York Allotments Charitable Incorporated organisation (YACIO) manages the 16 allotment sites previously run by City of York Council until 2017. These are distributed across the city, with more information available on our Allotment Finder page.
YACIO is run by Trustees who each bring their own gardening and other work experience and skills to manage the allotments in a fair and open way.
The current volunteer trustees are:
Tony Chalcraft (Carr Lane) – Chairperson
Helen Butt (Holgate) – Secretary
Lisa Turner (Wigginton Terrace) – Treasurer
Colin Smith (Green Lane) – Maintenance
Simon Wild (Low Moor) – Trustee
Adam Myers (Low Moor) – Trustee
Maria Lewington-Gower (Green Lane) – Trustee
Heather Whittaker (Bootham) – Trustee
The Charity’s Constitution, which has been ratified by the Charity Commission, proposes that there can be up to nine trustees who can hold a post for up to three years before being put before an Annual General Meeting for re-election.
The trustees have responsibility for managing all of the City of York allotment sites but be accountable to members through any resolutions passed at Annual General Meeting(AGM)s. The Trustees meet on a monthly basis to discuss all operational aspects of the charity, including finances, new policies and specific issues that have arisen. There is an internal Manual being drawn together that ensures that the way decisions are made are governed and applied fairly across all of the 16 allotment sites. The AGM is held once a year to discuss new policies or issues that have arisen. All members of the charity who are allotment holders will be entitled to attend the AGM and cast a vote on any issues raised. This will include nominating new trustees or re-electing current trustees.
YACIO has one part time administrator to deal with the routine administration and each site is represented by a voluntary site secretary who deals with letting new plots and reporting any site issues.
All paid-up tenants are automatically members of the charitable organisation.
Useful documents
- YACIO constitution
- Site secretary and trustee meeting minutes
- AGM documents
- Tenancy documents (including tenancy agreement and handbook)