FINAL
TIDDINGTON VILLAGE RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION FULL COMMITTEE MEETING
Date:Monday 13th March 2017
Venue:Margaret Court
Present:Martin Grubb, Carol Crabb, Linda Dixon, Helen Crook, Steve Kirk, Emma Scott, Kate Rolfe, Kevan Russell (as observer & member of Planning sub-Committee)
Apologies:Bob Bessell
Meeting Opened: 7.35 Meeting Closed: 9.55
- Welcome and Objectives
MG welcomed all those present.
- Minutes from last meeting
These were approved and signed as a correct record.
- Matters Arising
Noticeboard: ES confirmed that the existing pillar in the Spar continued to be used for all TVRA notices, together with occasional use of the shop front door when appropriate. Some concern still exists that notices are not prominent enough and LD suggested introducing a purpose built outside cabinet. KRo reported that historically this approach had attracted vandalism. ES will think about how to maximise our space.
ACTION: ES
Dog Warden: KRo has obtained new ‘dog poo’ posters from the dog warden. ES will laminate these and KRo & HC will display around the village as appropriate. As well as the fields, most streets were significantly affected.
ACTION: KRo/HC
Christmas Tree for Village: MG proposed that this issue be discussed later in the year.
Tents/Gazebos:The issue of whether to buy or borrow tents/gazebos for future TVRA events had arisen at the last meeting as a result of impracticalities surrounding the Christmas event. MG proposed that we discuss options within the ‘fete’ agenda item.
Last newsletter: The last newsletter had been published and circulated sooner than originally planned due to combining it with notification to residents of the ERR Meeting. ES confirmed that all other items intended for that edition had been included.
Bank Account Signatories: The final documentation required for change of signatory was signed by MG and HC and will now be sent off to the bank.
ACTION: MG
- Constitution progress
No further progress has been made on finalising the few remaining details of the Constitution due to time constraints surrounding the recent ERR issue. MG and ER are aware that the constitution document needs to be consulted on by the residents as soon as possible, and definitely prior to the AGM in May. ES confirmed that she would endeavour to tie up loose ends by the end of the week, liaise with MG and aim for completion/consultation by the end of March.
ACTION: MG/ES
- Treasurer’s Report
MG reported that the current bank account balance stands at £1,483.45, now that LS’s Christmas Carols expense claim for £79 has been submitted and reimbursed. MG reiterated that funds should of course be used for the benefit of the village and thought needs to be given as to how we use it/regenerate it.
- Communications
MG thanked SK for getting an overall grip on the communications issue.
Website: SK had liaised with Mark Morrall (MM) and the TVRA website was now up and running satisfactorily. However, MM has requested that we move the hosting of the website away from the company he was using a.s.a.p. as he is still paying for this. SK recommended switching to Easyspace – this company would host both website and emails at a cost to us of £50-£100 p.a. We would then no longer be reliant on MM or his goodwill. MG sought approval from the committee for the proposed switch – all agreed. SK added that he would be happy to make changes/additions to the website as and when required.
ACTION: SK
Emails: We currently have 10 email addresses for tiddington.community and it was suggested by SK/ES that this be simplified by retaining just 3 or 4 essential ones. It was agreed to retain chair@, enquiries@ (prev.communications@), events@ and webmaster@(default). All others to be abandoned.
SK agreed to investigate what is happening to sign-up requests made via website after ES had received a query suggesting details may not be getting picked up.
ACTION: SK
Newsletters: The Spring Newsletter had been distributed door-to-door, and via Facebook and Mailchimp and ES was thanked for her hard work. ES proposed the next newsletter be published towards the end of May, to incorporate ERR update and Fete17. Although MG was mindful that residents needed to be reminded of the closing date for the transport strategy consultation, albeit far sooner than the next newsletter, ES proposed that newsletters should largely be kept separate from specific publicising of important issues such as ERR and that a separate communications strategy was needed to deal with this type of issue.
MG questioned whether the next newsletter should be published before or after the AGM on 15th May. After much discussion and mindful that we need to ensure a good turnout, it was agreed that the newsletter be published after the AGM but a separate AGM notice be circulated door-to-door, website, FB and Mailchimp at the end of April.
Facebook Page Advertising: ES expressed concern that the TVRA FB page was being used to excess by local residents wishing to promote their home businesses, e.g. baby bump, nail bars, massageetc, on the site. It was felt that this diluted the ‘community interest’ conversation thread between residents. A FB poll to establish the general concensus of opinion about this was inconclusive since most of the respondents were the advertisers themselves. Discussion followed on the best way to deter such advertising, including the possibility of charging an annual fee, but it was subsequently proposed and agreed thata separate FB page be set up for advertising businesses with a link to/from the existing general thread. Exceptions to this policy would allow for local event advertising.
ACTION: ES
Home visits: SK proposed that in future we could consider offering home visits if residents were concerned about not being able to attend village meetings.
Contact information would be clearly displayed on notices. ES proposed that drop-in sessions could also be set-up. Both proposals were agreed by the committee.
- Planning sub-group
ST Resignation: ST has now resigned from the TVRA. She has been thanked for all her hard work and dedication as Chair and Vice-chair of the main committee and subsequently as Chair of the Planning sub-committee.Full details of the confidential matters raised by ST are recorded and held internally.
It was acknowledged by the Committee that ST had always maintained the principle of engaging as many residents as possible in matters of village importance, recognising that such issues required accurate and detailed information, with realistic provision for addressing any related concerns and explanation of how individuals could become involved. This had been the approach taken in the case of the Core Strategy and the Neighbourhood Plan and it was resolved by the Committee that ST’s approach would continue to be taken by the present Committee.
Planning sub-committee autonomy: The issue of autonomy for the Planning sub-committee was revisited. Originally proposed by the sub-group but subsequently opposed by the main committee, whether or not to allow autonomy was opened up for further discussion along with other ideas for organising the Planning sub-group. This raised the question of how sub-group members were recruited, whether or not they should also be voted on as full committee members or whether the sub-group should simply be incorporated into the full committee with a nominated ad hoc sub-group being formed, when necessary, to deal with contentious or significant applications/issues as they arose.
HC sought assurance that individuals with hidden agendas should not by default become members of any planning sub-committee group – MG reminded the committee of current/previous procedures for voting on new members.
HC suggested that sub-groups could be incorporated into just the one committee and the merits of this were discussed. ES proposed one wholly inclusive meeting per month, the order of which would be a. Planning sub-committee, b. Social sub-committee and c. Full committee. This would allow for any decisions taken by sub-groups to be ratified by the full committee on the same day. Those sub-group members with no interest in general full committee discussions would be able to leave the meeting early. In exceptional circumstances, where detailed and time-consuming issues were being discussed, less important agenda items could be carried over to the following month.
MG proposed this approach on a short trial basis and the committee agreed.
The next meetings are therefore:
Wednesday 19th AprilFull committee meeting incorporating Planning
(this replaces scheduled sub-meeting)
Wednesday 3rd MayPre-AGM Full committee meeting
Monday 15th MayAGM
General Planning update: MG advised that since the last meeting, the issue of 33 New Street had been dealt with and the planning application for Walcote had been withdrawn.
Eastern Relief Road: MG reported on the recent ERR village meeting. Despite the map slides malfunctioning, MG was satisfied that the proposed ERR routes had been broadly understood by residents and that an awareness of the situation had been achieved. CC was thanked for her excellent record of the meeting and ES was thanked for her perseverance with the local press.
MG advised that MH (Mark Heseldene) of the AVA (Alveston Village Association) had suggested that the TVRA write another letter to the Stratford Herald this week. MG sought the opinion of the committee on this and It was subsequently decided against.
At this point KRo wished to give an update on her meeting with the AVA, when it had been agreed that they would be writing to the 4 officers involved, PR (Peter Richards), SR (Steven Rumble), ND (Nick Dauncey) & PH (Paul Harris) with a copy to IS (IzziSeccombe), to state that the will of the meeting was for them to respond with alternative proposals, including an option for no road at all, or scrap the entire Transport Strategy. KRo proposed that the TVRA should do the same and It was subsequently agreed that this should be an open letter. MG advised that he had already expressed this sentiment in his thank you letters to the officers in question.
ACTION: MG
KRo had met with IS who is leader of WCC. IS advised that there are no resources at present to deal with any options on an ERR and this would be the case for a very long time.
KRo then reported that SDC were calling for reserve sites which equated to 20% of those already in the Core Strategy, i.e. a further 3000 houses by 2031. KRo was seeking to find out (via an FOI request) whether SE Stratford had been put on the list for reserve sites. If this was the case, then the ERR could possibly be pushed into this core strategy.
HC had become aware of a campaign by SRAG (Stratford Residents Action Group) urging their members to write in support of the ERR as a means of preventing the WRR & SWRR. KRo advised that she had already met with their chair, Marion Homer (MH) and was not sure why she was suggesting any collaboration when both the WRR and the SWRR were already in this core strategy.
KRo also warned that we could have to face the possibility of taking overspill housing from Birmingham and Coventry as they were struggling to find sufficient sites.
MG raised the question of how best to remind residents about the closing date for the Transport Strategy consultation. The decision was taken to do this via the TVRA website, email, Facebook and a significant number of posters around the village. Information on how to respond by letter would also be made clear.
ACTION: ES
- Phone Mast
ES reported that there had been numerous posts on Facebook regarding the unsightly appearance of the recently replaced phone mast on the Knights Lane triangle. KRo commented that no objections had been registered before the work had been undertaken and no-one had expected it to look much different to the existing one. In reality, as all the required criteria for replacing it had been met and no specific planning permission was required, there was little that could be done about its presence.
There had been much discussion on FB about the Knights Lane triangle in general. In such a prominent part of the village, it was thought to be unsightly and in need of tidying up/prettying up with planting, etc. Suggestions were made as to how we might do this and MG proposed that KRo speak to Highways about restrictions, etc. and report back before any decisions were taken.
ACTION: KRo
Similarly, it was felt that the Green itself could be made more attractive and would benefit from some planting and benches, etc. It was noted that £16,000 would be coming from the Cala development (now Hayfield) to upgrade the actual play area.
KRo felt that this was an appropriate point in the meeting to raise the issue of parking on the Green.
- Parking
Indiscriminate parking by a few residents was causing damage to the grass on the Greenand complaints had been received from neighbouring residents. The Council had been made aware of this, letters had been sent out about this practice and subsequently 2 residents had been ticketed (though one somewhat unfairly). As a result of this, other residents had asked about applying for parking permits in view of the difficulties they were regularly facing. KRo explained in detail the criteria for issuing parking permits and Tiddington residents generally did not meet this criteria.
KRo would be meeting with the NFU tomorrow to highlight particular parking problems associated with their employees around Oak Road, Lawson Avenue and Charlecote Close.
ACTION: KRo
- Social sub-group
General update: LD reported that a meeting had recently been held (SK, CC, LS, LD) to discuss plans for future events. It was proposed that for the next year at least we would concentrate on just 2 major events – Carols on the Green and a Summer Fete (Fete17). These were tried and tested events and we could build on our experience. Other smaller events could be thought about at a later date.
SK volunteered to project manage Fete17 and this was unanimously agreed!
Fete17: SK had prepared a comprehensive proposal document for Fete17 and was satisfied that the initial interest and enthusiasm from local businesses and a positive response from residents on Facebook was sufficient to make another fete viable this year. Since the document had been circulated to the full committee prior to this meeting, SK did not go into detail about what was proposed. The suggested date of Saturday 22nd July was confirmed and agreed by all present.
MG reminded the committee of current funds available and the fact that unlike last year, outside funding was unlikely to be received. SK was satisfied that with diligent planning, realistic charging and input from local businesses, costs would be covered and indeed some profit should be forthcoming. This could then be shared out/split with various contributors and also used towards further community projects.
Discussion took place around SK’s proposals, with a few further ideas and suggestions added, e.g. instead of a traditional fete, perhaps a food festival theme. More detail would be discussed and plans made at the next social sub-committee meeting next week.
LD would contact Beth Pritchard (BP) at the NFU to investigate the possibility of another Community Giving Fund donation. There had been some indication from BP last year that NFU may be happy to support us again this year and if this is forthcoming LD & SK will arrange a visit to discuss. Possible uses for any funding were suggested, including a bench for the Green or a large party tent with NFU logo.
ACTION: LD/SK
Alternative options for gazebos/tents were discussed, including buying our own, borrowing as before or inviting NFU to loan/erect their own for us to use. A decision will be made once all options have been examined.
KRo will again endeavour to approach Ben Foster with a view to opening the fete.
ACTION: KRo
MG sought approval from the committee that SK’s outline proposal for Fete17 was acceptable. The committee was unanimously in favour.
- Action Tracker
All outstanding actions had either been completed or had been discussed during this meeting.
- Any Other Business
Great British Spring Clean: LD reported that as part of a Town Trust initiative, the TVRA had taken part in The Great British Spring Clean on Saturday 4th March. 13 Tiddington residents had turned up to litter pick around our village and a considerable amount of rubbish was removed from the streets and Green. Many of those present pledged their support for next year, as did some passers-by!
- Dates of Future Meetings
Tues 21st March:Social sub-committee, The Crown 7.30pm
Wed 19th April: Full Committee (+ Planning/Social),Margaret Court 7.30pm
Wed 3rd May:Full committee (pre-AGM), Margaret Court 7.30pm
Mon 15th May:AGM, TCC 7.30pm
Signed………..………………….……….(Chair)
Martin Grubb
Date………..………………………………………..
19th April 2017