TRADING

The Gardening Club runs a Trading Shed at the Albany Road allotments (Postcode SO32 1EP), which opens between 10 a.m. and 12 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays from the beginning of February until the end of October.

The sale of seeds, fertilisers, composts, pesticides and potatoes to members, has long been a part of the Gardening Club tradition. The object is to buy in bulk and then resell to members at a discounted price. We also obtain bulk loads of manure delivered to a central point on the allotments. This is sold by the wheelbarrow load to allotment holders.

The Gardening Club also has an arrangement with Suttons for club members to buy from their catalogue at a discount of 50% for seeds and 15% for other items. In order to obtain the discount members require a code which will be supplied on request.

When the Gardening Club became a Charity in February 2007, the rules governing trading by a charity meant that the trading operation had to be clearly separate from the charitable activities. Accordingly trading activities are managed by the Board of Trustees and the money made helps our charity aims and objectives. This satisfies the  ‘primary purpose trading test’ which helps to ensure that the charity doesn’t pay tax on the small profits from trading.

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