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Blackheath Village Society Minutes 22nd May 2023


Blackheath Village Society - Minutes of the Meeting Held on 22nd May 2023 at Theobalds (7.30pm)

Present: David, Paul, Simon, Max, Anne, Laura and Ralph (by video phone).
Apologies: Sam and Charlie.

1. The minutes of the meeting held on 28th March 2023 were approved, with the following amendments :

a) The Annual General Meeting of the BVS will now be held in the Village Hall on 25th May 2023.
b) We still require a representative from the Village Hall Committee to be represented on the BVS Committee. Simon agreed to contact Steve Briggs to establish whether he would take on this responsibility.

2. The Village Fair.

Thanks were conveyed to Max for providing the provisional figures and Anne confirmed that the profit would be in the region of approximately £8,000. A separate breakdown is available on request. The final figures will be completed for distribution at the AGM next week.

It was agreed that the fair was a very successful event and thanks were extended to the Fair Committee, including Laura, Simon, Max, and David.

We will provide a summary of the event at the AGM and discuss with the residents whether this event should be held on an annual basis or every other year. If we do not have a fair in any particular year, this will be substituted with a village party either in the street or preferably at the cricket ground.

3. Coronation Party.

It was confirmed that proceeds amounted to £520 and Anne is presently calculating the expenses. It would appear that we should break even or there about.

This again was a very successful event and the committee should be proud of themselves for organising the Coronation Party within a week of the village fair. Thanks were extended to Colin and Jane Hayward for organising the children’s games and Nick Harrison for providing the club house for the food preparation, inside tables and the bar. Ralph and his family were also thanked for providing the music throughout the event.

4. 2023 Annual General Meeting.

It was confirmed that this would be held on Tuesday 30th May 2023.  

David will provide red and white wine together with cheese and glasses for the event.  It was agreed that the committee would meet on site to arrange the village hall art 5pm.  We will also include noticeboards with pictures to greet residents showing extracts from the Christmas party, Annual Fair, and Coronation Party - Dave will speak to Jane Barlow. 

It was also agreed that we should advise residents how the net profits distributed. We are committed to certain contributions to organisations who helped us on the day.  Once this figure has been agreed, the Committee will agree on what further funds can be distributed for good causes. An independent financial BVS Committee will decide this and we will establish who will represent the interests of the village. Any individual or organisation which wishes to make representations to the Finance Committee will be advised of the timing and the amount available from this year’s event.

Paul will arrange for a notice to be fixed outside the Village Hall and Simon will distribute another email advising the residents of the event.

5. Chairman’s Report.

David will provide a presentation to the village, which will be available at the AGM. This will include a bouquet of flowers for Billie Hockley, who is 98 years old on the same day. A further presentation of a picture (Blackheath Common) will be presented to Liz and Sam Purvis to recognise everything they have done for Blackheath, as they are moving out of the village. David will arrange these.

6. Villagers Public House.

Paul will provide residents with a short update on a low-key basis, as the next stage is very much in the hands of Waverley Borough Council. He will provide a short background, confirm that the enforcement notice date terminated on 7th May 2023 and field any questions that might arise at the meeting.

7. Treasurer’s Report.

Anne will distribute the accounts for the period ending December 2022. While she did not prepare the the accounts as she is new to the role, she will attempt to answer questions that may arise during the course of the meeting.

8. New Committee Members.

Apart from the point mentioned above regarding a Village Hall representative, we are not seeking any new members as all of the existing residents will remain on the Committee.

9. Village Website.

Thanks were expressed to Charlie for all of his hard work, in initially setting up the website and continuing to monitor and update the website, as appropriate. We will take the opportunity of raising awareness of the website at the AGM and the opportunities that are available to residents in advertising and information available throughout the year.

10. Vans in Blackheath Lane.

We discussed this important issue and it was agreed that it was important to obtain the backing of our District Councillor (Michael Goodridge) and engage with James Herbert to establish the various options available to the village.

Paul suggested that the local residents close to the vans should arrange a meeting and the BVS will do everything in their power to assist them if they wish to take any form of action against the owner.

11. Traffic Calming.

Paul confirmed that he has advised the highways of Surrey County Council that the various pinch points in the village (5 in total) are in disrepair and require replacing and refurbishing.  He has reported the information, including photographs via Surrey Council Council’s website, but acknowledge that this is a low priority and will follow it up in due course.

Max also suggested that we should put together a working party to repair and clean the village signs and 20 mph signs at the three points into the village (Sampleoak Lane, Littleford Lane, and Blackheath Lane).  Paul confirmed that he did obtain a quotation to repair the posts as they had rotted with concrete posts, and the last quotation he received was £604 + VAT.

We also discussed the deterioration of the verges within the village and how the road has widened considerably over the last few decades.  There are various options including posts, granite sets, or other alternatives and we will bring this to the attention of the residents at the AGM for comments and a follow up email to those people who are unable to attend the meeting.

12. Flooding

Max sent a video of the water flooding to the Council and he is waiting for Surrey County Council to comment on this problem. After some debate, it was acknowledged that this is not an easy problem to resolve without the help of Blackheath Farm and may have to resign ourselves to the fact that the ditches may need digging out every few months during the winter and autumn.

13. Future Events

Cricket Club Annual Ball 24th June 2023
Summer Party 28th August 2023
Fireworks Party 4th November 2023
Christmas Party 16th December 2023

14. Any Other Business

There was no further business to discuss and it was agreed that the next meeting would be held at Theobalds at 7.30 pm on Tuesday 4th July 2023.

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Blackheath Village Society
http://www.blackheathsurrey.co.uk
Tel: 01483 790000 Mob: 07768850003 Email: paul@bil.uk.com
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