Page 60 - ALG Issue 3 2021

London
London
REPRESENTATIVE
Terry Dickinson
07789 485331 tdickinson.nas@gmail.com
MENTOR
Grant Smith
London
0845 478 6351 grantsmith.nas@gmail.com
Looking Forward – Post Pandemic
Calls to 0845 numbers cost 3p (ex VAT) per minute plus your telephone company’s access charge
On my own site in Redbridge, East London, the Special Needs Secondary School pupils are, at last, back on their plot. They are eager workers, under wonderfully gentle guidance from super-dedicated staff. The fiercest competition last summer was for a watering can to take to the tank. We have now had one of the wettest Aprils on record followed by a very wet May, so the physical job is carting the bulk soil delivery (free) to the beds. Just as the pupils return so do absent members who will now, we hope, set to in tidying and reclaiming their own plots. This is
a picture repeated all over our London Region and there is undoubtedly a
lot of catching up to be done. With waiting lists, we suspect, at an all-time high there is the balance to be struck between bringing in new members and carefully preserving the rights of current plotholders.
It was a great privilege during the lockdowns, for those that felt safe, to be allowed access to the plot. I suspect
many non-allotment people looked over the fence or out of their windows with some envy; just as now, when some may be peering in wondering why plots still seem neglected. There is much work to be done in encouraging plotholders back, sympathetically dealing with those still hesitant or reluctant, and those unfortunate enough to have had a bad Covid journey. I recall that my predecessor, Martyn, had a buddy system working on his Isle Of Dogs site where members helped each other out as best they could. Not
a bad legacy to leave, and one which could be more widely adopted.
At the mention of ‘waiting lists’, all kinds of thoughts come into my head. Here at the new London Branch of the NAS, one of our first projects is to try to untangle the mess of closed, suspended, over- subscribed, out-of-date, neglected waiting lists including those of Self- Managed and Direct Let plots. We hope to have the results soon.
The London Branch is also involved in a number of issues concerning Direct Let plots:
I suspect many non- allotment people looked over the fence or out of their windows with some envy
Redbridge Lane West—the UK’s largest gas distribution network, Cadent, surprised plotholders at this 100-year- old site in April with a presentation describing how they planned to move some or all of the members off-site for a period of two years, whilst essential works were carried out at the gas pipe yard next door. Cadent claimed that 2500 sq. metres of the allotment were needed to build a car park and Welfare Buildings. This is a Local Authority, Direct Let, Statutory Allotment site which doesn’t have a formal Association structure in place. However, they quickly formed a Working Party to deal with the situation. The Local Authority has responded encouragingly, so
far, and has requested that Cadent submit a formal Planning Application and communicate with them and the plotholders together. A petition can be signed at: http://chng.it/hqFYycK7.
Jerome Allotment Holders Association, Ealing – again this is a Direct Let site with the plotholders recently coming together to form an Association to fight a large local large scale development by Countryside Properties which will
Welcome to our new members...
Ealing Deans Allotment Society Jerome Allotment Holders Association Walworth Allotments (Brettell Street) 3 Individuals
The London Borough of Lewisham
products of the season
FELCO
FELCO have
developed their first
range of personal
protection equipment
for amateur
gardeners as well
as professionals.
Particular attention
was paid to
comfort, quality and
performance. Three
models complete the range, each with unique features making them ideal for varied applications such as puncture-resistant leather or stretchy, breathable spandex.
www.felco.com
GardenPump 18
The GardenPump 18 offers a cordless, portable solution to allotment holders.
The Pump is perfect for transferring water between containers, or even better, straight onto plants and crops!
Water management is made easy with the Bosch, battery powered water pump.
Visit our site for more information; bosch-diy.com
60 Allotment and Leisure Gardener