Page 57 - ALG Issue 1 2020

Welcome to our new members...
1 Life Member
Lower Long Compton Allotment Society West Malvern Allotment Association Cheswardine Allotment Association Stoke on Trent City Council
10 individual members
2020 Meetings Schedule for the West Midlands Region
February
Saturday 15th February 2020, 2pm. Host: Royal Oak Allotment Association, Coventry
Venue: St. Giles Church Hall, Vicarage Lane, Ash Green, Coventry CV7 9AJ
May
Saturday 16th May 2020, 2pm. Host: Wylde Green Allotment Association, Sutton Coldfield
Venue: The Site, Gates next to 67 The Boulevard, Wylde Green, Sutton Coldfield, B73 5JE
August
Saturday 8th August 2020, 2pm. Host: Moor Green Lane Allotments, Moseley, Birmingham
Venue: The Site, Moor Green Lane Allotments
November (Annual General Meeting)
Saturday 7th November 2020, 2pm. Host: Walsall Green Spaces Forum
Venue: Manor Farm Community Association, King George Crescent, Rushall, Walsall, WS4 1EG (to be confirmed)
Visit to an Allotment
Association under threat
John McNabb Regional Secretary
The Annual General Meeting of
the West Midlands Panel of the National Allotment Society began with Ian Hope, Chair of Wellesbourne Allotments, welcoming everyone
to the meeting at Wellesbourne Village Hall. He briefly informed the meeting of the Diocese of Coventry’s proposal to take back some of
their site in order to sell the land
for housing developments, despite the fact that plenty of alternative land was available. The Allotment Association has been very active in showing that the allotments are at the heart of village life, having plots for the handicapped amongst others. Recently, it even featured in a BBC Countryfile report on allotments and demonstrated very successfully their beneficial effects for many sections of the community.
It had been intended to begin the meeting with a talk but, with the speaker being unavoidably involved in family matters concerning a family member having emergency treatment in hospital, the AGM business was dealt with first. The Regional Representative began by saying he had visited the allotments and Liz Bunting was now actively involved in discussions regarding the potential closure of this wonderful site.
The Regional Secretary described the membership figures as fluctuating slightly. He showed the recently produced Code of Practice and stressed how important it was for allotment committees to be able to produce a paper trail of documents relating to problems confronting them, in order to ensure clarity for those brought in to adjudicate.
Tom Terrence, the Regional Representative, emphasised the need for following the correct procedure when using pest control. He advocated the courses, available through Corby, of the Lantra training courses. The Management Committee is looking at the number of Allotment magazines supplied
to associations, although additional
individual copies can be purchased for £10 per year. It also can be viewed online for free on the National Allotment Society website.
The Treasurer’s accounts were accepted by the meeting, with just a few explanations being required.
Whilst the Committee was re-elected, the Region is still looking for a Deputy Regional Representative and a Chairman, and Tom urged anyone who was interested to get in touch for further information.
Following a meeting with River Street Events, the Gardeners’ World Live Show organisers, he requested that anyone wishing to help by being on the stand should put their name forward. With the Region becoming more involved with the three large shows in the area, Gardeners’ World Live Show (18th–21st June) and
the Malvern Spring and Autumn Shows (7th–10th May & 26th–27th September 2020), more support was needed from the members to help on the stands.
The Regional Mentor, Colin Bedford, had been carrying out similar work
to last year involving parish councils and working closely with individual allotment sites, heading towards self- management. As well as this, training sessions had been held at Corby for a number of newly formed committees. It was hoped to bring these meetings out into the Region. These initial meetings had incurred no charges but, if they moved into the Region,
it was possible that a small charge might be levied to cover expenses.
The dates for next year’s meetings were agreed as follows:
15th February 16th May
9th August 7th November
Venues and speakers will be announced at the beginning of 2020.
2020 will be the 90th anniversary of the creation of the National Allotment Society
2020 will be the 90th anniversary of the creation of the National Allotment Society, and it is hoped there will be some form of celebration of the event.
Following the interval and with the non-appearance from the speaker who had been booked, a short question and answer session was held.
The meeting closed at 3.30pm, with Wellesbourne Allotment Association being thanked for their hospitality in hosting the 2019 AGM.
Allotment and Leisure Gardener 57