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Minutes of Executive Committee Meeting
Craster Memorial Hall, Thursday 9th. July 2009

Present   Michael Craster, Keith Hobbs, Kevin Brown, Alex Ainslie, John Gallon, Jennifer Doherty, Carol Grey, Pauline Baird
In attendance:  Fyona Robson
Apologies:  Hilary Punton

1.   Co-option of New EC Member

Michael Craster informed the EC that Fyona Robson had kindly agreed to act as Secretary to the Trust.  The Constitution demanded that 21 days notice be given before an EC meeting could take place with the authority to co-opt new members to the EC.  Therefore, Fyona was sitting in for this meeting and would take over the position of Secretary after she had been co-opted in line with the requirements of the Constitution.  He thanked Fyona for volunteering to take up the position.

2.   NWL Update

Michael Craster told the meeting that George White & Co had made no further progress with NWL since the last EC meeting.  It was assumed that this was due to the slow progress of decision making within NWL rather than any problem with the last set of proposals.  John Gallon noted that he had been speaking to one of the NWL contractors in the last week.  The contractor had no definite timescale for work starting on the North Side but assumed it was imminent due to the urgency with which he had been despatched to view the working area.  John Gallon asked the contractor to remind his company about the conditions imposed within the planning consent which included no working in the summer months and no equipment working through the night.  Members of the EC are asked to make themselves known to any contractors they see in the village and ask them what timescales they are working against.

3.   Memorial Hall

Michael Craster reviewed the correspondence received via David Francis from the Charity Commission.  It was agreed that any work done by the EC towards meeting the requirements laid out by the Charity Commission were on the basis of pre-work and without prejudice to any decision taken within the wider community about the possible merger of the Memorial Hall and Development Trust.  The Charity Commission had asked three specific questions which each body was required to answer before the Commission would issue a new scheme.  These were:

1.   Have the Trustees considered the financial implications of the proposed merger?  It was agreed that the Development Trust would need to take care that monies ring-fenced for any specific purpose (like money allocated for the playpark) would need to be held under similar terms in any new charity but that there were no other significant issues

2.   Have the Trustees also considered what impact (both positive and negative) the merger would have on the current beneficiaries?  It was agreed that there was unlikely to be any significant impact either way.

3.   Do the Trustees feel that the merger is in the best interests of both charities?  This was taken as self-evident, as the Trust would not be pursuing the proposal if they did not feel it in the best interests of both parties.

4.   Matters arising from AGM

1.   Computer.  John Gallon still has to examine the computer stored in the Methodist Chapel.

2.   Mobile Phones.  Michael Craster passed round a copy of The Journal including an article and photograph about the petition.  He also noted the coverage in the Gazette.  John Gallon estimated that we had getting on for 400 signatures at the time of the meeting.  He would collect the copies of the petition from the various outlets on Wednesday 15th. July and collate them for presentation to the Parish Council on Thursday 16th. July.  (post meeting note - John Gallon will also produce a press release for circulation to the same media contacts noting the presentation of the petition).  The piece in The Journal included some comments from a representative of O2 which indicated that they were now considering ways to improve mobile telephone reception in Craster.  John Gallon had also been contacted by Michael Taylor who has contacted O2 in a private capacity regarding reception.  He has also been told that O2 are now actively looking at ways to improve the reception in Craster.  Carol Grey indicated that the County Council Northern Area Committee was prepared to support relevant petitions, and undertook to provide the Secretary with the necessary contact,

3.   Parking.   Further to the offer of assistance made by the Trust to the Parish Council, Michael Craster is to suggest to the Parish Council that a sub-committee be set up to look at ways to move this matter forward.

4.   Playground.   John Gallon confirmed that he was visually inspecting the playground weekly now that Michael Doherty has stood down.  He has reported some minor problems to Kevin Brown who will attend to them in due course.  Kevin also reported that maintenance work was required on the surfacing by some of the equipment.  Jennifer Doherty confirmed that there was still some of the surfacing compound remaining from the last maintenance.  Kevin noted the wear and corrosion to many of the mild-steel chain links.  These will have to be replaced once the RoSPA inspection finds that they are becoming a risk.  John Gallon confirmed that he is still following up the supply of signage regarding age limits for the use of the equipment.  Michael Craster asked whether the monthly checks carried out by a member of the Alnwick District Council staff were still in place.  John Gallon is to follow up through Helen Brewis.

5.   Any Other Business

There were no other matters arising at the meeting

6.   Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting will be held on Thursday 30th. July, in the Memorial Hall, commencing at 7:00 pm.  The business will include the co-option of Fyona Robson to the EC.