Annual General Meeting
Minutes — as recorded · 1 August 2026
Bathford Allotments 2026 Annual General Meeting Minutes
NB: personal details have been removed from the minutes, contact the Clerk for an original copy.
Welcome and introduction:
The Chair opened the meeting, welcomed everyone, and outlined the agenda to be covered. The Chair introduced themself. The management group in attendance introduced themselves and The Chair also introduced members of the management group who were unable to attend.
The Co-Chair outlined that an initial plotholder meeting of 2nd December 2025 was called by the Parish Council asking for volunteers to help with the running of the allotments. (Notes circulated 11th December) Those interested in being a volunteer attended a meeting on the 3rd of February for further discussion with the Parish Council where new governance structure arrangements were made. A formal plotholder EGM was held on 3rd March to vote on the proposal. On 23rd March notes were issued to plotholders on the outcome of that meeting and the creation of the new management group to manage the allotments, along with arrangements for a new plotholders WhatsApp group.
This was an important step as the allotments continue to be self-managed by plotholders. The management group has responsibility to act on behalf of the Parish Council, landlord of the site. In respect of certain functions which are agreed between the parties, and these are essentially unchanged from the previous structure. The responsibilities are set out in the form of a contract which has been updated for the new management group. In addition, as part of the re-drafting some additional responsibilities have been added to reflect how the management group are accountable to plotholders. This is mainly around applying the tenancy agreement consistently and fairly, keeping plotholders informed of material matters, consulting with plotholders on significant proposals, and responding to plot holder queries.
The formal EGM earlier in the year has meant the current AGM is being held at an unusual time and that there is no requirement for formal voting on the current structure. It is expected that the AGM will return to normal timing in 2027.
Update from Management Group
The Chair outlined what the management group had been doing; repairs and improvements to water systems, clearing overgrown plots, letting plots, carrying out inventory and maintenance of machines, new petrol mower purchased (with agreed budget by Parish Council). Portaloo serviced in March.
The Chair also outlined budget limits for helping to manage the allotments-monthly expenditure limit is £100 (agreed with the Parish Council)
Update from Parish Council Representative:
The PC representative covered the balances on each bank account held by the Parish Council for the Allotments as follows.
The Allotments Current Account: £589.88 (this supports allotment costs)
Allotment Deposit account: £2,770.00 (this is held in trust for plotholders)
October rental increase is based on June RPI which is 3.1%. These have been calculated below.
| Plot type | 25/26 Rent | 3.1% RPI rise for 26/27 |
|---|---|---|
| Full plot | £42.00 | £43.30 |
| Half, Third, Quart. | £21.00 | £21.65 |
| Raised | £8.00 | £8.25 |
There was some discussion on the RPI rental increase. The management group received a mandate to review automatic rises with the PC, in favour of a budget and forecast based rise.
Current Activity and Future plans:
The Chair covered the current focus on lettings, 11 plots were vacant when the group took over, the number is now 6, Bathford residents take priority. It is planned to advertise in a forthcoming local look. The waiting list was 5 in number, 2 were in active discussion over plots, the 3 others were being chased to respond.
The Chair explained about the new app he had developed to help with allotment management and the extension to help with the Parish Council accounting and invoicing. A meeting was planned for 17th August for review with the Amenities Committee. (Chairs note – this was approved by the Amenities Committee on 21 Aug 26, representing a real cost saving.)
The Chair covered future plans for work including the top track improvement.
Longer term there was still an intention around the community hut development - a volunteer mentioned the previous grant application and the favourable feedback received from the National Lottery outlining some improvements around noting important social impacts including social prescribing.
The Chair outlined some matters that the management group wanted to have further discussion with the Parish Council about, namely a) clarification of the RPI rent increase and how that is communicated to plotholders and b) improvements to the handling of the management and updating of plot regulations. The meeting supported this.
A plot holder expressed concern about overgrown plots, in particular 31/32 which was impacting him. (this was noted by the Chair and inspected post meeting)
Community and Social Discussion:
The Chair invited any contribution or questions from the meeting attendees on allotment matters.
There was mention of a composting toilet instead of the current portaloo.
There was discussion of how new plotholders had found their introduction to the site, and how that could be improved. No rules had been received by several new plotholders on joining
There was comment on the difficulty of plot numbering and lack of an accessible map of current plots configuration. The management group will look at putting a current version of the plot map on the website.
There was discussion over size of plots and their subdividing – a volunteer said that there had been an increase in requests for small plots -this was behind the raised beds which had been a success.
A question was raised on the enforcement of the 25% cultivation rule ;“There must be no more than 25% of the total cultivated area allocated for growing ornamental plants and or
ornamental flowers, and or wildflowers which include wildflower meadows”.
The Chair explained that a lot of rules stemmed from the Allotment Act where the historical expectation was that the plot should be useful and productive i.e., the plot must mainly be used to produce vegetable or fruit crops for consumption. The Chair emphasized the main focus of the management group on rules and regulations was around inspecting of plots for general cultivation standards and issuing warning on weeds notices, not focusing on area devoted to flowers.
The Chair reminded the meeting that any warning notices issued were intended as encouragement to cultivate plots, not draconian enforcement, but also out of respect for your fellow plotholders who are affected by the weeds. He also noted that people should reach out if they need to help in plot management as various life reasons can cause anyone to have difficulty.
Whilst on the subject of rules it was noted that plot numbers should be visible and also that paths should be maintained as per the tenancy agreements.
There was discussion of various community ideas around the WhatsApp group e.g. Local resources e.g., scaffolding boards supply, nursery discounts, sources of manure/compost. Other ideas included growing tips or events such as a seed swap or social activity e.g., harvest supper.
The Chair mentioned that there was still opportunity for volunteers to help with these things and people should not fear coming forward and being overwhelmed as other main allotment jobs were in hand.
Several plotholders were keen to support but said they needed to know what jobs were required there was suggestion of a jobs for the week blackboard. This will be considered by the management group.
There were some practical questions on codes for community hold and rents for full plots, half and quarter plots. The management group will look to make codes more easily accessible on the WhatsApp group.
AOB:
There were no other specific items of business beyond the general discussion noted.
A vote of thanks was raised for the new management group for the work it was doing.
The Chair thanked everyone for attending and then closed the meeting.
Last updated 30 August 2026