Village Plan
Steering Group Meeting
NB: Notes were not formally taken at the very beginning of the meeting as roles (ie secretary) had not been allocated, therefore a full list of attendees was not noted. However it was noted that
Irene Crowther-Alwyn and Margaret Smith both attended the meeting as observers.
Again in the absence of an appointed Chair the meeting was chaired by Philip Straw (PS) and once again Carola Jones (CJ) from Rural Community Action Nottingham also attended.
Roles appointed.
Chair Shirley Taylor (absent)
Secretary Carole Scott
Treasurer Michael Neadland
Communications Malcolm Scott
Volunteer Co-ordinator Loz (Stuart Shore)
Local Authority Liaison Philip Straw
Notes on last meeting
a) Philip Straw asked for clarification on the note regarding fund raising. Carola confirmed that fund raising may be required and if so it will help raise the profile of the Village Plan.
b) Philip Straw did not contact the nine volunteers but has left this for the Volunteer Coordinator (Loz) to do as a way of introducing himself.
c) Philip Straw did contact the Cropwell Bishop Steering group and will share the paperwork with this committee at some point. They are about a year ahead of Granby/Sutton and have used a questionnaire which included demographic information.
Carola suggested a guided questionnaire or face to face meetings may produce a better result.
d) Carola suggested a model be built with flags denoting issues to be addressed.
Constitution
a) Philip presented a constitution based on a pro-forma which was accepted with the following amendments:
b) It was agreed that 7 members of the committee will be needed for a meeting to be quorate and not 10.
Finance
- Councillor Martin Suthers – we can have £250 from this year’s budget and will give us a further sum but this sum was not specified.
- Borough Councillor – John Cranswick will support us but has to give to a specific project rather than a general donation eg printing costs.
- A form for funding from the County Council – Community Engagement Grant is still to be obtained.
It was agreed that a budget must be set to allow us chase funding.
Input from Sutton
The question of input from Sutton was raised again. A note was put in the Newsletter – going out on 29th January.
Philip Straw to try to get someone to volunteer to attend Steering Group meetings.
Next Steps
A long debate ensued regarding how to find out what people think about the issues raised so far, as currently we only have the views of a small percentage of the population.
The issue of collecting demographic information was also discussed at length.
It was agreed that the next immediate step was to try to gather more views. This would be achieved by a simple survey asking people what things they like, what they hate and what they would like to improve. The survey would also ask for very basic demographic information.
Actions: Malcolm S. to compile survey and distribute around the Steering group for approval. Once agreed, print off and give to Loz who will co-ordinate its distribution with the volunteers.
It was agreed that when the surveys were delivered volunteers would try to speak to householders and explain their purpose. Surveys would then be collected a few days later. All surveys would remain anonymous.
Action: Once collected back in Malcolm S to collate for next Steering Group meeting.
How do we work Together
It was agreed this will be easier to determine once we understand where we are heading. It may be that working groups will be established to work on certain elements of the plan eg transport, playgroups etc.
Timings
This needs to be addressed quite soon – possibly at the next meeting.
A summer event is to be held in June and this may be a good time to push the Plan. Carola suggested this would be a good opportunity to use the “model” idea.
Action: Julia to ask Tollerton how much they paid for their model
Date of Next Meeting
Wednesday 20 February. 7.30 pm
