Petersfield Area
Community Trust

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Welcome to the PACT AGM. At our last AGM in November 2009 we resolved to move our AGM to the summer so that it took place around the same time as our Summer Event. We hope this meets with your approval.

The Summer Event itself was very popular this year, thanks in no small part to the efforts of Anna, Philly and Lou, who between them managed to raise an unprecedented amount of support from local businesses - so much so that even though we raised a substantial amount towards our new community centre fund, we still have a number of tombola prizes left. In fact we have so many we've brought them along this evening and any remaining prizes will be given to Cambridge Wood Works to run the tombola from their stall at the Big Weekend, which takes place on Parkers Piece on 11-12 July. So do buy tickets this evening and /or come along come along to the Big Weekend and show your support for PACT. All proceeds go towards a ringfenced fund for a community centre for Petersfield.

If you came to last year's AGM, you may remember it was followed by a presentation and workshop organised by the City Council's Joint Urban Design Team. They are here again this evening and will be giving a brief update on their progress at 8pm. I hope you are all as concerned as we trustees are that the interests of the local community are not overlooked when future developments take place in our area, and that to this end that a coherent plan emerges for the future development of the Newmarket Road / East Road area, which has for so long suffered from inappropriate and mediocre schemes that add no value at all to the local community.

The PACT Planning subcommittee has, as always, been kept busy and often works in concert with our counterparts from Residents Associations in the Riverside and Brunswick / Kite areas. Since the last AGM together we have made representations on the proposed Travelodge scheme on the corner of Newmarket Road and Coldhams Lane, and the Harvest Way / Newmarket Road Residential scheme. Both applications have not succeeded, but the developers keep coming back with revised schemes and this takes up a lot of time, effort and commitment from our planning sub-committee, to whom we are very grateful. In the next few months we have the proposed redevelopment of the Mackays site to look forward to, as well as the expected departure of Citylife from the Howard Mallet Centre and the ensuing debate about the future of that site. If anyone would like to know more about the vital part that the planning subcommittee plays in PACT, then please do not hesitate to talk to one of us after the meeting.

Since the last AGM, the Trustees have managed to submit a funding bid to the city council, organise the summer event, and started to plan a Chocolate Tasting event as part of Cambridgeshire Celebrates Age on 6 October. We have also been working with the City Council and the Development Trusts Association (DTA) to help us identify the need for a community centre in this ward, where such a facility might might be built in the future, which other organisations PACT can work with to make this happen, and what is needed for PACT to develop its role as a manager of community assets. The contact with the DTA came about due to our concerns that the building we are now in was being passed over to Citylife, again without what we thought was a proper consultation with the community about the disposal of what is a community asset. We would have liked the council to have considered conducting a full appraisal of this site to see if it could be developed to support combined usage as a community centre and small business hub, but were unable to convince them to consider this, hence our approach with the DTA to help us give a voice for Petersfield that will be heard by the council and no longer ignored!

It remains for me to thank you all for coming along this evening, for your support of PACT, and for my fellow trustees for all the time and effort they have put in over the year. May I also echo the former PACT Chair and his plea for more volunteers to help us make and shape this community and to safeguard its future.