The Committee of the Ashford Allotment Society is made up of roles including a Treasurer, Secretary, Chairwoman plus a representative from each site.
The role of the Rep is to represent the plotholders to the council, and to act as a point of liaison. They are not there to represent the council to the plotholders. At times they have a diplomatic role, when plotholders are in breach of the regulations for example, but they are still formally the representative of the plotholder.
The tasks of the Rep are to show prospective tenants the available plots, put notices up when necessary, help the judges find the best plots for the annual Best Plot competition, and to represent their site at the Committee Meetings of the Society and at the Annual General Meeting. The Rep is usually the person who lobbies the council when something needs to be done, and they should be the first person a plotholder turns to for advice.
Perhaps you could spare a little time to play an important role in shaping the way Ashford’s allotments are run and provide a valuable line of communication between your fellow plot holders and the council? Reps have an active role on the allotment society committee, who in turn support the reps in looking after their site in partnership with Ashford Borough Council.
Reps come up for re-election every two years, unless a vacancy occurs between these times.
Any plotholder is welcome to put themselves forward as Rep; no special knowledge is needed, you do not need to have a perfect plot, and you may well be a newcomer to the allotments, that’s fine. Reps are just ordinary plotholders, and the meetings are very low-key and not at all intimidating. If you would like to be considered as a Rep for your site, contact the Allotments Officer David Johnston at the Council at allotments@ashford.gov.uk.
Larger sites may choose to have a Deputy Rep to spread the workload and cover for holidays. this is a good idea and has been done in the past. Both Reps would attend meetings, and if the main Rep is unable the Deputy can read their report and vote on their behalf.