Minutes of Annual General Meeting of WCWRA
Held at Cannizaro House on June 4th 2018
The Committee was re-elected for another year with the following changes: Hugh Rance to become Treasurer and Andrew Durant to become Secretary. Proposed by Robin Mulcahy Seconded by Louise Durant
Chairman’s Report
The Study Schools Proposed Development
The Chairman informed the meeting that the Study School is proposing to develop a double story extension to include a performing arts hall, which many within the area find unacceptable.
A number of residents within the Quadrant have raised a Judicial Review challenge against Merton Council in order to have the decision overturned. This challenge is on going with the timings depending on whether the judge decides the case should have a full hearing. Should the result be in favour of the claimants the case will not be heard until December 2018 at the earliest.
A general discussion took place within the room about the merits of the challenge and the size and scale of the proposed building.
Election of Conservators.
The Chairman spoke about the triennial election of conservators which where held in February. The election was particularly significant this year because of an aggressive and disruptive group whom should they have been elected would have led to the resignation of the Chief Executive Simon Lee. A small committee was formed to elect a slate of candidates of whom 4 where subsequently elected. This has resulted in the stabilising of the situation. The committee took the decision to donate £500 to support the campaign on behalf of the association. This will appear as an item in next year’s accounts.
The Prudential Bike Ride.
The Chairman is of the opinion that some of the problems about access in and out of the area have been reduced although it is far from perfect. The event will be held July 28 and 29th this year.Westside Path.
The Chairman highlighted the problems associated with the path running along Westside. The path has developed a number of potholes. The difficulty of establishing who is responsible for the up keep has proved inconclusive so far. The conservators did pay for repairs ten years ago but given their current financial situation there is no surplus to cover the expenditure. The Chairman has been looking at ways of solving the issue including the possibility of raising funds locally to cover the costs. Further details will be shared when more information is available.
GDPR- The General Data Protection Regulations
The Chairman explained to the room the issues surrounding the recently introduced GDPR. Due to the hard work of Emma Hosking and Colin Price, the WCWRA is compliant with the regulations and the privacy policy details are now available on the website.Website
The chairman congratulated Emma Hosking and Colin Price on how good the website looks and he thanked them for their hard work. The chairman encouraged those in the room to send in photos or news of interest which could be included.Thanks
The Chairman thanked members of the committee for their contribution, Susan, the staff at Robert Holmes and Hotel du Vin for the use of the room and for hosting committee meetings throughout the year.
Treasurers Report
Due to Caroline’s illness Hugh Rance has taken over the treasurer’s responsibilities. Subscriptions where down from £470- £420for the year. Expenditure was £370 compared with £290 last year. Surplus funds for the year stand at £5882
Guest Speaker
Diane Neil- Mills, Chair of the Wimbledon and Putney Commons
As a recently elected conservator and Chair of WPC Diane spoke about the some of the history of the Commons, the farsighted vision of the 1871 Act and the importance of preserving this unique open space. The levy raises £1.2m a year which is not sufficient to meet the substantial operating needs required to run the Commons, as a result the Conservators and management need to be open minded as to how additional funds can be raised in the future.
The Conservators and Management are embarking on an ambition plan to improve the ecological land management, redress the financial shortfall, increase the volunteer programme and help ensure the Commons has access to all.
The Chairman thanked Diane for her insightful and informative talk.