Month: March 2017

It is that time of year again where our subs to the PPAA are due. These allow us for example to get the manure delivered that so many make use of. They have been capped at just £5 for the year.

They can be paid in cash to any member of the Committee (see Committee page for details) or directly into the PPAA bank account:

A/N: 02568231

Sort Code: 30-98-94.

Please add your plot number and name as the reference so that it can be tracked.

Thanks,

Dave King (Treasurer)

A small group of volunteers have now cleared the carpark by the old clubhouse. Hopefully the woodchip pile will remain confined to the area left for it. Thanks to all those involved in the clean-up!

Present: Tim Llewellyn; Dave King; Ray Edwards; Sue Jones; Dan Phillips; Martin Pasek; Gary Reed; Frank Berry (RCG); Gordon Clark (RCG). Apologies: Ian Douglas; Alex Brown.

Secretary’s duties. In future if the committee can inform Sue if plots in their vicinity are not being worked she will do the necessary follow up. This item will remain as a standing agenda item until further notice (AP Sue/all).

Western Ave car park. Martin has removed the top layer of of mud from the underlying tarmac and found the base to be in reasonable condition, so no further work needed.

Website. Our new website is now live, pontcannapaa.com. Alex is managing it and has asked committee members to send him photos to update the committee page. Ray and Ianhave done theirs, can the rest of the committee do so. (AP committee).

Plot numbering. Gary handed out the plot numbers for Dave and Ray to display them on their areas of responsibility. Dan has asked Gary to do his. (AP Gary/Dan).

Storage. The container was delivered Tuesday morning, and Dave is happy with its condition. He will fit a new lock and cut a couple of keys for the committee’s use. (AP Dave).

Hedge. We are looking to fill gaps in the hedge and Dave can access whips of blackthorn, hawthorn, hazel, etc. by liaising with the head ranger at the Council. A working party can then plant them. (AP Dave).

Area behind polytunnel. We are looking into clearing the debris behind the poly tunnel. Sue recommended the waste contractor she used for recent clearance work, which worked out cheaper and more effective than hiring a skip. Dave will contact them for a quote. (AP Dave).

Riverside Community Garden. Frank and Gordon represented RCG to emphasise their willingness to work more closely with PPAA, including clearance of overgrown plots. Dave asked them to send invoices to him for work done. (AP RCG).

Polytunnel. There has been interest from plot holders in using the spare raised beds in the poly tunnel. The successful gardeners are John Morgan, Marcello Lo Celso and Polly Ferguson. Ian will use the other 2 raised beds available.

Asbestos. Sue has contacted Celia to ask if we can arrange for all asbestos to be removed from site. This is being looked at by a Cardiff-wide project so we’ll have to wait for their report findings. Sue will see if she can join the project. (AP Sue).

Taff Tidy. Ray reported that the day went well, they collected 15 bags of rubbish.

The shop. Councillor Holden (Cardiff Allotments Champion) visited the site last week to discuss the running of the shop with Adrian and Tim. There is an issue about a separate organisation (Harlech Gardening Club) running an allotment shop without involvement of the local allotment association. Ours is the only site in Cardiff to be run in this way. The PPAA committee cannot condone anything which may contravene the constitution or the LMA.

Woodchip. We have one authorised woodchip contractor – Michael Boyer. Another business – Llandaff Lumberjax – has been delivering recently without our permission. We are in the process of retrieving the key from Llandaff Lumberjax, so if they are seen on site they should be challenged. If individual plot holders want them to deliver then they must escort them on and off the site.

Shredding. We have an amount of wood offcuts to be shredded. A shredder costs about £1300 to purchase, so in the first instance we’ll ask Michael Boyer to quote for the job. (AP Sue).

Drainage. Martin mentioned that the area that has flooded in recent times has a considerable layer of silt which makes access to adjacent plots very difficult. Ray will provide Martin with contact details of the drainage contractors who carried out the work, to see how best to proceed. (AP Ray/Martin).

Spare soil. Ray pointed out that there is a quantity of good quality top soil (albeit with some stone in it) in the Western Ave car park, which can be taken by plot holders for their use.

Taking cuttings. The committee has been informed that someone has taken grapevine cuttings from a fellow plot holder without permission. This behaviour is unacceptable and could lead to the termination of a tenancy.

Thank You. The committee would like to say a big thank you to Jenny and her son Daniel for their ongoing work in clearing the old woodchip from the area near the old shop. It is much appreciated. Hopefully other volunteers will follow their example!

AGM. The provisional date for the AGM is Sunday 14 May 2017.

Date of next meeting – Tuesday 4 April, Butchers Arms, Canton.

There has been frustration expressed in the past with respect to the quality of wood chip that was supplied to the site. The committee have reviewed the previous arrangements and agreed that only one supplier, whose wood chip meets allotmenteers needs, is permitted to be supplied to the woodchip stockpiles.

Unfortunately an unauthorised contractor gained access this week and left a load of substandard wood chip. He has now been contacted and informed of our position.

If any allotmenteer wishes to source wood chip from any other contractor they must arrange to meet that contractor at the gate, ensure the wood chip is only tipped onto their plot and then see the contractor offsite.