logo

Petersfield Area
Community Trust

AGM Minutes - 15th November 2006

Present: Committee: Tony O'Regan, Cyril Offley, Glenys Malyon, Daniel Gordon, Richard Allen, Dorothy Runnicles, Fiona Curzon.
Invitees: Kevin Blencowe, Ben Bradnack, Nichola Harrison, Simon Lacey, Chris Casboult, Jezz Davis and a Recycling Technician for the City Council.
See also: attendance register.

Apologies: Anna Lindsay, Vikki Bruce, Trish Wright

1. Welcome.

The meeting started at 7:39pm. Richard introduced himself, and

welcomed Jezz Davis to the meeting.

2. Minutes of the last AGM

The meeting was asked to peruse the minutes of the last AGM. They were

approved with no objections.

3. Chair's Report

Richard presented the Chair's report:

  Good evening, everyone.

  Thank you for coming here tonight for PACT's AGM and Public meeting.

  The Chair's report is a reflection on the last year's activities and
  also maps out our path for the future. It has been a very full
  year, but I'll do my best to mention every aspect.

  I start with the Over 50's group.  Their story is an inspirational one
  which I have great pleasure in sharing with you. They have had an
  excellent year. Events such as meetings with Brunswick Nursery
  School, where young and old have got together to work on a history
  project, to hear singing by the youngsters and for young people to
  hear vivid recollections of life during WWII from those that
  experienced such things at first hand. There have been trips out,
  they enjoy regular exercise classes and their gatherings are attended
  by 25-30 people every week.

  During October, the 'Cambridgeshire Celebrates Age 2006' event saw
  many events around Cambridge and a successful all-age tea party was
  held at Brunswick School, which was followed by an exhibition of
  pictures of the event at the Guildhall, Cambridge. This particular
  event was kindly grant assisted by the City Council.

  The over 50s were also out in force at PACT's Summer event at the
  Millennium Garden, off Norfolk Street, in June this year, which was
  very successful. This event could not have happened without the hard
  work and skills of Anna Lindsay, who is sadly unable to join us this
  evening. Our thanks to her.

  Huge quantities of food and drink were laid on by local businesses on
  Norfolk Street and Sturton Street, with over 140 tombola prizes
  donated by others on East Road, Mill Road and Gwydir Street. Music
  was provided by local people and even the local Police van turned out
  to give youngsters a tour of the community. The weather exceeded all
  hopes and was warm and sunny. The evening was enjoyed by over 200
  people and the tombola raised nearly £300 towards the Community
  Centre.

  Work has gone into updating the PACT website to bring more
  information and work is being done to improve our database on PACT
  members so that we can contact more people online.

  The community noticeboards on Norfolk St and St Matthew's Piece are
  maintained by PACT and reflect topical subject matter and events.

  This year's ImPACT magazine was the 8th issue and increased from 16
  to 20 pages, our largest production ever. Its informative content
  of news and articles, balanced with advertising from local
  businesses, was delivered to about 3000 homes by a hardworking team
  of volunteers. My thanks to them for their efforts for this and
  other mailings they've undertaken.

  Last year, we announced that PACT was set to become a registered
  Charity, to enable us to move towards being an 'Incorporated Body',
  giving us legal status allowing us to take on the lease to a
  proposed community centre. We are not quite there yet, as our focus
  has been on other issues, but the matter is still in progress and
  the required paperwork for the application is nearly ready for
  submission.

  The proposed development on Harvest Way is moving closer.
  Chartfront have gained approval for the office development and a
  further planning application for the residential development and the
  community centre is expected soon. PACT is very optimistic that
  this project will succeed and provide local people with an excellent
  community facility that PACT will manage. We will embark on an
  extensive fund-raising campaign to pay for a part-time centre
  manager and also a cleaner, once work is under way to provide the
  building. I can tell you that £90,000 of Section 106 funds has
  already been earmarked by Community Development for the purchase of
  capital equipment for the promised Community Centre.

  Other issues of planning and the environment need attention. The
  Young Street site continues to be an eyesore and there are no
  indications yet as to what the developers intend to do with the
  site.

  There are a large number of development issues that remain
  outstanding and PACT intends to follow these up in 2007. As a group
  and as residents we all need to make more use of the East Area
  Committee meetings to raise matters of concern to us.

  Section 106 funds have been difficult to keep track of over the last
  two years. But works to resurface the footpaths of St Matthew's
  Piece have started... the final stage of S106 improvements to this
  park.

  PACT's 2005 Questionnaire gave us a valuable insight into how we are
  perceived and where our energy is most needed. A summary of the
  results was published in the 2006 ImPACT magazine. The overall
  responses to PACT were positive, but we acknowledge that our
  weaknesses were primarily in our communication with members and
  residents, which we plan to remedy. If you are not already a member
  of PACT and would like to join, you can do so easily and it is free.
  Forms are at the desk by the door and if any current members need to
  update their details or email address, could they please speak to
  the person at the desk.

  My report this evening finishes with the issue of the former Howard
  Mallett centre.

  This issue has been ongoing for some time and the story has had
  twists and turns worthy of a thriller novel !! If you haven't heard
  already, PACT, together with residents, approached senior members of
  the City Council several months ago to try and suggest alternative
  sites for Citylife's development.  Citylife were given planning
  approval in October to build their proposed 'Community Innovation
  Centre' at the northern end of St Matthew's Piece.

  At the planning meeting, residents spoke out against the
  development, favouring the notion that the land should be restored
  to much needed open space. The vote went 4 / 3 in favour of
  Citylife. Many of those attending the meeting felt appalled by the
  behaviour of some of the City Councillors on the planning committee.
  PACT's petition of 600 signatures against the proposal was dismissed
  as 'Sentiment' by one Councillor. There was a feeling that the
  committee were being bullied into accepting the plans, with the
  suggestion that legal action could follow if the scheme was
  rejected. The acting Chair, Philippa Slatter, who spoke at the
  meeting initially with sympathetic and kindly tones towards our
  park, seemed to fall victim to the bullying and voted in favour of
  the development.

  Since the planning meeting, PACT has been looking at many aspects of
  the proposal. We have sought advice from the Cambridge Preservation
  Society, the Open Space Society and others who specialise in the
  sale of land.

  At one point, we were led to believe that Citylife's plans
  encroached on the protected open space to the east of the site, only
  for the City Council to admit that the measurements it had given for
  the protected open space were 'notional' and that the building was
  within its given area.

  A Labour Councillor has recently questioned the sale of the lease to
  Citylife, saying that it was sold off in an unethical way, without
  reference to the local community as should have happened. PACT has
  also looked at this very issue. Rules governing the disposal of
  land are different from the disposal of assets, or so we thought.
  At one point, PACT believed that it could get little mileage from
  questioning the nature of the sale, but now we have found more
  information from the City Council that puts this issue back on the
  table, so we will investigate it further.

  To conclude, PACT has been working with local residents to try and
  win back this valuable piece of your park. The struggle is far from
  over. Both the City Council and the County have failed to take heed
  of public opinion. They have failed to grasp an opportunity to
  enhance the small bit of open space that we have left.

  Well... PACT has a different vision of the future, as do the 600
  people who put their names to saving open space. I won't let it
  rest... and I pledge to you all that PACT will continue to fight to
  save this green space for future generations.

  Thank you.

The report was greeted with applause from the audience.

4. Treasurer's report

Glenys presented the treasurer's report. She pointed out the expenditure on legal fees on page 3 was spent on negotiations over S106 money for the community centre and not on the St Matthew's Piece campaign as shown. She also pointed out the reserves mentioned on page 4, in particular those for noticeboards which need to be used on repairs. We have just £111.97 in unrestricted funds.

Glenys asked for new PACT members to sign up and for existing members to make donations as there is no membership fee. Martin Lucas-Smith asked why the membership fee was abolished. Glenys replied that people usual forgot to renew their membership, and we were too embarrassed to ask, so we removed it and ask for donations instead.

Glenys asked that Barbara Nacson be approved as examiner of our accounts for next year. There were no objections.

5. Elections

Richard gave a brief outline of what is involved in being on the management committee or a sub-committee. Those who agreed to carry on being on the management committee were:

  • Daniel Gordon
  • Trish Wright
  • Anna Lindsay
  • Glenys Malyon
  • Richard Allen
  • Dorothy Runnicles
  • Tony O'Regan
  • Fiona Curzon

(Cyril Offley has had to retire on health grounds. Cyril was thanked for his valuable contribution to the PACT Management Committee, and also Anne Dixon who had retired from the committee over the course of the past year.)

Glenys pointed out that we can co-opt people onto the management committee throughout the year.

Planning sub-committee:

  • Glenys Malyon
  • Harmke Kamminga
  • Lesley Tubb

Community Centre sub-committee:

  • Richard Allen
  • Glenys Malyon
  • Fiona Curzon
  • Dorothy Runnicles

St Matthew's Piece Campaign group:

  • Richard Allen
  • Glenys Malyon
  • David Clouter
  • Ros Mills
  • Shirley Whitehouse
  • Tony O'Regan

Older people's sub-committee:

  • Dorothy Runnicles
  • Cyril Offley

Younger People

This sub-committee does not seem to be getting going. Glenys appealed for help with this group (which she defined as 8-25 year olds).

7. AOB

There were no items for AOB.

***** Refreshment Break *****

Public Meeting

Tony O'Regan chaired the second part of the meeting. He introduced the theme for discussion, which came from ideas we obtained from the last PACT questionnaire. Many aspects relating to the street were mentioned, and hence the title "Right up your street". He pointed out that the three panellists from the council did not necessarily know everything, and said that questions should be asked via the chair. The panellists then introduced themselves.

The Recycling Technician works at the Mill Road depot. She described her job and motivation and expressed the importance of recycling to reduce carbon dioxide. Even though this is a global problem, we can take a lead in environmental technology, and export this to the rest of the world. Each person produces 1 ton of waste per year, so each of us can make a difference.

Simon Lacey works for Streetscene, which keeps the streets clean, removes graffiti, and deals with parks and recreation. Communication is also part of his job.

Chris Casboult works for parking services, which makes sure parking attendants are doing their job. They deal with residents, businesses and other special occasions. The area joint committee make the rules, and parking services have to enforce them.

The panellists were then open to questions.

Martin Lucas-Smith: 1) LAPE is working well, but there are hot-spots of bad parking. Abbey Walk is particularly bad and something needs to be done. 2) There is no on-street cycle parking in Petersfield, and this should be included in parking matters. PACT should take this up.

Chris Casboult: I know nothing about cycle parking. Petersfield is considered as one area within the city. 3,000 tickets have been issued so far this year. Abbey Walk is on the list hot-spots.

Ros Mills: Can the residents parking scheme in Petersfield be extended to include Sundays and if there were plans to introduce recycling for tetra packs.

: There had been just one recycling plant for tetra-packs and that was in Fife. Recycling had to be ecologically viable, but the Fife plant had close 2 weeks ago, so they could not recycle them anyway. They are looking into the problem.

Audience member: Are they plans to recycle plastic other than plastic bottles?

Recycling Technician: No-one will take it as it is not economically viable to collect plastic other than mixed plastic bottles. They are separated, re-granulated and recycled, and this cannot be done with other plastics. The recycling industry is fragile, so the council cannot plan ahead. Only bottle recycling is sustainable.

Shirley Whitehouse: What about milk deliveries? This could reduce materials used as the glass bottles are reused, and it also produces good community spirit.

Recycling Technician: Milk often comes too early for modern lifestyles.

Dorothy Runnicles: PACT is interested in streets and she pointed out the displays showing the PACT summer event. Now that we are having more sun due to climate change, people will be making more use of the street. We need to build social capital, which is increasingly difficult to do as there are few benches and the curbs in Petersfield need lowering for wheelchairs and prams. Recycling makes it harder for older people as the pavements are cluttered. It's about quality of life.

Simon Lacey: The council position is that recycling receptacles can be a burden to older people and they encourage people to keep them off the streets. The council is providing other solutions. Neighborhood links encourages people to take ownership of the streets eg. by reporting graffiti, etc. Obstacles on pavements are part of this. The Council needs information from people, and they will do their best. There is a possibility that 2 bins and 2 boxes could become 3 bins.

Glenys Self: What about per-street communal recycling which is common in Europe?

Simon Lacey: There is a big fly-tipping problem at recycling points, and communal sites would suffer from this.

Anne McConville: Walking down streets involves weaving between bins and cars parked on pavements. The bush outside the butchers on Devonshire road overhangs the pavement. Street lighting is poor, so that you cannot see the obstacles.

Richard Allen: With communal recycling there is no room for individual needs.

Audience member: The top floor of the council garages on St Matthew's Street are closing, so on-street parking is going to get busier.

Cyril Offley (to Chris): Who instructs the parking attendants on what they can and can't do? They don't know what they are doing in Staffordshire Street/Gardens.

Chris Casboult: Some parts of that area has not been adopted by the Council, so they can't ticket people in these areas. They have made the instructions clear, but the attendants do make mistakes.

Cyril Offley: Can't people be booked for parking on the grassed area?

Chris Casboult: We'll discuss this later.

Cyril Offley: During a walk around the St Matthew's Estate, they promised many things, but nothing has happened. They need to clean up St Matthew's Street and Norfolk Street.

Simon Lacey: Recycling points are being abused. This gives them a negative image. Older people can't carry material to recycling points.

Recycling Technician: Communal recycling may appear to be an attractive option, but it is very expensive, and produces noise which is unacceptable in dense housing. Communal recycling is being tried in blocks of flats in North Cambridge, but it is difficult. People also prefer curb-side recycling as it is more convenient.

Simon Lacey: It's also difficult to deal with contamination.

Woman from Petworth Street: I've tripped up more in Cambridge Streets than anywhere else.

Leslie Tubb: What about the shopping trolley problem?

Ben Bradnack: The City Council is going to put a charge on Supermarkets for their wayward trolleys from April next year.

Glenys Self: Leaves have been left to lie on St Matthew's Piece, and this killed the grass last year.

Simon Lacey: This is a big problem. Leaves tend to fall off the trees all at once, but the council has to deal with areas sequentially with prioritization. Grassed areas have a low priority as removing leaves from pavements is a safety issue.

Glenys Malyon: Some pavements have built-in unevenness eg. concrete gutters running across pavement which the wheels on shopping trolleys can get caught in.

Annie Blanrue: Streets are never cleaned, cars are always parked on pavements, and the pavements broken. Also, have they caught the graffiti artist called "Melon"?.

Simon Lacey: There is a problem with perception. People don't notice when the streets have been cleaned, but complain when they notice litter. They are hoping to see the residents' perspective. There has recently been a big graffiti clear-up. "Melon" has been caught, but has changed his tag. Petersfield has been very badly hit.

Ros Mill: I've had graffiti on my house. I contacted the council, and was contacted by victim support, but no cleanup team ever arrived from the council.

The questioning of the panel was curtailed at this point as the 9.30pm time limit had been reached. Attendees chatted further over refreshments.