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An informal meeting took place on 27 January
at The Boot Inn.
Following
were there:Joyce Leighton, Lucy & Bob Gosse, Philip Page, Roy & Sarah
Barker, Rob & Nickie Furniss, Ken & Rosemary Jones, John & Penny Hankins Sarah
Wright (who probably doesn’t want an allotment but is interested in what’s going on as she and Toby live at Plum
Tree Barn.
UnableUnable to be there: Andy Henderson, Clare, Maureen & Denis Stephens Update on development
1. Likely to get a grant of £500 (possibly a bit more!) via Andrew Gibson, the Hampshire County
Council Councillor and Councillor for our village. This would cover cost of materials for rabbit
proof fence/gate that Roy Barker has kindly said he will provide at cost.
2.
Possible financial contribution via Geoff Butler/Bossington to cover
labour for fence – which Roy, again, has kindly said he would be able to provide at cost – he will let Lynda Boulton
know.
3.
Roy would not want the perimeter land disturbed before he installs the
fencing – to ensure it does not end up as a mudbath!
4.
Water – Roy and Geoff ‘on the case’ for digging down
to find some!
5.
Philip is kindly investigating prices for suitable hand pumps - the
Parish Council (via Lynda) will need 2 or 3 quotes and will seek a grant via Viridor (Waste Management coy that gives grants
via the Landfill tax revenues).
6.
Entrance – Richard Jenkins has kindly agreed to allow ‘permissive’
access across the bottom of his drive, so the entrance will be re-positioned, at an angle – so no need to find funds
for extension of dropped kerb. We will just need to plant up the existing gap.
7.
There should be space for parking of up to 4 vehicles – just inside
the field – to help ensure that cars are not parked on the road or grass verge.
8.
Relevant paperwork for lease (from Busk Estate to Parish Council) is
with Busk Estate’s Land Agent – Lucy will ask Lynda to chase up!
9.
Sarah Wright would like to see a copy of the lease agreement
– Lucy will ask Lynda Boulton to arrange, when it’s available.
10.
Although we cannot do any development in the field until all the legal
paperwork has been agreed and signed, we felt we could measure up plots – by dividing the field into segments,
allowing for headlands and paths between – and we agreed to have a session to do this on Sunday 7 February –
10.30 am – Roy will kindly provide tape/string and pegs! Allocation and running of Allotments
1.
We all agreed: - allocation of plots should be ‘numbers out of a hat’ (John & Penny agreed to pull out
the
- number for Clare & co since they are in T&T!)
- each Holder would be responsible for clearing their own plot
2.
We all felt it would be best to have an ‘association-type’
arrangement, rather than a
‘management committee’ given that there are a small number of us.
3.
Lucy agreed to be Chairman and Philip is the Parish Council rep.
4. We will probably need a Treasurer/Secretary – could be the same person or 2 people.
5. We will not know how much each plot rental will be till the lease and legal matters are drawn up.
The field will be leased from the Busk Estate to Houghton Parish Council and allotment holders will pay their rental
to the PC.
6.
There is no additional cost to the Parish Council for insurance because
the existing public liability covers all property owned or leased by the Council. However, once allotments are leased
out, then the allotment holder becomes responsible for Public Liability on his/her plot. The Parish Council’s insurance
company has suggested that all plot holders inform their own insurance company – as household policies can be extended
to cover PL on Holder’s allotment
7.
The Parish Council is responsible for Public Liability on all other
bits of the site, including vacant allotments.
8.
There will be a written ‘agreement’ of some sort for each
Allotment Holder to sign – it can cover what we feel is necessary (and there are ‘model’ agreements available
from the National Society of Allotment & Leisure Gardens).
9.
There was general consensus that the following should be included in
the agreement – other thought and ideas welcome! We realize we need to think about future allotment
holders – not just us at this time!
10.
We felt that the following would not be permitted: · Individual
sheds·
Livestock (eg chickens, etc.,)· Hoses/Sprinklers·
Trees (eg fruit trees)· Artificial lighting·
Radios· Generators
We also
discussed the following:
1. Limited poly tunnels could be OK , if necessary.
2. Allotment holders to keep noise down, as there are houses on either side of the field
3. There should be only one
bonfire site – as central as possible and no material to be imported for it.
4.
Between us, we would be responsible for maintaining the edges of the
field – eg: grass, bushes along the fence.
5. We felt it would be good to have one communal compost area (probably a couple of bays near the
shed site) but if individual allotment holders want to store their own, that’s fine – on their own plot
6. Dogs can visit with their
owners but must be kept under control
7. The following would be OK: - Beehives
- Fruit cages
- Nettings and cloches – up to about 1 metre high
8.
We could have a scarecrow – and possibly a tall pole for owl (or
other birds!) perch
9. Water storage – until we have a shed (with water butts to collect rain), we could obtain some old cattle troughs/tanks
– Ken know of several!
10. The shed – which
probably won’t be affordable till next year – would be sited in the top LH corner – (the corner by Plum
Tree Barn and Field Path). It is unlikely that the contents of the shed would be insured (too expensive).
Future meetings
We all agreed that the last Wednesday in the month would be a suitable date – at The Boot Inn
- 8 pm – but at the Allotments perhaps in the summer!
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