Harpenden Town Council
Minutes of the allotment Working Party
held at the town hall
on wednesday 4 december 2013
Present: Councillor Mrs Vincent (Vice Chair of the Allotments Committee)
Mrs Linacre and Cllr Pawle
Lin Norman Chairman South Harpenden Gardening Club
Carole Pamphlett, South Harpenden Gardening Club
Jack Longdon, East Harpenden Gardening Club
Roger Glanville, East Harpenden Gardening Club
9. APOLOGIES
There were apologies from Councillor Dr Leadbeater.
10. DECLARATION OF INTEREST
None were made at this time.
11 CHAIRMAN REPORT AND URGENT ITEMS
None were made at this time
12 PUBLIC QUESTIONS IN ACCORDANCE WITH STANDING ORDER 61
Mr Howe asked how many people were on the waiting list for an allotment plot.
South Harpenden Gardening Club (S.H.A.G.S) stated that they have 14 vacant plots and 23 people are on the waiting list, 14 of which are for Harpenden Rise site. Overall 97% of the plots are let.
East Harpenden Gardening Club (E.H.G.C) stated they currently have 13 vacant plots and 1 person on the waiting list. Overall 92% plots are let.
It was summarised that if a member of the public wanted an allotment there are plenty available but not always at the preferred site.
13 ANNUAL ALLOTMENTS INSPECTIONS
13.1 Notes of the annual inspection held on the 27 July and the 29 August 2014 were circulated with the agenda as appendix A and B and were noted.
14 ALLOTMENTS ACCOUNTS SUMMARY/GRANT SUBMISSION
14.1 E.H.G.C and S.H.A.G.S accounts/grants submission were attached to the agenda as appendix C and D and were noted.
15 ALLOTMENT GRANT
15.1 The possibility of reducing the Allotment Grant for 2014/2015 was discussed by Members at the Environment meeting held on the 20 November. It was confirmed that no reduction will take place. Harpenden Town Council Accounts for 2014-2015 will be presented for final approval at Council meeting on 27 January 2014.
15.2 Final confirmation of the allotment grants will be confirmed in writing in February but it is expected the 2014/2015 grants will be as follows:-
South Harpenden Gardening Club £2,720
East Harpenden Gardening Club £2,500
16. USE OF METRIC
16.1 Harpenden Town Council requested that use of Metric be used in all information relating to allotments. The term pole can still be used but the Metric term must be the primary reference.
16.2 Mr London stated that E.H.G.C had discussed this issue with their committee members and they confirmed they are not willing to use Metric as they do not believed allotment holders are “Traders” as they are not selling anything and therefore exempt from this Act.
16.3 Mrs Norman from S.H.A.G.S stated that she had carried out some research and found that there was a trading standards case in which this issue was raised. An Estate Agent was using measurements per square foot. Please see post meeting note attached
16.4 Mrs Norman concluded that S.H.A.G.S would be using metric from now on.
17. CROSS LANE UPDATE
17.1 Mrs Norman stated that there was a great deal of progress at Cross Lane. The meadow field was growing well. She confirmed that it will take a few years to get established and would need cutting back once a year. The composting toilet was on site but not yet operational as a soak away still needs to be completed. An official opening will be held in the spring. The Harpenden Photographic Society are keeping a recorded of all the changes on the site throughout the year.
18. Oakley Road and Heath Close
18.1 It was confirmed that St Albans District Council has agreed to the devolvement of the two sites and the paper work was in the process of being completed. Mr Longdon asked what the implications are for the Allotment Society/Club. Harpenden Town Council confirmed that once all the Harpenden Allotment sites are owned by the Town Council an approach would be made to the Secretary of State to register all of the sites as Statutory Allotments which will secure the sites as Allotments for the future.
18.2 Mrs Norman asked if there would be any increase on their grant once the ownership had been completed. It was thought that no increase would take place as the Town Council currently already manage the two sites. The ownership from one council to another would not result in any increase in costs for the Allotment but this will be discussed with Town Clerk for confirmation.
19. Club and Society reports
19.1 Mr Longdon reported that unfortunately there had been a break-in at the Batford site and a lot of equipment had been stolen. They were disappointed that this had taken place as a large substantial lock had been installed which was thought to be fairly robust. The incident had been reported to the police who attended the scene. The police suggested that an alarm could be fitted inside the shed which is would act a deterrent against any future break-ins.
19.2 Mrs Norman asked if any progress had been made with gaining permission from St Albans District Council to install a water butt next to the nearby garages to collect rain water. It was confirmed that St Albans District Council has verbally agreed to this but this had not been confirmed in writing. The District Council were being chased on this issue.
19.3 Mrs Norman stated that a break had taken place at Aldwickbury site and that someone had opened the sheds but did not appear to have taken anything. Mrs Norman stated that all of S.H.A.G.S large machinery is now being stored off site every winter.
19.4 Mr Longdon from E.H.G.C asked if the top of the hedge at Marquis Lane could be reduced in height. It was stated that this has been logged with Herts Highways.
20. Meeting closed 11.05am
Chairman …………………………..
Dated …………………………..
Post meeting note. Mrs Norman was referring to the following case which is on a website called metric views.org.uk.
Metric Views has received confirmation – from an impeccable authority – of what it has long suspected: that the widespread practice of pricing and advertising office rents “per square foot” is illegal under UK law.
The full story, which has only recently come to light, seems to be as follows. Upon receipt of a complaint from a member of the public about giving business grants “per square foot”, a northern local authority Trading Standards Department initially responded that “services” are not covered by the Price Marking Order (PMO), and as this grant was considered to be a “service”, pricing “per square foot” was legal. It appears that this interpretation was frequently given by other Councils, and it was even supported by Consumer Direct, a national online helpline.
However, this interpretation was challenged by the member of the public, and LACORS (the Local Authority Co-ordinating body for Regulation) was asked to look again at the issue. In August 2004 they issued new guidance which reversed their previous opinion. Specifically, they rejected the previously quoted view that the PMO only applies to the pricing of goods for sale, and that prices “per sq ft” for or a fixed area are legal because they are merely for ‘guidance’.
The opinion is reproduced in full below, but briefly it confirms that Section 8 of the Weights and Measures Act 1985 prohibits the use of imperial units “for trade” (as they are not included in the list of permitted units in the relevant Schedule to the Act). Moreover, “use for trade” includes any “transaction involving the rendering of money, where the transaction is by reference to quantity.” The opinion goes on to argue that, since office space, boat moorings, allotments etc must be priced per metre or square metre, it would be obviously sensible for them to be advertised in the same way.
Further information on this particular case can be found using the following link www. metricviews.org.uk/2007/05/lacors-persqft-illegal/