MINUTES
OF THE PARTNERSHIP ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
HELD
AT THE BILLINGSHURST VILLAGE HALL
On
Saturday 11th July 2009 11.00 am
DRAFT ONLY
| Present: |
16 |
Please
see attached 'Register of members present':
*a record of this register forms appendix
1 of this document. |
Minutes:
Sandy Duck -SD
1.
Apologies for Absence:
Jacky Barnett, Steve Stocker, Sue Samson, Pam Spencer,
Peter Woodman, Owen Davies, Peggy Davis, Hazel Barnes,
Matt Aylesbury Morris.
2.
Minutes of the last AGM held on 5th
July 2008:
Agreed and signed by the current Chairman (Patrick
Perks)
3.
Matters Arising:
None
4.
Chairman's Report and Welcome:
The Chairman welcomed all attendees to this year's
(2009) AGM, and made reference to the Community
Partnership's 'Action Plan 08 to 09' which remains
the overarching guide to our ongoing projects and
endeavours.
He also welcomed Rowena Tyler (AIRS),
who has the role of Returning Officer, and will
oversee the election of the Committee.
Chairman's
Report: -
This
year has seen your managing committee heavily involved
in the 'Village Regeneration' project, and as part
of this effort we have reinvigorated the Billingshurst
Chamber of Commerce (C of C) which, due to the efforts
of Ken Johnson, John Griffin and Sandy Duck now
has some 50 members from the business community.
Once the C of C has more strength from the local
business community it is our intention to step back
from lead positions but continue, in line with the
' Village Regeneration Project', to maintain a 'watching
brief' with active participation on its managing
committee. The regeneration project is and will
remain our key and overarching project for some
time to come.
Denise Campbell and her team continue to organise
and run the youth projects of TAG and the Enterprise
Scheme, the latter now established as a way forward
for those young people to make a positive contribution
within our community. Denise and her team’s
efforts have been recognised this year by receiving
the Duke of Richmond's Award for Services to Young
People.
Tony Burke and his team continue to organise the
' Older Peoples' luncheon club and Sandy Duck runs
an after lunch exercise session for them. I would
like to emphasise Sandy's commitment in her volunteering
to run the exercise sessions and her professionalism
in undertaking training to do this.
Your committee members continue to work with associated
groups such as BAIT, the Village Hall Management
Committee, Station Road Gardens and Community Transport.
Regarding the Station Road Gardens project;- The
Community Partnership put in a bid for Heritage
funding but were unsuccessful due to the area (the
old cricket and football pitches in Station Road)
having no heritage value in the view of the adjudication
managers from the Heritage organisation. However
we continue to work with the Parish Council and
Gavin Collins in particular, to seek other funding
and a number of your managing team are active members
of Gavin's working group.
This year we reduced our committee meeting schedule
to six per year, meeting bi-monthly. This in no
way reflects any diminishing commitment to the community
but rather a recognition of the effort we now put
in to our ongoing projects, and the time and effort
these demand from the team members. Your Directors
meet on a regular basis to review progress and if
necessary will call a meeting of the managing committee
if needs be.
This year saw some progress on our endeavours to
introduce a ' Drop-in-Centre’ or ' Centralised
Youth Facility’ (CYF) arising from our previous
public consultations and we hope to move this forward
this autumn. The main issue here will be funding,
and in these difficult times, with many organisations
seeking funds from WSCC and HDC, as well as other
sources, will no doubt prove a challenge, demanding
a lot of time and energy to achieve. I mention this
to emphasise the dedication and commitment the managing
team makes to our projects.
We still seek a project leader for the Arts and
Culture and indeed all our projects require ongoing
help and assistance so volunteers are always welcome.
Billifest is now well established and we are starting
work on this year’s which is being held on
the 5th December. In addition we have
started to organise other street markets through
the year to try to attract more people into Billingshurst.
Yet another project that needs volunteers to help
to organise and run.
Once again it has been my privilege to act as your
chairman for another year and I thank the Managing
Committee and the Directors for their ongoing support
and commitment to me. Without this support it would
be difficult if not impossible to do the job effectively.
I must thank Sandy Duck our secretary for all her
work and dedication as well as our treasurer Tony
Burke. Both key roles are carried out to the benefit
of us all. Thanks have to also go to our long suffering
partners for their support and encouragement.
2009/10 will no doubt be challenging but with the
ongoing dedication of our team we will meet these
challenges, and move forward to meet the objectives
of our five year plan.
Patrick
Perks Chairman Billingshurst Community Partnership
Director's
Report:
The
Directors are confident that the actions as laid
down in the 2008 to 20012 plan are proceeding to
plan. This year 2008/09 has seen the successful
completion of the ' Children's Centre C4C’'
project and this item has now been discharged. The
sports complex area of woodland and fishing lake
are now in use and maturing and we continue to encourage
voluntary teams to help maintain these areas. The
Community Partnership received a commendation award
from the CPRE for our work with regard to the woodland
area.
Our Youth projects are proceeding well and this
year we received the Duke of Richmond's award for
services to Young People presented to Denise Campbell
and her team for their ongoing efforts. The Older
People's Luncheon Club continues to provide a valuable
service to the community.
As part of the ' Village Regeneration' project we
have re-launched the ' Billingshurst Chamber of
Commerce' which currently has 50 members. Once the
Chamber has sufficient momentum it is our intention
to stand back and let the local business people
take this forward. However the regeneration project
is not as advanced as we would have wished due to
local funding difficulties and complexities of bidding
for EU funds from the LEADER initiative. That said
the Directors recognise that this project is key
to our community's future and therefore continue
to give this project their foremost attention and
efforts.
The community year end event ' Billifest' is now
well established and this year will be the fourth
successive event we have organised. In addition
work has been undertaken to introduce other street
markets throughout the year with some limited success.
We look forward to another challenging but successful
year.
The
Directors report to Companies House return for 08/09
5.
Treasurer's Report: -
A
copy of the Report and Accounts were provided to
all present which Tony made reference to as he spoke:
Headline figures for 2008/09 are Income £37,000
and Expenditure £49,000. The variation is
due to grants relating to on-going projects which
had been received in previous year(s) and expenditure
occurred in 2008/09.
The Partnership attracted grants of £33,800
during the year from Billingshurst Parish Council,
Gatwick Trust, Heritage Lottery Fund, Horsham D.C.,
Saxon Weald, Sussex Police, SEEDA and West Sussex
C.C. We are very grateful to these grant providers,
particularly Billingshurst Parish Council for their
continuing support of the Partnership.
In addition to grants, we also received donations
from the Billingshurst Rotary Club and the Billingshurst
Twinning Society as well as a number of individual's
contributions for Billifest 2008.
In financial terms the year saw the completion of
the Burnt Row Wood and Fishing Lake projects and
the start and completion of the projects for equipment
at Lower Station Road and drainage work at Jubilee
Fields. The first stage of the Sustainable Communities
Project has in financial terms almost been completed.
The Youth Enterprise Scheme project is up and running
and is financially secure for the current year with
promises of further grants and donations. Funding
for other youth projects TAG and GIGs is also secure
for the current year.
Billifest 2008 was a great success financially as
the cost was covered so that no loss was incurred.
For this we are extremely grateful to the Parish
Council for their financial support for the event.
I should also mention the donations from local traders,
and individuals, for prizes and children's gifts,
distributed by 'Father Christmas', for which we
are most grateful.
Finally, ' The Administration Budget' is now showing
a healthier balance than a year ago and it is worth
recording, given the preoccupation of the media
with member's expenses, that individuals on the
management committee did not claim for mileage,
stationery, postage, telephone and computers, or
indeed duck houses or manure, for their efforts
on behalf of the Partnership.
I would like to close by saying that the Partnership
funds have, over a period, been consolidated financially,
due in no small part to its policy of no commitment
ahead of securing funding for new or existing projects.
Tony
Burke Treasurer.
Tony Burke proposed the accounts be accepted pending
sign off from the accountant.
John
Griffin seconded, and this was carried unanimously
by the meeting.
6. PROJECT PRESENTATIONS
6.1
Village Regeneration - Ken Johnson:
This
stage last year we were due to receive results of
the 'The Sustainable Communities Research
Project' supported by both HDC and SEEDA... In the
current year we have progressed a long way.
The purpose of this project is to improve the local
economy, to understand the issues both good and
bad and find out who visits us, what are the attractions,
what makes them visit us?
The Project incorporated the largest public consultation
process to be carried out in Billingshurst where
350 individuals have been spoken to of which 1/3rd
were residents, and 2/3rd were non residents;
of these 94% said they visited Billingshurst regularly.
30 stakeholder interviews were undertaken, known
as the ' movers and shakers' of the community, e.g.
The Weald and other major employers.
The end result was a robust report on the situation
in Billingshurst.
Outline
Conclusions:-
The
Positives they found:- The Weald School, The Swimming
Pool, The Amenity Tip, The Child and Family Centre
and some good quality shops - e.g. Austin's, Bradfield's,
DK Vintners and Post Office.
The Negatives they found: - Lack of a Hospital,
Comparison Shopping, Major Supermarket, Car Parking
and No Petrol Station.
The
retail offering needs to improve.
Key
Issues:-
Car
Parking,
Community
Transport although in place is not adequate
Retail
Offering - limited quality shops
Jengers
Mead - drab
Marketing
and Publicity - none,
There are no ' Welcome to Billingshurst' signs as
you approach the Village no finger boards to direct
visitors to Library, Station etc.
Four
Key Strategic Initiatives:
10
projects were identified within the report of which
4 have been selected as key for the economy of Billingshurst
Retail
Training and Development:-
Financial
and administrative guidance will be available.
'
Metamorphosis' will support with window display
and shop fronts, help with quality of service to
customers
The
programme has agreed £1,000 per shop
This
has been used in Pulborough which has shown an improvement
of between 5 & 15% in the retail sales of those
retailers who joined in. This is currently being
undertaken in Midhurst.
Community
Shop
To
support new retail start-ups, provide the ability
to share the costs and overheads.
There
are lots of empty shops in Billingshurst, and the
idea is to have a Community Shop where 3 or 4 new
and different start ups can share the premises,
costs would be kept to a minimum whilst they trial
their business. There has been a positive response
from HDC and a feasibility study is being undertaken
in respect of costs etc...
Marketing
and Publicity
The
aim is to provide directional ' Finger Boards' to
indicate in particular where to find Shops, Church,
Library, Information Boards, we have one at present.
An Information Centre, we are looking at using Village
Hall or Library.
We
need a local Brochure to promote Billingshurst,
to include retail outlets and services which can
be found in Billingshurst.
Car
Parking and Community Transport
Car
Parking in Billingshurst has been high on the agenda
and a bone of contention for some time now, which
is well known. There has been a great improvement
for the Library Car Park recently with the introduction
of the disc system which now makes it easier to
park in the Village.
It is proposed to review Jubilee Fields parking
facilities and look at the possibilities of using
this as a mini ' Park and Ride’ service linking
in with community transport.
-
Commuters
- to the Station from 6.30am – 8.00am,
Shop/Office employees from 8.00am – 9.00am.
Following which the bus could be used to provide
a bus service around Billingshurst (hop on and
off) and a bus service to other local communities,
using it again for the homeward journey of local
employees and commuters later in the day.
The report provides good feedback on our community
transport but says it does not go far enough.
HDC are looking to carry out a feasibility study
on this initiative, this will be costly –
to see how commuters etc will use it. At the end
of the day this will need to be self funding.
6.2.
Youth Projects - Denise Campbell:
We
have, over the past 12 months tried to stay true
to our Action Plan with regards to providing activities
and opportunities for our young people. We have
continued to develop existing projects and introduced
some new.
TAG
This
continues to be popular with a certain group of
13 to 16 year olds. During the winter months numbers
regularly exceeded 35 which was quite challenging
given the fact that a lot of the teenagers that
come have behavioural problems and the Village Hall
is not ideally suited for running a youth club from.
TAG continues to flourish and is an excellent forum
and platform to get to know the individuals that
at other times, quite often, are disturbing other
people.
YES
project
In
April of last year we launched a new project called
YES which aims to primarily engage with the
group of young people that come to TAG. It is a
project that endeavours to promote community cohesion
and self worth in the individuals. Initially, we
ran the project as a pilot scheme for 6 months.
It has proved so successful that we have decided
to continue, supported with funding from Sussex
Police, Saxon Weald Housing, Horsham District Council,
and The Horsham Health & Wellbeing Fund.
We hope to be able to engage and invite more young
people to become involved and from September we
will be working more closely with the Weald School
to attract young people the school feels would benefit
from the experience that YES has to offer.
We
are very pleased with the results this project has
given. It is a project that deals with individuals,
not groups, and as such its successes will always
be more limited. It is a very challenging experience,
but when it works gives great rewards. We believe
we have broken down barriers and built bridges with
quite a few individuals which can only be a good
thing for all of us. I would like to say a huge
thank you to Keith Brown who has worked very hard
on this project to make it the success that it is.
.
BilliRox
These
have been suspended for several months, partly due
to the repairs to the main hall in the Village Hall,
and partly due to several key members of the crew
moving on. Our aim is to start again with bi-monthly
gigs in the autumn.
Our young people are desperate for this and there
is no shortage of them coming forward to help fill
the void created by the previous crew members moving
onto University etc., however, we do need a nominal
number of adults to come forward to oversee the
event.
I have written a piece for the next PC Newsletter
stating that without adult volunteers coming forward
this hugely popular event for our young people will
not start again. Sad though it is, I am not prepared
to run this with the few adults that have so far
said they would help. If you know anyone who might
be willing to help I would really like to hear from
them.
These types of events cannot run without volunteers.
It would be a shame to lose this unique activity
just because there aren’t enough adults willing
to give up one evening every other month. We have
to ask ourselves, how committed are we to providing
activities for our young people?
All in the Community Partnership are very committed
but, we cannot do it alone. It needs other volunteers
from the community to come forward and support us.
General:
As
well as organising activities and events we have
been successful in securing funding (£11.5K)
for the new five-a-side football goal posts and
basket ball hoop on lower Station Road. This was
much needed and judging by the worn out turf around
and in between the posts they have been very well
used.
In a similar vain, we are waiting for a decision
from the Dept of Children & Families as to whether
we have been successful in getting funding towards
a multi court and youth shelter for the Old Cricket
Field on Station Road. (£50K)
In conclusion I would like to mention briefly the
proposed New Centralised Youth Facility.
In October 2008 we sent out a questionnaire to all
year 7, 8 and 9 pupils (that is ages 13 –
15). This was a broad questionnaire asking young
people what sort of activities and facilities they
would like. An overwhelming majority that responded
wanted a separate youth facility outside of, but
close to the Weald School. This project is still
in it’s infancy but John Griffin, who has
agreed to run this project, will give you an update
as to where we are so far.
There is so much more that we'd like to do for our
young people. There is so much more that could be
done. We will continue to work closely with other
agencies that have an interest in young people such
as the Weald School the Police, HDC Community Development
and Crime & Disorder Departments and West Sussex
Youth Services. We have excellent relationships
with all of these groups and we are beginning to
see the benefits of sharing information and concerns,
and hope these partnerships continue to develop.
It is to all of our advantages to do so, and I have
every reason to believe the provision of activities
and support for young people in Billingshurst will
continue to improve.
Centralised
Youth Facility- John Griffin:
Our aim is to provide one facility for the youth
of Billingshurst; currently we have TAG or the Weald.
Many 13 -17 year olds are hanging around the streets
which is not good as there is not enough for them
to do.
We have taken our initial ideas to WSCC to seek
feasibility of what we are trying to achieve and
so far the response has been positive. We need to
seek funding for this project before venturing into
the next stage of planning.
89% of responses to the questionnaire sent to all
13 -15 year olds felt the facility should be near
to the Weald School. They want somewhere to hang
out, and somewhere for local live bands to perform,
and they would like to use this weekly.
When asked about refreshments they would like simple
hot food, energy drinks and a tuck shop. So far
everything is looking positive from all areas.
6.3.
Chamber of Commerce - John Griffin
By
2007 the Chamber of Commerce had fallen into disuse,
membership stood at a stubborn half dozen stalwarts,
no meetings were being convened, and there was no
local business champion.
When a parking and clamping regime was introduced
into Jengers Mead there was no cohesive ' voice'
of opposition. In July 2007 Billingshurst Community
Partnership set up a Steering Committee to' re-form'
the Chamber of Commerce. A public meeting was called
to formally establish the new Billingshurst Chamber
in September 2007.
Initially the focal point for recruitment was the
parking / clamping issue. The majority of High Street
traders joined the Chamber, and membership currently
stands at around 50 members. Attempts to extend
the influence of the Chamber into the Industrial
Estates have been spasmodic and now the formation
phase is over, membership needs to be more representative
and inclusive.
Our aims during 2009 are to:
This will provide businesses the opportunity to
' network’ ideas and services, use the Chamber
as a source of data and information, improve integration
into local events, and provide business to business
promotional opportunities. It will also provide
interaction with local authorities with potential
Chamber access to strategic funding.
If all of this can be achieved, we will have a vibrant
and thriving Billingshurst, with improved local
businesses, a higher profile for local services
with improved publicity and PR for Billingshurst
as an economic ' hub’.
6.4.
Elderly - Tony Burke:
The
first half of the year continued as the previous
year with an average of 33 people coming to enjoy
their lunch and afternoon activities. In September
we were able to re-introduce the chair exercises
thanks to our newly qualified instructor Sandy Duck.
I would like to say a big thank you to her, the
helpers on the day, the minibus drivers and the
pudding makers without whose help the lunch club
would not be happen.
The
winter months took a significant toll on our numbers
with 15 regulars no longer able to come along due
to illness, moves to residential care and sadly
deaths. We are getting new members but this is a
slow process. An Article is going in the next Parish
News Letter and flyers have been sent to developments
which are for older people.
7.
Questions / Comments:
Q Metamorphosis - is this going to be different
from the last time.
A. Last time the shoppers were anonymously asked
to complete a questionnaire; this was another part
of the project. This time metamorphosis will be
concentrating on stock control and finance.
Comment from Amanda Jupp - With respect to the village
regeneration it would be good to encourage people
from other areas to come into Billingshurst. Parking
is a problem generally across the county and we
can't expand Billingshurst without first resolving
the parking issues. I am willing to work with BCP
to try to resolve these issues. The same goes for
our problems with youth, when kids have nothing
to do they get mischievous. So we do need to try
to find a way forward. I want to get involved and
help where I can.
8.
Election of Management Committee Members:
Billingshurst Community Partnership Articles of
Association state that if there are more than 18
nominations are received an election will need to
be held.
ROWENA
TYLER attending from AIRS acting as the adjudicator
for the election, confirmed that as 18 nominations
had been received there would be no need to hold
an election; therefore all 18 nominees would be
duly elected onto the Billingshurst Community Partnership
Management Committee.
A
copy of the voting form, with details of the nominees
for the new ' Management Committee' is attached
and will be placed with these minutes. *(Appendix
2).
9.
Appointment of Honorary Officers:
9.1
Chairman:
John
Griffin proposed Patrick Perks for Chairman
this was seconded by Ken Johnson; and was agreed
unanimous by the meeting.
9.2
Vice Chairman:
Patrick
Perks proposed Denise Campbell for Vice Chairman
this was seconded by John Underwood; and was agreed
unanimously by the meeting.
9.3
Treasurer:
Patrick
Perks proposed Tony Burke as Treasurer this
was seconded by Helen Abbott, and was agreed unanimously
by the meeting.
10.
Appointment of 3 Directors:
1.
Patrick Perks proposed the appointment of John Griffin
as a Director of the Partnership; this was seconded
by Keith Brown and was agreed unanimously by the
meeting.
2. Patrick Perks proposed the appointment of Ken
Johnson as a Director of the Partnership; this was
seconded by Keith Brown and was agreed unanimously
by the meeting.
3. Patrick Perks proposed the appointment of Sandy
Duck as a Director of the Partnership; this was
seconded by Keith Brown and was agreed unanimously
by the meeting
11. Fixing of Annual Subscription:
Ken
Johnson proposed the annual subscription will remain
at nil; this was seconded by Denise Campbell and
was agreed unanimously by the meeting.
12.
Appointment and fixing of remuneration of the auditors:
Patrick
Perks proposed the appointment of Roger Moore from
Hilton Sharp and Clarke as auditor for BCP accounts,
this was seconded by Ken Johnson and agreed unanimously
by the meeting. The remuneration for this work will
be nil.
13.
Any other Business
Q.
Is there any way the Partnership can influence the
WSCC to enforce the speed limit through the high
street?
Ans.
PP: We can lobby, but items such as this need to
remain with the BPC, HDC and WSCC
.KB:
Through BAIT we can get a camera ourselves but we
need to be prepared to also operate it ourselves.
There are now sufficient volunteers to operate the
-Speed Indicator Device (SID). Areas where SID is
required have been identified. Once training has
been given this exercise can start in the autumn.
Q.
Have the parameters been set for Arts &
Culture within the Partnership.
Ans.
PP: No since there are no fixed parameters we will
consider all ideas. What is
required is a project leader who will work with
the Arts Council and local groups to
encourage live performances and art and crafts exhibitions
at the village hall.
14.
Date of Next AGM Meeting
This
is to be advised.
14.1
Date of next Management Meeting.
Next
Management Meeting is to be held on 17th
September 2009
There
being no further business to discuss the meeting
closed at 12.00pm
| DOCUMENT
IDENTIFICATION AND STATUS |
Title
AGM Minutes dated 11th July 2009
Ref
AGM / 2009
Owner
P Perks
Author
S Duck
| DOCUMENT
RELEASE AUTHORISATION |
Name
P Perks
Role
Chair, Billingshurst Community Partnership Management
Committee
Release
Date ……………………
Signature
………………………….
| Version |
Date |
|
| 2 |
3rd
September 2009 |
This
document (15 pages) |
|
|
|
Register
of Members Present original filed with minutes
- Extract of this document- Appendix1. |
|
|
|
Financial
Statements for the year ending 31.3.09 |
|
|
|
Voting
Form - Appendix 2 |
|
|
|
Register
of elected members Appendix 3
|
|
