04/02/11 - Self-Management 2nd Mtg
Kerrigan (chairman) and Jeremy (secretary) attended a meeting of the Merton Allotment Forum on 2nd March at the Paddocks Allotments. The main purpose of the meeting was to get further information on self-management and in particular the financials. The meeting minutes are:-
Notes of a Meeting with LBM Allotment Societies on 2 March 2011 held at Paddock Allotment.
Allotment Society Members
Jean Hancock, Ruth Whitehead - Paddock
Kay Prior, Robert Jude – Martin Way
Bill Bailey, Fred Taylor – Cottenham Park
Jeremy Riggs, Kerrigan Smith – Western Rd
Sue Burgin, Tony Sturton, Ian Burgin – Havelock Rd
Peter Rhind – Haslemere
Peter Obermuller, Howard Watson, Sara Cornwall – George Hill
Terry Bhachu, Bob Redmond – Eastfields Rd
Marie Roda, Mike Gannaway, Letty Foukes – Brooklands
Richard Lee, Emma Townsend – Tamworth Farm
David Freeman – Merton Friends of the Earth
Maire Denny, K Healey, AN Other (couldn’t read writing) – Thurleston
Vernon Jones – Durnsford
I Cahill – Effra Rd
London Borough of Merton:
Doug Napier (DN)
Francis McParland (FM)
Danny Lovelock (DL)
Simon Woods (SW)
After introductions, DN outlined the background to the letter, which had recently been sent to plot holders ref. Going self-managed. The Council offices had received a very large amount of calls from concerned people
DN reiterated that nothing would be imposed upon any societies; the Council was working toward agreement for any change in current practices
For those who had not attended, DN went on to recap on the meeting held on 12 Jan and explained the Councils financial position and why it was asking societies to consider self-management
DN asked for at least one contact for every site to give their details to the Council. A discussion followed around notice boards and translations of any information sent out
Martin Way said their website had received about 15 comments so far
Issues/Things to be taken forward:
Various representatives raised questions, which are summarized below;
Eveline, Tamworth and Eastfields agreed to discuss the possibility of joining together for self-management
The timescale for vacant plots was discussed – the Paddock have a 2 month turnaround
Can self-managed sites set their own prices?
Currently the Council sets the Paddock prices, however, this is an area that is open for discussion
FM tabled a spreadsheet outlining the current costs of operating allotment sites. Currently all sites are subsidized by the Council, the full total being circa. 42k (Ed: For Western Road the costs were Rent:£3626 with Water Bill of £985 (although this was split across all allotment sites and our true cost is nearer to £890))
If societies were self-managed, the council proposes taking 7.5% of the income to cover costs such as specialist legal advice and arbitration maters. The cost of water would be managed by the societies and there are possible efficiency savings to be made. The cost of parks staff and the allotment officer would no longer apply, as societies would be managing themselves
FM/DL agreed to produce a menu of costs for services, which societies could buy from the Council
We will be unable to self-manage properly as we will be inheriting sites, which need a lot of expenditure on them to make the viable
All societies will be able to work with the Council who would still be writing capital bids. Obviously the success of these bids is at the discretion of the Council. There are a great many bids submitted each year
A discussion followed around insurance costs - The Paddock now have £5m public liability, which costs £44 extra. The full amount is est. £900p.a.
FM tabled a draft agreement for what the Council would do and what self-managed groups would be expected to do
Plan B may be for the Council to consider doubling costs to continue managing societies
It was noted that Wyvale were interested in privately run sites, but were far more expensive than the Council
What would be the likely dates for going self-managed?
October or more likely April to fit in with the Council financial year
Who makes the decision to go self-managed?
You will need to talk to plot holders and go with a majority. This time of year people are starting to work on their plots more and reps can have more contact with them
The next meeting will be fairly soon and reps are urged to contact their members over the next few weeks and have conversations around self-management
13/01/11 - Self-Management?
Kerrigan (chairman) and Jeremy (secretary) attended a meeting of the Merton Allotment Forum on 12th January at the Paddocks Allotments. The main purpose of the meeting was to raise the question of how individual societies and associations feel about self-management.
The meeting will be followed up with a further forum meeting on the 2nd March where the council will have prepared the current management costs of each allotment site.
The meeting minutes are:-
Notes of a Meeting with LBM Allotment Societies on 12 January 2011 held at Paddock Allotment.
Allotment Society Members
Mike Deeprose, Jean Hancock, Ruth Whitehead - Paddock
Hilary Pereira, Kay Prior, Robert Jude – Martin Way
Joyce Pountain – Sustainable Merton
Ruth Barber – Phipps Bridge
Heather Fenton, Bill Bailey, Fred Taylor – Cottenham Park
Jeremy Riggs, Kerrigan Smith – Western Rd
Frank Friedlos, Ian Burgin – Havelock Rd
Peter Rhind – Haslemere
S Cornell, Peter Obermuller, Howard Watson – George Hill
Terry Bhachu – Eastfields Rd
London Borough of Merton:
Doug Napier (DN)
Francis McParland (FM)
Danny Lovelock (DL)
Simon Woods (SW)
After introductions, DN outlined the background and context to the meeting: severe budget cuts and a wish to devolve future responsibility for the management of the Borough's allotment gardens to local societies/groups, individually, or as a federation of sites.
DN made it clear that there were going to be one third less staff and 40% less budget in future years.
DN reported that Council officers had previously met with representatives from The Paddock to discuss self-management based upon their long experience of such, dating back some 20 years. The Paddock has indicated that were happy to assist other societies in any way they could.
Issues/Things to be taken forward:
Various representatives raised questions, which are summarized below;
What would LBM want?
Current agreement with Paddock gives 92.5% of tenancy income to society and 7.5% to LBM.
Would all plots count?
So long as they had been paid for, yes.
Could self-managed societies have access to LBM waiting list?
Yes, current list is site specific.
How would day- to- day management be done?
Paddock explained they could still contact LBM for advice such as good contractors but would manage them themselves.
Most groups agreed that they wanted to know what the likely budget would be and what help the Council would give to fledgling societies and what the water costs were, who would do the evictions and who would remove the rubbish.
SW explained that societies would need to be smarter about their waste removal.
DN explained that key numerical information would be sent to societies prior to the next meeting in February.
How much time does each Paddock member spend on society business?
That depends upon the time of year, up to one day per week. The annual forum usually sees no more that 40% of people turning up. Membership of the local society at The Paddock is compulsory, with society membership fees being paid with the plot fees.
Are there problems getting people to be on allotment committees?
Yes. Most members tend to be older too as the younger ones seems to have less time to commit.
What happens with aggressive tenants? Would the Council be an arbitrator?
The Paddock manages aggressive tenants quite successfully. The Council could serve as an arbitrator. This would be considered by LBM officers.
DN said that buying back services from LBM could be possible for self-managed societies.
Could the Council write to all plot holders to advise them of cuts and tell them it would be in their interest to attend committee meetings?
This could possibly be done in the future.
What would happen if a self-managed site fails?
LBM, as landlords, would have to consider implications.
Actions
LBM to provide societies with the following information:
Full breakdown of each site income & costs including water costs
List of what LBM would be prepared to do in future for self-managed societies
List of what LBM would expect self-managed societies to do in future
All to be done at least one week prior to the next meeting in February
Jacqui Phelps to arrange next meeting, in February at The Paddock if possible