Minutes of the Seventeenth Annual General Meeting held on 3rd June 2017 at Walker Lower Hall, The Green, N14
Among those present were the Chair, Treasurer, Secretary and some 25 members and guests.
1 Welcome
The Chair welcomed those present to the AGM.
2 Minutes of AGM 2016
Adoption of the minutes, which had been previously circulated, was proposed by Denise Gandhi, seconded by Evelyn Ryan and agreed nem con.
3 Treasurer’s report
The Treasurer presented the Accounts. The balance in the account on December 31st was
He commented that income from subscriptions and events had halved. However, expenditure was down by a quarter.
Adoption of the accounts was proposed by Leonard Landsberg, seconded by Ruth Landsberg and agreed nem con.
4 Election of Officers
The Chair reported that all existing officers and committee members were willing to restand. He invited those present to offer themselves for the committee. David Theodore’s offer to join the committee was welcomed. As there were no other volunteers the existing committee was declared re-elected. These were Chris Horner (Chair), Peter Rust (Treasurer), Jill Bowden (Secretary), Denise Gandhi, Leonard Landsberg, Jeff Lever, Angela Parker and Evelyn Ryan.
5 Chairman’s Executive Report
The Chair presented a list of developments, projects and events in which the Association had been involved during the past year (attached).
6 Diary Dates:
June 18th – The 2017 Big Lunch would take place in the Minchenden Oak Garden. Members are invited to join in – just bring something to eat, something to drink and something to sit on.
June 9th-18th – Southgate Civic Week . A series of community events is being organised throughout the week and details can be found on the Southgate District Civic Trust’s website (southgatedistrictcivictrust.org.uk). The week will commence with the presentation of prizes to the three winners of a Southgate Photographic Society competition focussing on local conservation areas (this year being the 50th anniversary of conservation area legislation). The shortlist of 24 photos will be on display in a shop unit (formerly shoe repairs and luggage sales) in the bus station at Southgate tube station, where the presentations will be made by the Deputy Mayor of London on June 9th at 7.30pm.
Details of the programme for Civic Week can be found at www.southgatecivictrust.org.uk
September 16th – Our annual Ground Force Day to tidy up the conservation area.
7 Members’ Question Time
- The Christmas tree on The Green is in a sorry state. If it is deemed to have failed the Council will be responsible for replacing it.
- Overhanging foliage on the footpath leading to Greenway needs cutting back.
- The Pinkham Way campaign had been cited in an academic study as a model community action campaign.
- Concerns were raised about infrastructure shortages as a result of new housing in the area.
- A member suggested that in the context of the increasing pressure of population growth in London, the SGA should consider initiating policy discussion on the optimum population size for a modern city such as London.
8 Any other business
An update on the Pinkham Way site was presented. The arguments put forward at the Haringey Local Plan alterations EiP last August by PWA had been successful and the Inspector informed Haringey Council that the site must be removed from their Site Allocations Development Plan Document. The Inspector gave particular attention to the Pinkham Way site in her report indicating that the employment designation was inappropriate for a site of such ecological value.
The formal business having been completed, the Chair invited the local history guide and speaker Joe Studman to give his talk about Leigh Hunt, which was received with great interest. Further information about Joe and his walks and local history courses can be found at jaywalks.co.uk.