RAMBLERS’ ASSOCIATION -
Minutes of meeting held
Present : Ann
Foxhuntley, Chair
Owen
Star, Vice Chair
Tony
Goverd, President
Rod
Porter, Secretary
Jean
Mantle, Treasurer
Mary
Henry, Footpaths Secretary and Publicity Officer
Gus
Halfhide, Membership Secretary
Edward Levy,
Newsletter Editor
Marion
Davies, Woodspring Group
Susan Shewan & Diane Knight, Clevedon Group
Ian Rendall, South Somerset Group
Helen Morrall, S.W.A.G.
John Ollerenshaw, Taunton Deane Group
1. Apologies : Roger
Mitchell, Access Officer
Roger
Conway, Taunton Deane Group
Guy Emery,
S.W.A.G.
Robin Downton, Woodspring Group
2. Minutes of meeting held
3. Matters arising : None
4. Reports from Officers : Written reports were distributed ahead of
the meeting together with the Agenda. The following details therefore relate
either to actions arising from those reports or to subsequent additional
information.
a) Area
Secretary’s Report - Following discussion on Circular 07/53 ‘Making sure
volunteers are recognised’, it was AGREED that (i)
Area endorses Mendip Group’s inclusion of £200
expenditure re volunteer recognition in its 2007/08 budget figures and (ii)
other Groups should consider following this lead.
While
appreciating that many members do not wish to claim expenses, it was also
AGREED that Area and Groups send out a clear message that no-one should be out
of pocket for the work they do.
Discussion then
moved on to Area’s basic purpose and function and there was general agreement
that our meetings should be more pro-active, i.e., less time spent on reporting
matters in retrospect and more emphasis placed on decision making.
Rod will be
contacting Groups to find out what they want from Area by way of general
support, involvement or initiative. This can then be part of a future
discussion when the new RA Strategic Plan comes for consultation.
b) Vice-Chair’s
Report - Feedback from those who went on the Area holiday has been very
positive and enquiries have already been received for next year’s event,
probably on the
Another of Owen’s tasks is up-dating the website (www.somersetramblers.co.uk)
and, following their A.G.M.s, Groups are asked to
advise him of any change of officers and committee members.
c) Treasurer’s Report - Jean
distributed copies of the audited Income and Expenditure for the year ended
30th September and summary figures are as follows :
Income Expenditure
From Central Office
3000 Group entitlement 4400
Deposit interest 149 Publications 455
Publication sales 209 Footpaths 314
Advertising sales 172 Promoting walking 166
Area holiday
5940 Governance 1059
Area
holiday 5936
Total income £9470 Total
expenditure 12330
This is a deficit
of £2860 for the year but (a) this is in line with the budget set 12 months ago
and (b) funds as at 30th September remain at a healthy figure of £3038.
Looking at the
2007/08 financial year it was AGREED that we request Central Office for a total
entitlement of £4980 all of which will be distributed to Groups as follows :
Mendip - £1550
Clevedon - £450 SWAG - £300 Family Group - £180
It was also
AGREED that Unity Bank be asked to amend the signing instructions re Area’s
account by accepting the sole signature of the Treasurer on cheques
up to a maximum amount of £50.
d) Footpath
Secretary’s Report - Adding to her written report, Mary referred to a case
brought by an individual with help from the Open Spaces Society. Action was
taken against Somerset County Council and a property owner and successfully led
to the removal of a footpath obstruction.
Mary also
reported that the Waterlinks Project has failed to
make the short list for lottery funding. The Project Team is now trying to
identify other sources of funding whereby some part of the Waterlinks
scheme may be able to progress.
During this Agenda item and item 7 below, a number of
comments were made re Parish Paths Liaison Officers. These have been collated
and appear on a separate page at the end of the Minutes.
e) Publicity
Officer’s Report - Nothing to add to written report.
f) Membership
Secretary’s Report - The question was raised as
to why each joint member does not receive a separate membership card. Gus will
refer this to Central Office and report back.
g) Access
Officer - Nothing to report.
h) Countryside
Officer - Nothing to report.
5. Arrangements for the Area AGM : It was AGREED that our AGM will be on
Saturday 16th February at Trull Memorial Hall, Church
Road, Trull, Taunton TA3 7JZ. The hall is next to the primary school and opposite the parish
church (grid ref. 217222).
Car
parking and toilets will be available from
The hall
will be available at
The
AGM will start at
Taunton
Deane will also arrange for tea/coffee, biscuits and cake at the
end of proceedings.
Many thanks to their Secretary, Robert Camp, for helping put these
arrangements in place.
6. The new Model Constitution for Area and Groups :
It was AGREED in
principle that we adopt the Model Constitution For Areas (April 2007). Rod will
circulate a copy for comment to all Area Officers and Group Representatives
with a view to it being agreed in detail at our January meeting and formally
adopted at the Area AGM.
Similarly, the
new Model Constitution For Local Groups (April 2007)
is being adopted by Mendip Group and it is hoped that
other Groups will follow suit at their forthcoming AGMs.
7. Group Action Plans to keep local paths open : Although no specific Group action plan was put forward it was AGREED
that future Agendas should regularly include an item whereby enforcement action
and the efforts of working parties could be discussed and recognised.
During this Agenda item and item 4d above, a number
of comments were made re Parish Paths Liaison Officers. These have been
collated and appear on a separate page at the end of the Minutes.
8. Group news :
a) Legs Explore -
Mary reported that she will consult Central Office on the current dilemma of
insufficient numbers to make the Group viable.
b) Taunton Deane
- John referred to his recent letter to Group Secretaries. In brief, Taunton
Deane will be producing a further walks booklet and are asking whether other
Groups would like to be involved in the project.
c) Other Group
news was curtailed in view of the time and apologies to the Groups concerned.
It was AGREED
that Group news reports should in future be sent to the Area Secretary in
advance of our meetings. This will enable Rod to distribute them with the
Agenda and supporting papers.
9. Items for discussion at the next Area meeting :
Agreeing proposed
changes to the Area Constitution.
Ratifying changes
to Group Constitutions.
As previously
mentioned, please advise Rod of any matter you would like Area to discuss and
he will put it on the next agenda.
The Chair declared the meeting closed at
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The role of Parish
Councils and Parish Paths Liaison Officers
Comments arising at the Area meeting
SCC is working
towards devolving some of its statutory duties re Rights of Way to Parish
Councils who have been asked to (i) categorise paths
by usage and (2) appoint a Parish Paths Liaison Officer (PPLO).
A main concern is
that where no PPLO is in place, all paths will be regarded as Category 3, i.e.,
the lowest category.
At present we do
not know the number of PPLO vacancies or how they are being advertised.
SCC’s aim is for footpath work to be carried
out by teams of volunteers and our understanding is that any expenses / mileage
claims will not be paid.
Ann attended a
PPLO meeting during which there was a clear statement that path categorisation was by usage. However, it was also stated
that if a footpath problem is reported, it will be dealt with.
John’s view was
that County’s Rights of Way team seems to be ‘playing ball’. He has found it
refreshing to now be able to have an on-going dialogue with ROW Officers. They
seem to listen to problems and, as a result, work has been carried out on a
Category 2 path and improvements scheduled for a little used path.
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