Annual General Meeting 2023
Minutes of Welshwood Park Residents Association Annual General Meeting
Wednesday 20th September 2023 at The Oak Tree Centre, St Anne’s Community Hall, 252 Harwich Road, Colchester.
Apologies were received from ten residents.
Minutes of the AGM held on Wednesday 21st September 2022 were approved.
Matters Arising Nothing was raised.
Chairmans Report
This has been another fairly quiet year with the biggest headache caused by our Council who decided that they were going to charge us what we considered to be an extortionate amount for our two leaf collections. At first, we had great difficulty in persuading them that it was necessary and, once we had pointed out that this had been an annual event for several years, they started with a figure of £920.00. We then asked for a breakdown of this figure and after much discussion between us and our local Councillors who intervened on our behalf, we agreed to this figure but less the £30.70 per tonne green credit that they would get from Essex County Council and which we had always had in the past.
Because this had taken so long to process it meant that the collections were delayed and we finished up with dates in December and January and with a smaller lorry on the first date. In total we paid £310.16 for the experience. Dealing with the Councils new hiring system was a challenge but the delay worked in our favour as there were very few leaves down in November.
As there was no interest in arranging an event for our late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee it was decided that the Association would leave residents to plan their own celebrations for His Majesty the King’s coronation.
Our Secretary managed to catch our grass cutter on both his Spring and Autumn visits and he was quite amenable to our request to cut down the grass and nettles through our footpaths.
I am sure you will have noticed that the wooden fence at 3 Welshwood Park Road has been removed and we are grateful to the residents for complying with the court order.
Our Secretary held a site meeting with our county councillor to discuss the poor state of the pavements in Welshwood Park Road but because ours are not considered to be as bad as many others it may be some time before remedial work is undertaken. We have also been informed that to even consider putting up No Through Road signs at the entrance to Welshwood Park we would need to provide photographs of large vehicles entering in error.
As our Secretary says, apart from these issues it has been a quiet year, and at this point I really must thank my committee members for their continued support.
Planning Matters
Local Councillor explained the Colchester Local Plan Review which has to take place 5 years after the plan commenced, the council are seeking the views of local groups and organisations. The Local Plan sets out a vision and framework for the future for housing community facilities as well as a basis for conserving and enhancing the natural environment mitigating and adapting to climate change. To protect the bio diversity of north east Colchester by protecting the fields and open space around Welshwood Park it would be helpful for residents to write to the council explaining the benefits to health and wellbeing, the environment and green networks (hedgerows and wooded areas) by keeping the green environment around us. You can email comments to the Planning Policy Team at planning.policy@colchester.gov.uk
The more comments indicate a community cares, no comments the council assumes the community don’t care what happens.
You will have received a leaflet through your door for the Tendring Colchester Boarders Garden Community consultation, it is your chance to find out about the project and provide feedback to help develop the plans. Please attend one of the exhibitions, again, the more engagement from our area indicates the community cares, few people turning up may allow a development plan which is not beneficial to our area.
The recent government policy changes require the City council to have greater bio diversity (trees, hedgerows and open space). The council owned former Gas Board recreation ground bordering Welsh wood is to be placed on a register of potential sites as an area of Bio-Diversity by the council for developers to acquire (buy credit for an area to offset the space they need for their development) if the site they are developing does not have the space for Bio-Diversity
Neighbourhood Watch No problems in our area. However please report any issues as they will be logged and appear on statistics which could result in more Police funding for our area.
Environment & Trees
The leaf collection dates were agreed as Saturday 9th December 2023 and Saturday 6th January 2024. Sharing the location between Woodlands and Welshwood Park Road.
We will be contacting Ardleigh scouts to see if they can help with the bag collection to the refuse lorry.
From January 2024 Colchester City Council are to start charging for garden waste collection, an enrolment fee of £35 for the wheely bin and £55 per year charge for the collection. Residents can have more than one wheely bin but will have to pay the £35 enrolment fee for each additional wheely bin and the £55 per year collection charge. Each wheely bin will have a bar coded sticker attached to confirm eligibility for collection.
The general black bag waste collection will continue unchanged by black plastic sacks.
Finance
It was agreed to raise the annual donation to £10 to cover the cost of the leaf collection refuse lorry hire.
The cost has increased significantly over the last three years 2021 £0, 2022 £310, 2023 between £500 to £600.
The treasurer prepared the accounts showing a bank balance of £****.**).
The accounts were approved.
Election of Officers
The Chairman advised he will be standing down at the AGM next year and stated the committee needed more members for the association to remain viable. Being on the committee does not require a lot of time and it would be good to have new people and ideas coming onto the committee.
The election of the committee was approved.
The committee consisting of: –
(Chairman)
(Secretary)
(Treasurer)
(Neighbourhood Watch)
One committee member
Any Other Business
A resident with oak trees enquired what the liquid weeping down the trunk was, the meeting thought this was not good but could not provide more information.
The association put in a bit with the council for trees to be planted on council verges on the estate, we are awaiting the outcome of our bid.
Residents in Woodlands and The Glade have recently had a week with no Royal Mail letter deliveries; however, Welshwood Park Road appear to have received deliveries as normal.
Chairman thanked all residents who attending the meeting on a wet and miserable evening and closed the meeting at 9:15 pm