Darnall Forum AGM
Church of Christ, 6.30pm 24 September
2013
Present – 23 people
Apologies - none
The Minutes – were
agreed to be a true record
Matters Arising –
The Primary Care Centre project was completed and Darnall Well Being is
now a tenant
A letter of thanks should be
sent to Shabana for all her help
Financial report - Neil
Bishop spoke to the Statement of Financial Activity and the Balance Sheet,
explaining the financial position of the charity. The accounts were approved
and the independent examiners were reappointed. Another firm had offered to
quote but withdrew because they could not compete.
Trustees’ Report – Presenting the report Sylvia said that
staff now have to work part-time and it is only because of their commitment and
dedication that the charity is able to carry on. Neil is a ferret and really
gets his teeth into things.
Sylvia said the Work
Programme had proved an absolute nightmare but thankfully the Charity made a
small profit, largely thanks to the efforts of Nazia, before the trustees
decided to withdraw in 2013.
We had an information day
last year instead of a carnival but - considering the weather - it was
reasonably well attended.
Elections - thirteen people agreed in principle to serve as trustees
Local issues - It
was reported that the library has been identified as a hub library that should
remain open and under Council management. Cllr Lea confirmed that
Darnall was not on the list of closures because it was considered a hub
library. Recommendations have been made set against a number of criteria and a
statutory consultation is starting shortly.
The Carnival was a big
success. About 5,000 people attended and everyone had a good time. It was very
harmonious.
A resident asked about the
attempts to clean up Shirland Lane and other environmental issues. There is
going to be a voluntary clean-up day and Veolia are also drafting in extra
staff to address the issue. However, there are bulky items of furniture which
are an eyesore. Cllr Lea promised to contact Streets Ahead about this. She said
that it would be good to remind people in the Darnall Herald how to get bulky
items taken away. Neil P said the Darnall Environment Task Group was trying to
get residents to take pride in the neighbourhood, although he agreed that
persuading private landlords was difficult even though piles of rubbish left on
their property must discourage new tenants from occupying it.
In Tinsley a litter busters'
group has been formed to take action about rubbish. Zahira said the same thing
could be done in Darnall. The community organisers are available to help people
if they want to try to do something about it here. Mary Lea said that teams using
local pitches to play games should clear up after themselves. Sylvia has been
into schools taking assemblies to encourage pride in the environment.
A member of the meeting said a lot of things
thrown away could be 'free-cycled' if people were educated about it. Could Amey
staff knock on the doors of people with bulky items on their property and tell
them about this? Mary Lea said there will be a week of community action to
promote recycling. There is a free-cycle website which needs advertising.
Neil Parry from East End Quality of Life pointed out that
people are not ringing in to report fly-tipping.
Sylvia said the closure of
the Darnall and District Advice Service has caused a real problem. Cll Lea
reported that there will be one advice service for the whole city which will
make sure that every area is covered.
Neil Bishop said the current advice sessions don't meet the demand and some
of the capacity is taken up by advice sessions for Slovak speakers. There has
been an attempt to move to triage appointments with follow-up where
appropriate. There will also be a move to more telephone and online advice
which doesn't always work in an area like this.
Neil Bishop explained about the
conversion of the post office to a main branch, which is now likely to happen
in November, but our ATM may be installed in October. Someone said that Royal
Mail was too expensive but Neil B reminded the meeting that when they used the
post office local residents were helping the local community, especially people
who are not able or are not comfortable to use the internet.
Sylvia reminded people about
Community First. There is one more funding round this year and the closing date
for applications is Friday 11 October.
AOB - Sylvia was thanked
for her 13 years as chair of the Forum and presented with gifts. Cllr Lea and
others said how much her leadership had been appreciated.
