MINUTES OF THE S.H.A.G.S.

COMMITTEE
Meeting held on 3 July 2019 in the Ted Allen Room
In attendance: Mike Cobley (MC)(Chair); Carole Pamphlett (CP)(Treasurer); Peter Hicks (PDH)
(Secretary); Roger Glanville (RMG)(Dep. Chair); Jane Keech (JK); Jim Machin (JM), Linda
Gahagan (LG); Rod Cooley (RC); Roger Gillett (RG); Dominic Houlihan (DH), Hazel Upton (HU);
John Myres (JMy), Marcia Dorey (MD) and Tom Chichester-Miles (TCM).
Apologies: Chris Overton, Irene Boogerman, Chris Wilson, Fraser Gordon, Geoff Bateman,
Jenny Stevenson, Keith Davison and Roger White.
1.1 Review of minutes from June
The minutes of the June meeting were approved as a true record by those present.
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1.2 Action Points from May meeting:

1) CW questioned whether new Site Reps had been fully informed on the termination procedure, it
was agreed that the full process should be distributed to site reps.

Action: PDH to remind all site reps of the agreed termination procedure.
NOT COMPLETED. PDH apologised for not having sent the e-mail out but promised to do so within
a week of the meeting.
2. Finance
CP confirmed the Finance report that £159.74 had been paid to the shop for petrol money
reimbursed. £31.21 was paid for the repair to Cross Lane’s strimmer. A £50 deposit was paid for the
coach for the Hyde Hall visit, with a balance of £550 outstanding. We should cover all our costs and
make a small profit. On the income side there were a couple of new lettings at £89. Manure cash
held now stands at £258.65. The bank balance stands at £20,116.71.
3. Site Matters
See Reports circulated.
TCM asked for the Site Rep responsibilities to be clarified. PDH agreed to distribute the Site Rep
Jon Specification following the meeting
Action: PDH to distribute Site Rep Job Spec to all site reps.
There were a number of site reports that had not been submitted.
PDH asked DH to clarify the mention in the Cross Lane report about the plot-holder who said that
the Society’s rules on petrol-equipment usage restrictions were unclear. After much discussion it
was agreed that rule 7b - stating that “tenants shall not cause any nuisance or annoyance to the
occupier of any other allotment or neighbouring land” – was sufficiently clear on usage of
equipment. Suggestions that the Society should restrict usage of personal equipment, or even
petrol-powered equipment, were considered to be unnecessary.
MD referred to vandalism at Harpenden Rise, and she confirmed that she would be raising the issue
with the council at the annual inspection. Following a general discussion about site-crime, it was
suggested that any vandalism suffered by plot-holders should always be reported to the police by
the plot-holder.
4. Lettings

JM reported that occupancy is now at 96.4%, which is the highest it has been for a long time.
Tenants number 310, with 67 associates.


HU asked how plots were allocated to interested new tenants as Aldwickbury had had vacant
plots for a long time, with no potential new tenants viewing plots there for three years. JM
confirmed that allocation of plots is completely random and impartial.

The Hyde Hall visit currently has 46 people confirmed.

5. Machinery

MC reported that two Aldwickbury strimmers were faulty. Further investigation showed that one of
them had been filled with neat petrol, not two-stroke fuel and that strimmer has seized and is a
write-off. This strimmer will not be replaced.

The other machine was empty of fuel but once it was filled with fuel it started first time. Two days
afterwards, RMG went to use the strimmer and found it blocked up with weed suppressant, and with
both the head and the spring now missing. 2

RMG suggested that a sign should be put on all strimmers with a clear message saying that only
two-stroke fuel should be used.

JK asked for proper instructions and training to be given for use of machinery as there is a
misunderstanding that all plot-holders know how to use petrol-driven machinery.

TCM suggested requiring plot-holders to have passed a proficiency test before access to the
society’s machinery.

MC suggested that the Society doesn’t provide petrol strimmers for plot-holders at all, having one
available for site reps and leaving it to plot-holders to provide their own battery-powered strimmers.

After further discussion, no clear solution to the problem of broken machinery was found.
6. Projects/New Developments

RMG reported that the news was still not good regarding volunteers from wildlife organisations
with only the Hedgehog Society, of six organisations approached, able to attend the day. RMG
also reported that the response from the membership has been disappointing, with few committing
themselves to attending. Following on from the suggestion at the previous meeting, 50th
celebrations will now consist of a barbecue from 2pm.

Attending numbers were unknown as very few plot-holders had replied to the e-mail sent out.

JMy offered to give a talk to plot-holders on behalf of the Wildlife Trust on a different date to the
50th Celebrations.

7. Shop

RG reported that the shop was doing better than 2018, with gross year to date takings were £803,
which is an increase on last year. However, the cost of multi-purpose compost has increased
considerably. The shop’s price of £4.25 has been held at that level for around four years. The
committee agreed an increase to £4.50. This would still compare favourably with other vendors
who charge £4.99 minimum, often with discount for multibuys.

RMG asked if the Clover multi-purpose was peat-free. RG confirmed that it was not peat-free,
adding that the shop had stocked New Horizon peat-free compost a few years ago following
demand from customers, but the quality of the compost wasn’t as good as Clover and demand fell
away. However, if demand for peat-free compost returns the shop will stock some.


8. Communications

RC confirmed the e-mails that he had sent out, and also that the website had been updated with
current Bee Application information.

9. Awards

LG reminded everyone that not all lists for nominated plots had been received. Also, that not
everyone would be advised when judging takes place and who is on the nominated list.

It was agreed that the judging guidelines would be fine-tuned for 2020 to ensure they were clear
for all site reps.

10. A.O.B.
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10.1 Topstreet Way Bee Application:

JMy asked about the plot-holder on TW who had applied to keep bees. PDH said he needed an
application form and there was some confusion as to whether a complete one had been submitted
or not. The Application was approved in principle, and PDH promised to liaise with JMy as the
plot-holder wanted to get his bees in by end of August.

ACTION: PDH to work with JMy to facilitate approval for the application for keeping bees over the
summer.

10.2 Vandalism:

RC asked if the next newsletter needs a reminder to plot-holders to report any damage to 101. No
decision was made.

10.3 August meeting:

It was agreed that we would not hold a meeting in August, the next meeting being on the 2nd
Wednesday in September.

Date of Next Committee Meeting: 11th September 2019 at 19:15 in the Ted Allen Room

AUGUST MEETING IS CANCELLED