Annual General Meeting 2017

Tuesday 23rd

May 2017 at 1900 h in the Church Hall, Iffley

AGENDA

1. Welcome and apologies for absence

2. Minutes of the 2016 AGM (see handouts)

3. Committee elections

To re-elect members willing to serve another term: Kate Griffin, Richard Vernon

To elect new members: Andrew Benfield, Alex Coren, Mia Eisenstadt, Jane McBain

4. Chairman’s report

5. Treasurer’s report (see handouts)

6. Film Nights report (see handouts)

7. Committee Section reports (see handouts)

i. Highways

ii. Planning

iii. Security

iv. Trees & Greenspaces

8. Iffley Community Shop report and accounts (see handouts)

9. Forthcoming events

FOIV Summer Party Sat. 8th

July 2017, 1800-2100 in the Church Hall & its

courtyard.

10. AOB

Interval with refreshments

(seating to be re-arranged)

Councillor Jean Fooks Lord Mayor of Oxford

Oxford and Oxfordshire: how did we arrive at the present structure of

local government, and are there better alternatives?

Friends of Iffley Village

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 10 May 2016 in the Church Hall

Present: Caroline Pond (Chairman), Laura Cope, Felicity Gray, Kate Griffin, Ged Guinness,

Pauline Maclean, Gail McLintock, Celia Palmer, Tina Reid, Sue Reynolds, Richard

Vernon, David Wiles and about 30 others.

1. Welcome and Apologies for Absence

The Chairman welcomed all present to the 2016 AGM of the Friends of Iffley Village.

Apologies for Absence were received from: Barbara Alderson, David & Liz Julier, David &

Laura Penwarden, Helen Potts, Mike Sinclair, Michael & Sue Stark, Kathryn & David

Wilkinson and Councillors Michel Paule and Ed Turner.

2. Minutes of the AGM held on 12 May 2015

The minutes had been circulated and were approved. Matters arising from item 9.ii: Caroline

Pond had written to Donnington Trust and all issues were now resolved.

3. Committee Elections

i. The Chairman reported with sadness that Carol Clark had died in 2015. Other committee

members resigned for family reasons: Louisa Brossler, Andrew Chivers, Pam Lee, Anna

Lockwood and co-opted member Ben McFadyean. Thanks were recorded to all of them

for their work for Friends of Iffley Village.

ii. Committee Members eligible and willing to stand for election were: Celia Palmer,

Caroline Pond, Sue Reynolds and Mike Sinclair. They were proposed by Gail McLintock

and seconded by Ged Guinness. They were duly re-elected for a period of 3 years.

iii. Two co-opted members, Laura Cope and Pauline Maclean were proposed for election by

Felicity Gray and seconded by Celia Palmer. One new member, Tina Reid was proposed

by Richard Vernon and seconded by Celia Palmer. They were all duly elected for a period

of 3 years.

iv. The Chairman said that more recruits were needed for the committee especially to help

with planning, notice boards, website and catering.

4. Chairman’s Report

Caroline Pond gave a résumé of the work of the FOIV Committee during the past year.

i. Traditional FOIV activities have continued, including services to Iffley fabric and infra-

structure (planning, roads and landscape etc.), and those for people, quarterly newsletters

and events, though fewer people attended the summer party (68) & winter supper (65) than

in previous years. The Chairman thanked all those who had worked hard for both events.

ii. The guidance enshrined in the FOIV Constitution approved last year had been useful.

New ventures:

iii. The Iffley Website began in September, thanks to Ben McFadyean, and was still under

development. Martin Noble had updated the Welcome to Iffley leaflet which was now on

the website as were recent newsletters, information on events, the shop and other news.

iv. A master website calendar detailing all Iffley events, including FOIV, FoSM, Iffley

History Society, Iffley Music Society, etc. may be developed.

v. The Film Nights started in 2014 had proved very popular in 2015 (see report for Item 6)

and had introduced FOIV to people who were not previously involved. Kathryn Wilkinson

and her group were to be congratulated for their hard work.

vi. Progress on collecting and organising Archives would be dealt with in item 5.

FOIV membership

vii. FOIV has long had three times as many members than any other Iffley Society. It is now

366, down from 381 in 2015 and around 400 in previous years, which is very

disappointing since FOIV now provides a wider range of services than ever before.

Committee members were thanked for their hard work in distributing newsletters and

collecting subscriptions.

viii. The Committee has kept the FOIV subscription unchanged since1998, but the chairman

warned that rise to £3 per person (£2.50 for concessions) may be proposed for 2018. These

rates are still low compared to other local groups because being representative and diverse

is very important to FOIV’s credibility when negotiating with Councils and other outside

bodies. The committee had considered various ways of modernizing subscription

collection but found none that enabled efficient record-keeping and would reach

newcomers, transient residents, the house-bound and non-internet users. This issue was

being kept under review.

ix. The Chairman reiterated the need for more members and committee members to increase

the number of Friends of Iffley Village.

5. FOIV Archives

The Chairman spoke to the report on the FOIV Archives. It was a valuable project which had

flourished with the valuable help of Felicity Gray who with Caroline Pond had already sorted

and scanned hundreds of documents and prepared them for display on the FOIV website. All

documents collected would eventually go to the Oxford History Project. The chairman outlined

the problems encountered in scanning hand-written documents and carbon copies, and Peter

Neumann kindly offered to help with access to a high performance scanner. He and the

Chairman would discuss this during the course of the summer.

6. Film Nights

The report on Film Nights by Kathryn Wilkinson had been circulated and noted.

7. Financial Reports for FOIV and Film Night

Kate Griffin, Treasurer of FOIV, spoke to her report, independently audited following article

6(5) of the FOIV Constitution. The Report and Accounts for FOIV and Film Nights were

approved.

8. Committee Reports i. The Highways Report from Mike Sinclair had been circulated and noted.

ii. The Planning Report from Caroline Pond had been circulated and noted. The two main

areas of widespread concern during the past year had been the proposed developments at

Grove House and management of the horse chestnut tree at the entrance to St Mary’s

Church.

iii. Ged Guinness’s report on Security had been circulated and was noted.

iv. Celia Palmer’s report on Trees had been circulated and was noted.

9. Report and Accounts for Community Shop

Sue Reynolds spoke to her report and accounts on the Village Community Shop. All were

encouraged to use the shop. Notable successes in the past year had been a donation of £300

form the Donnington Trust, a great success with Iffley Apple Juice, produced from locally

donated fruit, and the sale of home-made produce. David Hilton asked for clarification about

the expenses involved in producing home-made produce and it was established that there were

very few as the cost of ingredients was seldom included and the cost of labour never. The

Report and Accounts were approved.

10. Forthcoming Events

The FOIV Summer Party would take place in the Church Hall and its courtyard on Saturday 9

July between 6- 9 pm.

11. AOB

Edmund Gray proposed a vote of thanks to the Committee of FOIV for all the work they did on

behalf of the Village. Gail McLintock proposed a particular vote of thanks to the Chairman,

Caroline Pond, for her commitment and hard work during the previous year. Both proposals

were approved and applauded.

There being no further business, the formal meeting closed at 7.45 pm, followed by a break for

refreshments and informal discussion.

The Chairman introduced Dr Robin Buxton,

Hon. Vice-President of Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) who spoke on

“Does Oxford Have Enough Wild Spaces?

Opportunities for an Even Greener (and Bluer) Future.”

After he had answered several searching questions, Richard Vernon thanked the speaker

warmly.

FOIV AGM 2017 TABLED REPORTS

5. Financial Report Kate Griffin, Treasurer Audited by John McClintock

Summary of Accounts April 2016-March 2017

Income 2016 - 2017 £ Expenses 2016 - 2017 £ General Income General Expenses Subscriptions 2017 986 Archive storage 70 Bank interest 6 Printing, Newsletters, etc. 306 992 Miscellaneous Expenses 50 Social Events income 426 Summer Party 1,020 Social Events Expenditure Winter Supper 550 Entertainment, Insurance Film Nights 2,325 Hall Bookings etc 1,171 3,895 Film Licences & DVDs 845 Donation from concert Food & Drink 1,288 by Peggy Seeger 1,705 1,705 Shop Commission on Ticket Sales 257 3,561 Donation to Asylum Welcome 520 520 Total Income 6,592 Total Expenditure 4,507 Less Expenditure 4,507 Surplus for year 2,085 Bank Balance at 1

st April 2016 14,909

16,994 Cash at Bank Community A/c 5,635 Business Money Manager A/c 11,359 16,994

The £2,085 apparent surplus for the year is largely due to FOIV’s account holding Peggy Seeger's

generous donation of £1705 from the proceeds of her benefit concert in December. These funds

are specifically for the cost of installing a modern sound system in the Church Hall that will

improve the quality of film sound for all. The Film Nights, for which FOIV provides banking

facilities, continue to be very successful, creating a surplus of £156 during 2016-7. This sum is

included in the total balance of £550 accumulated since the scheme started, some of which will be

contributed towards the Church Hall’s upgrade sound system.

A donation of £520 to Asylum Welcome was raised at the Christmas Film Night, for which the

Church Hall Committee waived its rental, and the Shop held a raffle and took no commission on

ticket sales. Thanks to everyone for their splendid efforts.

FOIV itself does not do any fundraising; the annual subscriptions form its core income that covers

liability insurance, newsletters, administration including the AGM and website costs, so

membership numbers and consequent income are of real concern. As we do not use our social

activities for fundraising, the Summer Party and Winter Supper are self-funded, and this year, just

made a modest combined profit. I am particularly grateful to Helen Potts who organised the 2017

winter party and managed the finances, leaving me with the minimum to do.

I would like to thank our honorary auditor, John McLintock for his help and advice.

Kate Griffin Treasurer

6. Film Nights Kathryn Wilkinson

The electronic projector in the Church Hall failed for a well-attended Film Night on 7th

February.

FOIV recommends that a maintenance contract be taken out to cover the projector, screen and

soon-to-be installed new sound system, funded by a small charge levied on users. Films were on

hold in 2017 while problems with the projector were sorted out, but we were able to show the

postponed Brooklyn in March. Film Nights ended a successful year with a charity night for

Refugee Resource in December. We will be starting our 2017/18 season in June with our popular

mix of Classic, World Cinema and recent releases that will be even better heard through the new

sound system. Thanks to all our supporters and helpers, particularly the Film Night team: Laura

Cope, Alan Dixon, Felicity Gray, Kate Griffin, Ged Guinness, Susie Seville and Mike Starks.

7. Committee Section reports

7 i Highways Caroline Pond

FOIV reported the ramming of the barrier between Tree Lane & Ellesmere Road early on

28/12/16. OCC replaced the badly damaged structure with a padlocked gate with through routes

for pedestrians & cyclists. Adjacent residents John Phipps, Sally Owen & Colin Haines + FOIV

chairman know the padlock combination to open the gate for access in an emergency.

Fitzherbert Close residents were prompted about drains overflowing from their garden into

Church Way and resolved the problem; OCC responded quickly to clear blocked drains at the

bottom of Tree Lane, and repaired Meadow Lane potholes on request.

7 ii Planning Caroline Pond

Following established FOIV practice, local applications have been reviewed by the planning

subgroup that in 2016-7 comprised: Ged Guinness, Gail McClintock, Caroline Pond, Tina Reid &

Richard Vernon. Their comments, assembled following study of the plans, site visits and

contacting interested parties, were submitted collectively as ‘FOIV’ to the Oxford City Council

planning website on proposals relating to ten private homes (Hill House, Abberbury Ave; 7

Abberbury Rd; 118 Church Way; 8 Church Way; 3 Iffley Turn; 26 Anne Greenwood Close; 10

Tree Lane; Grove House & its Rotunda; 13 Fitzherbert Close; 26 Mill Lane) and Hawkwell

House Hotel. Most were approved, at least following resubmission or appeal, or were withdrawn.

Concern about the height of the new house at 8 Mill Lane prompted measurements that showed

the dimensions of the structure is within the approved plans.

FOIV is following developments in the Oxford Flood Alleviation scheme. Construction of the

flood relief channels starts early in 2018 and is expected to take 2-3 years, during which time

some disruption to flows of local traffic and water is inevitable.

7 iii Security Ged Guinness

There has not been a great deal to report since the AGM past 12 months. Tree Lane seems to

have been the focus of security concerns, with a burglary and several episodes of minor

vandalism to parked vehicles. Abberbury Road experienced a suspicious incident in which boys

ask to access a garden in search of a non-existent ball. There has also been an outbreak of graffiti,

to which the official response has been minimal.

7 iv Trees & Greenspaces Richard Vernon & Celia Palmer

The Donnington Hospital Trust is monitoring the ageing horse chestnut tree outside the entrance

to St Mary’s Church. So far, its response to extensive pruning 17 months ago is disappointing and

signs of decay are evident. FOIV understands that DHT will commission a thorough review later

this year; we will inform Iffley residents of its decisions. We are grateful for DHT’s recognition

of local opinion about this fine tree by hiring expert services.

FOIV removed the derelict deer fence around the oak tree at the junction of Tree Lane & Church

Way and liaised with OPT over managing the Glebe Field. We again urge anyone with hedges,

plants growing in stone walls or trees overhanging pavements, of which there are two notable

instances in Church Way, to trim them back well so they do not obstruct pedestrians or obscure

drivers’ view.

8. Iffley Community Shop Sue Reynolds

During the past year, we have been very much engaged in refurbishing the shop. As many of you

will remember, we were shut for part of October 2016 for repairs, redecoration and upgrading,

including installation of a new fridge and freezer. Then a team of helpers transformed the shop

layout and rationalised the stock. We were most grateful for all the help we got, especially from

Greg Birdseye, Andrew Chivers and Nigel Goss who all made exceptional contributions.

We managed three presses of locally collected apples last autumn, the juice from which lasted

until Easter. We hope to produce at least as much, if not more this year, depending on the apple

crop. We are gradually enlarging our range of home-made products including a variety of cakes,

while Cornfield Bakery is successfully filling a gap, with a wide range of bread, buns and cakes.

The Shop now has its own email address: iffleyvillageshop@gmail.com