Draft to be approved at AGM in 2012
RUSHMERE COMMONERS COMMITTEE
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on June 28 2011 at Tower Hall, 5 Broadlands Way, Rushmere St Andrew commencing at 7.30 pm
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Chairman R.Aldous
Clerk T Gooding
Managing Trustees J Warburton D Flett R Whymark A Castle
M. Jepson J. Adams C Smith D Hibbert
In Attendance 25 commoners and some members of the public.
The Chairman welcomed everybody to the meeting.
1 Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on June 30 2010
These had been circulated and were agreed.
2 Chairman’s Report
The Chairman stated:-
I would like to thank all the trustees for their efforts and the support they had given me over the last year, as like me, their services are unpaid. One of the changes I have made this year is to allot the responsibilities for different aspects of the common to different trustees. John Adams is responsible for communications, friends of the common and footpaths, Ray Whymark for risk assessment, David Flett takes on the pond and wildlife and flora, Cecil Smith deals with contracts and footpaths, and Mike Jepson is responsible for the management plan. I would like to thank Anthony Castle who is not seeking re-election, and would also like to thank the two Wardens and the Clerk for their efforts. The main source of income to the committee comes from Rushmere Golf Club and therefore it is important that the commoners and the golf club work closely together for the good of the common. The trustees and the golf club representatives meet on a regular basis and have a good working relationship. Due to the huge fire that we had in July, the areas of burnt and damaged gorse has had to be cut down. This work has been done by the golf club in conjunction with a team from Warren Hill under the supervision of Bob Gosden, one of our Wardens. I wish to note how appreciative we are of the work they have done. The area around the pond has been cleared and a gully is to be installed to allow more rainwater into the pond. Under risk assessment, certain trees and branches have been identified for removal. Linksfield has also been identified as an area needing fire prevention work and this work will commence in the near future. Mike Jepson who devised the new management plan will now outline that plan.
Mike Jepson said that as a result of the massive fire, the priorities of the plan changed for this year. Essentially, the plan is to clear or cut back the gorse in planned stages over a ten year period so that all areas of gorse will receive attention over time. This will hopefully result in the gorse being refreshed and healthy. It will also reduce the fire hazard. The Chairman thanked Mike.
The Chairman continued;- A new initiative has started this year in partnership with Copleston School, The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, the Police and Fire Service. A group of pupils known as the Fire Flies are now patrolling the common on their bicycles. They will report on any unusual or disruptive behaviour directly to the police at the police house on Heath Road. Our thanks go to all those involved in setting up this project, especially Sgt Phil Barrett. New signs have been installed to emphasise that dog walkers must clear up after their dogs and dispose of the bags in the bins provided.
John Adams has set up a Friends of the Common initiative and I will ask him to update you. John Adams stated that this initiative is to try and involve and encourage interest from commoners who have the interests of the common at heart, but have no wish to put themselves forward for the committee. They could be involved with small projects on an informal basis, eg. producing information leaflets, maps, history of the common, and otherwise to involve themselves in the life of the common. The Chairman thanked John. The Chairman continued:- the matter of anti-social behaviour continues to be addressed and regular meetings are held with the police and golf club to try and eliminate this problem.
3 Matters Arising from the Minutes and Chairman’s Report
There were no matters arising.
4 To consider Financial Statement
The report had been circulated. The Clerk gave a summary of the differences in income and expenditure compared to the previous year and outlined the reasons for these differences. The Financial Statement was then agreed
5 Election of Independent Examiner
The Clerk said that the service we receive from Ensors is good and they discount the normal rate in recognition of our charitable status. The reduction in charge this year amounted to over £ 600 for which they are to be thanked.
It was proposed and agreed that Ensors should continue as Independent Examiner.
6 Election of Trustees
The three trustees who are up for re-election are Ray Aldous, Ray Whymark and Anthony Castle. Mr Castle has indicated that he does not wish to continue as a trustee due to other commitments and therefore there is one vacancy. One nomination has been received
from Carol Evans, who has been proposed and seconded. The Chairman invited Carol to say a few words on her behalf. It was then agreed that the two sitting members and Carol were duly elected.
7 Any Other Business
Some commoners felt that the meeting should be advertised more widely. Use should be made of local radio to encourage more commoners to attend. The Clerk said that he would use this medium next year, but he did point out that unless there is a pressing issue, the attendance is generally disappointing. It was proposed by Nigel Burrows and seconded by Ron Nunn that the minutes of ordinary meetings of the committee should be put on the internet. This was agreed by a show of hands
RUSHMERE COMMONERS COMMITTEE
Minutes of the Meeting held on Monday November 21 2011 at Rushmere Golf Club, Rushmere Heath commencing at 6.30 pm
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Chairman R Aldous
Clerk T Gooding
Present M Jepson R Whymark J Adams C Smith
J Warburton D Hibbert C Evans D Flett
In Attendance T Chalklen R Gosden
1 Minutes of meeting held on Sept 19 2011
All action points were examined and cleared except D Flett arranging a different method of securing the barrier in Linksfied. He stated that this would be attended to.
2 Minutes for the Website
It was agreed that the minutes of the meeting held on September 19July 2011 should be put on the website.[ WARDEN]
3 Woodland Areas of the Common
The Chairman asked that the contract to deal with the broken and diseased trees, awarded to Tom Lyons be officially approved. This was agreed. Ray Whymark confirmed that Tom Lyons has suitable insurance and the trees have been inspected for bats. No problem areas were found. The Clerk will circulate the notices informing the public of the work to be carried out, with a suitable warning to avoid the areas being worked on, and this done in the first week in December prior to work commencing. [CLERK] The Chairman will speak to Bob Tawell at the golf club to inform him of the programme. It is not envisaged that the golfers will be inconvenienced. [CHAIRMAN] Two residents of Tasmania Rd have asked to fell some branches near their properties and it was agreed that these should be inspected by the trustees before the next meeting when a decision could be made.[ TRUSTEES]
4 Benches on the Common
This was discussed at the Liaison Meeting. It was agreed that this controversial matter should be held in abeyance for the time being.
5 Management of the Common
Mike Jepson expressed the view that more areas should be cleared especially of saplings. The Warden said that two areas needed clearance, to the right and the left of the pathway entrance onto the 18th fairway. The Chairman asked if the Warden could obtain three quotes to have this work done, and it was suggested that tenders be sought from Tom Lyon, the Golf Club and Kitsons. John Adams asked if the area to the left of the 11th tee could also be included in this quote and the Chairman said that this was in order.[ WARDEN] Bob Gosden would try and obtain information on the work programme from Warren Hill as their attendance has been infrequent of late.[ Bob Gosden] It was agreed that the sapling problem would be most effectively dealt with in the Spring.
6 Heath Wardens Report
The Warden reported that the dog box at the Camberley Rd entrance had been repaired by the contractor that had damaged it. A new Rushmere Golf Club sign had been erected at this entrance, permission having been given by the Chairman. The Warden stated that he had removed a tent from the Little Heath and Bob Gosden had removed a similar encampment from near the police house in Heath Road. He requested more dog bags from the Clerk and said that the amount of dog litter on the common seemed to have decreased as a result of the new signs that have been erected. [CLERK] A dachshund had been rescued from underground in a hole near the first green. The owner was very grateful for the assistance given. Two large Irish Wolfhounds were giving cause for concern, and all were asked to look out for these and if possible obtain a car number and pass this information to Bob Gosden. The widow of Alan Wright had asked if a bench could be placed on the ridge overlooking the 15th fairway, where Alan used to sit on his walks across the common. This area is within range of the 15th tee and it was suggested that although the trustees were not in principle against this suggestion, the location was unsafe. Bob Gosden was asked to speak to Alan’s widow, to ascertain her thoughts.[ BOB GOSDEN]
The Warden asked why the Clerk had not printed out ‘DO NOT PARK’ tickets, and the Clerk responded by saying these had been distributed by Bob Gosden at a previous meeting.
7 Golf Club Matters
The Chairman reported that the golf club had erected two new dog boxes near to the 10th tee at no cost to the trustees and these were being used well. He gave a brief outline on what had occurred at the last Liaison Meeting and suggested that trustees attend at the get together with those involved in the Fireflies Project, to thank all for their efforts over the last year. The Clerk to circulate the minutes of the Liaison Meeting. [CLERK]
8 White Heather
The Clerk had nothing to report.
9 Any other business
David Flett reported that DEFRA had investigated the algae in the pond but had found nothing that could be a problem. He had also obtained some mesh which he would use to cover the gully leading into the pond which would hopefully make the gully more effective. He reported the sad fact that some foxes had been found poisoned near Linksfield. Bob Gosden also reported the fact that two dogs had died of poisoning and one dog was hopefully making a recovery from poisoning. The police were investigating as were park rangers from SCDC. Cecil Smith asked if a letter could be sent to the resident of 62 Blackdown Avenue who had erected his rear fence on the common side of the Brendon Drive footpath and therefore guilty of encroachment. The Chairman said that he would write to the resident. [ CHAIRMAN]
Date of next meeting.
This will be held on Monday January 23 at 6.30 at Rushmere Golf Club
Min104nov2011