Page 65 - ALG Issue 2 2021

Wales
All counties of Wales
REPRESENTATIVE
Judith Hill
07724993310 or 02920 758080
MENTOR
Peter Ryan
Wales
0845 564 1881 pryan.nas@gmail.com
Welcome to our new members...
Bronfair Allotment Association Eastgate St Allotment Society Gwelfor Allotment Association
4 Individuals 1 Landowner
A journey towards self-management
Calls to 0845 numbers cost 3p (ex VAT) per minute plus your telephone company’s access charge
There was little enthusiasm for the task of managing our allotment when the City Council announced in December 2017 that all their allotment sites would thenceforth be leased for self- management. We had no committee, no knowledge of other allotments in our region, and plenty of vacant or overgrown plots.
Our site is within the lee of a 13th century castle, and it is sad that our legacy in recent years had been to neglect such a site. Ground had become overgrown, the hedges cramming in, but most importantly tenants were isolated and working alone.
SINCE 2017, HOW HAVE WE DEVELOPED WITH SELF- MANAGEMENT, AND WHAT HAVE WE LEARNT?
We found other local sites and, with some helpful liaison across the city,
it was possible to meet, and to learn how other sites were developing. Interestingly, even though there are five sites within walking distance of each other the liaison did not progress to mergers, and, three years on, the city’s sites remain independent.
A major decision for the new self- management structure was whether to become trustees or to develop as a co- operative limited company. The choice to become a limited company was partly
some bravado, but mostly dictated by the difficulty of identifying five lifelong trustees.
The support of the NAS was crucial
in helping us to register as a co- operative. Their model rules gave us
an organisational structure, and an administrative code, but the silence
on local requirements for allotment gardening has been challenging, and we still have tenants debating our rules.
Chores have been the collection of fees, the creation of a bank account, and payment of bills. A major expense has not been insurance, or water rates, but the cost of removing years’ worth of accumulated rubbish from the site.
The most egregious have been the metres of carpet, with embedded soil, home to copious weeds. How the heart sinks when the spade strikes that
dull resistance, signalling some past tenant’s futile efforts, and predicting hours of digging, heaving and carting? Oh, the falsehood that carpet may be used as an effective ground cover.
HMRC’s demands of our limited company struck suddenly and pitched us into the unknown land of corporation tax returns. Their words: ‘if no accounting period ended during or at the end of
that period, for that part of the period that does not form part of an accounting period’ are etched into our minds.
Our site is within the lee of a 13th century castle, and it is sad that our legacy in recent years had been to neglect such a site
Their telephone advice was conflicting and/or misleading, so it was a great reassurance to find in the 24-page HMRC guidance that member’s clubs are regarded as having no trading turnover on subscriptions, and no profit or loss. Our zero return should be correct if we don’t start a shop or bar on site.
We have learnt that the local ‘no-good boyos’ will maintain their campaign
to access the site. Their entrance
is self-evident, announced by the scattered empty bottles with their dead eyes watching us from the ground
and pond. However, perhaps, as a consequence of our greater activity, or more likely the outcome of lockdown and homeworking, our waiting list for formal access has grown from three to a peak of 26.
As a co-operative we have recognised the need to help and mentor, to be creative in encouraging proper use of the site and inspiring its development.
The most recent achievement was to win an award from Social Farms & Gardens, and the Welsh Government. The purpose of the grant will be to continue the work of bringing neglected plots back into use, expanding the access of charitable groups, and developing our shared facilities.
Chris Low, Secretary
Acre Field Allotment (Mumbles) Ltd
is the recipient of financial support from Social Farms & Gardens and the Welsh Government, and also Mumbles Community Council.
Allotment and Leisure Gardener 65