fast find
After a slow start that spluttered to somewhat of a halt, the Parish Council agreed to become more proactive on behalf of the Allotment Association. We recruited the services of Cllr Peter Harrand who obviously has far more experience negotiating the tricksy mazes of local authority departments! This has proved to be a wise decision and we are indebted to Peter for his effort and know how.
Derek Hanton and Cllr Dave Kent have looked at five potential sites. They took site access, whether water mains were nearby, whether the site would be overlooked by housing and perimeter security into account and pruned the list to three candidates
The three “potentials” have been submitted to LCC for their “opinion”. LCC will report back as to whether each site is feasible to use and also of any issues that might affect our decision or what is needed to set up the allotment there.
We can then decide on a preferred site, tighten up the cost estimates and start to seriously explore grant opportunities! AAA is pruning a substantial list of grant sources to those that are relevant to our situation. They are then tasked with finding out ballpark figures (that word again!) for the sources and an idea of how likely a successful application would be.
Progress in local government seems glacial but LCC officers are being very helpful and checking everything out fully does take time. We have to remind ourselves at times that whilstr this is a major importance to us, it’s one of many issues LCC is dealing with!
Derek and Dave have also visited several established allotments (choosing different “types”, locations and how long they have been established for). Everyone we met was very welcoming and helpful. One thing that shone through everywhere is the community feel of an allotment!
Allotments in Alwoodley
At this stage we are looking at 30 full plots which would be offered as half plots (150 square yards) or third plots (100 square yards) possibly quarter plots (75 square yards).
An allotment is 300 square yards. An acre is 4840 square yards thus allowing 16 full plots per acre.
The Officers of the Alwoodley Allotment Association are:-
- President Cllr Leonard Fineberg
- Chairman Mr. Derek Hanton
- Vice Chairman Mr. Wayne Arnet
- Secretary Mr. Kevin McHugh (Tel. 288 8260)
- Treasurer Mr. Paul Walker (Tel. 267 5225)
- Promotions Messrs Graham Smith & Graham Walker.
Persons wishing to join the Association should contact Kevin McHugh or Paul Walker.
The APC Allotment Team is Dave Kent & Jerry Pearlman