ASHLEY GREEN AND DISTRICT COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION
Minutes of the 28th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Held on Tuesday 10th June 2014 at 8:00pm in the Old School
PRESENT:
David Hurling
John Mayne
Lesley Popescu
Cath Hurling
CHAIRMAN
VICE-CHAIRMAN
TREASURER
TEMP SECRETARY
Courtney Edenborough
Emma Allum
Malcolm Rimington
Dennis Clifford
Mark Broschomb
Kim Warren
Mike Davies
Helen Ras
Jan Barbour
Mary Axon
Hilary Wilson
Margaret Flowers
Ann Broschomb
Jacquie Rose
Isabelle Davies
Carr Withall
Sandra ?
Roger Watts
Sylvia Howe
Candice Cowan
Rodney Newth
Mary Pacitti
Elizabeth Foster
Jane Rimington
David Harmer
Cindy Poston
Rob Warren
Heather Harris
Shelagh Watts
APOLOGIES:
Roger & Claire Macklin, Cllr Andrew Garth, Richard & Nora Maw, Rob Youngs, Miriam Khamis-Coshan.
MINUTES OF THE 27TH AGM held on 11 June 2013 have been agreed and signed. These were made available
online and the website.
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT – JUNE 2014
Introduction
It has been another busy and satisfying year as Chairman. I feel that, despite the fall in numbers within the
Committee, plenty has been achieved and the Community Association has fulfilled the terms of the
Constitution.
The community spirit within Ashley Green continues to thrive and I want to congratulate and thank all the
Committee members for their enthusiasm and magnificent generosity of spirit.
Activities
Quiz Night –
This proved to be the final Quiz Night run by Lawrence & Jo Kidd and Cath and myself. It was our third quiz
and after reducing the ticket price we had a total of 9 teams competing. Lawrence excelled himself again as
Quizmaster and the winner was the MAPPY team, for the second year running. All in all it was a successful
and entertaining evening!
Fireworks –
The Fireworks on the Glebe in November went particularly well this year. We had a record turn-out and as
usual the fireworks were superb. The Community Association made £3,777, which was absolutely fantastic.
This continues to be our village ‘best-seller’ and we should be very proud of the compliments we received
from the public for this event. Thanks should go to the usual helpers for providing such a team effort.
Christmas Party –
In early December it was decided to change the venue for the Family Party to the Memorial Hall, so that the
new extension could be admired. My thanks go to my wife, Cath, for organising such a festive and happy
event. Both buildings looked very Christmassy and were much appreciated.
Burns Night –
This party is held alternate years and in January 2014 the Macklins and the Watts teamed together to produce
a highly enjoyable and spectacular evening, with good food, whiskey and dancing. Our thanks go to them and
their team of helpers for a lucrative event, when £1,077 was raised. A massive contribution – thank you!
Chairman’s Disco –
In April, over the Easter holiday, Cath arranged a disco. Despite a low turn-out due to many villagers being on
holiday, we all had a good evening. In this case it wasn’t really about making money, it was lovely to have
such a social village get-together.
Summer Fair –
Roger & Shelagh Watts bravely volunteered to arrange the annual Fair, as Gavin Rennie left the village in
September to work abroad. We are very grateful to them for taking on this huge task. They showed true
dedication and organised a fun, happy and traditional village Fair. The weather forecasters got it wrong and
Saturday afternoon was dry and warm (after a wet morning!). Everything went to plan and the day was
concluded with a relaxing supper on the Green for all those who had helped make it happen. We all know
what a mammoth task this event is and I’m sure you will all agree Roger & Shelagh should be applauded for
their hard, time-consuming work. The Community Association is very grateful to them and their team. Our
Treasurer will inform you of the profit from the day, but in some ways this is slightly trivial when you think of
how the event epitomised the wonderful community spirit in Ashley Green. Well done to everyone!
Buildings
The most significant achievement has been the Memorial Hall extension project. After successfully gaining a
grant from Biffa for £20,000, John Poston did a fantastic job in project- managing, securing planning approval
and pushing through the extension. He worked very hard – I know that there were many challenges, notably
on the paperwork front! He has our utmost gratitude.
The building work was carried out by Mark Broschomb and the end result was perfect (too good in fact for
storing chairs and tables!!!). Again, we are very grateful for the high standard of the job. Being able to have
stacks of chairs and tables on floor level, rather than lifting them from the stage has made things much easier
for everyone.
So, our thanks go to John and Mark for producing such a beautiful extension, which is in keeping with the rest
of the Memorial Hall.
Regarding the maintenance of the buildings a few repairs and enhancements have been made. Worth
mentioning is the upgraded electrics in the Memorial Hall, which was ably managed by Roger Macklin, as well
as the outdoor electricity supply created by Mark Broschomb when he worked on the extension.
The priority for the coming year is to carry out improvements to the Old School and the Memorial Hall. As
always there are plenty of repair and maintenance jobs outstanding to ensure that our Hirers are kept happy!
Because our finances are healthy, it is my intention to get as many overdue jobs done as is possible this year.
At this point, I would like to extend my thanks to our trusty Caretaker, Dennis Clifford. He is conscientious and
reliable in keeping things tidy between lettings. You can guarantee that on a Thursday afternoon when my
son, Tom, and Cath set up for Bridge Club, he will be there taking his cleaning very seriously. He is to be
applauded for his loyalty – it was noticed that after the Fair on Saturday he was straight in the Hall clearing
and preparing for the booking on Sunday. The Community Association is ever grateful for what Dennis does.
Lettings
Emma Allum, our Lettings Officer, has done a fabulous job in managing bookings for our buildings. In fact,
from the accounts it seems that this year’s lettings for the Memorial Hall total £16,819 against £12,727 last
year. This represents a hefty increase and I am most impressed and thankful for her efficiency and
professionalism. Bearing in mind that Emma also works full-time, she does a wonderful job. Again, we are
hugely appreciative of her abilities.
Funds
Our finances are in very good shape. For this we need to thank Lesley Popescu, our Treasurer. Again, this
year, she has done a brilliant job in looking after the accounts. Lesley works full-time but always manages to
run the necessary errands to the bank and keep us on the ‘straight and narrow’. I am extremely grateful for
her support and guidance and I am glad that she is prepared to carry on for another year!!!
Membership
And now something about Mary (Axon)! Mary is really the embodiment of Ashley Green – she is passionate
about the village and never gives up on it. This year she has shown true tenacity by writing the village
questionnaire and organising membership renewals. I notice that our subscriptions are up by £30 (6
members?). With her husband, John, she has championed the provision of a permanent Footpath Map to be
sited outside the Memorial Hall for the use of local walkers. You can always rely on Mary to be supportive of
any event or issue. For this we are exceptionally thankful.
Publicity
David Harmer has continued to provide an excellent service to the Village. He runs the Ashley Green website,
produces frequent email Bulletins to keep us informed and publishes ‘Community Call’ twice a year, as well as
printing posters and tickets for our events. All of this communication is vital to Ashley Green villagers. His
work is meticulous and swift – as soon as he hears of anything that needs announcing he will be on to it!
David has created and progressed such a valuable role – keep up the good work! Our thanks go to him for his
reliability and endless enthusiasm.
Other Subjects
Film Club –
Roger & Claire Macklin have enthusiastically run the Film Club for this, their 3rd year. Villagers were given the
opportunity of seeing another season of great movies, such as ‘Men who stare at Goats’, ‘American Beauty’
and ‘Argo’. I would like to thank them for keeping this club active for the last 3 years – I know attendance has
fluctuated, but they have both always been keen to screen the scheduled films. We thank them for the time
they have spent on this and for the creation of this village facility. I, for one, have always enjoyed my Friday
evenings at Film Club supping on a glass of beer! I understand that Roger Macklin has persuaded some new
volunteers to carry on the tradition of Film Club from September, and we are very appreciative of the Macklin
team.
Ashley Green Good Neighbours Group –
The weekly meeting of villagers on a Thursday lunch-time at the Old School for a ‘cuppa and a chat’ has been
very successful and supportive of those wanting company in the day. This group is the result of joining with
the Church and the Parish Council and together with the Monthly Lunch Club at the Pub, the Community
Association is committed to continuing to fund a portion of this.
Church –
We continue to maintain our links with St John’s Church and endeavour to support them. In this last year we
contributed £2,000 to their new heating system.
Conclusions
As most of you were aware, in last year’s Chairman’s Report, I confirmed that I intended to step down from
the Chair – I did 3 years as Vice and have now done 2 years as Chairman.
I hope you will be pleased to know that I am happy to carry on for another year, to continue the historical 3
year term! As I said last year, this is in no way a precedent and I trust that in June 2015 someone will
volunteer to take on the role of Chairman. It is important that new members step forward with fresh ideas
and enthusiasm.
I must, of course, say a few personal thank-yous. I have had a stressful time this past year due to redundancy
and without the support and help from several friends in the village, as well as my wife(!) I don’t think I would
necessarily have been persuaded to carry on as Chairman for this forthcoming year. Cath has diligently
handled all the admin tasks whilst I’ve been at work and now I am no longer home-based, she will continue
with this role.
There have been many generous and kind words and I feel very heartened to live in this community.
Thanks go to my Vice – John Mayne, who has stood in for me when necessary and attended meetings on my
behalf.
It has been hard to lose a few members too – there have been some leavers mid-year, notably Jo Kidd, our
Secretary, and Gavin Rennie who was the Fair organiser. These absences have left a big hole, but I am
thankful to you all for pulling together as a team and getting on with it.
Here’s to another successful and happy year in Ashley Green!
TREASURER’S REPORT
Lesley Popescu handed out her finance report for the year ending 31st March 2014.
ELECTION OF HONORARY OFFICERS
The following members were elected:CHAIRMAN
PROPOSED BY:
SECONDED BY:
DAVID HURLING
Roger Watts
Hilary Wilson
VICE-CHAIRMAN
PROPOSED BY:
SECONDED BY:
JOHN MAYNE
David Hurling
Elizabeth Foster
TREASURER
PROPOSED BY:
SECONDED BY:
LESLEY POPESCU
David Harmer
Courtney Edenborough
SECRETARY
PROPOSED BY:
SECONDED BY:
ROB YOUNGS
David Harmer
Malcolm Rimington
ELECTION OF COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES
Art Section
Margaret Bowller
CDC
Cllr Andrew Garth
St John’s Church
Hilary Wilson
WI
Elizabeth Foster
Parish Council
Roger Watts
Good Neighbour Group Hilary Wilson
Chesham Rural Forum Jacquie Rose
Membership
Mary Axon
Film Club
Mary Pacitti
VOLUNTEERS TO STAND ON THE COUNCIL (as non-representational members)
Mary Axon
Margaret Flowers
David Harmer
Hilary Mills
Claire Macklin
Sylvia Howe
Ann Broschomb
Cllr Andrew Garth
Elizabeth Foster
Roger Watts
Roger Macklin
Margaret Bowller
Hilary Wilson
Kim Warren
Helen Ras
Jan Barbour
Mary Pacitti
Candice Cowan
Miriam Khamis-Coshan
Jacquie Rose
Carr Withall
A.O.B.
A vote of thanks was proposed by Roger Watts to David (& Cath) Hurling for his hard work as Chairman this
year.
John Axon brought up the subject of The Royal Forestry Society and Pancake Woods. They are keen to get
support from locals to increase interest in this area of woodland.
Mark Broschomb raised three points:Dennis’s son is keen to join the Committee.
He feels that the public liability insurance fees that AGDCA pay are too high and it would be a good idea for
Lesley to look into finding a better deal.
He wants to get together a team of volunteers to help clear a footpath on Two Dells Lane and Chesham Road
to Berkhamsted.
Hilary Wilson announced the plans in the village for 3 August (100 year anniversary of the start of WWI).
There will be a Commemoration at the War Memorial when the relevant names will be read out with extra
names of those who later died as a result of their contribution to the War. She is currently arranging tracing
of these names (from Whelpley Hill too). After this service there will be a Cream Tea.
Mary Pacitti is concerned about the reduction of the speed limit out of the village – reducing it from 40 down
to 30mph. She asked whether it was worth asking the Council. John Axon suggested approaching them.
Jacquie Rose was anxious about the recent spate of burglaries in the village. Mary Axon said that she had
heard that it seemed to be a ‘blip’ within the last 8 weeks.
DATE OF THE NEXT A.G.M:
Signed:
16TH JUNE 2015
Date: