EPSOM AND EWELL CONSERVATIVE ASSOCIATION
TATTENHAMS & NORK BRANCH AGM
Wednesday 15th February 2017 at 7.30pm
St Marks Church Hall, Great Tattenhams, KT18 5RD
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting
Chairman – David Collins
President of Tattenham & Nork Conservative Association
Present:
President: David CollinsChairman: Jane Illingworth
Hon Secretary: Jane Trippitt / Chairman of EECA: Sean Sullivan
Treasurer: Tony Rigby
Plus: 9 other members
Welcome and Introduction: David Collins welcomed everyone to the meeting, especially our guest Sean Sullivan, chairman of Epsom and Ewell Conservatives Association.
Apologies for absence: Barry Beacham, Elinor Beacham, Dorothy Cornell & Derek Brooker.
Minutes of previous AGM: The minutes from the AGM meeting held on Wednesday 17th February 2016 were agreed and signed by David Collins.
Matters arising from minutes: There were no matters arising from the previous minutes.
Treasurer’s report:
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January 2016– January 2017
My first year as treasurer having taken the position on a year by year basis from Barry Beacham which has been a sharp learning curve. Barry did a sterling job over his many years as Treasurer for the Tattenham Conservative Association, Barry’s political association and knowledge of the ward was of course a contributing factor.
After what appeared to be an eon the Bank Mandate was changed, new signatories were put in place to cover any contingency arising due to unavailability, illness etc. These signatories are: -
Treasurer
Chairperson
President
2016 saw both Tattenhams and Nork Conservative Association amalgamate. A number of fund raising events were undertaken raising £817.82 which included £200.00 and £25.00 donations.
2016 opening balance of £1456.20 was carried over from 2015.
A Petty Cash facility of £25.00 was set up to cover miscellaneous items such as Raffle tickets and hospitality ‘nibbles’ for and at fund raising events, this now stands at £2.00 in credit.
As the T&NCA are required to cover their own distribution and other expenses within the scope of promoting ward and other matters of the Association, we were unable to support the EECA as in previous years therefore did not contribute any monies for 2016.
Closing balance 2016 £1934.02.
A M Rigby
Treasurer
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Tony stated that as we now have the Nork area incorporate into our expenditure, our expenses have increased.
Michael Handscomb asked Tony what it cost for the delivery of In Touch leaflets. Is it possible to explore other ways and costs for this? Tony is going to investigate this.
Chairman’s report: Jane Illingworth reiterated Tony’s comment about our amalgamation with Nork in 2016. Jane also stated her disappointment that the latest edition of In Touch had not been distributed as desired. Therefore, information has not reached the areas we most need to target in our campaign for SCC elections in May. The edition included the Conservative response and news regarding Epsom General Hospital, as well as publicising our AGM.
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Report for Tattenhams & Nork Branch Local Conservatives (Epsom Constituency) from Jane Illingworth, Chairman for Tattenhams & Nork Conservatives February 2017
Background:
The two wards have now been established under one local party. We have integrated Nork. We have committee members from both wards. We need to have a robust communications calendar & events’ programme.
Recommendation:
We need to recruit additional new members and helpers as a first priority. We need to integrate Conservative postal voters. We need to engage and develop a relationship with new Conservative Party members. We need to capture both email and telephone numbers. We need to revisit lapsed members. We need to plan our events for the next 12 months with at least one per month.
Help:
We have an engaged Committee. All members are working hard in their different roles. We have representatives from both Wards. Jane Illingworth, Jane Trippett, Leila Rigby, Tony Rigby, Philip Olaniepekun are from Tattenhams. Derek Brooker, Jim Couchman and Barbara Couchman are from Nork. David Collins and Alex Clarke provide valuable expertise and help us to align with Sean Sullivan.
Challenges:
County Council:
The County Council have a large budget challenge. There is a plan to increase Council Tax by 5% instead of the funding referendum. This negative publicity is a challenge at the time as the election. Areas of responsibility: Schools & Learning £690m, Social Care & Health £570m, Business & Consumer Services £109m, Community & Culture £105m, Roads & Transport £74m, Environment & Planning £64m.
Borough Hospital Issue:
Epsom & Ewell “Health Public Meeting – 06 February 2017”
Epsom & Ewell Borough Council held a Health Public Meeting on Monday the 6th of February from 7 to 9 pm at Bourne Hall, Spring Street, Ewell.
Daniel Elkeles, Chief Executive of Epsom & St Helier University Hospitals Trust provided a presentation entitled “Current Performance and Future Plans”.
James Blythe, Director of Commissioning and Strategy, Surrey Downs CCG presented on “The Local Sustainability & Sustainability Plan”.
Recommendation:
We have a strong County Council Candidate and we need a robust campaign plan to promote him & our key messages. We need a County Councillor who will make sure our views and needs are represented. We need to gather supporters to work alongside him and support the rolling canvass. The canvass needs to expand/ increase to a larger number of days. We need 4 people minimum on each canvass date. The election is 4 May 2017.
Mailings:
For the lead up and campaign period we have funds for materials from the EECA Office. We also developed a Winter In Touch to align with Reigate and Banstead. We have received a big challenge from an unreliable delivery company. We need a full 12 month communications’ plan both email, online and print. Delivery is funded by us. However, we face a budget challenge during the election period because of the expenses cap.
Recommendation:
Urgently develop time lines with the Epsom & Reigate offices and agree funding for materials ahead of the next twelve months with EECA. We hold a healthy bank balance. We need to match the Resident’s Association 4 yearly mailings. We need to source a new delivery vendor as a matter of urgency.
Residents Association:
They claim to be non- political and retain a big hold over the Residents. They have road stewards & leaders in certain areas. The local Residents’ Association is deeply entrenched providing a Newsletter quarterly, website, holding local meetings and, heavily canvassing within the area.
Recommendation:
Look to build and develop a local network of road stewards and helpers who can deliver mailings and make contact with supporters. We need to enhance our presence on the website. Make everyone aware of the local Tattenhams & Nork web page within EECA site which includes In Touch pdf files and more photos, as well as the Events’ Calendar. Leverage the supporters who help EECA, Sutton, Banstead & Chipstead with delivery.
Jane Illingworth, Chairman
Tattenhams & Nork Conservatives
February 2017
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Election of Officers: David Collins asked Sean Sullivan to read the nominations for officers to stand on the committee. The following nominations were proposed and seconded. The following names were unopposed and elected accordingly;
Hon President: Mr David Collins Vice President: Mr Barry Beacham
Chairman: Mrs Jane Illingworth Hon. Treasurer: Mr Tony Rigby
Hon. Secretary: Mrs Jane Trippitt
Committee: Mrs Leila Rigby, Mr Philip Olanipekun, Mr James Couchman, Mrs Barbara Couchman, Dr Alexander Clarke
Introduction of Candidate for Surrey County Council Election May 2017: David Collins spoke of our need to adopt a candidate to represent Tattenhams and Nork in the Surrey County Council Election in May. Alexander Clarke has been officially adopted by EECA to represent our area.
Alex offered his campaign address.
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Hi, my name is Alex – Alexander if you’re my mum! Nork and Tattenhams has been the centre of my life for all my life, it is the location of my local, of my favourite fish and chip shop, of a co-op which I really do shop for too long in considering its size, it’s where I learnt to drive and where I used to play with friends as a kid.
I have put education as my first priority because I know first-hand what a difference a good one can make; as a dyslexic I have always had to work hard, but getting a scholarship gave me the opportunity and confidence to push myself. This confidence has helped me accomplish my dreams, a PhD in History; and the chance to give back to my community by serving it as a councillor. Now, I do not ascribe to the one size fits all model of education, after all we all have different dreams, and those who want to be a footballer vs those who want to be a website designer will need different skills; and I believe that all these opportunities can be made open to our children. To help them achieve their dreams.
As well as education though I want to help residents of all ages, by fixing the roads, by supporting the library, by supporting social care and examining the bus routes to make sure they serve the needs of the residents now. None of this will be easy, but I know I have the energy and determination to succeed if the residents of Nork & Tattenhams place their faith in me and give me their vote on the 5th of May.
Priorities:
1. Education; Libraries and Schools are key platforms for accessing the future, as a county councillor I would champion these things, seek to get as much funding and as much support as possible.
2. Roads; we need a proper long term plan for road maintenance, that cycles through all roads,
3. Transport; will ensure a fair and proper assessment is carried out on local bus routes, to ensure that residents can get where they need to go and where they want to go.
4. Social Care; continue to priorities social care which is so important for residents peace of mind, whilst also using the position of county councillor to promote a healthy life style for all.
5. Lighting; this is something that needs more creativity, the current lighting is an almost one size fits all system that doesn’t always deliver – solutions like motion activated LED up lights must be examined as well as all the other possible options.
6. Environment; A green and pleasant land is not just our inheritance, but must also be our legacy, and we can never forget that.
Since before Christmas, Nork and Tattenhams conservatives have been out at train stations almost every Wednesday evening to talk to residents and commuters. The constant message we have been hearing is that the busses just don’t go where they’re needed to, or the ones do are not frequent enough. Now busses will never be taxis, but if we are to really encourage residents to rely less upon their cars for a better environment, and doubly so for those who can’t drive or afford taxis, then we must put every effort we can into making sure the bus service is as good and as efficient as possibly can be.
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Alex spoke about his affiliation with the Tattenhams and Nork area. He recognised the concerns of residents regarding the switching off street lights at night. Alex spoke of the issues for Surrey Council to increase revenue and aspects being explored accordingly.
Michael Handscomb raised his concerns regarding the state of local roads, especially at the junction of Great Tattenhams and Reigate Road. Alex agreed that this is a problem and Jane Illingworth has also raised this with the council.
James Couchman asked about Education and Social Services in the area and Alex stated the importance that areas of concern must be approached with a clear, unified plan that develops and improves services. Especially looking at social care eg. Meals on Wheels etc. to enable people to be independent, living their homes longer.
Jane Illingworth proposed Alex to stand as our official candidate for Tattenhams and Nork in the SCC elections in May. This was seconded by Tony Rigby and unopposed. Alex was then invited to take his place with the committee officers.
A.O.B.: David Collins thanked Michael and Jean Handscomb for organising the refreshments for the evening.
Derek Brooker and Dorothy Cornell have both resigned from their positions on the committee for health reasons. They will continue to join social events and their support to the committee has been gratefully received.
The Chairman of Epsom & Ewell Conservative Association: Sean Sullivan was invited by David Collins to speak. David thanked Sean for all he is doing for the Epsom and Ewell Conservative branches and his support to the Tattenhams and Nork association.
Sean spoke about his awareness of the struggle and challenges that we encounter and how much he appreciated our hard work; that challenges from the local councils can be frustrating. Epsom and Ewell Conservatives currently have two campaigns to fight in the area. Epsom Downs and Epsom Town are now split. The campaign aim is to achieve a higher Conservative profile on the council. The Surrey referendum regarding increased payment for social care was to have been alongside the council elections which would have made campaigning very difficult. Fortunately, this will no longer be happening. The Residents Association continue to have a majority presence on the Epsom Council.
Tony Rigby told Sean how disappointed we were with the lack of delivery for In Touch, which is paid for. Sean said that it would be beneficial for us to take responsibility for our mailings and leaflet deliveries. Maybe we could ask people to take on a delivery once or twice a year to help.
Barbara Couchman asked how many members we have? Tony replied approximately 40.
Jane Illingworth asked how in the meantime we can address the issue of deliveries to the area. Sean advised us to explore alternative companies and ways of delivering.
Michael Handscomb asked if it would be possible to get local newsagents to deliver? Jane said we would need to investigate further alternatives.
Sean emphasised the need to get this sorted quickly with an election in May.
Questions to the committee: Michael Handscomb wanted to thank Jane Illingworth for all her hard work and being proactive with running the Tattenhams and Nork Association.
Diary events for fund raising: The next event will be at the Tattenham Beefeater at 7:30pm on Monday 20th March
Date and venue for next meeting: Michael Handscomb reminded the committee that for AGM 2018, the venue will need to be booked to coincide with Spring half-term.
Meeting concluded 8:15pm. Minutes taken by Jane Trippitt
Signed: ______Date: ______
(President)