Chairmans Report

CLOUGH HALL RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION

3rd Annual General Meeting

Butt Lane Community Centre Tuesday 22nd July 2008 at 7.30pm

This is our 3rd AGM and I would like to thank you for joining us tonight and for your continued support.

Since our last AGM despite making progress with a number of issues, there is still much we would like to achieve. Some problems are proving to be quite frustrating. There are times when I feel it seems to take an age to deal with fairly straightforward items. However, we will continue to ask the difficult questions and pursue issues until we have answers. Our Committee is strong, and with their support and most importantly your support, it is the intention to continue to keep the focus on issues which are relevant and important to us.

I take the opportunity to list a few of the items we have pursued during the last 12 months:-

The Young Persons Assessment Centre, Westmorland Avenue. The Surgeries introduced two years ago have been successful. Not all problems have been solved but we have seen improvements. Decisions have been taken in respect of the future of these types of Units, and once these have been approved by the Cabinet of Staffordshire County Council and I am advised of the future plans, I will communicate to Residents.
We are still pursuing the Dredging of Clough Hall Lake. We have established contacts at the Borough Council, and have obtained private quotations to do the work. We do have some support from several Borough Councillors to finalise this project.
Car Parking. Issues in particular at the bottom and top end of Clough Hall road. Parking Issues have been heavily flagged by Residents in the initial consultation exercise of Planning for Real (PfR). I do sit on the Steering Group of PfR and will of course take every opportunity to ensure these issues are at the top of the Agenda.
Road Signage & Speed Restrictions. Again heavily flagged in the Planning for Real project, we will continue to push for better road signage and where desirable, 20mph speed restriction.
Policing, Anti Social Behaviour and Litter go to make up the seven big issues in our Area, but of course these are not the only ones. Blocked Drains, Grass Cutting and Tree Pruning are amongst other issues which continue to receive our attention.

We have worked hard to build a successful relationship with Kidsgrove Police .It is our intention to continue to support the Police to the benefit of Residents in our area. We offer our congratulations to PCSO Colin Stepney for the recent Award of PCSO of the Year for Staffordshire, a well deserved award in our opinion. We also congratulate Sgt Stuart Snape for his "Lifetime Achievement Award" following 30 years of dedicated service. On a more personnel note I would like to thank PC David Woodward for all his help and support during the last three years.

Clough Hall School. Again we have continued to support the school as much as possible through their Community Involvement Programme and joint Litter Picks. Today's children are tomorrow's parents and it is important that we support the Head Mr Ian Tait and all his staff with all the positive changes made at the School and where possible help to provide pupils at the school with the best possible opportunities for their futures.

Street Scene. We have built a good working relationship with Street Scene and we are confident that the issues recently reported to them will be dealt with quickly.

Re-Cycling. This again is an important subject. Jane Finnemore provides regular updates for us which are much appreciated by our Residents Group.

Year 2008. We do intend to reduce the number of Meetings next year from 9 to 6. There are two main reasons for this. Cost is one. Hire charges have been increased and it is proving to be ever more costly to run the Association. Secondly it is proving more difficult to attract the quality speakers which we have always tried to do in the past. Many Speakers now want a small fee, no surprise in that, bearing in mind the current costs of fuel, but as a voluntary Group we do not have a large bottomless pit of funds.

We do intend to open up two or three of our Committee Meetings next year to any members who wish to come along. Any issues you may have can be raised and we will do our utmost to resolve.

During 2008 we do intend to build on existing links for example the 50+ Forum and Planning for Real. As projects get under way under the Planning for Real banner, if I feel they are important to our area, I will do my utmost to ensure presentations are made at our Residents Meetings.

Our financial position is reasonable, as you will see by the attached audited figures. I would like to thank our Treasurer, Correna Gallacher, for all of her hard work to ensure our Accounts are in good order.

We gratefully acknowledge the Grants made through the Community Chest by Kidsgrove Town Council, and private donations.

There are many to thank for the success of our Residents Group:-

In particular, your committee for their continued support, Helen Mottram and my wife Laura for all their hard work providing refreshments at our Meetings.
There are so many to thank; Sue & Paul Fisher of ‘Su-Print', Tony Mottram for web site, leaflet design and articles for the Kidsgrove News, local councillors and many more, too many to mention in this report.

Needless to say our grateful thanks go to all who have supported and continue to support our Residents Group.

In conclusion, I wish to say that it has been a pleasure to serve as your chairman. I attend many meetings with different organisations and I believe it reflects well on our Group that I attend and take part in the newly formed Staffordshire County Council -Adult Care Panel and the Police Citizens' Panel.

Graham Sutton......................... (Chair - Clough Hall Residents Association)

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