Minutes August 2009

KIRKBY STEPHEN TOWN FORUM
Minutes Of the Meeting held on Monday 24 August 2009

Present: Mike Walker, Linda Walker, Ann Sandell, Joan Johnstone, Derek Thompson, Libby Bateman, Andrea Hines, Glenys Lumley, Liz Hall, Peter Lewis, Moira Gaine

1. Chairman’s welcome.
In Jacqui Semple’s absence Joan Johnstone took the chair and welcomed all participants, particularly Moira Gaine who would be talking to the meeting about her project.

2. Apologies for absence: 
Charles Hurst, Jacqui Semple, John Thompson, Debbie Hylton, Jacqui Scarr
    
3. Minutes of the meeting on 13 July 2009:  Following comments from Ann Sandell, the minutes of the previous meeting had been amended to be more complete, and circulated with the agenda. These were accepted as a true record of the meeting.

4. Matters Arising (not otherwise included in the agenda):
Trolleys and storage for market stalls: Mike has still not had chance to get accurate measurements of the market stalls and agreed to complete this in the next month.       Action: Mike Walker

The future direction of the Forum had not been included in the agenda as we already had a very full agenda. It will be included for discussion at a future meeting.         Action: Mike Walker

Ann has advised catering providers about comments regarding opening hours. It was noted that a Tourism Convention would be held during early 2010, and suggested that cafés and pubs be included in the invitation.
      Action: Libby Bateman

Ann had tried to ensure that publicity regarding the Calor Village of the Year success included information that displays can still be seen in church, but was not sure that she had been successful.

Insurance issues were again debated. It appeared that the situation differed with each venue, and depended on whether the stall holders were commercial or charitable. It was agreed to ask advice from insurance brokers on this issue.
      Action: Mike & Linda Walker

Mike had written to the Northern Viaducts Trust as agreed.

5.  Treasurer’s Report:
The treasurer reported that the Forum had little expenditure in the previous few months, and our bank balance was healthy due to the grant from EDC, prize money from Calor, and moneys from donations to new Christmas lights.

6. Macmillan Community Project:
Moira Gaine spoke to the meeting about the project she is running to provide community support for older people affected by cancer. The activity is supported by Age Concern, Macmillan, Cumbria and the NHS, and aims to assist anyone affected by cancer, whether patient, relative or carer in the age group over 50 years of age, and emphasising that it is not about cancer, but about life. Further information is available from the secretary.

7. Calor Village of the Year Competition:
a. Report on judging: Kirkby Stephen had been judged as one of the last five villages in the England competition on the morning of the last meeting. We were informed two weeks later that we had won the competition and the award of the best village in England title, with prize money of £7000 plus £3000 towards a celebration. Mike had circulated the judges comments to all those who had participated in the judging and reiterated them for the Forum as follows:

Kirkby Stephen displays a breadth of vision seldom found elsewhere, providing both support for the town whilst also accepting a key leadership role in the wider community through the Upper Eden Community Plan.

There is a good breadth of activities supporting all age groups and efforts are made to help cement good relations between the different age groups within the community. It was interesting to note the shared use of the resources available, e.g. the youth club in the cricket pavilion, the cinema in the school, and the Church of England and the Roman Catholics sharing the one Church.

Kirkby Stephen clearly recognises the need to promote and maintain tourism as essential to its economic sustainability, and we congratulate them on obtaining the ‘Walkers are Welcome’ accreditation. The annual Commercial Vehicles rally obviously provides a bonus for entertainment, tourism and the economy.

What an active and imaginative business organisation the Town Forum is, acting both as a conduit for mutual support between the many different businesses and as a means of interaction between the businesses and the wider community. The ability of the Town Forum to initiate schemes that are then carried forward by others is impressive.

This really is a vibrant, caring and successful community.

Much publicity had been gained as a result of the award, and although there was still some concern about the village / town definition, this was adequately addressed by the editorial in the Herald on 1 August 2009.

b. Plans for celebration: A group of councillors and Forum members had met to discuss how to celebrate the award, and set up a formal presentation. After much discussion it was agreed to use the annual Charter Fair as the basis of the celebration as this was a particular Kirkby Stephen activity and special to the community. We plan to hold a Community Picnic in the Church and Churchyard, at which we would fund local ice creams for each participant. We will provide a number of forms of entertainment, Punch & Judy, Living Statues, Falconry and hold a dance, and possibly round off the day with a disco or fireworks. At an appropriate time, in the early afternoon, we would provide an opportunity for presentation of the trophy and cheque by a representative of Calor.

Ann Sandell has already arranged craft demonstrations, a Jester of the Year competition to be judged by the Fool of Muncaster, children’s’ activity and fancy dress on a Robin Hood theme, and Crosby Ravensworth Market. Local talent will be included if possible with the Silver Band, Jane Close dancers, and a play organised by Cathy Want. The King’s Arms have agreed to allow the use of the ballroom free of charge for a dance. However no one has yet agreed to organise this activity. Linda agreed to ask if Patsy Robinson would be willing to help.  Action: Linda Walker

It was suggested that guideline spending of £1000 each on Ice Creams, Entertainment, and afternoon/evening activities would be acceptable, with allocations being finalised as expenditure was confirmed. Difficulties in organising a disco were discussed. Libby agreed to discuss refreshments with the King’s Arms.   Action: Libby Bateman

c. Initial discussions on Prize Money: Various ideas are already being proposed on how to spend the prize money for the benefit of the community. Advice had been taken from previous winners, and we resolved to spend money to maximise the benefit to the community, and try to ensure spending occurs within a year or two. It was agreed to have a suggestion box for expenditure at the forthcoming Community Fair so that everyone felt able to make his or her own suggestions.

d. Visit of ITV Lookaround: Following the on-air promise during April, Pat Royle and her colleague Ian, from ITV Borders Lookaround will be visiting Kirkby Stephen on Friday 28 August. Mike and Ann are available, and members of the Forum made suggestions about where to visit. It is likely that they will have their own ideas of what they wish to do and Mike will try to clarify their needs before they arrive.
      Action: Mike Walker

8. Charter Market:
The arrangements for the Charter Fair & Market had already been included in discussion on the Calor celebration.

9. Heritage Open Day:
Ann reported that arrangements for activities on 12 September were in hand with a Local History Day planned for Kirkby Stephen, activities at the Stainmore Railway, and churches in Mallerstang and Ravenstonedale open.

10. Community Fair:
Arrangements are in hand for the Community Fair on 13 September. 12 stallholders have
confirmed to date with a further 4 promised. It is expected that there will be 20 or so in total, although some are combining their efforts. The poster was circulated for approval, and Mike agreed to check the Risk Assessment developed by Libby. A meeting will be held at the Rugby Club on 1 September to determine the layout of stalls.
      Action: Mike Walker / Libby Bateman

11. Christmas Lights Group:
Letters have been sent out to 120 businesses in Kirkby Stephen asking for support for the new Christmas Light bulbs. The response has been splendid, with donations made to date of £415, with further promises of sales of “bulbs” to customers. Mike outlined his proposal for a mechanism to sell bulbs and it was agreed to support these. Cerberus will be asked to print the “bulbs”, and Mike will provide a recording sheet, and suggest display methods to those businesses wishing to sell them. It should be possible to have something in place by early September. Action: Mike Walker

12. Virtual Tours:
This project is going ahead with 24 virtual tours to be filmed during the following weekend. The decision whether to host the tours on the suppliers website or the Kirby Stephen website has yet to be made.  Action: Ann Sandell

13. Business Database / Directory:
This is ongoing, with staff being trained to update the directory. Mike agreed to give Libby his list of businesses used for Christmas Lights letters to improve the take-up.
      Action: Mike Walker

14. Christmas Switch-on:
It was agreed to follow the example of last year and hold the switch-on of Christmas lights on the evening of Wednesday 2 December. The “More Than a Handful Players” have agreed to do a pantomime in the King’s Arms Ballroom, and the Church Choir will be asked to lead Carol singing.

It was also agreed to continue to offer businesses the service of installation of Christmas Trees on their premises, and Mike agreed to go ahead with Eden Produce and John Popple.    Action: Mike Walker

15. Insurance Issues:
Mike will include the Charter Fair celebration and the Christmas Switch-on on the listed events for insurance cover from Action for Market Towns.
      Action: Mike Walker

16. Any Other Business:
a. Cumbria Tourism invites you to call in for coffee, cake and a chat at Kirkby Stephen Tourist Information Centre on Monday 7th September 2009. Joanne Regan, Industry Liaison Executive and Alyson Rhind, Quality Assurance Executive will be available from 10am to 3pm. This is a good opportunity to find out how Cumbria Tourism can help promote your property, ask any tourism related questions and discover what your options are with quality grading.
b. Janet Hartley had enquired whether the telephone cascade for suspicious activity was still in place, as the Chamber of Trade had set this up in 2003. Mike had enquired of Paul Rocke about the current position. The existing cascade scheme is out of date as businesses no longer exist and new ones are in place. The local police have proposed organising a similar scheme, and a questionnaire was sent out some time ago. Mike has enquired of Roly Earl about the progress of this and will report back to the Forum with further information. Members of the Forum present felt that the system had been useful, although with some shops without telephones, and with the use of answering machines, some modifications would be needed.

17. Date of Next Meeting: 
It was agreed that a further meeting will be held on Monday 5 October, to deal with the Charter Fair and Christmas activities, and the proposed date of 9 November would be held for normal business.

 Next meetings: Monday 5 October 1900 in the room above the TIC
    Monday 9 November 1900 in the room above the TIC