MINUTES OF THE AUGUST 2018 MEETING OF ABAS
Held 13/08/2018 at Astley Bridge Cricket Club
Present: 19 representatives of 12 societies
Apologies: Steve Barlow (Moss Lea), Carol
Barlow (Sapling Rd.), Albert Skelhorn (Clammerclough)
MINUTES OF THE JULY MEETING
The Minutes having been posted on the
Association Blog-site http://abas2014.blogspot.co.uk and there being no objections the minutes of
the July meeting were formally adopted.
MATTERS
ARISING
A Progress meeting had been held with the Head
of Neighbourhood Services on 17th July at which (amongst other matters) those
matters flagged at the July meeting were addressed
Allotments
Budget
The budget remains the same as in previous
years i.e. £30k - £31k
The principal budgetary worry is the much
increased use of water over the hot dry summer period which is leading to
significant increases in water charges on the Council. Since water charges are
a significant element in the budget this is a concern.
The number of vacant plots is not expected to
materially affect the value of rents received.
The number of offers of rent-free periods
(usually up to Oct 2018) to new tenants will increase to encourage applicants
to take on difficult and hard-to-rent plots.
Maintenance
work
The Council is stockpiling “road planings” and
hopes (finances allowing) to be able to do some remedial work on site roads and
car parking areas on allotment sites in the Autumn / Winter.
Societies
are encouraged to send in their “wish lists” to Abas who will compile them and
send them on to the Allotments section.
One member asked whether these “planings”
might be made available to societies under the “self-help” scheme. Allotments have since confirmed that they
will examine requests for planings on a site by site basis. They have again
stressed that the programme of work referred to above depends largely on the
size of water bills received by the autumn.
Roll-out of
revised OMAs
MR has visited Harpers Lane and Green Lane
(Horwich). Green Lane are moving to an OMA. A visit was offered to Dealey Rd.
but they are happy to do without. Allotments hopes to send emails soon to
restart the visits process. The
Secretary was asked to enquire as to the progress of the implementation of the
Revised OMA
Provision of
an updated “Refresher Monitor”
Abas has been supplied with the current
refresher monitor which gives current details on waiting lists etc. New monitor
sheets are now only being produced every 6 months
Waiting
Lists
Under GDPR there is a potential issue relating
to the release of contact data on applicants to site secretaries for the
re-letting of plots. There may be a need for site societies to sign a document
stating that they will use this data only for the purpose stated and will not
transmit the data onwards. Allotments is waiting advice from IT / Legal. In the
meantime normal service continues.
Hatfield Road
–
The issue about the Portaloo has been resolved
–– but a visit by Jeff and Terry suggested a large number of abandoned plots.
Hatfield Rd. is a non-OMA site. Allotments
again stated that the Council has no resources to inspect non-OMA sites or
enforce mal-cultivation notices on them etc. The only way plots become “vacant”
is therefore if the rent isn’t paid. Letting vacant plots depends on time and
resources being available within allotments at the time. Non-OMA sites will
only get worse and there is thus a danger that at some date in the future they
will become unfit for use and then…..
Allotments has invited Jeff to submit a report
on Hatfield Rd detailing which plots are involved and the Council will consider
issuing BoT2s to the tenants of those plots. Jeff has subsequently done this. Does the Membership wish to see abas do
this for other non-OMA Sites?
Doubts were raised – Once BoT2s are issued who will do the follow-up inspection? If
there is a move to BoT3s and subsequent eviction who will be responsible for
the re-letting of the vacated plots? Are we merely creating a situation of a
site with a large number of vacant plots, some of which might then be
classified as “unlettable”? Are we assisting in creating an opportunity for the
Council to close the site? This issue
needs thinking through.
Secretary
Matters
All present recognised the difficult position
of Society Secretaries caught as they often are between the Council and their
individual plot-holders.
Allotments is establishing a standard
procedure that when issuing BoT2s and BoT3s, staff send an email to the Site
Secretary concerned at the same time as placing the notice into an envelope for
posting.
There is a concern that when one secretary
retires and is replaced by a new one (often coinciding with major changes in
Committee membership) a lot of knowledge and information gets lost in the
handover.
The Abas
Committee therefore agreed to create a “Secretaries’ Check List” which will itemise what should be included
in a handover pack to be given by the retiring secretary to the incoming
secretary. This pack might be extended to include Treasurers and other
Committee members.
Work on such a pack has not yet started (the
Committee has been too involved in the Allotments Competition, the Show etc.
and simply running their own plots at this time of year).
We would hope to carry out work on the pack at
the end of the season.
Re-letting
Matters
Allotments supports a “3 strikes and you’re
out” approach to contacting people from the waiting list. If a secretary has
sent either 3 emails or left 3 messages on an answerphone (or any combination
of these) without response then s/he should not persist. S/he should however
list that person on the monthly report and the Council will move their name
down the waiting list.
If applicants say “they are not ready for a
plot yet” – then abas has proposed that IF a society can get a statement (in
writing) from such people as to a date at which they might be ready to accept a
plot – it might be acceptable NOT to contact such people with offers before
that date? The secretary should list that person on the monthly report
stating that no offer has been made and stating why.
The Council is hoping that it can amend its
system so that “buddies” will be
clearly indicated on the waiting list. Abas
has proposed that it should be up to
the Society (with its local knowledge) to decide whether buddies need to be
contacted with offers? Again when an offer is not made the reason should be
stated on the monthly report.
The rationale for putting “reasons” (in all
these cases) on the Monthly Report is so that Allotments don’t spend time
contacting Secretaries to enquire “why has number five on the list been offered
a plot, when there are four above her?”
AN
INCREASING CONCERN
Discussions with some site secretaries has
uncovered a concern relating to the application of OMAs.
We think it may be worthwhile to set out again
our (abas) current
understanding:-
Preamble
An OMA is a working agreement between the Council
and a Site Society under which the Society acts as the agent for the Council in
relation to a number of defined functions. The
Society can (and should) carry out these functions regardless of whether a
plot-holder is a member of the society or not. In all cases where a tenant
does not accept the decision of the society they have a right to appeal to the
Council.
The
functions are (in the main):
Granting permission to erect
structures
(greenhouses, sheds etc.) – guidelines are provided by the council as to what
is acceptable
Granting permission to keep poultry (and rabbits and pigeons – bees are
in dispute) - guidelines are provided by the council as to what is acceptable
Inspecting the site on a routine
basis and submitting Monthly condition reports to the Council
3.1
Inspections should be conducted by a designated team of Society members and not
by a single person. Inspections can / should lead to initiating the BoT (Breach
of Tenancy) processes (specifically mal-cultivation)
BoTs have
three stages
3.2 Stage 1
– informal – the Society contacts
the tenant and tries to resolve the issue without the formal involvement of the
Council – photographic evidence of the plot condition may be taken. Where a
tenant is NOT a society member (and thus the Society may have no contact
details for him / her) this stage may be deemed inappropriate. Stage 2 may also
be skipped in the case of “repeat offenders”. (Current
advice received from Allotments (15/08/2018) would seem to be that whilst it is
not necessary for a Society to actually go through a BoT1 stage, the Society
should (in the month prior to requesting a BoT2) noted on the Monthly report
that the plot is giving cause for concern. It might be worth reminding
Allotments that you’ve done this when requesting the BoT2.)
3.3 Stage 2
– BoT2 – the Society informs the Council (through the monthly report) that a
particular plot is not being cultivated to an acceptable standard. They then request
that the Council serves a Formal Improvement Notice (usually referred to as a
BoT2). Such a Request must be accompanied by a dated photograph / photographs
showing the state of the plot on the inspection date. If the Council agrees then they will serve
the BoT2 on the tenant which gives them 21 days (the improvement period) to
remedy the problem. The Council will inform the Society as to the date at which
the BoT2 was served, and thus the date the improvement period ends.
At a date
subsequent to the completion of the improvement period, the Society will
re-inspect the plot and determine if the plot is now in an acceptable
condition. They will (supported by photographic evidence) then inform the
Council of this decision through the Monthly Report. If the plot is deemed
“acceptable” then no further action is required.
3.3 Stage 3
- If the plot is deemed not “acceptable” then the Society will request the
Council to terminate the tenancy by issuing a Notice of Re-entry (usually
referred to as a BoT3). If the Council agrees it will then serve a BoT3 on the
tenant. This begins a process by which the tenant is removed from the plot. The
Council will inform the Society as to a) the date when the BoT3 is served, b)
the date when the legal processed of retaking possession have been completed
and c) the date from which the plot may be re-let.
4. The Letting of Plots
4.1 Site
Secretaries are provided with periodic updates to the Waiting List for their
site.
Please Note:
A Site Secretary cannot (unless
expressly authorised by the Council) offer a plot to any person who is not on
the waiting list.
All other things being equal plots
should be offered in the order the names appear on the Waiting List.
If after three attempts (email or
leaving a ‘phone message) the Society cannot make contact with the applicant
then they should inform the Council via the monthly report that it proved
impossible to contact this person. (See
earlier notes) They should then move to the next name on the list.
4.2 When
they are informed that a plot is available for re-letting they should contact
the person at the top of the waiting list and ask if they still want a plot.
(There are some exceptions which relate to a) considering transfers for
existing site tenants and b) when the person at the head of the list is a
“buddy” on the site or has previously indicated they do not yet want a plot – see abas minutes).
4.3 If the
person does want a plot, a society representative should meet with them on
site, show them the plot and ask if they want it.
If they refuse
the offer then the Society should inform the Council of the refusal and the
reason given – the Council may then take action either to a) remove them from
the waiting list, b) amend the date they came on the list to the date of the
refusal (thus putting them at the bottom of the list) or c) take no action.
4.4 If the
person accepts the plot then it is usual for the Society to offer them the plot
for a probationary period (usually three months). No rent is payable during a
probationary period. (See also earlier
minute about rent-free periods.) The Society will inspect the plot during
and at the end of the probationary period. In certain circumstances the
probationary period may be waived.
If at the
end of the probationary period the Society feels that the probationer has not
made sufficient progress then they can advise the Council of this fact (with
suitable photographic evidence) and request that the probationer leave the plot
and that they be allowed to re-let it. Strictly speaking a probationer is not a
tenant (see below) and has no tenancy rights. (However this has on occasion been a contentious issue, with “failed”
probationers appealing to the Council and to elected members, hence the
importance of dated photographic evidence).
4.5 When a
prospective tenant has successfully demonstrated their ability to cultivate a
plot, then the Society should get the applicant to sign a Tenancy Registration
Form. The Society should then send a copy of this form with the Monthly Report
to the Council requesting that a Tenancy be offered. The Council then sends the
prospective tenant a Tenancy Agreement (and informs the Society that of the
date that this document was sent).
4.6 It is
then the Tenant’s responsibility to return the Tenancy Agreement to the
Council. Until such time as this is done no tenancy exists and the applicant
has no rights to cultivate the land.
4.7 Once the
Tenancy Agreement is received by the Council they will a) inform the Society
and b) arrange the billing of the tenant
5. General Administration
An important
document is the tenancy amendment form – this lets a secretary record and
communicate to the Council when a tenant signifies they’re giving up or when
something else on their tenancy changes. It’s important that Societies have actual
written evidence that a tenant has for example quit their plot. Societies
should keep copies of any emails or letters they receive that relate to such
matters.
Dealing with Members
Membership of a Society represents another
(separate) agreement between a Society and an individual who chooses to join
it. The Society therefore has a “duty” to provide agreed services to those
members (and only to those members).
ABAS
MEMBERSHIP
A number of societies have still not yet paid
their annual subscriptions to the Association.
Current membership still stands at 399
plot-holders, although total numbers of plots on sites in membership exceeds
this figure.
The Treasurer will now start membership for
2018/2019.
BOLTON
ALLOTMENTS COMPETITION 2018
The final round of Judging took place W/C 16th
July. Some 27 entries were received from 9 sites and the results are as follows
New Tenants Trophy
1st Martyn
Swain Rawlyn Road
2nd Lee
Smith Dealey Road
3rd Denise
Sweeney Sapling Road
The Fairhurst Trophy [ Best Full Size
Plot]
1st J
Dyson Sapling Road
2nd D& D
Urmston Sapling Road
3rd A
Saunders Sapling Road
The Fred
Greenhalgh Trophy [ Best Smaller
Plot]
1st Mike and Mary Marsh Nasmyth Street
2nd Pauline Oliver Moss Lea
3rd Phil Woods Sapling Road
Rose Bowl Competition [For Best Allotment site in Bolton]
1st Tonge Fold Allotments
2nd Moss Lea
3rd Sapling Road
Special
thanks to J MAHER of Bolton for supplying the Prize Vouchers and to Abas Volunteers
for Judging the Competition
ABAS ONION,
LEEK AND VEGETABLE SHOW
The Show took place this year on Saturday 4
Aug at Trinity Methodist Church.
The Show consisted of 25 Vegetable Class
with some 180 entries tabled on the Day,
The Show Judge Mr Mike Osbourne FNV remarking
on the excellent quality of Vegetables Shown
Cups/Awards
Association of Bolton Allotment
Societies Shield for a Collection of 4 Vegetables
1st Mr Brian Milne
The
Secretaries’ Shield for Most Points in Show
1st Mr Jeff Gibson
The Stan
Pickles Trophy and Silver Medal for most Meritorious Vegetable in Show
Mr Jeff Gibson
The Bolton
Allotments Council Challenge Trophy for the allotment site with Most Points
Won by Sapling Road Allotments
Thanks to
the following for sponsoring the Show
The Duchy of Lancaster
Mr George Wild
Mr Richard Hayes
Mrs Sue Clegg
Mr Les Butterworth
Mrs Margaret Farrell
Mr Terry Farrell
Mr Jeff Gibson
And a
special thanks to Terry and Margaret Farrell and the Show Committee for
organising and running the show.
Although the number of entries (180) was high,
179 of these came from two sites (Sapling Rd. and Tonge Fold) with just 1 from
Moss Lea. The Chair commented that few if any representatives of other sites
(other than people collecting awards from the Allotment Competitions) had
attended the show as visitors. The
Committee hope to initiate a discussion as to a) should we continue to hold the
Show, b) How do we better get information about the show and how to enter down
to the ‘grassroots’ plot-holders c) How do we encourage those plot-holders to
enter produce in the Show? e) How do we better publicise the Show?
NWCAA
Following advice from a member, and subsequent
to the meeting the Secretary tried to access the NWCAA website to find it had
reverted to a generic BT website builder page. A further attempt to contact
NWCAA produced the following response:-
To:boltonallotments2014@yahoo.co.uk
14 Aug at
10:12
Please
Note as from Monday 4th June 2018
Your (that is the NWCAA’s) current officers
have resigned and are no longer part of the National Society or North West
Region
This
email account is no longer monitored and therefore if you need support or
information please contact the NW Rep on email nw.nsalg@yahoo.co.uk
Thank you
for your support and we wish you well in the future
********************
We’ll try to
find out more through the Regional Rep and / or the NAS HQ
GM SPATIAL
PLAN
The revised plan (due June 2018) has now been
delayed (due to a need to revise the area population projections). It will now appear in October and will be
followed by 12 weeks consultation
Noted – but
not yet confirmed
We have been informed (informally) that
Salford City Council appear to have acceded to their Federation’s request that space
for allotments be considered when granting planning permissions for new developments.
It appears that such space is included in a current permission but the land
that the developers have offered lies within Bolton rather than Salford.
Bolton planners are against the idea and would
also seek to reject any abas approaches for a similar provision on planning
applications in Bolton. A sticking point seems to be who would have
responsibility for the management of any sites thus created.
HOSEPIPE BAN
As members will know the proposed Hosepipe Ban
has been called off.
We would remind members of the continuing need
to save water. Water usage has been very high so far this year and this will be
reflected in the bills submitted to the Council. Higher water bills will mean that there is
less money available for site work by the Council e.g. on site roads and car
parks
INSURANCE
Contact details for JLF (who have taken over
the Bluefin Allotment Insurance Scheme) have now been posted on the abas
blogsite at http://abas2014.blogspot.co.uk The Secretary has further details of the JLF
offer for those who wish to have them.
We would again repeat that this information
has been acquired at the request of member societies and that abas does not
endorse any particular supplier.
WHAT’S ON IN
2018?
August 18th Open Day / Show at Moss Lea
Allotments
August 25th Produce Market at
Florence Avenue
September 8th Open Day at Settle Street
Allotments
September 8th Horwich Annual Home &
Produce Show
(Horwich Community Centre – contact
horwich.gov.uk)
September 9th Local Produce Market at Harpers
Lane Allotments 11.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m.
October 14th Local Produce Market at Harpers
Lane Allotments 11.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m.
ANY OTHER
BUSINESS
REQUEST TO
KEEP BEES.
A member site wishes
(following some incidents with a previous beekeeper in which plot-holders were
stung) to impose a blanket ban on beekeeping on the site.
They have now been approached by a person (not a plot-holder /tenant,
not on the waiting list) who has stated a desire / intention to establish bee
hives on a former plot which the Council, has declared "unlettable".
Abas assumes that this person has some connection with a plot-holder on the
site who has advised them that this space exists.
At the meeting The Secretary gave Abas’ opinion (subsequently supported
by Allotments 15/08/2018) as:
"All plot-holders are
TENANTS of Bolton Council - Council Policy allows any tenant to apply to keep
bees (either on their allotment or in certain cases on another part of the
allotment site where such provision is available). Therefore a Society may not
(unilaterally) pass a blanket ban on bee-keeping on their site - this
contravenes the plot-holder's tenant's rights.
Our current understanding (following a recent
case at another site) is that applications to keep bees should be referred to
the Council.
Addressing the second part of our member’s
query, the right to keep bees is a right flowing from holding a tenancy on a
plot. Therefore to apply to keep bees. an individual must be a tenant with a
plot on the site in question. This means they will have applied for a plot,
been on the waiting list and then been granted a plot.
We have been advised by Allotment (15/08/2018) that were a non-plotholder / non-tenant were to
approach them with a proposal to establish hives on a piece of unused
("unlettable") land within the boundaries of an allotment site, the
Council would not approve the application unless it had the support of the Site
Society.
The member also asked "How do we check that the beekeeper has
adequate insurance and has attended a suitable course?" since these are
part of Council guidelines. We advised
that if the beekeeper has insurance though say the MBKA then they will have had
to have attended a suitable (in the eyes of the MBKA) course in order to be
MBKA members and obtain MBKA insurance. However if the Council is handling the
application the Council is responsible for making these checks (and for
ensuring any other conditions they impose on the applicant are met) and should
do this.
Please note abas
still support the BBKA / NAS stance that (wherever possible) bee hives
should not be on individual plots within the main growing areas and should be
situated in suitable areas away from other tenants.
MEETINGS SCHEDULE
The following meetings are planned
Monday 10th September
Monday 8th October
Monday 12th November (THE AGM)
The minutes
of all meetings are posted on the blog site as soon as possible after the
event, we also post any other information we feel relevant to our members’
concerns
http://abas2014.blogspot.co.uk
