NYCE TRUSTEES FORMING MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE FOLLOWING AGM OF 20^th NOVEMBER 2024                 

      TRUSTEES:                                                            ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

      Mr. Fred Ashworth                                             Building Plans / Photographic Records  

       Mrs. Fern Bratby                                               Building Projects Management 

      Ms. Pamela Brown                                             Practical Intelligence User Group /

                                                                                  Bookings & Contact / Webmaster 

      Mr. Jonathan Duckworth                                  Charity Chair*  

      Mr. Leslie Haines                                               Charity Secretary* / Charity Commission Contact 

                                                                                  Grounds (1 of 2) 

      Mr Cliff Jordan                                                  Phoenix Table-Tennis Club User Group

      Mr. Iain McIvor                                                  GDPR / CCTV Protocols

     Mr. Dave Parker                                                 Utilities / Fire Safety / Insurance

                                                                                 Grounds (2 of 2)

    Mr. Mark Peer                                                     Nailsworth Tennis Club User Group

   Mrs. Tracy Shipp                                                Charity Treasurer* / Safeguarding Designated Lead  

Ms. Claudia Weston                                              School of Larks (Circus Skills) User Group 

Councillor Luke Stewart                                       Nailsworth Town Council Representative    

       CO-OPTED:

       1.VACANT    

      2. VACANT       

                                                                          * Officers of the Charity 

Charitable Incorporated Organisation Registered with the Charity Commission No: 1161113

www.nailsworthsubrooms.org.uk 

  NYCE Minutes of Committee Meeting on Wednesday 17^th July 2024 

                     7.30pm in Upstairs Meeting Room, Subscription Rooms 

         Present: Jonathan Duckworth (JD), Chair; Tracy Shipp (TS),Treasurer; Fern Bratby (FB);  Pam Brown  (PB);  Iain McIvor (IM), Les Haines (LH), Minutes Secretary, Andy Hammond (AH), Fred Ashworth (FA), Claudia Weston (CW) 

          Apologies for Absence: Dave Parker (DP), Cliff Jordan (CJ), Mark Peer (MP)

          Welcome: The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting which had been postponed from 10^th July. 

1. Minutes of Committee Meeting 22^nd May 2024:
   1. The Minutes had been circulated by LH by e-mail on 28^th May; committee approved them with one 

 amendment viz. Item 3.3 ‘gas consumption up by 3% ‘ not as stated; the chair signed them; to be   

 added to website (PB).

1.   Matters arising:

1. 1. 2.1.  Terrorism legislation (Martyn’s Law): the incoming Government has stated that this law will be 

         enacted in this parliament; committee will await details before determining actions;

1. 1. 2.2.   Calendar for significant events and actions - LH has written this and is conferring with DP about its 

    completeness; 

2.3     Website: JD said that he has done some work with PB on a new design and refreshing of the site; 

          he has digitally enhanced the charity’s logo (created many years ago by Sue Reed); 

          Action: JD in process of uploading images of group activities and seeks more of them (permission 

          of participants required, of course) and he will approach user group leaders on this;

2.4     Issue with parking tenant’s behaviour: PB and LH said that there had been no repeat of the 

          problem of cars being hemmed in by the tenant who had since acted correctly after being warned 

          that the committee was reviewing the parking arrangement with her;

1. Finance:

1. 1. 3.1.   At this time the Charity has £38,108 on account; PB also has some cash kept securely ready for  

         banking;

1. 1. 3.2.   Preparation of Annual Accounts for the year 2023/24.  Action: TS will be conferring with DL in the         

         week commencing 29^th July; the expectation is that the Accounts will be ready for perusal and 

         approval for the next committee meeting on 4 September;            

3.3    Water: no bills are outstanding; 

              Gas and electricity – DP has reported by email that our fixed tariff with Octopus Energy           

              ended on 5^th July and we are now on their variable tariff; when the solar export tariff is sorted out 

          he will review the new tariff against the market to find the best deal; 

          Solar energy: DP also reported that the solar array was commissioned in October 2023 and since    

          then, despite poor weather, our consumption in kwh has reduced and in recent months as 

          sunshine levels increase the reduction has been up to 76%; this is clearly demonstrated in a 

          simple chart  produced by him and circulated prior to this meeting;

          DP added that we are still waiting for Octopus to add us on the Export Panel when we will be paid 

          for excess production sold back to the Grid. This is very frustrating and he is chasing them weekly

          and the company’s response is that they are clearing a large backlog of cases. DP points out that 

          although this potential saving was not included in the original business case it will significantly 

          increase the savings hence he is keen to get an early resolution in our favour.    

1. Building:

1. 1. Installation of dust extractor housing outside workshops garage - PB reported that the hole had been made in the garage wall and most of the housing frame installed on site; the works continue;              
   2. The solar panel scheme for the Workshops is up and running as reported by PB; the grant from SDC to help fund the scheme has been received; 

4.3    Taps have been replaced in the kitchen below the stairs at a fair price; 

4.4    The gutter of the high roof was cleared by Future Six Co. when the scaffolding was up; 

4.5    LH has circulated a list of jobs around the building for completion in the short, medium & long 

         term. Actions: (i) these will be carried out as and when volunteer time allows. LH/ DP will lead.

              (ii) CJ has been authorised to recycle some of the old NBC trophies for competition winners;  

              4.6    Water softening equipment installation was considered by the committee and it was learned 

                       from IM that the old piping (lead or steel) in the building is not compatible for this equipment as it 

                       requires copper-pipe connections; a quote of £252 from Future Six Co was considered for these 

                       works; 

                       Action: agreed to proceed on the basis of that quote;

4.7   The meeting had an impromptu discussion about the merits of replacing the boiler system covering the main hall with a more modern efficient system. In conclusion it was determined that unless a serious problem developed with the current system no action would be taken at this time. 

1. Grounds:

5.1    LH reported that for various reasons there had been only two work parties since the previous 

         meeting; the most recent one concentrated on clearing the overhanging foliage by the steps to the 

         tennis courts to make it easier for visitors to the tennis club;

         Action: LH and DP are looking to do further work parties in the coming weeks including removal of 

         any waste metal on site;

5.2    LH said that he has recently made some enquiries regarding the dumping of garden waste on the 

         back lane and got an admission from one of the tenants of the SDC flats who voluntarily looks after 

         the flower beds there; the tenant said there was no green waste removal service for the flats  

         complex so she has resorted to occasionally dumping small amounts on our land, but claims that 

         others from Park Road do the same;

         Actions: LH has asked the lady to desist and pointed out to her that there ought to be a green 

         waste removal arrangement for the complex (they have plenty of potential storage space for this); 

         JD has since informed Cllr. Steve Robinson of the problem and he promised to get a letter sent to 

         the occupants of the SDC flats. The ideal situation would be a gardening /green waste plan for the 

         flats - JD and LH will keep an eye on any developments and report back to committee;

5.3    IM said that he will be cutting back the prolific Virginia creeper which has encroached on his side of 

         the boundary fence;

5.4     It has been noted by FB and others that the vehicle owned by GB has been parked outside its 

          permitted zone behind the courts – it is many feet forward from its allocated position; 

         Action: GB is elusive, but PB and LH will try to locate him to tell him to park his vehicle in its proper 

          place - something he has previously been reminded about. 

5.5     LH has noticed that the willow tree nearest the tennis courts which was cut back in the autumn of 

          2022 now looks to have died. No further action decided at this time.

1. Fire Safety:

6.1   No issues of concern were reported.

1. Updates from User Groups:

7.1   Tennis Club: MP in his absence has written a Club report as follows:

       “The summer season continues to go well, all teams are doing well in their respective leagues; unfortunately the bad weather has caused several postponements so quite a backlog on fixtures to complete before the end of the season. We continue to search out possible grant support for changing the floodlights to LED, a cost that will be in excess of £17K.

         We will be arranging an ‘open day’ for Pickle Ball for those who would like to come and try the game; a tennis club member, Gill Simpson, who plays a lot of Pickle Ball will be the arranger, probably a date towards the end of August.

         Shingi, our coach, has asked if there is any possibility of using the main hall only at times of inclement weather for coaching sessions on a Friday evening; he runs 3 junior sessions from 4pm to 7pm. He will provide his own kit and is aware that there will be a hire charge. If the hall was free on a Friday and you agree, we could make any arrangements with Pam.

         Outside of the court area, garden waste is still being dumped in the top part of the grass path. We will liaise with IM regarding the trimming back of the trees along the north-facing fence”.

         Actions: (i) Information from AH and PB concludes that the hall is already booked out on Friday evenings. PB to inform MP of this (ii) garden waste – see Item 5.2 above;                                   

7.2     Phoenix Table-tennis: AH reported that their Club is now between seasons for competitions but    

          coaching etc. continues on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Junior sessions are still running on  

          Fridays and there is adult coaching. The new season starts in September when Monday sessions 

          will re-start; the League Presentation Evening and the Stroud League AGM have been successfully 

     held here at the Sub’s again.   

7.3   School of Larks - Circus Skills: CW gave the following report: - some classes have been quieter in these recent months; they are trying to develop the performance side of their offering and arranged

         a showcase event recently which was successful and the proceeds of which is used to subsidise 

         other activities; they had an end of year 2- day show for very young children which went very well; will probably arrange another showcase event and donate any proceeds to a charity such as 

          Medicins sans Frontiers; in the near future they will be looking at their storage space and tidying it   up.  

7.4   Community Workshops: PB reported that they have closed now until the new term starts on 9^th 

         September; they have had recent grants to support their specialised work i.e. £10K from Barnwood Trust for PI guitars and £8K indirectly from NHS via Barnwood; Gavin has worked with Eastwood Park on their Changing Tunes programme and a guitar has been presented there; Pip Heywood’s video record of the guitar-making event with Billy Bragg has been produced and launched – a full version @ 15 minutes and a trailer @ 3 minutes; Billy Bragg is happy to put it on his own social media and the video is getting wide coverage. PB will circulate to Trustees.  

1. Safeguarding:

8.1  CW described a recent incident where families were in the hall at a performance supporting their offspring and friends when there was an argument between two siblings resulting in one of them (an 11 yr old girl) running off. The girl, unbeknown to everyone, hid in the grounds close to the side entrance and there was some ‘panic’ before she was located. Police were informed and they came on site and made their own enquiries of the family concerned to ensure there was nothing seriously amiss. Committee members, having heard what had occurred, did not consider this to be a reportable safeguarding issue but thought that the main lessons learned were to ensure that parents/carers were reminded of their responsibilities for the well-being of their children at such events and that it would be good practice to have a member of (School of Larks) staff supervising entry/exit to the building. 

 8.2  No other issues had been brought to attention since the previous committee meeting. 

1.     Town Council Representation on this Committee:

 9.1  LH reminded members that our Constitution allows Nailsworth Town Council to nominate a  representative to serve on this committee and as NYCE is a high profile organisation providing important services for the  town it would be very helpful if they did so. Two active councillors in the past have been the late Sue Reed and JD.    

         Action: JD and LH will separately confer with the recently elected Mayor, Peter Bodkin, on this subject. Committee also thought it would be beneficial to invite the Mayor to see for himself what activities are held here.

   10.  Any Other Business:

10.1  AH said that dust/fluff gathers around the hall perimeters especially under the pipes and the 

         curtains particularly at higher levels are now getting dusty. It was noted that the last time the 

         curtains were vacuum-cleaned we got the decorating contractors to take them off for us;  

         Actions: (i) FB / PB to speak to the cleaners regarding the floor; (ii) Ben of Future Six will 

         be asked see if he can adapt a long-reach cleaning nozzle to vacuum the curtains and 

         upper ledges from floor level (IM, PB) 

10.2  AH also asked if the parachute string was still needed in the hall – it gets in the way of 

         table-tennis (PB)   

1. Date of Next Meeting:      

7.30pm Wednesday 4^th September (to be confirmed as some Trustees may not be available on that date)

NYCE/TLH-23/07/24

 

 

 

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