BROCKHILL RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held at Batchley Community Centre on Tuesday November 5th 2019
IN ATTENDANCE:
Committee: Sylvia Collinson, David Dallaway, Lynn Dallaway, Malcolm Gilks, Stephen Siddle and
Julie Vincent.
Members: Cherry Gilks, Tisha Greenway, Graham Haynes, Marion Haynes, Anil Jha, Shirley Jobson, Robert Merry, Susan Merry, Margaret Mole, Mike Vincent and Mark Whitworth.
Councillors: RBC Pattie Hill, RBC Gemma Monaco (also a Committee member), RBC Nyear Nazir, WCC Brandon Clayton and WCC Robin Lunn.
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE:
Apologies were received from Matt Collinson, John Dallaway, Claire Ivins, Peter Merricks, Lorayne Kimberley and Paul Kimberley.
ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS AGM HELD ON 15.10.18:
The minutes of last year’s AGM had been available on the Association’s website for the past twelve months. David Dallaway asked if anybody wished them to be read out before their proposed adoption. No request was made and they were duly approved nem. con.
TO RECEIVE AND, IF APPROVED, ADOPT THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE 12 MONTHS ENDING 28TH FEBRUARY 2019:
David Dallaway provided the members with a copy of the Income and Expenditure Account and Balance Sheet for the 12 months ended 28th February 2019. The profit for the year of £364 had increased the bank balance to £1,342. The profit arose from three sources of income:-
- A £300 share of the proceeds from a Murder Mystery Evening put on by the Alvechurch Amateur Dramatic Society. Stephen Siddle and his fellow thespians were thanked for this.
- A kind donation of £40 from Robin Denis following the sale through his business of a brand new child’s bicycle. An earlier attempt last Xmas to auction the bike via our website and Facebook page had regretfully resulted in no bids. Robin was thanked again for his generosity, particularly as it was not the first time he had made a donation to Association funds.
- A £100 share of the profits arising from a Fashion Show organised by Julia Cuzner. Thanks were given to Julia. Several of those who attended this most enjoyable event were hopeful that another would be held in the near future.
The only costs incurred in the 12 months’ period were the renewal of the website hosting at £58 and the hire of the hall for last year’s AGM at £18.
Since the last financial year end our bank balance had increased by a further £2,090. £2,000 of this was a grant from the Fortis Living Smile Fund obtained following the hard work of Claire Ivins. The grant, together with a pledged donation from Robin Lunn out of his discretionary fund, will be used to purchase and erect a notice board on Pointers Way.
The only other source of income since last February was a net profit of £253 from October’s Quiz Night. Expenditure incurred in this same period was £143 on the website hosting renewal and £20 for the hire of the room for this evening’s AGM. Despite considerable effort we had been unable to negotiate a better deal on the website hosting cost that had increased by £85 from the previous year.
The accounts were approved by all members present.
DISCUSSION OF THE FOLLOWING ONGOING ISSUES:
- Holyoakes Field First School
The school in Britten Street, which is still waiting to relocate to a new building at the top of Cookridge Close on Pointers Way, has now been told to expect this to happen in March 2021. The delay in commencement of building has been due to land ownership issues. A new contractor had to be found and J. Tomlinson Building Contractors started work a few weeks ago.
Mike Vincent asked the Councillors what was going to be done about the nearby dilapidated barns which could create safety issues. Brandon Clayton replied that something would be done before the school opens to make the area safe.
- Persimmon Homes and section 106 monies
A meeting was held on Friday October 25th by our local MP Rachel Maclean, with the Regional Managing Director of Persimmon Homes, Liam Scott, Leader of RBC Matt Dormer and the Head of Planning at the Council, Ruth Bamford. An agreement was made between Persimmon and RBC on the section 106 monies the housebuilder owes. An apology was secured also from Persimmon and an undertaking of immediate action to begin maintaining the open spaces and assets they still own until they have all been handed over to RBC. This now means that the Council will be working with Persimmon to pass on complaints from residents regarding maintenance of land and street lights. Persimmon will then be acting on these complaints and carrying out the maintenance required [see also iv) below].
We would like to thank Councillors Gemma Monaco and Nyear Nazir for all the work they have done to support residents and Rachel Maclean for resolving this long running saga. Thanks also to former Association Chairman Peter Merricks for his persistence in ensuring that the issue remained to the fore over the last few years.
- Brockhill East Phase 3
The building of 250 houses by Persimmon on the next phase of Brockhill East has already been accepted by the Council. There will be a further meeting with both RBC and BDC to pass planning permission for a further 700 houses. We will let members know the date of the meeting as soon as it becomes available.
- Adoption and upkeep of public open spaces
Although the roads on the parts of Brockhill which were built 17-20 years ago have been adopted, some of the public open spaces are only now being adopted by the Council. Our members have been extremely frustrated when reporting incidences like fallen debris from trees. They have been told by the Council that they are not responsible for the maintenance of these areas, as they are still owned by Persimmon Homes. Graham and Marion Haynes told us that they had a problem with the trees behind their property on public land that had not been maintained in the last twenty years. They had reported it to RBC and had a visit from the Environmental Department who told them that it was not Council responsibility but that of Persimmon.
Robert and Susan Merry told us that they have a similar problem with overgrown trees behind their property in Pennyford Close. In high wind, the branches are dangerous as they have fallen in the past and could cause serious damage.
Pattie Hill said that the Council do not have any tree surgeons and have to employ contractors.
By not handing over ownership of this land to the local authority, Persimmon has not had to pay the section 106 monies it owes to the Council. This money is to provide and enhance community and social infrastructure. As previously discussed in item ii) above, hopefully this issue will now be resolved in the very near future with complete adoption of all areas together with settlement of all monies owing..
Gemma Monaco spoke about the upkeep of public open spaces on the Pointers Way estate. She said that the overgrowth around the balancing ponds has now been cut right back and re-seeded and that the footpaths have been tarmacked. She told us that the ditch between Pointers Way and the Oaklands estate will be staying, but six to eight feet will be taken off on the Cookridge Lane side. This will be done next year when the weather improves.
- Carthorse Lane speed bump
Robin Lunn informed us that he is still awaiting information from the County Highways Department regarding the approval of the new speed bump installation in Carthorse Lane. There have been objections from residents and from the Police Authority about having new traffic calming measures installed. The costs were being met by Robin and Brandon Clayton out of their budgets and they are hoping that the matter will finally be resolved at the next Highways meeting.
- Community Building
As most of our members are aware, we were offered a bungalow by Persimmon for use as a community building. However their offer was declined as the building was totally inappropriate with regards to size and available parking facilities. Another building was offered, a two storey house, but again its structure proved totally unsuitable for our needs. In addition the costs of running and maintaining the building would fall on the Association and we do not possess anywhere near the funds that would be required. We are hoping that we will be given access to the new school hall for meetings, but it is likely there will be a hire charge as the school will not be run by the Council. We do not have enough Committee Members to take on the upkeep and responsibility of a separate community hall, even if Persimmon were to offer to build one. As all existing community halls around Redditch have been taken over by Rubicon Leisure Ltd., unfortunately we do not have the option of one being run by RBC.
- Foxlydiate Arms
The Committee submitted a Community Asset form to BDC in support of the non-closure of the Foxlydiate Arms, situated just over the border in Bromsgrove. In July two of our Committee Members, David Dallaway and Stephen Siddle, attended a meeting together with Robin Lunn at the BDC Chambers, to discuss making the building a Community Asset. Also present was a lady representing the Facebook Group which had formed called ‘Save the Foxlydiate Arms’. But just before the meeting was due to commence, one of the Bromsgrove Councillors informed Robin that the Foxlydiate agenda item would not now be discussed. This was because the pub’s owners, Whitbread, had changed the status of the Foxlydiate Arms to that of a hotel. This meant that it could not be made a Community Asset.
The plans to build 48 houses and a block of two storey flats, have not yet been passed. We are hoping that now that the housing needs in Bromsgrove have been met, the plans to build on the site of the Foxlydiate Arms may not be passed. We will let members know when the planning meeting is being held. Meanwhile, you can object to the plans by going on to the BDC website planning section. There is already concern regarding the road infrastructure, with 2,500 new homes being built in Webheath and Bentley, and also the lack of social facilities. Robin Lunn will let us know when the planning meeting is taking place and we will be attending.
MAIN EVENTS SINCE LAST AGM:
We held a Litter Pick in May which a few members attended and 18 bags of litter were collected. We were disappointed at the turnout, particularly as the date had been carefully chosen as a Saturday morning in May, away from the Bank Holidays.
As mentioned in the Treasurer’s Report above, Claire Ivins had obtained a grant from Fortis Living of £2,000 towards the purchase of a new Community Notice Board for Pointers Way, similar to the two existing boards in Brockhill Park and Carthorse Lane. Robin Lunn has contacted Matthew Mead, Senior Engineering Technician at RBC, regarding its installation.
We held our annual Quiz Night fundraiser in October which was a very enjoyable evening. As already mentioned we raised £253 which will help with our running costs and enable us to continue the offer of free Association membership.
Membership continues to increase thanks in particular to Sylvia Collinson who has delivered many joining leaflets to households on Pointers Way and Meadow View. Total membership now stands at in excess of 400. However it should be noted that support for the Association in terms of attendance at litter picks, quiz nights and AGMs remains disappointingly low.
We identified a need for ‘Give Way’ markings at the junction of Lowfield Lane and Appletree Lane. Robin Lunn and Brandon Clayton have since organised this with the consequent improvement of residents’ safety.
David Dallaway had made a further attempt to get Royal Mail to install a post-box on Pointers Way or Meadow View. Their subsequent response as to why it was not necessary was somewhat puzzling. They quoted that regulatory requirements deem that they must ensure there is a post-box within half a mile of at least 98% of all customer’s letter boxes. They claim that current posting facilities in the area already meet this requirement. Clearly they are aware of the existence of post-boxes that are unbeknown to the rest of us!!
ELECTION OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
In compliance with our Constitution three Committee Members must stand down at this AGM but may offer themselves for re-election. Tisha Greenway and Claire Ivins had offered their resignations and did not wish to apply for re-election. David Dallaway, the third person to stand down said, if re-elected, he would serve for just one more year. His re-election was unopposed. We asked if anybody in the room would like to offer their services to serve on the committee but there were no volunteers. However Mark Whitworth contacted us after the meeting to volunteer his services as Facebook Administrator which had been Claire Ivins’ role.
Ben Moseley was thanked for his work over the last year regarding administration of the website and it was hoped he would be able to continue in this role.
A.O.B./ MEMBERS’ OPEN FORUM:
Shirley Jobson asked the Councillors if a tree which had been brought down by the wind on public open space in Appletree Lane could be replaced. Brandon Clayton said that as the land had not yet been passed over from Persimmon, it could not be done at present.
Mike Vincent asked Brandon if the grass bank in Appletree Lane could be replaced to stop access by travellers. The original grass bank had been flattened when the crossing was installed near to the traffic Island at the Brockhill Drive/Appletree Lane junction.
Mike also asked why the stile on public open space, leading into a right of way across the field, was allowed to have barbed wire on the top. His son had ripped his coat trying to get over it. He suggested it would be better to have a kissing gate in its place. Councillors said that, as it was land belonging to Bentley Parish Council which comes under Bromsgrove, he would need to contact them.
Margaret Mole said that there is a litter bin on Pointers Way which is in a position that cannot be reached as it was behind temporary fencing erected in preparation of the building work on the new school. The Councillors said that they will look into this when the land is handed over to them from Persimmon.
Gemma Monaco told us that there is a P.A.C.T. meeting arranged on Saturday 7th December at 10 a.m. outside the Shopping Parade on Batchley Road.
The meeting ended at 9.30 p.m.