AGM

Moss Lea Allotment Society

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on

Tuesday 27th October 2015, 8pm at Astley Bridge Cricket Club

Present

Steve Barlow, Steve Cowell, Andy Warburton, Gwen Kinloch, Phil Almond, Barry Ashton, Brian Bentham, Ray Hardcastle, Amanda Bowen, Stephen Perkin, Wendy Bradbury, Barrie Cryer.

1. Apologies

Steve Watson.

2. Minutes of the Previous Meeting

Minutes of the last meeting held on 28^th October 2014 were accepted as an accurate record.

3. Secretary's Report

Steve Barlow reported that it had been a successful year with almost all plots being full, with little difficulty in letting plots. There is currently one plot vacant as Sue White has recently given up one of her half plots.

The show was a success with more plot holders participating. The Society is trying to branch out and play more of a part in the local community eg by participating in the Astley Bridge Festival. Next year it is hoped there will be more participation in Bolton allotment competitions with more plot holders entering the Onion and Leek Show and the site being entered for the best site.

A new hut was put up and this should lead to space being used better. And the site has looked good, especially considering the Council now do no maintenance.

The Society is attempting to improve site security, as a result of break-ins. Greenhouses were damaged in bad weather in the spring and the Council has said that repair is imminent.

More plot holders are coming to meetings and the Moss Lea Society has a good relationship with ABAS.

Sadly two plot holders passed away during the year, Ken and Ronnie. Harriet has also moved to another allotment site.

4. Treasurer’s Report

Ray had prepared the annual accounts for the year ending 30^th September 2015, which was presented at September meeting. There have been some losses this year due to theft from the hut and expenditure on the new hut. The bank balance at 30^th September was £788.64.

5. Show Report

Andy presented the show report at the September meeting. The show made £231.

6. Insurance

The insurance is to be renewed when it is due in January. The existing insurance may only cover one public event (ie the annual show). This needs to be checked as there may be more events next year (eg for the Astley Bridge festival). Otherwise no changes are required to the policy. There have been no claims during the year.

7. Election of Officers

Chair:                                    Steve Cowell

Treasurer:                           Ray Hardcastle

Secretary:                           Steve Barlow

Show Secretary:               Andy Warburton

Maintenance Officer:     Provisionally Steve Watson

8. Subscriptions

These will remain at £5.

9. Secretary’s Honorarium

Steve was offered an honorarium by the members present, in recognition of costs re.work for the society during the year, which he declined.

10. Any Other Business

There was no other business

11. Date of Next Meeting

Provisionally Tuesday 25th October 2016, 8pm at Astley Bridge Cricket Club.

Minutes of the Committee Meeting held on Tuesday 27th October 2015

Moss Lea Allotment Society

Minutes of the Committee Meeting held on

Tuesday 27th October 2015, 8pm at Astley Bridge Cricket Club

Present

Steve Barlow, Steve Cowell, Andy Warburton, Gwen Kinloch, Phil Almond, Barry Ashton, Brian Bentham, Ray Hardcastle, Amanda Bowen, Stephen Perkin, Wendy Bradbury, Barrie Cryer.

1. Apologies

Steve Watson.

2. Minutes of the Previous Meeting

Minutes of the last meeting held on 29th September 2015 were accepted as an accurate record.

3. Matters Arising

There were no matters arising from the previous minutes.

4. Secretary's Report

Steve Barlow reported back from the last ABAS meeting. A meeting is to be arranged between Bolton Council and ABAS regarding the potential for extending the community use of allotments and how they relate to the health and social agenda for the borough.

The Leek and Onion Show is to be re-named the Bolton Vegetable Show and will be held at the end of August, at a new venue.

A copy of the monthly return to the council will now also be sent to ABAS, so that they can keep a check of common issues for allotment sites.

There are three long running issues which ABAS has raised with Malcolm Russell at Bolton Council on our behalf and has received the following responses:

1. Greenhouses and sheds on plots - This is a policy matter for the council but it has not been possible to get it onto committee agendas. A ruling is to be requested from the legal department as to whether it can be re-classified as a management matter, in which case it can be dealt with by council officers. If it cannot be re-classified Malcolm Russell will ensure it gets to committee by Christmas.  A point of concern raised at the meeting was that the email from ABAS detailing the discussion referred only to Greenhouses … Steve Barlow has since written to ABAS and the Council to re - emphasise that the request to the Council to change the restriction applies to sheds as well as greenhouses.

                2. Repairs to greenhouses - Measuring up should now have been done and repair is       imminent.

3. Building of compost bins onto common ground in corner of the site - Malcolm Russell considers that the area was a dead, unused piece of ground and so has allowed the bins to be there. This is on the understanding that there will be no further use made of this land by cultivation or further erection of bins etc. If there was to be a change to this there should be full discussion at the Society meeting..

5. Site maintenance and Repairs

People are still putting material on the compost bins, even though a notice has been put up saying that no more should be put on the bins. Plot holders should compost on their own plots, burn weeds or take them home to put in their green bins.

Repairs to the green house should be carried out soon, plot holders are reminded to ensure all items are secure on their plots to prevent any items being blown by the wind and damaging the greenhouses again.

The site is being kept tidy and the paths mown.

6. Any Other Business

Barry Ashton has purchased some signs warning that the site is monitored by cameras. These are to be put up at key locations in an attempt to improve security. Barry's costs were reimbursed from Society funds.

11. Date of Next Meeting

Tuesday 24th November 2015, 8pm at Astley Bridge Cricket Club.

Minutes of the Committee Meeting held on Tuesday 30th June 2015

Moss Lea Allotment Society

Minutes of the Committee Meeting held on

Tuesday 30th June 2015, 8pm at Astley Bridge Cricket Club

Present

Steve Barlow, Steve Cowell, Steve Watson, Andy Warburton, Gwen Kinloch, Phil Almond, Steve Richardson,  Barry Ashton

 1. Apologies

Joe Tarkowski, Ray Hardcastle.

2. Minutes of the Previous Meeting

Minutes of the last meeting held were accepted as an accurate record.

3. Matters Arising

There were no matters arising from the previous minutes.

4. Secretary's Report

Steve reported that Ken Worsley had passed away and that the Society had sent a card and donation for the RSPB to his wife. The cheque also included a donation from Tommy Halliday, the show judge who knew Ken well from his time on the site.

The last ABAS meeting included feedback from a meeting with Malcolm Russell from Bolton Council regarding the problems with communication with the Council. It appears that dissatisfaction with communication and feedback from the council is widespread throughout the borough's allotment associations. Cutbacks and staff illness have impacted on the resources the council has been able to provide. The Council will now respond within two weeks of receiving monthly returns and if no response given this can be taken up via ABAS.

A new Operational Management Agreement is to be put in place which will bring in some significant changes, but should make administration easier. ‘Breaches  of tenancy’ will be more clearly defined and there will only be two stages leading to termination of the tenancy. There will be no community plots, however there will be a probationary period for new plot holders.  Tenancy agreements will be signed at the end of the probationary period ( period length to be agreed by allotment associations). This means the vacant half of the community plot at Moss Lea will now be a normal plot. There will be no shared plots except joint tenancies and buddies can only be for two years, after which a joint tenancy will be required. These measures are designed to prevent queue jumping on the waiting list.

The available greenhouse space has been taken  by Joe Tarkowski and Steve has two more names of people who want greenhouse space : Dave London and Herby Millar. When available, spaces will be issued in order of who has been on site the longest. Anyone who wants to be put on the waiting list should let Steve Barlow know.

Ken Worsley's plot will become vacant from the end of the season, in the meantime his wife will harvest the crops. Plot 5a is vacant and potential plot holder is due to see it. One other name is on the waiting list.

5. Site Maintenance and Repairs

The council have agreed to replace the broken greenhouse panels and the job is being chased up by the Allotment Team.

Paving slabs have been laid in front of the amenity hut.

A mulching mower and a tea urn have both been purchased.

The roof of the garage is still to be fitted, it is planned to be completed before the show.

The toilets require signage on the doors.

Since the last meeting there have been some thefts from the site. Access was over the fence on the Moss Lea side of the site and some ladders, a wheelbarrow and plastic chairs were stolen. The theft was reported to the police.

A decision on allowing greenhouses on plots is still awaited. As it would require a change to legal tenancies council members rather than officers will have to take the decision.

The Secretary has asked the Council to review the erection of compost bins by the holder of Plot 27 across what has previously been regarded as communal and open land. It has been referred to the Council as the plot holder maintains permission was granted  by the previous Allotment Officer.

There were several comments about dog mess on the site. Plot holders are reminded that dogs should be kept on leads and mess should be cleaned up. Some may be due to members of the public with dogs coming onto the site. Signage is to be put up to make it clear that there is no path through the allotments.

There have also been some reports of cars driving along the allotment track at an unsafe speed. Plot holders are reminded to drive slowly around the track especially as children may be on site.

6. Annual Show

The Moss Lea show will be on 22nd August. Tommy Haliday has kindly agreed to do  the judging.

The catering worked well last year and we request that where possible Society members provide cakes, especially home-baked, scones, biscuits and other provisions etc – but not sandwiches – with a label so customers can see what it is…a well-stocked catering table last year helped us financially.. so please have a thought about what you could bring on the day…

We have a new tea urn to speed up delivery of cups of tea etc which was a bit slow last year at times. There will be a rota of members to staff the kitchen and serve the customers – please speak to Steve Barlow if you can help here.

Steve Richardson provided a sample of tickets for the event and an initial print run of 500 was agreed.

The ticket price to the show was discussed and it was agreed to increase the entry fee to 30p, from last year's 25p. It is hoped that each plot holder will take at least 10 tickets to sell or pass on to family and friends. Each ticket has the chance to win a prize. There are also raffle tickets available on the day.

Contributions, volunteers and entries for the show are required. A sheet of guidance and hints for new comers to showing is to be produced.

8. Any Other Business

The Astley Bridge Festival is on 11th and 12th July. Steve Barlow proposed making contact with the organisers so that we can be part of this community event .  This was agreed : contact has now been made but it is really too late for us to be involved for this year but for next year we would like to be involved in the planning from the early stages. We discussed the possibility of some kind of Open Day Event perhaps with some catering, plant sales etc.

9. Date of Next Meeting

Tuesday 28^th July 8pm at Astley Bridge Cricket Club. If you can help with the Show please come along.