Reply to
Steve Clampin
Telephone
(0117) 9223972
Minicom Fax
(0117) 9223744
Steve.clampin@bristol.gov.uk
Our ref Your ref Date
May 2016
Dear Plotholder,
GROWERS GRAPEVINE NEWSLETTER MAY 2016 Welcome to the May 2016 edition of Growers Grapevine. It includes important information relating to your allotment and your tenancy, as well as events and competitions. RENT DISCOUNT APPLICATIONS Please find enclosed your benefits discount application form. To qualify for a rent reduction, send this form to the address below with evidence of your benefits by 31 st August. The form must be sent to: - ALLOTMENTS (ST ANNES HOUSE), PO BOX 3176, BRISTOL BS3 9FS Only the benefits shown on the form will be allowed. Late forms will be disallowed without exception and the full rent will have to be paid for the plot. It is a good idea to contact us on 0117 9223719 a few days after you have posted the form to check that we have received it, as we don’t send confirmation to tenants whether or not we have received an application. RENT INCREASES 2017-2018 The Allotments Panel agreed at their meeting of 14 th January that there will be no rent increase for September 2017. The charges will therefore be as follows: -
N e i g h b o u r h o o d s
Environment & Leisure
Di Robinson
Website
Ashton Court Estate Office,
Service Director
www.bristol.gov.uk
Long Ashton, Bristol BS41 9JN
Environment & Leisure
September 2016
September 2017
451-550 square metres
£160.00
£160.00
352-450 square metres
£145.00
£145.00
225-351 square metres
£80.00
£80.00
151-224 square metres
£65.00
£65.00
75-150 square metres
£45.00
£45.00
0-74 square metres
£25.00
£25.00
Invoices will be sent out at the end of September. Please ensure that they are paid within the statutory 40 days to ensure that you do not lose your plot. Keep any evidence of your payment (eg receipts, online payment number etc) in case of any mix up as this can help us to trace missing payments. You can set up a Direct Debit for rent, which can avoid any problems of missing payments. We can send you the form on request to set this up. We now e mail notices and invoices to tenants where possible. Please let us have your e mail address to enable us to do this. UP AND COMING EVENTS GET GROWING TRAIL 4TH & 5TH JUNE The 6th Get Growing Trail on 4th and 5th June has over 20 food growing projects including allotments open to visit. For more details and to download a leaflet see http://www.bristolfoodnetwork.org/event/bristols-6th-annual-get-growing-trail-is-4th-and5th-june
THE LAST DATE FOR ALLOTMENT COMPETITION ENTRIES - 24TH JUNE
ALLOTMENTS MARKET ASHTON COURT, 21ST AUGUST 2016 10am-2pm There will be an allotments market at Ashton Court to enable plotholders or Allotment groups or Assocations to sell surplus produce. This is also an ideal opportunity to meet prospective plotholders and to promote allotments. Stalls are free but must be booked in advance. Please contact me on steve.clampin@bristol.gov.uk or tel 0117 9223972 to register an initial interest. This does not commit you, but does reserve a space. You will be sent a form to return nearer the time.
LAST DATE FOR RENT REDUCTION APPLICATIONS – 31ST AUGUST ALLOTMENTS ANNUAL REVIEW MEETING & COMPETITION PRIZEGIVING This year’s meeting will be at Create Centre on Monday 7th November at 6.30pm. I will advise on the detail of speakers etc in the Autumn Grapevine. The competition prizegiving and long tenancy certificates will be awarded at this meeting.
N e i g h b o u r h o o d s
Environment & Leisure
Di Robinson
Website
Ashton Court Estate Office,
Service Director
www.bristol.gov.uk
Long Ashton, Bristol BS41 9JN
Environment & Leisure
DOGS ON SITE AND FEEDING FOXES It can be lovely to take your dog to the allotment. However, please be aware that it must be kept on a lead when on the allotment, regardless of how well behaved you think it is, and must not be allowed to wander onto neighbouring plots. Any fouling must be picked up and disposed of off site. Some tenants have been feeding foxes on site. This has, on some occasions, caused the foxes to become bold and to approach people, as they have come to associate humans with food. Foxes can carry diseases, and while they are useful as pest control, they also foul and dig as well as killing poultry, and many people do not welcome them on their plot. Please do not feed foxes and other animals, they are wild animals and can find their own food. You may feed the birds, but please use feeders or bird tables, and only put small amounts of food out in the morning, as large amounts of food or food left overnight encourages rats. BAN ON BONFIRES The ban on bonfires continues between 1st April and 31 st October inclusive, and includes areas of the site not on your plot. You must not light any fires during this period, including incinerators. Material must not be brought on site to burn. Charcoal barbecues are allowed, but please be considerate of neighbours when having social events on your plot. RUBBISH ON PLOTS OR COMMUNAL AREAS Do not bring rubbish on to plots or other areas such as car parks and communal areas. Unless something is going to be quickly used for a purpose on the plot, it should not be there. Otherwise you risk losing your tenancy and being charged for rubbish removal. There has been a spate of dumped turfs, cabbage stalks and weeds appearing in hedgerows, car parks, communal areas and plots as well as timber, glass, metal and other items. This material should NOT be placed on any area outside your plot, and anyone caught dumping such material will be issued a Notice to Quit their plot. Remember that allotments should be pleasant places for everyone, and not marred by unsightly rubbish around the place. Most organic material can be composted on your plot (including perennial weeds if they are dried out thoroughly, or kept covered for a long time). Remember that your topsoil is the most valuable resource on your plot, and throwing away soil containing weeds is effectively throwing your plot away! TYRES Tyres are not allowed on plots, but as they are not currently specifically mentioned in the tenancy agreement, we have decided to grant a ‘tyre amnesty’ for this year only. However, they must be removed from your plot by the April 2017 inspection or you will be charged for their removal if they remain on your plot.
N e i g h b o u r h o o d s
Environment & Leisure
Di Robinson
Website
Ashton Court Estate Office,
Service Director
www.bristol.gov.uk
Long Ashton, Bristol BS41 9JN
Environment & Leisure
GUIDELINES FOR GLASS GREENHOUSES, COLD FRAMES AND OTHER STRUCTURES ON ALLOTMENT PLOTS The City Council does allow a greenhouse, maximum size 6ft x 8ft (1.8m x 2.4m) on an allotment plot (but you must ask permission first). However, it must be a properly constructed ‘off the shelf’ greenhouse, and not a structure fabricated out of old window panes. Many allotment sites are exposed and subject to high winds. The glazing must be properly secured to the frame, and the structure must be secure and kept in good repair. Dilapidated and unsafe structures are not allowed, and you may be asked to remove it or be charged for its removal if it is deemed to be unsafe or in poor repair. Other glass used for cloches and cold frames must not be left lying around the site, or placed where it can cause a hazard to passers by on paths etc. If it gets broken, you must remove it from the allotment. Glass must not be buried on the plot. Glass is a hazardous material and you could be liable if someone is injured by glass on or arising from your plot. Please consider using alternatives such as Perspex glazing or polythene cloche tunnels where at all possible. USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA Social media such as Facebook, Twitter etc is a great way for plotholders on sites to keep in touch, advertise events, recycle unwanted plants/items or give/obtain useful gardening advice, as well as to promote your site to prospective plotholders, and we welcome the responsible use of such sites. However, whilst the City Council does not police these sites or take any responsibility for the way they are used, we would ask that social media is not used as a way to circumvent or undermine your Site Representative, who needs to be aware of important issues on the allotment site. If you have any problems (such as water leaks, rats, paths etc) then you should report them to your Site Representative in the first instance, otherwise to the Allotments Office on 0117 9223719 or allotments@bristol.gov.uk ALLOTMENT COMPETITIONS We would urge you to enter the competitions, and for Site Representatives and Allotment Associations to enter the best plots on your sites that you consider to be worthy of entry (check with the tenant first!). If you would like to enter any of the categories please e mail me on steve.clampin@bristol.gov.uk or telephone us on 0117 9223972 or 0117 9223753 with your site and plot details, before Friday 24th June. The categories are as follows:Best Kept Allotment. Criteria include quality/variety of crops, appearance of the plot, and attractive features such as wildlife ponds, compost bins, number boards, scarecrows, flowers. Fred Brown Memorial (Best Allotment first year tenancy, for plots taken on since spring 2015). Any photographic evidence of the condition of your plot when you took it on will be taken into account as the competition is not just about the condition on judging day but about the amount of effort involved in bringing it into cultivation.
N e i g h b o u r h o o d s
Environment & Leisure
Di Robinson
Website
Ashton Court Estate Office,
Service Director
www.bristol.gov.uk
Long Ashton, Bristol BS41 9JN
Environment & Leisure
Best Group Project/Community Achievement Award (including community groups and projects helping disadvantaged people). The award is judged partly on the plot itself, but also on the way it is helping members of the community through gardening. Urban Pollinators Cup for the Most Ecological Plot. The Bristol University Urban Pollinators Project has kindly donated a trophy for this competition. If you have a plot that is wildlife friendly, maybe with a pond, pollinator friendly flowers or has bird feeders, bug hotels or other wildlife friendly features, please enter this competition. Judging of the Best Kept and Fred Brown Competitions will be held on 29 th June and 1st July, we again have Tim Foster judging with us for these two competitions. The prizes will be awarded at the Allotments Annual Review meeting on 7 th November. SITE REPRESENTATIVES Please consider whether you may be able to assist us by carrying out this role. Rent discounts are available for those who carry out the Site Representative duties. Please let us know if you wish to see the list of duties involved. ALLOTMENTS PANEL The Allotments Panel meets 2-3 times per annum, to discuss a variety of issues relating to allotments including rents, land disposals, tenancy agreements and rules etc. The Appeals Panel is also occasionally convened to hear cases where a tenant has appealed against a Notice to Quit issued by us. If you would like to become an Allotments Panel member please contact us for further information. I will give more details of the places up for renewal next year in the Autumn Grapevine. May I take this opportunity to wish you a successful growing season for the rest of 2016.
Yours sincerely
Steve Clampin Senior Allotments Officer
N e i g h b o u r h o o d s
Environment & Leisure
Di Robinson
Website
Ashton Court Estate Office,
Service Director
www.bristol.gov.uk
Long Ashton, Bristol BS41 9JN
Environment & Leisure