May progress

                                                  Busy couple of weekends at the allotment.

The raised beds are beginning to take shape

Hannah planted the Woodland Trust trees along the fence line

Lovely weekend for hard work!

Spring is here!

Last week we received our signed licence for the allotment. This means that the land is used on 'loan' from the council for the use of the community allotment project for the next 3 years, with a view to extend for a further period of time if the project is deemed successful. It was also a requirement of Leicestershire County Council that they have a copy of this licence in order for us the project to receive the grant from the 'Big Society' fund. Not having this has been holding us up, but we have now received part of the grant and this has enabled us to purchase the security fence.

Unfortunately upon arriving at the allotment this morning to meet with the fencing contractors we found that someone had pulled out the underground drainage pipe leaving us with another job to redo, so hopefully with this fence installed it will mean we have seen the last of the vandalism.

The fence is set back a little way from the main path in the park so it isn't too invasive but we plan to plant the Woodland Trust shrubs that were donated along the front of the fence to disguise it as much as possible. The site will be accessed with a code to enable members to come and go as little or as often as they like.

We are very grateful for the kind donation of tools and plants from Mr & Mrs Garton; the plants are currently boarding in our garden awaiting completion of their new home at the allotment. For those of us making the most of the good weather and clearing out sheds and garages, please bear us in mind if there are any spare tools no longer needed, they would be very much appreciated by the project.

Our next job is to create the raised beds. We hope to purchase and start fixing the boards in the next week or two and then begin on the path. Fingers crossed for more blue skies and sunshine in the coming weeks!

Winter update

It's winter time and we're using the bad weather as an excuse to get the paperwork organised for the allotment project. There have been delays from the council in getting the licence amended but we have been assured that this will be with us this week. The site is still waterlogged and it looks as though more work is going to have to be done on drainage before anything can continue. We have had a quote for more extensive works, but at £2000 we are more than likely going to have to gather some volunteers in the spring and dig a trench ourselves.

We have had several meetings, one with Voluntary Action Leicestershire who were very helpful in sourcing potential grants and explaining the best way to set up a committee for the group. The probation service are keen to be involved, and we are due to meet them at the weekend to discuss how we can work together.

We have had some trees kindly donated from the Woodland trust which we plan to use as hedging, but have currently taken up residence in our garden for fear of drowning them at the allotment!

Autumn approaches....

The past month has been a quiet one for the allotment site, but today we had some great news from the council. As a condition of the 'Big Society Grant' the project had secured, we had to have at least 5 years on the licence in order to have funds released. The council today let us know that this has been agreed and the new licence documents are on their way!

This is fabulous news as it now means that as soon as we have the grant funding we can purchase the security fencing, which was a big issue as we couldn't store anything on site or do any major works without it. The delay does however mean that Summer has almost been and gone without any real physical work being done, and we will now be working our socks off throughout the Autumn/Winter if we are going to hit our target of being ready for planting Spring 2014!

http://www.meltontimes.co.uk/news/community/community-news/melton-community-allotment-project-gets-cash-injection-1-5521699?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

It's worth mentioning the kind donations we have had from members of the public as a result of the Melton Times and 103 The Eye coverage of the project, we really appreciate all the tools and equipment people are finding in their sheds and garages for the allotment. We also have £50 worth of tools to collect from Countrywide Stores, which is a real help.

We're always looking for new people to be involved in the project, if you are part of a group that you think could benefit from using the site once it's up and running, or if you would like to volunteer your time please send us an email at communityallotmentmelton@gmail.com. We'd love to hear from you.

Work on the community bed

Whilst we are waiting for drainage to be completed, we decided to get to work on weeding the area where the main community bed is planned to go. This is the main area and will be run as a co operative. Hopefully it will be big enough for everyone to plant something but small enough to maintain.

Well earned break

There was plenty of wildlife on site this morning

Job done!

Update

Drainage work is (almost) complete now. As the site is at the bottom of a slope, any rainfall collects in patches and the ground becomes boggy very quickly. To counter this we are having French drains running across the site. So far the trenches have been dug, mill waste/gravel added ready for pipes to be laid and then covered over with more mill wase and soil. The idea is that the excess water will pass through the holes in the pipe, and then be carried away from the site. Hopefully, drainage will be further improved once the allotment is up and running and we actually have things growing!


Yesterday we were on 103 The Eye, Meltons local radio station, as part of their community focus morning and we're in regular contact with the Melton Times. We're really trying to make as many people in Melton aware of the allotment, obviously the project is nothing without the people there to use the site!

We are aiming to be there to provide growing space for groups and schools to use as a learning tool, and with the path and raised beds we now have funding for, we will be able to accommodate wheelchair users and pushchairs. We are also open to individuals, people that perhaps don't have the space to grow or have an interest in gardening and just want somewhere to go, grow and be part of the community.
If you'd like to be involved we'd love to hear from you.

Please contact us at communityallotmentmelton@gmail.com.

Community Forum night

Last night we went to our first Community Forum night to bid for funding for raised beds and a wheelchair path for the allotment. We managed to revise the amount we were asking for thanks to a last minute quote from Melton Building Supplies, who were able to quote for all the materials we would need for £1300 under our original budget!

There were 16 fantastic groups bidding for money towards their community projects. It was great to meet so many people, all passionate about their community groups, and it was obvious that a lot of the groups could work in partnership. The Scouts, Mencap and Young Melton were all keen to get involved with the allotment project, and it reinforced the need for a space where different groups and members of the community can socialise and work together.

We are very pleased to announce that we received enough votes for the funding we need, so work on the raised beds and path can begin soon!

If you would like to be involved or can help in any way with donations or time, please contact us at-communityallotmentmelton@gmail.com. 

Vanessa