Falmouth Civic Society – Annual General Meeting, 2010
Chairman’s Report
Social Activities
Cream teas were held in the King Charles Coffee Shop, as usual, on three occasions since the beginning of last year: on 13 th January, 7th September 2009 and 23 rd November. Terry Outing kindly arranged the supply of food and she was ably assisted by Myra Morris, Felicity Nicholson, Veronica Whale & Angela Beale. On one occasion, when Terry was unable to oblige, Harry Locksley nobly stepped into the breach. The cream teas not only provide occasions when members of our society and their guests can meet informally, but also give us the opportunity to listen to a speaker on some topic of interest to the society. During these occasions we heard talks from Brinley Morris on the Plight of the Poor in the Falmouth Area during the 18 th and 19 th Centuries. Veronica Whale gave a fascinating account of The Life of a Tea Planter’s Wife in Sri Lanka, and Dr Harry Locksley talked about the Convicts sent to Australia from Falmouth. He also described his own travel experiences to Australia which we found most entertaining.
Those who were unable to attend the Cream Teas can find précis of earlier talks on our website.
Communication
Notices for members and the Newsletters are delivered, either by hand or the postal service, by members of our Committee. Most people agree that the Newsletter is a most attractive production and we have had a number of very positive comments to this effect. The credit goes to Joe Hellyer, one of our Committee Members. Because his work takes him from Falmouth a great deal he has been trying to resign from the Committee, but we have consistently refused his request. However we have finally allowed him to do so, but only if he promises to continue to produce the Newsletter. So I wish to thank him for all the work he has done for the Committee and, in particular, for the splendid work he has done in designing and producing the Newsletter, and especially for agreeing to continue in this role.
In addition to our hard-copy versions our Newsletters are also published on our Website http://www.falmouthcivicsociety.org.uk/. Last year I said I believed that our web site would become an increasingly important method of communication as more and more people become familiar with computers. The advantages are that it is possible to update our website more-or-less instantaneously, and it provides an immediate means of access to information, not only for our members, but also for the public at large. However it would seem that the number of hits is remaining relatively constant at just over one per day. The site continues to improve and I am most grateful to Angela Beale who designs and manages it for us.
In addition to these means of communication, we have suggested that it would benefit the Society if those who have e-mail addresses could let our secretary have details of them so that we could start to improve correspondence by this means as well. We promise we will not pass on the information elsewhere and we shall only use the addresses for Society business and to provide information.
Development Concerns
The rising bollard in Church Street
The Society was very much in favour of measures which would reduce the number of vehicles using the main thoroughfare – Market Street, Church Street, Arwenack Street. And so to this end we supported the installation last year of the rising Bollard in Church Street. It is not a perfect solution since cars insisting on using this route during prohibited hours can either wait one minute for the bollard to descend before proceeding (even though this risks an on-the-spot fine), or else follow a minor diversion through the Church Street Car Park which avoids the bollard altogether. Nevertheless my impression is that the device has had a considerable effect in reducing the number of vehicles using these streets as a through route.
The Future
Unitary Authority
Last year I referred to the demise of Carrick (and the other Cornish) District Councils which had been established established in 1973. The new Unitary Authority – Cornwall Council – which replaced the Borough, District, and County Councils, started in April last year. However we were told that it would take some time before all the necessary changes are worked out and are running, but the transformation should be completed in 2011. So far many of us have not noted any major changes in local government as they affect our daily lives. However one change seems to have occurred which affects planning. This is the demise of the Carrick Design Review Panel, of which I was a member by virtue of being Chaiman of the Civic Society. This Review Panel examined submissions for major development proposals before formal planning permission was sought. The Panel met the developers & architects so their preliminary proposals could be examined and discussed. In this way if was expected that the dialogue and subsequent report by the Panel might lead to improved planning proposals. However, this Panel seems to have been disbanded. I put it this way because I have received no word that it has, or that my services are no longer required. But the last meeting was called more than a year ago.
Rather than the changes resulting from administrative reorganization, it may well be that there will be a greater impact on local government services resulting from major cuts in expenditure which are expected, forced by the economic recession.
The Economic Recession
House prices and affordable housing
One of the effects of the economic recession is that there have been relatively few new major building proposals for the Committee to consider, although the number of minor applications for alterations and additions has not been much affected. However, in spite of the recession, house prices in general increased by about 9% over the last year. In Falmouth the average house price was £258,000, about the same as Truro, but much less than the fashionable seaside towns of the South-West, e.g Salcombe £508,000, Padstow £402,000, Dartmouth £379,000, and Fowey £315,000. In these difficult economic times it is difficult to predict what will happen next. Most recently there is some evidence that the increase trend has been reversed, but it would seem that the situation for young first-time buyers, although not as acute in some other towns, is unlikely to improve in the short term. This is an issue of concern to us and, as a Society, our position is that we encourage policies which address it.
Membership
Angela Beale, with the help of Felicity Outing, has recently revised our membership list, and she has now removed from the list the names of members who have moved away, do not pay a membership fee, or are dead. Following this exercise it is clear that there has been a significant decline: the number now is 61. This is worrying since the average age of our members is high and probably increasing, because the recruitment of new younger members has so far not been successful. The Committee has discussed this problem and is currently taking some steps to consult younger potential members to seek their advice on how we could make the Society more attractive to them. We would, of course, be delighted to hear from any of our current members if they have any suggestions on how we might increase our membership numbers, especially among younger people.
Grateful acknowledgements
I am most grateful to members of the Executive Committee for their work during the last year. In particular I should like to thank: Dick Stiles for arranging the drinks for the Annual General Meeting; and the ladies on the committee – Theresa Outing, Myra Morris, Felicity Nicholson, Veronica Whale and Angela Beale – for organizing refreshments for the Cream Teas and the AGM. My special thanks go, too, to Felicity who is our treasurer, and has had a particularly trying time this year dealing with a recalcitrant bank. I am also particularly grateful to Angela Beale, who designed and continues to manage our Web Site; not only this, but she has been taking over the role of Secretary from John Stanley most efficiently. Many thanks, too, go to Veronica Whale and Dick Stiles who keep us aware of planning problems, to Joe Hellyer who produces our Newsletter very expertly, and to Brinley Morris, Veronica Whale and Harry Locksley who kept us educated and entertained with their talks at our Cream Tea Meetings. Last, but certainly not least, I should like to record my special thanks to our hard-working Secretary, John Stanley who, for many years, has provided a most efficient and expert service. He resigns from this office now but, I am glad to say, he is still offering his services to the Society as a member of the Committee so that we can continue to benefit from his wisdom and experience. We are most fortunate in that Angela Beale offered to fill this gap, something which she is already doing most efficiently, and for which I am most grateful.
Eric Roberts
2 March, 2010
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