FRIENDS OF MARYON AND MARYON WILSON PARKS
Minutes of 17th Annual General Meeting, 2018
Venue: New Charlton Community Centre
Date: Wednesday November 14th 2018
Present (10): Christine(chair), Steve(secretary), Gulle (treasurer), Alan, Catherine, Jane, Jason, Mickey, Nigel, Ronnie.
1. Welcome: Christine welcomed members to our 17th AGM, and fourth at the NCCC.
2. Apologies: Evelyn, Hazel, Helen, John, Natalie, Paul, Peet.
3. Minutes of previous meeting: Accepted.
4. Chair’s Annual Report: (see below)
Brief discussion took place on a number of the items.
a) We will ask Jack, the Council’s tree inspector, to advise about best places to plant our 50 small trees on 1 December, and also request guards (plastic, not human) to protect them.
b) We will chase David for a quote for permanent fencing for the triangle area opposite the disused toilet block.
c) Mickey and Helen were shocked to be told by councillors that work on the Morris Walk estate will not now go ahead until 2027. This will presumably have an effect on any plans for the Maryon Park playground, where we will continue to press for improvements and updating.
d) Jason reported that work on the website is continuing and that it should be available via wordpress shortly.
5. Adoption of new constitution: (previously attached)
The updated constitution previously circulated was ratified with one amendment, reducing the minimum number of members present for an AGM to make binding decisions from 12 to 10.
6. Treasurer’s report: (previously attached)
Income this year was from takings at the St Thomas table sale (£22), MWP open day (£63.52) and Picnic in the Park (£31.80) plus one small donation, for a total of £119.70. After expenditure including hire of the hall, a scythe and consumables for Clear Up days etc, there was a surplus £12.02, leaving a balance at the bank of £690.96 plus petty cash of £17.92. In the new year we will explore some ideas to spend funds on in the parks.
7. Community Garden Annual Report: (previously attached)
Highlights included producing 115 kg of produce during the year, valued at £379; the Garden will receive its second Tesco ‘Bags of Help’ Grant soon, a public vote will determine if they receive £1,000, £2,000 or £4,000; visitors always welcome on the volunteer workday on Wednesdays. The Garden is open to the public on the afternoon of the first Saturday in the month.
8. Election of officers and committee: With no volunteers coming forward, Christine, Steve and Gulle will continue for another year. They are joined on the committee by Catherine, Jason and Mickey. (John tbc.) Our thanks and best wishes to former committee member Liz, who moved with Steve to the south coast this year.
9. Any other business:
a) Plans are already in hand for next year’s Picnic in the Park, confirmed for Sunday 30 June. Mickey will represent us at meetings and any other members would be welcome.
b) One of the two women’s toilets in Maryon Park is still not working and the fountain is leaking again, both of which need to be rectified if Green Flag status is to be retained.
c) Gulle will attend the next Greenwich Parks Forum meeting.
10. Date of next meeting and Clear-Ups:
We will meet at 49 Kinveachy Gardens on Thursday January 24th at 7.30pm. All welcome. The next Clear-Ups are on the first Saturday of each month as usual: December 1st (including tree planting), and January 5th. Join us at any time from 10am-midday, at the gazebo (north end of Kinveachy Gardens).
Steve, (Secretary)
FriendsofMaryonParks@gmail.com
Chair’s Annual report 14.11.18
Friends of Maryon and Maryon Wilson Parks
Regular activities
Monthly clear ups. This year we have continued our monthly clear up/work sessions on the first Saturday mornings of the month except in March when we decided to cancel due to heavy snowfall and August when we felt that a well-earned break could be had as so many members were on holiday. We continue to attract new members but have also had to say goodbye to others, in particular, committee members Liz and Steve Green who moved out of London in June and are much missed.
Bi-monthly meetings these have continued at Gulle’s house; our thanks to her. Members have also at various times attended meetings of Greenwich Parks Forum and had a presence at the annual ‘Great get together’ in the new location of Woolwich Arsenal and General Gordon Square on 30th June.
Specific Issues
Bulb Planting 900 Daffodil, snow-drop and crocus bulbs were planted in Maryon Wilson on November 3rd.
Trees – Several trees and tree limbs were lost over the year including several over public paths. Concern has again been raised about trees rotting off at the base and falling over because they are weighed down by ivy. Once again thanks to Rod for clearing some trees. David was chased about the tree limb on the ridge 5.11.18. and in turn reminded the tree maintenance unit.
We applied for and have been granted 50 small trees. These should arrive in time for us to plant on Saturday December 1st as part of the Mayor of London’s project for a Greener City.
Parks staff changes – Chris Elliott the Community Engagement and Casework Officer has been replaced by Claire Lambert The Royal Borough of Greenwich have appointed a Tree Inspector (Jack Partridge), who we understand to be making a check of all trees across the borough, but we have yet to meet him
Walkabouts – Friends representatives attended an annual walkabout with Claire Lambert, David Willoughby and Pam McGuffie (Estates and Recreation Manager) on 3rd October – a number of repair items were brought to David’s attention, most of which have since been dealt with, but the mowing of the meadow has yet to happen this year and Gilbert’s pit is still not mown because of issues with the new machinery. The issue of the deteriorating patch of path on the Green Chain route through Maryon Wilson was raised yet again.
A special walkabout took place in May with Owen Davies of the highways department following us raising concerns about the flooding that happens in Maryon Wilson after heavy rainfall – damaging the paths and threatening property in Pound Park Road. Owen was very enthusiastic about possibilities for stemming flooding at a number of areas within the park. Following the release of some GLA funding The Friends have supported a bid that he has made which, if successful, will allow for the stream from ‘the triangle’ to the deer pen to be de-culverted and the area landscaped to take overspill in heavy rain events.
We’ve continued to report issues of fly-tipping, metal detecting and damage to the parks as and when they occur.
Parks’ facilities – a Green Flag was awarded for Maryon Park for the current year.
The cycle path through Barrier Gardens has been temporarily closed pending work being carried out to expand Royal Greenwich Trust School but will be re-instated once works are complete.
Improved signage has been provided to Maryon Park gates, listing opening times.
Animal Park – the netted enclosure for the park poultry, remains in place as it has proved to be beneficial in terms of poultry health as wild birds, especially pigeons can no longer enter it. We have supported a bid to the council’s Neighbourhood Growth fund by member Peet for improved feeding stations so that school and public visit to the animal enclosures can be enhanced.
Parks projects – the wildflower meadow continues to expand and was again a source of great enjoyment to the local community this summer with regular mentions on the Parkside Hub – thanks to Lesley and Rod for all their hard work in this area. With the departure of Liz and Steve the ‘triangle’ had become rather overgrown, so the October clear-up day saw members removing some saplings and other plants so that a better idea as to what is there can be gained in the spring. Catherine has volunteered to keep the area in check meanwhile and has planted some bulbs this autumn from those provided by the council.
Council Parks, Estates and Open Spaces strategy – David Willoughby confirmed in September that the old toilet block in Maryon Wilson had been surveyed but we are waiting for an update on the result and chased this on 5.11.18. T the time of writing no further information was available.
Community Garden – another busy and successful year including a recorded 115 Kg of produce valued at £379. The Garden will receive its second Tesco ‘Bags of Help’ Grant soon. The public vote will determine if they receive £1,000, £2,000 or £4,000 for Garden improvements. Visitors are always welcome on the volunteer workday on Wednesdays. The Garden is open to the public on the afternoon of the first Saturday in the month please see the separate report for full details
Open and community days – we supported 2 events in our parks this year – one in Maryon Wilson 19th May organised by Charlton Riding for the Disabled at which we had a stall. The event was well attended.
For the second year we joined with members of the Charlton Parkside hub and St Thomas’ Church to organise a Community Picnic on 24th June. Lovells provided a large part of the funding along with the council through their Community fund along with crowd funding and raffles, leading to £469 being donated to the St Thomas’s Nightshelter Fund. The event was well organised and very popular, with a diverse range of members of the community enjoying the park on a sunny day.
Playground. 2 additional pieces of play equipment were added to Maryon Park and the other pieces painted, where necessary, following a campaign by the Maryon Park playground sub-group to improve the area. We understand that Lovells (the contractors dealing with the Morris Walk regeneration project) have some community money that could be possibly used to reposition and/or redesign the playground. We have submitted an expression of interest, but the funding bid has yet to be made available.
Website Jason is overseeing the transfer of our website to a new WordPress domain which we hope will be easier to update regularly. Meanwhile our Facebook page FriendsofMaryon and MaryonWilson Parks has become increasingly popular so do keep an eye on it.
Governance items – we have produced an updated Safeguarding policy. Our updated constitution will be ratified at this AGM.
Thanks go to all involved in work throughout the year and in particular to Steve Tongue and Gulle Stubbs as Secretary and Treasurer respectively and all members of the committee.
Friends Of Maryon Park and Maryon Wilson Park 