Minutes of a Meeting on 08.06.2015
at Astley Bridge Cricket Club
Minutes of Last Meeting
The last meeting
having centred on a talk on vegetable growing followed by a discussion of
individual site grievances, there were no substantive minutes. Matters from the
discussion etc. were tabled for our meeting with the Council on 05.06.2015
ITEM ONE: FEEDBACK ON COUNCIL MEETING 05.06.15
Item 1.1 The revised / “refreshed” operational management agreement
A new version of
the OMA is being prepared and will be circulated to sites over the summer. The
key points are:-
Potential
Breaches of Tenancy
These are set out in the Tenancy
Agreement - When a Society identifies a potential breach of tenancy it should
report this (as part of the Monthly Report) together with supporting evidence
e.g. photographs (in areas such as Health and Safety concerns, mal-cultivation
and tipping) or written statements by named plot-holders (in cases such as
abusive or threatening behaviour by plot-holders).
Withdrawing
the term ‘Community Plot’
There is much confusion over what is
meant by the term community plot. In future this term will not be used in OMAs
or elsewhere. There will be no shared
plots other than joint tenancies.
If a plot is being worked by a group
of people then it will be called –“a plot being worked by a community
organisation / group” and that organisation / group will have to nominate a
single person to act as the official plot-holder. That person will be responsible
for the payment of the rent on that plot. The Council will however allow the
transfer of the tenancy of the plot to another nominated member of the
organisation when / if this becomes necessary.
Probationary
Plots
Under the refreshed OMA when a plot
becomes vacant it will firstly be considered whether that plot can be split. (See previous advice on ABAS blog-site).
This may create one or more smaller plots for letting. (The term half-plot is
no longer used, we simply have plots of differing sizes).
Plots available for letting will be
offered to prospective tenants for a probationary period (of up to a maximum of
6 months) at nil rental before potentially offering them the Tenancy of the
plot. The Society will oversee the probationary period and if during that
period there is sufficient evidence that the prospective tenant is capable of
working the plot, they will inform the Council that a Tenancy should be
offered. If at the end of the probationary period the Society feels that the
prospective tenant has not performed satisfactorily then they may extend the
probationary period or ask the prospective tenant to leave. If the prospective
tenant does not agree to vacate the plot then the Society should provide
evidence to support their decision and refer the matter to the Council who will
determine if a tenancy should be offered. The tenant will then receive a
Tenancy Agreement.
This
exposes a flaw in current arrangements – the Council has previously stated that
a site key will only be issued after a signed Tenancy Agreement has been
returned to them. How then is a probationer to gain access to the plot during
their probationary period? Societies will have to go back to providing keys (as
most do at present) and tenants will have to pay for them.
Buddies
- will after two years as a registered
buddy provided they are on the waiting list acquire the right either (if
the plot-holder agrees) to become joint tenants. During that period they will
have the normal rights of anyone on the waiting list, but a refusal of a vacant
plot on the grounds that they are already working a plot will not result in any
penalties.
Criteria
for decision making
With the refreshed OMAs will come a new pack for Society Secretaries
which will outline the current accepted criteria to be applied in devolved
approval / rejection of requests to erect structures, keep poultry, bees etc.
and provide new forms as appropriate.
Item 1.2 Inter-site Transfers
Where a tenant on a site wishes
to transfer to another site within the Borough they may go on the waiting list
for that site without needing to relinquish their current plot. If offered a
plot on their desired site they would then need to vacate their existing
tenancy.
Item 1.3
Day to day communications
Communications
between the Societies and the Council should (except for emergencies and truly
urgent matters) be through the revised MONTHLY REPORT
Societies should
submit the Monthly report during the second week of each calendar month
The Allotment
Section can then schedule its monthly meeting to collate these reports and make
decisions etc.
If by 1 calendar
month after the submission of an issue through a monthly report a Society has
not received a response they should notify Abas (and send us a copy of the
original report) we will then take the matter up with Malcolm Russell and
report back to the next Abas meeting.
The
aim is to reduce the number of individual phone calls and emails being received
by the section. They cannot cope and calls are not being logged and emails are
being lost.
Matters
to be covered in the monthly report include:
1. Any
requests received to go on the waiting list including registering buddies
2. Any
plots in breach of T&Cs (give position in process)
3. Any
plots vacated / given up
4. Any
contacts with persons from the waiting lists (including showing vacant plots
and the result)
5. Any
persons offered probationary plots
6. A
list of persons who have left probationary plots
7. New
Tenancy applications forms received by the Society (e.g. after a satisfactory
probation)
8. A
list of all delegated decisions on structure and livestock with results and
reasons for refusing any which are contested
Item 2. Future Working Arrangements with Wigan Council
Bolton Council
needs to cut £42m from its annual budgets. There is a fear that the next
Chancellor’s Budget will accelerate and deepen the cuts demanded of local
government.
There are outline
plans to cut a further 200 admin posts within Borough staff which could
seriously impact on the issues we’ve been raising.
Bolton Council is
examining the benefits of joint working with Wigan Council in a number of
areas. A report on the viability of joint working and which areas will be covered
will go to Elected Members in July. Changes to allotments arrangements have not
been discussed and MR assures us that there will always be a point of contact
for sites within Bolton.
ITEM 3 : ISSUES FROM SOCIETIES
Slowness
/ Lack of Response from Council on Setting Up OMAs
Progress on
initiating new OMAs (Haslam Park, Lever Park) should resume once the new OMA
agreements are available
Council
“Failure” to carry out promised work
Two examples of
fencing (Settle St. and Haslam Park) have been placed on the 2015/16 ‘to do’
list and are with contractors. In the event it was reported that the work at
Settle St has in fact been completed.
The damage to the
Harpers Lane Amenities building has revealed that Corporate Property do not
appear to have records of many buildings on allotment sites. If a building is
not listed on the Corporate Assets register MR cannot access funds to carry out
repairs. A survey will be conducted this summer on behalf of the Council to
correct the Register. In the meantime there is no information as to when the
building will be repaired.
Abas noted that responses
to H&S issues (e.g. asbestos at Harpers Lane and a derelict greenhouse at
Sapling Rd.) have improved
Lack
of Support from Council on Breaches of Tenancy
A recent case at
Sapling Rd. exemplifies what the Council sees as its need to intervene in
contentious disputes which may have political or media risks attached.
A recent case at
Florence Avenue has directly lead to the abandonment of the term community plot
and the introduction of the probationary system. MR is intending to make a site
visit to Florence Avenue to explain the reasons for the Council’s actions to
the Secretary.
MR
stressed that all plot-holders remain tenants of the Council and have a right
of access to Council appeal processes
Council
Failure to Liaise with Societies over new tenants
The only solution
offered is that these societies should accept one of the new revised OMAs.
Smedley Avenue
argued they could not take on an OMA on cost grounds. They have a number of
vacant an unworked plots on the site plus a number of members unwilling to join
or contribute (financially) to the society. This means that the cost of public
liability insurance a requirement of an OMA) would have to be shared amongst a
small number of members. They are in a catch 22 situation – they cannot bring
in tenants as they have no access to the waiting list (and the council has
directed few prospective tenants to the site), they can’t have the waiting list
because they haven’t an OMA, they can’t have an OMA because they can’t afford
the insurance, they can’t afford the insurance because there aren’t enough
tenants on the site etc.
Abas has agreed to write to Malcolm Russell asking if that requirement
might be waived for small sites at least on a temporary basis IF they simply
wish to have the waiting list and participate in letting vacant plots.
There was a question from the floor as to why the Council seems unable
to consistently and reliably operate agreements whereby prospective tenants are
given the contact details of nominated persons at the site so that there is
always someone there to let them on and greet them on a first visit.
Delays
in Council Responses to Requests for Decisions
Reasons Vary:-
Harpers Lane – This
concerned an Appeal by a tenant against a decision to keep bees on individual
plots. The Council is whether to adopt National advice on bee-keeping prior to
making a ruling.
Moss Lea – in one
case the matter requires referral to a Committee of elected members and MR has
been having difficulty in being allocated committee time – in the other MR
stated that he needs more information and hopes to visit the site this summer.
Dissatisfaction
with Council Responses
Issues over site
access by neighbours at Sapling Rd. The Secretary provided feedback on actions
taken by the Council which satisfied the representatives of Sapling Rd.
present. This is another example of where a simple call or email by Council
staff stating “this is the action we’ve
taken” would have helped matters.
ITEM 4: OTHER ITEMS
Stock
Plots – a plot is a stock plot IF it is so designated by the
Council and if the plot-holder pays rent at the appropriate rate. Stock Plots
are not covered by any OMA on the site BUT Societies should report any issues
impinging on the management of the site (e.g. the presence of Japanese Knotweed
on a stock plot)
Cemetery
Rd – the remaining issues at Cemetery Rd centre on what
was the original boundary of the cultivated / cultivatable area on the plots in
question and on the repairs to the fencing
ITEM
5: SITES WITHOUT OMAs
The Council’s
proposals for future site management centre on rolling out an increasing number
of OMAs.
There is a
proposal for Site representatives at other sites – i.e. an Abas member who has
a reporting role.
Abas seeks to
represent ALL sites in Bolton, and all plot-holders on those sites, not just
those with OMAs (at present just over 460 of the 950 plots in Bolton are
covered by OMAs – a further 50 or so plots are in the “pipeline”)
Members were asked
to consider what actions Abas could take to improve the prospects for sites
which cannot or will not adopt an OMA solution?
A suggestion from
the floor was that smaller non-OMA sites could be twinned with larger OMA sites
to create a multi-site society for insurance and OMA purposes. Abas would look
into this suggestion provided there are OMA sites willing to extend their range
and non-OMA sites who would accept ‘twinning’.
Abas also has a
communications issue, most of our member are OMA sites - How do we reach
non-OMA sites?
ITEM
6: FUTURE ABAS MEETINGS
Abas covers a
number of functions but two dominate – one we are an Association of Allotment
SOCIETIES (what the National calls a Federation) and two, we are a society of
allotment gardeners.
The normal
business meetings of ABAS address the first function and contact is essentially
through Society Secretaries.
The talks etc.
that we have recently organised address the second.
How do we reach
individual allotment holders and others interested in growing food?
There has been a
proposal that we do not mix the two strands in a single meeting but have
separate meetings for each purpose – what do members think? How could we do
this?
ITEM
7: COMPETITIONS
Judging has now
begun on the Borough-wide Allotments Competitions (Fairhurst, Greenhalgh, New
Tenant, Rosebowl). Entry numbers have been disappointing.
Update on the
Onion and Leek Show – posters are now available promoting the Show. These were
distributed to those present. A show schedule and entry forms will be available
soon from Mrs Margaret Farrell, 13 Romer Street, Bolton, BL2 6BG Tel: 0785 394
9570.
Abas’ Treasurer
Terry Farrell has offered to help anyone who is considering entering the show
by providing advice and assistance in selecting entries and preparing items for
the show bench. Terry’s number is 0786 393 3064
ITEM
8: ANY OTHER BUSINESS AND NEXT MEETING
Members are concerned that the Council (despite statements to the
contrary) is not focusing on the key task of letting vacant plots. It was felt
that the Council is losing income which could be spent on providing services to
allotments.
Members are concerned that issues around allotment management and the
provision of the service are not higher on the public agenda – it was suggested
that the issues could be aired in the Bolton News and raised at Area Forums and
Ward Councillor Surgeries.
The next Meeting is on Monday 13th July, 8.00 p.m. at Astley
Bridge Cricket Club
