Friends of Quarry Park
| Minutes of Meeting | By: Tony Wallace | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | On-line via Zoom | |||
| Time | 19:00 | In attendance | Distribution | |
| Date | 25th March 2021 | Erica Oulton (Chair) | Margaret Sheppard | Quarry Park Friends |
| Cllr Kevin Burke | Robin Oulton | Ward Councillors | ||
| Caroline Brewer | Tony Wallace | |||
| Mark Brewer |
| Sr. No | Title | Action |
| 1 | Apologies for Absence | |
| Cllr Lily Bande, Erica & Alan Hodgson, Dennis Sheppard. EO thanked KB for attending. | Note | |
| 2 | Minutes of Meeting on 14th January 2021 | |
| Were agreed. TW was thanked for preparing these and organising the meetings. | Note | |
| 3 | Financial Information | |
| (a) | Funds Held | |
| RO proposed that he formally take over as Hon Treasurer on 1st April and this was agreed. He reported that the balance 12 months ago the balance was £440.01 and was now £389.70. There had been payment of £50, an agreed gift, £99.31 for insurance, offset by £99 grant from the Council. TW had passed on the HSBC cheque book and paying in book. | Note | |
| (b) | On-line Bank Account | |
| The process of adding RO as an on-line account user had been very difficult and time consuming but finally achieved. It seemed as if HSBC expected everything to be done by their complex systems, not as customer friendly as they should be, and their own staff unable to make things work. Similar problems with other banks were stated. RO planned to next make himself the primary user instead of TW. For the relatively few payments in a year these would continue pro tem by cheque with two signatures from the four on the mandate, RO, MB, MS and TW. | RO, TW | |
| 4 | Planning Next Tea Party | |
| Whilst it was hopeful that we may be able to hold a tea party later in the summer or early autumn, this depended on the continuing lifting of restrictions. This is a stepwise process depending on the outcomes of the various measures to control the Covid pandemic. It was proposed to hold another meeting in May when hopefully the picture would be clearer. The meeting date chosen was Wednesday 26th May. KB had forwarded information to TW on Council resumption of event planning. | All | |
| 5 | Work in the Park | |
| It was noted how good the park was looking and thanks to Allan Druce on his continuing work weeding, pruning and tidying. There had been an excellent show of daffodils and crocus and the cold weather had helped to prolong the flowering. The additional bulbs planted had extended the display. The tree blossoms were giving a superb display, as they were in Seears Park and Perrett’s Field too. TW had taken photos and would send some to Paul Brockwell for the Sutton Local Committee. MS advised that EO be prepared to say a few words if the photos were shown. | TW | |
| EO was requested to ask Sarah Fowler about the timescale on working near the Japanese Knotweed treatment, which seemed to have been effective at the area by the Cheam Road railings. (post meeting note: – reply from Sarah Fowler – ‘The Japanese knotweed has a long-term treatment plan that lasts over 4 years and should be stem injected or sprayed twice each year. This started last year when it was identified by a resident so will continue for the years ahead until it has fully died off. We may need to put new signs up when the weather properly brightens up.‘) Large cloth bags had been very useful for larger items to remove such as the pieces of a small tree that had fallen through from 1 Quarry Park Road, but these had not been returned to MS or MB as previously requested. EO to request Sarah Fowler on this. MB had been able to provide a few bags from building work at their house but that was limited. | EO | |
| MS noted how much the park was used and appreciated by families with small children, people exercising or sitting enjoying the park. With more people there seemed to be less litter dropped. | Note | |
| MS said that she would weed the wildflower area as necessary for the flowers to grow well. | MS | |
| On future planting EO suggested evergreen clematis as on the fence by the Perrett’s Field path out to Frederick Road. TW to check out. | TW | |
| 6 | Sutton Local Committee | |
| Notification of our representative had been completed. EO would attend the next meeting on 27th May. |
EO | |
| 7 | Police Matters | |
| EO had attended an on-line meeting but the Police had not attended. KB said this had been a problem across the borough. The ward panel Chair, Jonathan Pritchard would set dates for the rest of the year. | Note | |
| 8 | GoParks London | |
| Quarry Park is on the GoParks London map with excellent input and photos, thanks to MB. With regard to the suggested borough parks promotions campaign this is rather a one size fits all parks and boroughs. We are a very small park compared with many although with a special character. In this borough, like other Friends Groups, we have representation on our Local Committee, we attend occasional meetings of all borough Friends Groups and we are consulted on the matters listed by GoParks London. This is not the case in many boroughs but here it is clearer to residents if we work within the arrangements already in place, well co-ordinated with the borough Council. There is also the factor that with limited resources of people and time we take on what we can manage and try to do it well. Our particular promotion comes through the Tea Party, for which the Council covers our costs, including the printing of the leaflet which we distribute. If a definite benefit is seen in future we could re-consider. This was agreed. | MB | |
| 9 | Other Matters | |
| (a) | Covid wardens had been seen visiting the Park. MB looked up an article in the Sutton Guardian that the Government had allocated £86,000 for Covid wardens in the borough. It appeared that generally people followed the rules in Quarry Park but the wardens would be needed at times in Cheam Park and elsewhere. | Note |
| (b) | Quarry Park is No Dogs with a clear sign on the gate. There is plenty of space to walk dogs in nearby Seears Park and Perrett’s Field. Absence of dog mess is important for use of the Park by young children. MS observed a dog in the park but then taken away by its owner. MS advised that there was an on-line group for dog owners and dog theft was a concern. KB advised that there had been a rise in reported dog theft. | Note |
| (c) | In February there had been a spoiling of Seears Park with graffiti. Although cleaned up fairly quickly by the Council MS had emailed the Chief Executive about the need to find a solution for the derelict and vandalised former park keeper’s cottage. She had received a nice reply from the Council Leader. KB noted that the covenant had made it a difficult matter to resolve. KB advised that at a meeting in 2019 with a Council officer and the SNT, the Police had reported arrests for drug supply and subsequent quietening down after that. If anything untoward was observed by the public they should report it straightaway to the Police (on 999), not afterwards. | Note |
| 10 | Next meeting | |
| 7:00pm, Wednesday 26th May 2021, probably via Zoom but venue/method to be decided nearer the time. | All |
Friends of Quarry Park
| Minutes of Meeting | By: Tony Wallace | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | On-line via Zoom | |||
| Time | 19:00 | In attendance | Distribution | |
| Date | 14th January 2021 | Margaret Sheppard | Erika Hodgson | Quarry Park Friends |
| Caroline Brewer | Erica Oulton | Ward Councillors | ||
| Mark Brewer | Robin Oulton | |||
| Alan Hodgson | Tony Wallace |
| Sr. No | Title | Action |
| 1 | Apologies for Absence | |
| None | Note | |
| 2 | Minutes of Meeting on 16th January 2020 | |
| Were agreed. | Note | |
| 3 | Annual General Meeting Election of Officers |
|
| (a) | Chair | |
| MS had previously advised that she did not wish to continue as Chair after eleven years in the role although she planned to continue active involvement with the Friends.
Erica Oulton was willing to take on the role of Chair. She was proposed by TW and seconded by MS. This was agreed by all. MS proposed to introduce EO personally to the councillor officers with whom she had contact and to the Sutton Local Committee, attended also by other Friends groups, when possible after the lifting of the current Coronavirus restrictions. They would meet Sarah Fowler, the Friends It was agreed that both MS and MB would be deputies for attendance at the Sutton Local Committee. As Secretary, TW to email Paul Brockwell, our contact officer for Sutton Local Committee with details of our new Chair and deputies and minutes of this meeting. Thanks were expressed to MS for all her work and leadership since the formation of the Friends’ group. The Friends were also pleased that her active involvement would continue. |
||
| (b) | Secretary | |
| Although happy for someone else to take over TW was willing to continue and was proposed by MS, seconded by CB, agreed by all. | ||
| (c) | Treasurer | |
| Robin Oulton was proposed by MS, seconded by MB and agreed by all.
TW advised that the change in signatories to the HSBC bank account had taken place and they now were RO, MB, MS and TW. After using the forms advised by our HSBC contact the first two applications were rejected. TW was then advised that a new mandate was required because the existing was more than six years old. So a new mandate application was made with the new signatories, finally successful. TW would notify the change in treasurer to HSBC and apply for RO to have on-line access to the account. This was read only with payments out only by cheque with two signatures. |
TW | |
| (d) | Funds held | |
| The bank balance was £389.70.
Since the AGM in 2019 expenditure on new plants at £494 had been more than the £362 grant from the Council. This was offset by donations of £130 at the 2019 tea party for which a note described they would be for new planting and improvements to the park. The 2020 public liability insurance premium, for continuing work in the park, was covered by a grant of £99 from the Council. The 2019 insurance and cost for the 2019 tea party were also covered by a Council grant. |
Note | |
| 4 | Planning Next Tea Party | |
| It was agreed that the next Tea Party Event could not take place whilst Covid restrictions included such things as (un)social distancing. The timescale for the relaxation of restrictions was currently very uncertain. Although keen to hold our usual tea party again, it was considered that setting a date and then having to postpone or cancel would be very discouraging. Therefore it was decided to defer setting a date pro tem and that the next Friends meeting would be in March when timing might be more possible, date set 25th March, 7pm.
It was observed that the park was well used during lockdown and people were reading the noticeboard. A new notice describing the intentions for 2021 should be put in the park and on the website. |
All, TW | |
| 5 | Work in the Park | |
| The spray treatment by the Council’s contractor on the Japanese Knotweed near the railings on Cheam Road appeared to have been effective. Only 2 other plants nearby had been killed and especially the new clematis there had grown well on the railings with a good display. The Knotweed on Quarry Park Road needed further treatment, which appears to be working although more might be needed.
In the autumn MB had collected bulbs from the depot and these were planted by MB, EO and TW. AD has been working in the park including sweeping leaves. MB had collected more disposal bags and AD has a supply now. MB also collected a large bag which will be useful for some jobs with larger pieces. With advice from a Council officer, Dave Warburton, MB had cut back the wild flowers, and the result looked very good. MB thought that some extra seeding would be good. TW said he had available one spare packet from the original seeding. The waste bin lids had been supplied and then fitted by Sarah Fowler, MS and MB. TW had been emailed by a park visitor (contact detail on the noticeboard) concerning damage to the lower branches of the fir tree. TW sawed off the damaged branches to avoid sharp ends and cut the branches to fit the collection truck. These were collected by IDVerde although first children had made a wigwam. Sarah Fowler said that in other parks some people had been cutting greenery for Christmas. MS had emailed Sarah Fowler about the poor standard of cutting back branches protruding through the railings. A second visit improved it but some pruning inside the park is needed for this. TW had cut back the sharp ends, especially at child height. Future jobs will include a spring prune of the roses to cut back some longer branches and dead heading the daffodils after flowering. MS said that a nearby resident had been regularly clearing the litter along the Cheam Road railings; Dennis had said thank you. It was observed that the red colour of the cotoneaster had given a good display recently (some planted 5 years ago, some later). TW suggested some further planting, including by the railings around the Quarry Park Rd corner, possibly another forsythia and clematis. EO suggested an evergreen winter flowering clematis. If the spring is not too dry and bedding plants more available this year TW may add some to the north side central flower bed where geraniums survived last winter. |
Note | |
| 6 | Sutton Local Committee | |
| MB had attended an on-line meeting on 12th November. Much of the reporting was concerning measures associated with Covid-19. | Note | |
| 7 | Police Matters | |
| MS advised that there had been no recent meetings. She will contact the Chair Jonathan Pritchard. EO may wish to consider attending or MS or MB. | EO | |
| 8 | Other Matters | |
| (a) | MB advised that he had received an email from GoParks London about a new campaign. He will circulate for consideration. Quarry Park can be seen on their parks map. | MB, All |
| (b) | MS reported that she and Dennis had found a young lady prone on the ground and very wet and blue in the cold before Christmas. She had been drinking. MS managed to revive her to be subsequently collected by a police car that had been called. The meeting thought this probably saved the lady’s life. | Note |
| 9 | Next meeting | |
| 7:00pm, Thursday 25th March 2021, probably via Zoom but venue/method to be decided nearer the time. | All |
Meetings : Summary of Minutes of Meeting on 27th September 2018
Minutes of Meeting on 17th May 2018
Were agreed.
Review of Event on 30th June 2018
It was agreed that the day was most successful and enjoyed by those attending. Compliments and thanks had been received from those attending. The day was hot and sunny but the large fir tree provided some good shade. Attendance was estimated at just over 100. The face painting was very popular. The Police had not been able to attend and had sent apologies to MS. Thanks were expressed to the Oultons for the use of their china and the excellent sandwiches and to the Davies family for all their help and support.
Donations amounted to £152.98, the highest to date. The requested Neighbourhood Grant of £205 covered the park fee and most of the costs. Three waterproof banners for the railings on the final week before the tea party had been purchased at £30 each. One had been set against this year’s costs and the remaining £60 will be requested against next year’s event. The grant had been received after bill payment so a group needed around £250 in the bank to cover the interim for our level of costs.
Planning 2019 Event
It was agreed to plan for a similar tea party with games in 2019. The timings would be similar, i.e. a summer Saturday from 2 to 4pm. By choosing a slightly later date the required public liability insurance which is offered for one year (up to 5 events) can again cover two years with a slightly earlier date in year two. The provisional date chosen was Saturday 6th July 2019.
Travellers in Seears Park
Around 13 caravans and including 30 children arrived on the evening of Friday 14th September. The padlock on the post in the entry path had been broken. This was seen by a resident of Love Lane on the other side of St Dunstan’s Hill and reported to the Police but the response was delayed. Kevin Plicio was concerned about damage and closed the nursery and café for the weekend. The Council set up a camera high o a lamp post to record what was happening and the Police made periodic visits. The Council had previously posted notices of legal injunctions in all parks to speed up eviction in case of traveller incursion. As this was the first case in the borough the injunction had to be take to court, which was on Monday 17th September and the travellers departed on that day. It was seen that over the weekend the travellers brought in cars and cut them up but there was no major damage nor deposit of waste. MS had spoken to the Council officer setting up the camera. He dealt with traveller incursions and said that the particular group were better behaved than others so perhaps the right ones for the delay with the first injunction. MS had been concerned that any shards of metal left behind could have been dangerous if missed in the clear up. TW had observed that tyre marks were only on the path so the 2014 anti-traveller embankments seem to have been effective.
Work in the Park
- A work session was arranged for Saturday 10th November. If you can help at another time over that weekend please inform TW to co-ordinate the jobs. Pruning back low hanging branches on the Cheam Road footway had finally been carried out by the Council’s contractor. Friends groups had been offered daffodil and crocus bulbs for planting and we had requested 200 daffodils and 100 crocus. MB had kindly offered to collect these when ready from the Council’s depot (Post meeting: – now collected by MB and awaiting planting out).
- The bank balance stood at £439.57 so we had funds for some further planting. It was agreed to purchase 6 new roses from David Austin as these did well in the Quarry Park soil. The cost was around £90. Orange and pink roses were chosen from the catalogue Roald Dahl and Princess Anne.
- MS had recently picked litter in the park, most of which came from crows pulling it out from the bins. She had requested provision of covered bins
- Graffiti had been sprayed on the seat furthest from Cheam Road and on the 3 paving slabs in front. Unfortunately I D Verde had sprayed over the graffiti on the slabs and made it worse. AH suggested that it might be cheaper just to replace the slabs.
New bench.
A majority of the Friends preferred the new seat to be in the shade. Accordingly TW had submitted a plan showing the seat in the shade of the bean tree. (Post meeting note: The seat was installed in early October after TW met the contractor to agree the location).
Website
It was noted that not all information was up to date. It was agreed to ask Jayson Webb if TW could post and remove items directly to simplify the process.
Sutton Local Committee
MB reported that the meeting on 6th September included some interesting items.
The public questions included matters reported (faulty street signs) but not rectified. There was a presentation by the Town Centre Manager on a regeneration project with emphasis on the northern end of the High St. A resident complained about the number of A boards. Times Square had been bought by Sports Direct. H&M were expected to open before Christmas. The Crown Agents building had been sold to developers and largely residential use is expected. The Sutton Green reconstruction of the toilet and café is being done by Happy Building Ltd. Gastrafino will operate the café and the Library café.
Planning managers from TfL and Sutton gave a presentation on Sutton Link, the proposed new tram service from Sutton. This was a joint project with LB Merton which would also benefit from the service. The scheme had been narrowed down to 3 route options (map from the presentation attached to these minutes). It is planned that the preferred option will be decided in January 2019 with public consultation on the developed preferred option in the summer of 2019. In reply to a question TfL advised that the extension of the Northern Line was not affordable.
There was a session on improving and enhancing the local committee format, with the feedback from residents and Friends representatives collected for consideration.
Police Matters
MS reported on a recent meeting of the Sutton West local police panel.
There had been an increase in burglaries in the ward, both from houses and theft from vehicles. There had been instances in the borough of theft by moped riders with either false or no number plates.
Local police were drawn away for President Trump visit and covering local venues showing football World Cup matches.
MS reported on deliberately broken glass in Quarry Park and asked the Police to do some checks on the park.
AD reported that in gardening in Quarry Park he had come across a broken cash till with sharp edges and blood on it. He reported it to the Police who gave him a reference number CAD2526. Wisely AD had been wearing gardening gloves.
Any Other Business
- No feedback yet to MS on the suggested advertising in Quarry Park.
- The drain clearance in Summerville Gardens had finally been carried out with much debris removed, fortunately observed by MB who showed the drain requiring attention.
Next meeting.
7:30pm, Thursday 17th January 2019