MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
HELD ON TUESDAY 19 MAY 2015 AT 7 30 PM
AT ST ANDREW’S COMMUNITY HALL, BURNT ASH LANE
1. Welcome and introduction
Peter Skipp welcomed members to the
meeting. He explained that he was
standing in as Chair as Iliya Ingram who had been formally elected as Chair at
last year’s AGM had had to resign when she moved away from the Links Estate. He
extended a special welcome to the speakers - Bob Edwards (London Borough of
Bromley (LBB) Street Environment Operations and Contract Manager), Sergeant
Luke Entwistle of the North East Neighbourhood Policing Team and Rob Vale of
Bromley Trading Standards; and to other guests - Councillors Peter Morgan
(Portfolio holder for Renewal and Recreation) and Michael Turner, Reverend Liz
Davis and Tony Isbitt (Chairman of the Community Advisory Panel).
Liz Davis welcomed members to the new
Community Hall which had been formally opened on 10 May. The Hall was available for hire and she
invited members to view the facilities that it offered.
2. Apologies for absence
Apologies had been received from:
Betty Donoghue
Anna
Martin
John
Martin
Cheryl
Mulryne
3. Minutes of Annual General Meeting held on 30 April 2014
The minutes were approved.
4. Matters arising
Peter said that the
double yellow lines at the junction of Leamington Avenue and Oak Tree Gardens
that LERA had campaigned for had been installed. This had improved considerably the sight lines for drivers turning into and out of the
Avenue.
5. Committee’s report
Peter outlined the Committee’s main
activities and achievements during the past year. These
included maintaining our links with
our Councillors on a variety of issues; developing constructive relations with
the local police team on crime and safety matters and representing LERA’s
interests on the Ward’s Community Advisory Panel; maintaining engagement with
the Council’s officials and contractors on street cleaning issues and holding
on-site meetings with them; and participating in the Tree Friends scheme which
had been recently launched by the Council.
Measures have been taken to improve communications with members through
a new-style Newsletter, continued up-dating of LERA’s website (www.leralink.blogspot.com) and the
introduction of a Facebook group (Links Estate Residents Association Facebook
Group). The Committee also co-ordinated
awareness among residents of a
planning application for the development of 8 houses in Oak Tree Gardens and
submitted an objection on behalf of LERA. We understand that the latest
position is that the application may attract refusal and the developers are
considering their options.
The meeting accepted the report.
6.
Treasurer’s report
Diane Bex presented the accounts for
2014/15, copies of which had been distributed at the meeting.
LERA’s finances remained in a healthy
state with income over expenditure producing a surplus for the year of
£379. The main income continued to be the membership subscription which
had been held at £2.00. Expenditure covered the normal administrative
expenses. The assets stood at £1,322 in the current account and £8,437 in the
savings account.
The meeting approved the accounts.
Diane proposed that the membership
subscription for 2015/16 should remain at £2.00. The meeting approved the
proposal.
Diane proposed that LERA’s donation
to the new Community Hall that had been agreed in principle by members at
previous AGMs should be £2,500. This
would be used to largely fund the costs of the new chairs that had been
purchased. Members approved the donation. Peter and Liz Davis thanked the members for
their support in helping to provide vital funding for this
important local amenity.
7.
Election of Officers
Chair
Peter nominated Stephen Hodges and
invited him to say a few words to introduce himself.
Proposed by John Crutchlow; seconded
by Malcolm Goodwin; and was unanimously elected.
Treasurer
Diane Bex – proposed by Michelle
Pike; seconded by Margaret Hearn; and was unanimously re-elected.
Secretary
Pat Pattenden – proposed by Pam
Lucken; seconded by Margaret Hearn; and was unanimously re-elected.
Committee members
The following were
re-elected/elected:
Paul Bellinfantie
(Oak Tree Gardens)
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)
Michelle Pike
(Upper Portland Road)
Clive Robeson (Website Manager)
Peter Skipp
(Community Advisory 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).
Theresa McWhirter of Oak Tree Gardens
is also invited to attend Committee meetings.
In addition, the following serve as
Street Representatives:
Betty Donoghue (Broadlands Road)
Irene Lambell (Ridgeway Drive)
Jackie Taylor (Ridgeway Drive)
Laurel and Roy Wretham (New Street Hill).
8. Appointment of Auditor
The meeting
approved the re-appointment of Steve Mace as Honorary Auditor. The
meeting expressed their thanks for his continued support to LERA by a round of
applause.
9. Community Services Update
· Street Cleaning
Sandro Gor said that LERA had
continued to develop constructive relations with the Council and its
contractors (Kier) and had regular meetings with them to find ways of improving
the service and identifying efficiency savings which were particularly
important in view of the significant pressures on LBB’s budget over the next 4
years. This had included the
introduction of the litter picking service in New Street Hill and potential
changes to the frequency of street cleaning and running a pilot in Oak Tree
Gardens for residents to move their cars between certain times to enable the
sweepers to clean the gutters. LERA had
also organised a team of volunteers in early May to clear up the litter on the
green space in New Street Hill. It was
intended to make this activity a regular event.
Bob Edwards explained that he was now
combining his operations role with responsibility for contract management for
the Borough’s street cleaning and drainage services. The street cleaning contract was losing
£800,000 annually and finding efficiency savings was a major challenge to
enable it to be brought within budget.
LBB was keen to work with the
community to encourage voluntary initiatives such as the non-parking of cars on
cleaning days. It was hoped that this
approach would be more effective as enforcing such measures involved obtaining
a traffic order and more time was spent on putting up and removing signs which
was not efficient. Blowers are used on
400 roads throughout the Borough to clear the gutters. A map showing the street cleaning schedule is
published on LBB’s website.
The Borough’s drains are cleared every 2 years and those
in 27 areas prone to flooding are cleared 3 times annually. In response to a member’s question about the
need for extra drains in Ridgeway Drive, Bob explained that the roads were not
designed to cope with the flooding that occurs and the increased paving over of
driveways and front gardens for off street parking was exacerbating the
problem. LBB was developing a computer
programme mapping the Borough’s 3,500 roads which would assist in prioritising
where leaf clearance was needed. Members were asked to liaise with Sandro about
individual cases so these could be taken up with LBB.
Peter thanked Bob for his
contribution and members expressed their appreciation with a round of applause.
· Safer Neighbourhood
and policing
Sergeant Entwistle introduced PC Amy Barnes and PCSO
Peter Scott (Dedicated Ward Officers) who accompanied
him to the meeting. He explained the
structure of the local police team which formed part of the North East
Neighbourhood cluster covering Chislehurst, Mottingham, Bickley, Bromley Town,
and Plaistow and Sundridge. The team has
6 officers and is one of 5 teams in the Bromley which work on a shift basis.
Across London, Bromley is the safest
borough and within Bromley, Plaistow and Sundridge and Bickley are the safest
Wards with the lowest crime rates.
Funding is a major challenge for the
Met particularly as further budget cuts are planned and the Borough Commander
is constantly looking to review where efficiencies can be made.
The team work closely with the
Community Advisory Panel to enable them to focus on the Ward’s policing
‘promises’ and the areas requiring priority action. The current focus is burglary. The team are dependent on receiving
information from the community and being alerted to crimes and potential
crimes, and members were encouraged to report any incidents where police action
may be required. The Links Estate had experienced some problems with
anti-social behaviour involving speeding
motor bikes and mopeds which the police were now able to tackle with officers
on off-street bikes.
Sergeant Entwistle then responded to
members’ questions relating to driving schools’ use of the junction of New
Street Hill and Oak Tree Gardens for learner drivers to practise turning on
corners, and speeding vehicles in Burnt Ash Lane.
Tony Isbitt explained that the Community Advisory Panel
provides a focus for discussion about the wellbeing of the Ward and agreeing
with the police the issues that need to be addressed. The Panel is also proactive in getting LBB to
implement improvements to safety and other issues such as the installation of
measures to prevent cars parking on the forecourt of Sundridge Parade.
Peter thanked Sergeant Entwistle and
Tony for their contributions and members expressed their appreciation with a
round of applause.
10. Presentation on Trading Standards
Rob
Vale explained that there was an increasing problem with frauds and scams which
were mainly operated by organised criminal gangs. These targeted the most vulnerable members of
society including the elderly and can emanate from telephone or doorstep calls,
or via computers or letters. The Bromley Trading Standards team operate a rapid
response service which once alerted, enables them to intervene in cases and
prevent or minimise criminal activity.
An example was a case reported by a neighbour where an elderly gentleman
had paid out £17,000 to a rogue trader for building work on his house and was
being persuaded that further (unnecessary) work was needed.
Rob
urged members to report to Trading Standards any suspicious callers or other
potential incidents of frauds and scams.
More information was contained in leaflets and stickers that were
available at the meeting.
Peter
thanked Rob for his presentation and members expressed their appreciation with
a round of applause.
11. Any other business
· Library services
Peter Morgan explained that the
Council was having to cope with severe pressures on its budget. £50 million
cuts had already been made and a further £50 million savings had to be
found. In order to maintain certain
services, the Council was looking to voluntary support being provided by the
community. One of these services was the
local libraries, including the Burnt Ash library, where the staff were no
longer affordable. The Council was
therefore seeking for community groups to run the libraries. He encouraged LERA members to become
involved.
Peter Skipp closed the meeting by
thanking the speakers and the members for their attendance. Members expressed their appreciation of his
chairing the meeting with a round of applause.
The meeting
formally closed at 9 15 pm.
Following
the meeting, LERA members and the guests mingled informally and enjoyed
refreshments.
69
members and guests attended.
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