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November 28th 2022
Present:
Dianne Adams; Andy Gibbs; Helen Hehir; Judi Hibberd; Janet Hickinbottom; Bron Putnam; Rona Taylor; Faith Ward; Mary Webb.
In attendance: Cheryl Wall
Apologies and Minutes of the last meeting (Sep 2022):
Apologies had been received from Paddy Deeley.
Minutes of the last meeting and Matters Arising
See Minutes of Sep 2022 meeting
Matters Arising from the previous minutes:
Article about Ann Benfield for the Bugle – Mary still to complete
Condolence card to Ann’s family - completed
Problems about booking hall raised with VH trustees - completed
The minutes of the Sep 2022 meeting were approved.
Village Hall: Cheryl updated attendees on progress. It was hoped that the transfer to the new hall would take place in February 2023. Cheryl asked people’s opinions on the kind of opening ceremony that should be held. There were discussions about inviting the community to an event but that regular hall users would need to be invited to be trained in use of the AV equipment etc. What kind of publicity should there be? Would Midlands TV be interested? It would be an opportunity to encourage new people to visit and use the hall. There should also be an event to unveil the stained-glass windows.
The trustees were also looking for ideas as to what to include in the time capsule. Suggestions included a copy of the Bugle and some artwork of the old Greenway by Margaret Cole.
There had recently been some criticism of the village hall and its trustees, saying that it was not inclusive and there were people in the village who felt isolated. The trustees would be addressing these issues.
Cheryl said the trustees would be looking at the availability of storage in the new hall so that regular users might like to store certain items permanently. Mary explained that she currently housed a lot of cookery equipment for the Residents’ Association and so it was hoped that this could be accommodated in the new hall.
Attendees were reminded that the Parish Council was sending funding for a new defibrillator box. Cheryl agreed to find out when this could be put in place and would liaise with Mary.
Action: Cheryl and Mary
Dianne reported that a new hall booking system would be used in the future alongside a new website. There would be a live calendar on the website and bookings would be managed through this. All Village Hall trustees would have access to the calendar so that responsibility for its updating would not fall to one person.
The BGRA committee might like to use the office for its meetings in 2023. This would accommodate 12-13 people.
The new hall will also have 40 car parking spaces, two electric charging points and a cycle shed.
Treasurer’s Report:
See: Treasurer’s Report
A report had been circulated as follows:
BGRA Accounts as at 23rd November 2022
Current Account net balance: £ 2,898.05
Deposit Account net balance: £1006.33
Total Funds (A): £3004.53
Ring Fenced Funds (Balance remaining of monies donated/allocated for specific purposes but not yet spent): -
Defibrillator: £ 149.56
Freely available/unallocated Funds (A – B): £2,854.97
For Information:
Major Expenditure Since Last Meeting:
Production of September Bugle - £432
Refreshments and printing for AGM - £89.95
Donation to FastAid - £250
Donation towards Christmas card production - £20
Vouchers for prizes for Children’s Christmas card competition - £40
Income Since Last Meeting:
Contributions from First Aid training - £91
Outstanding Parish Funds to be used by 31 March 2023 - £1279.07
Thanks were given to Dianne for her efficient handling of the accounts.
Residents’ views/concerns:
People claiming to represent Great Ormond Street Hospital had been collecting door-to-door and there was some concern about this. Warwick District Council had decreed that collections can no longer take place after 7p.m. Some residents had also found the collectors’ approach intimidating.
Fly tipping remained a problem in both Hob and Hodgett’s Lanes and residents were concerned that after reports, Solihull MBC was not dealing with these matters very swiftly.
Update on and discussion of Residents’ Association initiatives and issues:
Community Fund from BBV – entrance gates; flower tubs
Were there any other suggestions? It was hoped that before too long this item would report actions.
HS2 issues – there were no specific issues except that recent reports had shown that rail use post-Covid had reduced by 20%, indicating that HS2 was certainly a “white elephant.”
Christmas cards – thanks were given to Faith and Mary for organising the annual Christmas card competition at the school. The overall winner was a girl pupil in Y5. It was decided to order 530 cards which would be included with the next edition of the Bugle.
Christmas tree – Judi’s persistence had paid off and HS2 had managed to get a power supply put on the verge and had even agreed to buy the Christmas tree. The Hibberds and the Hickinbottoms would assist in the purchase, erection and decoration of the tree over the next week.
Action: Hibberds and Hickinbottoms
Which charity to support – the committee members voted on a number of charities which had been put forward as recipients of the funds to be collected on the Santa Sleigh round on December 16th. Two charities were chosen: The Samaritans and MIND.
Santa’s Sleigh – Mary had been liaising with Balsall Common Lions to work out timings and a route for the Sleigh. It was agreed to start at the bottom of Red Lane at 4:20pm on December 16th, to move up to Burrow Hill and then along Cromwell Lane to Westwood Heath. Collecting could not take place after 7pm. Volunteers were requested to help with the collecting. Afterwards, the team would return to the village hall for refreshments.
Update constitution – the constitution had not been updated since 2012. Judi and Janet agreed to review the constitution and to make minor updates.
Action: Judi and Janet
Councillors’grant application – the Parish Clerk had informed the committee of a grant and Judi had completed the application form requesting £3,250 to be spent on the Jubilee verge, although there was also the possibility that HS2 might restore the verge.
Priorities for Precept money – standing item. No further items were suggested.
Current suggestions remained as Bugle funding/bulbs/verge maintenance
Bugle
The next edition of the Bugle would be with the printer on December 2nd and would be distributed the following weekend.
AGM Debrief discussion
The AGM was deemed a success. A question was raised about whether presentations were to be used again. It was agreed that if specific issues or topics needed to be raised, then interesting presentations should be included (such as the recent one about the Westwood Heath allotments).
Greenway Trust Update:
There was no update.
Parish Councillor's Report:
Speed monitoring was taking place via rubber strips across the roads in the village.
Several applications had been made for sites for battery storage. The proximity of the electrical substation and proposed HS2 switching station was an attraction to the providers.
Any Other Business:
A rumour had been circulating that Burton Green Farm was to be sold but this had been discounted by the trustees of the Berkswell charity that owns the premises.
Discussion was held about residents’ awareness of planning applications in the village Rona agreed to ask the Parish Council, who received such notifications, if there was a way of disseminating this information.
Action: Rona
10. Date of next Meeting:
The next committee meeting was scheduled for January 23rd 2023 (still in the present village hall)
Other meetings would take place in 2023 as follows:
March 27th
May 22nd
July 24th
September 25th
Oct 9th (AGM)
November 27th
