Whiteleaf & Cadsden Residents Association

WHITELEAF AND CADSDEN RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION

 

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held at Whiteleaf Golf Club on Wednesday 16th March 2016.

 

Present: Kate Symons (Chair), Dick Shaw (Hon. Secretary), Sue Robinson, John Clegg, Peter Miles, Lesley Stevens and 26 resident members.

 

The Chair welcomed everyone and Cllr Alan Turner (AT), Chairman and Mayor of Princes Risborough Town Council (PRTC) and set out the agenda for the evening. She also asked for the Minutes to record the sad loss of George Martin, a well known resident of 50 years from Peters Lane, who died in 2015.  As an RAF engineer/trainer, he served in India to 1946 and later became Head of Technical Education at schools and colleges in Thame. She also mentioned Suzanne Mitchell, Consultant Ophthalmologist, resident of the Holloway, who found peace living in these hamlets, until her demise in 2015. Relatives and friends had asked to thank friends and neighbours for the support and kindness shown to George and Suzanne.

 

• Apologies were received from Dyer/Giles, Whelan, Ruck, Luckhurst, Clark and Hitchcock families and Andrew Hitchcock, Angela Miller, Linda Clegg and Sue McKay.

 

1. Minutes. There being no comments, the minutes of the AGM held on 19th March 2015 were approved.
2. Matters arising. The Secretary said that the only matter arising from last years’ minutes related to improved road signage in Peters Lane, which the Chair is pursuing with Bill Bendyshe-Brown. AT promised to follow this up with Mr. Bendyshe-Brown.
3. Chairman’s report. The Chairman said that our event calendar expanded with a first time use of the PRTC community bus for residents to get to a history walk through Princes Risborough. The Red Lion suppers were well supported as were the golf day, the sausage sizzle and the Trick or Treat event organised by local mums.  The Chair thanked everyone involved and made special mention of the public spirit of Mark and Becky Sanger who helped to clear the junk from the Ragpit site, as part of the Clean for the Queen campaign with PRTC recently. There were no questions from the floor about the Chairs report.
4. Annual accounts. In the Treasurer’s absence, the Secretary invited any comments on the accounts. There were no questions from the floor about the Accounts, which were consequently approved.
5. Elections. The Chair Kate Symons and Committee member Peter Miles were due to retire from the Committee and offered themselves for re-election. Two vacancies had also been created by the stepping down of John Clegg and Lesley Stevens. Since no other candidates for the position of Chair were forthcoming, Kate Symons was re-elected, being proposed by Peter Miles and seconded by David Robinson. Peter Miles was re-elected being proposed by Philip Masterton-Smith and seconded by Douglas Miller. The two vacancies were filled by Dom Larose (proposed by Sue Robinson and seconded by John McKay) and Robbie Francis (proposed by Jenny Masterton-Smith and seconded by John Clegg). The Chair welcomed the two new members to the WCRA Committee.
6. Any other business.       a) The Chair made a plea for additional e-mail addresses in order to improve speedy communication.       b) Douglas Miller, in his capacity as Secretary to the Board of the Golf Club, said that the club wanted to improve relations with non-member residents. He highlighted:- i) the Club Golf Open Day held on the early May Bank Holiday as an opportunity to play a free nine holes and for those with no playing experience to find out more about the game. All are welcome and a few golf clubs can be made available. iii) Residents can join the Club as Social (non-playing) Members for an annual fee of £35.The formal meeting closed at 8.20pm
7.    Cllr. Turner said that it was a pleasure to attend the AGM and updated the meeting on a number of issues.
8. iv) Douglas Miller mentioned that he thought that the Resident’s Golf Day was very enjoyable but that it doesn’t attract as many people as it could do – despite the standard of play not being high.
9. ii) The Club premises can be made available for hire for an evening event and packages for hire with or without food can be worked out.

1. HS2. The Council and others have been trying to re-route HS2 construction traffic (which could be as high as 120 HGV movements a day) away from the A4010. Whilst this has been unsuccessful, some money has been granted for mitigation measures to calm the HGV traffic.
2. Summer Festival. AT said that the Festival Committee, which has been running the Town Festival for the last 15 years, had disbanded. The town Council has thus taken over the running of the Festival.   However, this year’s Festival will only run for a single weekend.
3. Ragpit Clean-up. The Council had been considering cleaning up the Ragpit site for some time. On 5^th March a group of volunteers removed 22 sacks of rubbish as well as large metal objects. AT stated that it was a surprise to all to find that many items found (kettles/pots/bottles) dated back to Victorian rather than recent times.  AT stated that the job remained half done and a further clean-up would take place soon, details of which would be notified to WCRA.
4. Wycombe district Council Development monies. Much of the money collected by Wycombe District Council from developers has, in the past, been allocated to Wycombe. However this year the Town Council had been granted £40k for a new bus for the Princes Centre, £150k towards improvements to the Community Centre (re-aligning the interior and an extension to the rear) and £30k for emergency work on the Market House in Princes Risborough.
5. Local Plan. AT said that the consultation period for the draft Local Plan ends at the end of March. He encouraged residents to give their views on the plan if they have not yet done so. One of the key issues to be resolved is the siting of a relief road. An inner relief road would cost £54m and an outer road £78m. Until the Plan is approved, speculative developments continue to be put forward, which is putting a lot of pressure on the Town Council and Wycombe District Council, both of whom do not wish to see developments in the “wrong” places.
6. John Clegg asked whether there could be greater enforcement of the law in the woods around Whiteleaf and Cadsden as mountain bikers and off road motorcycles are abusing footpaths. AT said that the Council has tried to get the Police to increase enforcement but they are stretched.
7. Mike Fox asked whether there was any progress with Morrisons. AT said that the developer had signed a lease with Morrisons just before they announced that they were to hive off their convenience stores. There is no news at present, as Morrisons are being vague as to their intentions.
8. David Robinson said that on the History Tour of Princes Risborough last year mention was made of the state of Town Farm House. AT said that the Council had tried to do something about the building 4 to 5 years ago, but it had been difficult to determine ownership of the property. Someone has now come forward and the Council are attempting to get in touch.
9. Douglas Miller asked about Birchnells. AT said that one theory was that Phil Vickery was going to open a restaurant there and some work had been carried out, which has now stopped. Work has restarted but the purpose of the work is not known. The rent demand would appear to be very high.
10. Neil Henderson expressed concern about speeding along the Upper Icknield Way. AT stated that the problem is one of enforcement and Police time.

 

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After the meeting, Miss Vicki Blane, Head of Marketing at the Chiltern Society, gave a very interesting presentation about the Society and the recent expansion in the number of sites managed by the Society. The Chairman thanked Miss Blane for the talk and said that we were keen to maintain a close contact with the Society for future.