Pomeroy War Memorial Hall Annual General Meeting
At The Duke of York Pomeroy, Wednesday 29th June 2022, 8.00pm
Attendees: Representing:
Jean Brown (JB) Vice Chair of Committee
Jess O’Dwyer (JOD) Secretary and Temp. Treasurer
Ian Webster (IW) Committee Member
Philip Wheeldon (PW) Chair of Committee
Ben Wilson (BW) Committee Member
Sarah Wilson (SW) Committee Member
01/06/22 Welcome and Introduction
Summary of Discussion:
PW welcomed all to the meeting.
02/06/22 Apologies and Expressions of Interest
Summary of Discussion:
Apologies were received from Jenny Cooper (JC) and Rebekah Dicken (RD). Lloyd Melland was not present (LM).
03/06/22 Minutes of Previous Meeting dated 28th March 2022.
Summary of Discussion:
The minutes were accepted as a true record of the meeting.
04/06/22 Matters Arising
Summary of Discussion:
Noticeboard – Our grant bid to the Better Derbyshire Dales Fund of £568 was successful. This will be ready to install in July.
Confirm where the noticeboard can be sited and how it will be mounted.
05/06/22 Chair’s Report
Summary of Discussion:
PW reported that things are progressing slowly but steadily.
06/06/22 Clerk’s Report
Summary of Discussion:
JOD reported that it has been another difficult year due to Covid. However, we have been able to resume in-person meetings plus we have two new committee members, BW and SW. They have been invaluable in helping us to create a new website: www.thepomeroytrust.co.uk.
Unfortunately, due to work commitments, we have lost Bridget Dicken from the committee, but we would like to thank her for the use of the pub and continued support with events.
We completed our survey of the local population and the audit of the local area. These found that the local population is quite elderly and isolated, and respondents indicated they wanted a place to meet or a room to hire and facilities to pick up information. The committee decided to make the hall as multi-purpose as possible and it is hoped that one day the hall can be used as both a public meeting room/space for hire and also as a basic bunk barn facility. We are awaiting a decision on our planning application before progressing any further with the project to bring Pomeroy War Memorial Hall back into public use.
We are awaiting the outcome of our planning application before re-applying to become a registered Charity.
07/06/22 Treasurer’s Report and Funding
Summary of Discussion:
LM has been unable to continue in this role due to work commitments, although we are pleased to say he remains a committee member. JOD has reluctantly taken over the treasurer work temporarily and is happy for someone else to take over as treasurer this coming year.
One very good piece of news is that we finally reclaimed the funds in the dormant bank account from the bank and also received compensation for the delay. Our accounts for the last financial year are detailed in a separate attachment.
We have a full set of accounts which need to be audited. A local parish clerk has given us the name of a professional auditor.
JB to contact the auditor.
Funding:
We have only applied to one fund this year and we were awarded £568 from the Better Derbyshire Dales Fund for the noticeboard.
We have had to ask for two extensions to our War Memorials Trust grant which has been held up due to Covid and also by waiting for reply from the planning permission application. The new deadline for claiming this grant is September 2022.
To summarise, we have so far received grants of £425 and £700 for the work that Helena Stubbs at Rural Action Derbyshire is doing.
For the feasibility, we have received grants of £300 (PDNPA), £1000 (Cllr S Spencer), £1000 (Better Derbyshire Dales) and £2357 (Bingham Trust). We have paid the first instalment of £2472 to Smith and Roper plus £960 for the work Elanor Hazlehurst of Greenwood Projects has done.
08/06/22 Fundraising Report
Summary of Discussion:
JC and RD had said before the meeting there was nothing further to report.
George Grindon won the 100 Club prize for April and SW won the prize for May (which she promptly spent at Pomeroy Ice Cream!)
JB wanted to know how much progress had been made on a fundraising calendar.
PW said we needed to start thinking about the Christmas raffle if we are having one this year.
BW to investigate calendars and email the committee as soon as possible.
JC and RD to start organising the Christmas raffle.
09/06/22 Caretaker Activity
Summary of Discussion:
There has been nothing further to report since fixing the lock on the door.
10/06/22 Grounds Maintenance
Summary of Discussion:
IW had spent around five hours cutting down trees close to the hall.
IW was aware of the missing roof tile at the back of the hall. IW has not fixed this because it is not causing a problem.
11/06/22 Website
Summary of Discussion:
Our new website is now fully up and running. If anyone has any suggestions or changes to make, please let BW or SW know.
Thank you to BW and SW of https://thetechdivision.co.uk/ for donating their time and expertise to creating the website: www.thepomeroytrust.co.uk.
12/06/22 Feasibility/Architect
Summary of Discussion:
JB reported the following planning concerns:
Widening the gate – this will not be a problem as the boundary stone will not need to be moved.
Roman Road – this will only be a problem if we discover Roman remains when digging out for a septic tank.
Lead Vein – if lead is discovered when we dig out for a septic tank it will need to be removed properly.
Septic tank v. sewage treatment plant – Planners would prefer us to have a sewage treatment plant. However County Drains confirmed this would not be viable as it would require electricity to be running all the time.
JOD to contact Western Power about a survey.
JOD to research funding for reconnection to mains electric.
JOD to contact Severn Trent Water about a survey.
The other main concern is visibility from the hall car park exit. Residents on the committee support a 30 or 40mph speed limit through Pomeroy and think other residents would also be in favour.
The application still includes solar panels, although we decided at the last committee meeting that they would not be viable.
13/06/22 Charity Commission
Summary of Discussion:
As previously mentioned, we will apply to become a Charitable Incorporated Organisation once the outcome of the planning application is known.
14/06/22 Correspondence
Summary of Discussion:
Roy Branson of Derbyshire War Memorials got in touch with JOD having seen an article we wrote about the hall in the Derby Telegraph. He runs a website which records as many Derbyshire war memorials as possible. Using our new website and the War Memorials Online website, he will add Pomeroy War Memorial Hall to his website: https://derbyshirewarmemorials.com/index.html
15/06/22 What Next?
Summary of Discussion:
The committee agreed that getting the hall reconnected to mains electricity was one of our top priorities. JOD to find out how much a survey would cost, and to re-send previous correspondence about re-connection to the committee.
PW asked about the Platinum Jubilee Fund. JOD has registered an interest in this fund and will be sent information about it when available.
JOD to contact Western Power about a survey.
IW and PW to try the stop-tap at the hall.
16/06/22 Election of Committee
Summary of Discussion:
All current committee members are happy to stay on the committee and were re-elected en-bloc.
PW will remain as Chair, JB as Vice-Chair and JOD as Secretary. JOD is also temporary Treasurer but would be happy for someone else to take over this role.
17/06/22 Any Other Business
Summary of Discussion:
None
18/06/22 Dates and Times of Next Meetings
Summary of Discussion:
Committee meetings – Wed 28th Sept 2022 and Wed 30th Nov 2022, 8.00pm at The Duke of York, Pomeroy.
Meeting finished 9.40 pm.