From Jo to Bev Yearwood

Dear Beverley

Thanks for pointing us in the right direction. John Casey has been very helpful to us. As far as we are aware, the hedges need to be cut using a vehicle. This is not possible on the allotment side, as there is no path and also there is a ditch. The hedge is high from this side and we didn't feel that it would be safe to try and cut manually with ladders etc.

Hope this helps
Jo Miller

Reply from Beverley Yearwood

Copied to:
Cllr.Mohammed.Rafique@leeds.gov.uk;
Jane.Dowson@leeds.gov.uk;
roger.harington@leeds.gov.uk;
Arif.Hussain@leeds.gov.uk
joannecmiller@hotmail.com;
simon.frosdick@leeds.gov.uk;
Anna.Turner@leeds.gov.uk

Sorry for the delay I have just returned from Annual leave

Simon - I am unaware of there been any issues with access and works stopping due to the closure of the ginnel, Can u liase with John Casey about getting the hedges cut back as soon as possible , surely we can access from the allotment side. The allotment owners were very supportive in the crack house closure of the ginnel , so if there is anything we can or I can do please let me know

Please advise

Beverley Yearwood

Reply from Cllr Jane Dowson

Dear Joanne,

I have passed your enquiry on to the Alley officer for Leeds NE Inner Area although i have a feeling you should really be contacting East Inner Management. She will be able to advise you on this.

I can empathise with you as getting hedges cut back is a real issue for all alleys and ginnels in our area too. I have also copied in Cllr Harington and Cllr Hussain who are the councillors for the area you are talking about.

Regards Jane

Dear Jane Dowson, Mohammed Rafique and Sharon Hamilton

Dear Jane Dowson, Mohammed Rafique and Sharon Hamilton,

I write to you on behalf of Tollbar Allotment Association. We have a problem which we cannot find an answer to and wondered if you could help. The Allotments are situated in Harehills Corner (the area betweenEasterly Road and Harehills Lane). There is a ginnel which runs along the South border of the allotments parallel to Hovingham Avenue. The Council is responsible for the maintenance of the hedges around the edge of the allotments and used to trim them using this ginnel as access. Unfortunately the ginnel was closed by police 2 years ago under 'crackhouse' legislation as there was some drug dealing taking place in the ginnel and nearby. Both ends are blocked off with no means of obtaining temporary access.

The Council (my contact is John Casey) have said that it is no longer therefore possible for them to trim the hedge as they have no vehicular access. Several of the plots are now in shade because the hedge is about 4 foot overgrown. It is not possible to gain vehicular access on the allotment side and it is too dangerous for plot holders to try and cut back the hedge themselves. As far as we are aware, there is no longer a drug dealing problem in that particular ginnel. I am under the impression, that nothing can be done to re-open the ginnel because of the legislation. Do you have any ideas?

Yours sincerely,
Jo Miller
(Secretary Toll Bar allotments)

G M Trial in Leeds!

Thought some people might be interested in this:

The University of Leeds has applied to Defra for consent to perform a deliberate release of a genetically modified organism for research and development purposes.

There will be a meeting about what action to take to prevent this taking place on WEDNESDAY 13TH FEBRUARY at 5.30pm at Leeds University in the Parkinson Building (home of the white clock tower) room B09. More info about the trial here. As this application hasn't been approved yet, now would seem to be the time to act, and make our voices heard against open GM field trials in the UK.

You can post or email your objections to this application via:
the GM TeamDepartment for Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs
Area 4D
Nobel House
17 Smith Square
London
SW1P 3JR

stating the application reference number, or to this email address gm-regulation@defra.gsi.gov.uk

Below you will find a sample email that you might wish to base your reply on (or if you're really lazy, just cut & paste!).

If you wish to object the application reference number to quote is 07-R31-01

Dear Sir / Madam,

RE: Application 07-R31-01

I am writing to express my objection to the application by Leeds University to carry out trials of genetically modified Desiree potatoes at Headley Hall Farm, on the grounds that:

- This trial is not in the interests of sustainable farming
- there is a high risk of contamination
- there is a question mark over the safety of inserting a Neomycin-reistant gene
- there are serious food safety issues in conducting this trial
- There is no demand for GM potatoes now or in the immediate future and therefore the trials represent an unnecessary risk to the environment and the integrity of the GM-free potato supplies in the UK.

Whilst I recognize that the potato cyst nematode is a serious problem for potato farmers, there remain alternative, safe and ecologically sustainable methods of minimizing crop losses; in the long run, the use of genetically modified crops may actually increase yield losses due to this and other pests.

Conventionally bred resistant varieties are already available which, if used in combination with long rotations and good hygiene, can minimize yield losses. It is unclear how the introduction of GM PCN repellant potatoes will fit in with other sustainability objectives for farming as they may lead to shorter rotations and thereby:

- increase the risk of soil erosion (the bare soil in potato crops is prone to water and wind erosion)
- increase the risks of other potato pests and diseases (which number 600 in the UK) with a possible increase in pesticide use
- reduce soil nutrients leading to increased use of artificial fertilizers.

I therefore urge you to reject this application.

Yours faithfully,
[your name & address]

Topics

As we add more posts to this site, with everything mixed up together and things disappearing off the bottom of the page, you can quickly find the things you want by clicking on the topic headings on the right hand side.

If you click on "Recipes" then it will only show entries labelled as recipes, for example.

When you write a new post, you'll see a box near the bottom saying "Labels for this post". If you click "Show All" you can then choose from the topic headings that have been used before, or you can just type a new topic into the white box. You can add as many topic headings as you like to each post.

Horsetail

From the Garden Organic website:

Biodynamic growers use horsetail tea to strengthen plants' resistance to fungal infections. Take ¾ oz dried horsetails and simmer for 30 minutes in 2 pints of rain water. Stand for 24 hours. Make up to 1 gallon, stirring the mixture for about 15 minutes. This mixture will keep for a couple of weeks. Spray the plants thoroughly every 10-14 days, starting early in the season. The later sprayings can be more dilute (making the solution up to as much as 10 gallons) but should always have a pale yellow-green or brown colour and smell of horsetails.