The Council have sent out the email below, along with the attachments shown as files on this page. We’re publishing it in case any tenant whose contact particulars are either missing from, or not up-to-date in the Council’s records might happen to see this here when they wouldn’t otherwise. Tenants who don’t use email will be contacted by paper letter.
We would clarify, that many, perhaps most, of the changes in the new Agreement, and which were considered by the Working Group, were proposed by the Council themselves. The Working Group also included Allotments Officer, her line manager, Head Of Parks, Ecology Officer, and other Council management.
We’d also emphasise that – as the email says – plot holders need do nothing at this stage. We’d further remind everyone that the Consultation is now closed, and so our understanding is that no further change will be made to the document in response to any representation.
Council’s covering email (click image for full screen)
Under Schedule 3, (4) of the Local Management Agreement between PPAA and the Council, PPAA are responsible for cutting hedges:
“4. Grounds maintenance Hedge cutting, grass cutting, and strimming of uncultivated areas throughout the allotment site.”
In recent years, PPAA have dutifully done this, either by their own volunteer effort, or by paying to have this done, and this year’s been no exception. As a result there was no need for any further work until the hedge grew again. Notwithstanding, an operative has recently done this again, apparently using an agricultural flail cutter. This has happened repeatedly, over several years now, and we assume that some Council department arranges this, but despite now numerous enquiries as to who arranges this and why, no reply has ever been received on the matter. There does seem to be a pattern however, where if PPAA cut the hedge, then so does the Council, but if for some reason they don’t, then nor does the Council either, though perhaps that’s just coincidence.
The beech section of the hedge has now been cut quite rigorously, but little difference has been made to the rest, for obvious reasons.
The purpose of this post is simply to let anyone know who might have wondered why on Earth this had happened, that – as ever – it was nothing whatsoever to do with PPAA Committee.
(We read that Cardiff Council has been running a large budgetary deficit for some time, and so would appreciate it, on behalf of all Council Tax payers, if some sort of explanation as to this apparent waste of resources would finally be given.)
Orkastrate, the Council’s new records system for allotments
Committee members are quite often asked by tenants “There’s a plot near me, which has been unattended for some time now. Why hasn’t it been let?” or “I’ve had my plot for over a year now, but still haven’t been billed?”
These are very good questions, and this is the reason:
The tenancy contract is between tenant and Council, but owing to its Local Management Agreement, a PPAA Committee member – usually the Site Representative – attends to the practicalities of letting vacant plots to new tenants. Clearly, before this can be done, the volunteer needs to be certain that the plot is actually vacant. That is, that the former tenancy has been conclusively dissolved. This is where the difficulty presently lies.
The previous system for managing tenancies has been ended. It used to involve the Council’s Allotments Officer keeping files of waiting lists, vacancies, tenancies of plots etc., for all of Cardiff’s sites. She was dependent on Site Reps sending the details of new tenancies, non-cultivation, and so on, to keep these files updated. At regular intervals the updated files would then be shared with Site Reps across Cardiff, enabling them to let the vacant plots to people on the Waiting List for their site.
These files stopped being updated around summer 2024, and the data is being transferred to the new system. In principle, when it’s fully implemented, it should be very good, with Site Reps able to access and to update the system in real time on the devices issued by the Council. However, everyone’s asked to understand, that – in the context of budgetary strictures – the Council only have one officer for Allotments, who has to deal with over three thousand tenancies. It will therefore take some time to transfer the data for all sites to the new system, and this will happen far sooner for some than for others. The greater problem though, is perhaps that even once this is done, that data will be typically eighteen months old, and a significant amount of it will no longer be correct.
Sue attended the Council’s Site Representatives’ meeting on Wednesday, and it emerged that owing to the understandable sense of urgency on the part of Site Reps, one-to-one sessions of a few hours are being arranged between Allotments Officer and the Rep for a given site. This is so that they can correct the Council’s obsolete data – from their personal records for their site – dating back to when the Council stopped updating the files on the previous system. Sue intends to arrange such a meeting in due course for PPA. Much of her work will involve updating the records, to show the tenancies of plots, which have been let since summer 2024, and to enable their holders finally to be billed.
(It also needs to be borne in mind, that even once this data is up-to-date, the system still won’t be fully accessible as “live” by Site Reps, but just be “read only” – for the time being at least.)
Doing our bit
Sustainable self-sufficiency in food is a very good thing for any country, and this article from Private Eye explains why maybe the most environmentally responsible and, indeed, patriotic thing, that those of use who are fortunate enough to have allotments can do, is to make the fullest and most productive use of them that we can.
From Private Eye 1662 with acknowledgements. (Click on the image for full screen)
A volunteer came across the man pictured, today, picking apples from a tree on a plot, using a picking tool. He had quite a large bag of other produce and some leeks too.
He seemed startled when the volunteer said hello, and left site shortly afterwards, on foot, by the Western Avenue gate. He had a gate key.
He appeared familiar, and could be a plot holder or an ex one. He’s perhaps in his seventies, of shorter-than-average height, medium build, and has a distinctive walk, which verges on a trot.
We’d be interested to hear from anyone who recognises him or the description, and from anyone who has also had produce taken from their plot at this time.
Update:
A plot holder has informed us that they authorised the ex-plot holder described to gather produce from their plot. Since the fruit being gathered elsewhere was from overhanging branches, and didn’t involve the picker going on to the plot, it appears that no serious wrong has arguably been done.
However, plot holders are reminded:
All visitors should be supervised by them.
The only people entitled to own gate keys are current tenants. On giving up a plot all keys should be handed back.
All produce growing on a plot, even overhanging other land, is, we understand, the property of that plot holder, and therefore not available for anyone else to harvest.
As signs beside the main gate, and elsewhere on the perimeter fence announce, and as resolved to be continued at a number of PPAA Committee meetings, the site’s subject to surveillance by cameras. However, for various reasons, this safeguard’s only been intermittent.
With a view to improving things, a plot holder has purchased various equipment – at their own expense – and has been trialling this around the site. The results so far are promising, with a great many images, some of which are interesting. (When movement triggers them, shots are taken every few seconds. At night, infra red pictures are taken.) A couple of examples are shown below:
Daylight image (the grey oval is to safeguard the privacy of a plot holder from publication of their image.)Night time image, triggered by a fox.
There are also images that a few people might prefer weren’t recorded. For instance the plot holders – who subscribe to the newsletters and therefore have been repeatedly reminded – who haven’t payed their five pounds (yes, only five pounds) subs for full PPAA membership, but who nonetheless helped themselves to a counted nineteen barrowloads of manure, over two occasions, in a borrowed wheelbarrow.* (One of these was also indicated, apparently vexatiously knocking over the doorstop blocks for the bring-and-take cubicle. You have to laugh…)
We did consider the idea of publishing those pictures, but we’d just ask that these folk – they know who they are – simply play the game, like nearly every one of their fellow gardeners does in good heart.
We’re pleased to report though, that in the areas covered, there was only one instance recorded, of any person’s being on the site during real night time over the last six weeks or so, and no instance of gates having been left open, so thanks to all for everyone’s care in that regard.
Whatever, the trials continue, but as a protection against theft, the particular equipment has been moved from the location revealed by the images in this article. So, wherever anyone might be on site, keep smiling 🙂
*At one time the Council moved the manure for the Riding School for free, but these days the Riding School have to arrange this at their own expense. Importantly, PPAA Committee now have to buy the manure from them. It’s therefore PPAA Committee’s property, and so those taking it without having paid for that right would, on the face of it, simply be stealing.
