header

News

Minutes of meeting at Staines Rugby Club
6th May 2008

Chairman: Mr Keith Hitchman
Chairman of Meeting: Mr Chris Hill
Members Secretary: Mr Ian Dalton
Minutes Secretary: Miss Mel Carter           
Treasurer: Mrs Pat Johnston

Present: Present Mick, Ian, Dawn, Pat, Tim, Clive, Jean, Ian, Tonia, Keith, Julie, Colin, Paul and Mel.

Apologies: Chris

Matters Arising From Last Meeting:
  1. Minutes of last meeting circulated.
  2. Road has been completed. The Gate post will be replaced shortly and a new gate to replace the temporary gate provided by the council. It was discussed if the position should be moved further into the site. It was decided unanimously that it should stay in current position.
  3. A new post is required, Ian offered to get a post and it was agreed up to £100 was a reasonable price to pay. Ian will get a post & give Keith the receipt.           
  4. Community Plot. It was suggested that the current plot be released and a new community plot positioned by the nature reserve & pond to combine all in one position. Plot six was originally chosen due to it’s location near the car park. The plots by the pond are still registered to David, Keith to approach him to see if he is willing to give them up. The plan is to have raised beds some as a table design that a wheelchair user would be able to access. It would also include a seating area, shed / pavilion. If further funding required Keith has been advised to apply to the council. The plot is to be aimed at older / disabled people rather than children.
  5. Ian priced fuel stores as agreed and it was decided to review at a later date.
  6. Clean up day was cancelled due to the weather now going to be Sunday 18th May. Keith has not arranged for the Tractor as most jobs it was going to be used for have been completed.
  7. Security – No new issues
  8. Shipping Container – New container is now on site and cost £550. Keith will provide keys to anyone who wants to use it. The first year will cost £10.00 which includes a £5.00 deposit refundable on surrender.
  9. Signs. Pricing for the signs for compost area etc have come in too high (£20-£30 per sign). It was decided we would have temporary signs for the time being. Ian suggested old For Sale boards & Colin suggested printed laminated signs. Decision to be made on clean up day.
  10. Carpet - despite being told supplier no longer in business carpet is still being dropped off on site.
  11. CIP – The announcement of the replacement for CIP should have been made 02/05/08 however no-one has heard who it is as yet.
  12. Renewal of NSALG membership – No-one present had used any facilities in the last year. However in case of any future need it was decided 23 members to join again. Keith to organise.
  13. Guidance Lines for Notice Board.                                                          
    a) Plot holders to cover plots not being worked with carpet, plastic etc
    b) No Parking in the road
    c) No Parking in the turning circle
    d) A speed limit of 5 miles per hour
  14. Open day is Sunday 1st June to coincide with London sustainability week. Advertising will be in Hounslow Magazine & the Guardian & Some internet sites. The waiting list already has 4 people on it. It was suggested that we invite the Chiswick allotment association to the open day as they already have a community area and may have ideas we can use. Open day to also be used to promote the use of Water Butts, Ian is hopeful he can provide suitable containers to use as Butts. Keith to contact Jen Henson for water Butt grants
  15.  John’s share has fallen through so ½ a plot is available.
  16. Keith asked for a volunteer for the B.B.Q Colin offered so Keith & Colin     will sort out food etc. There will be a plant exchange, sale of Books & Magazines. A raffle will also take place for free use of the Rotovator & or Strimmer. Mel offered to donate some new books, other prizes will be determined by what we have on the day
  17. Wildlife Area. It is hoped that the liner will be available in time for the clean up day so will be something we can complete on the day.
  18. Toilet – Walls to be painted & roof completed. It will be complete by the summer, at which time Keith will give training. With the planned use of the community plot it may be necessary to add a wheelchair ramp to the toilet; this is to be discussed further.
  19. If grants are available we should apply for one to cover the surfacing of the car park area.
  20. Compost – A lorry load of Compost has been purchased in the past for approximately £100 for 4 tons from the council. The charge to plot holders would be £1.50 per barrow which more than covers the cost. Keith to look into this later in the year.
 
Next meeting 17th June 7.30pm at the Staines Rugby Club.

Meeting closed.

Wildlife Area at Snakey Lane Allotments


2, 6. The dimensions of the pond are 6m x 6m and the liner proposed is a thick butyl variety with a lifetime guarantee together with environmentally neutral felt underlay. The quotation below is based on enough material to cover this area to a depth of 1m. The marsh area is 6m x 2m. After discussion with New Heights construction and others we have decided that the best way to conserve water from draining away in the marsh area is to excavate to a depth of ca 25cm, then line with a thick butyl liner without underlay and without holes; the area would be unevenly back-filled with the excavated topsoil prior to planting. This liner would be overlapped with the pond liner by about 15 cm.

The attached section of the pond at 'h' shows an initial 45 degree slope for 25 cm leading to a 25 cm wide shelf around the perimeter, the aim being to sit pots or root mats of suitable plants on the shelf and also to provide a 'brake' in case any person slipped into the pond. The pond then shelves down at a 20 degree slope towards a central circular refuge area 1m in diameter at a depth of 1m. Would this meet requirements? For example, is the refuge area sufficiently wide?

3. It was agreed that a wooden picket fence would suffice and we undertake to make one. The gate, in a style to match the fence, is positioned at 'd' on the attached map. We undertake to make this both self-closing and with the capacity to open both ways to facilitate disabled wheelchair access in and out of the wildlife area. In addition a turning circle at 'e' would make it easier for such chairs to turn around; and the width of the proposed path, at 2 m, is believed to be sufficient for chair use, particularly so since the portion between 'b' and 'c' will be raised up - please see below. Robust warning signs of the presence of dangerous deep water are to be placed at 'i' and 'j'.

4,5. In reality, at least until plans are finalised, we feel there may be at least an emergency need to fill the pond with a hosepipe. Accordingly, at the very least for contingency purposes, we propse that New Heights Construction Ltd will incorporate a suitable length of scaffolding tubing at pont 'a' within the restored road [course shown by dashed lines].
Some considerable initial thought has been given to this problem. Hence the decision about how to conserve water in the marsh area, as it would seem conservation should be part of any solution. Out of many possibilities could the following may move the matter forward? Because of ongoing break-ins, theft, and vandalism at the allotments there is a proposal to site a second 'Portakabin' to the West of the pond at 'g'. I propose that a guttering system is installed on the roof of this, leading to the pond, with additional water-catchment flanges if needed. This idea is preferred to building up banks around the pond because of the problem of minimising silt draining into the pond [requiring expensive materials] and the need for the excavated spoil to be used to raise the path - please see below.
We hope to be able to retrieve all the original granite edging blocks from the old turning circles during the roadworks and to use these to assist with secure fixing of the edges of the pond liner.

6. We agree with the plant suggestions and Lady's Smock is already available in my pot collection. We propose for marsh/pond edges also Yellow Flag, Purple Loosestrife, and Equisetum palustre.

6,7. This has been undertaken for the road. Our proposed costs for the wildlife area are outlined below.

8. Such donations of plants would be very welcome. I have already planted a Marjoram and have a supply of Birdsfoot Trefoil, Hardhead, Ground Ivy and Cowslip to donate; Black Knapweed seed is available from Ludlow Road Park and Sainfoin seed has already been collected from there. Seed of Yellow Rattle, Field and Devilsbit Scabious and Ragged Robin would be very welcome. Grass Vetchling, as previously stated, is already present and is one reason for choosing plot 31 as the most suitable area for wildlife conservation. We propose removing all of the Oak tree saplings and if these are of use would be glad to pass them on to cip.

Further comments and queries, continuing the same numbering:

9.The region of the path between 'b' and 'c' lies at about 35cm below the road surface and this area has flooded in the past for short periods during heavy rain. We therefore believe most of the path needs to be raised up to the same level as the road. Allowing an additional 15cm for path surface materials and their settlement over time, this would require about 13 cubic m of materials, not allowing for suitably sloping flanks. Given that there will be about 18 cubic m of spoil resulting from the excavation of the pond, we propose using this or part of it for raising the path and the land around it, together with the excavated planings from the initial excavation of the road to provide a more bulky foundation for the path itself. We currently propose using wood chips for the surface. Would this be suitable for chair use?

10. The area labelled 'f' is a proposed future continuation of the path into the woodland area of plot 33, currently dominated by a large Oak tree. Some native plants have already been planted out there, including Red Campion, Stinking Hellebore[currently in flower], and Ramsons.

11. The area labelled 'g' is rough meadow of little interest. As mentioned it may be a suitable location for a second Portakabin. It is largely in shade in the Winter and hence the core of the wildlife are has been shifted a little eastward of the original proposal, with a reduction in the extent of the marsh area.

12. It is proposed to keep most of the established Bramble scrub at 'A' and particularly 'B' as part of the conservation overview, i.e. a rich network of varied habitats and vegetation; also they are very productive of fruit when managed. However, the dashed line at the eastern edge of the meadow area indicates potential for a little clearance of area B, so as to enhance the meadow area and variety. It is here that Ground Ivy for example would probably flourish.

COSTINGS UPDATE

1. Excavation of pond and marsh areas and redistribution of materials in marsh and for pathway £400
2. Lifetime liner for pond [one piece] and underlay £460-00
3. Butyl liner for marsh £115-00
4. Plants other than donations £ 25-00
5.Fencing, gates, notices etc £350-00

TOTAL £1,350-00
Quote 1New Heights Construction stc
Quotations 2 and 3 kindly provided by Mark's Water Garden, Teddington.

Item 5 could possibly be funded by the Association, together with guttering relating to a second Portakabin?

I have given up trying to attach the map here - it's in 2 portions and meant to be A4 size; will try on a second mailing. If that doesn't work please email me your fax number!

Chris Hill
4-1-08

Community Plot Plans

Snakey Lane Allotments has now received plans for the long awaited Community Plot.

The theme is a disabled garden which can also be used as a social meeting area.

The plot will be edged tarmaced throughout with two paved areas which will feature seating and pots of climbers with a trellis backdrop


 

 

Minutes from previous meetings are listed below and may be downloaded.

6/5/08 Minutes of meeting 6 May 2008
7/2/08 Minutes of meeting 7 February 2008
15/11/07 Minutes of meeting 15 November 2007
13/9/07 Minutes of meeting 13 September 2007
12/7/07 Minutes of meeting 19 July 2007
24/5/07 Minutes of meeting 24 May 2007
19/4/07 Minutes of meeting 19 April 2007
7/3/07 Minutes of meeting 7 March 2007
11/1/07 Minutes of meeting 11 January 2007
6/4/06 Minutes of meeting 5 April 2006