Brockhill Residents’ Association AGM held at The Batchley Community Centre on Monday 11th May 2015

Agenda

1.     Introductions

2.     Agree  minutes of previous year’s AGM

3.     Treasurer’s report

4.     Report on year’s achievements

5.     Executive committee elections

6.     Future objectives

7.     A.O.B.

The Committee in attendance:-

James Doble                        JD

David Dallaway                                    DD

Lynn Dallaway                    LD

Sylvia Collinson                                    SC

Julie Vincent                        JV

Tish Greenway                    TG

Apologies received from members Angie Preece, Paul Kimberley and Lorayne Kimberley.

1.     INTRODUCTIONS:

The Committee Members introduced themselves to the eleven members present, who also included WCC Robin Lunn, CC Pattie Hill and CC Natalie Brookes.  JD had agreed to be Spokesperson for the evening and he explained that our Chairman had resigned at the last AGM and that we were still looking to replace him.  Our Membership Secretary had also resigned at the last AGM.

2.     AGREE MINUTES OF PREVIOUS YEAR’S AGM:

The minutes from last year’s AGM were read out by JD and agreed.  Due to a change in websites half way through the year, these minutes were not currently able to be viewed.  This oversight would now be rectified.

3.     TREASURER’S REPORT:

Committee Treasurer, Sylvia Collinson, gave her account of the fund activities, which were also printed out for members to examine.  A copy of the accounts is posted on the website.

4.     REPORT ON YEAR’S ACHIEVEMENTS:

DD highlighted the main achievements since the last AGM:-

·       New website – thanks to Jules Collinson for creating and running.

·       Adoption of roads – thanks to Robin Lunn for his considerable work on this.  Robin confirmed that, excluding Pointers Way, the only two roads not yet adopted were Turnpike Lane and Wheatcroft Close.  The process for these last two should be completed in the next couple of weeks.

·       Two community notice boards kindly funded by RBC and WCC (Robin’s discretionary fund).

·       Improvement of Sainsbury’s traffic island road markings.

·       New steps and gated entrance off Brockhill Lane into the nature reserve plus the installation of dog mess bins – thanks to Pattie Hill for her efforts in this area.

·       New road signs for Brockhill at the Tardebigge end of Brockhill Drive.

·       Quiz Night in October raised £165 for association funds – thanks to sponsorship/donations from JGS Autos, Tesco, Morrisons, Wilkinson, Robin’s Bike Den, Winyates Chippy and various committee members.

·       Scheduled hedge trimming at the Butler’s Hill Lane traffic island.

5.     EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ELECTIONS:

David Dallaway, Lynn Dallaway and Brenda Quinney stood down (as required by the Constitution).  Members were asked if they would like to stand for election, but nobody volunteered.  David Dallaway, Lynn Dallaway, James Doble and Angie Preece stood for election. They were proposed by Robin Dennis and seconded by Douglas Norris.  Angie Preece will be taking over the Events Secretary role.

6.     FUTURE OBJECTIVES:

JD outlined some of the coming year’s objectives:-

·       Increase committee and association membership – invitation leaflets to be distributed via local newspaper and door-to-door posting for Pointers Way residents.

·       A third community notice board to be sited on the Pointers Way Development.

·       Litter pick.

·       Further Quiz Nights.

·       Production of local walking leaflets/maps.

·       Competition to be held in which residents will be asked to propose names for the open spaces around Brockhill.

·       Continued pressure to ensure the early installation of Superfast Broadband – thanks to Peter Merricks for his work to date in this area.

·       Pathway to be provided at Brockhill Drive/Lily Green Lane traffic island.

7.     A.O.B.

Douglas Norris raised the problem with the junction at Butlers Hill Lane/Brockhill Lane not being wide enough for the increasing traffic.  He said that there is room for the roads to be widened which would help resolve the problem.  Robin Lunn said that he would look into this matter for us.

JD expressed his concern about the speed some drivers approached this junction.  He was aware of at least four cats being killed on this stretch of road in the last year.  Pattie Hill said all road kills should be reported to the PCSO’s in order that appropriate measures could be considered.

Anne Norris voiced her concerns about dogs that were being walked around Brockhill Park/ Wetlands, without being on a lead.  Many people like to let their dogs off their leads when they reach the park, so that they can have a run around.  However there have been many instances, she said, where dogs have become aggressive and because they are not on a lead, their owners have no control over them.  Anne has a small dog herself that has been confronted by an aggressive dog.  Also the swans, currently nesting, are very vulnerable.  There have been several incidents where aggressive dogs that are not on leads, have confronted the swans.  Pattie Hill said that she has several people watching over the swans, but of course, they cannot be on guard constantly.  JD suggested that we create a Pet Watch Section on our Website, where members can report any incidents relating to this.

Matt Collinson enquired about the section 106 monies that had been spent in areas outside Brockhill, such as The Abbey Stadium.  Pattie Hill, Robin Lunn and JD all confirmed that unfortunately this was “fait accompli” and was not illegal as it could be argued that Brockhill residents benefited from improvements to surrounding areas. However it was important we should ensure 106 monies arising from the Pointers way development were spent entirely in the Brockhill area.

As members are aware, we have been trying to get our own Community Hall so that we can arrange our meetings in Brockhill, instead of Tardebigge or Batchley.  There are plans, not yet passed by RBC, to build a school on the Pointers Way site.  If it is built, we are hoping that we will be able to use one of its rooms for our meetings. Pattie Hill said that Persimmon had provided Callow Hill residents with a room for their meetings in one of their Marketing Suites, when their houses were built.  There may be a possibility of Persimmon doing the same for us when Pointers Way is completed.  SC said that on the existing plans, the school would be built at the top of a hill thus causing difficulties for mothers with pushchairs.  It is likely that parents and guardians would be more likely to drive than walk to school and this would cause a parking problem for residents.

SC asked Pattie if she knew why the local paper wasn’t delivered to the houses on the Pointers Way estate.  SC had herself been told by the Newspaper that there weren’t enough telephone numbers registered on the estate to warrant the paper being delivered, even though most of the houses are now occupied.  Pattie said it was more likely that they couldn’t get anyone to deliver them.  DD pointed out that Angie Preece was related to the Bullivants and we were attempting to gain more information on the matter from that route.

Douglas Norris raised his concerns regarding Marchwood Close having traffic problems, as drivers think it is a through road.  He asked if signs saying ‘No Through Road’ could be erected to stop unnecessary access by traffic that then has to turn around in what should be a quiet close. Robin Lunn said he would look into the possibility of this.

Robin Dennis enquired whether we should charge an annual membership fee.  DD responded that this had been muted when the association had first been set up.  However we need to attract as many members as possible and free membership should help this.  To be able to finance this, it is very important that as many members as possible attend our quiz nights and any other fund raising events.

Pattie Hill read out a long list of forthcoming events and activities in the Redditch area that might be of interest to Brockhill residents.

The meeting ended at 8.45 p.m.