Minutes of the Meeting of the
EAST GRINSTEAD COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP
held in the Meeting Room, Chequer Mead on 13th July 2004 at 7.30 pm
Present:
Don Cooper - Chairman
Virginia Waddingham - East Grinstead Town Council
Alan Lord as alternate forLorraine Dell-Louth - Age Concern East Grinstead
Dale Bulbrook - East Grinstead Chamber of Commerce
Kathy White - Churches Together
Carol Kelly - East Grinstead C.V.S.
Karen Picksly - Mid Sussex District Council
Roger Martell - East Grinstead Chamber of Commerce
Beverly Heasman - East Grinstead Town Council
Ryan Sallows - West Sussex County Council (Education Dept)
Also present Andrew Bass.
There were 2 members of the public Andrew Brock and Edward Belsey
and no members of the press present.
1. Apologies:
Apologies were received from: Alexandra Durrant, Lee Marmara & Maggie
Robson.
2. Minutes of the last Meeting:
The minutes of the meeting of the 1st June 2004 were approved,
and signed
3. Matters arising from the minutes not on the agenda
There were no matters arising.
4. Chair’s Report
Don Cooper spoke about his visit to Billingshurst and how very
different their experience was, especially their funding and relationship
with the Parish Council. They do have a field worker from Action
in Rural Sussex working with them and 3 other small “towns” in
Horsham district, which they found very helpful. On the positive
side he was able to report interest from English Heritage in providing
grants for some Billingshurst improvements.
There was a discussion on the provision of training workshops
and dates were circulated for members to indicate availability.
He referred to the existing working groups and asked that the
groups do report and gain support of the partnership’s
full committee for all initiatives and projects they wish to
do develop. To assist this co-ordinator were ask to submit brief
reports to enable members to understand and comment on the work
being suggested or carried out.
The Chair advised that a finance report would become a regular
item at future meetings.
Finally the expansion of the membership was discussed and all
were asked to consider which additional sections of the community
could add to the breadth of the partnership. Examples were: Police,
Health ,in particular QVH, Youth ,Neighbourhood watch, Industry/Business,
Adult Education and Skill Training. Any new nominees would be asked
to indicate which of the working groups they would favour.
The Chair’s report, having been duly circulated was accepted.
5.
Reports from the Working Groups
5.1 Local Environment & Transport (Co-ordinator – Roger
Martell)
There had been 2 meetings of the working group with the focus
on how improvements could be achieved to move the traffic around
rather than through the London Road/High Street area. The attendance
of officers from County and District Councils was valued. A copy
of their report is attached to these minutes. Further meetings
are planned to develop the idea promulgated.
The committee agreed that the general thrust of this group’s
work should be supported.
5.2 Social & Community (Co-ordinator - Carol Kelly)
Carol
Kelly reported on recent meetings and on the progress she was making
in starting to get the project of a “Community” Centre
off the ground. It was essentially a project to provide facilities
for the voluntary Sector – providing “offices”, “meeting
rooms” and general facilities in one building. Among those
who would use such a centre include, Age Concern, Access Group,
CAB, Furnihelp, Community Transport, CVS etc…..
The total project could cost up to £2.5 million but this
would depend on the availability of land and the overall size of
the buildings. Sustainability is also key to success and survival
once established.
CK is searching for a project manager (a volunteer)
to oversee the fundraising bids from the “Futurebuilders” programme
and other funding sources.
CK said she has had encouraging discussions
with the Town Council,wyich included possible sites, but was awaiting
confirmation of the CVS
trustee’s support.
The suggestion that new build might not
be best was considered but conversion of existing town centre
buildings were said to be
as difficult and costly.
CK said she needed to have real support
from the committee if she was to get the project underway.
It
was decided that in principle the project would be worthy of
support but that a more specific outline of what was planned
would
be needed. CK agreed to provide a summary.
5.3 Local Economy (Co-ordinator - Dale Bulbrook)
Dale Bulbrook reported that there had been discussions about the
promotion of “Fairtrade” which was n being supported
in the Town. There was some discussion on the merits of this but
it became clear that there was a range of views and opinions as
to what benefits there could be for the Town’s economy.
6 The Development of the Partnership.
The chair
reported on his meeting with Theresa Gittins, in which he discussed
the provision of workshops in September. These would
enable the partnership members to benefit from informal training
on partnership working to improve the effectiveness of the group.
Members were asked to indicate availability.
The Chair agreed
to proceed to set these up on the dates most favoured.
7 Finance Report.
A finance report of income and expenditure to date was presented
and noted.
CK suggested that the partnership might be able to qualify for
an“Awards for All” grant towards the funding of development
etc.
8 Any other business – Items previously notified
to the Chair.
Publicity
The Chair advised that he had had discussions
with Geraldine Durrant about her acting as a “press/publicity” officer for the Partnership.
She carries out this role for the Town Council and for the same fee she was
happy to work for the Partnership. Her fee would be £50 per month. On
a proposal from Alan Lord, seconded by Carol Kelly, the appointment was approved.
Co-option
Alan Lord proposed that Edward Belsey
be co-opted to the partnership. Carol Kelly seconded this proposal,
Edward signified his willingness
to stand and his co-option was agreed.
Best use of the Voluntary Sector
Carol Kelly wanted
to ask members if they were aware of the size and value of the
voluntary sector in East Grinstead. She said that
the CVS knew of over 200 groups in the town and surrounding area,
which offered a great range of opportunities of service to the
community. She also stressed that the sector was much more professional
than people imagined and it would be key to community development
to harness the resource that the Voluntary Sector could provide.
9 Dates of Next Meetings
Working groups:
Local Environment & Transport –TBA
Social & Community – TBA
10. Date of Next Partnership Steering Committee Meetings
September 14th at 5p.m.
October 12th at 7.30p.m.
November 11th at 3p.m.
December 14th at 1p.m. for 2p.m.
All meetings at Chequer Mead Community Arts Centre
The meeting concluded at 9.15pm
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