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Minutes of Ramblers Association Doncaster Group
Annual General Meeting – Saturday October 21st 2017
7.00pm Finningley Village Hall
Attendance: David Gadd, Peter Gravestock, David Horne, Cynthia Elvidge, Jim Elvidge, Wendy Atkinson, Peter Rowsell, Keith Staines, Bob Carlisle, Catherine Palmer, Pauline Harvey, Owen Evans, Martin Vincent, Julie Liversidge, Tony Liversidge, Maureen Forshaw, Kim Binnington, Dave Binnington, Janet Neale, Dennis Neale and Martin Wyman.
Apologies: Tony Marsh and Kerry Forman,
- Approval of minutes of the 2016 AGM: Proposed: David Gadd. Seconded: Jim Elvidge. Approved by the meeting.
- Matters arising from the 2016 AGM: There were no matters arising.
- Chair’s annual report.
From David Gadd
In my annual report in October 2016 I reported that membership stood at 227 on 1st August that year. On 1st August 2017 it was 209, a decrease of 18 members. That is a serious loss. The committee have put in process a couple of ways of addressing this decline, which I will address below. But, strangely, the decline in membership numbers is in stark contrast with the evident success of the Group.
The walks programme continues to give enormous pleasure, with the Tuesday walks in particular attracting very large numbers, often between 30 and 40 during the summer months. For last year’s summer programme we introduced a more strenuous walk once a month, with a highlight this year being the August walk when 26 people arrived to walk part or all of the 21 mile Edale Skyline walk. Several visitors from other Groups joined us. Due to traffic and road closure problems we had a late start and just two people completed the walk. A sizeable group were happy to walk 13 miles, with the remainder completing 16 and 19 miles and failing to complete the whole walk due to the lack of time.
A very significant part of our walks programme this year was the series of walks organised by Owen Evans to celebrate the 300th birthday of James Paine, architect of the Doncaster Mansion House, Bramham Park, Cusworth Hall, Hickleton Hall, Nostell Priory and many other well-known buildings in Yorkshire. Owen led a total of eight walks in the Summer programme, with more continuing in the Winter programme (today’s walk, for example), to celebrate James Paine’s birth - a magnificent effort from Owen, and an idea for anything similar in future.
In the middle of the year the committee carried out a survey of members to gain their thoughts on the walks programme. The committee’s thoughts were that we were not offering enough shorter walks to encourage people new to walking or to enable older members to continue walking. The survey supported these views and the committee discussed possible ways forward. However the winter walks programme was almost fully committed so these issues will be discussed ready for the 2018 summer programme. Thanks to members who responded to the survey.
We have continued to support Get Doncaster Walking, DMBC’s attempt to encourage people to become more active. DMBC has one of the least active population’s in the country, with greater pressure than necessary on the health service, etc. Any members who would be prepared to lead one or two 4-5 mile walks per year, in a locality of their choosing, at a time of their choosing, would be very welcome.
A number of members new to leading have taken the plunge and started to lead. We are delighted that this is happening. It is better that many members lead a few walks, than a few members lead many walks. The committee would like to reiterate the point that anybody thinking about leading is welcome to speak to a member of the committee for advice and/or support if they wish.
The Group’s social activities since the last AGM have included the two Christmas lunches, both preceded by lovely short walks, and the coach trip. The coach trip in June was to Helmsley, where members and guests had the choice of three walks, or none, followed by time to enjoy the shops, cafes, and pubs of this delightful market town with the addition of a steam rally to interest us. Thanks are offered to everyone who played some part, however small, in making these events so successful. Special thanks to Dave and Bob, and to Hilda, who did more than most to make these events successful.
In May the Group finally gained a Publicity Officer. This is a vital role, especially bearing in mind the decrease in members highlighted in the opening paragraph. The Group has been without such a person for a number of years. Peter Rowsell volunteered for the role and the committee were delighted to accept. In the short time Peter has been fulfilling the position he has been bombarding local media with articles and photos and there have been a number of significant articles published. Peter organised last Sunday’s Children in Need charity walk, linked to the BBC Countryfile programme. About 30 people walked, including local MP Caroline Flint and her husband. They routinely produce a press release which, if it is published, will bring more publicity to the Group. We are delighted that this is happening and hope that it will contribute to an increase in membership.
As you are aware the committee has agreed to hold a walking festival next year to coincide with the national Walk About event that central office is organising. The committee would be grateful for the support of our walk leaders, either leading a walk during the festival or supporting the walk leader. We need members to talk to people during the walk and to publicise what we do - walking, footpath maintenance, ‘square walking’ etc.
The Lost Ways committee has decided to ‘pause’ itself for a number of reasons. On the national scene several things are happening that could change the situation. In Wales consideration is being given to revoking the 2026 deadline; if that happens and is repeated in England then the whole situation changes dramatically. Additionally, some cycling and horse-riding organisations are seeking to use footpaths - at the moment the preserve of walkers only. If this happens the legal status of rights of way will need to change. Finally there is Brexit. If it happens then the current funding regime will change, with huge questions about where that leaves rights of way. Any of these factors could affect the situation and, with the current deadline of 2026, there still remain nine years to make lost ways claims.
In the July committee meeting Wendy Atkinson announced her resignation as Chair of the RoW committee. Wendy has been involved in this group since February, 2011. She became Chair of a committee that had very little experience of RoW matters and initially it was a daunting task. It was Wendy who made contact with DMBC to arrange meetings and obtain guidance, and essentially started things off. She has since numerous meetings with DMBC’s RoW Dept, represented Doncaster Ramblers at the bi-monthly Public Rights of Way meetings, as well as chairing the RoW committee. We are extremely grateful for the time and effort Wendy has dedicated to Doncaster Ramblers, especially since, for health reasons, she has been unable to take part in the walking programme to the same extent that she could previously.
This was followed by a presentation of flowers and chocolates to Wendy by Dennis Neale in appreciation of her contribution.
- Rights of Way Committee annual report.
From Martin Wyman.
As David has said I have taken over the role of Chair of the Rights of Way Committee following Wendy’s resignation, pending election (or not) at this AGM. That leaves only three people on the Committee, myself, Tony Marsh and Alan Elvidge, so we would welcome any new members who are able to contribute time and effort. Essentially I perform the role of Footpath Secretary as defined by Ramblers, and Tony the role of Path Work Coordinator, guiding the square walkers and the maintenance teams, ably assisted by Alan.
I now receive notification of all planning applications. We have previously been alerted by DMBC RoW Department of planning applications affecting rights of way, and still are for major developments – I have recently received a document concerning the impact of HS2 on our footpaths. I have realized that although we are told when a new planning application is received we are not informed of any DMBC responses except at the PROW Forum which I attend three times a year, so I will need to use the Planning Database for following the progress of applications. There is a lot of material on the DMBC Planning website. The meetings of the Planning Committee are all listed – the Public Document Pack for the meeting last Tuesday ran to 183 pages. Also the meetings are recorded and can be viewed via the Council website, so no more Game of Thrones for me.
Once again we walked all 590 rights of way in the DMBC area in 2016, but this year is going slowly with only 280 reported so far. Whilst we are proud to walk all the paths and hope to do so again this year the last update report from DMBC showed 52 reported faults still outstanding, so our maintenance teams will not be short of work.
Since last year's AGM the RoW Volunteers have been in action on 12 occasions working in 12 different locations within the Borough. A total of 85 volunteers have turned out during the year and on 3 occasions we had as many as 14 of the group on site.
The work has involved the usual replacement of posts and repairs to stiles, together with the setting up of new kissing gates, fencing repairs and working on damaged footbridges.So all in all, a very productive year with our teams continuing to work with great willingness and enthusiasm. As skill levels improve we have less and less holes being dug in the wrong place and when this does still occur the holes are of a high quality!
In the light of all the work being carried out on our local footpaths, as a group, we really should be walking them more often. There really are some hidden gems out there!!
Finally I would like to thank all those who walk the paths, without you the faults could not be identified as quickly and clearly; and all those who fix the problems found, the number of volunteers involved is truly impressive. We have made a real difference to the standard of footpaths in the DMBC area.
- Treasurer’s annual report.
From David Horne.
The 2016 / 2017 financial year has been another good year for the group. The bank balance remains healthy, as at 30/9/17 standing at £975.05.
The sources of income are close to previous years, with an increased level of contributions from our Walks Programme advertisers. Ramblers Holidays Walking Partnership provided £80.00 for the group. The group coach trip to Helmsley in July was financially very successful. Income from coach fares was £520 against the coach hire charge of £365.00.
Expenditure was slightly more than the Income meaning the group made a small loss of £23.18. Some tools were purchased by our Rights of Way team courtesy of a grant of £400 from Ramblers Head Office. The cost of producing our two walks programmes has increased this year due to more pages being used, some of which are in colour.
Finally my thanks to all committee members for all their hard work during the last financial year. I am happy to stand again as Treasurer for the next financial year.
- Election of officers
David Gadd introduced the election of officers:
Elected Proposed Seconded
- Chair David Gadd D Horne D.Binnington
- Secretary Martin Wyman D Gadd J.Elvidge
- Treasurer David Horne D Gadd D.Neale
- Rights of Way Committee Chair Martin Wyman D Gadd D.Horne
- Membership Secretary Maureen Forshaw D Gadd D.Binnington
- Publicity Officer Peter Rowsell D Gadd D.Neale
- Social Secretary Dennis Neal D Gadd K.Staines
- Walks programme co-ordinator Owen Evans D Gadd D.Binnington
- Walks programme Tuesday listings Dave Binnington O Evans J.Elvidge
- Walks programme Saturday listings Trevor Jenkins D Gadd D.Binnington
- Walks programme distributor Peter Gravestock D Binnington C.Palmer
- Committee members Bob Carlisle, Marion Thompson (not in attendance), Tony Marsh, Tony Liversidge and Jim Elvidge
- Committee members resigning: Wendy Atkinson and Kerry Forman
Area Council (SYNED) DG attends as Secretary, no volunteers.
Auditor David Telford re-appointed
DG asked if any one wished to join the Rights of Way Committee. Peter Rowsell volunteered.
- Any Other Business.
None.
The meeting closed at 19:41.