GROUNDBREAKING! of Low Moor Allotments Association
Autumn
2003 NEWSLETTER
Money, money
money! As discussed in the last Newsletter and at the last General
Meeting, we prepared 3 separate applications for funding from Yorkshire Water’s
‘Catalyst Fund’, by way of getting compensation for the problems they caused in
the car park this year. We were advised by an ‘inside source’ not to submit all
three at once, so we sent in the most important application first – for money
to improve the appearance of the car park, once they had completed the
resurfacing work. The persistent pressure has paid off: we have just received a
cheque for £5,000 to spend on making the car park a more useful and more
welcoming area. The application mentioned planting fruit trees, bulbs, a hedge,
bike racks, benches and a new gate. We now have 2 years to decide exactly how
to put these sketchy ideas into practice.
Chris Teesdale’s suggestion that the Association should use
the Co-op bank has also paid dividends: Kester applied to them for funds to
invest in the tool library, and last week we received another cheque, this time
for £700. So at last we’ll be able to buy a proper collection of tools, which
will be available for borrowing or rental. If only all banks were this nice!
The Shop is the next obvious project: the asbestos roof is
now illegal and unsafe; the windows are all broken and the door is not too
secure. If we want to make the car park an attractive entrance to the site and
use the Shop as a meeting place and store for the tool library, now is the time
to replace the whole building. If you live in Fishergate Ward and have read the
recent Ward Newsletter, you’ll have seen that I’ve applied for a further £9,500
to begin work on the Shop itself. We have lots of skilled and hard-working
people at Low Moor, so hopefully this sum will get us well and truly started.
As a first step, Guy (Plot 113) has agreed to draw up a design. If you live in Fishergate, please vote for
the proposal!
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·
NEWS...
NEXT MEETING…
should be at the start of January. Rather than standing in
the freezing car park, I’m suggesting a less formal meeting at the
Lighthorseman pub on Sunday 18th Jan 8pm
ALMOST FULL!
All but 5½ plots have now been taken. The next inspection by
the Council will be at the end of March.
TAPS TURNED OFF
As usual, Angela is about to turn the taps off to stop them
from freezing and bursting.
SHOP
After her winter break, Marje will re-open the Shop on
Sunday 1st February, as usual from 11am till 2pm. Membership costs
the massive sum of £1, which you will very probably save on your first purchase!
onions, potatoes, peas, beans gloves, canes, pots, fertilizer, watering cans,
growbags, etc.
PROGRESS ON
THE PERIMETER HEDGE
When we discussed things at the last Open Meeting, there
seemed to be two options for exactly where to plant the hedge at the bottom of
the site. In the event, the Council would not agree to the removal of the
mature silver birch in the middle of our perimeter path, which meant that it
could not be used as a cycle path in the foreseeable future. So I asked the
British Trust for Conservation Volunteers to plant along the existing
fenceline. This has advantages and disadvantages: there was no need to move the
standpipes, but the planned diversion of the footpath/cyclepath will involve
more work in due course, and therefore will cost more. BTCV have done a good job, although there is
some work for them to finish off in the Spring. Due to a ‘misunderstanding’,
there is no beech in the hedge, which I had asked for because beech keeps its
dead leaves through the winter. But any hawthorns that die can be replaced with
other species.
WATER BUTTS
One or two people have complained about my decision to
charge £5 for the water butts and cans that I obtained from Yorkshire Water,
rather than £2-50 as agreed at the last Open Meeting. I took this decision
because we got far fewer than I had asked for. I had asked for 180 butts – 1
per plot – but we only got 45 (all they had). If I had given these away free on
a first-come-first-served basis, only 45 people would have got any
compensation, and most of these might well have been new plotholders, who
suffered least from the work in the car park. Charging a small amount and
investing this money back through the Shop seemed the best way of spreading the
benefit around the whole site. The butts are much better quality than I’d
hoped: at £5 they’re still very good value – they’d cost £20+ at a garden
centre. And there are still a few left.
If people want to complain about things in future, there are
two routes: contacting me in person or raising the issue at Open Meetings.
Writing unsigned notes is not the way. Without a lot of hard work by a number
of people, we would have had no compensation at all. – Al
KIDS’ GARDEN
As you’ll see from the attached letter, Angela Johnson’s
plans to start training the next generation of allotmenteers are now
progressing. She’s applied for funding to convert Plot 108 and will need our
support. Please help out at the working
party on Sunday 1st February
10 am till 1pm, to tidy the plot & make it safe for the
children to use.
NOVICE TRAINING
Roger and Cécile’s training session was enjoyed &
appreciated by all who attended. They’ve agreed to do another in the Spring.
SECURITY
Please keep phoning Mayfair Security (01757 701596) and
PC Bailey (669491) to report incidents.
CONTACT E-MAILS
As ever, if you want to receive this newsletter by e-mail,
contact al.oswald@english-heritage.org.uk . Or
phone me on 639847.
MERRY
CHRISTMAS
Let’s hope
2004 is another fruitful year, or, if you prefer, a vegetableful one!