documents/vale-road-allotment-society-2016-rules-1.pdf
RULES OF VALE ROAD ALLOTMENT SOCIETY
1. Rents, which include a leisure gardeners’ affiliation fee, are to be paid annually in advance. The renewal date is 1 January and members must inform the Secretary of any change in address.
2. Plots are to be used as allotment gardens only. With written permission, rabbits and hens may be kept but the size and materials for housing them are subject to Town Council and Committee agreement (section 12, Allotments Act 150 refers). No other animals may be kept.
3. Plots are to be cultivated, and kept reasonably clear of weeds. Except in exceptional weather conditions, or extended illness, members who neglect their plots for more than a month will be asked to give a valid reason for doing so. If a reasonable standard is not maintained thereafter,the Committee reserves the right to withdraw plots, after due warning in writing.
4. If corrugated iron is present on a plot, the edges must not be sharp or jaqged; edges must be rounded off or protected to prevent injury.
5. New members will be restricted to a total plot size of six rods. Existing members may not extend their plot holding beyond a total of six rods.
6. No buildings (e.g. sheds) are to be erected without the agreement of the Committee. Sheds should be erected in planned spaces and must display the member’s plot number. Guttering should be installed on all sheds to collect rain water for use on the plots.
7. Pathways abutting plots must be mown to at least half their width. Edges must be cut to remain clearly visible so that people do not trip and fall. Plot holders must ensure that paths are not less than 24 inches wide and re-instate them to that width if necessary. Pathways should not be obstructed. The plot holder may be considered liable if an accident is caused by poor path and edge maintenance (e.g. a deep drop along a path edge).
8. Members’ own power driven machines (e.g. mowers, strimmers, cutters) may be used but must be covered by the members’ own home insurance policy or separate cover obtained. It is preferable for members to store equipment in their own shed. However, if equipment is stored in the communal shed, it is at the members own risk as the society and its insurers can accept no responsibility.
9. No plants must exceed plot areas so that they overhang pathways or boundaries with neighbouring plots. No trees are to be planted on individual plots without the prior agreement of the committee. Trees must be well pruned and should be removed before a plot is vacated.
10. Plots may not be sublet or transferred to other persons without the agreement of the Committee.
11. No annoyance must be caused to other plot holders or to the residents of the adjoining gardens or land. Any dispute between plot holders must be referred to the Committee whose decision will be final.
12. Barbed wire must not be used for fencing or for any other purpose. Glass is not allowed anywhere on the site. Plastic, wire, nylon netting etc must be removed by the owner when no longer required.
13. No boundary trees may be felled without approval of the Committee and, if necessary, of Haywards Heath Town Council
14. Individual bonfires are not permitted. Occasional communal bonfires may be lit at the Committee’s discretion.
15. Plot holders must have at least one working compost bin or heap. Garden waste from private property must not be brought onto the site unless it for the plot holder’s own compost bin. Waste vegetation is not to be placed in, or adjacent to, surrounding hedges, fences, stream or culvert.
16. Members are strongly encouraged to use water butts but for safety reasons they must be provided with a lid. Hose pipes may only be used to fill water butts in dry weather and members are expected to conserve water as far as possible. Communal water butts are provided but should be used solely for plot watering and every effort made to keep the butts clean and free from sediment.
17. Dogs must not be brought onto the site unless on a leash and under full control. Should the dog foul a footpath the owner must clean up.
18. The Committee has the right to refuse admittance to any persons other than plot holders (or members of their families) unless accompanied by the plot holder or family member.
19. Officers and agents of the Town Council and Mid Sussex District Council are entitled to inspect the allotment gardens, when so directed by the Councils.
20. The useof weed killers of any kind is forbidden anywhere in the allotment gardens without committee approval and supervision.
21. Minerals, gravel or soil must not be taken away from the allotment gardens.
22. The slow worms living on the site are an endangered species and plot holders should protect them. It is a criminal offence to kill them
Updated rules as agreed at 2013 AGM
CLICK ABOVE FOR ALLOTMENT RULES
ALLOTMENT RULES FOR 2016 AMENDMENTS.
SHEDS SHOULD BE 4FT APART TO ALLOW FOR WATER BUTTS AND COLLECTION PIPES.
A.G.M. JANUARY 2017
Thanks to those who attended; it was a good turnout and we raised a tidy sum for charity with our raffle.
Could I remind anyone who has yet to pay their annual fees please send them to our new Treasurer as soon as possible (her address is on you invoice).
For those of you who missed the AGM, here are the things that you might like to pick up from the minutes;
John Gill (treasurer), Jagger (site Safety) and Marie Innes (Secretary) have resigned. Many thanks them and to our new volunteers, Dave Pidgeon (returning), Richard Hackett, Tom Buck, Kevin Laue and Eva Hall who have all bravely stepped up to help.
Vikki Lewis is our new Treasurer and Marie's secretary duties will be shared by Richard and David.
Finances are in good shape but not sufficient to purchase a toilet for the site (we are looking into this again).
Plot rents will remain at £3.80 per plot unless the Council rent rises significantly.
The revised rules, circulated with the AGM agenda, were approved.
We currently have 5 vacant plots. If anyone wants to move plots or take a 2nd plot then now is the ideal time.
Please let me know if you have friends who want to join.
Although Working Parties are gradually getting better attended there are still a lot of members who never volunteer.
Working parties will be scheduled for the first weeks in April, June, August and October in 2017. This will allow volunteers to plan ahead and they will also be weekend/weekday for the first time to try give more of you an opportunity to volunteer.
Particular attention will be paid to plot cultivation in March/April/May as we had
several neglected plots this year and were not quick enough to pass them onto people on the waiting list in time for them to grow anything much.
<2017 AGM Minutes.doc>
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ownership
Rents are to be paid annually in advance. The renewal date is 1 January and members must inform the Secretary of any change in address, telephone number(s) or email.
Plots are to be used as allotment gardens only. With written permission, rabbits and hens may be kept but the size and materials for housing them are subject to Town Council and Committee agreement (section 12, Allotments Act 150 refers). No other animals may be kept.
Plots are to be cultivated, and kept reasonably clear of weeds including adjoining paths. Allowance will be made for exceptional weather conditions, or extended illness at the committee’s discretion. Members who neglect their plots for more than a month will be asked to agree an action plan for cultivation. If a reasonable standard is not maintained as per VRAS guidelines the Committee reserves the right to withdraw plots, after due warning in writing.
Plots may not be sublet or transferred to other persons without the agreement of the Committee.
New members will be provided with a plot size of no more than 6 rods. Existing members may increase their plot size, at the committee’s discretion, when there is no waiting list.
Each year the Committee shall organise work parties to deal with communal tasks for the upkeep of the site. Notice of the dates of these work parties shall be given to members by email and by affixing notices on the gates and at the container area’.
All members shall contribute a total of at least two hours of their time annually to these work parties. Members who do communal tasks between work parties, such as mowing communal areas and/or helping with the annual bonfire shall be credited accordingly.
Any member who fails to contribute at least two hours per year shall pay a penalty surcharge of £10 on their membership fee the following year, provided that in its discretion the Committee may waive this penalty for good cause shown.
No buildings (e.g. sheds, large polytunnels) are to be erected without the agreement of the Committee. Sheds should be erected in planned spaces, must display the member’s plot number and should be no more than 6ft by 6ft. Guttering and water butts must be installed on all s
9
Where can you find peace in this busy world 10
Just try walking through the Vale road gate 9
And a whole new life could be unfurled 10
Come and join the gang it's not too late 9
Gardeners are friendly and you will see,
How lovely it is to plant and sow
Your worries and fears could be set free,
By planting with your trowel and hoe 9
So just come along and don't be shy 9
To get your hands dirty is a lovely thing,
And peace and contentment won't pass you by.
There is no contest it's a win win win.
M.B.
Your 2016 Committee (Names, plot numbers, responsibilities)
Chairman - Colin Gurr
Treasurer - John Gill (plot 56)
Secretary - Marie Innes - Jagger (plot 57) Safety officer
Sheds & Container - Colin Gurr (plot 36)
Plot allocation Martin Parnell
Plot compliance - Anthony Edwards (Plot 49a)
& Volunteers - Pat Saarsfield (plot 49)
Bonfire & Grass - Steve Rudd (plot 83)
Show & Picnic - Ann Atkinson (plot 3)
Newly elected Jocelyn Buck plot 92+93
Newly elected Vikki Lewis plot 79
Please contact the relevant committee member if you have any concerns or email to VRAS2009@live.com
Martin, Secretary, on behalf of the Committee
ur future is safe with the Town Council. We had our meeting to discuss the renewal of our lease and had a good 'chat'. One immediate benefit of meeting the Town Clerk, Steve Trice, who has been a very good friend to VRAS over the years, is that Steve offered to get the culvert cleared out for us. His team did it the following week. We are very well looked after and the Council are really pleased to have us run our own society.
On another note, I wanted to make sure that everyone who missed the AGM was aware of a slightly different approach to monitoring plot cultivation this year. We have been conscious for some time that a very small number of plots have been neglected for the whole year. We have had a long waiting list but have failed to release these neglected plots to new members in time for them to do anything useful in the growing year. As a result, people have got fed up waiting for a plot and we now find ourselves with no waiting list and five free plots.
To avoid this situation happening again, and to be totally fair to everyone, we are going to focus on the months March to June and try to make sure that anybody who is not using their plot to grow produce hands it over to a newcomer in time for the growing season. Of course, there are many reasons why people can't manage to get down to their plots and we intend to work with members to understand their situation.
We do have a written set of guidelines and I can let you have a copy if you let me know. However, they do look a bit prescriptive so here is a 'friendly' summary.
1. A committee member will walk round every month, starting in March, and keep a record of any neglected plots
2. In the first instance, we will check with owners of neglected plots to see what their intentions are and agree what is required
3. If plots are consistently neglected, without reason, we will send them a standard letter asking for cultivation to be done
4. If plots are continuously neglected, we will ask the member to resign so that someone on the waiting list can take over.
I apologise if this sounds too severe but it is hard to put 'common sense' and 'neighbourly behaviour' into words. We are trying this in the interest of all current and future plot holders.
i
