HOYLAKE VILLAGE LIFE

Director’s Meeting 15th October2013 @ Lake Business Centre

MINUTES

Present:Linda Gardiner (LG) (Chair), Mark Howard (MH), Chris Moore (CM), Richard Stowe (RS), Rose Kirby (RK), Stewart Lowther (SL),

Lorraine Turner (LT)

Apologies:Julian Priest, Matt Biagetti, Kate Verdin-Walsh

1.Minutes. Minutes of the meeting on Sep 13 were approved. Matters arising were:

  • The Busking day in Market Street had gone well. With advice from WMBC, HVL had produced a “code of conduct” for buskers which shows that buskers are encouraged, was mindful of legal obligations but with no liabilityfor the busking activities.
  • A reasonably productive Council meeting about the Town Centre Action Plan had taken place. Subjects raised were signposting, parking, better access and the railway crossings.
  • Rosie Saville had agreed to be the Volunteer Co-Ordinator for the cinema. LG will try to find a new overall co-ordinator.
  • The Business Network was looking positive. The group could well be independent by Spring 2014.
  • It was agreed to send abridged Minutes of meetings to HVL members and to be placed on the website to improve knowledge of HVL activities.

2.Financial Report.

  • The September Film Night (Don’t Look Now) had attracted 63 filmgoers and showed a surplus of £ 128.77 after expenses.
  • As at 15 Oct, HVL funds stood at £ 6767 (including the £5000 grant from the Council earmarked for Town Team.
  • Non-film Expenditure incurred since the last meeting had been:
  • VAT to HMRC for Qtr to 31 Aug£ 201.56
  • Gratuity to Accountant for Annual Accounts£ 25.00
  • GlowCo for Halloween props£ 103.81
  • Buskers 28 Sep£ 105.00
  • Cherry picker hire for removal of banners£ 45.00£ 480.37
  • Anticipated non-film Income:
  • Adverts x 2 from Hol Inn Express£ 240.00
  • Anticipated Expenditure:
  • Indemnity Insurance Renewal£ 225.00
  • Companies House Filing£ 15.00
  • Cinema 2013/14 Season Flyers£ 33.00
  • Flyer Distribution£ 215.00
  • Advert in Wirral Tourist Map£ 95.00
  • AGM/Annual Report Printing£ 40.00(E)£623.00 (E)

Leaving a working balance of some £ 1384. It was agreed to spend up to £225 on the essential Indemnity Insurance.

3.Expenditure items for consideration

  • Christmas Lights–A group of ten volunteers (essentially an HVL subgroup) had agreed to organise the lights. A Christmas Event (22 Nov) was being planned at the Holiday Inn, £12.50 per ticket (maximum of 60 tickets). Two members of the subgroup would ask local businesses for contributions. It was agreed that HVL will underwrite the installation costs of the lights to a maximum of £1,000 although there was concern as to whether HVL would be reimbursed for the costs. Reassurances were given that arrangements were well in hand and the venture was unlikely to fail. Any surplus over and above the installation costs could be put towards next year’s lights. The money could be reinvested in traditional lights until enough lights had been purchased, then we can look toward more advanced displays ofcreative lighting solutions.A possible second fundraising event could take place, as HVL had been offered free use of The Parade.
  • Halloween Party – This was taking place on 26 October at the Parade. £100 had been spent on sweets and glowsticks, which will be sold on the day for a small profit. 200 tickets had been sold already. There will be costs for the disco and facepainting.The Parade were printing all leaflets advertising the party. £360 sponsorship had been raised. The Halloween Party was likely to show a surplus which will be shared with The Parade.

4.AGM Notice & Papers

  • The AGM is scheduled for 14th November. The Annual Report to 31 May 2013 would be produced in hard copy and sent out by email. Members should be given a minimum of three weeksnotice of the AGM. For 2013, Members only would be invited to the AGM. The Agenda and accompanying information would be issued at the same time.
  • The Annual Report should be distributed more widely throughout the year to improve knowledge about HVL.
  • It was agreed that future AGMs should be prepared at least two months beforehand.

5.Approval of Directors Appointments. The interim arrangements for the appointment of directors was agreed as circulated. These would be explained at the AGM.

6.DONG. A meeting with two representatives of DONG was scheduled for 17 October. MH, SL and CM would attend. To date, DONG had offered nothing in terms of mitigation of the adverse visual impact of extending the Burbo Bank wind farm or Community Benefit Funding for Hoylake. HVL would propose public realm and infrastructure improvements to the promenade as a suitable mitigation measure. As regards the Community Benefit Fund, we would await comments from the DONG representatives. HVL believes that Hoylake is the town most affected by visual impact of the windfarm, and the Vision consultation process had highlighted firm resistance from Hoylake residents to the project. It was understood that the Council would not be conducting a visual impact assessment. This had put HVL in a potentially weaker position to negotiate with DONG since elected members appeared not to be concerned about visual impact. However, Esther McVey MP had offered her support and had forwarded questions to Eric Pickles MP.

7. Proposed Arts Centre Progress. Ongoing conversations with John Sullivan of CinemaNextcontinued. A preliminary meeting with a possible landlord and a Liverpool based local architect had taken place. The architect (Adam Hall) had offered to carry out work pro-bono as to the viability of a mixed use arts/heritage centre and a 120 seat cinema. It was agreed to continue with exploring the various project ideas.

8.Advertising & Sponsorship Revenue. In the past, HVL had been able to deploy 19 banners in Hoylake. Preliminarynegotiationswith Tesco had indicated their willingness to enter into a contract for ten banners at a cost of £4,000. Following discussion it was agreed to proceed with this initiative. Other businesses including Kingsmead School have also shown interest in sponsoring banners. Wirral Borough Council are looking to populate the area from Grange Hill to Hoylake with their own bannersas part of the Open Golf Championship arrangements. These could not be used for local sponsorship. Clearance for HVL to deploy banners in the high street should be pursued. Elsewhere, contact was being made with potential advertisers on the website. There is scope, therefore, for advertising revenue to increase in the next couple of months.

9.Ward Councillors/HVL Meetings. The suggestion of regular meetings between representatives of HVL and local councillors was unanimously agreed as a positive step.

11.Pebbles Café. This project is going ahead but building cannot start until the end of March 2014, as any work prior to thatwould disrupt the bird migration and breeding season. The owner and WMBC want the café to be open by the time of The OpenGolf. A new building would beerected after the demolition of the current toilet block.

11.Any Other Business.

  • Esther Mcvey MP.It was agreed to send a message of congratulation to Esther Mcvey MP on her recent promotion to Junior Minister.
  • Golf Resort. WMBC had issued invitations to contract for tender relating to the resort.
  • Town Team. A Town team Meeting had been held the previous week but had been poorly attended. A framework for the consideration and approval of grants was discussed. Previously submitted invoices for expenditure in relation to Town Team activity at Melrose Hall for £500 and from Hoylake Allotment Association for £45.61 were approved for payment but no further claims for retrospective payments would be considered. The framework for approval of grant applications was discussed as was the future viability of the Town Team in the context of poor attendance. The lack of clarity in relation to the original and subsequent grant approval to HVL was of concern and LG requested that paperwork in relation to the approval should be circulated asap.

Next Meeting:14th November – ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

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