Allotments Minutes 26th August 2014
MINUTES of the Meeting of the ALLOTMENTS COMMITTEE
held at
The Guildhall, Church Street, Harwich
on
Wednesday 26th August 2014 at 7.00pm
| Present: | Councillors Calver, J Henderson, King, C Powell and F Powell |
| In the Chair: | Councillor D McLeod |
| Clerk: | Michelle Townsend |
| Also present: | Site Representatives, Mr McCoy, Mr Edmunds, Mrs Steward, Miss Clark and Mr Button 1 member of the public and no members of the press |
PUBLIC QUESTION TIME:
Mr Wood asked all members attending the committee meeting to speak loudly so that discussions could be heard by members of the public.
| A14/14 | APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Councillors Brown, Day, Todd and Thompson Site Representatives Mr Mesher and Mr O’Hara |
| A15/14 | DECLARATIONS OF MEMBERS’ INTERESTS None |
| A16/14 | MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING RESOLVED: that the minutes of the Allotments meeting held on 25th June 2014 (previously circulated) be approved by the Committee and signed by the Chairman as a true record. |
| A17/14 | MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
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| A18/14 | MATTERS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MINUTES
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| A19/14 | VACANT PLOTS/ WAITING LIST/NOTICES TO QUIT The Clerk advised members of the following:
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| A20/14 | SITE REPRESENTATIVE REPORTS Mr Button – Liaising with the Clerk regarding plots highlighted from the site visits. Mr Edmunds – Nothing to report. Mr McCoy – Nothing to report. Miss Clark – Nothing to report. Mrs Steward – Couple of plots need some work following recent site visits. |
| A21/14 | WILLOW WAY Members considered feedback from contractors regarding problems with vertically extending HTC’s fence and after assessing the levels of vandalism, against the cost of providing a new fence, it was felt that no further action was appropriate. RESOLVED: HTC to take no further action. |
| A22/14 | TDC LAND ADJACENT TO LONG MEADOWS ALLOTMENT SITE Members considered the viability of acquiring the land given the obstacles that have been presented and feedback from F&GP Committee. RESOLVED: Not to proceed with securing the land for allotment use. |
| A23/14 | WEED CONTROL RESOLVED: Not to proceed with restocking heavy duty black plastic to assist plot holders temporarily. All existing black plastic currently in use to be kept under the management of the Site Representative. |
| A24/14 | HALVING OF PLOT Members felt that no changes were necessary to the existing policy but asked for the existence of the policy to be promoted on notice boards and for those occupying 10 rods plots to be specifically notified when distributing the invoice letters. |
| A25/14 | INTRODUCTION PACKS Members discussed the feasibility of providing introduction packs for plot holders which could include basic agricultural and bio-diversity information. Site Representatives and Members felt that there is always assistance available from willing plot holders as well as a wealth of information available free of charge. RESOLVED: Not to proceed with introduction packs. Clerk to write to the plot holder expressing the Committee’s thanks for their feedback and suggestions. |
| A26/14 | SITE VISITS The Chairman thanked the Site Representatives for their assistance over the past year and asked for any further ideas or suggestions for their sites to be forwarded to the office prior to the next meeting for consideration. It was suggested that any future site visits should be arranged for a weekend to assist with availability for those who wished to attend. The Chairman promoted shed alarms available from the Crime Prevention Panel at a cost of £4.50. Clerk agreed to investigate and promote availability. |
| A27/14 | MATTERS RECEIVED IN THE POST OR RAISED BY MEMBERS Mr Button raised the issue of damaged fence adjacent to the old health clinic. The Clerk agreed to investigate the responsibility for the boundary. |
| A28/14 | TO RESOLVE TO PERMIT SITE REPRESENTATIVES TO REMAIN IN THE MEETING DURING CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS RESOLVED: To permit the Site Representatives to remain in the meeting during confidential business. |
| A29/14 | TIME AND DATE OF NEXT MEETING The next meeting of the Allotments Committee will be held at The Guildhall, Church Street, Harwich on Wednesday 29th October 2014 at 7pm. |
| A30/14 | EXCLUSION OF PUBLIC AND PRESS Pursuant to Sub-Section 2 of Section 1 of the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 the meeting was closed to the press and public for the transaction of the under-mentioned business:
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The Chairman closed the public part of meeting at 7.50pm