About Tatnam Farm Allotment Society Limited

1933

The land for Tatnam Farm Allotments was initially acquired by the local authority. Additional land titles and access points were added through subsequent acquisitions across 1948, 1966, and 1972

12 June 

Title P128627 Acquired

16th October 1948

Title P83744 acquired

17th November 1948

Title DT3356 acquired

24th January 1966

Title P79776 acquired

23rd May 1972

Title DT25667 acquired

April 1991

The Tatnam Farm Allotment Association was formed by Ken Gibbs, with Dave James as Treasurer. Broadstone Allotment join as Associate Members.

The association was formed in response to the council's plan to use a large section of the allotments for a school, which was eventually built in 1997.

1997

Oakdale Junior School was built on part of the allotments, resulting in the loss of 60–80 plots and the Well Lane entrance.

2013

Dave James ran the Association until 2013, when Julia Palmer took over as Secretary, serving until 2024. During her tenure, she and the Committee secured £10,500 to fund an on-site composting toilet. John Clarke and I, Terry Dugdale, built it in May 2019—though John did most of the work!

2018

I joined the Committee in 2018 and became Chairman of the Association in 2019. My aim was to identify improvements that would secure the allotment site's long-term future for its members. After visiting two self-managed sites in Bournemouth, I immediately saw this as the way forward for our site. Their facilities were impressive, so my first step was to present the idea to the Committee and seek feedback from both its members and the plot holders.

2023

At a meeting on 11 December, a majority voted for self-management. I could not have achieved this without the Committee and plot holders' outstanding support, and I am deeply grateful for their continued hard work towards our goal.

​April 2026

​Poole Town Council became our new landlords.  We are working hard with the Town Clerk, David Mears to reach our goal of becoming self managed. We hope to sign the lease on 1st February 2027

 

We hope all plot holders will support the project and help when needed. After all, we will be responsible for caring for the allotments for future generations of plot holders.

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Author - Terry Dugdale, Committee Chairman

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