Draft Minutes of the 15th Annual General Meeting of the Association,held on Monday 15th November 2021 at Pip and Jim’s Church, Grafton Rd.
1. Welcome and Introduction
The meeting was chaired by Clair Chilvers (Chairman). She welcomed everyone to the first SPJARA meeting it had been possible to hold since the 2020-21 coronavirus pandemic lock-downs, being held in the (recently reordered) Pip and Jim’s Church, Grafton Rd.
About 55 members attended the meeting.
The proposed Agenda for the meeting was approved.
2. Minutes of the 14th Annual General Meeting
The draft Minutes of the meeting held on 6th June 2019 in the Beehive had been circulated and were available on the SPJARA website. It was agreed by the meeting that the Minutes should be approved as a true and correct record.
Note: In addition, an online Chair’s report to members, with accounts, had been put on the website on 1st November 2020, to cover the period May 2019 to November 2020.
3. Chair’s Report on the work of the Association, November 2020- November 2021
- Effects of Covid-19: The four regular Committee meetings had been held online by Zoom, but SPJARA had not been able to hold any social or fund-raising events and no funds had been raised for charity.
- However, a very successful volunteer scheme to help locked-down residents with shopping had been organised (with some CBC help with funding) and we had made progress in other ways as follows:
- Membership was133 in 2020, 148 in late 2021.
- Hugh Curran had set up a large local WhatsApp group which encouraged membership
- The Newsletter had gone out twice to all residents thanks to Hugh Curran the editor and Hugh Arthur for organising the delivery.
- the website had been kept running (thanks to Adrian)
- Our new notice board on Norwood Triangle is up and running (thanks to a CBC grant and the efforts of Diana and others)
- We organised Christmas lights on the Norwood Triangle (thanks to Hugh C and others)
- We helped replace the defibrillator at the Exmouth Arms, crowd funded with NARA (Naunton Area Residents Association) and undertook regular monitoring – thanks to Jonathan
- we supported the transformation of the plaza in front of Pip and Jim’s, planting four of the trees.
- We signed up to the CBC and Vision21’s Cheltenham Zero by 2030, and will campaign for: 20 mph limit in our streets (Note: there has been no CBC/GH progress on this since the 2017 consultation); better facilities for walking and cycling; far more EV charging points; and supporting events like this evening’s talk on more sustainable home heating.
- Four more trees were planted in Tudor Lodge Rd and outside Mellersh House (Painswick Rd)
- On-going work has continued:
- Reviewing and commenting on the weekly sets of planning applications and tree proposals in our area every month
- Maintaining the Norwood Triangle and other green spaces, and the Bath Road planters
- Helping the council (via Ubico) keep the streets free of parked cars for the annual street cleaning in the autumn
- Collaborating with others (e.g. NARA, Cheltenham Connect, Cheltenham Voluntary and Community Sector Forum)
- Looking Ahead to 2022
- We expect the delayed Glos Highways consultation on the ever contentious topic of parking restrictions to take place
- We have bid for funds for new planters and utility box decoration in Bath Road
- More tree planting is planned thanks to John Paterson
- Diana will be organising a new open gardens event in May 2022
- We plan to revive our social events programme
4. Treasurer’s report 2020-21
Jonathan Moffitt, Treasurer, presented the accounts as shown attached to these Minutes, which reflected the lack of activities possible during 2019/20 and early 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic. At 31 March 2021 there was a balance of £588.34, compared to £950.45 at the start of the year. £288 was spent on environmental fund expenses, and a total of £497 on the notice board and defibrillator together (net of the CBC grants for these items). The report was welcomed and approved by those present.
5. Election of Honorary Officers and Committee Members
The Hon Secretary said that;
- new officers and committee members would be very welcome, but none had been nominated so far this year.
- all the current officers (Chairman, two Vice-Chairmen, Hon Treasurer and Hon Secretary) had been nominated and were willing to serve for a further year.
- all the other members of the Committee had also been nominated and were willing to stand again.
The Chairman sought the meeting’s agreement to election en bloc of the following officers and Committee members, which was agreed nem con.
Clair Chilvers - Chairman
Maurice Gran and Vanessa Angelo-Thomson - vice Chairs(joint)
Jonathan Moffitt - Treasurer Membership Secretary
Cassandra Phillips - Secretary
Committee members: Roy Arnold, Hugh Arthur, Hugh Curran, John Paterson, Adrian Phillips, Diana Pollock
In addition, Dilys Barrell and Tim Harman were invited to join the Committee in their capacities of elected local councillors.
6. Discussion Time
During the discussion time, members raised issues about the roads including bumpy pavements, e-scooters being ridden by two people, enforcement of a 20mph limit, and concerns about street trees in Gratton Road which were thought by some to be too dominant.
There being no other business, the Chairman thanked all present for their support.
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After the conclusion of the formal AGM, Greg Collier-Jones of Severn Wye Energy Agency
gave a talk on making homes more energy efficient:
The Grass Can be Greener – Sustainable Solutions for your Property