Page 34 - ALG Issue 3 2016

AGM
Update advice lea ets with creation of new lea ets and a range
of posters for use at garden/horticultural shows. There will be further production of horticultural and legal information on the members’ area of the website.
Continue to in uence local authorities, planners and developers to include allotments within initial plans for new developments.
Assist in the creation of new allotments working with BT to create up to 1,200 new allotments sites throughout England over the next 12-18 months; this has the potential to bring on board approximately 25,000 members.
Continue to encourage members to become involved in local/ neighbourhood plans and register their sites as Assets of Community Value.
Promotional Work National Allotments Week 2015
‘Plots for all ages’ was the theme for National Allotments Week 2015 and was launched in Plymouth with the support of Plymouth City Council. NAS held an Allotment Of cers’ Forum in the Guildhall with over twenty allotment of cers. Town and parish clerks from various parts of the South West also attended the event. Other events included Plymouth in Bloom, Produce Show and Flavour Fest. The main message behind all the festivities was for allotment holders to consider how ‘plot for all ages’ can remain, and consider what can be done locally to keep allotments for future generations. One way is that we are trying to encourage allotment groups to get involved in local and neighbourhood plans, making sure that allotments are included. Although self-management is not suitable for all sites, it does place allotment associations more in charge of their own destiny. By good management of the waiting list they can ensure that plots do not become overgrown and promotion of the sites can be undertaken
effectively. Another message from the week was for associations to register their sites as an Asset of Community Value, via their local district council. The week came to a conclusion with an Allotment Open Day held at Barnsdale Gardens, which we were kindly invited to by Nick Hamilton. Again, this was well attended and it was good to meet many existing members and to sign new members up to the Society. The 2016 theme for the week is ‘Growing Together’ and a group of four posters are available for promotional purposes. This will encompass Grow, Cook and Share, Growing with Nature and Growing Global.
Social Media – the Society has been using Facebook successfully for the last two years as a way of sharing general information about allotments, drawing the wider community’s attention to important issues and stating our case. The inter-active nature of Facebook means that it is also a useful way of gauging the interests and priorities of plot holders. In 2016 we will start to use Instagram;
this is a celebratory, visual networking platform, used by younger members of the community where we can share photographs relating to allotments, get the Society noticed, highlight the bene ts
of allotments and the valuable work of all our volunteers. Over recent years, successive governments have targeted legislation in an attempt to cut “red tape”, and the laws that protect allotments have been accused of placing unnecessary barriers to development. This view is not supported by the evidence, and can be very damaging
for the allotment movement. I seem to say this every year but every year it’s more urgent. More than ever, we need to show that there is very real and powerful public support for allotments, through you, and through our work.
Treasurers Report – Dave Morris
This is my rst year as the NAS Treasurer and it has been a steep learning curve. Our most recent accounts indicate that we broke roughly even on the year. In the two previous years we showed
a loss of £22,000 and last year a surplus of some £17,000,
although this was, in part, due to a refund of business rates and the re-reimbursement of legal fees. My aim as Treasurer is to ensure the nancial stability of the organisation whilst seeking to meet the needs of our current members and making use of our nancial resources
to support the Society in recruiting additional members. Meeting
the needs of our members is the lifeblood for a movement which is nancially dependent on their subscription fees. If re-elected, I will
be seeking to ensure that we run a professional organisation in an effective, ef cient and economic manner. The cost of membership for the majority of our members has increased by 10% this year so it is important that we can show that we represent value for money. I will be reviewing all of our income and expenditure streams and our level of reserves and I welcome any of our members contacting me with their views.
Russell Chapman (from Grant Thornton Auditors) gave a snapshot of the year’s income and expenditure and answered questions from the oor.
A vote was taken for acceptance of the Audited Accounts year ended 31 January 2016. This was proposed by Neil Dixon and seconded by John Irwin and approved by a majority vote.
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