AGM 2025: Agenda + Minutes

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Dec 30, 2025
20 min read

Updated: Jan 21

FLAG AGM January 12th 2026 at 7.45pm, Six Bells Public House, 16-18 St Michael's St, St Albans AL3 4SH.

Membership and Treasurer report (see below), consider full accounts.
Consider Committee report (see below)
Consider Site Stewards report (see below)
Consider Tools & Maintenance Report (see below)
Consider Hedges for Wildlife Folly Lane Allotments (see below)
Election/Re-election of officers. Current members are willing to continue. Elected officers roles to commence at expiration of current meeting.
- Kevin Withers - Chairman,
- Richard Cloutman - Treasurer and Membership,
- Nigel Gale - Site Steward, Ann Rogers Site Steward, Fiona Carey Site Steward,
- Tim Leicester - STAKE and Council Liaison,
- Brian Songhurst - Tool Maintenance and Compost bins,
- Liz Leicester - Wildlife,
- Malcolm Hull - Hedging.
Review last committee meeting action plan (see below).
Creation of a Liaison Officer post with the Housing Associations to enable discussions on impacting issues between the two.
Consider need for security camera near main gate.
Discuss frequency, timings and organisation of the Tree Management working parties and the sharing of the resource with the Hedges for Wildlife working parties.
Discuss any tools or items that may be needed to improve the allotments.
Discussion on need &/or best ways to share how to manage various allotment jobs on a plot (see supporting document).
Discuss the potential creation of new plots for the site.
Discussion and vote on upsizing a persons plot size to a maximum of 1 plot if the existing one has been well managed.
Discussion on encouraging plot holders to have their own compost heaps so that the need for communal composting areas and topsoil mounds is reduced.

Membership and Treasurer’s report.

Membership numbers continue to grow. At the end of 2025 we had 81 fully paid-up members occupying 87 plots compared to 78 members and 83 plots for 2024. Ten plots currently do not pay a sub although for two we have no tenant’s details. Six new plot holders started during the autumn so their first year of membership will extend until December 2026.

Our finances continue to provide us with sufficient funds to invest in new equipment for members’ use. A healthy balance of £944 was carried over from 2024. Major items of expenditure this year have been for a new strimmer, web-site hosting fees (3 years paid for at a reduced rate) and NAS membership fees (including individual insurance).

It is worth noting that NAS have upgraded their on-line membership management tools this year which now means we have far greater control of the payments required for individual insurance, particularly when new members join FLAG during the year.

The year ended with £963 in the kitty.

Committee Report on activities in 2025

JAM (Joint Allotment Meetings with Council & other St Albans allotments sites) - There continues to be pressure to increase allotment rent. The council part funds the costs of running allotments. This amount is decreasing via scheduled rent increases above inflation combined with the effect of us challenging & reducing the agreed costs the council incur in managing the sites e.g. grass cutting by O’Connors.

The plot waiting list is 49 (verses 92 plots). Overall, this mirrors the St Albans picture with the (slowly decreasing) waiting list being about half as large as the total number of pl

Bottom Gates – Following a car crash, we took this matter up with the council. The gates are too narrow & are problematic if trying to enter the site from the Redbourn (or garage) end. The gates are a legacy structure & not needed. Potentially their narrowness could cause a highways incident. Phil Bruce-Green has confirmed he will take this matter up with the highways authority.

Missing footpath for Oysterfield residents – The absence of a footpath & the Health & Safety issues of Oysterfield’s residents using the same track as cars to walk on was flagged. This is particularly an issue for push chairs & prams. Phil Bruce-Green confirmed he will look to see if there could be a resolution to this issue.

Metal Bay – A bay for metal that can be recycled has been created at the garage end. One pick up took place during the year.

Bonfires - We have had two site fires to deal with items in the wood compost bay. On the first occasion, despite notifying neighbours a bonfire would occur that day, the council received a complaint. Moving forward ideally we need to reduce the need for bonfires by chipping wood or other solutions to cut down on environmental pollution.

Rubbish – A pile of rubbish in bags appeared near the garage end. We don’t know where this came from. This pile is getting bigger through working parties managing the hedges & clearing rubbish there (the Housing Association have been spoken with about this). The pile is also getting larger due to individuals clearing plots.

The council have agreed a Community Service Orders Team will carry out tasks for FLAG over 3 days. This includes clearing rubbish scattered around the site. Phil Bruce Green will then arrange for O’Connors to remove all rubbish. FLAG committee members will be on-site to ensure the documented plan for them is adhered to. The first of these working parties in December was cancelled as the ground was too boggy for the support van to use the site.

Leylandii – The Leylandii near the club house shed are creating shade for a number of plots resulting in problems growing produce. The roots are also an issue, as is the shedding of small material on cars. There is also a potential hazard if the trees blow over onto a car or person. Phil Bruce Green has agreed to reduce the plot rental on the plot affected the worst. He is also going to ask the Legal Department to write to the house owners about this issue. Legally however we have been advised nothing can be done about the Leylandii.

Hedges for Wildlife – A plan for the allotment in respect of wildlife has been prepared by Malcolm & is on the FLAG web site. Malcolm & Liz will update everyone periodically concerning this & arrange working parties to work to the plan. A separate update to the report by Malcolm & Liz has been prepared with this AGM pack.

Wildlife Site Surveys – Eight site surveys (e.g. Insects, spiders & fungi, Birds, etc) have been carried out through the hard work of Liz Leicester. She will issue reports on various wildlife subjects & this will include publication on the FLAG web site.

Tree Strategy - A tree site review has been completed. The aim is to ensure plot holders are able to use plots for growing fruit & vegetables without issues caused by tree roots & shade. The aim will be to balance this with the needs of birds & other wildlife. Generally, it’s expected fruit trees will be on plots, but non fruit trees will be restricted to the borders for wildlife as detailed in Malcolms report.

A tree map has been circulated to FLAG members, the council & is on the FLAG web site. Comments received have been used to amend the aims above to plot holders specific wishes. The council have agreed the plan & agreed to remove 6 large trees on the site borders. There are 35 trees we plan on tackling.

Ann has agreed to take our efforts forward via working parties. These will need to take place before bird nesting season. Everyone’s help would be appreciated to ensure we take this management of our site forward. Individuals who wish to act on the site plan to remove small manageable trees such as the numerous Hazel planted by the squirrels are welcome. We may have to employ a contractor if any tree is not on the council's list which we can’t manage.

The logs created by the council contractors & our working parties will be stacked to dry for use by those involved in the working parties. The branches will be put onto a general pile for contractors to shred thus providing chippings which everyone can use.

Water Butts - These have been checked at tap locations & a map of these is on the FLAG web site. One stand pipe has no butt & FLAG will purchase one for that site. 2 other stand pipes have smallish butts & if we can purchase a butt of a larger size that is cost effective we will precure & replace what is there.

Parking area at Garage end - In winter this becomes very muddy as we have no hard standing. This issue prevents some users working their plots as they do not want to drive cars to the allotment with their tools in. It’s also a Health & safety issue as people could slip over. We have investigated creating hard standing, but we do not have funds for this. One potential partial solution is to move the compost bins back to create an additional area that cars could use as at the moment all traffic is concentrated in a small area. Currently we are exploring this partial solution further.

Site Steward's Report

The Site Steward role is to show potential plot holders around and help them settle in. Currently the post is shared by two FLAG members; Ann Rogers [plot15W] and Fiona Carey [plot 29W]. Please get in touch to let us know what is going on around the site or let us know about problems or issues.

During 2025, we gained 14 new plot holders so a very warm welcome to all of them. Of these 11 have joined FLAG.

Tools & Maintenance Report

We sold two old strimmers and put the money towards purchasing a second new Maruyama strimmer. We now have two new strimmers which users are finding excellent – both light and powerful. Our two mowers are quite new and in excellent condition. Please always remember to use the correct fuel – green cans premium grade petrol for the mowers and Aspen 2-Stoke for the strimmers.

Thank you for using the machines carefully. Only regular maintenance required this year – all spark plugs changed and the oil changed in the mowers. No oil change for the strimmers as they are 2-stroke engines.

Some taps were replaced. Double outlets were also fitted to some taps to assist with watering during the dry weather where there are several users per tap.

There was general maintenance and repair to both the town end and garage end compost bays. Surplus wood was burnt and neighbouring properties always advised beforehand.

Hedges for Wildlife – Folly Lane Allotments

2025 has been a busy year. Many thanks to all the volunteers who attended hedge working parties (Malcolm) and wildlife surveys (Liz).

Together we have;

Removed the Russian Vine from the garage gate entrance and dug out the roots
Reduced the adjoining Blackthorn Hedge
Pollarded a further section of hazel along the Oysterfields fence
Picked out the litter from the hedges as they were pollarded.
Turned the cut material into a supply of firewood and poles for allotment use.
Agreed the hedge management strategy with the council and published it on the FLAG website Hedges for Wildlife at Folly Lane
Organised and completed eight wildlife surveys plus Malcolm’s ongoing butterfly survey. A report of the surveys will be published on the FLAG website in January 2026. These carried out or in progress are:-

Birds

Amphibians

Bat survey using detectors

Insects and spiders x 2

Ladybirds June /July/August by the allotmenteers

Butterflies continuing by Malcolm Hull

Moths

Fungi

Maintained ponds and flower patch at the town end.

In the year ahead we plan to;

Plant a new hedge by the garage gate and create a wildflower area on the bank
Carry out further hedge management along the Oysterfields fence
Manage vegetation behind the garage gate compost area
Carry out further wildlife surveys, the first is a bird survey on 24th January 2026 at 7.30-8.30am
Dig the delayed pond above plot 51N and create a bee bank and hibernaculum with the spoil

Dates and details for working parties will be circulated in the new year.

Action	Who	When
1) Upload the revised document “Hedges for wildlife” onto the FLAG web site	RC	Dec 25
2) Book room at the Six Bells on a Monday/Friday in Jan 2026 for the AGM.	BS	Dec 25
3) Create wording for AGM communication & put on the FLAG web site & issue comms in advance to advertise to the members.	RC/BS	Dec 25
4) Speak to Phil Bruce-Green re Leylandii issue re developments since the summer meeting on the issue if no reply has been received to Kevin’s e-mail.	TL	Dec 25
5) Give FLAG members one month’s notice by email & through WhatsApp of the intention to work to the tree surveys findings unless there were any written objections to any particular item on the plan and to encourage on the comms members to take ownership and actions to remove trees on or adjacent to their plot where practical following the months notice.	TL	7/10/25
6) Put a copy of the tree and water standpipe butts plan on the FLAG web site	RC	7/10/25
7) Co-ordinate work on the tree plan survey’s findings including liaising with Nigel on publishing an order for dealing with the trees by species and consulting the council re tree preservation orders and any fundings and establishing working parties.	AR	7/11/25
8) Arrange site visit by Phil Bruce Green - discuss issues including tree proposals, Leylandii, footpath for Oysterfields residents, rubbish removal, bottom gate, & c/f O’Connors heavy machinery issues reminder & potential return of probation working party to clear rubbish from communal areas and plots to be re-let.	TL	ASAP
9) c/f Permanent metal recycling area to be created and metal removed when reaches suitable level	RC/BS	Dec 25
10) Purchase water butt for standpipe with no butt	TL	Dec 25
11) Paint FLAG on the water butt when purchased	KW	Dec 25
12) Cover wood & co-ordinate working party to burn wood in suggested area to allotment rules for 21October	BS	ASAP
13) Remove Russian Vine & diseased birch (working parties)	MH	Ongoing
14) c/f Move compost bins back through Jim’s voluntary help. Then consider any next steps to assist on parking issues in winter	RC/KW	Sept 25
15) Put out a communication about local government re-organisation and the need to voice your opinion.	AR	ASAP
16) Send to the committee e mail sent to Phil B.G. re Leylandii	KW	ASAP

Flag Minutes for AGM

Present:

Kevin Withers (Chair), Richard Cloutman (Treas), Ann Rogers & Fiona Carey (Site Stewards), Malcolm Hull (Hedging for Wildlife), Brian Songhurst (Maintenance & Compost Bins), & Following Members, Sohan Bissoonanth, Chris Moss, Joe Mellen, John Nash, Barry Cropper, Liz & Rob (attended part of meeting).

Apologies:

Tim Leicester (FLAG Council Liaison), Liz Leicester (Wildlife) & Following Members Panos Parissis, Julia Wallace, Malachy Pakenham, Guy Marshall, Juliet Voisey, Jonathan Eddie, Angela Brimmer.

Overview & preamble – Kevin thanked the team for the actions taken over the year & commented there had been substantial changes made to the site as a result of everyone’s hard work. The change from one meeting a year to 3 had been beneficial & enabled items to be moved forward more quickly & this approach would continue in 2026 as we aim to further improve the site for all.

Agenda Item 1 Members & Treasurers Report – Kevin commented funds looked strong. It was noted year on year the income was increasing as a result of the division of plots, more plots generally meant more subscriptions. After this years re-occurring expenses, we would have a net increase of approximately £500.00 to funds before we made payment for one off items.

Agenda Item 2 Committee Report – Kevin advised that since the report was issued, he could provide an update on the last item. Mick, Richard, Tim & he had cut down branches that were overhanging the compost area & this had enabled Jim to use his digger to flatten the old compost heaps that had been littered with rubbish & move the soil towards the hedge boundary. Half of the intended work has been completed & generated the following:-

2 piles of branches for shredding
A pile of old logs for fires/Log burners
A pile of logs that need drying
Metal moved to the metal bin
Rubbish pile added to with plenty of carpets & some plastic & other items. These to be cleared via the council after the probation working party have cleared the rest of the site of rubbish. Action point 1.

Malcolm asked if the remaining soil could not be moved so far back as he wanted to lay a hedge on the boundary. Action point 2.

Kevin advised he’d spoken with various members of the team about their ideas regarding how to re-organise the area. Putting the proposals together the idea is:-

Dead hedge sorted between material for chipping & that to be moved & burnt. The area then to become parking spaces. This ensures cars stay as close to the entrance as possible, keeping the muddy area needed to be traversed to a minimum. Action point 3 &4 . That area then to be covered in chippings to stop the growth of vegetation. At next AGM consider if we need some alternative covering if the area gets muddy. Action points 5 & 6.
The leaf area to house wood chippings & the leaves moved to the wood chipping site. The reason this move is proposed is vans with wood chippings will not currently visit the site in winter as they are concerned their vans will get stuck in the mud. This change gives us the highest possibility vans will dump wood chip for us in the winter. Action point 7
The wood chippings area to hold leaves delivered by O’Connors. They have a large trailer & tractor which churns the ground as they position the trailer. Siting the leaves in this area cuts down on the amount of positioning the vehicles need to use.
Newly constructed compost, wood & metal bins to be moved to the top of this area where it’s the narrowest & to be moved back as far as possible to the hedge so there is room for cars to pass. The wood compost bin to be split in two with one for wood containing nails etc or is rotten or has roots & the other bin for wood for shredding & the split when in place to be communicated to allotmenteers. Action Point 8 & 9.
The area behind the existing compost bins to be cleared later this year when the old existing bins contents are reduced sufficiently.
The remaining soil heaps mixed with carpet & rubbish to be levelled with Jims help & the detritus sorted by an allotment team Action Point 10
The two piles of branches to be chipped & temporarily held where the second bonfire was held last year. A tree surgeon has quoted £400.00 to take 2 trees down & chip all of that material plus all the branches taken down by the working party & this should create a very large pile of wood chippings plus logs for all to use. He has agreed to carry this work out on Saturday 7th February with an 8:30 start. We will need help in moving the branches to his chipper Action Point 11.
Further chippings when delivered to be dumped in the old leaves area.

These proposals were put to the meeting & all agreed they seemed logical & sensible.

Agenda Item 3 Site Stewards Report – There was a discussion about new tenants. The waiting list is now under 50. Fiona & Ann will get in touch with new tenants to check how they are doing. Action Point 12.

Agenda Item 4 Tools & Maintenance Report – Kevin thanked Brian for the report & commented that the splitters on the standpipes had particularly been well received by allotmenteers. Brian advised as we had newish machines in the shed, maintenance this year should be at a minimum.

Agenda Item 5 Hedges for Wildlife Folly Lane Allotments – Kevin asked if Liz’s wildlife reports could be added individually to the FLAG web site as particular topics might interest people looking at the site. Action Point 13

Agenda Item 6 Election/re-election of Officers – All stood for re-election except Nigel Gale & were re-elected.

Agenda Item 7 Review of last Committee Action Plan

Item 1 – Richard confirmed the “Hedges for Wildlife “document had been uploaded to the web site.
Item 2 – The six Bells had been booked for the AGM
Item 3 – The AGM had been advertised to members by e-mail & Whatsapp
Item 4 – Phil Bruce Green had been spoken to re the Leylandii issue & further follow ups are planned. Action Point 14
Item 5 - Tim advised by e-mail to the meeting that FLAG members had been given one month’s notice by email & through WhatsApp of the intention to work to the tree surveys findings unless there were any written objections to any particular item on the plan & to encourage on the comms members to take ownership & actions to remove trees on or adjacent to their plot where practical following the month’s notice. Tim had also advised that the plan had been updated with peoples wishes.
Item 6 - Richard confirmed the tree & water stand pipe butts plan were added to the web site. John & Liz advised they had trees on their plots they would like on the plan. They were advised to e-mail Tim how they wanted them added & dealt with on the plan.
Item 7 - Ann advised she was now in the process of putting together working party dates and a plan for dealing with the trees. Action Point 15.
Item 8 - Arrange site visit by Phil Bruce Green - discuss issues including tree proposals, Leylandii, footpath for Oysterfields residents, rubbish removal, bottom gate, & c/f O’Connors heavy machinery issues reminder & potential return of probation working party to clear rubbish from communal areas & plots to be re-let. Tim advised by e-mail in advance of the meeting this had taken place. It was noted that all the tree proposals had been accepted. The council had also agreed for certain trees on the border to be dealt with by them & they would arrange a contractor to take them down. It was noted all these items needed following up. Action Point 16.
Item 9 – A metal recycling area had been created by Richard & Brian.
Item 10 – Tim asked by e-mail for the purchase of a water butt for the one missing under a standpipe to be carried forward. Action Point 17 c/f
Item 11 – Kevin asked for the painting of FLAG on the water butt to be carried forward until such time as the butt was purchased Action Point 18 c/f
Item 12 – The wood had been covered & a bonfire had taken place as planned.
Item 13 – Malcolm confirmed the Russian Vine had been removed via the planned working parties. Further work would be carried out in this area over the year Action Point 19.
Item 14 – Kevin confirmed the moving of compost bins & the parking issues were being addressed as in the update to the committee report above.
Item 15 – It was noted Tim had put out a communication on local government re-organisation. The meeting discussed what further steps would be beneficial. It was suggested that Nigel be approached for a suitable communication what needed saying. Action Point 20
Item 16 – Kevin confirmed he send a copy to the committee of the e-mail he sent to Phil Bruce-Green concerning the Leylandii

Agenda Item 8 – Creation of a Liaison Officer Post with the Housing Association – Kevin advised he had received communication from Mick Worsdale in advance of the meeting expressing a desire to take this post on. He advised Mick was in a good position to take the post, as his plot bordered the Housing Associations properties. In addition, he lived in a Housing Association property & knew of some of the key players on the site. All agreed Mick seemed a good individual to take up the post. Malcolm advised he had some information he would forward onto Kevin to pass onto Mick. Kevin advised he would pass on matters that Mick could take up on behalf of the allotment. Action Point 21 & 22.

Agenda Item 9 – Consider need for Security Camera near Main Gate – It was pointed out that there have been break ins (although the main gate may not have been used for access), & also the rubbish pile that first appeared maybe someone dumping waste at our site. The up & downsides of a security camera were discussed. This included costs, whether the police could use the information legally, who would service them & existing experiences of their use. It was pointed out even the cameras could became a target & also if there was an incident, identifying where it sat within the camera film was a big job. Brian advised he would look at what’s available including dummy cameras & report back Action Point 23.

Agenda Item 10 - Discuss frequency, timings & organisation of the Tree Management working parties & the sharing of the resource with the Hedges for Wildlife working parties – It was agreed that work on the hedges would re-commence via working parties in the autumn & the working parties arranged until then would concentrate on tree removal per action point 15 above.

Agenda Item 11 – Discuss tools that may be needed to improve the allotments – 2 items were discussed. The first was the purchase of a petrol shredder. This was now needed due to the material created by the hedging working parties’ maintenance of the borders. In addition, there were pruning’s from plots & it was no longer desirable to have large fires to burn waste as this is not good for the environment. Additionally, wood chippings could be used by plot holders as a mulch etc. Brian advised he had carried out research & as a guide to the best machine to use he looked at what hire centres lent. A good second hand machine would cost around £600.00. The cost of hire for a 7 day period including the transport to site was around £200.00. The discussion were around whether to buy or hire in future. The considerations raised were as follows:-

Cost, cheaper to hire, but hire costs would increase over time.
If purchased now, we would not have much funds left in the kitty & therefore better to put money to one side & purchase next year.
Maintenance costs if we were to buy, although should be low initially if we purchased a good second-hand machine.
If hired we would only have the machine for 7 days as opposed to throughout the year. Wood to shred from allotment holders & hedge working party was likely to appear at various times of the year.
We had no experience of whether the machine would be a good purchase for the allotment site as no site member had ever used it.
If we purchased a machine we would have to restrict usage to prevent accidents & to ensure it was used properly to prevent breakage e.g. putting roots through with the soil they carry would damage the blade.
If purchased we would have to ensure there was space in the shed & because of its value we would have to ensure its well secured in the shed via an additional chain & lock to prevent it being stolen.

It was decided to hire a machine later in the year to see how useful it was to potentially make a purchase the following year. Action Point 24

Whether we needed to purchase a more robust lock for the shed was discussed. Previously a more bespoke lock had been purchased, but there had then been issues in procuring new keys when they had been lost. It was advised there had been an attempted break in, but they could not get past the existing lock & had tried to remove the corrugated panelling as a result, but without success. In view of this the meeting felt that a new lock purchase was not currently necessary.

Agenda Point 12 -Discussion on need & / or best ways to share how to manage various allotment jobs on a plot – All agreed Tim’s STAKE sessions had been useful & that it would be beneficial to repeat them. Action Point 25

Agenda Point 13 – Discussion around creation of new plots for the site – With the work around the compost bay area & the work Mick was carrying out at the top end of the site there was potential to create new plots. These may be half or quarter plots. It was decided no action should be taken at present & we could review further at the next meeting Action Point 26.

Agenda Point 14 - Discussion & vote on upsizing a person’s plot size to a maximum of 1 plot if the existing one has been well managed – A long discussion took place on this point with various views made. These included:

was it fair on those on the waiting list,
the waiting list was now short,
would Council rep agree to a site trialling this idea,
what exactly were the proposed change mechanism,
should the person give up their plot or wait to extend theirs when land was available,
not many people wanted this facility.

At the end of the discussion a vote of hands took place & the majority voted no change.

Action Point 15 -Discussion on encouraging plot holders to have their own compost heaps so that composting areas & topsoil mounds are reduced – All agreed it was beneficial for plot holders to have their own compost bins on their plots. We discussed the compost bins. Brian mentioned at the bottom end, there is not much soil being taken & it was very full. At the garage end we have 2 compost bins with soil ready for use. One was ready this year & the other from the previous year & it’s still holding a lot of soil. It’s important we try to prevent new mounds of soil be created & it was pointed out that plot holders who move weeds with soil on to the compost bins are clearing their plots of their best soil being top soil. Richard advised he will discuss with Tim the best way to address this issue Action Point 27.

Ann said to help, she is not going to carry out an Aylett’s compost order this year as there is plenty in the compost bins. She will put out a communication to plot holders advising there will be no order from Aylett’s this year with the reason why this is not happening Action Point 28.

AOB – We discussed having a barbecue this year as there was not one in 2025 & this is a good forum for new members to socialise. Kevin advised if we were to have one, someone needed to take ownership to move it forward. Chris Moss advised he was happy to take this forward Action Point 29.

Richard asked if anyone could take over the web site operation and development. No one had the expertise at the meeting so he will e-mail/WhatsApp the membership asking for volunteers Action Point 30.

End

Action Plan January 2026

end of documentation