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Chairman's Report January 2008

I would like to report on our activities of last season in maintaining the Burial Ground, Lower Common and the Gravel Pits and to look forward to 2008.

A total of 22 volunteers covered 37 sessions with up to three volunteers on each session. As well as the obvious benefits of keeping our public spaces in excellent condition, I see the community side of the group as a major benefit to the village. For both reasons, I would like to see many more volunteers. So please encourage your friends and neighbours to join in; they’ll be glad they did.

The committee and some volunteers carried out Spring and Autumn tidy-ups. Over the last month the Burial Ground and The Gravel Pits have had leaves cleared to preserve the grass and we did final strimming of the wild flower strip on Lower Common.

We have finished the year with a healthy balance in the bank and have proposed a tender of £650 for our activities in 2008.  This is the same as last year and £200 less than 2005. In preparing our bid to the Parish Council we take into account running costs, depreciation, purchase of new equipment and contingency. My view is that we need to cover all anticipated costs without building up a significant reserve of funds.

We save the village approaching £1,000 a year. The Parish Clerk has estimated that without the work of the Volunteer Group, the Parish Precept would have to double.

We are pretty well equipped but we do need to replace the self-propelled mower on Lower Common. This will hopefully be done by the Spring.

A word about safety; it is easy to become casual when one is familiar with equipment. Always take precautions and be aware of what’s around you. A few simple guidelines;

• Don’t work alone
• Stay at least 10 metres from powered equipment (strimmers & mowers)
• Take a first aid course
• Ensure a first aid kit is to hand
• Report all problems and accidents to the committee.

The AGM which took place on 11 January. Peter and Lyng Hopwood retired as Treasurer and Secretary respectively; they will be missed and I thank them for all their work since the formation of the group. I am very pleased to report that Andy Swanston and Hannah Houston-Lacey were elected in their places. The other committee members were re-elected; Chairman Ted Dowson, members Seumas Foster and Phil Self.

The AGM approved the continuing operation of the group.

Field & Farm Appreciation walk – Seumas Foster kindly led a visit to Grammersham dairy and on a walk around Home Farm explaining the current EU legislation and grant schemes and various impacts that this has on local farming. It is hoped to run a similar event on 1 June 2008. Seumas is also looking into conducting a bird survey in April.

Village Walks (May & Sept); these are organised by the Peter Hopwood, Paul Turner and myself under the auspices of the Hampshire Paths Partnership. This year, the autumn walk was led by Julian Evans. Julian took us through high wood and Preston Oak hills and pointed out a number of interesting facts about the trees and their growth and forestry techniques used over the years; a fascinating walk. We haven’t set the dates for this year’s walks; keep an eye on the Claimed Dates in H&D and the notice boards.

Recycling; we have four recycling points in the village for items that cannot be placed in the green wheelie bin, please use them, they reduce the amount going to incineration and our overall impact on the environment;

• BATTERIES - Seumas Foster, Northgate Cottage, Northgate Lane
• WATER FILTER CARTRIDGES – Jenny Kraukis-Gould, 3 Park View, Green Lane
• MOBILE PHONES AND CHARGERS – Tony Matthews, Mayfield, Green Lane
• PRINTER CARTRIDGES – Ted Dowson, Woodpeckers, Axford Road
  

For everything they have done over the last year, my thanks go to -

The generous people who allow us to store equipment near the sites, which is vital for us to reduce the amount of work required by the committee and so enable the group to function more easily.  This is working well.

To Julian & Margaret Evans and Jacqui & Tony Matthews for supplying the tea.

Roy Frankham for the maintenance work and advice

Seumas Foster for organising the farm walk and for the advice that he gives on all environmental matters.

Phil Self for organising the burial ground volunteers

Andy Swanston for organising the Lower Common volunteers

Lyng Hopwood for her excellent and timely minutes

But especially, Peter for all the extra duties that he performs

And most importantly to all the Volunteers

Finally, my thanks to everyone and keep up the good work. Don’t forget to book some slots for next season.

Ted Dowson
Chairman

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