Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Friends of the Grappenhall Heys Walled Garden held at the Grappenhall Community Centre, Grappenhall, on Wednesday 13 May 2009.
Present: Susan Brooks (in the Chair), Ruth Brown, Jane Coumbarides, Mary Edwards, Councillor Mrs Elizabeth Fountain, Councillor Ian Fountain and Bob Jennings.
Also present: Councillor C G Taylor, Janet Richards, Graham Richardson and 30 members of the Friends of Grappenhall Heys Walled Garden.
1 Welcome
Susan Brooks opened the meeting and welcomed those present.
2 Minutes
The minutes of the last AGM held on 21 April 2008 were proposed by E Fountain and seconded by R Jennings.
3 Treasurer’s Report
The Treasurer thanked Rod Davies for auditing the 2008/09 accounts. Rod Davies commented that the Treasurer had done an excellent job and that accounts had been kept in a very detailed and meticulous way. For the year to 31 March 2009 there had been a surplus of income over expenditure of £230.90 compared with a surplus the previous year of £1418.89 (See attached sheet). The bank balance at 31 March 2009 was £1695.45 and the current balance was £1964.38.
£3103.27 had been spent on purchasing equipment, £1209.35 of which was spent on a fruit cage to protect the soft fruits from the birds and a labelling machine to label plants and trees in the garden. Kitchen equipment including tables, mugs, aprons, and a toaster had been purchased; a breakdown could be requested from the Treasurer.
The Treasurer thanked Grappenhall Heys Conservation Project for the donation of £382.21 which had been transferred when the project closed down.
The income and expenditure for each event had been recorded. It was noted that not all events were charged for and the income was from donations and refreshments up to
1 November 2008. After this date refreshments had been accounted for separately as any unsold food and drink was carried forward from week to week and regular monthly refreshments were now being served in addition to events. This would result in a lower surplus/bigger loss for specific events that previously had refreshments included. Refreshments were proving to be extremely popular and there had not been a deficit on any of the refreshment days.
Merchandise had been purchased as a new fundraising venture and it was noted that a deficit was shown in the accounts of £264.89. This would be recouped over a lengthy period by selling remaining stock of bags, pens, pencils, apple juice etc. The Treasurer thanked pupils of Broomfields Junior School who had sold merchandise and cakes on our behalf at school raising £114.55.
The Parish Council agreed that the Friends could retain the income from the sale of garden produce provided that the Friends buy the seeds and plants for the new season. It was noted that we would need a dedicated person to sell produce, particularly on Sundays, along with merchandise.
The accounts were proposed by Geoff Weston and seconded by Councillor Brian Johnson.
All in all it had been a very successful financial year which looked set to carry on in the new financial year.
4 Chairman’s Report
The Chairman was not able to attend as she had recently had a baby daughter but had sent a report which was presented, on behalf of the Chairman, by Susan Brooks.
The Chairman pointed out that it was primarily through events that the value of the garden is enhanced to the community and since the appointment of the Events Coordinators, Elizabeth Fountain and Mary Edwards there had been a significant increase in both the number of events and the number of people attending them. New events such as Bird Box Making and a Hog Roast had been introduced along with regular events such as Apple day, Picnic in the Park and the members only Cheese and Wine evening. The Chairman thanked all volunteers who help at events for giving up their time and without which the events would not be possible. She also thanked the Volunteer Wardens and Gardeners whose contribution to the garden had also been very valuable.
The Friends, in partnership with the Parish Council, had made significant improvements to the kitchen facilities and refreshments were now being served on a regular basis and were very popular with visitors. Funds raised from events and refreshments had been used to buy many pieces of equipment for both the garden and the kitchen. A contribution towards the tree sculptures in the garden had also been made.
Ruth Brown had continued her search for historical information relating to the garden and the families who worked there so that the information could be shared with visitors.
Vandalism had been a problem in the garden and the new fruit cages had been badly damaged very soon after installation; this problem was likely to remain a challenge in the future. Measures would need to be taken to minimise the potential for damage to be done as the garden developed.
The initial bid to the HLF for funding had been unsuccessful but a second bid would be submitted as soon as possible.
The Chairman thanked the Secretary and all those who had helped the Committee fulfil their constitutional aims to support the garden.
5 Grappenhall Heys Estate Committee Report - Councillor Cliff Taylor, Chairman
Councillor Taylor stated that the first priority was to see the garden well maintained and well used by the public as it was a great asset to the community. Councillor Taylor was very happy with the way the Friends had taken that forward and were encouraging the public to get involved.
The bid to the HLF would be continued and, though the initial bid had been turned down, there had been a great deal of positive feedback and the bid had initially been recommended for approval and was considered credible. The Officer had recommended that a further bid be submitted and that we shouldn’t be put off by the initial rejection. It was planned that another more modest bid would be submitted as soon as possible which would be more user led rather than Architect led.
6 Gardener’s Report - Graham Richardson, Gardener/Manager
Graham had been working at the garden for his first full season and had now taken control of the vegetable garden. The two main concerns were how to fill the beds as it is a large kitchen garden and how to sell the produce which was being grown for historical and educational purposes. The seeds had cost £200 and the sales had generated £800. It had been decided that if the Friends buy the seeds in 2009 then the proceeds from the sale of the produce could go to the Friends.
Popular vegetables that sold well in 2008 have been replanted including Victorian oddities such as Salsify.
The apple trees had produced very well but plums and pears had been less successful. It was hoped that the purchase of fruit cages would protect the soft fruit from the birds and new strawberry plants would be purchased for 2009.
The work carried out in the pleasure grounds had been mostly maintenance. Three trees had been lost in 2008 (two Oaks which had now been carved into sculptures and a Beech) and another had fallen into the pond in May 2009. Another tree survey was scheduled to take place later in 2009. There was no requirement to replace the trees as others would now thrive in their place.
It had been a harsh winter and the ground had been frozen. Some labelling had been carried out using the new labelling machine whilst the ground was too hard to dig. Some pruning had been carried out and some reeds had been removed.
In spring the borders had been assessed to see where there were gaps which needed filling and to see if any plants needed replacing or moving. Old varieties would be used to replace plants where possible.
Benches had been cleaned and re-varnished and paths had been cleared. It was mentioned that the spiky remains of Rhododendron bushes were going to be dug out as they presented a possible trip hazard.
There had been visits from several gardening clubs, art groups and primary schools. There had also been some interest from High Schools.
Graham thanked all the volunteers who helped in the garden as he said they couldn’t achieve half of what they do without them.
7 Election of Officers
Chairman Ms Claire Speed
Secretary Vacant
Treasurer Councillor Ian Fountain
Membership Secretary Ms Jane Coumbarides
Publicity Officer Mr Ben Pickersgill
Events Coordinator Councillor Mrs Elizabeth Fountain and
Mrs Mary Edwards
Volunteer Visitor Warden Coordinator Mr John Campbell
Volunteer Gardener Coordinator Mr Bob Jennings
Historical Research Coordinator Ruth Brown
Other General Members Mrs Susan Brooks
Parish Council Representative Councillor Mrs E Fountain
The position of Secretary remained vacant.
8 Close of Meeting
The Membership Secretary presented a beautiful basket of flowers to Susan Brooks on behalf of the Friends Committee, as a thank you for her work as Secretary over the past two years. The flowers had been kindly arranged by Mrs Daphne Zimmerman.
The meeting closed at 8.20p.m.
Chairman
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