Nutley Conservation Group
Annual General Meeting
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Nutley Conservation Group, held in Nutley Church Hall on Wednesday 25th June at 7.30 pm.
1. Welcome
The Chairman, Jock Compson, opened the meeting by welcoming the 40 members attending.
2. Annual Report
The Chairman gave his Annual Report on the activities of the group (copy attached).
3. Treasurer’s Report
The Treasurer, Ian Johnstone, reported that the present balance was £127.67. This was after repaying an interest free loan of £800 for the printing of the Nutley Village Design statement, which had been distributed free to every home in the village last Easter. The present balance did not include a £350 grant from the Parish Council towards the cost of producing a village map, which was to be undertaken by David Juniper, that would show every home in the village in a pictorial way, and make finding remote properties much easier. The Treasurer reminded members that subscriptions were now due, and could be collected at the end of the meeting.
4. Election of Officers
Jock Compson indicated his wish to step down as Chairman. Mairede Thomas proposed and Matthew Bright seconded that David Hutchinson become Chairman. It was put to the vote and he was duly elected. Jock Compson was proposed as Vice Chairman by Ian Johnstone, and seconded by Mairede Thomas, and was elected. The Chairman proposed the existing committee be re-elected en bloc, and this was done. Two committee members, Kay Holmes Siedle and Diana Hurrell, had resigned during the course of the year, due to work commitments. John Northfield was proposed by Helen Compson, and seconded by Mairede Thomas, to be a new committee member, and he was elected by the meeting.
5. To approve the annual membership fee of £5 per household
There was a discussion about whether the existing subscription of £5 per household should remain the same or be increased. It was decided by the meeting to keep the cost the same this year, and ask members to give more if a particular need arose. (The Chairman asked members to give their email addresses if at all possible, as this made communication much easier when specific planning or other matters arose.)
6. Open Forum
Mr Hardstone asked what was happening about the proposed development of the Nutley Arms. Jock Compson replied that he was unsure, although it was rumoured that the owner was bankrupt. Mairede Thomas said that it would need to remain as a hotel or pub and that change of use was most unlikely to be granted by planning authorities.
The Chairman closed this part of the evening’s meeting, thanking all the committee and particularly the Vice Chairman, Treasurer/Membership Secretary and the Secretary for all their hard work and support over the year.
After refreshments, the new Chairman, David Hutchinson, before introducing the speaker, John Barnes, Chairman of the Conservators, thanked Jock Compson the outgoing Chairman, for his hard work and leadership over the last four years.
NUTLEY CONSERVATION GROUP
ANNUAL REPORT 2007- 08
The full committee has met eleven times since the last report, and has had many more informal contacts. Our work has focused on achieving the two main aims of the Group, which are: -
1. To promote the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment in Nutley and its surrounding area.
2. To arouse interest in proposed developments so that proposals can be discussed and views expressed before decisions are taken.
Progress with these aims is as follows:
1.a. At the AGM last year, through Mike Grenville we raised the prospect of Nutley becoming a Transition Village and in two subsequent public meetings we showed the Al Gore film “An Inconvenient Truth” and had an excellent illustrated lecture from Marc Ter Quile which discussed the implications and consequences of the end of peak oil and the effects of global warming and climate change on our way of life in Nutley.
b. We have spent a lot of time working on detailed responses to the following public consultations: -
- Wealden District Council’s Local Development Framework Options
This should encourage the District Council to reassess the classification criteria that they have used for Nutley to reduce and additionally influence the major planning proposals they need to meet Government targets.
- Two consultations by the Primary Healthcare Trust
We have written official responses to both the Public Consultation Document “ Creating an NHS fit for the future” produced by Hastings and Rother Primary Care Trust and East Sussex Downs and Weald Primary Care Trust as well as that for Mid Sussex concerning the Princess Royal Hospital, Haywards Heath.
· Mid Sussex’s proposals for development in East Grinstead.
We have worked with East Sussex County Council, Conservators of Ashdown Forest and Forest Row residents to campaign against Mid Sussex District Council’s proposal for a 2,500 residential development and a relief road that exits onto the A22 just north of Forest Row. This would have a significant traffic impact on Nutley and we have lodged numerous letters of objection and an official response to the MSDC public consultation.
- The Ashdown Forest Strategic Plan.
We have provided a detailed response to the Conservators of Ashdown Forest’s Strategic Plan consultation
2. Progress with our second aim has been more muted this year because no major developments affecting the village have been proposed. We have provided advice to individual families faced with planning concerns and we have written to WDC objecting to the proposals to build a Yurt camp on Bunters Field in Bell Lane. No doubt we will be doing more in this area of our work next year, particularly when WDC publish their preferred options for the Local Development Framework in the autumn.
3.As for this coming year, I am delighted David Hutchinson has agreed to be nominated to succeed me as Chairman. David has been a founder member of the committee and has numerous skills and experiences to further the development and work of the Group.
Finally I would like to thank all members of the Group and especially the Committee for the personal support and all their hard work over the past four years.
Jock Compson (Chairman)
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