MINUTES

FOR THE FIRST GENERAL MEETING

ON SUNDAY 2 MARCH 2003

OF THE LOW MOOR ALLOTMENTS ASSOCIATION

Chair: Al Oswald (current Letting Secretary)

People attending: 34

Sincere apologies for absence from Angela Poole (City of York Council Allotments Officer)

1) Do we want to form an Association?

For the benefit of those not present at the informal meetings organised in recent months by Angela Poole, Al Oswald, reiterated the advantages of becoming an Association with greater independence from the Council. Above all, an Association will have the power to raise funds for projects that we consider important. In fact, as soon as we decide to form an Association and can set up a bank account, we will have access to £2350 granted by Fishergate Ward for improving our security. Al thought that it was also possible that as an Association, we were eligible for collective insurance from the National Farmers’ Union. Since the General Meeting, Al has got in touch with the NFU and, unfortunately, they are unwilling due to the long history of vandalism. Al had recently had a meeting with Gwen Thompson at Yortime, which assists groups like ours in setting up, and it was clear that while charitable status is an option, it does not hold any major advantages and has some drawbacks in terms of more demanding accounting procedures. Union with the existing (but dormant) Association that runs the shop would also make the accounts more complex. Total independence from the Council, involving the loss of the long-term protection offered by the Council, collection of our own rents, procuring all services, etc, is probably a step too far at this stage.

What will happen to any money in the bank if the Association folds at any point?

Al responded that he hoped that the account would then be left open until such time as a Prince Charming or other-person-on-a-white-horse came to claim it again, as with the shop account, which Tom Robinson has maintained since the shop itself fell into disuse three years ago.

Should we inform the Council what our priorities are?

Al responded that the next step after forming an Association is to draw up a ‘development plan’ outlining our priorities for the next 3 or 5 years. Once we have agreed this, we should send copies to the Council and offer them to potential funders etc.

What will happen to the money from Fishergate Ward if we don’t spend it?

Al responded that it will be returned intact to the Fishergate Ward budget.

Public liability insurance etc – has this been sorted out?

Not yet. Al will find out under what circumstances we are covered by the Council, or whether we need to get insurance from the National Farmers’ Union, and report back at the next meeting.

How often shall we meet?

There is a minimum of one Annual General Meeting, but Al suggested that four meetings per year (one every three months) would allow us to discuss issues promptly and report on progress more effectively. And get to know each other better, which is very important if we are going to act as a single community.

Unanimous vote in favour of becoming an Association.

Legally, an association must have a Committee of Management comprising a minimum of two people: Secretary and Treasurer. Al stated that he would be happy to act as Secretary for the new Association and that he had not intended to draw any direct comparison between himself and Prince Charming, in fact he was getting muddled with whoever woke Sleeping Beauty.

Unanimous vote in favour of Al Oswald as Secretary of the new Association.

Kester Clegg had already offered to act as Treasurer, and had begun the process of setting up a bank account with the ethically and environmentally sound Cooperative Bank, as urged by Chris Teesdale at the last informal general meeting. Kester confirmed that he is willing to act as Treasurer.

Should we have more than two signatories in case one of us is away?

By asking the question, Angela Johnson had inadvertently volunteered to be another signatory. Barry Hutton, who practically lives at Low Moor, also volunteered.

The Unity Bank has no charges – have we investigated that?

Since the meeting, Kester has started to look into this. He will report back at the next meeting.

Unanimous vote in favour of Kester Clegg as Treasurer.

2) Discussing possible options for a constitution.

After Al had bored people to tears with selected extracts from the existing constitution for the shop and the model constitution available from the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners, it was suggested that he should come up with a draft Constitution for people to comment on. Al suggested that if he drafted a constitution based on the best bits of the others and circulated it promptly, people should have until March 31st to comment on it. If no adverse comments were received, it could then be adopted as the new constitution. It was generally agreed that the name ‘Low Moor Allotments Association’ was less long-winded than the name of the shop Association and that it would help to maintain the distinction between the two.

Unanimous vote in favour of this process.

3) The shop: do we want it?

Tom Robinson, Letting Secretary of Fulford Cross Allotments, explained that prior to the closure of the shop, he had been responsible for ordering stock for both Allotments jointly. The shop is obviously a good thing, since it is cheaper and more convenient than B&Q. It may also, in due course, provide an outlet for selling our excess produce. However, it must be open regularly at set times if it is to be successful. Tom stated that he is willing to continue with his former role on condition that he could rely on other people to unload delivery lorries when they came during the week, and to staff the shop regularly. We will also have to make use of the facility and encourage the wider community to do the same.

Marjorie Stephenson offered to do 10 till 2 every Sunday, which Tom considered would in itself be enough to make the shop viable. Barry Hutton offered to be available on Wednesday mornings between 10 and 1, and if you can find him on his plot (75) he will open up at other times for special mid-week spending sprees. But please leave it till normal opening hours if you can. Al proposed that if sufficient people could be found to fill a rota, that Marjorie should not be left to take sole responsibility for every Sunday, even though she is willing, and that Saturday openings in Spring and Summer might be possible if there are enough volunteers. A list of volunteers prepared to help unload the lorries was made, and if Marjorie and Barry cannot do any date, we might call on other people’s assistance!

From Wednesday March 12th, he shop will be fully stocked and open for business between 10am and 1pm and on Sundays between 10am and 2pm.

4) Spending the grant from Fishergate Ward

Al stated that the grant had been offered in order to improve security. Low Moor is a nightmare from the point of view of maintaining security: public access, three gates, extensive boundaries. Tom feels that the shop is suffficiently secure to protect the stock within. It was agreed that the next priority was the provision of vandal-proof notice boards, so that information could be passed on more effectively and members of the public could be involved in looking after the site. Perimeter hedges (mentioned in the original proposal to Fishergate Ward) would be effective around some stretches of the perimeter, but will not be effective for some years and are not such a high priority.

Grant of £2350 to be spent according to these priorities.

5) Any other business

Occupancy. Full tenancy should be our goal: it will help to solve many of our current problems. Several plots have been taken in the last few weeks: despite persistent rumours that few plots are taken, we are now at 74% occupancy. Surprised? With more publicity we can get more people involved. An advert is attached: please find somewhere in the local area to put your 3 copies (doctor’s waiting room/university noticeboard/post office/letterbox of somebody you think might need allotment therapy).

A Website (www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/~kester/LowMoorAllotments/welcome.html) has been set up by Kester. This will hopefully become an effective advertising tool as search engines pick it up over the next few weeks. It has a ‘greenboard’ where anyone can leave messages, comments, whatever, so if you have internet access, please go and have a look! If you have any good photos of people in action on the Allotments, or your prize-winning leek, please lend it to Kester and we can use to advertise ourselves.

Rotivator. Al has purchased a powerful beast of a machine second-hand for £80. As soon as this is running properly, it will be available free to anybody from Low Moor and to people from other Allotments for a small charge.

Skip. although Angela has overspent her budget for 2002-3 and cannot provide one until April, Al has written to Yorkshire Water and they have agreed to provide a skip for our use for the duration of their work in Kilburn Road Car Park. The work was due to start at the end of February, so hopefully the skip will arrive any day now. As a result of clearing operations by Heslington Road gate carried out by an unofficial working party after the General Meeting, the first skip will be virtually filled on arrival!

Security. Action is being taken to evict the tenants who are illegally occupying their shed. Security has definitely improved since the patrols by Mayfair security began. After a six month trial, Mayfair Security have been funded again by Fishergate Ward to patrol the area, including our Allotments. They compile a single monthly report which goes direct to the police, and it is easy to get in touch with them (01757 701596).

Working parties. No formal working party was possible after the meeting because until we are an Association, a Council representative has to be present (Angela was on holiday). However, Spike (Plot 48) has begun clearing Plot 4, Barry (Plot 75) has cleared most of Plot 61, and an unofficial group has tidied the site of the burnt-out railway carriage near Heslington Road Gate, along with the adjoining plot (171), which has now been taken. The walkabout after the meeting identified several jobs that can be tackled by future working parties: a list of jobs and dates is attached. Please get in touch with Al if you can help.

Newsletter. E-mail addresses were collected at the meeting to ensure that when we set up a newsletter, the cost of postage is kept to a minimum. Please send any letters/photos/offers to become editor to Kester, who will be producing the first once he’s finished everything else he has to do.

NEXT MEETING: Sunday June 29th, 3pm at the shop,

followed by a BBQ on Plot 40

Please let Al know well in advance if you have an issue for the agenda.

PS. I hope everybody likes our new logo, which was done by Rosalind Beardshaw (Plot 41) who is an author and illustrator of children’s books. And a damn fine digger...

Al Oswald, Site Secretary

Phone 639847

e-mail al.oswald@english-heritage.org.uk

WORKING PARTIES

AT LOW MOOR

At all the recent meetings, there has been support for the idea of working parties to improve the look of our site.The more work we can get done to improve the Allotments this spring, the more likely it is that plots will be taken quickly and looked after through the summer. We will also be making best use of the free skips provided by Yorkshire Water. So I suggest that we work on two consecutive Sundays in May, starting at 11am, stopping for a picnic lunch at about 1pm and then working through till 4pm. If you can’t make both of these days or all of this time, please come and help for as much as you can. I will also make enquiries about involving other voluntary groups. Past experience suggests working in teams like this can be really good fun and that amazing progress can be made.

Sunday 4th May

General tidy

As a result of the spate of burnings in 2002, there is a lot of glass and burnt timber to be disposed of. There is also a bit of litter around the site. People accept that nature takes over quickly, but find these signs of human neglect really ugly and off-putting when thinking about taking a plot.

Sunday 11th May

Plots 65, 113, 121, 134

These neglected plots are all alongside the main track through the allotments from the Kilburn Road Car Park. If we can get four people to tackle each plot for an afternoon, they can be made respectable again, so that visitors’ first impressions of Low Moor are positive. We already have someone who will take on 113 if the brambles are cleared.

If we get enough time/people, we could consider helping Danny and Chris Glasper to clear Plots 161 and 162; this would be a bit of a ‘thankyou’ to their mum, Marjorie Stephenson, for all her hard work in the shop.

Please get in touch with Al if you can make it!

Al Oswald: phone 639847 e-mail al.oswald@english-heritage.org.uk

DRAFT CONSTITUTION FOR YOU TO READ AND COMMENT ON!

This draft for our new constitution is based on a model provided by the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners and the existing constitution of the Low Moor shop. Since this is a legal document that we may need to put into action at some point, I have also taken advice from specialists at Yortime. As voted at the General Meeting, if I have received no comments or suggested amendments in writing by the end of March, this will be the Constitution we will be voting for at the next meeting - Al

ARTICLES OF THE CONSTITUTION OF

THE LOW MOOR ALLOTMENTS ASSOCIATION

1) The name of the association shall be ‘Low Moor Allotments Association’ (hereinafter ‘the Association’).

2) The objectives of the Association shall be:

i) To promote the interests of the Members with regard to the proper cultivation, good management and enjoyment of the Allotments.

ii) To maintain and improve facilities which will help Members to pursue these activities.

iii) To maintain and improve the condition of the site as a whole and to encourage others to do the same.

iv) To take measures to protect Members and the site against damage, trespass and theft.

v) To conduct negotiations with City of York Council and, wherever possible, to co-operate with them, other allotment groups and other organisations and individuals in furtherance of Articles 2.i-iv.

vi) To take action to prevent any activity by which the Association may be brought into disrepute.

3) Membership of the Association shall consist of:

i) All those approved as tenants by the Committee of Management who have paid the appropriate annual subscription (‘paying tenants’).

ii) All those approved as tenants by the Committee of Management who, by mutual agreement, share the use of a plot with a paying tenant, up to a maximum of four people per full-size plot or two per half-size plot.

iii) Membership may be refused at the discretion of the Committee, in instances where the prospective tenant is considered likely to bring the Association into disrepute, or to bring harm to Members, or to the site. Nobody shall be refused membership on grounds that are sectarian, party-political or otherwise illegally discriminatory.

iv) In extreme circumstances, following the tabling of a specific agenda item to the effect and a majority vote at a General Meeting with a quorum of twenty votes cast, membership of the Association may be revoked. The Committee shall subsequently issue written notification of the result of the vote to the Member in question. Once Membership has been revoked, the former Member shall be reported to the Council and recommended to be barred from tenancy of any plot in York.

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4) Committee of Management

i) The affairs of the Association shall be conducted by a Committee of Management, comprising a minimum of a Secretary and Treasurer, though other officers may be elected, if considered appropriate by a General Meeting.

ii) Tenure of any post on the Committee, and of all other offices voted for at a General Meeting, whether permanent or temporary, shall be voluntary, unpaid and open only to Members of the Association.

iii) These Officers shall be elected for the ensuing year by majority vote at each Annual General Meeting of the Association, with a quorum of ten votes cast.

iv) Officers shall be eligible for re-election each year.

v) In exceptional circumstances, following the tabling of a specific agenda item to the effect, Officers may be dismissed by a majority vote at a general Meeting, with a quorum of twenty votes cast.

vi) The Committee shall meet regularly to discuss issues relating to the Allotments, no fewer than four times every year.

vii) The Committee shall keep accurate records of its dealings which shall be available for inspection by Members.

5) Association meetings

i) Members of the Association shall be eligible to vote at General Meetings.

ii) An Annual General Meeting shall be held, at such time as the Committee or a General Meeting shall decide.

iii) As many other General Meetings may be held each year as considered appropriate by the Committee or a General Meeting.

iv) Special General Meetings may be called against the wishes of the Committee if considered necessary by a minimum of twenty Members, and the Secretary shall advertise the date and agenda according to Article 5.v.

v) Fair advance notification of the date and agenda of any General Meeting shall be circulated to the Members, though written notification need be sent only to those Members recorded as paying tenants.

vi) Items for the agenda of the next General Meeting shall be communicated to the Secretary a sufficient time in advance to allow preparation for the meeting.

vii) At the Annual General Meeting, the accounts and Secretary’s report shall be submitted.

viii) No discussions shall be raised or resolutions proposed at General Meetings which are sectarian or illegally discriminatory in purpose or effect.

6) Bank account

i) The Committee shall maintain a bank account in the name of the Association and all monies received from any source on behalf of the Association shall be paid into that account.

ii) Records of all transactions shall be kept and shall be available for inspection by Members.

iii) Cheques shall be signed by a minimum of two signatories.