Blackheath Village Society Minutes 9th February 2022

Blackheath Village Society - Minutes of Meeting Held on 9th February 2022
Present :
Christina Hartshorn (CH) Paul Vincent (PV)
Paul Brodie (PB)
Nick Harrison (NH)
Max Gibbs (MG)
Peter Herbert (PH)
By Zoom :
Charlie Bennett (CB) Ralph Broadbent (RB)
Apologies :
David Grisley (DG) Anne Jenkins (AJ) Sam Purvis (SP)

1. Minutes of the Meeting dated 9th November 2021
The minutes were approved, and there were no matters arising as any items were included on the
Agenda.

2. BVS Constitution
NH provided an update further to a recent meeting between NH, CH, and Richard Williams (RW). In the light of the advice received by the Charities Commission it was agreed that the BVS objects as detailed in Clause 2 do not require revising. Therefore, the sub-committee proposes that there is no requirement to make any changes under Section 275 Charities Act 2011. It was noted that the possibility of amendment under Section 275 would only be available in future if our income was below £10,000 per annum.
PV asked if the “aims of the BVS” are in line with the constitution, and NH stated that the Charities Commission has agreed that many of our historical activities are in furtherance of our objects. Although it has indicated that in relation to some we should exercise caution, if we are in doubt about a proposed activity in the future we can seek further advice. Even though we are a small charity in comparative terms, we still need to comply with our charitable objects.
NH provided an updated paragraph to amend the Clause 3 of the Constitution to deal with the registration of Blackheath members on a register which could be maintained electronically and enable us to be GDPR compliant, under Section 12 of the Constitution. Any residents will sign up to our Privacy Policy and regulations as set out in the Constitution.
PV requested that the words “audit” be replaced by “independent examiner”.
Thanks were offered to CH, RW, and NH for their contribution in completing this investigation and CH will write to RW to thank him personally.

3. Blackheath Village Fair
The committee approved (with agreement from PH as the landowner) that we should hold a village fair this year on Monday 2nd May 2022.
DG was not at the meeting and provided an update by email to CH and has agreed to act as the Chairman of the Village Fair Committee, but has requested help and assistance from the community. Brett Davidson has less time available and MG will assist with the help of RB and CB.
DG has received all of the details from the previous fair organiser (Liz Purvis). Their first objective will be to approach everyone in the village personally, as we have several new villagers to recruit and run stalls.
MG (in DG absence) confirmed a meeting will take place next week with the sub-committee, and whilst some assignments have already been completed it was indicated by CH and PV that a lot of work needs to be done in advance, with applications to Waverley for licences and completing risk assessment forms which become more complicated every year.

4. Queen’s Jubilee Celebrations
RB requested if anything had been arranged in respect of this event and DG was keen to promote a street party in Blackheath village from noon on Sunday 5th June 2022. This would be very similar to previous street parties with residents' participation.
Arrangements will be needed to close the road for the day, which has historically been carried out by Sam Purvis and confirmation from DG that this event will be organised or that someone in the village will head up a sub-committee.

5. Villagers Public House
PB provided an update regarding Condition 2 of planning application WA/2017/1853. Waverley Borough Council has been in touch with the occupiers of Queen Victoria Cottage and advised them that the Council expect to see the pub fitted out within six months of the occupation of Prince Albert Cottage, which took place last year. As the six-months compliance period has now completed Waverley has advised the owners to seek professional assistance in relation to this matter and will pursue possible enforcement action.
PB also highlighted the decision by Waverley to reduce the extent of the Asset of Community Value to 50% of the garden. It was their view that the whole garden was not required under the legislation, although the Land Registry still denominates the entire garden as part of the Villagers Public House. NH was somewhat surprised by this decision, and the pub sub-committee agrees with his comments. However, PB will forward NH the email correspondence, as Waverley has suggested that we revert to the Parish Council if we are not satisfied with their decision.

6. AGM
It was agreed that the AGM will be held week commencing 21st March 2022, and CH will establish a day when the village hall is available. Once this has been decided PB will provide the necessary notice to Blackheath residents, and post a Notice on the village public noticeboard outside the village hall.

7. Web site & Emails
Since the discussion of this at the previous meeting, CH had seen a demonstration of the proposed Teamtamer email and administration system but neither she nor PV/PB had yet met with Graham Webb (GW). NH explained that the personal information uploaded to the system by individuals would be kept independently on a server (in the cloud).
The details of the system and its operation will be demonstrated to PB and PV in the near future. As discussed at the previous meeting, it was suggested that an annual membership subscription should be introduced to cover ongoing costs including the costs of providing this service. It was agreed that an amount of £5 per person per annum would be reasonable and a presentation will be provided at the next AGM for approval by the residents.
For PB to distribute information to the village, he will contact Simon Jones to enable him to carry out his administrative duties.

It was suggested that once the new website is agreed and operating, we would also look at combining a WhatsApp (or similar facility), and the email list would also be combined with access available at different levels depending on the requirements to communicate with the village.

8. Accounts
PV provided a general update via email and confirmed that during 2021 approximately £500 was spent with £12,500 cash available in our current account. PV will give a detailed analysis at the AGM. The committee thanked PV for his work in completing the accounts on our behalf.

9. Any Other Business
a) Village Defibrillator
CH provided an update and confirmed that replacement units (for the pads) need to be carried out every five years at the cost of £120. This has been completed with the one outside the village hall and NH confirmed that the cricket club will pay for the replacement for the unit located at the cricket club.

b) Adrian McLellan Memorial
After discussion, it was generally agreed that while the BVS would be happy to suggest a memorial (a bench, for example, located at a specific point on National Trust Land) it would be invidious for the BVS to propose this for some but not other residents who passed away. It was a family decision which committee members could be involved with on a personal basis.

(c) Crittell Land
PB provided an update explaining that the Manor House had been sold, but an exchange will not take place until early April 2022. In the meantime, the purchaser is auctioning off the land either as a whole or on a piecemeal basis by Barney Estates/Auctioneers.
(d) Woodsmoke

PB provided an update on the planning application by Mrs Stringer for a proposed house close to Farley Heath, but on the fringes of Blackheath Common. PB and NH agreed that this is not something the BVS should be involved with and the rest of the committee agreed. However, it was indicated that any planning issues that have a significant impact on residents should be advertised for residents to lodge any opinions directly with Waverley Borough Council.

(e) Village Hall
There are no updates as SP was unavailable to attend the meeting.

(f) Tree Donation
CH provided an update on the small leaf lime tree donated to Blackheath village by Waverley Borough Council. It was suggested that this should be planted within the vicinity of the village well and this was agreed by the committee.
Once the tree has been delivered we will arrange a working party and clear some of the bracken/debris to plant the tree accordingly.

(g) Parish Councillor
MG agreed to act as our “liaison person” with Wonersh Parish Council, which does not involve becoming a Parish Councillor. The objective is for MG to act on our behalf, attend Parish Council meetings to allow residents to voice any concerns and generally coordinate between the Parish Council and the BVS.
PB will communicate with Lisa Davison (Parish Clerk) to be approved by the Parish Council Committee. The committee thanked Max for his help in providing an essential connection between the village and the Parish Council.

(h) Barbecue
It was suggested that we hold a Barbecue on Monday 29th August 2022, which will be a village residents' event only.
There was concern that the turnout might be low due to the holidays, but the committee felt that if this was promoted properly, we should (as we have done in the past) have a very successful
event. NH will confirm whether the cricket club is available for this event.

(i) Chairman/Treasurer
CH confirmed that she would be stepping down at the AGM, and there is a requirement to appoint a new Chairman. Everyone on the committee has been asked to try and find a replacement to avoid the possibility of not having a BVS Chairman. CH was thanked for stepping in as acting Chair for the last three or four months, which has been an essential role to fill since the previous Chairman stepped down.
PV has also stated that he would like to step down at the AGM.

(j) Next Meeting
It was agreed that we would have an update meeting on 15th March 2022 at 8pm. NH will confirm whether the cricket club can be used as a venue for the meeting.