December 2025 General Meeting Minutes, Slides & 2025 Tenant Survey Results

A Happy New Year to all our Blog Readers. It’s been a while since we last posted, so here is a bit of a catch-up…

December General meeting – 15th December 2025

As we did not have a designated speaker, we had an update meeting along with some seasonal Mulled Wine/Mince Pies. Please click on the images below to obtain a copy of the Meeting Minutes and Slides.

There was a question raised at the meeting about the use of Paving Slabs on plots under a list of items in the cover letter for the 2026 rent renewal. We have sought clarification and Paving Slabs will still be able to be used, however all tenants must request permission from the Council before they are laid. Please be aware, paving slabs CANNOT be laid on any kind of concrete/mortar base.

Tenants Survey from 2025

Click on the image below to obtain your own copy of the WTC Tenant Survey that was carried out in 2025. Apologies for the late delivery of these, there was a delay in it moving through the Council and getting it in a sendable format from the Council.

Vacant plots

With a number of tenants receiving termination notices and a number of long term tenants leaving the site, we now have 37 vacant plots for occupation from the waiting list. We are currently in the process of clearing a number of these (in some cases of rubbish left by previous tenants) and covering with weed suppression material. All the plots will be marked with Red topped stakes to redefine them as part of the Councils/Committees long term plan to remark all plots on the site to re-establish accurate boundaries.

That’s it for now. We will be issuing a few more updates over the coming weeks.

Many thanks &
Kind regards

Mike McNamara
Chair – WATA Committee

National Allotments Week & NAS Plot-holders Survey

A date for your diaries – National Allotments Week 2021 9th August till 15th August. This years theme in 2021 is ‘Plotting for the Future’; celebrating the contribution that allotments make to a sustainable future.

Also for those who filled in the NAS 2020 Plot-holders Survey, they have started to publish initial results, so far…

  • At the end of 2020 there were several news reports that women were taking over the plots – your answers told us that the ratio of men to women is now 53/47% with some regional variations- this matched up with our Members Survey.
  • It was also heartening to see how many people – 52% were using gardening practices that reduced chemical use and supported bio-diversity.
  • 53% of respondents gardened with a family member or friend and for 11% of you good mental health was the most significant benefit that you got from your plot.
  • The answers to the questions about gardening know-how highlighted the importance of personalised info – friends and other plot-holders were the most popular source of knowledge and 32% of you would have appreciated a mentor or gardening buddy when you first started growing.

    More to follow as they publish more data.