Meetings continue to be heldin the Old Star at 8pm on the second Monday of the month. They are very informal and all interested are welcome.
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There are 34 allotment gardens, each approximately 210 sq yds, on the site at the end of ‘Muddy Lane’ off Old Mill Lane. They can be rented on an annual basis from the parish council at a rental set each year. For 2012 this is £16.00.
New tenants are required to pay a bond of £25 which is normally refunded, without interest, at the end of the tenancy.
At the time of preparing this entry, there are no vacancies.
Applicants’ names will be added to the waiting list in order of receipt of requests which should be directed to the clerk.
AN AGREEMENT made this  day of …………..BETWEEN THE Parish Council of CLIFFORD in the County of WEST YORKSHIRE (hereinafter called the Council) of the one part and ……….. of ………… (hereinafter called the Tenant) of the other part.
WHEREBY IT IS AGREED THAT
1.   The Council shall let to the Tenant for him/her to hold as Tenant to the Council for year to year the Allotment being Allotment No. XX on the Council’s plan of the Allotments at Clifford aforesaid.
2.   The Tenant shall pay a)   yearly rent of an amount as determined from time to time by the Parish Council due on 1 January each calendar year and payment shall be due before 28 February in any one year b)   a bond, of an amount to be determined from time to time by the Parish Council, at the commencement of the tenancy; this bond to be returned, without interest, on the termination of the tenancy, subject to any deductions warranted under para. 8(i).
3.   The said tenancy may be terminated by a notice to quit expiring on the next Anniversary of the Agreement served by the Council within three months after the death of the Tenant.
4.   The said tenancy may be terminated by either part hereto serving upon the other three month’s notice in writing.
5.   The Tenant shall reside within the boundaries of the Parish of Clifford during the continuance of the said tenancy. For tenants residing in another Parish this shall be at the discretion of the Council, if warranted.
6.   The Tenant, during the said tenancy, shall:
i.   Keep the land in a clean, decent and good condition and properly cultivated and use the same for no other purpose than the production of vegetables, fruit crops or flowers for consumption by himself or his family and keep any pathway included in the allotment free from weeds and in good order and condition. ii.   Not keep upon the land any pigeons, hens, ducks, geese, turkeys or any other poultry, nor any cattle, sheep, goats, horses, ponies, asses, rabbits or any other animals. iii.   Not sublet or assign the said tenancy nor part with the possession of the land hereby agreed to be let to hire. iv.   Not erect any building on the said land without the written consent of the Council having first been received. One cold frame and one tool box and a garden seat not exceeding respectively twelve feet by four and not exceeding a height of eighteen inches above the ground level shall be permitted on the allotment garden.  (See footnote.) v.   Permit at all reasonable times any Member or Officer of the Council charged by the Council with such duty to enter upon and inspect the said land. vi.   Not without the written consent of the Council cut or prune any timber or other trees or take, sell or carry away any turf, mineral, gravel, sand or clay. vii.   Not use any barbed wire as a fence or part of a fence to the land on any side bordering on any highway or upon a path used by anyone other than the tenant, nor erect any fence of any description enclosing the allotment except such as may be permitted in writing by the Council. viii.   Observe and perform every other special condition which the Council consider necessary to preserve the allotment garden from deterioration.
ix.   Not cause any nuisance or annoyance to the occupier of any other allotment garden nor to the owners or occupiers of any neighbouring property nor obstruct nor encroach upon any path set out for the use of the occupiers of the allotment gardens. x.   Not plant any trees or shrubs so as to overhang or interfere with any other allotment garden, path or roadway. xi.   Maintain in decent order all fences upon the land and trim and keep in order all hedges growing thereon or forming any boundary thereto. xii.   Not upon any part of the Allotment garden ground light any fire such as to cause annoyance to any person or so as to do injury to any allotment garden or so to contravene Section 16 of the Clean Air Act, 1956, as it may affect the area in which the allotment is situated. xiii.   Indicate the number of his/her plot by a numbered peg or board not exceeding one foot square, placed in a prominent position on the allotment. xiv.   Not deposit or allow other people to deposit on the allotment any refuse or decaying matter (except manure and compost in such quantities as may be reasonably required for cultivation) or place any matter in the hedges, ditches or dykes situate on the allotment field of which the said allotment forms part or in the adjoining land.
7. All taxes and rates and other assessments due upon the land shall be duly paid by the Council.
8. If, in the opinion of the Parish Council, the tenant shall i.   be in breach of Clause 6(i) by reason of excessive weed growth, the Council may, after due notice, enter the said land to clear such weed growth, the cost to be a charge against the tenant’s bond. The Parish Council shall not be liable for any damage to plants or property of the tenant as the result of carrying out such work. ii.   have been in breach of any other of the terms of this Agreement for one month or longer then the Council may re-enter upon the said land and the said tenancy shall thereupon come to an end, but without prejudice to any rights or damages acquired thereunder by the Council and without prejudice to the right to recover any rent due and unpaid at the date of such re-entry.
9. The tenant recognises and accepts that the council has no responsibility for the safety of persons beyond the boundaries of the allotments site itself.
(Signed)............................................................................. Clerk to the Parish Council of Clifford
(Signed)............................................................................. Mr/Mrs/Miss/Dr The above described Tenant.
Date   ......................................................
Note re para. 6 (iv):Â
A copy of the rules for erection of a shed or greenhouse on the allotment is enclosed.
No building may be erected until an application form has been submitted to the clerk and permission granted.
These notes are intended to help anyone newly taking on an allotment and, in particular, where the plot has not received much attention for some time and needs clearing; this can be a daunting task unless it is approached in a planned way. Some plots are, of course, in a better state and will not need quite so much work. (Apologies to anyone who is an experienced gardener for whom these notes might be stating the obvious.)
Little and often are the three most important watchwords for working an allotment as, indeed, they are for gardening generally. Â
Taking things steadily is probably the next most important piece of advice.
Assuming it is covered with weed growth, you should avoid just putting a rotivator over it. This will merely chop up the roots of the perennial weeds and increase the number of potential weed plants immediately! Â
A better way is to wait until the weeds are beginning to show new growth and treat the plot with a glyphosate based weed killer e.g. Roundup which breaks down on contact with the soil. It works on green growth and has the advantage of being absorbed down into the roots. After six weeks, you should be able to rotivate without causing the trouble mentioned above. In some cases, if there is more pernicious weed such as bindweed around, you might have to repeat the process.
If you are intending to be a strict organic gardener, there are other ways of clearing the ground. These include laying sheets of black polythene over the ground held down with bricks etc. As an alternative, the Alternative Technology Centre in Machynlleth recommends laying down flattened corrugated cardboard boxes covered with manure. Such approaches kill the weeds by depriving them of light; in the second case, the cardboard and manure eventually rot down providing body and nourishment to the ground. The disadvantage is that some weeds e.g. convolvulus (bindweed) can remain alive as dormant roots for some time, even years.
Some crops such as potatoes are better for recently cleared land as the work needed to cultivate them e.g. earthing up, contributes to the clearing process. Other crops which are just left to get on with it e.g. onions are less useful for this.Â
The most important thing about land recently cleared in this way is to follow up with a little hoeing ( or some similar activity) often to avoid the weeds getting established again. If you miss out doing this, you will find that it will not be long before the weeds are as rampant as they were when you started. A few minutes work each Allotment notes for new tenants.docweek saves hours of work two months later.
If you use cleared land to grow common crops such as beans, position your plants far enough apart to allow you to hoe between them. Again, a little hoeing once a week will disturb and kill the weeds at the seedling stage and is particularly effective when the weather and soil are dry.
If the plot seems too large, do not despair: take it steadily. As a temporary measure, you can always cover part of it with black polythene, proprietary ‘weedstop’ material, some old vinyl or carpet i.e. anything to deprive the weed plants of light so that they don’t flourish. You can then concentrate on getting the rest into a decent condition up to the point when it only requires some hoeing little and often to keep things under control.  Then you can turn your attention to the part you have covered over.
The council hopes these notes will help you to plan your work and are intended to offer ways of making the task enjoyable rather than a chore. However, please do remember that you have signed an Agreement under which you accept an obligation to cultivate the plot to an acceptable standard. Aside from this commitment, your neighbours are entitled to expect that you don’t allow your plot to become overgrown with weed growth which seeds itself and spreads weeds onto their patch. Good luck.  Happy growing and eating.
Shed/Greenhouse Rules
RULES FOR THE ERECTION OF A SHED/GREENHOUSE ON AN ALLOTMENT - Download a copy
Clifford Parish Council (hereinafter called the Council) as landlord of the allotment shall allow the tenant permission to erect a shed and or a greenhouse in accordance with the following rules:
1)   Only one building of each type shall be permitted on each allotment. 2)   The position of the structure shall be agreed with the Council or its approved agent before erection. 3)   A greenhouse may not exceed 8ft x 12ft. No Poly tunnels are allowed. 4)   A shed may not exceed 6ft x 4ft, and shall be of timber construction only and stained either brown or green. 5)   No foundations requiring the excavation of footings may be constructed. 6)   The building/s must be kept by the tenant in a clean and tidy condition and in a good state of repair acceptable to the Council. All timber structures shall be stained treated within one calendar month of erection and at least once every third year during the continuance of the tenancy agreement. The tenant shall from time to time do all such things as may be reasonably necessary in the opinion of the Council to comply with this requirement, at the tenants own expense. 7)   The tenant shall not use the building/s for any purpose other than that of working their allotment and it shall not be used for any noisy, noxious, dangerous or offensive purpose which may become a cause of nuisance, annoyance or damage to the Council or their tenants or the owners or occupiers of adjoining land. 8)   When the tenancy ends, the tenant or their personal representative is responsible for the dismantling and removal of the building. 9)   The permission for the erection of the building can be transferred to a successor tenant by mutual agreement between the outgoing tenant, the incoming tenant and the Council. 10)   The Council shall not be liable for any injury, loss or damage occasioned to the said buildings, nor for any loss or damage to any tools or other property placed or kept in the building/s by the tenant. 11)   If a tenant holds two or more allotment tenancies with the Council the aggregation of the allowance to provide a larger structure on one only of the allotments is strictly prohibited. 12)   These rules form an extension of para. 6(iv) of the tenancy agreement relating to the need for permission to erect buildings. Any breach of these rules is subject to the provisions of para. 8(ii) providing for the ending of the tenancy.
Allotments