Health, Safety and Security
Health and Safety
Gardening on allotment sites is relatively risk free as long as people are aware of the hazards and take steps to ensure that themselves, other people and wildlife are not put at risk.
Hazards
Hazards may include sharp edges, exposed nails, improperly stored tools, hazards hidden within undergrowth such as broken glass, improperly stored dangerous materials. Paths can become slippery when wet. Some paths are uneven, so please take care when accessing the site and plots. Please stick the guidelines regarding storage, usage and disposal of hazardous materials (such as gas canisters, glass, pesticides, fertilisers, asbestos cement, oil, and fuel) and keep them securely stored in the proper containers.
No property or rubbish should be left in the lanes: please keep your property inside your fence / plot site. This is to allow the lanes to be maintained and the free movement of emergency vehicles around the site.
Tools and equipment
Garden tools can be a hazard if they are not stored properly or are left lying around the garden when not in use (eg. upturned spades and forks). Never leave tools where someone may trip over them.
Water
Please remember to keep water butts covered and ensure they are located on stable ground. Useful advice from the National Allotment Society on water use can be found in the following link:-
https://www.nsalg.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/A5_Water_260213_HiRes.pdf
Fires
If you burn garden rubbish on your plot, please be considerate to others in the community, particularly neighbouring households. Please ensure fires are kept under control and managed appropriately.
Here is guidance from the National Allotment Society on Bonfires and Allotments:-
https://www.nsalg.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/NAS-Bonfires-New-Version-July-2022.pdf
Pesticides and fertilisers
Please use pesticides and fertilisers according to manufacturer’s instructions. When using pesticides or fertilisers ensure to wear suitable clothing. Ensure that chemicals are kept securely and in clearly marked containers: do not keep them in unmarked bottles or other food containers or leave them lying around your plot. Please ensure that pesticides or fertilisers are disposed of responsibly.
Vehicles
The car park and lanes have a 10mph speed limit - please drive slowly! Vehicles are allowed in the lanes only to load and unload. Vehicles must not park in the lanes.
Taking care on the allotment
There may be broken glass or rubble on some of the allotments, so wear appropriate gardening footwear, ideally with a thick sole and hardened toe to prevent injury from standing on anything sharp or dropping something heavy on your toes.
Wear gardening gloves to protect your hands, although remember never to wear a glove on your hand which is holding a swinging tool. This will help prevent the tool from accidentally slipping out of your grasp. Always wear gloves when handling any type of manure, as there is a risk of infection from handling animal manure. Wash hands after any gardening activity and before eating or handling food.
Keeping a first aid kit is a good addition to the tools kept in the garden shed. This could contain a small selection of adhesive plasters, antiseptic ointment, a pair of tweezers for removing thorns and splinters and a gauze or lint pad to use as a compress to stop the bleeding if you are badly cut. Clean and protect all cuts with waterproof plasters.
Please make sure that you have a vaccination to protect you against tetanus. Tetanus is a serious infection caused by bacterium that lives in the soil and especially manured soil. It can enter the body through the tiniest abrasion, scratch, thorn, puncture or cut, so be careful about scratches and abrasions.
Use sunscreen to protect you from over-exposure to the sun.
Gardening can help your health and fitness in many ways, but a number of gardening jobs can be physically demanding. Have a look at these suggestions from an organisation called Thrive:-
www.thrive.org.uk/get-gardening/top-tips-when-getting-ready-to-garden
Security
Site gates
All site access gates have padlocks. Keys can be obtained from the allotment shop.
Please keep your padlock key with you at all times to ensure you can lock the gates.
C Lane gate: If you are the last car leaving the site and there are no other cars in the car park, you must lock the gate when you leave. This also applies if you are on foot and you see no other car in the car park on your departure.
A, B, and D Lane gates are primarily for pedestrian access only. As you arrive and leave, you must close the gate behind you.
Theft and vandalism
From time to time, there have been spates of burglaries, vandalism and damage. Please let us know about any such incidents. You may also want to submit a report to the police. You may want to consider what items you keep on the plot: don’t leave any valuables on site.
Working alone
Do not undertake dangerous work on your own or when neighbouring gardeners are not about. Let a friend know when you are going to be working on the allotments and for roughly how long. It is a good idea to carry a mobile phone with you if you have one. Make sure you know how to describe where your plot is.