Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held at the Batchley Community Centre on Monday April 10th 2017
In Attendance:
Committee: Sylvia Collinson, David Dallaway, Lynn Dallaway, James Doble, Tisha Greenway, Julie Vincent.
Members: Matt Collinson, Les Cook, Scott Davies, Robin Dennis, Emma Fletcher, Andrew Freeman, April Freeman, Rosie Hallahan, Graham Haynes, Marion Haynes, John Hinks, Claire Ivins, Margaret Mole, Steven Mole, Sheila Pentecost, Mike Vincent, Jean Vranic, Dan Williams, Jean Wood, Katrina Woodford.
Councillors: RBC Pattie Hill, WCC Robin Lunn, WCC Graham Vickery.
Each member of the Committee introduced themselves to the meeting.
APOLOGIES:
Apologies were received from Jo Barrett, John Dallaway, Stuart Darn, Paul and Lorayne Kimberley, Peter Merricks, Louise Morey, Stephanie Shepherd, Stephen Siddle, Andrea Stevens.
ADOPT MINUTES OF PREVIOUS AGM:
Members had been reminded by email that the minutes of last year’s AGM were available on the Brockhill Residents’ Association Website. They were duly adopted.
RECEIVE AND, IF APPROVED, ADOPT THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE 12 MONTHS ENDING 28TH FEBRUARY 2017:
David Dallaway summarised the year’s accounts stating that we had made a loss of £156. This was mainly attributable to spending £185 on the printing of membership leaflets. Total income was £272 generated by October’s Quiz Night (£222) and the child’s bike auction (£50). We are grateful to Wayne Preece for running the quiz and to all those members and companies who donated prizes for the raffle. We were indebted to Robin Dennis for providing a child’s bike for the auction, this being the second he has now donated.
After the printing of leaflets, the next highest cost was website hosting at £153. The provider, Just Host, is proving to be expensive and a cheaper alternative will be sought at next renewal in September. The hire of Batchley Community Centre for the quiz and the AGM costs around £10 per hour. The total cost of holding an AGM exceeds £30. We currently have limited sources of income, particularly as membership of the association remains free. This was a deliberate decision taken on formation as we wished to maximise the number of people opting to join. Andrew Freeman suggested that perhaps members could make voluntary donations to improve the funding position.
The year’s loss of £156 had reduced our year-end bank balance to £596.
DD told members that we would like a Community Notice Board for Pointers Way. In a meeting last year with Kate Tait, Strategic Planning Director for Persimmon Homes Ltd, she had implied that her company were likely to look favourably upon a funding application via their monthly grants scheme. However the maximum grant is £1,000 and the total cost of a board is around £2,600. We therefore feel unable to commit to this project until other suitable finance raising opportunities for the balance of required expenditure are found.
The accounts were duly approved and adopted by those present.
RECEIVE A REPORT ON THE YEAR’S ACHIEVEMENTS:
David Dallaway first referred to the future objectives outlined at last year’s AGM:-
Growth of membership: 1,500 new membership leaflets were printed at a cost of £185. These were then hand delivered by ourselves, to save money, to all houses on Pointers Way and to those across Brockhill whose residents were not already members. This resulted in an increase in numbers of approximately 150, giving a current total membership in excess of 340.
Development of community facilities: Committee members and Councillor Robin Lunn met with Kate Tait of Persimmon Homes on 11 March last year. Robin and fellow councillor Graham Vickery have attended subsequent meetings with Persimmon to ensure that this progresses satisfactorily.
Funding of a third community notice board for Pointers Way: This had already been covered in the report on the accounts above.
Quiz Night: This was held on October 8th and was well attended. Quiz Master Wayne Preece provided an excellent workout for our brains with a varied selection of subjects. We had some great raffle prizes as well as a prize for the winning team of wine and chocolates.
New post box for Pointers Way: Royal Mail has been contacted but unfortunately they have no immediate plans. Their regulatory requirements state they must ensure there is a post box within half a mile of at least 98% of all ‘delivery points’ (usually a customer’s letter-box) nationally, and this distance is measured as the crow flies. The four nearest boxes to the new development are situated in Carthorse Lane, Appletree Lane, Batchley Road and Hewell Road, all of which are more than half a mile’s walk away (we can’t fly like crows!). We will continue to monitor the situation.
“Open spaces” naming competition and “Walks around Brockhill” leaflets: These are carried forward as objectives for the coming year.
Adoption of roads: All bar those on Pointers Way have now been adopted. The last three, Turnpike Lane, Wheatcroft Close and Vowchurch Close, were adopted on March 15th this year. We will now liaise with our councillors to ensure that the roads on Pointers Way are adopted as soon as is practicable.
Growth of relationship with Persimmon Homes: Our three councillors, Robin Lunn, Graham Vickery and Pattie Hill, continue to promote this.
Safety improvements around gate at top of steps leading from Brockhill Lane to the Nature Reserve: Work has still not been carried out and we will continue to pursue this via Pattie Hill.
Creation of new path at the traffic Island in Brockhill Drive/Lily Green Road: This was finally created after three years awaiting funding from WCC Highways Department. Our thanks go to Robin Lunn for achieving this. We are hoping for the creation of another path at the Brockhill Drive/Appletree Lane traffic island, later this year.
Re-installation of staggered barriers at the Salters Lane end of Brockhill Park: The old barrier with gaps each side is still in situ.
Re-installation of litter bins around Brockhill Park: Now completed.
David Dallaway then summarised other achievements since the last AGM:-
A Litter Pick took place last spring with about 20 members and their dogs doing their bit to clean up the neighbourhood. We collected eighteen large bags of litter.
Many members have found our Facebook page useful and informative in respect of local security issues, lost pets and other local news. James Doble commented on the large number of people who have frequented the site. We now have two committee members monitoring it.
We continue to display leaflets and notices of interest to the local community on the two notice boards provided by RBC and WCC.
We have continued to report to our local councillors any safety issues and damaged trees that we notice when walking around Brockhill. Wherever possible they attempt to ensure our needs are met.
We have had new dog waste bins provided and also litter bins replaced when needed.
We have reported litter and fly tipping and also anti- social behaviour around Brockhill Park by the basketball court. We have also reported to the Housing Department at RBC that a tent had been erected in the park recently. We will continue to monitor this unwelcome presence.
We had noticed a large number of cigarette butts around a lamp post outside Rhymes Nursery in Lowfield Road. Pattie Hill visited the Nursery’s Head to complain about the litter and this has now been resolved.
ELECTION OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
To comply with the Constitution, one third of the existing Committee must resign each year, albeit they may then offer themselves for re-election. Angie Preece, who has not been able to attend any meetings for some time, wished to stand down. Sylvia Collinson was resigning from her role as Treasurer but, if re-elected, wished to remain as a Committee member. Emma Fletcher had kindly agreed to take over the administration of the website and offered herself for election to the Committee.
David Dallaway asked if any of those present wished to volunteer their services. Margaret Mole said that she would be happy to join the Committee.
Emma and Margaret were duly elected and Sylvia re-elected to the Committee.
April and Andrew Freeman kindly offered to allow us to use their business for our photocopying needs in the future.
OUTLINE OF FUTURE OBJECTIVES:
James Doble outlined the coming year’s main objectives:-
Arrange another meeting with Kate Tait, of Persimmon Homes, to find out more about the building of houses in the next phase of the development. We have been informed by Holyoakes School that the new premises will not be ready for them to move into until at least January 2019. Members who live on the Pointers Way Estate, near to where the school will be situated, have expressed their concerns about parents parking by their properties. We will endeavour to keep our members informed of any parking restriction plans by the WCC Highways Department, who we are in touch with constantly via Robin Lunn and Graham Vickery.
We also intend to ensure that part of the Section 106 monies will be used to provide a property for use by the Residents’ Association for meetings and events. This will obviate the need for our having to pay to hire Batchley Community Hall. James explained to the members that a trust would be set up for the Residents’ Association and income would be generated by letting of the property for functions. The venue would also be used to hold our own meetings and events.
As already discussed earlier, we would like to raise money for the erection of a notice board on Pointers Way Estate. It was suggested by Andrew Freeman that we might consider asking for voluntary donations from members. As the Association grows we should be able to hold more fund raising events.
Again as discussed previously, we will continue to pursue the erection of a post box on Pointers Way.
We will continue to try and grow our membership by delivering membership leaflets to any new occupants of whom we become aware. Existing members are encouraged to help recruit their neighbours and recommend our website and Facebook page so people are aware of what we do.
We are still planning to compile a ‘Walks around Brockhill’ leaflet, to encourage residents to get to know their neighbourhood. In conjunction with this, we also intend running a ‘Naming of Open Spaces’ competition. This will also help us define more clearly any areas that are in need of attention or repair. In turn this will assist the Councillors, when reporting any work that needs to be done to the relevant departments, without any confusion as to the location.
Following the success of last year’s event, we are intending to arrange a Litter Pick for early July. This will be held on a Saturday morning starting from the notice board in Brockhill Park. Litter picking grabbers and bin liners are provided by RBC. We will send emails to members with the date once arranged.
We have asked Robin Lunn for a crossing to be installed in Salters Lane at the entrance to the park. This is a popular place for children to cross over to Oak Tree Avenue to get to the playground and, as a number of cars speed around the bend, we feel that it is an accident waiting to happen. We do not want to wait for one to occur in order to get a safe crossing for our Brockhill children.
A.O.B.
Mike Vincent informed the meeting that he was concerned about what looks like a sink hole that has formed on the uphill pathway leading to Lowfield Lane, near to the barn conversions and Rhymes Nursery. There is a large dip in the path which a pushchair or wheelchair would have difficulty in avoiding. Robin Lunn asked the Committee to send him a photograph and he would pass it on to the repair team.
Sheila Pentecost asked the Councillors what advice they could give her about a car parking problem in Marchwood Close where she lives. Her neighbour shares a drive with a house opposite Sheila’s. As they have two cars to park, and there is only room for the one car on the drive, they park with part of the second car on the pathway opposite Sheila’s drive. This causes her problems when she is reversing off her drive. Sheila’s own drive is shared with the neighbour on her other side, so there isn’t room for her to manoeuvre and reverse park her car on her drive, so she has to drive it on forwards. This means that she has to reverse off her drive, but it is difficult to do this when there is a car parked on the path. Sheila said she thought it was illegal to park on the path. Graham Vickery said that people would be unable to park safely outside their houses in narrow closes if they didn’t park partly on the paths. He said it was a ‘double edged sword’, because if the authorities became involved, they would paint no parking lines on the road thus preventing anybody from parking on the road or paths. Consequently people would only be able to park on driveways, which are often not large enough for more than one car. This would lead to more problems. Pattie Hill advised Sheila to report it to the police when she is blocked in and to keep ringing them until they took notice!
Katrina Woodford and John Hinks also told us of their concerns with parking where they live in Appletree Lane, near to a bend in the road where Bootpiece Lane joins. There are no ‘Give Way’ lines on the road and everyone assumes they have right of way. They complained about a work van which is parked near the bend which makes matters worse as it obscures the traffic. Katrina asked if the rules about having a caravan or any commercial vehicle on a driveway had changed since the adoption of the roads. She herself had needed to get permission to put her horsebox on her drive when they first moved in, before the roads were adopted.
April and Andrew Freeman told us of their concerns about possible parking problems by parents collecting their children from the new Holyoakes School when it opens. Robin Lunn said that parking restrictions would be in place before the school opens. They also have concerns about whether the construction traffic will be going up Cookridge Close or Burrington Close. This is something we will ask about when we meet with Kate Tait of Persimmon Homes.
Scott Davies and Rosie Hallahan, who live in Elrington Close on the Pointers Way Estate, asked how long it would take for the roads on their estate to be adopted. They were concerned about this because they knew how long it had taken for the older parts of Brockhill to be adopted. They used to live in Wheatcroft Close whose adoption took fourteen years. They asked if there would be a problem with the adoption as their close has a block paved road. James Doble said there had been no problem with the adoption in Wheelers Lane where he lives, which is also block paved, so it should be fine.
Matt Collinson asked the Councillors if they knew what was intended to be built on the Pointers Way land that had been designated for commercial buildings, a shop, offices etc. on the original plans. At present the area is an awful mess, with rubbish being dumped on it. He said everybody knows that it will end up with more houses being built there as it isn’t suitable anyway for commercial buildings, which is what Persimmon Homes knew all along! We will await with interest to see what becomes of it.
Matt also asked if it was known whether there would be a path across the field adjacent to Plumstead Close and Pink Green Lane, to connect Pointers Way with the rest of Brockhill. This would be useful for children and their parents walking to the new school, especially given the potential car parking problems. “We need to encourage people to walk,” he said. James Doble said that as the path passes over Persimmon’s land, the Council could ask for connectivity of land to be put on the Masterplan.
Mike Vincent asked who owns the fence on public open space in Appletree Lane near to Dairy Lane. The fence is in need of repair as it is partly falling down. It is situated between the field, which he believes is owned by Persimmon Homes North, and the Public Open Space which has been adopted by RBC. Robin Lunn said that he would find out for us.
Mike also suggested that a dog waste bin is placed on the grass area where dogs are walked at the rear of Pennyford Close/ Carthorse Lane. There is a pathway leading off Carthorse Lane to this wide grassy area and, at present, full doggy bags are hanging from the trees!
Graham Haynes reported damage to grass verges by parked vehicles and delivery vans in Appletree Lane. Pattie Hill advised photographs be taken of the damage and sent to the Landscape & Maintenance Department of RBC.
Jean Vranic asked why the Council didn’t clean up the duck and goose excrement around the ponds at Brockhill Park. Pattie Hill said that this was nature.
Margaret Mole asked whether we had considered having the Cold War nuclear bunker, situated on the hill between Pointers Way and Weights Lane, preserved. Pattie Hill said that she thinks it has been protected on the Masterplan. David Dallaway said that when walking his dog recently, he had seen items of clothing strewn across the area around the bunker. He believed they were the same clothes that were left in the Nature Reserve by a person sleeping rough last June.
Dan Williams informed us that he had come across anti-social behaviour from gangs of youths around Brockhill Park. He found this to be very intimidating, especially when walking with his young children. Dan said that the yobs were smoking cannabis.
Pattie Hill said she had been told of anti-social behaviour in Brockhill Park, around the basketball court and had confronted the youths herself but to no avail. She had been spat and sworn at, but had established that the offenders were not local. Lynn Dallaway wondered what was attracting them and whether a drug dealer was operating in the park area. Pattie advised that PCSO’s were making further enquiries. Pattie added that if we come across anti-social behaviour, we should dial 101 and the police will divert their patrols to the area.
The meeting ended at 8.50 p.m.