 nd November 2018 was proposed by
Celina and agreed unanimously.
MATTERS ARISING FROM MEETING OF 2 ND NOVEMBER 2018
1. Site Secretary Vacancy: Claire informed members that John Harper has now been
appointed as the second Site Secretary.
2. New Tenancies: Celina explained the procedure to deal with new tenancies. This
would start with her sending out an email to new tenants with copy going to John. He
would then show new tenants around the site. They will be working as a team. She
also informed the meeting that there were now only 2 vacant plots and 24 people are
on the waiting list. There are a number of plots which are in a bad state and need to
be cleared before being allocated. As YACIO have some extra money to use at
different sites, a bid has been put in to clear the plots and make them useable. Adam
Myers agreed in principle.
3. Portacabin Update: Celina had put in an application to YACIO for funds to repair
the portacabin floor. Adam said that, in principle, some money could be made
available and we had originally applied for £300, but what YCIO may give us would
only be £150. He suggested that it might be a good idea for us to try to get a
matching amount by applying for ward funding. Celina’s application has been
marked as an “urgent” request.
4. Shed Update: Adam explained what had happened at the meeting held between the
holders of plot 46, YACIO and Claire and Efro as representatives of the Association.
At this meeting, the three men from Plot 46 stated that they had decided not to run a
shop from the renovated shed and that they intended to remove all the materials used

for the renovation. A letter was sent to them from YACIO after they had started to
dismantle the repairs, telling them that nothing should be removed but this was
entirely ignored and the shed is now back to it’s original condition, i.e. it is unsafe to
use.
The Association had raised the matter of Plot 46 having applied and received ward
funding to “do work in the parking area, put up signage and repair the shed” and
whether that funding had been used correctly. Adam confirmed that ward funding
could, in fact, be used entirely for one item of work listed and not necessarily all three
as shown on the ward funding application. It was agreed that the shed is a liability
and the best solution would probably be to demolish it.
5. Stones near Entrance: These have now been removed.
6. Notice Board Update: As we do not have the funds to buy a new notice board to put
on the portacabin at this time, it was agreed that Association notices should be
printed and laminated and displayed on the front of the portacabin on the remains of
an old notice board.
7. Police Marking Tools: It was agreed that Celina would contact the police and get a
few dates for them to come to the allotment to mark tools. It was agreed that this
would be done over one weekend in April.
8. Manure Deliveries: After some discussion it was agreed that Association members
would pay £1 per wheelbarrow and non-members £2.
9. Christmas Social Event at Green Lane: Claire and Efro attended this event hosted
by the Green Lane Allotments and had a very enjoyable evening.
10. Lock for Gate at Entrance to Allotments: Again, after considerable discussion, it
was agreed that no locking device would be put on the gate for the time being.
11. Low level lighting in Portacabin: It was agreed that it would be too costly to try
and put electricity in the portacabin.
12. Skip: Most members agreed that the skip paid by YACIO in 2018 was too small and
some people were using it to discard items that should not have been on the
allotments in the first place. YACIO will only pay for one skip per year. However,
both Norah and Adam mentioned that in the past there was a person who was
prepared to come and privately take away unwanted items. Both Norah and Adam to
try and find contact information for this person. Members will monitor what is going
into the skip the next time we have one.

TREASURER’S REPORT
Norah stated that at this time there is a sum of £135.81 in the bank account and has cash in
hand of £52 profit from the sale of the manure and a further £11 from other sources.
It was also clarified that allotment holders who wish to become members of the Association
pay the fee of £5 for joining, irrespective of the number of plots they hold. The Association
year will run from 1 st June to 31 st May.
MEMBERSHIP CARDS
At present the membership cards held by Norah show the name of the allotment holder, the
allotment number and the date of joining the Association. It also shows that holders of
membership cards can get a 10% discount if they shop for plants, etc. at Deans. Claire has
also spoken to Veritigro on the Malton Road and they are happy to also give a 10% discount.
However, they insist that their name should also be advertised on the membership card.
After some discussion on how this could be done on the blank cards that Norah now holds,

Susie Braithwaite very kindly offered to donate new cards showing both Deans and Vertigro
on the front. It was also agreed that the date section should be left blank and Norah can write
in the dates as and when a new membership card is issued.
COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
With John Harper being appointed as one of the Site Secretaries, there was need for
additional Committee members. Susie Braithwaite and Ann Harper both kindly agreed to
serve on the Committee.
BLOG ACCOUNT FOR ONGOING INFORMATION RELATING TO GLEN
ASSOCIATION
After some discussion, it was agreed that John would continue to do his Blog and Ann would
be responsible for putting on the minutes of meetings and other information relating to the
Association.
It was also agreed that the Minutes which will be posted on the notice board at the Portacabin
will be a précis of the full minutes and those wishing to read the full minutes will need to
access the blog.
SITE SECRETARIES’ MEETING
All site secretaries will meet with YACIO on Monday, 11 th February 2019. Members should
contact either Celina or John is there is anything they would like discussed at these meetings.
REGISTERING AS RHS AFFILIATED SOCIETY
This will be followed up by Claire.
INSURANCE FOR PORTACABIN
Claire has investigated whether it is possible to obtain insurance and has been told that it is
not possible to insure a structure which can so easily be broken into.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
1. John asked whether any members were interested in sharing the cost of buying a large
quantity of onions for planting out, but there was not enough interest to make it
worthwhile.
2. The matter of when the AGM would be held was brought up and agreed that it will be
discussed at the next meeting.
3. Claire asked Adam whether there was a deadline for returning the survey on all
community plots. He said that the deadline was end of December but he wasn’t sure yet
whether they had all been returned.
DATE OF NEXT ASSOCIATION MEETING
The date of the next Association meeting was set for Sunday, 7 th April at 10:00 at the Portacabin.

18/02/2019