Kendal Town Cumbria - Allotments

Allotments

Mike Shaw, Kendal Town Council Handyman
Mike's working week is Monday to Friday and can be contacted via the office. The Town Handyman's work is split mainly between Allotments, Kendal in Bloom and Christmas Lights. Mike will visit the allotment sites on a regular basis to update the office administrator of any plots not being worked, any repairs that need carying out, strimming grass pathways and showing new tenats vacant plots.
Manure Supplies
A supplier at Oxenholme Farm leaves out bags of free horse manure outside the premises for collection. Look out for the Horse Stables sign.

Best Allotment Site 2012
3rd place Wattsfield
2nd place - Castle Drive
1st place - Sedbergh Road

Waiting list
The demand for allotments in Kendal has reduced with a current waiting list of 53 people. The average waiting time is aproximately 12 months to 2 years depending on the site as some sites have a greater turnaround than others. There is currently no names on the list for Underely Road, Underley Hill, Natland Road, Sedbergh Road and Rinkfield sites and may be an option for anyone waiting for Shaws Brow, Coley Barn, Greenside or Canal Head to consider.

Each site has an individual waiting list. When a plot becomes vacant, an offer letter is sent to the person at the top of that particular sites waiting list. To speed up the process, when no response to the offer is made within 7 days by the individual, the next person on the list will be offered the plot. When 3 offers of plots have been made to an individual but no response has been made then the individual will be taken off the waiting list for that particular site.

It is advisable to inform the administrator of any changes to address and contact details otherwise you may miss out on an allotment. Click here to print an allotment request form and a site map showing where the sites are situated.
Allotment Plots
The Town Council is responsible for managing 472 allotment plots across 17 sties within Kendal. The sites are named

Aynam Road	3 plots
Canal Head	21 plots
Castle Drive	9 plots
Castle Haggs	34 plots
Castle Haggs Ext	47 plots
Coley Barn	46 plots
Crow Tree	21 plots
Greenside	41 plots
Natland Road	19 plots
Rinkfield	31 plots
Sandylands	23 plots
Sedbergh Road	40 plots
Shaws Brow	19 plots
Town View	14 plots
Underley Hill	24 plots
Underley Road	37 plots
Wattsfield	43 plots

News, Notices and Information for Allotment Tenants
Training Courses - Growing Well are running a series of Horticulture Courses at their base at Low Sizergh Farm. Click here for more details.

Letters are sent to tenants who are not working their plots to ask them to take steps to tidy up and use the plot otherwise they are in breach of the tenancy agreement and notice will be given to terminate the plot. sedbergh road allotments

Any tennants who are struggling to work the allotment plots could think about splitting their plots in half resulting in a more manageable size to maintain and continue to enjoy the benefits of working an alloment. Is any allotment holders willing to share an allotment or allow someone waiting for a plot to help and gain experience in allotmenteering?

Any tennant wishing to do this, please contact the office on 01539 797597 or email allotments@kendaltowncouncil .gov.uk

Allotment Rent Allotment rent received from tennants is used towards the cost of administration, the services of the handyman, water bills, repairs and renewing of fencing and boundary walls, pest control and tree cutting. The Income received in 2012 was £20,000 and the best estimate of expenditure to run the Allotments was £26,000. The projected expenditure for 2013/2014 is not anticipated to be vastly different.

Rent has been calculated at 0.33 p per m2 which is an increase of 5% in line with inflation for 2013 .

Click here for a sample copy of the Amended Tenancy Agreement.

For any tenant experiencing problems with rabbits, there is an effective solution available from garden centres and hardware stores. GRAZERS Animal Deterrent is a spray on animal deterrent. It's perfect for use on your allotment or vegetable patch if your plants regularly come under attack from rabbits and pigeons. It works by making the foliage unpalatable to most grazing animals. Harmless to humans and pets, it also contains trace elements that will actually help heal damaged plants. A 250 ml bottle costs around £13.95.

Does any allotment tenants have seedlings, plants, fruit canes and bushes to spare? The Lads and Girls Club on Beezon Fields, Sandes Avenue, Kendal have been busy planning, designing and creating a community garden where the young people can learn how to grow vegtables, herbs and fruit and produce jams, chutneys and fruit pies to sell and raise funds for the club. The juniors have set up a rota to water and look after the garden and have learned so much. Kendal Town Council are making a donation to the club so they can buy extra garden tools, tree guards and increase their plant stock with more established trees and shrubs. If any allotment tenant has any spare plants they could donate and/or is willing to give some time and advice on growing fruit and vegtables then please contact Lynn Richardson from Young Cumbria on 07709795276 or 07890657327 for more information or to arrange to visit their garden.

PLEASE NOTE THAT UNATTENDED WATERING USING SPRINKLERS ON ALLOTMENT SITES IS NOT PERMITTED. THE WATER TAPS ARE THERE FOR ALL TENANTS TO USE. KENDAL TOWN COUNCIL ASKS THAT WATER IS USED SPARINGLY AND TO INVEST IN A WATER CONTAINER TO CATCH FREE RAINFALL. TRY CROPPERS AT BURNESIDE WHO MAY STILL HAVE SOME WATER BUTTS AVAILABLE.

Allotments Annual General Meetings -
Thursday 23 February 2012 in the Assembly Room, Town Hall, Kendal. Click here to view the minutes taken at the meeting.

Thursday 17th February 2011. Click here to view the notes taken from the meeting. Click here to view the comments from those attending.

For people wanting alloments outside Kendal, contact your local Parish or Town Council.
Grange over Sands Town Council 015395 32375 Mr R N Cass This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Kirkby Lonsdale Town Council 01539 821596 Rev K M Price This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Ulverston - South Lakeland District Council 01539 733333