Shepherds Hill Allotments

Lottery funding: SUCCESS!
 
We were delighted to receive news last week that our application for Lottery funding for the planned Community Space on plot 15 has been successful.  We have been awarded a grant of £9,845.00 to construct the new building.   Many thanks to Ian Potts, who led on the application, for all his hard work and vision.   The next steps are for an action plan to be drawn up for progressing the project, which we will share in the next newsletter, together with more information on how people can get involved and contribute ideas and practical help.  You can read the detail of our application to the National Lottery Community Fund on the Shepherds Hill website here.  The above sketch is an artist's impression of how our new Community Space could look! 
 
Slug control
 
From Spring 2020 slug killer containing metaldehyde will be banned in the UK for outdoor use. This is in response to growing concerns about the adverse effects on wildlife; creatures such as hedgehogs eating the pellets and/or eating slugs that have ingested metaldehyde. More info here.
 
Slug control containing ferric phosphate is recognised for use by organic growers. It works differently to metaldehyde with the slugs who ingest the pellets going underground to die. This can be misunderstood as the pellets not working as there are no visible corpses! The application rate is different too, so check the instructions on the packet.
 
We would like to encourage more tenants to switch sooner rather than later. If you have a part used container of metaldehyde slug pellets, bring it along to the Trading Shed where it can be exchanged for a tub of ‘Growing Success’ ferric phosphate slug control or a packet of ‘Vitax Slug Gone’ at a 50% discount. We will then dispose of the metaldehyde pellets responsibly. 
 
Tips on chemical free slug control can be found here.
 
Recycle your plastic pots
 
Sunshine Garden Centre have told us that they will take back black plastic trays holding plants and also black plastic pots for recycling. 
 
A reminder
 
We’ve had a few instances of soil and other bits and pieces being dumped on communal areas of the site.  Please remember to keep things on your own plot or remove completely from the site.
 
The future of the trading shed
 
As reported in the April newsletter, our Trading Shed Coordinator (Julia) and Trading Manager (Lynn) will both be standing down after the last delivery of the year in September/October.  We urgently need people to volunteer to take on the work Julia and Lynn have done for many years, otherwise the brilliant Trading Shed services we all benefit from will be at risk.  It may be that current roles can be re-jigged and shared so if you think you could be interested in contributing to the running of the Shed please do get in touch, either by emailing info@shepherdshillallotments.co.uk or by talking to the one of the volunteers in the trading shed on Sunday mornings.
 
Yours
Julie, Annie, Trevor, Julia, Juliet, Gary, Jill, Ian, Lynn (co-opted - Trading Shed Manager) and Nick (co-opted - Treasurer).
The Site Committee, June 2019

Name of project: Community Meeting Space

We are seeking funding for a Community Meeting Space at our Allotment site in north London.

This new Space will become the heart of our community – a place where plot holders and the wider community can meet, hold meetings, socialise, and learn about horticulture, sustainability and the environment. It will be a gathering point, a place of shelter and warmth, where tea can be made and our HQ when we hold our annual events such as the potato day, plants sales and harvest festival - all of which are open to the general public and local community.       

Our Association is run entirely by volunteers for the benefit of a wide range of people of all ages and ethnicity who want to grow their own vegetables to keep healthy and energetic.

We have been raising funds for a number of years and discussing the project with plot holders since the site became vacant.  We have held meetings with our community, discussed designs, obtained feedback on drawings and absorbed lots of their ideas. We see this as the start of something new and the allotment community will continue to be consulted and involved in developing the direction of the project as it progresses.

Plot holders have identified several key facilities they would like to see in the new building. They particularly want a kitchen area so that we can provide hot drinks every Sunday and have somewhere to prepare food for our community get-togethers.  They also want the building to have wheel chair access and be warm in winter.  They have also identified a wealth of experience and expertise within the allotment community, for example, on organic growing, bee keeping, and community food production, and want a dedicated meeting space in which to share such knowledge throughout the year.

Our project is to construct a new building to meet these identified needs. We will spend the grant on an 8x5metre steel structure that has been designed to our needs by a volunteer architect. The new building will sit on a specially laid concrete slab to make it safe and water tight. We will buy in specific building expertise, but our community will volunteer to carry out the rest of the work, including landscaping of the site to make the whole area around the building an integral part of the community hub.

Once construction is complete, volunteers will fit out the building, which will include the install of a kitchenette, connecting the mains water supply and fitting an environmentally compliant wood burning stove.  We have just been granted planning permission by Haringey Council for our new social space.