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FRIENDS OF GARDNER’S CRESCENT
MINUTES OF AGM HELD AT TOLLCROSS COMMUNITY CENTRE, EDINBURGH ON 10.09.10
1.) Present
Derek Ainsley (Chairperson), Eric McAuslan (Treasurer), Harry Clark (Secretary), Angela Reddington, Brian Campbell, Richard Hill, Marnie Hill, Marta McGary, Craig Dunlop, Ian Riddell.
The meeting commenced at 19.00 hours.
2.) Apologies
Apologies were received from Alan Dickson.
3.) Approval of previous minutes
There were no matters arising from the previous minutes which were unanimously approved.
4.) Presentation from Scottish Power
Angela Reddington and Brian Campbell gave a brief presentation on how matters stand at the current time with regard to the Scottish Power project in Gardner’s Crescent. The tunnel beneath the garden area had now been completed and it was now very much a case of Scottish Power focusing on the reinstatement/enhancement of the garden. It had been hoped that this work would have been completed before Christmas but the recent spell of bad weather had prevented this.
Fresh topsoil had been put down and aereated and seaweed pellets added to provide nourishment. However, the soil will need to dry out before any planting can take place. The retaining wall had been capped with new coping stones and gate piers would shortly be constructed at either end of the garden. It was anticipated that the piers would be completed within the next fortnight. The temporary traffic lights on Gardner’s Crescent have now been removed although it may be necessary to put them back as a safety precaution during the construction of the gate piers. The cherry trees have now been replaced and trimmed although it was not possible to say at this stage when turf could be laid on the fresh topsoil which needs to dry out first.
The foregoing constituted “Phase 1” of Scottish Power’s involvement. “Phase 2” would be the enhancement of the garden area with ducts for lighting (if the Friends wished to have lighting), the new pathway, and some additional planting of trees. However, before this could take place the Friends would need to let Scottish Power know what they wished to happen and this in turn depended on extraneous matters such as planning permission, the obtaining of the views of Edinburgh World Heritage Trust and so on.
Ian Riddell circulated computer-generated illustrations of what the garden area might look like once all intended work had been finalised – railings, enhanced gate piers with gates, new pathway, flowerbeds, trees and seating area – and there was unanimous enthusiasm for such an attractive layout. It was agreed that these illustrations should be added to the Friends’ website so that all interested parties could have access to them.
5.) Chairman’s Report
Derek Ainsley welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked them for attending. He expressed disappointment that not more local residents had come to the meting although this was probably due to the weather. Derek mentioned that he is still assiduously pursuing third party funding from various sources although even if an application were successful it could take several months for the funds to be made available. He would be re-applying to WREN and would be assisted in this by Caroline Sanderson. The most important thing was the manner in which applications were presented, the more impressive the application the better the chances of success. Derek had applied to Sainsbury’s for funding and was hopeful that this would be successful. He had enquired whether Tesco and B&Q would be able to assist on this front but they only provide assistance in kind as opposed to in cash.
6.) Treasurer’s Report
Eric McAuslan provided a detailed report on the state of the Friends’ finances. He indicated that as the Friends are a registered charity strict regulations must be observed with regard to the presentation of accounts and associated matters.
During the year to 31st March 2010 very little happened with regard to pursuing the Friends objectives simply because Scottish Power were on site. However, grant funding of £5000 had been generously provided by Edinburgh Council resulting in a surplus at the end of the 2009/10 accounting year. Since then additional grant funding had been obtained from the Council (£8,000), Edinburgh World Heritage Trust (£2,500), and Millar Construction (£1,000). These monies were used to settle professional charges raised by the Friends’ architect, the website designer, and the landscape historian. As at the date of the AGM the balance in the Friends’ bank account stands at £5,648.43.
Eric mentioned that the Council and Edinburgh World Heritage Trust have pledged in the region of £90,000 towards the Friends’ project. However, the target amount is in the region of £300,000 and so the shortfall will need to come from elsewhere such as institutional third party funding. We have a very long way to go before we meet our target and in this connection it would be essential to generate public awareness. To this end it was intended to hold a “launch party” at which our local MP Alastair Darling would hopefully be present. Potential supporters, local or otherwise, would be invited to attend.
A vote was then taken for the accounts to be adopted and there was unanimous approval of the 2009/10 accounts. A further vote was taken to dispense with the need to have the Friends’ accounts formally audited, as this would be extremely expensive and deplete the Friends’ funds considerably, and to have them independently examined by a qualified accountant instead which would be much cheaper. It was unanimously agreed that future accounts should be “passed” by an independent examiner instead of by means of a formal audit.
7.) Secretary’s Report
Harry Clark mentioned that in order to comply with the requirements of the Friends’ constitution he would be retiring as secretary although he was happy to offer himself for re-election for a further three years if the members were happy with this.
A vote was taken and Harry was unanimously re-elected. However, he indicated that if any party or parties were interested in taking on the role of secretary and made their intentions clear in this respect then he would be prepared to stand down in favour of a new secretary.
It was agreed that following the circulation of these minutes any member(s) wishing to become secretary should put their name forward for election and give notice to this effect within six months of 10th January 2011.
8.) Report from Ian Riddell
Derek Ainsley invited Ian Riddell to report on how matters were progressing in his dealings with Edinburgh World Heritage Trust. Ian indicated that he has ongoing meetings with them. They are satisfied with the Friends’ proposals and overall construction costs (professional charges, surveyor’s costs and so on). The next stage is that the Trust will need to be given details of the consultant to be appointed. This will enable them to pay the consultant and proceed to the next stage of obtaining detailed planning permission at which point the Friends can invite competitive tenders for the gates and railings. It would probably take around four months for the railings to be put up.
9.) Any other competent business
A discussion followed in connection with the types of tree that would be planted in the garden. It was suggested that a modern variety of disease-free lime tree should be planted along the edge of the garden area and move the cherry trees into the centre. The reason for this is that cherry trees are easily damaged by high-sided vehicles which results in them becoming lop-sided and unattractive. It would be better therefore for the cherry trees to be relocated to a safer position. Edinburgh World Heritage Trust is in agreement with this. Angela Farr mentioned that local residents would be upset at the thought of losing the cherry trees and Craig Dunlop indicated that it would be important to take note of the wishes of residents.
10.) Date of next meeting
To be confirmed.
11.) End of meeting |
