AGM 2015
Held at 7.30pm on Thursday 18 June at the Bestwood Lodge Hotel
Friends of Bestwood Country Park: Chair’s report prepared for the
Annual General Meeting on June 18th 2015
This is our eighth AGM, and the end of my third year in the post.
At our last AGM, Penny remained in the role of secretary, and Gill has remained as treasurer. We are greatly indebted to both of them for their conscientious work, and also to John for taking over as chair in my absence. Many thanks also to Kay, Sarah and Rob, who have stepped in to take minutes as needed.
Here’s a rough overview of the last year:
Rangers
With further cutbacks threatened, there was uncertainty about jobs. Despite this, our ranger team remains unchanged from last year. Sue McDonald’s role as Community Liaison Officer was one of those jobs under threat, but we are delighted that Sue applied for, and got, a very similar post, still based in the classroom.
Keeping on top of maintaining the park is of course still a challenge, given the much smaller size of the team compared with just a couple of years ago. The county council is, I understand, looking to replace the fencing around the playground with a fence that cannot be burned, although the camping field remains open on the north side.
The rangers have installed tree trail identification posts, to go with our tree trail booklet.
The toilets that had been burned down in 2011 were replaced just under a year ago. There are still some problems with the drains, and it was also quickly discovered that there were no cold water taps. We have been assured that this will be remedied.
Zoe Jackson of EMEC Ecology completed a 5-year ecology report and management plan for the park, which was submitted to the country council at the end of last July.
Volunteer work in the park continues to be popular, with the Monday volunteers working alongside the rangers, and Thursday volunteers working with Sue.
Heritage Officers
There have been numerous special events and activities organised by our heritage officers, David and Adele. Sadly, the funding for these posts expired in March this year. Linda Hardy at the county council came up with funding for a replacement part-time post, but sadly only for one person. We were very sorry to see David go, and really appreciate all the good work he did, especially in the field of mining history. Having said that, at least we have Adele continuing in her role, so the popular weekend events, including mini-miners and other events, can continue at the Dynamo House.
Speakers
We are always keen to host speakers at our meetings. In the past year, Nic Wort has come to talk to us about possibilities for developing the park, Sue McDonald has given a slide show on invasive species, Roy Allan has explained how the planning process works, and Jo Phelan has talked to us about our project idea for a WW1 memorial.
Bestwood Development Group
The meetings are chaired by Councillor Pauline Allan, who is a member of FoBCP. There has been a considerable gap between meetings, due to the fact that the county council had engaged consultants to research and lay out proposals for the future of the park, and it was felt that it was worth waiting until this process was complete before meeting again. We are waiting for a proposed date to restart meetings. Meanwhile, FoBCP has produced a composite “wish list” which was submitted to the consultants.
Councils
We have already mentioned the cutbacks; it is the cuts at the county council level that have the greatest potential to affect the future of the park. We are fortunate to have two county councillors, Roy and Pauline Allan, as members of FOB, and we trust that their genuine commitment to preserving the park’s future will win through. Linda Hardy has been on hand with help and advice, and Nic Wort organised a trip to Hill Holt Wood, so that some of us could see some practical ideas for what could be done in a woodland setting. Meanwhile, the county council had engaged consultants, as previously mentioned, and we await their report.
Over at Gedling Borough Council, Jane Richardson, Parks Development Officer, has run several task days for volunteers in the Gedling are of the park, largely focusing on the Japanese Gardens near Bestwood Lodge Hotel. Jane organised tools and equipment, the services of 2 park rangers, and tea and biscuits for the volunteers. Jane is now helping us to organise task days under our own steam. I am very grateful to Jane for her help and for the hard work she puts in herself. We shall have to look into obtaining public liability insurance for this, and we hope that a local councillor may be willing to use funds at their disposal to pay the premium for this. We think it would be a good investment – after all, our labour as volunteers is free of charge!
Volunteer Café
Now in its third year, the café is open on Saturday mornings and bank holiday Mondays (when the Winding Engine House is also open for tours), and also on Sunday afternoons in June, July and August.
On the subject of the Winding Engine House, the exciting development is that the winding machinery is now working.
The café’s increased popularity is due in no small measure to the volunteers who bake and serve, and we are in danger of becoming a local legend! However, to keep this up, we need a steady stream of volunteers, and always welcome new ones.
Once again, we undertook outside catering at the BigBAG event at Brackenhurst earlier this year.
Thanks also to John Millington for continued supplies of high-quality bird seed, on sale at the Dynamo House.
At FoBCP meetings over the past year, we have discussed how to spend the proceeds for the benefit of the park.
We have purchased new picnic benches, which are installed outside the Dynamo House (thanks to Sue for organising this).
We are thinking of producing another booklet, this time showing the time line and history panels that can be seen on the walls of the Dynamo House.
Another proposal is to buy a router and accessories for the rangers, so that they can make their own signs and waymarker posts for the park profits have also allowed us to fund replacement bench sets which the rangers can install in the park as needed.
For the café itself, we have purchased the materials for fitting serving counters and storage cupboards in the Dynamo House, and John has volunteered to build them.
We have continued with our plan of having regular charity days, roughly once a quarter, on which the profits from the café that day are donated to a local charity. In the last year, we have supported Batten’s Disease Family Association, Big Smiles, and Notts Wildlife Trust. We plan to support Norsaca and Nottingham Deaf Society in the autumn.
On top of that, we also have regular quarterly fund-raising days for the Winding Engine House volunteer engineers.
Meanwhile, many thanks to Nigel and Penny of A W Lymn Centenary Foundation for providing funding for a heavy-duty gazebo for outdoor events.
Website www.fbcp.org.uk
The website, developed and maintained by Kay Brown, is becoming increasingly popular. It’s great to be able to refer inquirers to it. Ben Moss has now set up a discussion forum on the site too – www.fbcp.org.uk. Many thanks to Kay and Ben for that.
Other events
In the past year, housing development plans from the developers St Modwen have been approved for the brownfield site in Bestwood village. These developers engaged in extensive consultation, and we have no concerns at present.
Another proposal, from Langridge, concerns plans to build on white field land, with an explicit view to encroaching on greenbelt land. An application has been submitted for the building of a school on greenbelt land. Whilst the village does need such infrastructure, the proposal to build it on greenbelt land raises concerns that it would be used as a lever to open up the greenbelt land for more housing development there. Gill has lodged an objection on our behalf, on conservation grounds.
We are continuing to pursue plans for a WWI memorial, with the help of Jo Phelan from Groundwork. The proposed location is now on the sloping ground to the north of the path leading from the hotel to the Japanese Gardens, and would incorporate a stone memorial, seating, and plants. Penny and Nigel are advising us on suitable stone.
In July we held our first volunteer litter pick, collecting great quantities of litter – not sure whether this is something to celebrate or not!
In September we took a stall for FOB to the Major Oak Woodland Festival. We sold copies of the tree booklet, and cake, thus publicising the café, the Winding Engine House and the park itself. It was a good opportunity to tell visitors to Sherwood Forest about our little niche at the southern end of the forest. Thanks to Kevin, Karl and Sarah for manning the stall. We have already booked to go again this coming September. We have also taken stalls to other local event, such as the Bestwood Village Assembly, and will also be present at Arnold Carnival this coming weekend.
In December, Sue and Adele organised a “thank you” supper for all the volunteers – making all the pies themselves!
Meanwhile, thanks to Kevin and Richard for providing photos to enable BCP to be included on a regional filming database. Some of these were also used to enable Sue to put together a slide show about FoBCP for the BigBAG event.
Finally, there have been exciting developments at the hotel side of the park.
First of all, Brian and Sarah (artist in residence at Bestwood Lodge Hotel) were contacted by someone who had discovered the remains of the original Restoration hearth from the hotel, in a builder’s yard. The trouble was, she had just a weekend to claim it and move it. Jane at GBC came up trumps, tracking down a suitable lorry, hoist and driver, and getting the many tons of material moved to the hotel. They are being stored in stables here, and we have been shown some pieces.
Around about the same time, Sarah also made contact with the future Duke of St Albans, with a view to unearthing more of the history of the place. Charles Beauclerk proved to be very interested, and has visited here. He is working on some family history, and there is potential for further research and publication – and publicity!
As you have heard, we are not short of good ideas, but it would be even better if those good ideas are matched by people who are happy to follow them up. In the last year, Gill has been rather swamped with projects to follow up, so if you have a good idea, or have heard us mention one you’re interested in, have a think about whether you can also ‘look after’ it, by looking into funding, for example, or taking some practical steps to implement it.
As ever, thanks to the staff at Bestwood Lodge Hotel for allowing us to use their premises for our monthly meetings, and their kindness in making us comfortable.
Margret Vince
Chair, Friends of Bestwood Country Park
15th June 2015
Annual General Meeting on June 18th 2015
This is our eighth AGM, and the end of my third year in the post.
At our last AGM, Penny remained in the role of secretary, and Gill has remained as treasurer. We are greatly indebted to both of them for their conscientious work, and also to John for taking over as chair in my absence. Many thanks also to Kay, Sarah and Rob, who have stepped in to take minutes as needed.
Here’s a rough overview of the last year:
Rangers
With further cutbacks threatened, there was uncertainty about jobs. Despite this, our ranger team remains unchanged from last year. Sue McDonald’s role as Community Liaison Officer was one of those jobs under threat, but we are delighted that Sue applied for, and got, a very similar post, still based in the classroom.
Keeping on top of maintaining the park is of course still a challenge, given the much smaller size of the team compared with just a couple of years ago. The county council is, I understand, looking to replace the fencing around the playground with a fence that cannot be burned, although the camping field remains open on the north side.
The rangers have installed tree trail identification posts, to go with our tree trail booklet.
The toilets that had been burned down in 2011 were replaced just under a year ago. There are still some problems with the drains, and it was also quickly discovered that there were no cold water taps. We have been assured that this will be remedied.
Zoe Jackson of EMEC Ecology completed a 5-year ecology report and management plan for the park, which was submitted to the country council at the end of last July.
Volunteer work in the park continues to be popular, with the Monday volunteers working alongside the rangers, and Thursday volunteers working with Sue.
Heritage Officers
There have been numerous special events and activities organised by our heritage officers, David and Adele. Sadly, the funding for these posts expired in March this year. Linda Hardy at the county council came up with funding for a replacement part-time post, but sadly only for one person. We were very sorry to see David go, and really appreciate all the good work he did, especially in the field of mining history. Having said that, at least we have Adele continuing in her role, so the popular weekend events, including mini-miners and other events, can continue at the Dynamo House.
Speakers
We are always keen to host speakers at our meetings. In the past year, Nic Wort has come to talk to us about possibilities for developing the park, Sue McDonald has given a slide show on invasive species, Roy Allan has explained how the planning process works, and Jo Phelan has talked to us about our project idea for a WW1 memorial.
Bestwood Development Group
The meetings are chaired by Councillor Pauline Allan, who is a member of FoBCP. There has been a considerable gap between meetings, due to the fact that the county council had engaged consultants to research and lay out proposals for the future of the park, and it was felt that it was worth waiting until this process was complete before meeting again. We are waiting for a proposed date to restart meetings. Meanwhile, FoBCP has produced a composite “wish list” which was submitted to the consultants.
Councils
We have already mentioned the cutbacks; it is the cuts at the county council level that have the greatest potential to affect the future of the park. We are fortunate to have two county councillors, Roy and Pauline Allan, as members of FOB, and we trust that their genuine commitment to preserving the park’s future will win through. Linda Hardy has been on hand with help and advice, and Nic Wort organised a trip to Hill Holt Wood, so that some of us could see some practical ideas for what could be done in a woodland setting. Meanwhile, the county council had engaged consultants, as previously mentioned, and we await their report.
Over at Gedling Borough Council, Jane Richardson, Parks Development Officer, has run several task days for volunteers in the Gedling are of the park, largely focusing on the Japanese Gardens near Bestwood Lodge Hotel. Jane organised tools and equipment, the services of 2 park rangers, and tea and biscuits for the volunteers. Jane is now helping us to organise task days under our own steam. I am very grateful to Jane for her help and for the hard work she puts in herself. We shall have to look into obtaining public liability insurance for this, and we hope that a local councillor may be willing to use funds at their disposal to pay the premium for this. We think it would be a good investment – after all, our labour as volunteers is free of charge!
Volunteer Café
Now in its third year, the café is open on Saturday mornings and bank holiday Mondays (when the Winding Engine House is also open for tours), and also on Sunday afternoons in June, July and August.
On the subject of the Winding Engine House, the exciting development is that the winding machinery is now working.
The café’s increased popularity is due in no small measure to the volunteers who bake and serve, and we are in danger of becoming a local legend! However, to keep this up, we need a steady stream of volunteers, and always welcome new ones.
Once again, we undertook outside catering at the BigBAG event at Brackenhurst earlier this year.
Thanks also to John Millington for continued supplies of high-quality bird seed, on sale at the Dynamo House.
At FoBCP meetings over the past year, we have discussed how to spend the proceeds for the benefit of the park.
We have purchased new picnic benches, which are installed outside the Dynamo House (thanks to Sue for organising this).
We are thinking of producing another booklet, this time showing the time line and history panels that can be seen on the walls of the Dynamo House.
Another proposal is to buy a router and accessories for the rangers, so that they can make their own signs and waymarker posts for the park profits have also allowed us to fund replacement bench sets which the rangers can install in the park as needed.
For the café itself, we have purchased the materials for fitting serving counters and storage cupboards in the Dynamo House, and John has volunteered to build them.
We have continued with our plan of having regular charity days, roughly once a quarter, on which the profits from the café that day are donated to a local charity. In the last year, we have supported Batten’s Disease Family Association, Big Smiles, and Notts Wildlife Trust. We plan to support Norsaca and Nottingham Deaf Society in the autumn.
On top of that, we also have regular quarterly fund-raising days for the Winding Engine House volunteer engineers.
Meanwhile, many thanks to Nigel and Penny of A W Lymn Centenary Foundation for providing funding for a heavy-duty gazebo for outdoor events.
Website www.fbcp.org.uk
The website, developed and maintained by Kay Brown, is becoming increasingly popular. It’s great to be able to refer inquirers to it. Ben Moss has now set up a discussion forum on the site too – www.fbcp.org.uk. Many thanks to Kay and Ben for that.
Other events
In the past year, housing development plans from the developers St Modwen have been approved for the brownfield site in Bestwood village. These developers engaged in extensive consultation, and we have no concerns at present.
Another proposal, from Langridge, concerns plans to build on white field land, with an explicit view to encroaching on greenbelt land. An application has been submitted for the building of a school on greenbelt land. Whilst the village does need such infrastructure, the proposal to build it on greenbelt land raises concerns that it would be used as a lever to open up the greenbelt land for more housing development there. Gill has lodged an objection on our behalf, on conservation grounds.
We are continuing to pursue plans for a WWI memorial, with the help of Jo Phelan from Groundwork. The proposed location is now on the sloping ground to the north of the path leading from the hotel to the Japanese Gardens, and would incorporate a stone memorial, seating, and plants. Penny and Nigel are advising us on suitable stone.
In July we held our first volunteer litter pick, collecting great quantities of litter – not sure whether this is something to celebrate or not!
In September we took a stall for FOB to the Major Oak Woodland Festival. We sold copies of the tree booklet, and cake, thus publicising the café, the Winding Engine House and the park itself. It was a good opportunity to tell visitors to Sherwood Forest about our little niche at the southern end of the forest. Thanks to Kevin, Karl and Sarah for manning the stall. We have already booked to go again this coming September. We have also taken stalls to other local event, such as the Bestwood Village Assembly, and will also be present at Arnold Carnival this coming weekend.
In December, Sue and Adele organised a “thank you” supper for all the volunteers – making all the pies themselves!
Meanwhile, thanks to Kevin and Richard for providing photos to enable BCP to be included on a regional filming database. Some of these were also used to enable Sue to put together a slide show about FoBCP for the BigBAG event.
Finally, there have been exciting developments at the hotel side of the park.
First of all, Brian and Sarah (artist in residence at Bestwood Lodge Hotel) were contacted by someone who had discovered the remains of the original Restoration hearth from the hotel, in a builder’s yard. The trouble was, she had just a weekend to claim it and move it. Jane at GBC came up trumps, tracking down a suitable lorry, hoist and driver, and getting the many tons of material moved to the hotel. They are being stored in stables here, and we have been shown some pieces.
Around about the same time, Sarah also made contact with the future Duke of St Albans, with a view to unearthing more of the history of the place. Charles Beauclerk proved to be very interested, and has visited here. He is working on some family history, and there is potential for further research and publication – and publicity!
As you have heard, we are not short of good ideas, but it would be even better if those good ideas are matched by people who are happy to follow them up. In the last year, Gill has been rather swamped with projects to follow up, so if you have a good idea, or have heard us mention one you’re interested in, have a think about whether you can also ‘look after’ it, by looking into funding, for example, or taking some practical steps to implement it.
As ever, thanks to the staff at Bestwood Lodge Hotel for allowing us to use their premises for our monthly meetings, and their kindness in making us comfortable.
Margret Vince
Chair, Friends of Bestwood Country Park
15th June 2015
