Paignton Home Garden and Allotment Society (PHGAS) News

Minutes of the OPEN Meeting of the Paignton Home Garden & Allotment Society held at the RAOB Club, Paignton on Monday 7 September 2020

7/9/2020

Present: Stefan Philpott, Libby Luke, Flis Cotton, Gary Buckingham, Andrew Bibbings, Joe Wallis, Phil Moore, Lynne Gibson, Jodi White, Melanie Philpott, Liz Barnes.

The chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

1. Apologies: Jackie Green, Christine Guiver, Alan Smith.

2. Minutes of the previous meeting in August were read and approved.

3. Matters arising from the minutes:

Seed catalogues now being held on each site. Please see a site rep. 30 catalogues have been given to each site. All orders must be submitted to the site reps asap with the final order date being 6.10.2020
Hon VP cheque has now been presented.

4. Correspondence:

Usual requests to be added to waiting list
1a LP now vacant and has been offered to next person on the waiting list
15b Oakleigh has agreed to rectify the height of his fence but it was noted that this had not yet been done. Sec asked to write to him again and allow 14 days to act. (since the meeting, the Chairman has visited the site and instructed sec not to write to plotholder)

5. Chairman’s Report:

There has been a big water leak at Lower Penns, but this has been repaired now. A lot of water has been lost. More work will be required to repair in the winter.

6. Vice Chairman’s Report:

Nothing to report

7. Treasurer’s Report:

Monies in bank:
- Current account: £992.07
- Deposit account: £2,362.00

8. Site Reports:

Derrell Road
- Letters/monitor
  - 3b
  - 4
  - 13a
  - 17b
Oakleigh
- 6a - when it becomes available, it must be kept as a disabled plot
- 33b - no work/contact
- 41a - minimal work – monitor position
Lower Penns
- 7 - v overgrown
- 16b
- 20a
- Rubbish has been thrown into the woods from the bottom part of a plot – plotholders MUST NOT discard their rubbish over the bottom of their plots into the woods
- Teenagers have been seen on site and have been asked to leave. Chairman is to monitor the position and speak to them.

9. AOB:

Notices of proposals, appointment of officers etc. will be sent out prior to the meeting and MUST be received within 7 days of the AGM to be considered at the meeting. Due to CV restrictions, it will not be possible to have an open meeting.
The Treasurer has still not been able to gain access to the Society bank account to the extent that we are not quite sure what HSBC want in order to allow her access. Sec has agreed to write to HSBC to ask what is now required as it has become a matter of urgency after such a long time. No accurate reconciliations can be made until the Treasurer can access the figures.
The Hon VP will speak to the club Secretary about the AGM next month.

10. Date of AGM:

To be held on Monday 5 October at 7.30 pm at the RAOB Club.

Meeting closed at 7.55pm.

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Minutes of the OPEN Meeting of the Paignton Home Garden & Allotment Society held at the RAOB Club, Paignton on Monday 3 August 2020

3/8/2020

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Present: Libby Luke, Flis Cotton, Gary Buckingham, Andrew Bibbings, Joe Wallis, Phil Moore, Alan Smith, Lynne Gibson, Jackie Green, Christine Guiver.

The chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

1. Apologies: Stefan Philpott, Melanie Philpott, Pat Marriott, Jodi White, Liz Barnes.

2. Minutes of the previous meetings in February and March were taken as read and approved.

3. Matters arising from the minutes:

Oakleigh Noticeboard has now been put in place
Seeds from Kings – Melanie (27b LP) has requested seed catalogues from Kings and has asked that these be distributed by the site reps. A poster will be put on noticeboards and ordering instructions will be included with order sheets. Payment is to be made with the order and handed to a site rep, to ultimately be passed to Melanie.
There will now not be any Bees sited on any site as this could not be arranged.

4. Correspondence:

Requests for plots have all been added to waiting list. The waiting list is at its’ longest ever with over 90 names (LP very slow moving). This was discussed and it was decided that the Society must tighten up on dirty plot letters and write to plotholders who are clearly not cultivating or tidying their plots. This is in the hope of weeding out (no pun intended) those who are not committed.

5. Chairman’s Report:

Chairman not present

6. Vice Chairman’s Report:

15b Oakleigh has erected another shed on his plot so there is now a large summer house, decking area and a shed on a relatively small plot. In addition, the wooden fence is far too high and shades the surrounding plot. It was discussed and the Sec has been asked to write to the plot holder requesting that within the next 28 days, he lower the fence to no more than 4ft high and also remove one shed as the plot has been over-developed. If this is not done, it will be done by the Society.

7. Treasurer’s Report:

Treasurer not present – no figures supplied

8. Sites:

Derrell Road
- Matting for DR path to be held over until winter.
- Letter 1:
  - 3b
  - 14a
  - 15
Oakleigh
- Letter 1:
  - 7b (no work)
  - 9b
  - 10 (bottom half)
  - 13b
  - 33b
  - 41a - storage again
- 15b - letter re: reducing fences and removing a shed
- 42a - confirm they can keep plot
Lower Penns
- Christine will be dealing with the trees after lockdown.
- Letters:
  - 7
  - 14b - ask if she would like to drop ¼ plot
- 25b - has had wheelbarrow stolen. 2 have now been taken from the site. Please be vigilant for strangers on the site.

9. AOB:

Webmaster confirmed there is a live Facebook page for PHGAS – www.facebook.com/PHGAS/ and a link at the bottom of the web page
Alan Smith asked that he be allowed to buy more chicken pellets as we have run out. This was agreed and he will order a pallet, to be sold across the sites.
Use of the Society strimmer was brought up as it had been replaced into storage after use by someone, with the wire damaged once again. It was decided that the expensive equipment would not now be lent out as the cost of repair was too great. Each site would have a designated person to strim plots – please speak to a site rep if you want your paths to be strimmed.
Hon VP reported that he had paid a cheque to the Society for £25.50 (number 668) and this had not yet been paid in to his bank. He was a little concerned about this and asked Sec to check with the Treasurer if it had been banked.
The ‘swap box’ on Oakleigh had been working well and Lynne Gibson requested that plotholders continue to use it. Lower Penns had a similar, but informal arrangement whereby swaps were left inside the gate by the noticeboard. This was also very successful.
In an effort to be environmentally friendly, Lynne asked if plotholders could please use water from their water butts wherever possible, rather than taps/hoses. If water bills have risen significantly this year, we run the risk of having to increase subs to cover the increased bills.
Sec is to ask the Treasurer to check bills.

10. Date of next committee meeting:

To be held on Monday 7 September at 7.30 pm at the RAOB Club.

Meeting closed at 7:45pm.

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Minutes of the OPEN Meeting of the Paignton Home Garden & Allotment Society held at the RAOB Club, Paignton on Monday 3 February 2020

3/2/2020

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Present: Stefan Philpott, Flis Cotton, Gary Buckingham, Andrew Bibbings, Joe Wallis, Melanie Philpott, Libby Luke, Phil Moore, Alan Smith, Lynne Gibson, Pat Mariott, Jackie Green, Christine Guiver, Jodi White.

The chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

1. Apologies: Kay Mason, Liz Barnes.

2. Minutes of the previous meeting in December 2019 were read and approved.

3. Matters arising from the minutes:

16a DR – no contact at all.
Oakleigh Noticeboard? – is underway but not yet sited

4. Correspondence:

A former plotholder has asked to return to the Society. She has asked for her old plot back but this has been let. It was discussed whether she could be offered an alternate plot without waiting, but agreed that this would not be fair and she must rejoin the waiting list. Sec has therefore put her back on the waiting list.

5. Chairman’s Report:

Chairman thanked everyone who turned up to help with the bonfire on LP and also thanks to Lorraine for being able to use her plot. It was agreed that they would try and make this an annual event.
The Society insurance has been redirected to the new chairman.
The LP ‘multi tool’ is now on site and available for plotholders to borrow. Please see a site rep if you want to use the hedge trimmer/strimmer.
The Oakleigh hedge trimming has been done and the Chairman proposed thanks to everyone who helped, in particular Ian for the loan of his equipment on site.

6. Vice Chairman’s Report:

VC Reported on behalf of the Social Committee - the quiz night was well received by those who attended. Many thanks to Jonty and ?? for arranging the questions.
The evening made a profit of £12 from the raffle and it was discussed that maybe the next one could be on a different night. The VC agreed to look at all the options, including venue hire on different days.
Details of a scarecrow competition will be announced nearer the time with judging to take place around Easter (end of April) . Chairman confirmed that he may be able to arrange someone from local TV to attend and judge the competition.

7. Treasurer’s Report (not present):

Monies in the bank:
- Current account: £892.65
- Deposit account: £3,162.75
Outgoings:
- Shield insurance paid for year - £529.39.

8. Sites:

Derrell Road
- 1a looks unkempt but it has been relet during winter months, so early days.
- Any news on the matting? Sec to ask Steve Fry. The ground must be wet when it is laid, so possibly now would be a good time.
- Could a working party be arranged to help with the work in laying the matting?
Oakleigh
- The strimmer has been serviced and returned to the shed. The lock has been changed and a charge of £2 will now be levied on anyone borrowing it as the Society will provide the fuel. It is NOT to be refuelled by plotholders. The fuel is better quality and therefore more expensive, but it is anticipated that the wear and tear on the machinery will be less.
- Gary has bought more rat poison supplies.
- Some of the plots are quite overgrown so Sec was asked to send reminders that inspections will be made this month. Christine has phoned the Council re trees on LP. The upshot is that that several trees need looking at and they will inspect the site soon.
Lower Penns
- Phil confirmed that a large dead snake had been found in the undergrowth at LP. This was the second one in 2 years.
- It was reported that there is a cockerel on site and Sec has been asked to write to the plotholder to request that it is removed as under the terms of the tenancy/lease, they are not allowed to be kept.

9. AOB:

Discussion took place about ordering seeds from Kings in future. The Society would have an account and orders could be placed by individual plotholders online directly through this account and they would then be delivered. The Society would earn commission on any sales and it would avoid the need to hold stock and all the time it took to package it and sell it. There would be no wastage and thus no loss to the Society. Seed quality and prices were excellent. This was to be investigated further with a view to putting it in place for next autumn (2020).
Seeds from last year were still available across all the sites – please see a site rep if any plotholders want any. Most seeds were still available and would be half price to clear them. Please see a site rep or email sec if seeds are required.
Melanie, wildlife rep, asked about the possibility of bees being kept on any of the sites as they are so good for wildlife and the environment. Discussion took place and a few plots were suggested on each site. The difficulties being that plotholder safety had to be assured. The bee plot on Derrell Road was a ready made enclosure but currently empty of bees, so enquiries would be made and the plotholder approached as to the possibility of sharing the plot with someone who had approached the Society with a view to keeping them. Full indemnity insurances would be required in accordance with the individual tenancy agreement and lease with the Council.
Vice chairman asked about the possibility of arranging a Polish translator to translate the tenancy agreement so the various Polish tenants would be able to see the full extent of the Society terms and conditions.
Sec was to ask in a general email if anyone would be prepared to do this.

10. Date of next committee meeting:

To be held on Monday 2 March at 7.30 pm at the RAOB Club. (apologies in advance from the Sec)

Meeting closed at 8.30pm.

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Minutes of the OPEN Meeting of the Paignton Home Garden & Allotment Society held at the RAOB Club, Paignton on Monday 2 December 2019

2/12/2019

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Present: Stefan Philpott, Flis Cotton, Gary Buckingham, Andrew Bibbings, Joe Wallis, Liz Barnes, Melanie Philpott, Libby Luke, Phil Moore, Alan Smith.

The chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

1. Apologies: Kay Mason, Jackie Green, Christine Guiver, Pat Marriott, Jodi White, Lynne Gibson.

2. Minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved.

3. Matters arising from the minutes:

16a DR – the Chairman is still holding what was left in the shed following the termination notice that was to the previous plotholder, pending contact from him. It was agreed that there was no requirement to return the items to him as he had been given plenty of opportunities to meet and collect his items, but had declined them all.
A hedgetrimmer has now been purchased for the Society’s use and Phil Moore provided the receipt.
A plotholder on Oakleigh has offered use of his lopper and shredder – the committee members on Oakleigh will liaise with him and confirm a date for the work to be done.
It has been agreed that a man with a van will be arranged to remove rubbish from Oakleigh when all non combustible rubbish has been left inside the gate. Two trips will be required. It was decided that anything brought on to the site in future will be closely monitored as the Society is continually having to pay to remove rubbish when plotholders leave and this situation cannot continue.
LP Trees – one branch had fallen into the field above the plots and so posed no danger to anyone on the site. It was agreed to leave it where it was, in the undergrowth.
DR path – Alan Smith reported that the matting is still beside the shed. This is to be looked at when the weather gets a bit better.
Bush roots on 31 Oakleigh – again, the bushes will be dealt with when the weather improves – to avoid them impacting on the mains water pipe that runs under the plot.
Oakleigh Noticeboard – plotholder reported that she thought this had been made, but not put up, due to the bad weather.

4. Correspondence:

A plotholder on DR has asked if a committee member could sign a declaration to say that her daughter has been working on the plot. This activity would form part of her bronze Duke of Edinburgh award. They have photos of her working and have asked for the name, email address, phone number and position within the Society – Gary Buckingham agreed to liaise with her. Sec has emailed them both.

5. Chairman’s Report:

The sign for the LP gate regarding vehicular access has been made, but not put in place.

6. Vice Chairman’s Report:

Following a meeting of the social committee, it was reported that the Christmas quiz questions have been compiled. The quiz evening was discussed and a request for raffle prizes was made. Various committee members agreed to donate items such as wine, chocolates, fruit basket etc. If anyone would like to donate anything, please contact us and the sec. will pass the contact details on. It was agreed that food would be supplied rather than as previously stated, for everyone to bring their own. Sec is to recirculate people and remind them of the date etc.
A scarecrow competition was discussed and more information will be announced nearer Easter.
The vice-chairman said that there is a play on at Brixham Theatre on 10 January 2020 called ‘ Old Herbaceous’. A flyer was circulated and the sec agreed to scan and send with the minutes.. It is a one-man play about a ‘single-minded yet gentle man with a passion for plants’. Described as ‘Downton Abbey with gardening tips’. Please read the attached leaflet – it certainly looks worth seeing.

7. Treasurer’s Report (not present):

Monies in the bank:
- Current account: £892.65
- Deposit account: £3,162.75

8. Sites:

Derrell Road
- None
Oakleigh
- The strimmer has been put in for a long overdue service. It was agreed that on its’ return, only ‘proper’ fuel would be used and a charge of £2 would be made for anyone wanting to borrow it, rather than plotholders supplying their own fuel. The cupboard lock would be changed and release of the strimmer would be supervised by a committee member. This is due to poor quality 2stroke causing damage to the machine and ultimately costing the Society money to repair.
Lower Penns
- A large bonfire was to be arranged on LP to get rid of all surplus wood, growth etc. Sec was asked to provide details of the plotholder on 19a so the chairman could contact him to confirm details.

9. AOB:

Alan Smith on Oakleigh asked the sec. to contact a few people from the waiting list as there are currently a few plots available. All are in an overgrown state though.

10. Date of next committee meeting:

To be held on 3 February 2020 at 7.30 pm at the RAOB Club.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS and ALL GOOD WISHES FOR THE NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Meeting closed at 8:00pm.

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Minutes of the OPEN Meeting of the Paignton Home Garden & Allotment Society held at the RAOB Club, Paignton on Monday 4 November 2019

4/11/2019

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Present: Stefan Philpott, Flis Cotton, Gary Buckingham, Andrew Bibbings, Joe Wallis, Liz Barnes, Pat Marriott, Jackie Green, Christine Guiver, Melanie Philpott, Lynne Gibson.

The chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

1. Apologies: Kay Mason, Jodi White, Libby Luke, Phil Moore, Alan Smith.

2. Minutes of the previous meeting in September were read and approved.

3. Matters arising from the minutes:

Petrol hedge trimmer bought yet? (Phil Moore – not present but Christine will ask him so it could be used on Oakleigh – see correspondence)
Repair of Batson Gardens wall – nothing has been heard from council or Tor2 – chairman to try and contact.

4. Correspondence:

16a DR further email received after termination letter sent. Chairman attended site – see Chairman’s report.
Events sub committee has arranged a Christmas Event – including pub quiz on Sunday 15 December at the Devonport pub – posters to be placed on all sites . Please can plotholders and friends and families support this fun event at the Devonport Pub – bring mince pies and nibbles to share around - £1 to Club funds.
Plotholder on 3a has offered to make a noticeboard for Oakleigh – discussed and sec is to ask him to go ahead – very grateful.
A Plotholder has asked if the hedge can be trimmed from the gate onwards at Oakleigh. Christine will check with Phil to see if the hedge trimmer has been bought and if so, please can we have volunteers to attend the site one Saturday morning to help – the more people who help, the quicker it will get done. Please contact us if you can spare a Saturday morning when the weather improves…

5. Chairman’s Report:

The Chairman attended Derrell Road with his daughter and the Hon Vice President to see what remained on plot 16a, the subject of many emails over the past months. Despite several phone calls the former plotholder once again declined to attend and was now not answering his phone. The plot was in a very poor condition as was the unsecured and rotten shed. There were no tools in the shed and the chairman took photos. There was a bag that the former plotholder had said was ‘priceless’ and so the chairman took this home with a view to posting it to him by registered post. The former plotholder had previously agreed that there was no lock on the shed.
The Chairman has bought new combination locks for the site as plotholders seem to be leaving without keys being returned. It was agreed that new locks would be put on the DR gate when the new tenancy agreements were sent in February next year and the combination would be disclosed to those who had paid their subs. Anyone who had not paid would effectively be locked out of the site.
The Chairman raised the dangerous state of the ladder between Oakleigh and DR site. Improvements to access was discussed and the Chairman said he would speak to the plotholders either side of the wall who would be affected by any changes.

6. Vice Chairman’s Report:

None – not present

7. Treasurer’s Report (not present):

Monies in bank:
- Current account: £392.65
- Deposit account: £3,662.75
Outgoings:
- Wasp killer £4.99
- Chairman - BBQ food - £42.29
- Gary B - £82.90 - rat poison

8. Sites:

Requirement for man with van or skip was discussed for Oakleigh. Prices to be obtained. Skip was decided as the best way forward – ONLY non-combustible stuff to be put in the skip which will be placed just inside the gate. Access to the site by car will be blocked while it is there but so be it!
No site visits done as weather has been too bad.

9. AOB:

Lower Penns – a tree had been reported as having collapsed into the field. It didn’t pose any danger to anyone on the site tho. Chirstine would have a look and possibly alert the Council.
The tap in the loo on LP was said to be dripping – committee member to have a look and possibly repair if necessary.
A sign was required for the LP site gate to warn of ‘no vehicular access’ as the path was so dangerous for cars. A laminated sign is to be printed and put on the gate.
The issue of the DR path was discussed as it is so dangerous at the moment. What has happened to the matting that was bought to repair the DR path a few years ago? Sec is to contact Steve Fry as it was thought that this would be in his shed
Tree roots on 31 Oakleigh were discussed as these go over the water mains to the site and if they impact on the pipework, would be a disaster. The plot was to be inspected with a view to possibly removing the trees.

10. Date of next committee meeting:

To be held on Monday 2 December 2019 at 7.30 pm at the RAOB Club.

Meeting closed at 8:25pm.

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