THE DULWICH SOCIETY MINUTES of the 56th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of the Society held on 7th May 2019, 8pm at the Crown and Greyhound, Dulwich Village, SE21
Present: approximately 35 members and three Southwark Dulwich ward councillors
Apologies: Russell Lloyd, Bernard Nurse, David Beamish, Diana McInnes, Merrill Spencer.
1. Introduction and Welcome by Dr Colin Niven, President
Colin welcomed members and councillors to the meeting and thanked the Chair and the Executive Committee for their remarkable work over the past year. He also thanked the Crown & Greyhound for their hospitality in hosting the AGM.
2. Minutes of the 55th AGM held on 30th April 2018 were approved and signed.
3. Matters Arising - None
4. Chairman’s Report and Review of the Year (Ian McInnes)
Written reports from the Chairman, Sub-Committee Chairmen and Officers are available on the Society’s website (www.dulwichsociety.com). The Trustees’ Annual Report for 2018 submitted to the Charity Commission is at https://www.dulwichsociety.com/pdf/annual-report-and-accounts-2018.pdf
The meeting received the report from the Chairman and his review of the past 12 months.
The Chairman highlighted the growth in Society communications with the successful eNewsletter and Twitter accounts which had gained a large following. The Journal remains a very well received benefit of Society membership. The Society has over 1,100 paid-up members.
The January 2019 Traffic meeting hosted jointly with Dulwich Safe Routes and featuring key Council and academic speakers as well as Helen Hayes MP was well attended, and helped spread positive messages about school streets, air quality and active travel.
The Society has awarded grants to local projects including historic information signs in several locations including College Road, bench and white post repairs and the digitisation of the court rolls and the historic Dulwich Estate maps (split 50/50 with the Dulwich College Archive).
The Society decided at the end of 2018 not to extend the Rosebery Lodge lease with Southwark Council and will return the Lodge to Southwark Council on 1st June 2019 – the Society felt that, in future, it would be best managed by the Council itself.
The Society has continued to conduct history and architecture walks and talks and will be hosting a party at the Dulwich Gallery Pavilion later in the summer to which all members are invited.
In 2018, the Society continued to be active in the promotion of public engagement and consultation on transport, local developments & planning applications. In the past year these have included the Quietway 7 implementation and changes to the main Dulwich Village junction and the holistic review of Dulwich traffic management – the Dulwich Traffic Management Study. The monitoring report on the Dulwich Village junction should be published at the end of April. The changes for Quietway 7 have not had the beneficial impact that the Council were expecting. Coming up is a new Southwark traffic project Our Healthy Streets whose first community engagement event took place on 7th May.
There is agreement on new Foundation School coach routes, but implementation has been delayed because of the delays in the Thames Water works on Lordship Lane & Dulwich Common - TfL will not go ahead until the latter are complete.
There is widespread concern about the lack of progress on the McCulloch’s development site in the centre of the Village and the Society has continued to press for the construction to begin and the site to be maintained in good order.
The new monthly surgeries at the Dulwich Estate are a positive benefit. New Estate information signs in the Village and an exhibition on the history of the Estate are planned at the Gallery. However, there has been no progress on finding a new site for the Almshouses or on a future for the Grove Tavern site. New tenants have been found for empty shops – a new butcher had arrived in the Village but the continuing delay over the arrival of the “Simply Fresh” convenience store was a major source of frustration for residents.
Southwark and Lambeth police forces have been combined under a single superintendent. The Dulwich Safer Neighbourhood Teams are now based at the former Gipsy Hill Police Station - which is much nearer to their operational area than their previous base at Camberwell.
Local levels of crime remain a concern - after extensive lobbying from the Society, Councillors and our local MP, dedicated schools’ officers are in place, and this has led directly to a reduction in youth-on-youth robbery.
The spate of credit card thefts reported last year appears to have abated, and an arrest made at the Alleyn park sorting office.
The closure of the East Dulwich sorting office also impacted on the timing and efficiency of mail deliveries in SE22.
5. Presentation of Accounts and Financial Report for year to 31st December 2018 by the Chairman, Ian McInnes on behalf of the Society’s Hon. Treasurer, Russell Lloyd.
Overall, the independently examined accounts of The Society show a surplus of £3,761 for the year, compared to the previous year’s figure of £2489, an increase of £1,272
Income was £26,854 in 2018 against £25,153 for 2017. The main variance was a street art grant of £2,500.
Expenditure was £16,332 in 2018 vs £15,841 in 2017. The Society made net provisions of £4,909 including the £2,500 street art disbursement, compared to £1,489 net provisions in 2017.
The Society’s consolidated net bank account balances totalled £54,761 in 2018 compared to £52,893 in 2017.
The Treasurer thanked all those members who pay by standing order since this saves the Society money and reduces the heavy burden placed on our Membership Secretary.
The Treasurer also thanked Sally-Anne Jeffries for her support of the Society and for her auditing and accounts preparation services.
The accounts were duly approved.
6. Appointment of Hon. Independent Examiner.
Sally-Anne Jeffries was proposed for re-election and this was duly approved.
7. ELECTIONS for 2019/2020
The following, having been duly proposed and seconded, were elected:
(a) Officers:
Chairman: Ian McInnes
Vice-Chairman: Kenneth Wolfe
Hon. Secretary: Susan Badman
Hon. Treasurer: Russell Lloyd
Membership Secretary: Diana McInnes
(b) Members of Executive Committee (and Chairs of Sub-Committees where indicated)
Brian Green Editor of the Journal
Alistair Hanton Traffic & Transport
David Roberts Planning & Architecture
Angela Wilkes Wildlife
Jeremy Prescott Gardens
Bernard Nurse Local History
David Beamish Trees
Patsy Bramble Licensing
Adrian Hill Committee Member
Officers and Executive Committee members are Trustees of the Dulwich Society Charity.
(c) Honorary Officers:
President: Dr Colin Niven OBE
8. Proposal to amend the Rules of the Society
The rules are available at https://www.dulwichsociety.com/about-the-dulwich-society
The following changes to the Society Rules, which had been previously notified with the Notice of the AGM, were proposed and approved.
Replace existing Section 3 (Membership) with new Section 3 (Membership)
“Membership shall be open to residents of Dulwich and to other persons who agree with the aims and objects of the Society. Every application for membership shall be made in writing signed by the person desiring membership. Membership will normally be for a household i.e. all adults living at the same address. However, in the event of a vote being needed at an Annual General Meeting or a Special General Meeting only one vote is permitted per household.”
This clarifies the definition of membership and voting rights associated with each membership.
Correction to Section 10 (Finance), Line 4: Correction
Replace “shall be audited…” with “shall be subject to an independent examination…”
The accounts of the Dulwich Society are subject to an independent examination conducted in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission.
Section 7 (Executive Committee). Add new sentence at the end of the paragraph:
“The Officers and members of the Executive Committee shall be the trustees of the Dulwich Society Charity registered number 234192.”
This is to acknowledge and confirm that all members of the Executive Committee are also trustees of the Dulwich Society charity and are registered on the Charity Commission website.
9. Questions/Points to the Chairman
· What are the factors behind the delays at the McCulloch’s development? The Chair outlined the current position.
· What actions can be taken on McCulloch’s and the Grove Tavern? Surely the Dulwich Estate should be concerned about the impact on the amenity of Dulwich. If the sites are derelict, action can be taken under Section 215 of the Town & Country Planning Act.
· Grove Tavern - Councillor Andy Simmons said the council has met with the Estate repeatedly and there are aspirations for a development but no firm plans. There is the possibility of a Dulwich Wood conservation area. One member asked for a copy of the Grove lease.
· Concerns were raised about air quality on the South Circular. There is evidence of heavy pollution on Dulwich roads. It is hoped that the situation will improve when the expanded ULEZ comes into force in October 2021. The proposed “Our Healthy Streets” project is also aimed at reducing pollution.
· Why is the Estate taking so long to find tenants for empty shops? Are the Estate rents too high? While there are plans for several shops in the Village and West Dulwich vacant units the delays are too long. Cited were Simply Fresh, the pharmacist and adjacent shops in West Dulwich, the newly vacated Mimosa site and the Wine Cellar on Half Moon Lane.
· There are problems with the alleyway next to Gail’s Bakery – the gate is not being closed (will be referred to the Dulwich Estate).
10. Next Annual General Meeting
The date for the 2020 AGM will be confirmed in due course. It is likely to be the last Monday in April 2020.
11. End of AGM Business
Guest Speaker
After the meeting there was a talk by Brian Green on “Spot the Difference – then and now” followed by refreshments.
Minutes by Sue Badman, Secretary, 31st May 2019