MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE TURNERS HILL PARK RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION HELD AT THE ARK ON MONDAY 7TH APRIL 2014
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE TURNERS HILL PARK RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION HELD AT THE ARK ON MONDAY 7TH APRIL 2014
Present : Mr. Geoff Furzer (President) 8 Committee Members and 35 Members.
Apologies : Janet Butler, Maggie Cavanah, Muriel Throp, Bill Westgate, Betty Bateman, Mr. & Mrs. Bridgeman, Val Wallace, Daphne Reed, Brenda Bedford, Pat Jeffers, Kitty Good and Local Councillor Bruce Forbes
Before opening the meeting, the Chairman reported that she had some very sad news to impart in that Dianne Dennis, our Badger Lady, had died. She will be sadly missed.
A board had been placed at the back of the room showing an aerial photograph of the park and the Chairman thought that it would be a good idea, during the break, if residents could have a look at this and try to determine where their homes were. There was also a question sheet which might prove interesting.
The Meeting was opened by the Chairman at 7.30pm and she thanked everyone for making the effort to attend. She then paid special thanks to Mr. Geoff Furzer, our President and IPHAS Advisor. The Chairman reminded everyone that any matters which residents wished discussed should have been submitted to the Committee before this meeting and would be dealt with under Any Other Business. No other matters would be heard unless invited by the Chairman. Any resident was welcome to these meetings but, unless the home was a member of the Association, they may not speak or vote. Once the formalities have been concluded, there would be a short break when tea/coffee and biscuits would be provided.
Our Park Manager, Mr. Paul Diplock, will try to attend but, if not, any questions you should be addressed to the Chairman and she would take the matters up, either at Park or Head Office level.
Before starting the meeting, the Chairman asked that all mobile phones be turned off and also that, as the Ark does not have any microphone facilities or hearing loop, anyone who was finding difficulty in hearing, perhaps they would prefer to move to the front.
A copy of the AGM Minutes of 2013 had been laid out on the chairs, together with a copy of the Annual Accounts and a copy of Details of the Committee's Activities during 2013/2014 and the Chairman hoped that everyone had had time to look at these.
The Minutes of the last AGM were agreed as correct and signed by the Chairman.
Proposer: Mr. Eric Grimwood
Seconder: Mrs. Joan Palmer
Matters Arising from the 2013 AGM
The Chairman asked the residents if they wished to raise any matters contained in the previous Minutes of 2013. There being no questions raised the Chairman moved on to the next item on the Agenda.
Chairman's/Secretary's Report
The Chairman reported that the Committee had had a very busy year during 2013 and, in our quarterly Newsletters they did try to give details on some of the things the Committee had in hand on behalf of residents or the park in general and, in this connection, she thanked all of the Committee Members for their hard work and support during the year. In particular, she thanked Mrs. Caldwell, the RA's most efficient secretary for the very informative and entertaining Newsletters which she produced on behalf of the Association and also for taking on the Park Page in the Parish Magazine which kept a link from the Park to the Village itself ; Mrs. Furzer, the Treasurer, for her very careful work as Treasurer and both she and Geoff Furzer, our President, for their additional work with IPHAS which had resulted in the Committee being fully informed on the changes currently being passed through Parliament. Without them, we would not be as informed as we are which can only be of benefit to us all. Most of all, the Chairman thanked all residents for their support of the Association as, without their support, the work of the Association would not be worthwhile.
A new Committee Member, Geoff Gant, had been co-opted on to the Committee in April 2013 and had proved to be a very enthusiastic member and certainly kept us all on our toes. He has worked very hard in producing our website which is the envy of some other organisations in the Village and has also taken on board being the lead in our speed watch activities as well as liaising with Neighbourhood Watch.
Bobbie Abbott decided to retire from the Committee in the Autumn although she does continue to help with the delivery of Newsletters and Parish Magazine and we must thank her for her work with us during the last few years.
The Chairman then stated that she would now run though our main activities during the year but, in order to save some time, she would just give a brief précis of our activities and indicated that, attached to the Minutes on the chairs, was a Details Sheet which gave full information on each of the items.
- We were finally successful, together with the Village Speed Watch Team, in obtaining permission from Sussex Police to operate Speed Watch along our stretch of East Street. This operation takes place at the entrance to Fen Place Farm. This also led on to Neighbourhood Watch. Geoff Gant is the Liaison Officer for the park as a whole but if anyone else was interested in assisting, please let us know. We really do need more volunteers to train up and assist.
- The changes to legislation have kept us busy and, as you will all know, the Residents Association ensured that, last year, every resident had a copy of the new Implied Terms. It also ensured that information from the Park Owner was delivered to everyone. Mr. & Mrs. Furzer, together with Mrs. Forbes and the Local District Councillor attended four Conferences where several queries concerning this new legislation were raised, mostly concerning the proposals regarding licensing which is due to become effective this year. We will continue to discuss this issue with Mid Sussex District Council and the Park Owners. Our main concern is that if, as it seems, a Licence Fee is set and passed on to residents by the Park Owners, then we must try to ensure that it is on our Pitch Fee only once and does not attract RPI.
- Mid Sussex have not yet reached any decision regarding a Licence Fee but we have had sight of the recommendations from the Working Party set up by Local Authorities and before any Fee can be set, these Local Authorities have to come up with a Fee Policy Paper, all of which has to be agreed by a Full Council. It is to be hoped that they may decide that it would not be a viable prospect.
- The most pressing change at the present time was the consultation on our Park Rules which will have a huge impact on us all. The law requires that the Park Owner must consult with all homes and with any Qualified Residents Association and the Chairman was pleased to say that the Director responsible for our Park, David Curson, had already indicated that he would appreciate our co-operation in this. The Park Owner has been in discussion with their own advisors and intend to start consultation as soon as practicable. The Chairman assured the residents present that we would also consult with everyone on the park before we commenced any discussions with the Park Owner.
This process has to be completed by February 2015 and there are several types of rules which cannot now be included and rules may only be made to ensure two things:-
(1) to ensure that acceptable standards are maintained on the park which will be of general benefit to occupiers, and
(2) to promote and maintain community cohesion on the park.
Many of the rules which are now excluded will not affect us as they had not been included in ours although there will have to be some changes.
- We also continued to discuss with park management the matter of dealing with trees and, within the last 2 months, our District Councillor arranged a meeting with Mid Sussex District Council, together with Paul Diplock, in an effort to resolve some of the issues, particularly those relating to overhanging trees. The Planning Officer has now agreed that the park may make what is called a '5 day notice' for any work which they consider urgent instead of having to wait for planning permission. However, any resident is at liberty to make a planning application themselves. However, in this case, residents must inform the park. They must also understand that the park may not be prepared to pay for any work approved.
- It is appreciated that the trees on the park are sometimes a very emotive subject but it has to be remembered and understood that, if it were not for the Tree Preservation Orders which an earlier Residents Association, the Parish Council and the then residents had campaigned for, we would not have the beautiful park which we now have. Instead, we would have several hundred more homes sited in the park.
The Chairman continues to have meetings with Paul Diplock when general park matters are discussed and any matters affecting residents. She is also always invited to meet David Curson when he visits the park. These meetings include other Committee Members, namely Mr. & Mrs Furzer who are invaluable and allow them to discuss many issues, including the changes currently taking place. In this way they have been able to mediate for a considerable number of residents. This year, of course, the main issues have been surface water drainage, although some issues are still outstanding for some residents. Head Office do appreciate the problems being experienced but careful consideration is required in some areas of the park. It would be of no benefit to solve a problem for one resident only to cause another elsewhere. At the moment, we are waiting for planners from Head Office to assess the problem.
It has to be mentioned here that the Residents Association's Constitution provides for the Committee to act as liaison between residents and the park owner. There are many issues which residents have and although we are willing to offer advice and support, we are not in a position to resolve them. Members will always be happy to point any resident to the agency which it is thought could help with a particular problem and to assist with letters or in other ways.
Our Coffee Mornings have continued and we have held 2 evening surgeries in order to assist residents in dealing with any problems they may have. The Country Club has very generously allowed the Association to use the club for these evenings and we thank them for this.
The Residents Association was the very proud recipients of a Runner-Up Award in the Resident Association of the Year. The Judges were particularly impressed with the achievements regarding the B2110, the gates at the hotel refuse area, the Quarterly Newsletter, the Welcome Pack and, of course, the new Web Site.
Mid Sussex District Council have now confirmed that the bank from Ray Fosters down to Mount Lane will be cleared. Also that West Sussex will clear the footpath down to the Park. No timescale, however, has been given.
27 new residents have taken up park life in the last year and the Committee welcomes them to Turners Hill and wishes them a happy life in this beautiful park.
Treasurer's Report
Mrs. Furzer explained that she had given a three year comparison this year as last year was a comparatively less expensive year and she wanted to give as much comparative information as possible. She then went on to explain the reasons why we had taken on the services of The Print Room in East Grinstead as they could give us a better printing deal than using the Resident Association's printer where the colour cartridges were very expensive. An explanation was also given under the headings of Christmas Boxes and Donations.
Mrs. Furzer explained that the subscription collection routes would be changed this year so the Committee Member who collects the subs may not be the same one as in the past. However, they will be wearing their badge as identity.
There being no queries regarding the accounts, the Treasurer asked for a Proposer and Seconder:-
Proposed: Mrs. Florrie Grimwood
Seconded: Mrs. Sue Luck
Election of Officers and Committee
As previously advised, Bobbie Abbott retired from the Committee last year and we had, previously, co-opted Geoff Gant. Our Constitution provides that we have a Vice-Chairman and our President, Mr. Geoff Furzer, has agreed to re-stand for this post.
The Chairman asked if there was any objection to this.
Proposed: Mary Moore
Seconded: Mrs. Val Spencer
All of the present members of the Committee were willing to stand for re-election for another year. The Chairman asked if anyone was against this and as no one objected, she asked for a proposer and seconder:-
Proposed: Mr. Henry Spencer
Seconded: Mrs. Joan Hubner
Membership Fees
The Committee proposed that the Subscription remains at £3.00 per household and this was unanimously agreed.
Proposed: Mrs. LindaHulse
Seconded: Mrs. Sue Luck
The committee would be on hand at the end of the meeting to take your subscriptions; otherwise, we will be collecting door to door between now & the end of June. If any of you are new residents on the park, and you wish to join us, we do also have new resident forms, so please feel able to come to any committee member with your subscription.
Status as a Qualifying Residents Association
The Chairman wished to raise this matter for information only.
In 2013 as a Committee, we again provided membership information to Head Office in order to maintain our status as a 'Qualifying Residents Association' and we feel that it is very important for us to maintain this position. The necessary information will be provided again for 2014.
- BREAK FOR REFRESHMENTS -
Any Other Business
A vote of thanks was accorded from the floor for the installation and updating of the website. This was unanimously agreed and all praise should go to Geoff Gant for his valiant efforts.
A question was asked from the floor regarding the new Bus Routes for the Nos. 82 and 84. The Chairman explained that the last information which she had was that the Parish, as part of the new cross roads proposal, asked the Bus Company if they would consider the No. 82 also coming down to the Park. Unfortunately, the answer was no. It was to be remembered that when the survey of the bus routes was carried out, most residents said they travelled to Crawley and East Grinstead and practically no one made mention of the Doctor's Surgery. It would seem more reasonable to have a bus from the Park to Crawley Down rather than a bus to Tulleys, particularly as all the shops have closed at the Farm. However, the Residents Committee will keep trying.
In connection with the lack of bus service, the Chairman asked if there were any volunteers who would be willing to drive residents without cars to the Doctors Surgery. Both Catherine Carrick and Mary Ealing volunteered and the Secretary took their details for future attention. Mrs. Forbes did detail all the actions which the Association has taken in an effort to assist but has had no success.
As far as Neighbourhood Watch is concerned, three residents have now indicated their interest in becoming involved and Geoff Gant has their names and addresses and will be in touch with them in due course. As an aside, Geoff did give a brief resume of what was involved.
We are also having two new Notice Boards erected by Berkeley at the entrance to the park and we also now have our New Neighbourhood Watch Sign.
Mr. Rod Emmet made mention of the concerns of the Shop staff on how badly they needed more custom otherwise the shop may have to close. It would appear that the shop is now offering special offers as an incentive to draw residents in.
The Chairman then made mention of the map at the back of the Hall and she asked for residents comments. It would appear that this was drawn up roughly late 1950s early 1960s. She then went on to give details on the age of the park and how much rents were at that time.
Mrs. Forbes asked if anyone needed a lift because it was such a miserable night, then just to make themselves known.
There being no further business, the Chairman thanked everyone for coming. The meeting was closed at 9.00pm.