Saturday 11th March 2023 2.30pm at Findon Valley Free Church
Welcome and Introduction:
The Chair (Lance Allen) welcomed everyone and introduced the guests, Councillors Elizabeth Sparkes, Dan Humphreys and Nigel Morgan along with Tom Micklewright, Practice Manager at Lime Tree Surgery.
We also had guest visitors from Findon Parish Council, Patching Parish Council and High Salvington Residents Association and the Chair stated how nice it was to see so many people attending the meeting.
The Chair stated that no proxy votes had been received.
Apologies
Tony Anderson (web administrator), Lorraine Taylor (Vice Chair), and residents Simon Danett and Mark Taylor. Later, Tim Loughton MP.
Minutes of last AGM and Matters Arising
The minutes from 24th March 2022 were agreed as true records. There were no matters arising. The minutes were proposed by Chloe Paddock and seconded by Elizabeth Sparkes.
Chair’s report (Lance Allen)
Lance highlighted elements of the published Trustees’ report and stated that FVRA does not hold or manage any funds as custodian trustee and holds no restricted or designated funds( see 2022 accounts regarding restricted grant funding £612.36).
FVRA has not held any specific fundraising campaigns during 2022.The committee notes the requirements of the Fundraising Regulator.
FVRA has policies on Equality and Diversity and on Privacy, published on our website. The membership register is administered by the Membership Secretary and never made available to any external organisations. There has been no data breach or complaint during 2022.
Lance highlighted events that FVRA had put on during 2022 including a Jubilee Street Party, a Big Band event and a Christmas Extravaganza. We are working hard on a Coronation Event for the 7th May this year and will be holding another Christmas Extravaganza in December.
On Christmas Day, for the first time, a lunch was offered to people who were alone for Christmas and although it was a small event it proved to be very popular with those who attended.
The Chair mentioned a Traffic Survey that was delivered to all residents in the valley in March, the results of which have been discussed with West Sussex County Highways and are still ongoing.
We also work closely with Friends of Findon Valley run by Matthew Ward who organises work parties in Cissbury Fields and The Gallops. Recently they have been helping with hedge and tree planting in Cissbury Fields.
The Chair explained that the Planters in the valley near the library are looked after by Maggie Winter and an area of the library garden is now a Jubilee Memorial Garden under the care of Matthew with seven rose bushes in memory of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.There is a seating area with two recycled benches and a small paved area. We are planning for an official opening during the 7th May Coronation event.
The committee is pleased to have a really positive working relationship with a wide range of people and organisations including our Councillors, Member of Parliament, Police Community Support Officer, Park Rangers, the Valley churches and Vale School, Lime Tree Surgery, local shops and businesses as well as our local residents. The Chair regretted that actual paid membership is low and encouraged people to support the association.
Resolution 1: The Trustees Annual Statement was approved by Maggie Winter and Paula Barnes.
Vice Chair (Lorraine Taylor)
There was no Vice Chair report due to illness. The Chair mentioned how much Lorraine does in the community as well as in her role as Vice Chair with the Committee.
Treasurer’s Report (Clive Sanders)
The accounts for 2022 were issued with the agenda. As FVRA is a small charity there is no requirement for a formal audit but the accounts have been independently checked by Allan Gee – our thanks to Allan.
Clive expressed concern at the falling membership which now totals 336 members, this has resulted in a drop of membership fees down to £1,655.64. The FVRA committee will be addressing these concerns during 2023.
In 2022 FVRA ran three events, the Jubilee Street Party, Brighton Big Band Concert and the Christmas Extravaganza, all of which were very successful but unfortunately all ran at a loss.
A grant for £1,895 was included in the income which helped provide funds for the Christmas Lunch and the Christmas Extravaganza.
Funding was also provided by FVRA for the Community Garden at the library, equipment for the Friends of the Valley Garden Group and the Queen Elizabeth Condolence.
The accounts are now managed by the Charities Aid Foundation’s CAF Bank which is an organisation dedicated to helping charities with their banking functions. The association can now claim gift aid on subscriptions, provide online donations, a Direct Debit function and also the ability to process Credit and Debit card transactions.
Resolution 2: The accounts for 2022 were approved by Diana Salisbury and John Salisbury.
Constitution
As a charity we have to have a constitution which needs to be reviewed and refreshed at times. LA explained what the constitution is to attendees and what it covers. A copy of the constitution was issued with the agenda and other papers.
The quorum is changing from 30 to 20 people which LA explained was a fair balance.
A new clause covering abusive behaviour and complaints has been added and will be sent to the Charity Commission once approved at the meeting.
Resolution 3: The constitution was approved by Colin Binstead and Janet Meecher.
Election of Committee
The previous Highways Officer has moved away so the Treasurer Clive Sanders is taking over as interim officer. Our Auditor is also moving away so we will need a new auditor for next year. Colin Binstead is to become an additional member of the committee.
Chair/ Trustee | Lance Allen |
Vice Chair/ Trustee | Lorraine Taylor |
Treasurer/ Trustee | Clive Sanders |
Secretary/ Trustee | Terri Binstead |
Membership Secretary / Trustee | Neil Worsfold |
Schools Liaison | Paula Barnes |
Highways | Clive Sanders (Interim Position) |
Web Administrator | Tony Anderson |
Additional Member | Colin Binstead |
Auditor (non-committee role) | Allan Gee |
Resolution 4: The committee members were elected en bloc agreed by Diane Salisbury and Janet Meecher.
AOB
Lance was asked about the cycle route and how residents were informed of it. He explained that the cycle route was the initiative of West Sussex County Council and that May Tree and Lime Tree Avenues were the safest route. FVRA used our website to inform people about the cycle route long with Sussex Local and Inside Cissbury.
[End of formal Committee business]
Presentation by Tom Micklewright, Practice Manager Lime Tree Surgery
Tom explained that he is a managing partner of Lime Tree Surgery. He is also Director of IPC a local GP federation supporting primary care across Coastal West Sussex. Lime Tree surgery has many new faces across the three sites now with 130 people employed by the surgery, 70 of whom are in clinical positions while the remainder are administrative staff.
The surgery runs with 106 regular sessions each week split across the three sites with an additional 12 locum sessions on longer term engagements. Each session comprises of 14 patient contact, 6 telephone calls and 8 face to face appointments. Dr Holmes has recently retired so the surgery is looking for another GP for 6 sessions.At times the phone lines have been overwhelmed and it has been quite a challenge retaining reception staff. The call back feature is extremely popular with 7 or 8 people manning the phones.
Tom emphasised that this winter had been very difficult and the system has been stretched to its maximum, therefore causing issues on how to cope. More joined up working across Worthing might be something to look at going forward, sharing resources to provide a more resilient service.
Work has been put into re-assessing chronic disease recall and a good level of reviews have been undertaken. Particular focus is on respiratory recall currently where the surgery is a little behind. The staff have been working hard on pathways for patients with Learning Disabilities and those with significant mental illness as well as with Diabetic care and the practice now has a new Diabetic Lead Nurse and a strong team of Diabetic nurses.
Tom stressed that the site in Findon Valley is not going to be sold and close to £200k has been invested in the premises which is part of a longer term plan to modernise the current surgery.
Options are also being explored to develop a new medical centre in Durrington which would allow Lime Tree to move out of Durrington Health Centre.
Finally Tom explained that the Chair and Vice Chair of the PPG have stood down but the surgery has a growing virtual patient group. He appealed for volunteers to fill the vacant positions so that the PPG can be re-established.
Tom finished his presentation by answering numerous questions from some of the attendees.
Councillor Elizabeth Sparkes
Elizabeth is Borough Councillor and County Councillor for Offington, Charmandean and Findon Valley.
One of her biggest issues at present is the state of the highways including pot holes on many of the roads. She explained how the money for the financial year isallocated with £80 million set aside for highways.
Vale Avenue is in desperate need of resurfacing which has been agreed although no date has been set yet.
Another problem in the valley is with parent parking around the Vale School causing a high risk of accident as well as problems for local residents. Elizabeth is meeting with the new headmaster of the school in two weeks time.
There are new plans for the A27 which Elizabeth and many other Councillors are not happy with. A meeting was held with the Chairs of Offington, Charmandean and Findon Valley who all agree the current plans are not practical. The project was not discussed with Councillors and does not seem fit for purpose. A plan is on display in various areas and people can fill in a questionnaire stating their opinions.
The NHS are proposing to close Worthing Hospital as a unit for stroke care and use both Chichester and Brighton hospitals as stroke receiving centres with the relevant experts and treatments on hand. The ambulance personnel will contact the relevant hospital by video so treatment can be monitored from the start and the hospital can be ready to meet the stroke patient.
Elizabeth finished her talk by answering various highways questions and stated that she is constantly reporting pot holes and other issues which get repaired reasonably quickly once she has reported them. Finally Elizabeth thanked the Residents Association for their work and support for the valley.
Councillor Dan Humphreys
Dan’s presentation became a question and answer session over the future of Cissbury Fields. Several people were concerned about the number of people walking the fields now and the problems with dog walkers and dog waste.
Dan explained that more people are using the fields now and it is a co-incidence that this has happened just as the council have taken over management of the fields. He advised that there is a need to get the dog wardens visiting the fields and issuing fines out to people who do not pick up their dog mess.
There was concern about unsocial behaviour in Storrington Rise car park on a regular basis and concern from residents that the car park is not being locked. Some residents are prepared to be key holders themselves so that the car park can be locked at night.
The meeting ended with a quick discussion about the cycle lane route running through the valley. The Chair explained that it is safer than cycles travelling along the A24 and also that he would like 20mph through the residential streets. A resident suggested random monitoring but he was advised that neighbourhood watch had tried to do this some years go but no residents came forward to help with this.
The meeting closed at 4.30pm
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