Minutes of the Annual General Meeting May 2018

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

HELD ON TUESDAY 15TH MAY 2018 AT 7 30PM

AT ST ANDREW’S HALL, BURNT ASH LANE

1.  Welcome and introduction

Stephen Hodges welcomed members to the meeting.  He extended a special welcome to the guests and speakers - Councillors Michael Turner and Gareth Allett; PC Daniel Ball and PCSO Peter Scott of the Plaistow and Sundridge Safer Neighbourhood Team; and Reverend Liz Davis. Also, the Bromley Borough Commander for the London Fire Brigade, Terry Gooding, would be arriving later to give a presentation.

Stephen outlined the agenda for the meeting.

  

2.  Apologies for absence

Apologies had been received from:

            

                        John Howard                           Lucia Parnell

Jane Mace                              Margaret Smith

Steve Mace                             Jeanette Warren

                        Councillor Peter Morgan         Laurel Wretham

Cheryl Mulryne                        Roy Wretham

3.  Minutes of Annual General Meeting held on 15^th May 2017

The minutes were approved.

4.  Matters arising

                                             

There were no matters arising.

5.  Chair’s report 

Stephen thanked the Committee members and Street Representatives for their support and hard work throughout the year.

He summarised the Committee’s main activities during the past year. 

·      Community affairs

We have liaised closely with our councillors and Council officials over a variety of issues and have represented LERA on a range of local community groups and at other events.  This included the Safer Neighbourhood Panel which meets regularly to discuss crime and policing in the Ward and other local matters, the Council’s ‘roundtable’ discussion on Bromley’s budget priorities for the coming years, and the Bromley Safer Neighbourhood Board annual Crime Summit.

·      Development on the Estate

With members’ help, we have monitored current developments on the Estate and compliance with planning approval conditions, and have liaised with the Council officials over breaches.  We have also started to monitor the trend of properties becoming Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMO).

·      Environmental matters

We conducted the annual survey of the public trees on the Estate with the Council’s Arboricultural Manager and agreed a programme of replacement and maintenance.  We also liaised with the Council over work undertaken by Network Rail’s contractors to clear vegetation on the Bromley North branch line embankment to establish whether this had been carried out legitimately.

·      Communicating with members

Our website and Facebook page provide an important means of keeping members informed of news and other issues of interest.  We have also circulated leaflets about specific issues.

The Future of LERA

The Committee had discussed the resources needed to ensure that LERA would be able to maintain and expand its portfolio in the coming years.  The request for volunteers to take on a range of roles that had been circulated recently to members had produced a disappointing response.  We will endeavour to find new people to join the Committee and depending on the response, it may be necessary to scale down our current level of activity.

Stephen thanked Pat Pattenden for all her work as Secretary over the past 15 years or so as she was now stepping down from that role.

The meeting accepted the report.

6. Treasurer’s report

Diane Bex presented the accounts for 2017-18, copies of which had been distributed at the meeting.

LERA’s financial position remained relatively healthy.  Income over expenditure produced a surplus for the year of £536.  The main income continued to be the membership subscriptions which had been held at £2.00.  Expenditure covered the usual administrative expenses.

Total assets stood at £8,205 in the current account with NatWest with a further £30 due.

The meeting approved the accounts.

Diane proposed that the membership subscription should remain at £2.00 for 2018-19. The meeting approved the proposal.

Stephen said that the LERA commemorative booklet which had been trailed at a previous AGM had involved extensive and lengthy work by some members of the Committee and was now nearing completion.  The cost of printing copies was expected to be around £600-700.  The meeting approved expenditure of this order for this purpose.

LERA had received a request from Reverend Liz Davis for a contribution to help fund the forthcoming annual Community Day in Kings Meadow in July.  It was proposed that a contribution of £200 should be made towards the cost of hiring a climbing wall (estimated at £800) for the enjoyment of children.  The meeting agreed the proposal.

7.  Election of Officers and Committee members

·        Chair

Stephen Hodges – proposed by Jackie Taylor; seconded by Margaret Hearn; and was re-elected unanimously.

Stephen announced that he would undertake the role for a further year only and that a new candidate would need to be elected at the 2019 AGM.

·        Secretary

There were no nominations.  The office was unfilled.

·        Treasurer

Diane Bex – proposed by John Crutchlow; seconded by Tony Beskeen; and was re-elected unanimously.

·        Committee members

The following were elected/re-elected unanimously:

           John Crutchlow (Ridgeway Drive and Treewall Gardens)

Sandro Gor (Lead on Street Cleaning issues)

           Margaret Hearn (Leamington Close and Milverton Place)

Pam Lucken (Leamington Avenue)

Theresa McWhirter (Oak Tree Gardens)

Alex Margolies (Oak Tree Gardens)

Pat Pattenden (Lower Portland Road)

Michelle Pike (Upper Portland Road)

Clive Robeson (Website Manager)

Peter Skipp (Safer Neighbourhood Panel representative)

Peter Smith (Briary Gardens).

All the above, with the exception of Sandro Gor, Clive Robeson and Peter Skipp, also serve as Street Representatives (roads are indicated in brackets).

In addition, the following serve as Street Representatives:

                                    Betty Donoghue (Broadlands Road)

                                    Jackie Taylor (Ridgeway Drive)

    Laurel and Roy Wretham (New Street Hill).

8.  Appointment of Honorary Auditor

The meeting approved the re-appointment of Steve Mace as Honorary Auditor.  Stephen expressed thanks for his continued support to LERA.

9.  Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) Update – PC Daniel Ball

PC Ball explained that he had joined the team in April.  The other members of the team were currently Sergeant Alf Sacre, PC Amy Barnes and PCSO Peter Scott. Under the new Basic Command Unit (BCU) structure to be introduced in November, Bromley will be merged with Croydon and Sutton.  This will enable police resources to be re-deployed as necessary across borough boundaries.

The ‘promises’ for issues that are currently agreed for the SNT to target within the Ward include open spaces and the car park behind the shops on Burnt Ash Parade.  Crime across the Ward and on the Links Estate remained relatively low.  Since the start of the year, there had been 5 burglaries reported on the Estate – in most cases the offenders had broken in through rear patio doors – and 4 incidents of vehicle crime.  There had been no reported incidents of anti-social behaviour or nuisance cyclists.  Police patrols had been increased in Bromley Town Centre to counter spikes in theft and other criminal activity. Crimes can be reported via the Met’s website as well as calling 101 or in emergencies 999.

In response to questions, PC Ball explained that

·         the Law governing householders defending their property against intruders allows ‘reasonable’ force to be used;

·        the Council is responsible for removing abandoned vehicles parked on the public roadway but it won’t normally take action if the vehicle is taxed and insured.  Members can check for themselves through the DVLA website whether a vehicle is currently taxed and MOT’d;

·        the Council will not normally remove fly-tipped rubbish from private land.  It may become involved if the fly-tipping is causing health and safety issues.

Stephen thanked him for his presentation.  He also expressed thanks to PCSO Peter Scott for the help and support he had given to LERA and the Estate’s residents over the past 10 years or so in his role as our Dedicated Ward Officer and wished him the very best in his forthcoming retirement.

10.  Presentation on general fire safety – Terry Gooding, Borough Commander for Bromley,

                                                                                                                 London Fire Brigade (LFB)

                       

Commander Gooding emphasised that his key message was for members to look out for elderly and vulnerable people as they are most susceptible to fire risks.  These include:

·        smoking in bed – this is a common cause of death;

·        unattended cooking which is a significant cause of fire;

·        unsafe heating, for example, old fires where clothes are hung over them;

·        overloaded power sockets; and

·        candles – these should never be lit unless they are contained in proper holders.

LFB will visit homes to provide safety advice and will fit smoke alarms.  It is important to keep all doors closed at night to contain any fire, and to have an escape plan worked out and to keep escape routes clear.  Other safety measures include fitting personal sprinklers and special fire-proof bedding.

Outside the home, flytipped rubbish can also be a source of fires and members were advised to keep an eye on trends as this can attract more flytipping.

Stephen thanked the Commander for his presentation and his valuable advice.

11.  Open Forum

1.       In response to issues raised by the audience, Councillor Turner:

·      agreed to investigate why LERA had not received any reply to our formal complaint letter to the Chief Planning Officer of October 2017 regarding the Planning Department’s failure to respond to issues we’ve raised concerning breaches of the planning rules on the Estate;

·      confirmed that the Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) issued for the trees on the Bromley North branch line embankment were permanent, although Network Rail can apply to have them lifted at any time;

·      requested further information from a member who was concerned that the Council had not responded following their installation of equipment in his home to monitor the increasingly bad behaviour of a noisy dog in a neighbouring house;

·      explained that there were no plans to introduce a 20mph speed limit in Bromley as there were more disadvantages than benefits; and

·     agreed to pursue the roadway in Leamington Close being re-surfaced.

2.   Members were urged to keep alert to ‘back door’ developments on the Estate, including extensions and conversion of outbuildings, that were being carried out without the necessary planning consent and to report breaches to the Council.  An increasing number of properties were being converted to ‘Houses in Multiple Occupation’ (HMO).  LERA was endeavouring to keep track of these properties and was maintaining a central register.

12.  Any other business

Reverend Liz Davis asked members to support this year’s Community Fun Day in Kings Meadow which was being held on Saturday 14^th July. She thanked LERA for their generous donation to the event.

The meeting formally closed at 9 00pm.

Following the meeting, LERA members and the guests mingled informally and enjoyed refreshments.

Around 50 members and guests attended.