AGM 2023
Lewisham Self-Managed Allotments Association
Annual General Meeting 2023
Monday 30th January 2023, 7pm- 8pm
Committee Room 3, Civic Suite Catford SE6 4RU
Minutes of meeting
Attendees
Mark Kyrikides | Meadow Close |
Julie Fitton (Treasurer) | Meadow Close |
John Denton (Chair) | Chinbrook Meadows |
Katherine Blair (Secretary) | Trewsbury Road |
Jason Williams | Romborough Gardens |
Nigel Lord | Longton Nursery |
Anna Smyth | Longton Nursery |
Paulette Walker | Broadmead |
Dean Hughes | Knapmill Way |
Helena Russell | Royal Naval Place & Stanley Street |
Bernadette Brittain | Romborough Gardens |
Stephen Brooks | Hurstbourne Road |
Rita Hooks | Hazelbank Road |
Peter Maynard | London Borough of Lewisham |
Dusty Rhodes | Slaithwaite |
Geoff Richardson | Goldsmiths Gardens, Castillion Road |
Emelia Lorusso | Barmeston Road |
John Digance | Priestfield |
Tracie Bishop | Chinbrook Meadows |
Stewart Ross | Royal Naval Place & Stanley Street |
1. Apologies
Graham Bentley | Blackhorse Road |
Moira Searle | Blackhorse Road |
Denny Senner | Knapmill Way |
Dorian Watkins | Taylor’s Lane |
Dave Gibbins | Jim Hurren Allotments |
David Watkinson | Meadow Close |
Wanda von Tichenmeister | Hazelbank |
2. Minutes of the previous meeting held on 18 May 2022
Minutes of previous meeting agreed as a true record
3. Any matters arising not covered elsewhere on the agenda.
None raised
4. Secretary’s Report – Katherine Blair
Thanks to all for attending the meeting and to all committees for their continuing work supporting their sites and the LSMAA.
LSMAA recommends that sites continue to encourage all their plot-holders to consider becoming committee members on their own sites and take part in LSMAA activities. In particular, LSMAA is keen to widen the diversity of committee members. Committees are there to represent all members but can often be the ‘old guard’ with newer plot-holders and those with different backgrounds being under-represented.
The Grow to Give scheme was set up to help people in the local community, by raising awareness of self-managed allotments, and using the surplus from these allotments to donate to FoodCycle for those in food poverty. LSMAA encourages sites to take part in this scheme and discuss with their plot-holders how the logistics of food collection and delivery can be managed. The scheme has expanded from its origins providing meals at the Irish Centre in Davenport Road to provide food parcels. Dean Hughes at Knapmill Way allotments can be contacted for more details on the scheme.
The summer of 2022 was particularly challenging regarding keeping things watered in the hot weather and reducing the use of mains water saves both natural and financial resources. Members are encouraged to remind plot-holders about rainwater collection, watering techniques and methods to reduce the need for watering such as mulching. There are plenty of online resources you can use for poster and flyers, for e.g. the RHS website. Here’s one I did for our site
5. Awards Event for 2023 – Katherine Blair
It was agreed that the Lewisham allotment competition will be run again in July 2022 for the first time since before the pandemic. There are three categories:
· Best plot on site
· Best new plot-holder on site - for those who have had their plot for less than 12 months
· Best site overall, who will win the Jane Cobbold Cup
In addition, there are awards for the best plot and best newcomer in Lewisham overall.
Plots are assessed by volunteer judges from other sites using the same judging framework. The criteria include, variety of produce, weed control, neatness, planning, layout and sustainability.
Sites are assessed against presentation and condition of site, produce, sustainability and community effort.
Any plot-holder can volunteer to be a judge so please encourage those on your site to take part. It’s a great opportunity to get out and about have a nosey around other sites. A session will be held to explain the judging process and for judges to ask any questions about it. You will be contacted nearer the time with full details.
6. Chair’s Report – John Denton
Break ins have been a problem on some sites with fences damaged, theft of equipment and produce and fly-tipping. Such theft and damage s not covered by typical site insurance.
One site reported they had now installed fake CCTV cameras with warning signage. The “camera” has a solar panel powering a flashing light and a wire attached to make it look more realistic. There have been no subsequent break ins.
It is recommended that any trespass, damage or thefts are reported to the police to allow them to identify trends. In addition, building a relationship with local PCSOs about the issue raises their awareness and they will keep a close eye on what’s happening in the neighbourhood.
NB: Flytipping can be reported through the Love Clean Streets/ LoveLewisham website or app or Fix my Street. If there is no progress please follow it up with Peter Maynard.
7. Treasurer’s Report – Julie Fitton
The current account balance is £1014.26. There have been few outgoings this year, just £100 for hall rental for the previous AGM and £10.65 for refreshments for the 2022 AGM which we couldn’t hold at the Civic Centre owing to COVID restrictions.
It was agreed that with the return of the competition the £1 per plot holder levy will be reinstated for 2023. You will be contacted by the treasurer with details on how to pay.
8. Election of Officers
I. Chair: John Denton re-elected as chair
II. Treasurer: Julie Fitton would like to stand down as Treasurer but no nominations were made at the meeting. Julie therefore agreed to continue in the interim but nominations are sought from members. JD made a vote of thanks to Julie for her work as treasurer. He will confirm the job description and canvas sites for nominees who do not need to be a committee member on their own site. The role involves:
· Collecting levies from sites,
· Arranging the booking and payments for the costs of the awards event,
· Paying the postage costs for any materials sent by post to sites
· Overseeing the online banking.
III. Secretary: Katherine Blair re-elected
9. Lewisham’s Perspective – Peter Maynard, Green Scene
At the time of the meeting there were approximately 3,500 people on the Lewisham allotments waiting list. This compares with approximately 1,150 plots in the borough which is about 100 more than it was ten years ago and about 30 more than it was last year.
Waiting times for a plot vary but for the last ten successful applicants, the average was 7.5 years.
There are currently about 20 vacancies on self-managed sites and 60 on direct-managed sites.
A new member of staff is soon to start in the department to provide additional resource for allotment business.
A Lewisham colleague has queried how sites are fulfilling their GDPR responsibilities regarding managing data. Each site will need a data sharing agreement that PM will advise on in consultation with the Lewisham Data Protection Officer.
Each site should have a constitution. These can be based on the template available from the NAS
The Greening Fund has awarded £84,000 for, amongst other things, compost toilets, benches and trees. Note that sites with higher money in reserves will be lower down the list for allocation than those with lower funds.
A councillors’ Task and Finish group is looking into the provision of community/school type plots on LSMAA sites. They will contact LSMAA officers about this.
Proposed costs for an allotmenteers’ first aid training course have proved prohibitively high. PM will revisit this and pursue alternatives when funds are available.
A workshop to cover the core responsibilities of committee members is planned for when the weather improves. This also provides the opportunity to learn from other sites’ experiences
10. Tenancy Agreement – Peter Maynard
The aim is to get all plot holders on the same tenancy agreement. This will be shared soon by PM. Bespoke rules for each site can also be added as appropriate.
11. Allocation of names from the waiting list – Peter Maynard
There are currently 20 vacancies on self-managed sites to be allocated. These will be worked through but this is a far better position than at the last AGM in May 2022 when allocations were running at half the current rate.
12. Propositions and proposed amendments to the Constitution.
None made
13. Any other competent business.
Banking
A question was raised on many banks now imposing charges on allotment society accounts. Some sites reported that meeting with the business manager has resulted in these charges being waived. Banks reported as not charging as a rule or open to waiving the charges are Coop, Santander, Barclays, Lloyds and the Lewisham Credit+ union. It was noted that this may be only for existing account holders and not for new accounts.
Site Insurance
It was noted that insurance charges have increased significantly. Most sites’ insurance is with Ecclesiastical through March Commercial. The NAS have negotiated a new policy that is available to their members.
Sources of funding
PM will pass on to members any opportunities for funding he finds.
Mower repairs
Now that FR Jones have moved out from Bell Green a request was made for any other local mower and strimmer repair companies. One suggestion to investigate is Chislehurst Motor Mowers. Please pass on any other suggestions you have to LSMAA and we will pass it on to sites.
Shed Sizes
The approved shed size from the standard Tenancy Agreement is 8’x6’. This is thought to be no longer practicable as it is based on a full-sized plot and now so many plots are being dived and subdivided into half- and quarter-sized plots. How to address this will be covered at the workshop on responsibilities of committee members. It was noted that if any change to the tenancy agreement is made it cannot be applied retrospectively which might lead to some discord. How to manage this will be further discussed at the workshop but currently it is a site decision; shed installation requests should be made to the site’s committee for decision.
14. Dates of next meeting January 2024.
Exact date TBD
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