ALLOTMENTS COMMITTEE

Minutes of the meeting of the Allotments Committee held at 7.45pm on Thursday, 23 October 2003 at The Institute. Councillor Anderson, Chairman, presided over Councillors Chambers, Thomas and the clerk. No members of the public were present.

009    APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE - None received.

010    DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST None.

011     MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING

The Minutes of the meeting held on 16 June 2003, having previously been circulated, were approved as a true and correct record and signed by the Chairman.

012     FORMALISATION OF LEASE OF LAND

The land become available to the Council with effect from 1 October 2003 and the following recommendations were agreed:

§    A letter is sent to the former tenant thanking him for his co-operation on this project.
§    The Council requests an initial three year lease at an annual rent of £150 plus drainage board rates via an exchange of letters with the Trustees of the Hall Meadow Estate and the Parochial Church Council to formalise the agreement to use the land for allotments.
§    Approval of the payment of £75 in respect of the half-year rent from 1.10.03 to 31.3.04.

013    REVIEW OF PROGRESS ON THE PREPARATION WORKS

1.    The Committee received the plan produced for the land and noted that it would provide 70 allotment garden plots. Legislation permits up to one quarter of an acre (5 plots) to be held by one individual.

2.    The Council’s insurers confirmed that the existing public liability cover would be sufficient for its purposes but that plot holders should have their own cover this can be arranged through the N.S.A.L.G. at a very competitive rate.

3.    The Conservation Grant application to L.C.C. for 50% of the cost of supplying hedge plants/trees and planting stakes has been approved. The cost to the Council will be £373 plus any labour costs to plant. An estimate has been obtained for labour costs but it might be possible to get volunteers to help.

4.    L.C.C. Highways has refused permission for the existing access to be used as it stands. It was agreed to seek permission for an unmade field access as opposed to an adopted access on cost and practicality grounds. Certain improvement works to the entrance and the visibility splay will be required and estimates for this have been obtained.

5.    S.K.D.C. has indicated that planning consent will be needed to construct these access improvements. An application will be submitted.

6.    Estimates for ground works including compacting and seeding the communal parking areas and roadways, the marking out of plots and other boundary fences was received. It was agreed that a further estimate for the addition of a plastic grass guard should be obtained to make the communal areas more robust. A supplier for a key code barrier gate is still being sought.

7.    The Committee heard that the provision of a water supply would be expensive as the nearest public main was sited on the northern side of Towngate East and there was no other opportunity of access to water nearer the site. Anglian Water is in the process of finalising its quotation but the Committee had the benefit of an estimate provided by a local supplier to give an indication of the likely costs, which will be considerable.

The Committee considered that a water supply is essential to the success of the project and that compromising at this stage would prove expensive in the long term. Works to lay water would need to be completed in advance of any ground preparation works.

014    REVIEW OF BUDGET AND GRANT AID OPPORTUNITIES

The estimates for the works identified above total in the region of £11,000. This is beyond the Committee’s budget of £2,000 and the Hall Meadow Estate Charity fund which stands at approximately £500.

Cllr Thomas and the clerk have investigated several grant aid opportunities, many of which are either unavailable to statutory bodies or have closed their funds due to over subscription. Three opportunities have been identified; S.K.D.C.’s Recycling Fund, Welland Catalyst Fund and Countryside Agency/EMDA Community Development Projects Fund. These funds could provide in the region of £5-6,000 if successful but require evidence of match funding, usually 50%.

In view of the unanticipated significantly higher costs attributable to preparing the land to the committee’s desired expectations, it was agreed to recommend that the Council:

§    Considers delaying the opening of the allotment gardens from early 2004 until 1 September 2004 to permit grant applications to be submitted and the completion of the preparation works according to weather conditions/seasonal planting schedules.
§    Reviews its budget and considers reallocating additional funds to the Allotments Committee to provide the minimum match fund needed and allow the project to proceed.
§    Agrees to the Committee holding a meeting to discuss the progress made so far and the Council’s proposals for developing the land with all those who have registered an interest in a plot in order to further develop the community link. It is planned to hold this meeting on Monday, 1 December 2003 at The Institute and follow the presentation with light refreshments the Committee will hold an informal briefing meeting on Monday, 24 November 2003 to discuss the format if approved.

015    TENANCY AGREEMENT AND ALLOCATION ARRANGEMENTS

The clerk reported that the Charity Commissioners had raised no objection to the lease of land unused by residents of Deeping St James to residents of other parishes. It was agreed to advertise that people from outside the parish could put their name forward for consideration should there be any space plots. So far, 29 Deeping St James residents have registered their interest.

It was agreed that the pro-forma agreement produced by the National Association of Local Councils should form the basis of the Tenancy Agreement.

It was agreed to discuss this and the manner in which plots will be allocated at a later meeting.

016    MASTER COMPOSTER TRAINING

Members were please to receive Cllr Thomas’ report on the training recently started which will enable her to train local groups and organisations on composting techniques. This was recognised as a very positive resource for developing community skills and relationships. Cllr Thomas was thanked for undertaking this. A copy of the report is appended to the Minutes.

017    DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The Committee agreed to step up its meeting frequency. The date of the next meeting is to be advised in due course.

There being no further business, the meeting was closed at 9.25pm.