Minutes of meetings

Thorncombe Village Trust

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Minutes of meetings

Minutes of previous TVT meetings are available to read on Archived Minutes.

Minutes of TVT Board of Trustees held on 22.10.15.

Minutes of TVT Board of Trustees 24.3.16

Minutes of TVT Board of Trustees AGM 12.5.16

Minutes of TVT Board of Trustees 6.11.16

Minutes of TVT Board of Trustees 13.3.17

Minutes of TVT Board of Trustees AGM 4.5.17

Minutes of TVT Board of Trustees AGM 3.5.18

Minutes of TVT Board of Trustees 22.6.2021

Thorncombe Village Trust

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on

Thursday 16th May 2019 at 1930 at

Thorncombe Village Hall

Trustees Present: Kate Cahn (Chairman), John Higgs, (vice-chair), Richard Holt (Secretary), Mark Agnew (Treasurer), John Whitbread, Janet Walker, Neil Croton

1 Apologies: None

2 Minutes of last meeting. The minutes of the Annual General Meeting on 16th May 2019 were read and approved, and were signed by the Chair.

3 Chairman’s Report. The Pandemic of Covid19 curtailed all activities over the past year and prevented us holding the 2020 AGM. That situation is now easing and we are able to resume activities. All the Oak saplings to commemorate the lives lost from the village in both World Wars have now been planted. An application for a grant to help with an outside improvement project at St.Mary’s Primary School was received and discussions took place with the school to see how the Trust could help. Work on this was suspended during the pandemic, but we have notified the school that we are open for business once more. A memorial bench for John Gordon, late Chairman of the Trust, has been supplied to the School and is to go in the Quiet Garden. Kate thanked the Trustees fir their help and support.

4 Treasurer’s Report. The balance in the current account at 31 March 2020 was £6646.96 plus £91.77 in petty cash, making a total of £6738.73. On 31 March 2021 the balance in the current account was £6521.26, and there is £91.77 in petty cash, making a total of £6613.03. During the year no grants were distributed, the only outgoings being the website fee, the annual subscription to the Dorset Wildlife Trust, and the hall fee for the AGM.

5 Election of Trustees. In accordance with the Constitution, all trustees are required to resign at the AGM, and may then put themselves forward for re-election. All trustees offered themselves for re-election and also offered to continue in their position as Officers. The Officers of the Trust were then proposed and elected. Kate Cahn remains as Chair, John Higgs as Vice-Chair, Mark Agnew as Treasurer, and Richard Holt as Secretary. The remaining trustees are Janet Walker, John Whitbread, and Neil Croton.

6 Applications for Grants.

Applications for 2021 Grants will be advertised soon, for consideration when received.

7. Projects and Activities. All the oak saplings to mark the Centenary of the end of WW1 have now been planted, some on the school grounds, some near local footpaths and some on private land. These are marked with red on the support stakes. The cost of the trees and fittings is around £95. The Trust will look at making plates showing the names and the dates of death of the people from the village who fell, 22 in the First World War and 3 in the Second World War. It is planned to record all the trees on a map and to place a sign explaining the significance of the trees near the school.

Discussion took place about funding for improvements at the Village Shop, but the work did not meet the Aims of the Trust. A report was received from the school on the progress of the projects there, and the disruption caused by the pandemic. KC is to e-mail the school via Catherine Davis letting them know we are open to any future grant applications.

8. Management of Johnson’s Wood. There has been no progress on agreeing the type of gates to be fitted for access to the wood. Nigel Higgins is to be contacted to see if Dorset County Council can be persuaded to come up with a design acceptable to the landowner and the Council.

9 Any Other Business.

It was proposed that the Trust should arrange for occasional talks relevant to the village and village life, that should be free to all, and perhaps accompanied walks with local themes. It would be possible to have such an evening with a number of short talks rather than one long one. The trustees will meet within the next few weeks to discuss this in more detail.

It was asked whether the Trust could ringfence a sum of perhaps £5000 to counter inappropriate development for the future. It was pointed out that this would leave only a modest amount for other projects, and that with the Trust having outgoings of around £125 a year with no income, this would soon be consumed. It would be preferable to fund raise at the time if this became necessary.

John Higgs advised that he had received very recently a document about the “Queen’s Green Canopy”, a scheme to plant trees to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. There are a number of properties within the village with adjoining fields or paddock that might wish to participate and this will be looked at by the Trust.

10 Date of next meeting.

The next AGM will be at the Village Hall, at 1930 on Tuesday 10th May, 2022.

The meeting closed at 2110.

Parishioners are advised that the funds of the Trust are available for projects that meet the Aims of the Trust. Applications can be made at any time and may be considered by the Trustees. The Aims of the Trust are:-

i) encourage and promote a greater interest in, and understanding of, the local environment and its history;

(ii) protect historic buildings in the Parish of Thorncombe (the Parish), and especially to conserve the character of the village of Thorncombe and of the other settlements in the Parish;

(iii) oppose unsuitable development in the Parish;

(iv) safeguard and enhance the countryside in the Parish;

(v) support nature conservation in the Parish;