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THE DULWICH SOCIETY ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING – 2018
The 55th Annual General Meeting of The Dulwich Society will be held at 8pm on Monday 30th April 2018 at the First Floor Suite, Crown and Greyhound, Dulwich Village, SE21 7BJ
AGENDA
1. Introduction and welcome by President.
2. Minutes of the 54th Annual General Meeting held on 24th April 2017 to be approved.
3. Chairman’s Report.
4. Reports from the Officers and Sub-Committee Chairs.
5. Treasurer’s Report and presentation of accounts for the year ended 31st December 2017.
6. Appointment of Honorary Auditor. Nominee: Sally-Anne Jeffries, Chartered Accountant.
7. Elections for 2018-2019. Officers, Members of the Executive Committee, Honorary Officers.
MINUTES of the 54th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of the Society held on 24th April 2017, 8pm at St. Barnabas Centre, Calton Avenue SE21
MINUTES of the 53rd ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of the Society held on 25th April 2016, 8pm at St. Barnabas Centre, Calton Avenue SE21
Present: approximately 40 members
Apologies: Bernard Nurse, David & Jan Coughtrie, Michael Rich, Kenneth Wolfe
Introduction and Welcome by the President Dr Colin Niven OBE
Colin said how impressed he had been over the past year by the range of activity and hard work of the Society. He thanked Ian and Diana McInnes for their excellent work for the Society. He also asked the meeting to reflect on the sad passing of former Executive members Wilf Taylor, Patrick Spencer and Jill Manuel.
Minutes of the 52nd AGM held on 27th April 2015 were approved and signed. No matters arising.
Reports on the activities of the Society in 2015-2016. Written reports from the Chairman, Sub-Committee Chairmen and officers had previously been made available on the Society’s website (www.dulwichsociety.com) and their oral presentations to the meeting were confined to updates and highlighting certain points, and to give an opportunity for questions to be asked.
Chairman (Ian McInnes)
The Society was delighted to receive a legacy of over £10,000 from former member and local historian, Miss Mary Boast. The legacy will be used to support local history activities starting with a new sign for the Dulwich Village burial ground. The burial ground will be opened for London Open House in September 2016.
The Society continued to be closely involved in traffic and transport issues, and the range of consultations conducted by Southwark Council including Quietway 7 and double yellow lines to protect junctions and increase safety.
The Society is seeking a more sustainable solution to the maintenance of the iconic white posts and chains which is currently shared between the Estate and Southwark Council.
The status of key Dulwich pubs is being monitored by the Society. The Crown and Greyhound reopening is delayed until the late summer 2016 at least. There are no current plans to reopen The Grove. Fuller’s have taken the lease on the Half Moon pub and subject to planning consent will refurbish the pub and convert the building into a 12 room hotel.
Sainsbury’s have taken on the Shepherd’s lease and subject to planning consent will open a micro-store in the unit later in the spring.
Secretary (Sue Badman)
The Secretary highlighted the growth of Residents’ Associations in the area and that advice was available from the Society on launching new RAs.
Society rules and policies on complaints and declarations of interest are available on the Society web site.
Membership (Diana McInnes)
Membership remains at over 1100 households. Just over 10% live outside Dulwich and our membership for Dulwich represents approximately 20% of all households. Membership drives continue. For the financial year 2014-2015 we claimed £2291.48 from HMRC for gift aid.
The eNewsletter is sent to the almost half our membership who have given us their email addresses. Members can request to be added to the circulation by emailing
Planning and Architecture (David Roberts)
Moving is expensive and people want to stay in Dulwich. Loft and rear extensions remain popular. There is a burgeoning interest in garden structures and these can have a considerable impact on neighbours. There are also projects to demolish and rebuild, and the Society has not objected where the current building has no significant architectural merit. The proliferation of hoardings needs more control.
Attendees raised concerns about the size of some projects and impact on neighbours. The Society continues to highlight the impact of basements and large construction projects on neighbours with the Scheme of Management. David Roberts is organising a meeting with the Estate’s new consultant architect to review current SoM process and practices.
Traffic and Transport (Alistair Hanton)
There are active discussions with the train operating companies (TOCs) and TfL about capacity, standard of service, the practice of skipping scheduled stops and the condition of local stations including accessibility. The number 42 bus is scheduled for extension to Sainsbury’s, Dog Kennel Hill but it is planned to re-route its double-decker buses down Red Post Hill. The Society has suggested that Sunray Avenue would be a more suitable route.
Safe school travel remains a key local issue especially with the growth of numbers at Judith Kerr School and the proposed Charter II school on the Dulwich Hospital site. Every effort is being made to promote walking and cycling to school. The Safe Routes to School group has had a pivotal role in improving safe journeys to school and reducing the dependence on cars.
There was a wide ranging discussion on several current traffic issues:
- the latest Quietway 7 proposals include stopping the left turn from Dulwich Village into Turney Road which is unacceptable to many local residents (The Society has objected).
- The Dulwich-wide double yellow lines proposal needs to strike a balance between junction safety and impact on parking capacity. The Chairman reminded attendees that Cllr Jane Lyons is collecting residents’ views on the proposal.
- Concerns were expressed about slow progress in disabled access at local rail stations including parking provision. Alastair Hanton said that this issue is being taken up with TfL and TOCs. At present the amount of money for disabled access is low and there was a need to prioritise both North Dulwich and West Dulwich stations for improved accessibility. Alastair said the urgency of this was being emphasised in consultations on the next round of franchises.
- There are concerns about the lack of bus routes in South Dulwich and the isolation felt by local residents dependent on travelling by bus to get to hospital appointments.
Wildlife (Angela Wilkes)
In spite of increased pressure on London’s open green spaces, wildlife in Dulwich is thriving. And, in the coming months, the Wildlife Group hope to make many areas even more valuable to wildlife - in particular, pollinating, flying insects - when the Society link forces with our friends in the London Wildlife Trust in their “Beeline for London” project.
There are several new projects in the area looking for volunteers and if members are interested in getting involved, please email
Gardening (Jeremy Prescott)
There will be a prize competition to highlight front gardens and applicants should apply by end May. Judging will take place in the first two weeks of June.
The Annual Coach Trip in June will be to Nymans and Sheffield Park.
Trees (Glynis Williams)
New Chair, Glynis Williams, outlined the role of the Tree Committee with regard to applications to fell or modify trees within the Dulwich Estate Scheme of Management and highlighted that the Committee did not have the resources to review all the tree applications. Volunteers to join the tree committee would be welcome.
Of note, the two diseased Horse Chestnut trees were finally removed from the heart of the Village replaced by copper beeches. The horse chestnut tree avenue in Dulwich College has been demolished with replacements due in the summer.
Several attendees expressed concern about the loss of street trees - how many trees were lost and how much replanting (and monitoring) takes place by Southwark and the Estate? Cllr Michael Mitchell said there are new Southwark standards for street trees; there has to be enough room for roots to grow and people to pass. If there are concerns about particular tree sites, please provide details to Cllr Mitchell.
Local History (Bernard Nurse)
In Bernard’s absence, the Chairman mentioned that most of the back issues of the Society’s Newsletter, which preceded the Journal, have now been digitised and placed on the Society’s website. The new additions cover the thirty year period from April 1974 to Autumn 2003, after which the online archive is complete up to the end of 2015.
Magazine (Brian Green)
The magazine continues to be a popular benefit of Society membership and new articles or ideas are always welcome.
Presentation of Accounts and Financial Report for year to 31st December 2015 by the Society’s Hon. Treasurer, Russell Lloyd.
Net income of over £7000 was very good news and the largest for many years. Membership income had increased but there was a fall in advertising revenue so a fall in total income. However expenditure had decreased too (principally because of one-off Rosebery Lodge lease costs in 2014). Bank balances and profit meant the Society had an accumulated fund of nearly £34,000 at end of 2015.
Appointment of Hon. Auditor. Sally-Anne Jeffries was proposed for re-election and this was duly approved.
ELECTIONS for 2016/17
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:
Brian Green Editor of the Journal
Alistair Hanton Traffic & Transport sub-committee
David Roberts Planning & Architecture Group
Angela Wilkes Wildlife sub-committee
Jeremy Prescott Gardens sub-committee
Glynis Williams Trees sub-committee
Bernard Nurse Local History sub-committee
Adrian Hill
(c) Honorary Officers:
President: Dr Colin Niven OBE
Vice-Presidents: Ian Dejardin MA
His Honour Michael Goodman
Dr Gary Savage
Dr Joseph Spence
The Chair reported that His Honour Michael Rich QC has resigned as Vice-President and he was thanked for his past service to the Society.
Change to Constitution
The following motion to update the Society’s subscription rules was unanimously approved:
“This meeting resolves that the Rule 4 of the Constitution of the Society be deleted and replaced with the following revised Rule 4:
“4. SUBSCRIPTIONS
(a) Unless otherwise determined by the members at an Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting, an individual or household shall pay an annual subscription of £10.00. The subscription shall be paid when a person/household, becomes a member and thereafter shall become due and payable on the first day of January in every year. Any member joining the Society in the last three calendar months of the year and paying the subscription, shall not be required to pay another subscription until the first day of the January of the next but one year.
(b) If any Member shall be three months or more in arrears with his subscription (ie on April 1st of the year that membership is due) he shall cease to be a member on the day after the next Executive Committee Meeting.”
Proposed: Diana McInnes (Membership) Seconded: Sue Badman (Secretary)
Any Other Business
Timothy Hornby reported that the Herne Hill Velodrome pavilion is going ahead and will open in early 2017. Cycling will continue as usual.
After the meeting there was a display of recent Society research and photographs on the history of Dulwich pubs ahead of the forthcoming publication of a book (jointly with the Herne Hill Society), and refreshments were served.
Minutes by: Sue Badman, Secretary, 30th May 2016
MINUTES of the 52nd ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of the Society held on 27th April 2015, 8pm at St. Barnabas Centre, Calton Avenue SE21
Present: approximately 50 members
Apologies: Brian Green, David R. Roberts, Patrick Spencer, Gary Savage and Pat Reynolds
Introduction and Welcome by the President Dr Colin Niven OBE
He gave thanks to Peter Lawson and Marion Gibbs who were standing down as Vice-Presidents for their contributions to the Society. He also thanked Patrick Spencer who was standing down as Honorary Secretary after 20 years and who had played a major role in connection with the Edward Alleyn statue and the bomb plaques erected by the Society, and Jill Manuel who was retiring as Chair of the Tree Sub-Committee.
Minutes of the 51st AGM held on 28th April 2014 were approved and signed. No matters arising.
Reports on the activities of the Society in 2014. Written reports from the Chairman, Sub-Committee Chairmen and officers had previously been made available on the Society’s website (www.dulwichsociety.com) and their oral presentations to the meeting were confined to updates and highlighting certain points, and to give an opportunity for questions to be asked.
Chairman (Ian McInnes) The Society’s e-newsletter had been introduced during the year and 19 issues had now been sent out by email. It was sent to all members whose email addresses were known; many were not known and members were asked to provide them if they wanted to receive the e-newsletter. With the Society’s Journal being published only quarterly, the e-letter had been introduced to keep Members more frequently informed about local news and forthcoming events. The e-newsletter is also displayed on the notice board outside the Village Post Office.
Southwark Council was currently actively seeking to promote cycling, where money is available, with plans for a cycling spine from the north to the south of the borough and parallel quietways for less ambitious cyclists. Little informed work appears to have been done to date to flesh out the proposals, taking into account the impact on traffic and parking in the affected streets, but an impractical plan to route the spine through Dulwich Park has been dropped. A meeting with cabinet member Councillor Mark Williams has been arranged after the General Election with a view to progressing the plans in a more concrete manner.
All the large pubs on the Dulwich Estate were now closed except the Alleyn’s Head. The Crown and Greyhound was being converted to a boutique hotel and was unlikely to reopen until early next year. The Half Moon in Herne Hill had been closed since the flood in August 2013 and would not reopen until planning permission was obtained by the Dulwich Estate for redevelopment of the upper floors (see the Planning & Architecture report); this was likely to take many months. The Grove Tavern on the South Circular was definitely going and the site will be redeveloped as a medium size supermarket with flats above.
Planning and Architecture (David Roberts) David had had to send his apologies and his update was given by the Chairman.
The plans for redevelopment of the S G Smith site were progressing slowly.
The St Barnabas Parish Hall in the village had been listed Grade II.
Planning permission for the redevelopment of the upper floors of the Half Moon pub was still under discussion between the Estate and Southwark but from preliminary exchanges it was clear that Southwark preferred hotel rooms to flats. The Estate appears now to have decided that these should be operated by whoever becomes the publican of the ground floor.
Traffic and Transport (Alistair Hanton) Interest raised by cycling matters, including the now abandoned proposal to ban a right hand turn from Townley Road into East Dulwich Grove, had resulted in the doubling of the size of the sub-committee. Matters relating to rail services had also been important. Thanks were given to Sigrid Collins, who was standing down, for her contributions to the sub-committee’s work including the bringing of a continental perspective. In reply to a question, AH said it appeared that no official response to the changing of the name of Sydenham Hill station to South Dulwich could be expected until 2018 despite considerable support for the change because of the confusing nature of the present name. Other questions concerned disabled access to West Dulwich, North Dulwich and Sydenham Hill stations. Discussions with TfL continued with regard to West Dulwich but for technical reasons there appeared to be little hope for such access at North Dulwich. AH however offered to arrange a meeting with TfL for them to publically give a full explanation of the difficulties. Additionally there were demands from the floor for improvements to bus services in Dulwich and AH promised to follow this up.
Wild Life (Angela Wilkes) Details were given of an early morning (4.45 am) bird watching walk in Sydenham Hill woods and an evening walk for bird song.
Gardening (Jeremy Prescott, who has taken over from John Ward) There was now a completely new committee. They saw their main activities as (1) continued annual publication of booklet on gardens in Dulwich open for charity, (2) organising events for garden enthusiasts, open to all members, and (3) the promoting of gardens and gardening in Dulwich.
Trees (Jill Manuel, who is standing down) It has now been decided that the replacements for the diseased large horse chestnuts outside 95 and 97 Dulwich Village will be copper beeches rather than plane trees. An ash tree has been lost in Dulwich Park but plans are afoot for the planting of new trees around the park. A major issue for trees in Dulwich is a growing demand, driven by insurance companies, for the removal of trees allegedly causing damage to neighbouring buildings, even when these are relatively recent and of shoddy construction.
Local History (Bernard Nurse) The Post Office cart in Dulwich livery was now parked and secured in the porch of Rosebery Lodge; it had not been possible to take it inside the building as it was too wide for the door. The WW1 plaques had now been returned to Christ Church, Barry Road, where they had originally come from. Alleyn’s School have agreed to digitalise back articles from the Society’s Journal with an index and they will be available on the Society’s website. The burial ground will again be open for visits during the Dulwich Festival in May.
Presentation of Accounts and Financial Report for 2014 by the Society’s Hon. Treasurer, Russell Lloyd. He pointed to a surplus in the year of £1,513, which was better than the £637 in the previous year, mainly because of a reduction in operating costs. The Chairman thanked Russell for his efforts.
Appointment of Hon. Auditor. Sally-Anne Jeffries was proposed for re-election and this was duly approved.
ELECTIONS for 2015/16
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:
Brian Green Editor of the Journal
Alistair Hanton Traffic & Transport sub-committee
David Roberts Planning & Architecture Group
Angela Wilkes Wildlife sub-committee
Jeremy Prescott Gardens sub-committee
Glynis Williams Trees sub-committee
Bernard Nurse Local History sub-committee
Adrian Hill
(c) Honorary Officers:
President: Dr Colin Niven OBE
Vice-Presidents: Ian Dejardin MA
His Honour Michael Goodman
His Honour Michael Rich QC
Dr Gary Savage
Dr Joseph Spence
Any Other Business
There was a query about access to the Rosebery Lodge. The Chairman said this was available to members but for security and insurance reasons the premises had to be kept locked. Persons wanting access could apply to him for the key.
After the meeting there was a showing of some of the original Gaumont “shorts” filmed at their open-air studios in Dulwich between 1900 and 1910.
Post Meeting Note
The Membership report is on the Dulwich Society web site. There was no oral Membership report at the meeting. Membership remains at 1100 households. Just over 10% live outside Dulwich and our membership for Dulwich represents approximately 20% of all households. For the financial year 2013-2014 we claimed £2247.62 from HMRC for gift aid.
Minutes by: Adrian Hill, 26 May 2015
Statement from The Dulwich Estate:
Simone Crofton, the new Chief Executive of The Dulwich Estate, together with the Board of Trustees, has considered all advice and options relating to the planning application for a new almshouse at 62-68 Half Moon Lane.
The Dulwich Estate, working closely with the Dulwich Almshouse Charity and the full range of partners, including Southwark Council Planning Department, will be seeking an alternative site.
There remains a real need for fit for purpose, accessible, lifetime homes for elderly people in the area. The current Dulwich Almshouse, which provides sheltered homes to those in need, does not have lift access and cannot be adapted due to its listed status.
The Dulwich Estate is committed to helping the Dulwich Almshouse and its residents relocate to suitable accommodation.
Statement from CfBT Schools Trust:
CfBT Schools Trust welcomes this decision and that parties have come to a mutual agreement about a way forward. We are very pleased the land adjoining Judith Kerr Primary School will be available for the children to use as a playing field.
A Freedom of Information request a local resident elicited the following response:
The cost for design and project management along the entire Quietway 7 route for 2017/18 is £200,550. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of costs for Court Lane, Carlton Avenue and Dulwich Village. For the Dulwich Village junction, the cost for 2017/18 of civil works is £268,639 and the estimated cost of resurfacing is £50,000-55,000.
Most of the current works in Calton Avenue and Woodwarde Road are supposed to be finished by 28 March but the junctions at Woodward and Townley Road will remain closed until 5 April. The website to offer feedback on the junction performance The link to the online form is: http://www.southwark.gov.uk/transport-and-roads/roadworks-and-highway-improvements/street-improvements/quietway-7-monitoring-and-evaluation-of-dulwich-village. Here you will also find a report summarising the outcomes of site visits and road safety audits carried out so far – this includes recent responses to safety concerns from TfL. This report will be continually updated as further monitoring is undertaken. There is also an updated design drawing showing further changes to signage and road markings at Dulwich Village to address some of the initial concerns.
There was a large demonstration in East Dulwich on Saturday 17th March when 1200 people marched from Goose Green to the locked football club’s gates. Meadow Residential, the developer which owns the club’s Champion Hill ground, has locked the club out. Meadow also registered the name “Dulwich Hamlet” as a trademark – though its spokesman said this would be handed over to the club for free.
The developer has rejected a £10million offer to buy the ground from Legacy Foundation, a firm set up by former England captain Rio Ferdinand, which wants to redevelop a part of the site to build social housing. Southwark Council has agreed to try and acquire the site from Meadow at a fair market rate. A compulsory purchase order for the land being one possible outcome.
The candidates are:
Dulwich Hill (2 seats):
Conservatives: Edith Okparaocha & Rachel Wolf
Labour: Maggie Browning & Jon Hartley
Liberal Democrats: Michael Bukola, Jonathan Mitchell
Green Party: Myrtle Bruce-Mitford & Jamie Vincent
Dulwich Village (2 seats):
Conservatives: Jane Lyons & Michael Mitchell
Labour: Richard Leeming & Margy Newens
Liberal Democrats: Brigid Gardner & Ruth Gripper
Green Party: Gulnar Hasnain & Bill Chidley
Dulwich Wood (2 seats):
Conservatives: John Cope & Lindsay Chathli
Labour: Catherine Rose & Andy Simmons
Liberal Democrats: Steven Gauge & Andrew Mackay
Green Party: Chris Glenn & Dale Rapley
Goose Green (3 seats):
Conservatives: David Bradbury, Alan Broomhead & Michael Poole-Wilson
Labour: Charlie Smith, Victoria Olisa & James McAsh
Liberal Democrats: James Barber, Claire Donachie & Michael Green
Green Party: Alexander Howard & Michael Millar
Women’s Equality Party: Claire Empson
The most recent meeting of the Society’s Traffic & Transport group had a presentation from Source London, the operator. They currently have planning consent to put charging points in Dulwich Wood Avenue, Crescent Wood Rd, Hunts Slip Rd, Pickwick Rd, Eastlands Crescent, Half Moon Lane, Ruskin Walk, Elmwood Rd, Ashbourne Grove, Underhill Rd, and Cyrena Rd. There are currently no confirmed dates for the installation as Southwark has yet to apply for the necessary Traffic Management Orders. (TMOs)
DULWICH SOCIETY ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING - 30 April 2018
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORTS for the year 2017
The Gallery has launched an architectural competition for a temporary pavilion to be built in the grounds in 2019. The closing date for initial expressions of interest is Monday 9 April. For more info see www.londonfestivalofarchitecture.org or www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk