… Manure Lovers
Your reliably hawk-eyed website reporters – you know we are – spotted this morning that there was an ongoing delivery of manure to site, so it would appear that the last delivery was not – as had been thought possibly the case – a one off.
…But Not Fly Tippers
Some plot holders have been adding materials to the hedge by the spine road. In some – but not all – cases this has been done responsibly, with lopped branches having been woven into it to increase security at weak points, supplementing the hard work being done by volunteers in this respect.
However, someone has also been adding constructional scrap timber, which is unsightly and, if anything, makes the hedge easier to climb.
PPAA are sorry if this was well-intentioned, but could the person(s) responsible kindly please stop doing this? It really is no more than fly tipping, and if it continues then the appropriate action will have to be taken.
Volunteers have removed it, and it’s now by the poly tunnel. It’s in fair condition and we hope that someone might be able to use it.
Pontcanna Permanent Allotments 
It’s a shame that the hedge has been cut so low and the trees in it have been cut down. It was protecting the site and a haven for many birds.
[Edit: this post is somewhat off-topic (manure and fly-tipping) and unfortunately contains factual inaccuracies. The main lengths of the hedge haven’t recently been trimmed, and have grown typically half a metre since they last were. The intention is to create a dense hedgerow of the kind favoured by songbirds]
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These articles often engender considerable interest – which is a good thing.
Accordingly, PPAA Committee respectfully ask all kindly to consider these points at the top of the linked section.
Thanks.
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The following is entirely my personal opinion, but I think that it’s probably fair to say that every plot holder on the PPA site would want the land’s use to continue as allotments indefinitely, and so I invite everyone who might read this to consider this very relevant High Court case of a few years back: Watford Allotments Planning Review
The allotment gardeners in this instance lost their case, and their site was deemed available for development – as desired by one councillor in particular (yes, indeed).
Now, although Town and Country Planning is mainly a devolved matter for Wales, the principles used by the developers to argue their case could be applied equally here, and we should bear in mind that Wales is a part of the same common law jurisdiction as England. (That said, no professional legal analysis has been sought by me on this point, and planning law in Wales has additional complexities too.)
The case, however, suggests to me that there’s no room for complacency on the part of allotment associations anywhere, and that in principle – especially where a developer or institution wanting development enjoyed a cosy relationship with a council or with some councillors – the presumed protections of any allotment site could, under certain circumstances, be defeated.
It’s striking to note, that some of the arguments used successfully against the continuation of the Watford site as allotments were that it was claimed to be untidy, neglected, and an eyesore.
For these reasons above all else, the importance of all of us plot holders’ following our Rules Of Tenancy conscientiously, and of our assisting the PPAA Committee where we can in their endeavours to maintain the site effectively in order for it to be visibly a productive, active, tidy, and well-managed one can’t be overstated. Nor, equally, can the importance of the Committee’s fulfilling their obligations assiduously under their legally-binding Local Management Agreement – see Schedule 3. Councils – owing to severe central funding cuts – often can’t afford to run allotments themselves, and so are now heavily dependent upon volunteer effort to do this. (I understand that Cardiff’s expenditure budget for all parks is around a paltry £50,000 pa )
As ever, that volunteer effort is in short supply, and so I invite everyone – newcomers very much included – to consider joining the PPAA Committee as a member. The duties can, if desired, be very light – an hour or so’s time each month for a meeting by video conference at present – and any practical help given would be on a completely individual, at-will basis. That is, there’d be no expectation in that respect, nor deferment to any organisational hierarchy. The group, as I see it, works as a body of friends and equals. The wider its composition, the better represented plot holders will be. To this end, the importance of the Annual General Meetings being well-attended can’t be overstated either – that’s the surest safeguard against policy being railroaded by unrepresentative interests and the like.
To join the Committee, just notify them by the message page on the website. All interested would, I’d expect, receive a very warm welcome!
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