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 - Article 023
NARBOROUGH & LITTLETHORPE LEISURE GARDENERS ASSOCIATION 2004
Since our initial success during 2001 with a National Lottery (Awards for All) Grant for stage 1 of our Allotment Site Regeneration Projects we have continued to make steady progress with further site improvements. Along the way we have been frequently asked the question,
"How do we do it" so details are as follows.
The first step we took in (2000) - before applying for any grant aid was to re-organise the N&LLGA on a firm footing, with a modern Constitution; Mission Statement:
Environmental Policy and Equal Opportunities Policy. The reason why? - So many distributors of funds need applicants to have them, therefore it became necessary to set about and provide them and get the members to approve them. With a strong and enthusiastic Committee behind us we set out a Constitution: Mission Statement, Environmental Policy and Equal Opportunity Policy for approval at our 2000 AGM. Armed with these documents we began to apply for grants from an unbelievable range of flinders.
We also set out what we call our 5 Year Rolling Programme, in which we set out aims and targets for each year. Having looked through the old minute books, year after year at our AGMs came the requests for a toilet on site and secure perimeter fencing to keep out the army of rabbits, ( Oryctolagus cuniculus ) which munched through the hard worked for, resulting toils of plotholders labour, of carrots and cabbages, lettuce and beet. You name it the rabbits ate it. Many plotholder who started out with a good heart, but after battling for a season or two with the rabbits - just gave up and the plot reverted to nature. (As can be seen on many a site these days as one travels the UK).
With the help of our Local MP we managed to get some advice from the then MAFF (now DEFRA) with regards to the rabbits and how the occupiers of land have statutory obligations to their neighbours. The District and County Council advised regarding the toilets, with the inevitable planning permissions and licenses to discharge. But the end product of all this advice would eventually cost us money, the kind of funds we as a small society of just 35 members did not have. So we set about raising the money. An annual Quiz Sheet brought in much needed funds along with donations and raffles together with professional advice on the "dos and don'ts". Welcome to D.I.Y. the allotment gardening way.
Our site is completely surrounded by public land. The MI rushes past nearly over us, and Central Trains aided by Railtrack speed past our southern border. The Leicestershire Wildlife Trusts "Narborough Bog" (a site with a triple SSI) stretches along the other sides length and our landlords the Narborough Parish Councils playing fields make up the other boundary - with everywhere you look, being a haven for wild rabbits. We often used to see them and you could practically go quite near to them as without fear or favour they looked on waiting till the last plotholder left the site and all was still and quiet. Then back they came to forage. Not any more, they now stare through the wire mesh and perhaps wonder why the old stomping grounds are literally out of bounds to them.
Our National Secretary Geoff Stokes gave us invaluable advice on how to proceed with the MAFF and the Rabbit Control Order for England, which outlines the importance of landowners ensuring that rabbits are "controlled" so as not to be a nuisance to their neighbours. What chance had we got to persuade our neighbours to erect costly rabbit proof fencing around an entire allotment site? Very little. In fact only Railtrack helped out and did their short length. More to keep people off the track than to keep out the rabbits, but it worked and for that we are grateful. No such luck with the Highways Agency (MI embankment) they had no budget provision or the Wildlife Trusts (registered charity to protect wildlife) - so we set about doing it ourselves. Under the Ground Game Act 1880 an occupier has the right to shoot the rabbits during the day or authorise others to do it for them. The Firearms Act 1968 requires any person shooting rabbits to have a Firearms Certificate. We are fortunate to have the services of Ian our "Shooter" who is registered with the Police and comes along when no one is on the plots (very early in the morning or late at night) and controls the rabbits outside the fencing on behalf of the Parish Council, as we are now completely clear "Plotside." Under the Pests Act 1954 only approved traps are allowed and the traps we used in the early days only caught the rabbit in the cage and it has to be despatched by hand. Our traps use the treadle plate flush with the ground; we use no self-locking snaring methods, as these are illegal in accordance with the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. With ferreting and trapping we still had reports of rabbits having a go, so we therefore decided to raise the money to "keep them out."
Stage 1 - 2001 Estimates were obtained for both the rabbit proof fencing and the installation of a toilet to a disabled suite standard in our Community Cabin/Learning Centre. This is a second hand genuine Portacabin, donated to us by Mssrs GEC Alsthom as being surplus to their requirements. All we needed was planning permission from the District Council and a licence to discharge from the Environment Agency (both parties need a fee for their respective permissions).
We applied for a grant to the National Lottery (Awards for All) and at the second attempt we were successful £4851 towards the Rabbit Proof Fencing and the Septic Tank toilet suite. The work we did in house by the members themselves during two work-weekends. One for the fencing, the second to install the septic tank and toilet system. We needed some professional help with digging out and laying the concrete for the Titan Septic Tank system, but other than this our members achieved the rest, plumbing etc by themselves. And all credit to them for their industry. Some spent a few hours with us, half day, day or weekend supported by hot drinks and ending each night with a B-B-Q. -And a selection of the Chairman's homemade wines so ended Stage i.
Stage 2 - 2002 was to establish our Community Area around the Cabin by completely fencing in the area with palisade fencing/gates pathways, ramp with handrail to the toilet and re-painting to the planner's specification (Van Dyke Brown) the external walls of the Portacabin. (Van Dyke himself reliably informs me that the resulting colour, which was an amalgam of all the browns available at our local Paint Recycling Unit, is in fact Van Dyke Brown.) We have to maintain this colour for 5 years. We achieved this through a Leicestershire County Council Shires Grant of £1772:53 An Environmental Grant of £500:00 from the Blaby District Councils Environmental Fund and for the upgraded toilet suite £600:00 from the Co-operative Society (Community Awards) Grants and £500:00 from the Leicestershire County Councils (Community Small Grants). A late bid to the Blaby District Council for help with our new master locking main/wicket gates in the sum of £930:00 enabled us to secure the site from not only wandering itinerants, but dog walkers (who failed to scoop the poop) and would be opportunist thieves. We celebrated the completion with a shared tree planting ceremony by our Local MP: the Chairman of the Narborough Parish Council and the Town Mayor of Braunstone plus some bulb planting by our young gardeners. We ended the glorious September day with the area decked in bunting and a B-B-Q where the drinks and home brew flowed as a gesture to thank all those who had taken part in our successful continuing allotment refurbishment.
Stage 3 - 2003 was our next initiative through the ARI (Allotments Regeneration Initiative) and the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, was to obtain funds to provide a large Container Unit and some maintenance equipment. A grant of £3126:00 has enabled us to install on site a secure Container Unit and purchase a strimmer (to help keep the rabbit proof fencing clear) a rotavator for members to use on their plots and a motor mower to keep the Community grassed area neat and tidy. Plus some protective clothing. This meant a further planning application with the usual delays and expense. However we managed to eventually obtain planning permission, despite some objections.
And we set about ordering the container unit, and the purchasing of the maintenance equipment. (We only undertook this part of the project once we had the secure unit on site in 2004.) .
With having a Portacabin/Learning Centre, toilets and a kitchenette without electricity was proving a problem. The use of bottled gas for the small pantry enabled us to survive and with a camping gaz lamp we held one or two of the autumn committee meetings in the Cabin. But winter meetings reverted to the local pub for heat and its gloomy low-level light with its associated smoky noisy atmosphere. Even when using the loo in the Cabin, after sunset (if you had to) meant you did so at your own peril so to speak. To provide electricity from the National Grid was way beyond our means or the hope of ever raising such a sum, so the next best thing was to generate our own on site green power.
Stage 4 - 2004 To our aid came the Leicester Energy Agency, (part of the Countryside Agency Community Renewables Initiative.) who offered us help and advice to get both heating and lighting in the Cabin. Through a grant of £2344:12 from the RSNC (Royal Society for Nature Conservations - SEED Scheme) to purchase outright a Bio Diesel 6KV Generator and internal wiring, together with £1500:00 from the SHELL Better Britain Award for a Probot 1300 Bunded Diesel Fuel Tank. The local NHS Primary Care Trust Partnership Grants provided a small grant of £189:95 towards the bulkhead external doorway lights and pathway lights to the toilet. The Blaby District Council helped with a further grant of £538:00 from their Crime & Disorder Partnership Grant fund for window guards and anti-climb paint for the Cabin/Learning Centre. This was achieved after taking on board all the recommendations of the local Police Crime Prevention Officer.
The entire work of installing the generator and the re-wiring of the Community Cabin/Learning Centre goes to Richard our site Manager/Seed Scheme Secretary who undertook the building of the generator housing and its installation. He spent endless long hours on the project; more often working alone and we will be ever in his debt. Our local MP, always pleased to be with us when diary permits attended our big "Switch On" to do the honours and when he turned the key to commission the system, the generator burst into life and the lights came on. (Now I know what it must be like when the Blackpool Illuminations are switched on, we all kept everything crossed.) We all enjoyed socializing in the Community Area and sampled a wide selection of the Chairman's homemade wines. The Chairman of the Narborough Parish Council and Councillors together with representatives of the generous "funders" as invited guests helped to make the occasion another milestone in our Regenerated Allotment Site. Hot rabbit stew and dumplings followed or for the vegetarian's plain vegetable stew made from our very own allotment sites finest vegetables - the best in the country. The event culminated Stage 4 for this year. We are still left with heating the Cabin via a Biomass wood stove for heating the Cabin and a solar panel array to provide hot water for the kitchenette and toilet hand basin. We are getting there, but not quite there yet - just one more push and the job will be done.
We have been informed by the DTI (Department of Trade & Industry) that we have been granted a sum amounting to 50% of the cost from the Governments "Clear Skies" Renewable Energy Grant and 25% from the Rural Energy Trusts - Leicestershire Economic Partnership leaving the balance to be found by N&LLGA. An application to the National Lottery Awards for All is being made. We hope to have a decision in the early part of 2005.
All the above has been undertaken in a short period of time but could not have been achieved without the hard work of members who have given unstintingly of their time and effort. The work-weekends, the time spent maintaining the grassed areas and the raising of funds to support the grant aid applications and the committee meetings have kept the Management Committee Members busy. And we need to add to that the generosity of the funders who have sent their Field Officers and Administration staff to visit us, to check our costings, inspects the site and check on progress. We have made some new friends too and to them we are grateful.
Stage 5 2005 We have still to achieve Self Management (but we are nearly there) our next AGM in May will decide. Whilst not recommending at this stage full management of the site, our landlords the Parish Council as owners of the site still need to retain for legal reasons some responsibility, we intend to undertake the administrative functions of letting and localised management on a day-to day basis. The main haulage ways down to the site and pathways inside need attention, together with designated car parking areas and to this end some major funding will unfortunately be necessary. Here we really do mean major funding and for that we are told we shall need a - wait for it a - "Business Plan" Has any reader out there done an Allotment Site Business Plan, if so can you help me in my understanding of one. The Editor has my address.
Our Training Programme in "Organic Gardening" has just started and we have recruited 6 new members through it. The project costing £3900:00 is being funded through the Leicestershire County Councils "Better Communities Award - 2004" and this year goes to projects involving food. Ours is on Organic Gardening which provides the new "Plotters" with a rent-free year on the plots; membership of NSALG; a complete set on loan of gardening tools; the use of a large shared shed, the land ploughed and rotavated ready to start; training aids, monthly talks/practical demonstrations; farmyard manure; some seeds and sundries together with planned extra mural visits to HDRA Ryton Organics and we hope the award winning Uplands Allotments in Handsworth, Birmingham. This is a new venture for us and due to its initial success we hope to extend to other of our existing members as well. David one of our Founder Members is our Trainer and is a long established Organic Gardener. By continuing with this programme we will be achieving under Part (C) of our Constitution part of our role "To arrange or join in with others in the holding of meetings, classes, demonstrations and seminars to encourage further the interest of Allotment and Leisure Gardening amongst both its Members and the Local Community as a local learning service"
Well - that is how we are doing it.
We are included in the ARI Better Allotments Guide and we are now receiving requests for visits, the first from Nottinghamshire next May. We are doing our bit to keep allotmenteering alive and kicking here in rural Leicestershire, and with the continued help and support from those who have the gift to help us in return we will go further and make our site an "Exemplar Site" with the provision of good facilities and a communal spirit par excellence. We can all dream, cant we? We started this article with the question "How did you do it?" - well now you know!!!
Trevor Matthews Chairman
October 2004
Allotment Regeneration 2001-2005
[Trevor Matthews]
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