April 2026 Committee Update
Grove Allotment Association committee meeting Thursday 30th April. Minutes will be approved at next meeting. This is a summary of matters discussed/dealt with:
Minutes of previous meeting and summary notice – we approved the minutes of the meeting held on 26th March and noted that although the summary had been posted on our WhatsApp information and news group on 29 March we hadn’t posted at the gates as usual until the beginning of the week.
Committee Membership – we noted that Peter Platts has resigned.
We reviewed banking and finance – We noted that with all expected income now received and cash banked our balance of funds is £7.3k. The 2026/27 lease bill of £670.50 is due for payment to CBC on 4 May. The monthly discount cost of our mobile phone account is £1.80. Water use will be our most significant cost for the rest of the year. Since the mains water supply was restored on 16 April we used 10 cubic meters up to 27 April = 833 litres per day (average UK household use is 136/150 litres per day). We will continue to monitor use and profile expected cost.
Composting Toilets – our two composting toilets remain unusable. We agreed again that we should work to keep the toilets available and to restrict access whilst we take measures to deal with their current state. We agreed we will decide options for the better management of the facilities at the committee meeting in May.
Adder sighting – we noted the false alarm, the positive action taken including posting useful information about adders and grass snakes.
Photo Competition – we chose the winning photo of the month. The photo taken by Natalia (Plot 13 ) of her son planting strawberry plants captures the way we can involve children with the fun and joy of allotment gardening, giving them all the long-term benefits. We also selected a photo taken by Mike Chadwick from George Olley’s plot as a great example of photos we can all take of the things around us.
Plotter of the Month – we decided to choose two members for their outstanding transformation of their plots. Jordan (upper site Plot 71) and Heather (lower site Plots 83b,84 and 85). You can really see the difference they have made.
Our Clear Up Event Saturday 9th May – we have had lots of offers to help and we agreed the plan for our clear up event to take place 10.00 – 16.00 as follows:
Volunteers to gather at the area inside the second gate at the Peveril Road entrance at 10.00 a.m. and during the day, and we will assign tasks best suited to everyone. There will be a Market gazebo tent to provide cover for the BBQ.
Skips provided by Chesterfield Borough Council will be delivered Friday 8th. We decided to locate these at the Stand Road car park area on the upper site and the area inside the second gate at the Peveril Road entrance. We will confirm/control what goes in the skips.
Priority activity for the day – clearing uncultivated/seriously overgrown plots adjacent to Elm Lodge care home on lower site. Also on lower site the area to the right of Stand Rd entrance (Heather Wakefield, Paul Umney have already done lots of work with help from Peter Platts). Trampoline to be returned to adjacent house. On the upper site clearing the pile of unwanted stuff at the Stand Road entrance car park and adjacent areas.
Volunteers – we will be asking all members to look at what help they can give on the day.
Equipment – we will hire a wood chipper and provide other equipment.
Barbecue and refreshments – Mike Chadwick has agreed to organise this so we can make it a social event for all our members volunteering. There will be vegetarian/vegan option.
Unwanted and damaged glass – members will be able to dispose of glass from plots.
Progress Report – we agreed to produce a progress report outlining what we have achieved since the AGM.
Our next committee meeting will be held on Tuesday 26th May