Monday 25th April 2022

Resident’s Association minutes

Resident’s Association minutes

MINUTES FOR UPWARE RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION MEETING

Monday 25th April 2022 

 

Apologies: Simon Cogan, Sharon Green

 

Minutes of last meeting were agreed and signed by the Chair. 

  • URA Bank Account:  Balance in the Account £407.71
  • Fundraising: Pub Quiz to be organised and hosted by Laura P & Simon C, estimated date of September. TBC with 5 miles.

  • WPC Update from Liz Tory 
    1. Liz has a new email address for WPC – tory@wickenparishcouncil.co.uk. Please use this for WPC contact going forward.
    2. The 3 haybales blocking the footpath along Upware Road has been reported to East Cambs, as it preventing access for walking and moving cattle.
    3. A complaint has been submitted to the Environmental Agency after an incident with the ditch between the pub and the bridleway. It is being investigated by the EA.
    4. Dumping of garden waste on the community land is not permitted, the WPC will contact residents.

    5. Community Land – Gate & fence have been erected
      The ditches at the front of the community land are projected to be dug by contractors via WPC, and a ditch and culvert put in.

      Some residents were concerned at the cost of this, and felt that the money for this might be better spent elsewhere, there was also discussion regarding the effectiveness of the culvert due to other plots.

      There was additional discussion surrounding the effectiveness of ‘rewilding’ the area, one issue could be the maintenance as re-wilding does not mean maintenance free. However local wildlife will need to be taken into account. Residents discussed they option of a ‘hybrid’ approach with the first section being flattened/’kept’ and a ‘wild area’ that is maintained (not overgrown/nettles etc) at the back with pathways with fruit trees. Liz will feed this back to the WPC.

  • Queens Platinum Jubilee June 22 – After an enquiry on the Facebook group, no further positive engagement was given. It was highlighted that not all residents are part of the group and therefore do not always see updates. A meeting on 4th May will look at availability and if it is feasible with numbers.

    The Secretary and Chair will see if events can be added to the website monthly so residents not on the group can get reminders.

    • **Update – The URA have been looking carefully at organising something for the Jubilee Celebration. We have come to the conclusion that there are insufficient numbers to make this celebration viable. **

  • AGM – Gwynneth will be stepping down from position of Chair and off the committee during the July AGM. A leaflet will be added to the minutes for people to self-nominate. Laura is happy to stay on a secretary. Sharon will stay on as treasurer for as long as she is still resident in the village. The rest committee would like to thank both for their hard work and effort so far.

    The treasurer post was discussed and the opinion was that the URA needed to ask for a volunteer to fill the post before Sharon leaves the village. These posts will need to be filled or the URA will fold.

  • Defib check – The chair asked if there was anyone who could take over maintenance check for the defib after the July AGM. This would require an overall check of the equipment/expiry and procurement one a fortnight. Matt Luck has kindly volunteered to take this over.

  • Wicken Newsletter – The chair will also need to hand over the ‘Upware Update’ and distribution of the bi-yearly Wicken Newsletter – Maggie Haverson has kindly agreed to take this on.

  • Plot 1 Update: Tree stumps were removed at WPC request. Plot 1 has had no further re-submission of planning permission.
  • Upware Litter Pick – very successful, URA committee would like to thank everyone who attended, helped collect litter and organised. Extra thank you to Nicola & Matt York for collection and disposal the over 10 bin bags of litter. As this was so successful it was proposed that another could be run in the autumn (after summer season)

  • Date of next meeting/AGM: Thursday 21st July 2022 at 7.30pm - The Five Miles 

Please join our Facebook Community page for updates on what is happening in Upware. If you would like to Opt -out of receiving a hard copy of the minutes please contact Laura Petchey with your name and address, as they will be available online

Chair, Secretary, Treasurer:

Chair: Gwynneth Griffiths – gwynneth@fpandp.com

Secretary: Laura Petchey – lapetchey@gmail.com

Treasurer: Sharon Green 

NB: Common Acronyms:

WPC = Wicken Parish Council

URA = Upware Residents Association