Minutes of the Seventh Annual General Meeting of the Association
Wednesday May 27, 1998, from 8.15 pm, at Christchurch Hall, Dartford.
Present: 17 Members of the Association. The Meeting was opened by the Chairman, Mr Adam Philip.
1. Apologies: Mr Gousy, Mr G Laidlaw and Mr T Laidlaw.
2. Minutes of the Sixth Annual General Meeting: Accepted (Mr Johnson/Mr Chattenton).
3. Matters Arising from the Minutes: None.
4. Secretary's Report: The Committee has met five times since the Sixth Annual General Meeting. During the past year the Committee has co-opted two new members under Rule 6 (Mr Griggs and Mr Palmer). Mr Vagg retires from the Committee with effect from this meeting. The Secretary thanked all members of the Committee for their moral and practical support over the past year, and also noted with regret the passing of Mr Donald Look, the site representative for many years, and a loyal friend of the Association.
i) Lease: A new lease for the Dartford Road site was signed in March, covering the period April 1, 1999 to March 31, 2006, on the same terms as the present lease. Under the new lease, the post of Secretary will pass to Mr G Laidlaw, and the other Trustees will be Mr J Bourne, Mr Griggs and Mr Palmer. The current Trustees (Mr Chattenton, Mr Philip and Dr Wiltshire) will retire from the Committee when the new lease comes into effect. The Secretary acknowledged the assistance the Association has received from Councillor Trevor Rogers in facilitating the renewal of the lease.
ii) Rentals and Expenditures: At present there are 118 plotholders on the Dartford Road site, and the site is fully rented. New applicants are being encouraged to take plots at other sites. Over the past year the Committee has regularly reviewed the state of cultivation of individual plots, and all actions taken by the Secretary to resolve non-cultivation problems have been subject to the Committee's endorsement. Leaving aside profits from the seed scheme and charges met from savings for lease renewal and replacement of the mower stolen during the year, the Association has again run a small surplus of income over expenditures, due mainly to a reduction in water usage, the high rate of occupancy, and the tireless efforts of a small band of volunteers, amongst whom the contributions of Mr Bourne and Mr Laidlaw have been outstanding, and without which the Association could not have frozen the rents for 1998-99 yet again at 1992-3 levels. During the year, the Committee decided that the long-heralded increase in rents to £2.50 per rod will come into effect from April 1, 1999, with any surplus generated to be earmarked for the maintenance and enhancement of the water supply system. The Secretary recorded his thanks to the Association's auditor, Mr Trevor Holford, who has again given the accounts very close scrutiny.
iii) Grounds, Maintenance and Equipment: Over the past year the main footpath has again been maintained to a high standard by Mr Bourne, and improvements have been made to the wide track between the Devonshire Avenue and Gloucester Road entrances to the site. The storage shed has finally been completed, and the mower replaced.
iv) Seed Scheme: Over the past year the Assistant Secretary has organised our participation in the NSALG Seed Scheme, which has yielded a small profit to the Association. Catalogues for next year will be distributed with the Autumn Newsletter.
v) External Relations: The Association was represented at the AGM of the KAGC in October. Over the past year the Association has worked closely with colleagues at other sites to improve the status of allotment gardening within the Borough of Dartford and at the national level. The QED Allotments Newsletter, distributed free to all members of the Association, has documented the very wide range of activities in which the QED Allotments Group has engaged, including maintenance of the website for all of QED, on which the Association has its own pages, and provision of evidence to the recent Parliamentary Enquiry into "The Future for Allotments" and the DETR's "Opportunities for Change" consultation paper on a sustainable development strategy for the UK. Land has also been made available at Darenth Country Park for a small "model allotment" site, the centrepiece of Dartford's Local Agenda 21 initiative, and the first totally new allotment site in the UK for at least two decades. These activities have earned this Association a reputation as one of the most progressive in the country, and the Secretary believes that this reputation will be in safe hands with his successor.
5. Questions on the Secretary's Report: Mr Rodman noted that the Seed Scheme earned the Association nearly £100 last year, and hoped that this sum would rise as more plotholders take advantage of the Scheme. Mrs Tofts enquired whether the Seed Scheme involves a disproportionate amount of work for the Assistant Secretary. The Secretary noted that a specific Seeds Secretary may be needed. Mr Rodman thanked the Secretary for completing the lease extension.
6. Treasurer's Report: The Treasurer introduced the Statement of Accounts for the Year 1997-98. Total rental income for FY1997-98 was £1927.04, £38.50 higher than for the previous year. Profit from the Seed Scheme was £98.27. The water bill was £129.20 lower, and a saving of £64.62 was achieved by reducing the number of rubbish skips to one. Rents received for FY1998-99 total £1883.04 so far
7. Questions on the Treasurer's Report: In response to a query from Mr Palmer, the Secretary explained why the rental income includes an odd four pence.
8. Election of Committee Members: Mr Philip summarised the rules governing the elections. Five current members of the Committee (Mrs Anderson, Mr Johnson, Mr Jones, Mrs Morey and Mr Smith) were retiring and had agreed to stand for re-election for two years. Mr Chattenton was retiring and had agreed to stand for re-election for one year. Mr Griggs and Mr Palmer has agreed to stand for election for two years. No other nominations had been received. Nominations (with proposers and seconders) were as follows: Mr Chattenton (Mr Dennison/Mr Johnson), Mr Jones (Mr Smith/Mr Dennison), Mrs Morey (Mr Palmer/Mr Johnson), Mrs Anderson (Mr Chattenton/Mr Johnson), Mr Johnson (Mr Smith/Mr Palmer), Mr Smith (Mr Rodman/Mr Johnson), Mr Griggs (Mr Chattenton/Mr Dennison), and Mr Palmer (Mr May/Mr Rainey). There were no questions of the candidates, and all were individually and unanimously elected on a show of hands.
9. Award of DRAA Newcomer's Cup: By agreement with the donor, the DRAA Newcomer's Cup is awarded for the best performance by a new tenant on the site joining in the previous two years (in this case 1996 and 19976): people who have come onto the site during 1998 are therefore eligible for the first time next year. The cup is awarded on the judgment of the Trustees, and no individual may win the cup twice. This year there were seven finalists. The efforts of Mr & Mrs Parry, Mr Reynolds and Mr & Mrs Rogers were highly commended, in joint third place was Mr Ketley and Mr & Mrs Scrivenor, and in second place Mr & Mrs Staines. This year's winner, however, is Mr John Stone. After presenting the Cup, the Chairman noted that the overall quality of cultivation on the site seems to have improved every year
10. Any Other Business: Mr Rodman thanked the Committee for their efforts over the past year.
Meeting Closed: 8.34 pm.
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