Greenbank Residents Association meeting held Tuesday 1^st  April 2008

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Welcome

Apologies: Ben, Liz,

1.    Follow up from last time

• Councillors; letter sent and thanked them for their support but asked them to only attend if invited in future.

• Consultation on Easter Sunday – Recap about why we are doing and why. Gareth got information and we have £178,000 SO1 money, given to area from developments. The council may or may not give us the money. Over 35 filled in, lots of children got involved and lots of people. There are photos on the FOL website.

• Ideas include paths, stream, plants, number of activities, drainage, environmentally sensitive etc

• Importance of getting the ideas out and collating them, working towards the Vision (which may end up costing a lot of money).  Shamshad and Marie will collate the information.

• Thanked council for the chairs and gazebos, also thanked Mark who brought hot squash out and supported us.

• Issue of water and culvert being opened, health and safety!

2.    Way Forward

• Get more questionnaires- door knocking and then progress from there. Aim for 100 or more questionnaires done.  

• Liz sent out all email list today

• Budget of £128 for photocopying- let Irene know if need any.

• Liz newsletter passed onto people who don’t answer the door, leave at Pool, shops etc

• Public meeting at the church- advertise in papers and All FM so we ensure that we have consulted as much as possible

• When we have them we need to get them collated, draw info together, give people drawing ideas

• Find out what the money is and how we can get hold of it, we need to make sure that people don’t expect us to make a difference immediately, without it. 

   

• Mary will photocopy stuff for us- black and white only

       Action

• Everyone to take 5 questionnaires and get them filled in by neighbours and friends
• Byrom ave- Irene
• Bornville- Marie and Liz
• Barlow rd- Joan
• Hannah- Manor/ Rushmere
• Fieldbank- Paul
• Bottom of Barlow- Margret
• Cilmart close/ Longsight close- Alan
• Will do the whole of hornbeam- Shamshad

Marie will collate the info in a spread sheet, and get initial feedback 

Shamshad have a talk/ think through to ensure we can get the information is filled in- form a subgroup/ look at over the next meeting.

Mary to find out what S106 money will be given to us and email H, also let Margret’s Rd know if they will be cutting the grass and why it isn’t.   

Newsletter – leave it and do a drop around the area in May, after the May meeting.

3.    Joining of Nutsford Vale (behind school and Matthews lane) and other groups like Friends of Greenbank

• Alan asked us to combine with the group of residents from Nutsford, spent £8000 and spent money on trees. Council own land but not interested in spending money. Not much luck in getting funding, but as a bigger group this maybe something we could consider. Not a formal park area, aim to be a nature reserve. Is this too much work? There are not paths at the moment. Red Rose forest is the contractor and will maintain if they have money. They have funding sources sighted. The group just doesn’t have enough people involved we could support this- everyone expressed their opinions and concerns around workload etc. We would not have to do anything, would be a separate bank account and would run itself, only run it by us as an umbrella group. Just try it and see.  

• Friends of Greenbank aiming to combine and finish off their work- so should be on board fairly soon.

4.    Any Other Business

• Highfield Country Park day, £1000 to run the event from the council, event seemed to go well; hanging baskets, wicker weaving, Easter egg hunt and birds of prey.

• Mary’s update- kissing gates have been put in and will be straightened up and sorted out. The hedgerow will be sorted whenever we would like. Cash grants will be due out asap, Mary to email them through to us, they may try and match fund it! Welcome to pay money into their account as well, won’t have to pay VAT.