About the GCAA
The GCAA is an organisation which is made up of ALL allotment holders on the
Winton Avenue site. New allotment holders automatically become members of
the GCAA. The Committee meets once a month and deals with issues on the site,
fund raising, improvements to the site, communications with the Council and
events for site members. They are elected once a year at the Annual General
Meeting.
The Committee is made up of the site Secretary, Chair, Trading Shed Manger, Assistant Trading Shed Manager, Treasurer, Show Secretary and various other committee members. (10-12 people in all)
You are asked to pay an annual subscription to the GCAA to enable it to carry on its work. This entitles you to buy cut price items in the trading shed and enter the Show. The annual subscription is £4 and it is payable in the trading shed. The deadline for this year is May 31st.
The GCAA has its own bank account and the money is
used for various improvement projects, insurance, the annual show and social
events.
The GCAA also funds and runs the trading shed- where you can buy cut price seeds, compost and many other items. Paying your annual subscription entitles you to buy things in the trading shed. Trading shed hours are : Every Saturday (10 am-12.30 pm) and Sunday (10 am-1 pm)
The GCAA is an affiliated member of the RHS and a member of the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners (NSALG). Membership of the NSALG entitles us to free legal advice from an allotment lawyer, insurance for community hut, cut price seeds, as well as insurance for individual sheds (paid for separately by members). This is advantageous to us because sheds are otherwise difficult if not impossible to insure. We are also members of the NGS (National Garden Scheme) and we have an NGS Open Day during our Annual Show. The GCAA also sends one of our committee members to the Haringey Allotment Forum- which is a new organisation designed to create a dialogue between the allotments and the Council.
GCAA Events
The Annual Show
The Annual Show is held at the end of August or beginning of September-members
come and show their fruit and veg, contribute produce to sell as well as bric-a
brac, teas, and participate in other other events during the day. The date
for this year’s show is August 31st and show schedules can be obtained
at the trading shed from May 13th. Profits from the show entries and stalls
are used for site improvements.
AGM and Plant Sale
The Annual General Meeting is usually held in May of each year and immediately
afterwards there is a plant sale- contributed by members. The AGM is a very
important meeting and determines the leadership you will have in the following
year- as well as enabling you to vote on various issues. Please try to attend.
This year’s AGM and Plant sale is on Sunday, May 11th sstarting at
10.30 am in the community hut. The plant sale and tea is immediately afterwards.
The Calendar
The GCAA Allotment calendar goes on sale every year in late summer or early
autumn- and is a great guide for plot holders- it also raises some money
for further improvements. Please buy at least one!!
Other Events
Throughout the year, social events are held and you will be notified of these
by poster or e-mail or on the web site.
The Community Hut
THe GCAA community hut was purchased through a Lottery Grant awarded to the
GCAA in 2006. It is open for all members every weekend and in addition, whenever
you see the doors open. You can make yourself a cup of tea (small contribution)
read the magazines on gardening, and generally use it as your refuge and break
place! Please remember, though, to tidy up after yourself.
Entering and Leaving the Site
The allotments have two main entry points the Winton Avenue Gates and the Bidwell
Garden Gates. Gates are to be locked at all times upon entering and leaving
the site. The only exception is the Winton Avenue gates- which are left open
when the trading Shed is open- every Saturday and Sunday
Please drive no faster than 5 mph as little children are on the site and the
roads are not in good condition. The keys for the gates are given to you when
you become a tenant. If you need a replacement, you will need go to the trading
shed and purchase one. You may not duplicate your key and give it to anyone
else- this can lead to unauthorised persons entering the site and problems.
If a non-plot holder is your guest for the day, you need to escort them onto
and off the site.
The Winton Avenue gates are double locked with a chain in the evening which
is taken off in the morning. Cars still on site cannot get out of the allotments
after the closing time. From 1st March to 31st October - the gates will be
double locked from 8.30 pm until 7.30 am. From 1st Nov to 28th Feb the gates
will be double locked from 5.30 pm until 7.30 am.
Your Responsibilities on this Site
Water
The mains water is turned off in November and on again in late March. Please
make sure that you do not leaves taps running. Close the taps when you finish
with the watering. Also, watering may be restricted during droughts and it
is a good idea to have water butts around your site. Use of a sprinkler should
be limited to short periods of time onlyl, when the plot holder is on site.
This is to avoid inconviencing your neighbours and to avoid wasting water.
Hoses should be hand held.
Bonfires- Bonfires can be lit on individual site on the FIRST Saturday of
each month. But guidelines from the council state that you should compost as
much as possible and burn only woody items not compostable.
Guidelines:
Only burn dry material
Never burn household rubbish, carpets, rubber tyres and anything containing
plastic, foam or paint
e
Never
use engine oil, meths or petrol to light the fire or encourage it
Avoid lighting in unsuitable weather conditions- smoke hangs in the air on
damp, still days and in the evening
Never leave a bonfire unattended or leave it to smoulder- douse it with water
if necessary.
Carpet Use -
After much debate and consultation with members, it has been agreed that carpet
use on this site should be monitored. Carpets can become a hazard, are slippery
when wet and in many cases can be toxic when broken down. If you do have
carpets on your site and you wish to use them as a weed suppressant, you
need to register this intention with the Secretary who will monitor their
use on your site (do this in the trading shed) Take care not to allow the
carpets to become imbedded as they are then very difficult to remove. If
you wish to remove carpets found on your site when you arrive, they need
to be taken to the local dump by the plot holder. On rare occasions, we may
be able to remove them with the council’s lorry. Instead of carpets
on the paths, we recommend that you use wood chips, which are in plentiful
supply around the site and free to all.
Your relationship with the Council and your tenancy agreement:
Although we have had some input with the Council with regard to the new tenancy
agreement, the document that you sign is a legal binding contract between
you and the Council. Council rules for plot holders apply to all tenants
on this site. The intention of this leaflet is to give you further information
about the practices on this particular site and are not intended to supersede
the Council’s rules as set out in the tenancy agreement. Please read
the tenancy agreement thoroughly and make sure that you understand it and
your responsibilities as a Council allotment tenant.
Care of your plot- Individual plots will be inspected three times a year by
the Council Allotment Officer and the GCAA Secretary. Actions taken will be
in accordance with the rules set out in the tenancy agreement. If you have
any issues with this, you need to talk to the Secretary of the site or the
Council officials that sent you a letter.
However, the GCAA would like to encourage you to keep your plots tidy and well
cultivated- not doing so is the quickest way to lose your allotment. You are
also responsible for the paths around your site- cutting them and making sure
they are safe and free of hazardous materials such as carpets, glass and tall
grass. Please keep your allotment and the area surrounding your allotment tidy!!!
Composting
Plot holders should compost as much of their green waste as possible. Even
weeds such as bindweed and couch grass can be composted it they are first
drowned in water. Material that is suitable for composting is not suitable
for burning. If you want to buy good garden manure- the shop has a telephone
number of a local man who will arrange a delivery for you- just ask in the
trading shed. Please remember, though, that piles of manure need to be removed
from the road delivery points as soon as feasible.
Getting rid of non-burnable rubbish
The GCAA has an occasional rubbish clearance lorry come in from the Council-
which is free to us if it remains non-regular. This means that we can get
a lorry in to remove non-burnable or compostable rubbish several times a
year but notice is short. It is usually on a Saturday morning-for about an
hour or two and notices are put up a few days in advance and on e-mail. Plot
holders are expected to bring their rubbish TO THE LORRY rather than leave
it in piles for others to haul onto the lorry. We are looking at better ways
of doing this in the future. Otherwise, we
recommend that you take all your non-burnable rubbish to a local council dump
site.
Help with the overall site
From time to time, the GCAA needs help in the form of working parties. This
may be to paint the community hut with preservative, work on the show gardens,
help setting up events, contributions for the plants sale, show, planting
vandal proofing plants around the site and so on. Please try to help us when
asked- we will send a message out by e-mail and by posted notices.
Help with your plot
If you become ill and cannot work your plot, please let us know and we will
try to help.
If you entrust part of your plot to someone else to work/and share with you,
please be aware that this does not entitle them to jump the waiting list and
claim this part of your plot as their own. Anyone that helps is a volunteer
and is not entitled to a plot of their own.
Security Issues
We have had security issues and vandalism in the past and it is likely that
we will have more issues in the future- so please keep your eyes open, note
strangers on the plot, take pictures if you see acts of vandalism occurring
and report all crimes to the police. Please also notify the Chair, Trading
Shed or Secretary when an incident occurs.
Contacts and Communications
e-mail to Site Secretary: Tulio e-mail: fiorenzuola135@sky.com e-mail to Karen:
gcaa@blueyonder.co.uk
Web Site: http://www.gcaa.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/
e-mail to Trading Shed: June june-lambert@hotmail.co.uk