Month: January 2026

The Council have asked PPAA Committee to publicise this.

Relevant information, and the on line Survey, can be found here.

(It’s a general Council questionnaire, not one produced by Allotments Office. The place for any comments is in the Survey therefore, and so they’re not open on this article.)

PPA Website Team

In addition to the fire, it appears that the criminals have used a power tool to saw through the padlock’s engaging lug on the Riverside Community Garden’s steel shipping container, and the doors were left open.

The newly-built shelter was in a certain amount of disarray, but there wasn’t any evidence seen of an attempt to burn it.

It’s possible that the criminals didn’t know the extent of the Community Garden, and perhaps burnt the chalet that they apparently did because it was a more elaborate structure, and which they wrongly attributed to it? However this is no more than speculation on the author’s part.

We’d urge all plot holders to inspect their plots for any theft or damage.

PPA Website Team

PPAA Committee members were awoken at around 0230 this morning by the police ‘phoning. They were with the fire services on site. A structure had been on fire and the gate had been forced.

Owing to the method used to force entry to the site, it seems that the intrusion was a determined act and not casual criminality. (The Western Avenue gate will be modified to avert this apparent method of entry in future.)

We lament the severe distress that this must cause to the plot holders concerned – whom, we understand, the police have notified – and express our sincere compassion to them.

We haven’t inspected the rest of the site for evidence of further crimes as yet.

PPA Website Team

PPAA Committee took delivery of two hundred mixed pyracantha on Thursday, and the planting of these is under way. This may take a few sessions over the next week or two.

There shouldn’t be any particular obstruction caused by this work, and if there were, then it should be of brief duration, but we thank drivers and everyone else for their understanding on this in advance. (We acknowledge that already shown during the previous work too.)

We also thank the six plot holders, who’ve offered help with this work, and for that already given with the preparation needed to bring us to this point.

PPA Website Team

The above picture shows the present state of the manure pen by the Western Avenue end gate.

Someone has improvised a causeway out of waste materials to enable access across the large puddle and the mud to the residual manure, which has now all been used.

Would the persons who did this therefore:

a) Please kindly remove all of this material from the pen.

b) Dispose of it responsibly off site if it isn’t required anywhere else.

(There’s no volunteer effort available to do this.)

Once both of these actions have been carried out – but not before – the PPAA volunteers will be able once again to authorise and to supervise deliveries of manure to this pen – as and when it might become available.

Kind thanks.

*Update – please see comment below.

PPA Site Volunteers.

Spine road hedge improvements

The removal of the unsuitable, fast-growing, thornless subjects is complete, and the build up of clippings etc. has all been raked out. This means that the new hedging – mixed berry colour pyracantha – can be ordered and planted.

This will result in a dense, very thorny, tough, evergreen hedge, with attractive and highly wildlife-beneficial berries. It will grow at a similar rate to the hawthorns, berberis, hollies, and other subjects, which remain from the original hedging. It will provide better, more secure nesting for birds, and only require cutting once a year, which can be done in autumn or winter. (In order to maintain access for vehicles – and to remove nuisance to pedestrians and cyclists – the former hedge needed three or even four trims a year.)

This not only reduces greatly the burden for volunteer effort and/or cost for paying for the work, but also preserves and enhances the future maintainability of the site. (PPAA Committee are required under their local management agreement with the Council to maintain hedges. Clearly, they have failed in this obligation if they allow such hedges to become unmaintainable by whatever volunteer effort or resources they might have.)

Communal poly tunnel bed draw

As previously announced, the draw for beds, for two growing years, is still open, and closes at midnight on the thirty-first of this month, January 2026.

It seems likely that the initial draws – including last year’s – attracted most of the people interested, which perhaps explains the relatively quiet response so far. So those already with beds subject to the draw, but who’d like to continue for another two years, are advised that if they applied too, then the signs so far are that there’s a real chance that some of them could do that.

Council bills

In principle, all plot holders who intend to continue with their plots from February this year onwards should have received a bill in November.

However, owing to the Council’s approach to introducing the new Orkastrate system for managing allotment tenancies, anyone who began their tenancy at any time since around June 2024 may very well not have received a bill for a second time. This is because the Council’s billing department – we understand – are still working from the previous, manually-updated file system, which, it appears, ceased to be updated by Allotments Office from the moment that the Orkastrate system introduction was begun. We emphasise that PPAA Committee have faithfully communicated to Allotments Office all details of every letting. This is everything that they’re required to do, and owing to budgetary and staffing matters at the Council, they’re unable to influence matters further. Notwithstanding, Sue spent a morning in person with Allotments Officer, on the understanding that the latter was updating the Orkastrate system from Sue’s personal records. This will still have no effect on billing, however, for the reason stated earlier in this paragraph. Another incidental effect – it seems possible – is that those who have resigned their tenancies may nevertheless continue to be billed by the Council.

This problem affects all sites in Cardiff. Allotments Officer has, we infer, indicated that when the system is properly updated, those tenants who have so far not been billed will receive backdated bills to cover the whole unpaid period, and so we advise everyone affected to prepare for any possible financial impact of such. We await further clarification on this point, however.

PPA Website Team