Minutes of September 2008
CLOUGH HALL RESIDENTS' ASSOCIATION
MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY 9th SEPTEMBER 2008 AT HOLLINWOOD SHELTERED HOUSING at 7.30pm
PRESENT :-
COMMITTEE: - G Sutton, C Brough, C Brammer, M Moore, T Dale, C Gallacher
GUEST SPEAKER: - Mr John Robbins
GUESTS :- Mr R Burns, Mrs T Evans
COUNCILLORS - Clr S Burgess
RESIDENTS: - 28
TOTAL ATTENDANCE: - 38
APOLOGIES: - B Collis, M Collis, Cllr D Richards, Cllr P Crank, Cllr A Brookes,
Cllr L Griffiths, Paul Fisher, Sue Fisher, Ken Lee, Mr & Mrs Kelly, C Poole, L MacManus.
The Chairman opened the meeting and thanked everyone for attending, and in particular the guest speaker, Mr John Robbins. He added that PCSO Colin Stepney should also be arriving to give an overview for the Clough Hall area.
He then spoke about the following:
- Mr Albert West'nedge , a local resident, has died recently; flowers and a card from CHRA have been sent to his partner, and the Chairman expressed his sympathy; another resident, Mrs Sylvia Clough is now back home following a stay in hospital, and flowers and a card have been sent to her also.
- The Westmorland Unit - following a meeting on Saturday with John Taylor (who could not be present at the CHRA meeting), it was agreed that the Chairman should make the following announcement regarding the future of the Unit:
Staffordshire County Council have decided to close the Unit - this will happen in April or May 2009. Shaun McGuiness (Looked After Children Unit) and Alf Werner will be holding a meeting on September 22nd at the Hollinwood Centre at 6:30pm to advise residents of the reasons for the closure, and to give their views on the possible future of the Unit. Residents are encouraged to attend the meeting and to put forward their own concerns and points of view.
The Chairman explained that the Surgeries will continue as long as there are youngsters in the Unit, and if necessary beyond that time; he hoped that local Councillors could also attend the Surgeries and work with residents to achieve a satisfactory outcome for the future use of the Unit. He thanked John Taylor for his support of the Surgeries and the help he has given regarding this issue.
- Quiz Night - the last Quiz Night held at Kidsgrove Cricket Club on September 3rd generated a lot of interest and raised £164.62; another may be held on December 3rd - details to be given later.
- Christmas - a Christmas Carol Evening and a Christmas Dinner are to be held - details to be given at the October meeting.
- Lottery Bonus Ball - due to holidays the next 12 weeks' contributions need to be collected as soon as possible; this money helps enormously with the financial costs of running the Residents' Association, and those who take part were thanked.
- Litter Pick - the 14 residents who helped on Sunday July 27th were thanked; although 69 bags of litter were collected, the area is looking better than it did 12 months ago. Residents who individually pick litter were also thanked.
- Neighbourhood Watch - the Annual Conference will take place on Saturday October 11th 10am - 4pm at Stafford University; the Chairman will attend with 2 other Members. It is hoped that information will be given regarding a new system (called Owl) to replace the current Watch Out system; the Chairman and Vice Chairman have already had a preview of this system which is more flexible than the current one.
- Clough Hall School - the School has recently been designated one of the two most improved schools in Staffordshire, with a 17% improvement in grade results. Congratulations were given to the Headteacher, Mr Tait, the Senior Staff and everyone connected with the school; a good school will help to attract people to the area.
The Chairman then introduced Mr John Robbins who gave an informative, interactive and very interesting talk ( entitled ‘You, the Jury'), on sentencing, drug abuse/misuse, and prisoner statistics - for example, a high percentage of prisoners have run away from home or been excluded from school; 70% of the prison population have a mental dysfunction of some kind, and 67% are likely to re-offend within 2 years (these figures were correct in 2006). He finished by asking "Is there a better way?"
Graham thanked Mr Robbins and concluded the meeting, announcing that the next meeting will be held on
Tuesday October 21st, and 2 speakers have been booked
- John Cookson, County Air Ambulance, and Sue Gray who will speak on ‘The Police - Your First Point of Contact'.