The AGM for 2011 took place at the Village Hall on Tuesday 7th June.
The following is the collected reports of the various sections, beginning with the minutes of the meeting of 2010.
Chairman :: Treasurer :: Planning :: OIAW/Website :: Village Hall :: Entertainment :: Environment :: SDA Update
WALLINGTON VILLAGE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION
MINUTES OF THE 18th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
TUESDAY 8 JUNE 2010
Present: D Walton (Chair); A Bloxham (Secretary); C Weeks (Treasurer); J Clark (Hall); C Scott (Environment); E Hurley (Planning); A Hackney (OIAW & Web Site); C Morgan; L Judge: Cllr K Trott and 51 members.
The Chairman opened the meeting at 7.30pm.
Apologies: K Barton, T Reeve, M Reeve, Jim Hall, Jean Hall, D
Minutes of 2009 AGM: Proposed R Cox and seconded M Blyth that the minutes should be adopted. Carried without dissent. There were no matters arising from those minutes.
Summary of Reports: Written reports from Chairman, Treasurer, Planning, OIAW Editorial Board, Hall, Entertainment and Environment had been submitted to the meeting and were summarised for the benefit of members present. There were no matters arising from the reports and it was proposed by J Wilcox and seconded by A Humphrey that the reports should be adopted. Carried without dissent.
Election of Officers and Committee Members: It was proposed by R Cox and seconded by M Blyth and unanimously agreed by members that the following should be elected as Officers and members of the Executive Committee for the year 2010/2011:
|
OFFICERS Chairman Secretary Treasurer COMMITTEE |
NAME Eve Burley Alan Bloxham Clare Weeks David Walton |
PROPOSED J C Weeks A Bloxham W Banks |
SECONDED C Scott D Walton C Morgan J Banks |
Cllr Katrina Trott has been re-appointed as the representative of Fareham Borough Council with Cllr Paul Whittle as her deputy.
Annual General Meeting 2011: The meeting will be held on Tuesday 7 June 2011 at 7.30pm.
Tributes were paid to the outgoing Chair, David Walton, for his dedication to and hard work on behalf of WVCA.
There being no other business the Chairman closed the meeting at 8.15 pm.
My first year as WVCA Chairman has been extremely busy and the members of the Executive have worked very hard indeed as you will see from the actions and outcomes of the various sub committees included in your papers
Our very efficient Treasurer has produced a comprehensive monthly report throughout the year, which has enabled the Executive to closely monitor WVCA finances. Our annual turnover has been reduced by the termination of the
The Hall Committee have installed a Chairlift to enable members and visitors to access the second floor meeting room
The Planning Sub Committee have been very busy and have taken up several matters relating to the Sainsburys new development on behalf of residents. They have been very successful in negotiating improvements and have persuaded Sainsburys to reinstate the footpath behind Staples.
At the Annual Village Forum in January the WVCA hosted representatives from Fareham Borough Council who endeavoured to put forward the Councils proposals for the Strategic Development to the north of
The annual Village Walkround took place in June and was well attended by FBC/HCC Officers and the tour was judged to have been very encouraging
The Wallington Wall refurbishment is now complete which we hope will keep it standing for many years to come
The daytime parking problems in the village have now, in the main, been resolved, although there are still a few points to be resolved. Our grateful thanks go to David Walton and the rest of the team who worked so hard and long on this subject
The Village received a Flood Mitigation Grant, which we hope will make safe all those properties that were at risk. WVCA will closely monitor this.
The WVCA Website is running well and is regularly updated. Please access this as often as you can. It will keep us all in touch
The Environment Sub Committee have been very busy this year culminating with that super Bund on the
The Entertainment Committee has produced an exceptionally good year with a sell-out for most of their shows. The Childrens’ Christmas Party was really good and was very well attended Thoughts should now be given to the Queen’s Jubilee next year and the Committee would be pleased to receive ideas from Villagers
My thanks now to all the Streetreps for the great job they continue to do.
I have now to make an urgent appeal to someone living in Greenbanks to take on this very worthy job and fill a vacancy. Please phone the Secretary if you think you can help.
Thanks to the Hall Manager and staff who keep our Community Centre in such good order and thanks to all the ladies who look after us so well with teas and coffees
Finally I wish to give a very special thank you on behalf of the WVCA to James Clark for several years valuable service. Unfortunately James has decided to retire. All other members of the Executive Committee have agreed to continue
EVE BURLEY
Chairman
Gross receipts
The financial statements for this year show gross receipts for the year of £6,551 compared to £16,985 last year. This means £6,551 more funds are available to add to reserves.
Income
Overall income for the year was £56,090 a decrease of £7,667 over the 2010 figure.
Fete income was lower than the previous year. Although the fete was much more successful than last year, the bar was outsourced this year meaning gross receipts from the fete were lower overall.
The hall continues to be our main source of income and the effects of the closure of the pre-school can now be seen with a reduction of income compared to last year. However, the stronger marketing campaign has paid off and the pre-school closure effect has been minimised.
The one off monies received in respect of the works carried out on the wall along
Donations have increased largely due to a one-off donation being received just before the year-end from the son of John and Margaret Perry. The donation has not yet been spent as a fitting purpose is to be agreed.
Interest and dividends received have decreased since last year. Last year we had an excellent return on our investments due to fixed rate interest bearing accounts being agreed before the economic down turn. This year the effects of the down turn are shown.
Payments
Overall payments for the year have increased by £2,766 over the 2010 figure to a total of £49,538.
Fete costs have decreased since last year by £4,900. AS with the drop in income, the bar being outsourced has meant no costs were incurred in running the bar. Other efforts were made by the fete committee to reduce costs in light of the low turnout of the previous year due to the weather. As the weather was so good this year the financial result of the fete was excellent.
Although hall costs have increased compared to last year, running costs have generally decreased as the lack of the pre-school has meant a decrease in the electricity costs for heating and lighting. The hall has however been re-valued in the year and this resulted in the insurance cover having to be increased meaning higher insurance costs. The hall has also had a stair-lift fitted to increase the accessibility of the upper hall. The cost of this is included here of £6,007.
Environmental projects show a huge increase over last year as this includes the costs of repairing the wall along
Cash reserves
At 31 March 2011, monies held in bank accounts, fixed interest accounts and cash amounted to £98,384. A further £60,000 is held in investments. The increase of £5,000 from last years’ figure is due to increases in the value of investment.
Treasurer’s summary
The main source of income, the hall, is stable but as this amounts to more than 50% of total income, our reserves policy caters for the possible loss of income if the hall was not able to be hired. The reserves held to cover this currently stand at £75,000, covering just over two years’ worth of lost income.
The water meadow reserve has again been increased this year so that funds are available and ring-fenced to cover any costs that might be incurred in protecting the meadow.
The WVCA continues to be in an enviable position with regard to the level of reserves it holds and is, due to a conservative and careful approach over many years, well placed to cope with any unforeseen costs or loss of income.
Clare Weeks
To view the accounts click here
One of the first things that the coalition government did was to introduce a policy to restrict ‘garden grabbing’. So Fareham Borough Council immediately started refusing all planning applications to build on former residential land including gardens, which meant in July the planning application to demolish number 10 Delme Drive and build four detached properties was unsuccessful. Most
The new car park at Sainsbury’s Broadcut has been a major grumble. The WVCA has met with Sainsbury’s representatives twice. The first site visit and walkabout was almost a year ago when work was incomplete. Issues raised included the parking layout, traffic flow, signage, loss of trees and vegetation, and pedestrian access from Broadcut. Sainsbury’s have drawn up plans to re-instate the pedestrian access at the back of Staples via the Gardens so this is on-going. The parking layout is in line with Sainsbury’s corporate policy and nothing could be done about this.
There have also been complaints about the illuminated ‘Sainsbury’s’ signs on the top of the supermarket and petrol station. Sainsbury’s were asked to re-position these but declined pointing out that, in the report by the planning officer, the signs were not thought to have an adverse impact on the Wallington Conservation Area.
The SDA continues to be the most important planning concern facing the village, though the WVCA monitors all planning applications within the village and surrounding area.
Madeline Close
Once in a While and Website – Report 2010/11
This is a fairly short report, you will be pleased to note. The three issues of the magazine have been produced pretty well on budget. We have lost a few advertisers but gained some new ones – Peter Buckley still looks after the advertising department. Advertising is a modest but nevertheless useful revenue stream; it helps to subsidise the printing costs and villager discounts may be appreciated. Keith Barton is still processing the typed copy and arranging it in the required format before it goes to Farleys printers. I am grateful to Ian Farley for his unfailing friendly advice and the technical input pre-printing but we should also be grateful to Keith since his preparatory work probably saves WVCA about £100 per issue. He also puts up with my pernickettyness (if there is such a word). The other ‘personnel’ issue to mention is that Madeline Close joined the team during the summer. She has already been a great help in spreading the Editorial load and has some fresh suggestions for new features in the magazine. She is good to bounce ideas off and is a second reference that we are ‘on message’ with Trustees’ thinking. Increasingly she might also spare you from too many of my philosophical meanderings in the Editorial as she gets more involved!
As for content in the magazine the articles from regular contributors are always welcome and, hopefully, entertaining to the general readership. A lot of coverage has been given this year to developing events in flood protection matters and, of course, the SDA. Much of the SDA business is unavoidably technical and heavy going. The Once in a While articles have tried to convey the known facts without too much indigestion. More detailed information is on the website and the SDA now has its own section on the site because of that rapidly growing content.
The Website:
Websites are generally better suited to providing information on user-demand than paper sources because the room constraints are less and the visitor can pick and choose how deeply they want to delve. We have, after all, only thirty-six pages to play with in the magazine and there has to be some kind of content balance. The website is still growing and one of the ambitions for this year is the addition of an archive which will provide a historical resource. The user portals are fulfilling their aim of enabling up to date information to be placed on the site and we would like to think that village people are visiting regularly for news of social events and so on.
As with the OIAW we are always happy to hear suggestions for content or improvements.
Arthur Hackney for the Editorial Team
Magazine issues:
Spring 36 pages X 430 copies
Summer 36 pages X 440 copies
Christmas 32 pages X 500 copies (100% to village - Membership drive)
Total number of copies 1370 - Cost £2887.75 (Cost per copy £2.11)
Aim: To maintain the hall in "as new" condition, market it to its full potential via the WVCA new leaflet and to continue to try and reduce both its carbon footprint and energy costs.
This is my first year as Chairman of the Hall Committee having taken over from the capable hands of James Clark who ran the committee for six years. James continued to support us on the committee, as does Charlie Scott. Hall Manager, John Wilcox, continues to maintain the high standards of maintenance throughout the building, inside and out, supported by a dedicated and small team of cleaners who work hard at often-unsociable hours.
Since the Playgroup has left John spends a considerable time showing new prospective users around the hall. To his credit John keeps up to date with various regulatory bodies.
In the past year the outside of the hall has been painted and in March we installed a stair lift for access to the first floor.
In the past year an up to date valuation was obtained and our insurance has now been increased to the new figure to cover rebuild costs.
Chris Morgan
Entertainments sub committee report. June 2011.
The sub committee is currently made up of 5 volunteers, Wendy Reilly, James Clark, Louis Judge, Moira and Phil Durrant.
The sub committee has worked hard to provide monthly entertainment held in the Wallington Village Hall and this will continue throughout 2011. The Children's Christmas Party went ahead despite severe weather conditions due to ice and heavy snowfall. The Children were entertained by Malcolm the Magician and Peter Trott played an excellent role as Santa. The WVCA would like to take this opportunity to thank Peter and invite him back for next year. The New Years Eve Party was also a great success.
To date evening events have included excellent performances by The Forest Forge, Acoustic Nights of which one included an Indian meal and this month a Comic magician provided us with excellent entertainment which featured no other than a very unsuspecting Katrina Trott, whom played the part of a very glamorous magicians assistant. Most nights so far have seen sell out performances and extremely positive feedback. The comic magician sadly did not attract a high number of ticket sales although he was very entertaining and those who did join the evening said that they would enjoy such an event in the future.
The rest of 2011 will see a cheese and wine evening with Spanish guitarist, another acoustic evening and a 70's Boogie Nights. However, with the arrival of the new owners of the Cob and Pen it has been decided that the Village Barbeque will not take place this year. The Cob and Pen are keen to support the WVCA but on this occasion they had already arranged another function to be held in their gardens over the August Bank Holiday weekend. It was therefore decided that to try and combine the two would not be in either the WVCA's or Cob and Pen’s best interest. The Cob and Pen event will be open to all.
Finally, as is the tradition, Wallington will see the New Year in with a party in the Village Hall.
Whilst events for this year are already confirmed we are already discussing events for 2012. The Entertainments Committee welcome ideas and suggestions you may have.
We are sad to report that due to work commitments both James Clark and Louis Judge will be standing down from the Executive Committee this year, although Louis will continue to form part of the Entertainments sub committee. James has supported the Executive Committee for several years now and the Entertainments Committee would like to formally thank both James and Louis for their hard work and contribution.
Wendy Reilly
The past year for the Environmental Group has been quite successful. Activities included river clearance, bund construction, litter picking, bulb planting also tree maintenance on the riverbank and water meadows.
At the last AGM the WVCA Environmental Group announced the proposal for a new project. With the title “The South Wallington Project” consisting of:
- Light crown reduction of the mature oaks to lessen the effects of high winds and help to prevent any further tree loss.
- Under plant the area with native trees, to replace the trees already lost with scheduled thinning out in later years.
- Use plants such as dog roses, etc to thicken the edge planting around the mound end of the plot to create a barrier that will reduce access and discourage “anti-social” use of this area.
- Replanting the noise bund/bank along
- Earth bund construction on the riverbank opposite
The Earth bund has been built but still needs grassing over, and this will be done later in the autumn when the bund is fully settled.
More progress has been made on the replanting of the noise bund, with a pending application for saplings from BTCV.
Due to ill health and injuries with volunteers and County Council staff, some delays with the rest of the project were inevitable. However the majority of this project was repeatedly stalled by the objection of one concerned resident to the work being done. This issue is now dealt with and the projects will go ahead as planned.
Other projects identified to be progressed in the coming years, are hedge laying on the corner of standard way /
I would like to thank all volunteers who contributed to this past year’s efforts.
Charlie Scott
Note: More information about the “South Wallington Project” etc. can be found on the WVCA website under the Environment section.
AGM11FORUM
OPEN FORUM
Post AGM – Tuesday 7 June 2011
Questions and comments were invited from the floor
David Walton updated the meeting on the current situation regarding the SDA Key points are as follows:
The Enquiry in Public (EIP) into the SDA part of FBC’s Core Strategy took place on 17th May and the Inspector’s report/decision is expected in late July.
The EIP established, contrary to the “Special Edition” of Fareham Today published in May 2011, that the rationale behind the SDA is the SE Plan and NOT FBC’s requirement to provide affordable Housing.
Many of the more difficult issues (funding of Highways and other infrastructure requirements etc), have yet to be tackled and will dealt with in the next stage of the Planning process, which is production of the Area Action Plan (AAP)
If the Core Strategy is endorsed, there will be a 2nd EIP in mid 2012 at which a different Planning Inspector will examine the AAP.
Provision of the primary access road to/from J11 and the J11 Business Park itself, have been deferred until 2021. This means that for the first 5 years, if not longer, ALL SDA traffic will have to use the Wickham Rd/J10 of the M27.
All the local Community Groups (WVCA, Fareham Society, Knowle & Funtley Residents Associations, the Wickham Society, Wickham Parish Council and CPRE Hampshire) are opposed to the SDA in it’s present form.
Cllr. Trott drew the meeting’s attention to the next FBC CAT meeting at