General Meeting
Don't forget the general meeting on Monday 26th April. This is for all association members. The meeting starts at 7pm at Kingsfold Community Centre, on Kingsfold Drive, Penwortham. All the committee hope to see you there.Additional Skips
Thanks to your Site Supervisor, David Green, Preston City Council has agreed to provide the site with additional skips. David Green put forward a proposal at the last site supervisors meeting with the reasoning that our allotment site is much larger than all the other Preston sites, and despite the efforts of tenants to clear plots and recycle when possible, there was still a lot of waste to be cleared. Please use the skips sensibly, don't overload them, and abide by the guidelines for what can and can not be placed in the skips. Please do not bring waste from home, this was evident in the last few skips.
Association Newsletter
The Spring edition of the association newsletter is now available. Printed copies will be available from the site shop from Sunday 28th March. These are for association members only. Anyone can download the newsletter for free from the Association pages.
New gate
The new main gate has now been erected.
All allotment holders are reminded to ensure they close and padlock the
gate at all times. Whilst the new gate is more secure and robust then
the old gate, it is still only properly secure if you padlock it!
Mayor Visit
The Heritage Orchard Tree Planting Ceremony was a roaring success. A big thank you must go to Sheila, Chairperson of the association for organising the event, and to everyone who came along. Please see the Association...Heritage Orchard page for photos.
Replacement Gate
Work begins on replacing the main
gate on the afternoon of Tuesday 9th March. There might be some
disruption to access of the site during this time. Please be patient.
The new gate will be worth it!
Shed Alarms
There are still a limited number of shed alarms available free of charge to association members. These are available from Clare on plot 29 or Val on plot 26. If you are able, a small donation to the association would be gratefully recieved.
Help Wanted
As you have read above, the mayors of Preston, South Ribble and Penwortham are visiting on the 9th March, so we need your help! If you are available on Saturday 5th or Sunday 6th March to help with a general clear up of the allotment site, we need you! We are planning to meet at 10am, but please come along at any time if you can.
New Sign
You may have already spotted the new sign that was recently erected by Dave and Clare Green (plot 29) on the Heritage Orchard. The heritage orchard now has an official name, The "Melrose-Pells Heritage Orchard" in honour of Jim Melrose and Paul Pells for all their hard work both in recent months and over the years.
Committee members Peter
(left) and Dave with the new sign.
Committee Reshuffle
Following the re-elections in the AGM your committee and volunteers are as follows:
- Chairperson : Sheila Melrose (plot 58)
- Treasurer : Carole Johnstone
- Secretary : Clare Green (plot 29)
- Committee Members: David Green (more to be
announced)
- Site Rep :
David Green (plot 29)
- Heritage
Orchard Project Manager : Jim Melrose (plot 53)
- Fund Raising Officer : Paul Pells (plots 123a
and 125b)
- Web Site
Co-ordinator : Clare Green
Shop
Bob Stanton has retired from running the shop. Thank you Bob for all your hardwork over the years. A rota of volunteers is being organised to ensure the shop continues. If you weren't at the AGM, or you didn't volunteer and you wish to now, please send an email here.AGM 2010
This years AGM was held on Monday 18th January, starting at
7pm, at St Mary's Church Hall, Cop Lane, Penwortham. Please see our dedicated page for more details.
Dedicated or crazy?
What where you doing on Sunday? Keeping snug in a warm house maybe? Not your site rep, not even a bit (or a lot) of snow could keep him away!
Penwortham Holme West Recieves Award
David Green, your site representative, is pleased to announce that Penwortham Holme West Allotments has achieved a Merit Award in this years Royal Horticultural Society/North West In Bloom Neighbourhood Awards.
Judging was held in July, when judges visited the allotments and where shown around the site by David. He also presented them with an information sheet detailing all the hard work put in allotment holder volunteers to fund raise for the new fencing, and the Heritage Orchard. The information sheets can be viewed here. If you'd like to view the new tenants newsletter mentioned in the information sheet please click here.
The Awards Ceremony was held in Southport on Thursday 22nd October, where David was presented with the award. Of the nine allotment sites in Preston only Penwortham Holme West and Sharoe Green were entered into the competition. Congratulations to Sharoe Green Allotment site for also recieving a Merit Award.
The Merit Award is a great achievement for the allotment site. Judges award one of three possible awards to each community group (community gardens, gated alleys and allotments form the groups) entered into the awards. The Merit Award is the middle award of the three (Improvement, Merit and Outstanding). To win a Merit Award in the first year of entering the competition is something that all allotment holders can be proud of.
A copy of the Merit Award will be posted on the noticeboard. Those who attended the General Meeting on Monday 26th October, were the first allotment holders to see the award.
Below is a photograph of David at the Award Ceremony.
David is second from the left.
There were many community groups from Preston at the Awards Ceremony. Below are photographs of each group as they recieve their award. If you are a member of a community group and you'd like a copy of your photograph please get in touch here.
Preston Allotment Competition
The Mayor of Preston shakes hands with David Green, the Site Rep.
Plot 12a
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Plot 23
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General Meeting Held on the 26th October
The general meeting was poorly attended, in part due to the half-term school holidays, and perhaps the darker nights. Two notions in principle were passed
- To use the outstanding grants for crime prevention on the purchase of shed alarms for association members, after discussion with the crime prevention officer who attended the meeting.
- To seek funding for the purchase of a replacement for the main gate, as this is seen as a weak point in the security of the site.
Other items discussed where:
- Report updating on the status of the Heritage Orchard.
- Financial report of association funds.
- Site Shop to be closed until further notice. A volunteer is required to take over from Bob. A big thank you to Bob for all his hard work in maintaining the shop.
- Site representatives report, stating six new tenants since last meeting, 6 vacancies, 6 plots on notice.
- Merit Award achieved by the allotment site at the Britain in Bloom awards (see Special News).
- Notification of the AGM in January.
Heritage Fruit Orchard
The Committee would like to invite volunteers to join work parties on Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th November at 10.00am.
It is intended to improve the quality of the soil excavated from the twenty tree pits by incorporating compost and fertiliser. This improved soil must then be returned to each tree pit, and is a critical stage to ensure that the fruit trees can be planted during December; as per the programme.
We would be highly delighted to see as large a turnout as we had in August. Volunteers should bring spades or shovels, wheelbarrows, rakes, gloves and ooooodles of enthusiasm and energy.
It may well be that the Committee will provide light refreshments. We look forward to seeing you all, even if you can only turn up for an hour or two on either day, but the more the merrier will make the task quicker,easier and even more fun!!!
Thanks
Jim Melrose
Project Co-ordinator
Next General Meeting and Newsletter
The latest newsletter has now been sent to allotment holders, so expect yours by post soon! The next general meeting is to be held on Monday 26th October at Kingsfold Community Centre, starting at 7pm. If you have any points for the agenda please let Theresa Gavin know by the 19th October. Contact details for Theresa are in the newsletter.
The general meeting is your chance to find out all the latest information about the allotments, your opinion counts, so please come along. A Crime Prevention Officer will be at the meeting offering advice about preventative measures that can be taken to safeguard your allotment.
Acts of vandalism
Disapointingly there was a spate of vandalism sometime between Friday (2nd Oct) and Sunday morning (4th Oct) with many people arriving at their plot on Sunday morning to find sheds broken into and vegetables trampled. If your plot has been vandalised and you haven't already done so, you should report the incident to the police. The local number is on the noticeboard.
New signs
You might have already noticed new signs being put up around the allotments. This has been done at the request of both the site rep and the council to encourage people to recycle or remove waste from the allotments rather than dumping it on shared ground around the allotments. Individual plot holders are responsible for removing waste from their own allotment. Dumping on communal ground is irresponsible and goes against your tenancy agreement. This also applies to dumping on vacant plots (it's not fair on new tenants). It also makes the allotment site look unisghtly and uncared for. We, as a whole allotment community, need to ensure that we are an attractive proposition when applying for grants and awards, as this will all help towards safeguarding the site from future development.
Remember, the noticeboard has information about when and where skips are provided.
Giant Marrow
Paul has had great success this year with both his marrows and pumpkins. Here's a picture of his "mega marrow", can you beat it? The index finger is there for comparison! See the gallery for a few additional pictures of Paul's allotments.
If you have a fruit or vegetable thats growing very well this season share it with fellow allotment holders by sending a picture here.
New seed catalog available
Association members can pick up this year's King's seed catalog from the on-site shop. A reminder for renewing the annual association fee is also included.
Defacing of notices
A notice on the noticeboard informing tenants of the money raised and spent on the new fencing has been defaced by a tenant on the allotment site, in relation to the recent break-ins. This is disgusting way to behave and you should be ashamed of yourself. A lot of hardwork by a handful of people has gone into raising money for the new fencing and everyone should be more appreciative of that effort. The likely cause of the break-ins is by people leaving the gate unlocked.
Shed notices
Some tenants have failed to read properly the notices that have been placed on sheds that are not on individual plots but located on the large pathway. As it was not possible to identify which shed belonged to which plot, each notice asked the individual tenant to contact the site rep. The site rep wanted to know if any of the sheds had been abandoned with a view to demolishing these unused sheds to create a more attractive area of shared space.
Sheds that are in use will NOT be demolished and the rumours that a new car park will be built are untrue! If you want information about any aspects of the allotment site, in particular about shared pathways etc you should talk to the site rep or a member of the allotment association who can direct you to the correct person/information. Other tenants or ex-association members/ex-committee members do not have access to the most recent facts.
Every tenant is invited to meetings held either on site or at local community centres. This is the best place to be kept updated and to have your say.
Break In
Unfortunately there were a number of break in's last Friday night (4th September). The bad weather meant there were few allotment holders around which seems to have been an opportunity for thieves. It has not been identified how they got in (the new security fence has not been breached). It is another reminder to ensure that everyone should close and padlock the gate (and the pedestrian gate if used) at all times, regardless as to whether it was open when you arrived, or if you're only staying for "a couple of minutes".
Working Party Thank You
Sunday 16th August 2009 11am.
Many thanks on behalf of the committee, to all the volunteers who turned out to help with the clearing of the mound on Sunday. Your help was most appreciated. Sheila Melrose, Secretary. Please see the News Photos page.
Vegetable Bed Sale
Thank you to all allotment holders who recently purchased the vegetable beds I had for sale. Between us, we have raised £105 towards new and existing projects organised by the allotment association. A big thank you to all the following people: Theresa, Jianmei, Andrea, Shaun, Paul, Emma and Samantha for their contribution. I hope the beds bring you joy! - Clare, Plot 29.
Update: The last of the beds have now been sold bringing the total raised to £114. Thanks once again.
Side Gate
It has been noticed that many people are using the small side gate (that faces onto Liverpool Road) to access the allotments but are failing to padlock it behind them. Please ensure you close and lock this gate at all times.
Padlock on Main Gate
Please note that the pre-drilled hole on the gate should no longer be used to attach the padlock as this is causing problems for people entering the allotments. Please use the chain instead.
General Meeting
A general meeting for association members was held on Monday 27th July at 7pm at Kingsfold Community Centre, Penwortham. The sunny weather maybe to blame for the disappointingly low turnout, although new tenants were welcomed. There was a lot to discuss including the (nearly) completed new fence, the plans for the orchard and possible future projects. Thank you to everyone who came along, your support is essential and welcomed.
New noticeboard
A new noticeboard has been erected in the car park. Please have a look when you are passing as vital information will be posted here for ALL tenants, not just those in the allotment association.
Preston in Bloom and Preston Allotment Competition
On Friday 10th July judges from the Preston Allotment Competition are visting the site to judge two entrants. On Monday 13th July judges from Preston in Bloom will be visiting the site to judge and if successful award us with a Preston in Bloom certificate under the category of "allotments". Could all tenants please try and tidy up around there allotment so we can make a good impression!
*** Update 11/07/2009 ***
The judges for the Preston Allotment Competition visited the two allotments, 12a and 23, entered in this years competition from our allotment site. The site rep was on hand to answer questions and show the judges around. Please click here for photos of the day.
Compost Bins
Your site rep, David Green, has arranged for the site to recieve all unwanted household compost bins from Lancashire County Council Waste Minimisation Department. The first batch of bins will be delivered on site on Tuesday 14th July and will be available on a first come first serve basis. Allotment holders are asked to only take 1 per allotment to ensure everyone will eventually have one.
Waiting List
The waiting list for allotments in Preston has always been a long one. Preston City Council has recently decided that only residents living in Preston (as a general guide, those who get a council tax bill from Preston City Council) can apply for an allotment. All those people who are already on the waiting list who don't qualify will be removed. No information has been given about existing tenants who don't live in the Preston boundary. More information will be posted when it becomes available.
If you live in South Ribble and are interested in renting an allotment, then you should visit the South Ribble Borough Council website for details on who to contact.
Preston in Bloom
David Green, your site rep, was invited to Preston in Bloom on the evening of Weds 29th April. As well as meeting lots of community leaders, David also met the Mayor of Preston! David made the most of the opportunity to promote our allotment site and highlight all the hardwork that has been undertaken on the site recently. He was also able to catch up with Amy Hannan from the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, who attended our AGM in Janaury to present a cheque towards the fencing project.
Have your say...
If you have any contributions to the site we'd love to hear from you. Maybe you've had success growing a particular fruit or vegetable, or you have advice about any aspect of allotment gardening. Perhaps you have a tale or two to tell, or some news you'd like to share. If so, please get in touch here.
Probation Service
The Probation Service are currently on site helping to put up the new boundary fence. All those involved in Community Payback (community service) wear high visibility jackets. At this moment in time, could all allotment holders refrain from asking the probation service for help on their own allotments. The priority at the moment is building the fence. Once the fence is up, the committee will be working with the probation service to determine if there are any more projects that the probation service would like to become involved in, this includes clearing tenanted and vacated plots. This will happen at a later date, and all such requests should go through the committee.
Site Shop
The site shop is open on Saturday and Sundays between 11am and 12.