Articles

We’re into the first full growing season since the intermittent row of mature hawthorns (the historic boundary hedge for the site) was crown lifted, to allow light to reach the under storey of mainly brambles. The hope was that these would then proliferate and flourish, to produce a thicket impenetrable to intruders, and also to enhance habitat for a range of animals, notably hedgehogs, and low-nesting birds such as robins, wrens, black caps, and so on. Previously, owning to shade, this undergrowth was very sparse – as was the PPA hedge – or completely absent in quite a few places, making access for intruders very easy. The work was also coupled with the removal of fast-growing, unsuitable subjects from the hedge beside the PPA track, such as sycamore.

The position now is:-

• There is a dense, tall, broad, bramble thicket running nearly continuously for the length of the site, and this continues to grow and to spread, closing up the few remaining gaps.
• The rough laid hedging and brashings from tree work – which formed a temporary security barrier – have now been almost completely shot through by brambles, nettles, and so on, giving a pleasantly green, vibrant appearance to the feature, and concealing the dead wood.
• The maintenance burden of clipping low-hanging hawthorn branches over the main track has been greatly reduced.
• The lighting for the hedge on the PPA side of the wire netting has been much improved, and the berberis, hawthorn, newly-planted pyracantha, and other subjects are responding well to this.
• Holes were made in the wire netting at ground level, to allow animals such as hedgehogs easy entry and exit to and from the site. These are now being seen once more on PPA.

So we hope that the few who were concerned – alarmed even – by the temporary reduction in biomass that the initial work involved are now reassured to see that this is being greatly more than offset by the recent profusion of new growth.

PPA Website Team

The sale will be held as usual in the area by the communal poly tunnel near the southeast gate.

Including:-

Runner beans, French beans, pumpkin, courgette, squash, leeks, spinach, lettuce, herbs, cabbage, kale, sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower

Flowers selection, and much more

Cash or card

See you there!

(Many thanks to those who’ve grown subjects specially for the sale, or donated surplus plants.)

Plant sale volunteers and PPAA Committee.

Plant sale

The plant sale is set to be held from 11:00 to 14:00 on Saturday, May 16th, by the communal poly tunnel near to the southeast gate.

This isn’t just an opportunity to buy young vegetable plants at very reasonable prices, but also to meet, to chat, and to socialise at what is a convivial annual event.

Let’s hope for nice weather then!

Minutes for PPAA Committee meeting held on 5th May, 2026, at the Cricketers, Cathedral Road, Cardiff

Present: Mike Powell (Acting Chair), Wendy Gunter (Treasurer), Gordon Goldsmith, Sue Pasek (Acting Site Representative), Rhys Williams, Lewis Evans, Nerys Lloyd-Pierce.

Apologies: Martin Pasek.

The meeting opened at 19:00.

Matters arising from previous Minutes: 

To be covered in agenda.

Chair’s report:

• Mike attended the CAHA meeting on 22nd April.. Its main focus was to discuss the Economy & Culture Scrutiny Committee meeting held the day before, where CAHA had been invited to raise concerns with the service provided by the Allotments department. The full meeting may be viewed at https://cardiff.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/1081729

• Plot Inspections have commenced. The first round identified the need for forty-four “Letters of Concern” to be sent. The second round of plot inspections is ongoing.

• The annual plant sale will be held on Saturday, 16th May, from 11:00-14:00, by the communal poly tunnel at the southeast end of site. 

• Two vacant plots have been cleared by volunteers. Following the Council’s guidelines,  the PPAA Committee will bill one of the previous plot holders for the cost of the rubbish removal.

Site Secretary’s report:

• Sue reported that there had been no recent progress on the Orkastrate system, and that the requested up-to-date waiting lists were still awaited.

Treasurer’s report:

• Wendy has submitted the verified PPAA accounts to the Council. She awaits the payment of our 2026-2027 grant. 

• A card reader has been purchased. 

AOB:

• A Welsh Water (Dwr Cymru) inspector has visited site, and confirmed that the underground water leak is significant. They have issued Cardiff Council, as the land owner, with a Notice to repair the leak, or possibly to face prosecution. The Council have thirty days to respond to them.

• Mike raised the issue of the need for people to stand for the vacant Committee Officer posts. Sue has stated that she has acted in the capacity of Site Representative for several years, but will not be doing so after the AGM. 

There was no further business, and the meeting ended at 20:15.

The next PPAA Committee meeting will be at the AGM, at 11:00 on Sunday, 14th June 2026 near to the southeast entrance of the PPA site.

PPA Website Team

The 2026 PPAA AGM is scheduled to be held at 11am, on Sunday, 14th June, by (or in) the communal poly tunnel near the southeast entrance.

All plot holders are at least basic members of the PPAA, and so it is hoped that as many as possible will attend the meeting.

Draft Agenda

Listing of those present – plot holders and Committee.

Chairman’s Welcome And Introduction.

Acting Site Representative’s (Site Secretary’s) report.

Treasurer’s Report.

Election/re-election of Officers (Chair, Site Secretary and Treasurer) and other Committee Members (currently there are five). Please note that Sue, who resigned as Site Representative a few years ago, but was requested by the Council to continue as their contact, will not be continuing in this capacity. The election will happen as follows:

New volunteers can be proposed – or propose themselves – and be seconded, along with those standing again. There will then be an e-vote, sent out by group email from the website (and also a paper one to those who don’t subscribe.) This will involve all tenants, and simply replicate the customary show of hands to approve or to reject, as a group, the designated Committee.

Volunteers to fill any of these roles are warmly invited to stand.

Plant Sale stats.

Any Other Business.

If anyone wishes to raise an issue at the meeting, then this could be added to the agenda (contact the PPAA in advance) or be raised under Any Other Business.

We very much hope to see as many plot holders as possible on the 14th June.

PPAA Committee

Once again we have drought conditions.

Fortunately, most people will be able to attend their plots and to water as necessary, however.

Less fortunately, the hundreds of pyracantha planted to form the main hedge have not yet been able to put down deep roots, and so are particularly vulnerable to these conditions.

Volunteers have been watering them every few days – ideally it would be more often – but they won’t be able to do this for the next four of five, and the dry weather looks perhaps set to continue.

So – as the Americans would say – we’re reaching out to all plot holders, particularly those whose plots adjoin the main track, and asking them, if they can, to keep these quite expensive shrubs watered every couple of days. Those with nearby plots might want to “adopt” part of the hedgerow to this end.

This shouldn’t need to go on for long. There’s every indication that the shrubs are starting to root more deeply, and a spell of traditional British weather would see them settle, but for now they need a hand.

Many thanks to anyone able to help.

PPA Website Team.

This Committee met on the 21st inst.

It consisted of Councillors, Parks Management, allotments Site Representatives who had proposed themselves, the Secretary of Cardiff Allotments Holders Association (CAHA), and others.

Principal points discussed were:

• The problems caused by the long delays in properly implementing the Orkastrate management software and hardware:
• Associations not having up-to-date waiting lists, and running out of applicants for vacant plots.
• Associations not knowing whether the tenancy of a plot has been formally and conclusively ended, and therefore whether they have authority to let it, and the length of time before this is known.
• The waste of volunteer effort in clearing plots only for the above delays to cause them to become overgrown again.
• The failure of the Council to follow through the Plot Inspection process within the prescribed time, meaning that plots remain neglected and volunteers have to repeat the work.
• The disconnect between Allotments and the Council’s billing department meaning that many tenants have not received bills for over two years now.
• Delays in repairing expensive water leaks or even in addressing them at all.
• A lack of accountability.
• Long delays in receiving replies to emails, if at all.

The webcast recording can be found here. It’s two-and-a-half hours long, but a lot of insight can be gained by having the patience to watch it. (In the opinion of the author, the elephant in the room is never mentioned.)

PPA Website Team

Tomorrow, Wednesday, 22nd April afternoon, a PPAA Committee member will be meeting an inspector from Dwr Cymru (Welsh Water) to investigate the underground leak which has been going on for a couple of years now.

Various stopcocks may be turned off for a time, but these interruptions shouldn’t last for more than a couple of hours, and there should be enough in the troughs to cover that.

So no one need be concerned if they should find a trough near them not filling for a time.

PPA Website Team

Further working party:

PPAA Committee are very grateful for the valuable help given by the last working party.

Given the scale of the task it was always going to be that further work would be needed however, and so volunteers are invited to meet again for this on Saturday, 25th April, at 10:30.

As before the meeting place will be by the PPA communal poly tunnel by the southeast gate.

The invitation’s to all on site again, not just those who’ve previously volunteered. Would those interested please contact PPAA Committee (whether they’ve done this before or not).

Sincere thanks,

Mike Powell, Sue Pasek, PPAA Committee

TLC needed around the site:

The planting of pollinator-supporting, flowering shrubs at various points around the site last season was successful, with a considerable number having found suitable homes. PPAA Committee are very grateful to those who volunteered to help with the planting.

Unfortunately, however, many of these are now in danger of being completely smothered by weeds, and a few have already been lost to this.

What is needed, then, is for volunteers to weed around the shrubs, and then, ideally, to apply a good layer of manure as a weed-suppressant mulch and also to fertilise the shrubs. A layer ten to fifteen centimetres thick should avert the need to keep re-weeding the plantings.

Everyone on site is invited to have a look and to see what they might do in this regard, not just those who kindly helped with the plantings. There’s no need to inform anyone if they should fancy a bit of pottering on this. (Committee members are otherwise heavily subscribed at the moment.)

(It’s apparent that a fair few PPA plot holders consider themselves to be ecologically-engaged and concerned people, so this is also a golden opportunity for them to invest something of themselves in improving things in that way on PPA!)

PPA Website Team

Many thanks go to PPA plot holders, Mel, Mike, Jackie, Mandy, Mark, Aman, Caroline, Wouter, Toma, and Jane, who turned out today to help Committee members Mike and Sue with plot clearing work.

As the saying goes ‘Many hands make light work’ and great progress was made on two whole plots in removing rotting structures, rubbish and ‘things which could come in handy’ (but never do.)

Sincere thanks again to all.

PPAA Committee

Present: Mike Powell (Acting Chair), Wendy Gunter (Treasurer), Gordon Goldsmith, Sue Pasek (Acting Site Representative), Rhys Williams, Lewis Evans.

Apologies: Martin Pasek, Nerys Lloyd-Pierce.

The meeting opened at 19:00.

Matters arising from previous Minutes: 

To be covered in agenda.

Site Representatives’s report: Sue

• Eight plots were let during March. Sue reported that she knew of another five, which were  confirmed vacant, but with four of them requiring clearing work before being offered to let. To address the clearance work, an “all plot holders welcome” working party has been organised for Saturday 11th April at 10:30, meeting at the PPAA poly tunnel. Owing to lack of up to date information from the Council, the exact number of vacant plots, and numbers on the waiting list, are still not available.

• CAHA (Cardiff Allotment Holders Association) representatives have met with the Council’s Economy and Culture Scrutiny Committee to discuss issues when dealing with the Parks Department. A full report will be given at next week’s CAHA meeting.

• The PPAA have been approached by the marketing manager for Cafe Square + Fair, located with the new padel courts in Llandaff Fields. They would like to offer plot holders a discount, more details are to follow.

• The plot holders growing subjects for this year’s annual plant sale are hoping to hold the sale at the end of May.

• Two new “pull and tip” trucks have been purchase for plot holders’ use. Many thanks go to Gordon Goldsmith for taking delivery and assembling the trucks. They may be found by, (and returned to) the manure pens at each end of the site.

Treasurer’s report: Wendy 

• Wendy reported that she was in the process of finalising the end of year accounts

• The healthy funds balance was discussed, with expenditure on Autumn 2026 tree safety work and water leak repairs being agreed.

Plot Inspections: Mike

The annual plot inspections will begin during the week beginning April 20th. An explanation of this Council-mandated process can be found here.

AGM: Mike

• The AGM will take place on the 14th June 2026 outside the PPAA poly tunnel.

• Anyone wishing to stand for any of the Officer roles, that is, Chair, Treasurer and Site Representative, or simply join as Committee member, should contact the PPAA Committee.

AOB

• Wendy proposed purchasing a bank card reader. The Committee agreed that it would be a good idea. (Action: Wendy)

• Lewis asked whether it was proposed to install more bird boxes. Gordon replied that birds are territorial, so more would not necessarily be beneficial.

There was no further business, and the meeting ended at 19:45.

The next PPAA Committee meeting will be at 19:00 on Tuesday, May 5th, at The Cricketers Inn conference room, Cathedral Road, Cardiff.