Minutes of a meeting of the Steering Group held at 7 Old School Lane, Brockham on Tuesday 18th October 2005 at 8.00pm

Present: Lisa Marshall-Bailey Chair
Paul Ritchie Secretary
Bob Pritchard Treasurer
Hilary Budd Brockham Parish Council
Nick Caddick Brockham Green Village Society

1 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Roger Hammond and Vicky Adam

2 MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

Minutes of the meeting held on 21st September 2005 were accepted.

3 MATTERS ARISING

3.1 Open Day and display

The key themes had been agreed and NC had produced the display panels. BP had produced a map of the parish to form central focus of the display and another mounted to allow people to locate their homes with pins. The display had already been taken to a number of local events.

HB is waiting for the new letterheads so that she can send letter to village groups.

3.2 Budget and finance

NC confirmed that Helyn Clack (SCC) was sending a cheque for £500. RH still to complete and submit application to Surrey Community Action for a DEFRA grant for Town & Parish Plans. PR agreed to write to Caroline Bosdet (MVDC) to ask for £1,000 for consultation about Parish Plan.

3.3 Informal meeting of the Steering Group

Members of the Steering Group met at 8.00pm on Tuesday 4th October 2005 at 7 Old School Lane, Brockham to decide on winners of the competition to design a logo for the Brockham Parish Plan. It was agreed that the overall winner of the competition was Grace Pollard, although at least two other designs were considered suitable for use in publicity. The Group also considered a number of different draft designs for a letterhead for the Plan. NC agreed to draft a revised letterhead with these designs.

4 FUNDING

4.1 Bank account

BP has opened a bank account at the HSBC in West Street, Dorking in the name of “Brockham Parish Plan”. The account requires a minimum of two named signatures to issue cheques. PR and LMB agreed to visit branch to sign forms.

4.2 Sources of funding

The Steering Group is likely to receive a total of £1,500 from Surrey County Council and Mole Valley District Council and Brockham Parish Council may provide £100. LMB will speak to RH about completing the application for the DEFRA grant for Town & Parish Plans, which requires a signature of a Parish councillor and could provide a further £1,000 to fund the budget.

PR agreed to speak to Clare Ritchie about other possible sources of funding to boost funds for the growing costs of the Plan i.e. private sector.

4.3 Budget

The original assessment of the cost for delivering the Parish Plan was based on other local plans and was estimated at £3,500. This figure may have been significantly underestimated with growing costs for producing letterheads, leaflets, questionnaires, newsletters, display panels and the final report. NC to produce a draft budget.

5 WEB SITE

It was agreed that a page for the Parish Plan located on the Brockham Green Village Society web site would be a useful tool for keeping the community up to date on progress of the planning process. NC agreed to prepare a number of pages.

6 PARISH PLAN LOGO

6.1 Designs and winners

The winning designs were chosen and it was agreed that all entrants would receive a certificate. Prizes would be given to the winner Grace Pollard, to second place Claire Wetherston and to third place George Corfield. LMB agreed to purchase suitable prizes. NC will speak to Helyn Clack about presenting prizes.

6.2 Contact details

The Steering Group agreed a design for the new letterheads, which will include the title “My Village 2015” and two of the prize-winning logos. The names of all the members of the Steering Group will be shown but PR volunteered his home address and telephone number as the main contact point for the Group.

6.3 Printing

It was agreed that NC would arrange for local printer to produce the new letterheads.

7 STAKEHOLDER LETTER

In addition to the letter to local groups and societies about the Parish Plan Display the Group agreed that a letter should be sent to key stakeholders advising them about the planning process. LMB agreed to draft the letter while PR agreed to start collating contact addresses for the organisations, groups and individuals listed on the stakeholder map produced by the Group.

8 OPEN DAY

8.1 Events to attend

On receiving the new letterheads HB will distribute a letter to the various village groups offering the display for their next meeting. The aim is to try and reach as many local residents and stakeholders as possible before the end of the year.

8.2 Feedback from first event

The first event attended by the Steering Group was Teas on the Green for the Brockham Green Nursery on Sunday 16th October 2005. About 25 people visited the display during the afternoon and took part in the post-it exercise without prompting. The map worked well and the headlines stimulated a range of responses from visitors. A notice outside the hall encouraged people to come inside and contribute their comments. LMB and HB collated the responses.

It was apparent however, that visitors were unsure about how to use the pin map and did not tend to leave their ages or addresses. The pin map was mounted on Foamex board, which is hard to push pins into while the display map was vulnerable to damage by finger marks. PR agreed get another map mounted onto 5mm foam board and another encapsulated for the display. LMB agreed to continue collating information and comments gathered during each of the various events to which the display is taken.

8.3 Storing and managing display

NC agreed to continue storing the display at home. LMB, NC and PR will manage the display at the last two Teas on the Green to be held at the Brockham Church Hall on Sundays 23rd and 30th October 2005.

9 PARISH PLAN WORKSHOP

NC and LMB agreed to discuss the arrangements for attending this event later.

10 RECRUITMENT

It is clear that if the Steering Group is going to be successful in delivering a Parish Plan for Brockham and Strood Green more volunteers will need to be recruited to help with different aspects of the process. All members will continue to recruit new members and PR agreed to collate their details.

11 ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Not really any other business to discuss so a tired and weary Steering Group wound its merry way home after an exhausting meeting!

12 DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The next meeting of the Group will be held at 8.00pm on Tuesday 8th November 2005 at 78 Nutwood Avenue, Brockham.

Use our feedback form to make your comments on the key issues that Brockham should address now and in the future.

Brockham Parish Plan Steering Group

October 2005

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