Merry Festivites and a Happy New Year

All the very best to you and yours on behalf of Ian, Reg, Deb and all the BLAHA committee. Be safe, well and be happy. Here's to a great growing 2022 and beyond.

Mel

October Update

Hello

Hope you are all keeping safe and well. The allotment committee meeting was held on 24th October and minutes sent out by the secretary last week.

Another successful working party was deployed to sure up the hard standing on one of the plots. Thank you to all involved.

Hope you all have a happy Halloween 🎃

Mel

BLAHA Annual General Meeting 2021

The Allotment AGM will take place on Sunday 5th September at 11.00 a.m. on site.

Reserve dates for this meeting in case of inclement weather are the following 3 Sundays: 12th, 19th and 26th September on site at 11.00 a.m.

Nominations for the Principal Offices (Chair, Secretary, Treasurer) and the General Committee for next 12 months should be submitted, appropriately seconded, to the Secretary via email or in writing to Plot 7a shed by Fri 20th August.

The agenda will be available 2 weeks before the meeting.

Thank you.

On behalf of Reg Davenport, Secretary, 7a

An Artists View

Hello

Hope you have all been keeping well and able to enjoy some of the exceedingly warm weather. 

One of our talented plot holders Patty, used the conditions to spend some time with her other artistic friend sketching the plots. 

Patty has kindly shared them below. 

Hope you enjoy.

Mel

Annual Plot Awards 2021

The 2021 BLAHA judgings are in!

A number of plots were deemed worthy of note: 1a, 5b, 7a, 7b, 8b, 15a, 16b, 17b and 26b.

Plots 26a and 26b(again) were also commended as works in progress with significant potential.

3 plots were considered to be of an outstanding standard, however, the final order being:

1st: Plot 24 : Barry Jupp and Karin Mueller

2nd: Plot 22: John Gibson

3rd: Plot 25b: Tim Taylor

Congratulations to the prize winners and well done everyone.

On behalf of Reg D Secretary 

News and Events from BLAHA

News from our Secretary.

With the help of the Town Ranger, this Wednesday we successfully erected the new fencing along the top end of the site from the shed to the bottom corner and along the back of Plots 24 to 27 up to the houses. Many thanks to all those members of the working party for their hard work and effort on the day. Much appreciated. We still have the top 2 strands of wire to attach but the main fencing is up and secure. We can now begin to focus on addressing the security issues around the main gate and Laburnum Road fence.

For those who like their gardens, Sutton Parish is running an open garden weekend, details of which are on our notice board and through this link:

https://www.suttonparish.co.uk/latest-news/event-three-villages-open-gardens/

Christ Church on Great King Street is taking part in a Heritage Open Day on Saturday 11th September, the theme of which is Edible England.

Macclesfield Plant Swap, who have a stall regularly in Roe’s Garden, will hopefully be there and members of the public will be invited to bake traditional harvest sheaves to display in the church.

The allotment sites are invited to have a table to show/sell produce at the event.  If your allotment site would be interested in taking part please contact Diane Smith at Roenaissance theroenaissanceproject@gmail.com  to find out more.

 

 

Plot Inspection Date Change And Other News

Hi all,

A successful first Plant Swap today (30th May), with very few plants left at the end of it.  A good first swap a very social event.

Reminder that the plot inspection is next weekend,  Saturday 5th rather than Sunday 6th.  Two of our committee are leading, however 4 more volunteers are needed to support. If you can help please use the contact form on the blog.

Sadly we have had some security issues recently with fly tipping of tree cuttings and shed break ins. Please be vigilant and report activity to the police and committee.

On a brighter note, our secretary's plot is looking fantastic so here are a couple of snaps of their beautiful flora and the plant swap too.

Big thanks also to the working parties who helped clear and prepare the ground ready for the new shutterings. More pics below.

Enjoy your Bank Holiday weekend.

Mel

Plant Swap and Plot Inspections

Plant Swap Sun 30th May

Following a recent suggestion, a Plant Swap session has been arranged for Sunday 30th May from 10.00 a.m. till 1.00 p.m. . Bring any plants that are surplus to your requirements up to the shed so that others may be able to make use of them.

Plot Inspection Sun 6 June

A reminder that there will be a Plot Inspection on Sunday 6th June from 10.30 a.m. onwards. The focus is on cultivation and general tidiness as outlined in Section 4 of Schedule A in the Tenancy Agreement.

BLAHA May News

Hello Plotholders

Lots of activity at the Allotments over the last few weeks. The skip came, filled and went, clearing more plastic, metal, glass and general unsightliness from the plots.

Hard work has been undertaken, lead by Ian and the committee to get works carried out ready for fence repair. The farmer has dug a trench, so we are hopeful for a better drainage situation.

Today a working party spent over 3 hours digging in preparation for shuttering the spoil heaps.

A hedgehog rescue happened and here's hoping all our volunteers have got their feet up.

Thanks to all.

Mel on behalf of Ian and the BLAHA Committee 

BLAHA April Newsletter

Dear Plot holders,

Spring is here and with the warmer weather and longer days more of us are spending time at the allotments and starting to grow our summer crops. Let's hope that none of us are caught out by late frosts this year!

Tyres

Tyres can be useful around the allotment, and a number of plot holders are using tyres on their plots, but we need to ask that you do not bring anymore onto site. Don’t worry though, if you already have tyres on site you can continue to use them.

Skip

Following on from the Health and Safety inspection late last year, and recognising that the restrictions in place over the last year have made it difficult to get to the tip, the Committee have decided to book a skip enable plot holders to dispose of waste from their plots. The aim is to remove broken glass, plastic sheeting, rubble and other similar waste from the allotment site. Please don’t add timber, tyres or organic matter that can be composted. We hope to have the skip on site in time for this coming Bank Holiday weekend and will confirm the dates as soon as they are known.

Plot Inspection

Plot inspections take place biannually and the next one is planned to take place on Sunday 6th June. The inspections will focus on cultivation and general tidiness of your plot. The rules on cultivation are included under Section 4 of Schedule A in your Tenancy Agreement.

The annual judging of ‘Best Plot’ will take place in July - date to be confirmed.

Site Security

There have been a few recent incidents of unauthorised access to the site, including an attempted shed break in. To help avoid further incidents

• Keep your allotment tools in locked storage to avoid them being used to break in or cause damage on the allotments.
• Keep the site gate closed all times, even when others are on site
• If you are last to leave the site please lock the gate behind you.

Kind Regards,

Debbie, Plot 14b, Treasurer

Reg, Plot 7a, Secretary

April 2021

Supplies for Plotholders are Back!

Hello Everyone

Hope you are all keeping safe and well.

Just a quick note to let you know that plotholder supplementary stock has been replenished. There are not as many items as previously, due to the dreaded C19 and other challenges suppliers have faced. The supply is also more limited than in previous years.

Prices and keyholder information will be made available at the allotments and the Secretary will email out to plotholders soon.

Purchases can be made from Saturday 13th March.

Happy Growing

Mel

Anyone Missing a Greenhouse ?

Hello 

Hope you are all enjoying a bit of February sunshine!

In the winds of the last couple of weeks a greenhouse has made it onto the plot next to mine 13b

Please send a message via the contact section if it belongs to you.

Many thanks

Mel

BLAHA Updates February 2021

 Hello Everyone

Hope you are all keeping safe and well. The Chair, Secretary and Treasurer wanted to spread a bit of positive cheer on the goings on at the allotments.

First up the tree work on Laburnum Road was completed Monday by our local tree-surgeon Keith Roberts.  Macc Town Council funded half the cost & the invoices were delivered to the Town Hall and to  BLAHA Treasurer, Debbie this week. 

We now have the planks we purchased for shed repair and shuttering of the dug-out spoil heaps on sale from the shed. Pricing will be displayed on the shed and our secretary Reg will arrange how payment is to be made.

Delivery of the usual stock of fertilizer, compost and gro-bags is expected next week on a date to be arranged. The Chair Ian will be looking for assistance to off-load the lorry when we have a firm date.

Lastly we hope with the improvement in the weather, the tenant farmer can scour out the blocked ditch on the field boundary  in the near future, thus easing our flooding problems. Once that is complete we can then get on with re-fencing the boundary.  Macc TC paid for the fencing and have offered us the assistance of the Town Rangers to erect it.  

Hope to see you all on our plots soon.

Mel

BLAHA Updates

Hello Everyone

Hope you are all keeping safe and well in these most unusual of times.

Ian, Reg Debbie and the Committee wanted to provide an update as to what is going on behind the scenes with our lovely plots.

Following the inspections by Macclesfield Town Council there are three main areas of work being undertaken:

Tree work on the Laburnum boundary ( Leylandai )

Fencing replacement on the field boundary by the pound roughly up to plot 20

Managing the drainage problems caused by the blocked ditch in the fields

The council offered us some funding to assist with costs and Ian has been getting quotes (they need three each for the tree work & fencing supplies. 

Lockdown is complicating the process in various ways. Tree work firms are extremely busy, as people use their time off work to get jobs done. The fence suppliers can't get the stock manufacturers are shut down etc, the suppliers are mostly themselves working from lockdown. However they do not let the public into the yards. 

The recent weather has exacerbated the drainage issue and four plots are completely under water. The below photo has been sent on to Macclesfield Town Council.

We will update you all again soonest with progress and don't forget your allotment fees are due at the end of the month 31st January 2021

BLAHA Waiting List Closed

Hello Everyone

Happy New Year to all on and from Byron's Lane Allotments. We hope you are all staying safe, healthy and well.

As a result of a huge increase in interest and demand during the pandemic, the Waiting List for a plot is now full. 

Regrettably the List is now closed until further notice.

We will update again when enquiries can once again be made.

Many thanks and kind regards

Reg Davenport, Secretary BLAHA