Minutes of 2016 Annual General Meeting

Minutes of Annual General Meeting

Tuesday 31st May 2016 at 7.00pm

Discovery House Cafe, St Georges Hospital, Long Leys Road

Meeting opened – welcomes and thanks (GS)

To all for coming.
To Donna at Discovery House Café for allowing use of venue.
To Councillors and hospital representatives
Confirmed meeting quorate
- required: 4 committee + 6 from LLRA area
- Total attendees: 5 committee + 27 residents + 5 councillors/hospital = 37

GS introduced LLRA committee (was 7 now 5)

Gary Stimson (GS) – Chair
- Carram Way
- Carholme Community Forum
- Carram Way parking
- Cemetery (formerly)
- SEC / Tanglewood Care home

Deb Lisseman (DL) – Vice-Chair
- Manrico
- PoC with St Georges Hospital
- Carols on the green
- St Georges green spaces
- Notice boards
- SEC

Keith Newsome (KN) – Treasurer
- Albion Close
- Co-organiser, presenter Carols on the Green

Janet Walker (JW)
- Albion Close
- Eco homes development (point of contact with the developer)

Tony Wass (TW)
- Albion

Denise Clamp (retired) – Secretary
- Berrildon

John Shipton (withdrawn from LLRA)
- Mitchell Drive coverage
- Commons Advisory Panel

New forum – www.stgeorgesonline.boards.net
- Thanks to MrC 85 for setting up (not LLRA, and not censored!)
- Independently run for the community, and free
- Preferred LLRA channel for dissemination of new information
- LLRA also monitor and contribute to St Georges facebook

GS gave an overview of LLRA’s mandate

LLRA is a legally recognised entity, representing interests of local residents

- Geographically constrained A57 to Yarborough Hill
  - And side roads – Albion, Mitchell, Oakleigh
- Conduit between Councils / organisations and residents
- Decent network of contacts
- And experience of “how things work”

LLRA is not a parish council – no special powers
- Always advises (and helps) individuals to represent their views on planning, etc.
- LLRA does not really have a ‘louder voice’ than individuals

LLRA is not (allowed to be) political in any way

LLRA is a member of Carholme Community Forum
- Local issues including
  - Highways / traffic / parking
  - Street cleaning / Refuse / Antisocial behaviour
  - Policing (local priorities)
  - Housing and planning

LLRA is a member of Commons Advisory Panel
- Self-explanatory
- We get a say in what happens to the Commons
- Need a representative (see LLRA Admin section, below)

Explanation of missing previous AGM
- LLRA mainly came in to existence to keep the St Georges Park developers ‘honest’
- Addressed a selection of ‘settling in’ issues with varying degrees of success
- Interest waned as issues resolved and founder committee members left the area
- Then experienced failed efforts to have a quorate (i.e. legitimate) AGM
- Remaining core committee put LLRA into ‘maintain existence’ operating mode
- Not in strict compliance with constitution
- AGMs became less regular, typically when there was a high profile issue
  - Albion Housing last time
  - Hospital developments this time

It was stressed that:
- Committee are all normal people with plenty to occupy their days
- No empire building on the committee, and it’s not anyone’s ‘baby’
- Anyone is welcome to join and make LLRA more active if desired

In the meantime
- LLRA existence is maintained, it is recognised by local authorities, and can be strengthened if/when required
- Easier than starting an association from scratch
- We shouldn’t lose sight of the fact we live in a nice area
- Not having issues to complain about isn’t a bad thing!

Updates on previous issues

Albion development – GS/JW
- Janet Walker (voted in at previous AGM as residents point of contact), gave a report on the development.
- LLRA obtained a formal PoC within Lindum Homes
  - Tony Lawton, MD – proved useful
- Attendees were invited to raise any issues
  - No on-going care of ‘abandoned’ green space
    - GS had previously raised this at CCF – Neil Murray looking in to it
    - ACTION – Neil Murray confirmed that this was still being investigated
    - (Post meeting note – Neil Murray subsequently elicited a response from the developers, and the abandoned green space is now under a maintenance contract. The grass appears to be cut regularly)
  - Safety of drainage area / pond was questioned
    - Possible requirement for design modification and/or signage
    - ACTION – Karen Lee offered to investigate

Cemetery – GS
- Complete and in use
- LLRA not aware of any issues
  - No issues raised by attendees
- New hedge on cemetery side supposed to be nominally 1.5m (5ft)
  - GS has contacted officer responsible re hedge trimming
  - (Post meeting note – Hedge has now been trimmed to 1.5m)
- Have a PoC for any issues – Nick Barton at City Council
- Attendees were invited to raise any issues
  - No issues raised

Green spaces on St Georges – DL
- Are now completed
- Question-mark over who’s maintaining?
- ACTION – DL working to establish who is responsible for the various green spaces and resolve issues of variable quality of maintenance, e.g. grass cutting
- (Post meeting note – Now resolved. Ownership and points of contact now established. Ground care quality improved)
- Attendees were invited to raise any other issues
  - No issues raised

Social Education Centre (SEC) – GS
- Site sold to Tanglewood care homes
- 75 bed care home – unspecified occupancy (they provide all types of residential care, not just retirement homes)
- Requested update on execution
  - Build schedule
  - PoC for development
- £70k (=10% of sale value) in Escrow with City Council for local projects
  - LLRA don’t own the money, but are required to countersign spend
  - 9 years left to spend it
- Attendees were invited to consider projects which would benefit from the money. The following were suggested:
  - Nature area / trail between Manrico and the allotments
  - A bike lip/rail on Higson Road steps (or pram ramp?)
  - Extend anti-slip coating on Higson steps to lower sloping section

St Georges Hospital – GS/DL
- Discovery House is now open
  - Café and shop for use by local people (thanks Donna)
- New planning application in for psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU)
- Ian Jerams, representing hospital, presented plans and took Q&A from attendees:
  - Minor building work planned for PICU
  - Secure ward and fenced garden area
  - No other major developments planned over next 5 years
  - Future of Gervas House uncertain – may be demolished
  - There is not a shortage of parking on site, parking on Carram Way is lazy/inconsiderate. Hospital are improving car park signage, and identifying/educating persistent employees
  - Noted that not all bad parking is associated with the hospital

Higson Road steps – GS/DL
- Originally refurbed in response to LLRA request
- No ongoing issues LLRA are aware, except:
  - Aware that bottom half can be icy – extend antislip?
  - Some interest in a cycle ramp on steps
- Attendees were invited to raise any other issues
  - No issues raised

St George’s Bus subsidy – GS/DL
- It was widely reported that service was under threat
- Inaccurate reporting in the Echo & Lincolnite
- Checked with PC coaches (twice in fact)
- This particular route not at risk (could be in any future review of course)
- Not strictly relevant for LLRA to object to cuts to other services not affecting our catchment area
- Directed people to object personally if concerned

Carram Way parking – GS
- Mainly (now) opposite end to Utopia
- Can’t enforce by parking warden without yellow lines
- Highways acknowledge there’s an issue
- Not highest priority in the city
- Not so much budget, as time to do all the mandatory admin
- Police have leafleted houses / cars, and door-stepped people
- Had some initial effect but now wearing off
- Raised at CCF requesting yellow lines from highways, and police enforcement in the meantime
- Many supporting comments from attendees felt very strongly about this issue
- Robert Parker advised that supporting evidence of need for yellow lines would be useful
- ACTION – All to provide photos etc., LLRA will collate and contact PC coaches to see if they record issues (cameras in buses?)

New issues – from residents

Revised street lighting times
- Majority of resident dissatisfied with early switch off of street lighting
- Particularly the ‘extra early’ 22:00 on some estate roads
- Midnight switch off more generally used slightly less of an issue
- A minority of residents actually preferred the resulting ‘dark skies’ environment
- Robert Parker advised that any revisions would need to be evidence based, so recommended collating evidence of ASB, accidents, etc.
- ACTION – All to provide evidence, LLRA to collate.
- (Post meeting note – All streetlights were subsequently set to turn off at midnight a few days after this meeting)

Spate of (primarily) car crime was noted
- Primarily exploiting lapses in security by car owners

White Gables – planning application
- Planning application to convert to a ‘Supported Housing Scheme’
- (Post meeting note – Planning permission subsequently granted)
- LLRA not notified, so could not pass on any notification
- Incorrectly pictured by Lincolnite as being adjacent to St Georges estate
- House actually located on lower Long Leys between bypass bridge and A57
- Some objections independently raised by residents

Proposed cuts to fire service
- Was raised to promote awareness
- Majority of residents objected in general
- No specific issues raised

LLRA furnished notice board adjacent to St Georges hospital
- Noted to be in need of maintenance
- ACTION – Gary Lisseman volunteered to varnish, etc. (Many thanks!)

Spate of (primarily) car crime was noted
- Primarily exploiting lapses in security by car owners

Mobile library service
- Some residents were unaware of the library visiting times
- ACTION – DL will post times on notice board, forum, and Facebook

Virgin Media
- Some residents interested in lobbying VM for cable
- Needs a certain %age uptake for VM to act
- Residents invited to register interest on https://cablemystreet.virginmedia.com/

Water Meter replacements
- Quite a few water meters seem to be being replaced by Anglian Water
- Low quality ‘making good’ of pavements was noted following replacement
- The initial ‘making good’ is a temporary fix. A permanent fix is after some settling time

Carholme Gala (aka Westfest)
- September 18th at the Grandstand which is on from 12 – 4
- Karen Lee looking for volunteers to help – please contact karenelee@hotmail.com

GS conducted formal LLRA administration

Treasurers statement – GS/KN
- LLRA is not a financially driven organisation
- Doesn’t employ anyone, doesn’t pay tax, etc.
- Currently has £593.58p in the bank
- Up from £183.42 at last (2013) AGM
  - Grant awards from councillors
  - Partly covering previous expenditure
- No withdrawals in past 3 years
  - About to pay AGM leaflet printing/delivery costs (£60 + £15)
- Small cash float from notice board
- Not maintaining formal accounts
- It was noted that to comply with LLRA’s constitution, formal accounts should be maintained and audited (could be a simple spreadsheet, independently verified by cross checking bank statements and receipts)
- ACTION – Produce audited accounts for next AGM – LLRA Committee

(Re)election of committee members – GS
- Constitution requires one third to stand down, may be re-elected
- All current committee members stood down
- The following were proposed, seconded, and (re)elected by majority vote
  - Chair – Gary Stimson
  - Vice Chair – Deb Lisseman
  - Treasurer – Keith Newsome
  - Secretary – no volunteers
  - Tony Wass – committee member
  - Janet Walker – committee member
  - Gary Lisseman – committee member and LLRA Commons Advisory Panel representative (note that two committee members from one household is a breach of LLRA constitution, but in the absence of any other volunteers this is accepted by exception)
- It noted that committee members can be co-opt at any time, should anyone wish to volunteer after the meeting
- John Thorpe thanked the committee for their efforts on behalf of residents

Review of constitution – GS
- The constitution was briefly reviewed
- No revisions were deemed necessary

Date of next meeting – to be announced

Meeting close
- GS thanked those present for attending and their participation, and closed the meeting