Minutes:
Councillor Owen advised that the Allotments Forum was very important as an effective method of communication, particularly for those individuals not on email or those sites without an association in place. He invited any practical suggestions to overcome this.
Councillor Lyons advised that they had two notice boards at different points on the Polsloe Road Allotment, including by the entrance gate. She advocated creating as many opportunities to display notices, possibly placing notices on individual sheds.
A representative from the Ashwood Road Allotment agreed that communication could be an issue and he had not been able to contact all of the allotment holders on his site. The former Allotments Manager had a record of all tenants, but that information was no longer available –he also suggested using a central letterbox, or letterboxes attached to sheds?
Councillor Bull advised that the Exeter City Council held a central list of tenants, and does want to facilitate greater engagement, but Roger Crane was unable to share its distribution with the 1500 allotment holders due to data protection constraints. It was also acknowledged that there would be allotments holders who do not want to be contacted. A representative from Ashwood Road Allotment requested a list of names and the plot numbers.
Action - Roger Crane agreed that being mindful and also following permitted Data Protection rules, he would investigate the circulation of a list of names and plot numbers for the Ashwood Road allotment.
A representative from the Cowick Lane Allotment made some suggestions to try and overcome the issue of consultation -
· creating a web site;
· collecting email addresses to produce an electronic round robin newsletter, including the option not to share contact details as required; and
· ensuring a point of contact for any allotment enquiries and field the enquiry via an email address or use the notice board.
A representative from the Hamlin Lane Allotment advised that often the priority was for allotment tenants to tend their allotment, but nevertheless, notice boards providing contact details were positioned at every entrance to their allotment. A representative from the Marypole Allotment agreed that forming an active association offered benefits to the site, but it was important not to exclude any tenants or make an all inclusive arrangement.
A representative from the Newman Road Allotment said that some tenants did not have email, but there was invariably a post box on the site. He acknowledged the freedom of information constraints, but suggested a list of names and plot numbers of each site be produced.
A representative from the Prince Charles Road Allotment enquired if the City Council could write to all allotment holders to obtain contact information at the same time as sending the rent request. Councillor Owen agreed that the City Council should communicate with the individual associations and he was aware that there were representative’s willing to communicate to every tenant on the site. If there was no association, the Member representative could communicate. He agreed that that it was preferable to make initial contact with every allotment holder. The tenant’s permission for their contact details, including email being shared, could be sought. Roger Crane advised that it was accepted that all new tenancy agreements would share the information with the association. There was an opportunity to opt out after October 2015.
Councillor Bull advised that the agenda and minutes of the Forum would be sent to the Forum’s delegates and also published on the Exeter City Council’s web site. Councillor Owen added that the Exeter Citizen would shortly be going on line and would be another opportunity for communication.
Attendees at the meeting were invited to add their email address to the attendance list for the meeting contact. This list would be passed to Roger Crane and James Sprague, but if the email addresses were shared then permission from the individual would have to be sought.