WILLOUGHBY HOUSE GROUP
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting
Held at the Wood Street Bar & Restaurant
Wednesday 18 May 2011 at 7.30
Present
Tim Macer (Chair), Caroline Swash (Hon Sec), James Prentice, Simon Ebbins, Steve Grimwood, Nazar Sayigh, Nik Mehta, Peter Smart, Caroline Porter.
1. Apologies for Absence
Ronnie Mann, Ian and Tessa Montgomery, Petre Reid, Valerie Mills, Susan Hoskins
2. Minutes of the last AGM held on March 17th, 2009
The minutes were read, and with minor amendments noted, were accepted as a true record.
3. Matters Arising
There were no matters arising not covered by the agenda.
4. Chairman’s Report
Tim Macer looked back over a busy year which had included five Willoughby House committee meetings as well as attendance at several planning sessions linked to proposed developments at Milton Court, St Alphage House, street scene improvement in Moor Lane, Crossrail, Barbican Cinema moves and alternations to the car park 03.
The successful Summer Party and Christmas time gathering at Searcy’s were also noted with appreciation.
The chair thanked the members of the committee for their support, and in particular Caroline Swash for her work as secretary, Petre Reid for his work as treasurer, and Simon Ebbins for his work as deputy chair.
The chair also noted that Steve Grimwood, a co-opted member of the committee and previous House Group chair was standing down, as he would soon be moving out of the Barbican, and expressed thanks for all that Steve had done in his years on the committee and as Chair. Valerie Mills, another current member of the committee had also indicated she wished to stand down, and the Chair thanked Valerie for contributions to the committee too.
The chair then invited questions or comments on the issues he had raised in his report.
Moor Lane/Silk Street crossing
Caroline Swash revealed that at a recent presentation of the Moor Lane streetscape imporovements she had been dismayed to discover that proposed road improvements included the removal of the present pedestrian crossing at the junction of Milton Street and Silk Street as well as the traffic island opposite the lift from podium to street level on Moor Lane. Previously, Barbican residents had been able to cross Moor Lane safely by footbridge, demolished to facilitate the development of Milton Court. It would appear that there had been a lack of understanding concerning the realities of the use of the area, shortly to become a busy educational ‘Campus’.
Other members at the meeting supported the concerns raised and asked the Chair to make representations to the City Corporation’s Transport planners over residents’ concerns over safety in this area.
St Alphage redevelopment
Simon Ebbins observed that the ‘loading bay’ proposed in Fore Street would probably create the greatest inconvenience for residents of Willoughby House. The chair said that he would continue to press the developers would on these issues.
5. Treasurer’s Report
In the absence of Petre Reid, the Chair presented the annual accounts for the period to 2 April 2011 for approval of the meeting. He observed that the Summer Party made a very small profit and that overall the group had show a slight deficit on the year, with expenditure exceeding income by £31.07.
The chair proposed that the meeting adopt the accounts, and this was agreed unanimously.
6. Election of the Committee for 2011/12
The chair had received seven nominations to the committee:
Simon Ebbins
Susan Hosking
Tim Macer
James Prentice
Petre Reid
Nazar Sayigh
Caroline Swash
As the constitution permitted the AGM to elect up to seven members to the committee, the election was therefore uncontested. The chair therefore proposed that the meeting elected all proposed candidates, and this was seconded by Simon Ebbins. This was agreed unanimously.
7. Determination of the membership subscription for 2011/12
The chair stated that there was no significant expenditure anticipated that was not covered either by income generated from events such as the summer party, or which was not reclaimed from the City of London Corporation. He therefore proposed that the existing zero subscription fee should be retained.
This was agreed unanimously by the meeting.
The meeting closed at 9.00 pm with thanks to the chairman and treasurer.
Speed House Lawn
