Allotments: green shoot of hope

A GREEN shoot of hope has sprung up out of the decay left by Henley's warring allotment-holders and parish councillors in the fonn of a new allotment and gardening club to serve the town.

At the beginning of the month allotment holders turned out in force to a meeting of Beaudesert and Henley Joint Parish Council to express their frustration and claim that councillors were no longer consulting with the Beaudesert and Henley Allotment Association on plans for the allotments, having made it clear that the council was the landlord and the allotment-holders merely tenants and "therefore no discussion was required."

The allotment association had been so incensed by the parish council's behaviour its officers-the chairman, secretary and treasurer-had resigned leaving the future of the association uncertain.

Last week, the parish council hit back at the allotment association's claims it had failed to listen to their views. On the contrary, said the council chairman, Cllr Les Goodman, councillors had spent hours of their time working on allotment projects and it was the allotment association which had excluded councillors rather than the other way around. This was according to a ready prepared statement read out by the council's chairman Cllr Les Goodman.

Now allotment-holders have taken the matter into their own hands and a new allotment and gardening club has been established. This follows a recent extraordinary meeting of the allotment association where it was agreed to wind it up and to establish a new club, Henleyin-Arden Allotment Gardening Club (HAAGC).

HAAGC is not only open to existing allotment-holders but also to anyone interested in vegetable, fruit or flower growing. And the new group is already forging links with the town improvement committee, which could potentially see more allotment plots in Henley.

The allotment and gardening club, which is free to join. already has twice as many members as the original allotment association. Residents are welcome to join even if they "grow their own" at home and would simply like to meet other like-minded gardeners.

While in an added triumph, the ex-allotment association officers were unanimously elected officers of the HAAGC.

Club secretary, Stephen Dorow, said: "All the members of the HAAGC seem very excited about the formation of the new club and I am sure that over the coming months, we will be able to generate many new ideas that will benefit all the members.

"For example, we have already approached the Town Improvement Committee and have. begun exploratory discussions regarding the possible provision of additional allotment! gardening sites in Henley with disabled access and other useful facilities.

"The Committee have welcomed our approach and are keen to develop ideas further. It is also refreshing to wotk with a professional organisation that is enthusiastic about improving facilities for Henley residents and which also shares our views on proper consultation."

Councillors had concluded at a meeting of the parish council on Monday 17th Augnst that there were just two options for moving the dispute between councillors and the allotment association forward. If the allotment association had disbanded permanently then the council would resume arrangements for communication with individual tenants. If the allotment association was still in existence the council would do all in its power to find new officers to run it.

Report by Philippa Prankard - Stratford Herald - 27th August 2009

Lords of the parish

Dear Editor,

The allotment holders of Henley have no say. They are told what to do because the local parish councillors know better—they are lords of the parish.

In their wisdom, the council erected a fence to keep out elephants; because they know best, they forgot about the rabbits. To stop the rabbits, allotment holders have now fenced in their own patch of garden at great expense, which looks like a patchwork quilt.

But then I have been complaining for several years about footpaths and no-one listens.

T A Holtom, Brook End Drive, Henley.

Stratford Herald - 20th August 2009

Parking Meeting Fails to Impress

HENLEY residents got the first look at proposals for a review of parking provision in the town on Monday evening. But the proposals themselves - far from contentious, appearing more of a tidy up of parking in line with legislation than a radical shake-upwere overshadowed by the format chosen for the "meeting".

Locals had received flyers through their doors from the parish clerk for Beaudesert and Henley Joint Parish Council prior to the event at the Baptist Church Hall inviting them to a "public meeting" to "discuss" and "consult" on the parking review. So there was confusion and frustration all round from the 35 or so residents who piled into the hall, making a mockery of the two lines of chairs set out for them to sit on, when the parish council chairman Cllr Les Goodman stood up to announce that this was not a public meeting and those assembled were to individually approach the two Warwickshire County Council officers in attendance to ask them any questions. There was also a chance to peruse the plans and fill in a feedback form.

This was a far cry from the discussion and consultation residents had expected. Several residents told the Herald they had been envisioning a formal presentation from the county council followed by a chance to ask questions from the floor. Others said it had been "a complete waste of their time".

A number of residents, on hearing the plans for the session, swiftly made their exit. Amongst their number was High Street resident Ruth Heirst. She said she was "very unsatisfied" about the arrangements as she had been led to believe this was to be a proper meeting.

"The plans refer to where I live and I wanted to know what they wanted to do about things," she added before making for the door.

Phil Mitton, traffic management engineer at the county council, said he had not been part of the planning of the event so he could not comment on the set-up of the evening. However, he added in support of the execution of the event that there were a lot of individual schemes included in the proposals and it had not been known who would be coming along and which bits would be of interest to the majority.

Cllr Goodman said he had never expected it to be an open meeting. He added that the parish council could have done nothing and left it up to the county council. He did accept that the flier, sent out by the parish clerk, could have been misleading.

Jane Williams, traffic project engineer for the county council, explained that Monday evening's session was the stage before the official consultation to gauge people's opinion before the fmal proposals were drawn up. The initial proposals, she told the Herald, involve a tidy up of parking across the town, adding no waiting areas on roads including Warwick Road, High Street and Brook End Drive and extending yellow lines on dangerous comers, such as on Alne Close, in line with parking legislation. Any loss ' of parking spaces through these measures would be replaced like-for-like with parking spaces elsewhere, with the town actually benefiting in the end from two extra disabled parking spaces and up to eight more regular parking spaces.

Report by Philippa Prankard - Stratford Herald - 20th Augut 2009

"We did listen to tenants"

BEAUDESERT and Henley Joint Parish Council this week hit back at claims it had refused to listen to the views of allotment-holders. On the contrary, they had spent hours of their time working on allotment projects and it was the allotment association which had excluded parish council members from their meetings rather than the other way around, according to a ready prepared statement read out by the council's chairman Cllr Les Goodman (pictured right) on Monday night.

At the beginning of the month allotment-holders turned out in force to a meeting of the parish council to express their frustration that councillors were no longer consulting with them on plans for the allotments, having made it clear the council was the "landlord" and the allotment-holders merely "tenants" and "therefore no discussion was required." The allotment association had been so incensed by the parish council's behaviour its officers-the chairman, secretary and treasurer-had resigned.

Cllr Goodman said the matter would be put on the agenda for the next meeting and he kept his promise. On Monday he moved to set the record straight through a lengthy statement. He began that the council welcomed dialogue with the allotment association and had supported them at council meetings-this included a twohour council meeting to discuss a proposed allotment handbook, funding and "tireless" work to keep the allotment up to the correct standard.

Cllr Goodman said that in March a parish council representative had been told he should no longer attend the allotment association meetings, indicating the association did not welcome parish council involvement and not the other way around. He questioned whether the former officers of the allotment association represented the whole membership. As evidence he stated that attendance had dwindled at allotment association meetings with only five people attending the last one.

Similarly, he questioned the allotment association's claim that the statement read out at the last parish council meeting had been endorsed by all the allotment-holders, bar one, as he had not seen any signatures and the parish clerk had received no communication verbally or in writing that allotmentholders shared the concerns of the officers.

In summary, Cllr Goodman said the implication that the parish council had done little for allotment-holders was unfair. And he concluded there were two options for moving forward. If the allotment association had disbanded permanently then the council would resume arrangements for communication with individual tenants. If the allotment association was still in existence the council would do all in its power to fmd new officers to run it.

The council agreed to write to all allotment tenants to see which of the two options they would prefer.

Report by Philippa Prankard - Stratford Herald - 20th Augut 2009

£25,000 to block FOI Request

JPC Councillor George Matheou, Chairman of the JPC's Business & Tourism Committee, told Councillors at their regular Monday meeting on 3rd August that the equivalent of £25,000 had been expended by the Council and the Parish Clerk in blocking a Freedom of Information Act request.

The request was made in the summer of 2008 and regarded publicity expenditure by the JPC. The Information Commissioner issued instructions to the council that it should follow the correct procedure and timetable.

The parish clerk described this FOI request as 'simply to fuel an individual's obsession'. Informed sources described the applicant as "persistent", rather than "obsessive". There is an obligation on all councillors in their 'Code of Conduct' - "not to prevent anyone getting information that they are entitled to by law."

The requested information is available for the adjacent Parish Council, Hockley Heath, on their website and is automatically updated continuously.

Allotment Association Rejected

The vast majority of allotment growers simply like to grow their vegetables, relax and socialise up at the allotment site. However in recent weeks plot holders have shown a mix of anger, disappointment and cynicism at the way the General Purposes Committee (GPC) of the Joint Parish Council (JPC) have treated them.

Over many months, the Elected officers of the Allotment Association (BHAA) have been listening to their members and potential plot holders about how they would like to see the Allotment site managed and developed. The BHAA Officers and plot holders felt they should have the opportunity to provide advice and input on allotment matters before final decisions were made by the GPC/JPC. For example discussions could include: plot rent reviews and how rents are fairly calculated, a fair and transparent method of allocating plots to existing and new members, supporting Lottery Funding bids for the Allotments and the best use of such funds, the impact of the Railway Station Development Plan on the Allotment site, health and safety etc.

Although the BHAA Officers thought they were making good progress working with the GPC, in recent weeks the GPC has made it clear that their idea of consultation is to make all the decisions without dialogue and then tell the plot holders. As a consequence the three BHAA Officers (Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer) have resigned their positions. Apparently a former BHAA Chairman has also resigned in the past as she also felt the GPC did not wish to consult and listen to advice. Another plot holder has said “It is such a shame, the Association is going from strength to strength, all the plots are occupied and there are now 13 residents on the waiting list.”

Anne Dorow, the most recent Chairman of the BHAA to resign, said:

“From our recent meeting with the GPC it is very apparent that they do not seek plot holders' input and do not share our desire for consultation of any kind. The Officers felt they had no real opportunity to formally represent the views of the members and potential plot holders. The GPC emphasised that they are the Landlord and we are simply Tenants, and therefore no discussion is required.”

Statement Read to JPC - Monday 3rd August 2009