Annual Plotholders Meeting 13 May 2018 – feedback

The AGM took place on Sunday 13 May 2018 where those present elected the Committee and approved some important changes to our Constitution. Our committee page has been updated and the revised Constitution is available here (and on the committee page). Those elected were:

• Kim Scrivener (Chair)
• Sonia MacArthur (Treasurer)
• Kati Gastrow (Secretary)
• Jan Castle
• Chris Feakes
• Derrick Davies
• Christine Miles
• Barbara Vernon
• Pat Solomons (Site Liaison Officer)

Thanks were expressed to Gill Feakes for her long service on the Committee and great input into social event planning over the years, and to Jan Carpenter who completed her term of office as Treasurer. Thanks also to Jan Davies who helped with the refreshments.

The changes to our Constitution were:

• Specification of a 50% limit on the number of Associate committee members
• Limitation of term of office of Chair, Treasurer and Secretary who are Associate Members
• Clarification that Associate committee Members may remain until the next Annual Plotholders Meeting
• Clarification that the Site Liaison Officer may be an Associate Member provided the St Albans District Council and Annual Plotholders Meeting agree

We also agreed to donate £100 to the Park Street Village Hall as our annual charitable donation.

All are welcome to attend our Summer committee meetings in the Hut, the dates of which are as follows, at 7.45pm:

• Monday 21 May
• Monday 25 June
• Monday 30 July
• Monday 24 September

Lastly, do take a moment to pop into the Hut to see the lovely artwork created by Kati to celebrate our tenth anniversary!

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10th Anniversary New Look Newsletter!!

Dear Burydell Community

We are very pleased to present you with your new look Newsletter – we hope you like it, and please send any suggestions or comments to Kati or Jan.

This is the tenth year of the Association’s existence, so we are looking to do things a little bit differently this year. Dates for your diary so far are the Quiz next Saturday on 3 March, first coffee morning of the season on Sunday 8 April and the new Annual Plotholders Meeting on 13 May. Read the Newsletter for more details.

Your Autumn Newsletter is now available!

You can download the Newsletter here! We hope you enjoy. And don’t forgot to come and have brunch with us on Sunday 5 November at 11am on site!

Open Day 2017

On Sunday 2 July, Burydell Allotment site was open to the public for the first time as part of the Transition St Albans Open Food Garden programme. We advertised locally, hoping to attract local interest in our site and in allotment gardening generally. We were not disappointed – we had a large number of visitors – both via the Transition St Albans programme, and local friends and neighbours. The Committee provided refreshments for a nominal donation which was donated to Transition St Albans. They were delighted by the interest shown and the number of people who attended. We were especially pleased by the large number of you who chose to be on site and talk to passing strangers about your plot, including our very own Allotment Officer from the Council, Philip Bruce-Green, who gave up his Sunday morning (in an unofficial capacity of course!).

Fuller details as to numbers will be given in the next edition of the Newsletter.  In the meantime, I have updated the 2017 Photo folder with images kindly donated by Christine Miles. Thanks once again to all of you who helped to make it a success!

Best Plot results and BBQ 2017

The winners this year were judged by Ayletts, who did a very difficult job given the stunning display on many of our plots. Well done to all the recipients of a coveted Ayletts voucher!

The results were announced at our annual Summer BBQ which, although enjoyable, was not as well attended by our plotholders as we had hoped. The Committee will be canvassing opinion from you as to what YOU would like by way of a social event in the summer. We have been doing the Summer BBQ for some time now and maybe it’s time for a change! If you have any ideas, please stop any one of us and let us know.

Best plot on Burydell – Plot 38 – Alyson and Adrian Fricker

Best plot Runner up – Plot 29 – Jan Castle and Pat Solomons

Best Newcomer – Plot 27a – Martin Stevens

Best Newcomer Runner up – Plot 27c – Lorraine Dogged

Your Summer Newsletter 2017 is now available!

Please go here to download your fantastic Summer Newsletter 2017! Thanks as always to our wonderful Newsletter Editor, Jan Castle.

AGM 2017 results

The BLAA AGM was held on site last Sunday 21 May at 11am – thanks to those plot holders who were able to attend. The following were elected or confirmed in post:

Kim Scrivener, Chair – for the second year of a three year term
Barbara Vernon, Secretary – for the second year of a three year term
Jan Carpenter, Treasurer – for the third and last year of a three year term
Jan Castle, Membership Secretary and Newsletter – for a further year
Gill Feakes, Committee member – for a further year

Chris Feakes, Committee member – for a further year

Derrick Davies, Committee member – for a further year

Christine Miles, Committee member – for a further year

Jim Miller, Committee member – for a further year

In addition, Kati Gatrow was nominated to become a Committee member. This was unanimously carried. As Pat is a member of the Committee by virtue of her role as Site Liaison Officer, we are now finally up to ten members which is what our Constitution requires.

The approved Minutes from the 2016 AGM were approved and will shortly be available on the website.

A member raised the issue of rats on his plot. Pat (as site liaison officer) said she would speak to the Council to see if they are prepared to help, and the Committee agreed to discuss it. Rats can be a problem on all sites and the proximity of water means we may have more of a problem than other sites. Food put down for hens will also encourage rats. The Committee regrets that it cannot provide individual assistance to plot holders who are experiencing this – or indeed any other of the challenges that face us all on our plots.  It is therefore up to plot holders to use rat poison responsibly and ensure that it presents no danger to wild life and domestic cats. We will let you know if the Council is able to help, but given their financial situation, the Committee feels that it is unlikely.