MINUTES OF ANNUAL TOWN TWINNING LIAISON MEETING
MONDAY 14TH MARCH 2007
7.00PM
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, HARPENDEN TOWN HALL
Present:Councillor John Chambers – Harpenden Town Mayor (Chair)
Councillors Bromilow, Holley, Mrs Kent, Pawle, Weaver
Margaret Blythe – Friends of Alzey
Ester Duras – Friends of Alzey
Doreen Nash – Friends of Alzey
Sonia Ayres – Friends of Cosne
Julian Davies – Friends of Cosne
Ned Nash – Friends of Cosne
John Wilson –Friends of Cosne
John Bagshaw – Town Clerk
Anita Pack – Town Clerk
Helen Eadon- Community Services Officer, Harpenden Town Council
Apologies:Mr Whitehead – Friends of Cosne
Anita Pack
Town Clerk
1.MINUTES OF LAST MEETING
The Minutes of the last meeting were approved.
2.SUMMARY OF ACTIVITY
2.1Friends of Alzey
2.1.1 Doreen Nash reported the year’s activities on behalf of Friends of Alzey.
2.1.2 24th – 28th August 2006 - was the 25th Anniversary of twinning with Alzey and was celebrated in Alzey with 33 people from Harpenden attending. The visit included a boat trip on the River Moselle, a classical concert in the courtyard of Alzey Castle and a jubilee celebration in Alzey-Weinheim. The trip was greatly enjoyed by all.
2.1.3 21st October 2006 - the Friends of Alzey held a quiz and a fish and chips supper in Park Hall with 50 people attending.
2.1.4 24th November – they had a stall at the Christmas Farmers’ Market selling fruit punch and slices of iced German cake, Lebkuchen Schnitten. It was in a fantastic location, in the middle of the Farmers’ Market, and £300 was raised.
2.1.5 The coffee morning held at Wesley’s with Councillor John Chambers, Town Mayor attending, raised £70-80.
2.1.6 3rd March 2006 - there was a dinner with musical entertainment but unfortunately this was cancelled due to the lack of support. With the number of events happening in the area it is becoming increasingly difficult to gain support for fundraising events.
2.1.7 19th July 2007 - the Friends of Harpenden will be arriving from Alzey for a 5 day visit. The trip will include a walk, a visit to Henley on Thames including a boat trip and a visit to the museum. They will also be having a picnic at the St George’s Gala concert, a visit to Coventry and a celebration supper in Park Hall.
2.1.8 13th October 2006 - there is a quiz night with a fish and chip supper at Park Hall. All are invited.
2.2 Friends of Cosne
2.2.1 Ned Nash reported the year’s activities on behalf of Friends of Cosne.
2.2.2 29th April 2006 - the quiz night had to be cancelled due to the lack of support.
2.2.3 16-19th June 2006 - a successful visit to Harpenden by 27 people from Cosne. Included a visit to Henley on Thames and a dinner dance at Aldwickbury Park Golf Club.
2.2.4 2nd December 2006 a soiree was held at Park Hall which was very successful.
2.2.5 24th March 2007 a quiz is evening is planned.
2.2.6 A weekend visit is planned in 2008, for the Harpenden Friends of Cosne group to visit Cosne Sur Loire – a date is not fixed yet.
2.3 Harpenden Town Council
2.3.1 Anita Pack, Town Clerk reported the Town Council’s activities.
2.3.2Civic Visit from Cosne. A Civic Party of eight visited from 24th to 27th March 2006, which included Cosne Town Mayor, Didier Beguim and his wife Suzanne, and three councillors. There was a successful Business Session where Luton Airport, Community Safety and the Farmers Market were discussed. The Civic Party enjoyed a visit to London, which included a visit to the Globe Theatre, Borough Market, Tate Modern, a flight in the London Eye and a Thames Dinner Cruise. The final day was spent at the Farmers’ Market and a Civic Dinner at the Glen Eagle hotel.
2.3.3 Civic Visit from Alzey. A Civic Party of ten visited Alzey, including the Town Mayor, five Councillors and the Town Clerk. The visit included a guided tour of the Town, a picnic at the River Rheine, a visit to the waterworks, an excursion to Mosel Valley and a Business Session. The Business Session discussed business in the Town Centre including rental prices, CCTV and the decline of English students studying German.
2.3.4 Knut Benkert, Burgermeister, has now retired and has been replaced by Christoph Burkhard.
2.3.5 There are no plans for a visit in the 2007/8 financial year.
- PROMOTING TOWN TWINNING
3.1 The Town Clerk explained that School exchanges with the Twin Towns were discussed at the Schools Liaison meeting in September. Sir John Lawes already exchanges with Alzey. The schools do exchange with other areas in France and Germany. These links had taken a considerable amount of time and effort to establish and the schools did not feel they had the capacity to make other links.
4.OPEN FORUM
4.1 Mr Davis informed the meeting that St Albans District Council gave the Friends of Cosne a grant of £10 per visitor for the recent visit from Cosne. They had expected to receive 25 visitors from Cosne, so received a grant £250. St Albans District Council also now pay the ‘Friends of’ groups public liability insurance.
4.2 The Town Mayor raised concerned for the fundraising events which seemed less popular than previous years. He asked if the group had any new ideas. A joint venture was suggested.
4.3 Mr Davis explained that the Friends of Cosne have produced a new leaflet to attract new members and asked if the Town Council would print it and if they could use the Town Council’s contact details on the leaflet. The Town Clerk agreed to this.
4.4 The Town Clerk suggested that an article could go in Forum promoting the Friends of Groups.
Post meeting note - the deadline for text for the next issue is Tuesday 9th April).
4.5 Councillor Weaver suggested running a wine tasting evening, as the Rotary Club had organised a wine festival many years ago, which was very successful. Councillor Chambers and Weaver agreed investigate. The ‘Friends of’ groups will discuss this idea further at their next meeting.
4.6 Bingo nights and race nights were also suggested as good fundraising opportunities. Making a film was also suggested.
4.7 The Friends of Alzey have been awarded 1,000 Euros from the E.U. towards the visit from Alzey to Harpenden and agreed to pass the details to the Friends of Cosne.
Post meeting note: Details of the Citizens’ Meeting Grant Application form is attached as APPENDIX 1. Full details can be found on , but it is not attached as it is 130 pages. A town can only receive one citizens’ meeting grant per calendar year.
4.8 It was agreed that the Town Council would write to Richard Howitt MEP to ask him to investigate funding streams for Town Twinning.
- CLOSE
CHAIRMAN…………………………
DATE…………………………