May 2026 Committee Update
Grove Allotment Association committee meeting Tuesday 26th May. Minutes wil 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 30th April and noted the summary had been posted on our WhatsApp information and news group and at the gates as usual.
Grove Networkers – two members have agreed to be networkers. Michaela Daysh who is also our website administrator and Jordan Pirdue.
We reviewed banking and finance – We noted that our balance of funds is £6.5k after paying the 2026/27 lease bil of £670.50 on 4th May. We noted recent expenditure, agreed our invoice to Elm Lodge care home for work done on 9th May to clear their falen prunings and further pruning of buddleia in their gabion wals. During June we wil begin to prepare our annual statement of accounts with our accountant, for the Financial Conduct Authority.
We talked about our water use since 15th April. We continue to monitor our water use. Our average use per day up to 19th May was 880 litres. No surprise that with the burst of summer sunshine and super hot weather it jumped significantly. Between 19th and 31st May we averaged 2450 litres at a cost of £6.45 per day. Our overal average daily use is now just over 1.2 litres at a cost of £3.24 per day.
Composting Toilets – we have placed out of order notices on our two composting toilets. We agreed to consult with Penmore Allotment Association about how they manage their compost toilet before we restore the toilets for use.
We talked about our very successful 9th May clear up event and agreed to make a £50 donation to the 1st and 2nd Derbyshire Cubs and Scouts as thanks for the substantial work the scout leaders did for us during the day. We noted the exceptional contribution of all those members and friends who joined in across the day, with very special thanks to Jordan Pirdue who organised the wood chipper (and tireless al day work), Mike Chadwick for providing and cheffing the BBQ and Siphrai Gibson for the delicious chicken satay dish.
Next clear up event – our next event wil be October/early November. Date TBC. Nick Bradley agreed to take on mowing areas on the lower site to compliment the path mowing carried out by lower site members.
BBQ social event – we agreed to organise a no jobs get together social event with the suggestion of an August date (TBC) linked to national allotment week 10th-16th August.
Chesterfield Allotment Network – we briefly discussed our recent meeting with Councilor Martin Stone, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Planning and Environment and the next meeting of the network on 28th May.
Photo Competition – we chose winning photos of the month. One by Ethan (Plot 75) of the bee on Chive flowers and Susan (Plot 29,31,31a) for the colection of photos from our 9th May clear up even. We appreciated Natalia’s photo montage ‘Our May at plots”.
Plotter of the Month – we decided to choose two members for their plot working and contribution to the clear up event – Sam and Simon Elis and Don Aldred. Alys wil be organising distributing prizes.
Progress Report – we agreed the draft progress report outlining what we have achieved since the AGM. This wil be posted on our WhatsApp group, the website and at the gates.
Vacant Plots – for the moment we agreed that plots substantialy over grown that have not been let and cultivated for more than 12 months would be defined as not in use/available.
Gate Notices – we agreed to trial at the gates, A4 alotment name notices and information about how to make enquiries.
Gate Notice boards – we agreed to instal notice boards on the inside of the gates on the upper site to improve access to/awareness of important information and reduce the needto attach individual notices at the gates.
Our next committee meeting will be held on Thursday 26th June