Bromley Cyclists Group Meeting
Bromley Parish Church
St Peter and St Paul’s
Shortlands Room
Church Road
Bromley
Kent, BR2 0EG
Monday 22 August 2016 – 1930
Minutes
Present:
Spencer Harradine (SH)…. Borough Coordinator
Derek Mark (DM)…………………………………. Chair
John Wood (JHW)……………… Secretary (Acting)
Linda Rampling (LR)………………………. Treasurer
Tracey Parker (TJP)…………… Rides Coordinator
Richard Gibbons (RG)…………. Communications
Eve Evans (EE)……………………. Special Projects
Malcolm Wood (MW)……………………….. Speaker
Eileen Ward……………………………………. Member
Ray Lovell………………………………………. Member
Joe Wand……………………………………….. Member
Tim Wild…………………………………………. Member
Sue Lambert…………………………………… Member
Robert Heywood (LCC Bexley)…………. Member
Terry Kinnard………………………………….. Member
Shirley Varleigh…………………………….. Supporter
Deidre Maynard…………………………….. Supporter
Anna Dynes …………………………………. Supporter
Bryan Stout…………………………………… Supporter
Tom Campbell……………………………….. Supporter
John Harvey (Road Safety Panel)……. Supporter
Jonathan Coulter………………………… Member
Tony Banfield…………. Bromley Civic Society
Pherenice Worsey-Buck… Landscape Group
Alexander Baldwin-Smith……. Bromley Council
Mary Cooke………. Councillor Shortlands Ward
William Harmer……… Councillor Bromley Town
- To Consider the Minutes of the Group Quarterly Meeting on Thursday 12 May 2016 for approval
The previously circulated minutes were presented by the secretary (acting), proposed by LR & TP and approved by the members.
- Matters Arising
SH asked that an expression of gratitude to Andy Allsop be recorded for his presentation at the May meeting.
- To receive and approve the ManCom Report
The secretary (acting) presented the ManCom report (appendix).
- To receive and approve the Bromley Cyclists Group Annual Accounts 2015-16 and the Budget for 2016-17.
The treasurer presented the accounts for 2015-16 and the budget for 2016-17 which were proposed for approval by SH and EE and approved by the members.
- To consider a proposition by the secretary and the treasurer to hire rooms for the monthly and quarterly meetings. Payment to be made from group funds.
The members approved the proposal
- To receive a presentation from the Borough Coordinator about the proposal for a cycling friendly route from Bromley South to Shortlands.
The borough coordinator gave a talk about the proposed cycle friendly route between Bromley and Shortlands and then answered questions on the subject.
- To receive a presentation from Malcolm Wood of Bromley Mencap on the plans for a cycling hub at Norman Park.
Malcolm Wood of Bromley Mencap gave a talk about the plans for a cycling hub at Norman Park and then answered questions on the subject.
The Borough Coordinator thanked Malcolm for giving up his time to come and speak to us, wished him luck and gave an assurance of the full support of Bromley Cyclists for the success of the project
- To confirm the venue for the next group meeting.
The Secretary Acting confirmed that the next Group Meeting would be held in the north of the borough on a date and at allocation to be notified.
- AOB
The was no other business and the meeting closed at 2130 when the members and supporters retired to the nearby Partridge Pub to continue conversations.
This is my second report of the activities of the Management Committee since we changed to the new meeting format.
Group Administration
Air Pollution
EE and the campaigns committee have proposed a resolution on the reduction of air pollution in London which will be considered at the LCC AGM on Saturday 15 October.
Future Speakers
If there are any subjects which are of particular interest to you we would appreciate any suggestions of who might come and give presentations at these group meetings.
Christmas
Dare I even mention the C word in August? We plan to go back to Papadum for that well loved and traditional Xmas meal – a festive curry on Wednesday 14 December. EE will take your bookings and deal with the finance, historically this has proved a very popular Bromley Cyclists’ event and if you haven’t joined our festivities before then I suggest you make a special effort this year
Treasurer
Bank Mandate
We have successfully changed over the bank mandate adding the details of the treasurer and the acting secretary to the account.
Bank Account Balance
Opening bank balance £357.32p
Expenditure:
Hall Hire for meetings 300156 88.00
TOTALS 88.00
Income:
Nil
New Balance
Totals £269.32
We seek the approval of the group for the expenditure.
We have received two letters from LCC HQ asking us to forgo our annual allowance from the office. The amount this year is about £266; we have asked for a meeting with Ashok Sinha to discuss.
From the above mentioned figures you can see that we are not a particularly wealthy group. If we do forfeit the payment we can probably continue to operate on our current arrangement for another 9 months assuming that no further capital expenditure is required.
Rides / Events / Courses
WWW
The trend of better numbers attending the Wednesday Weekly Wanders as reported after the last quarter seems to be continuing. It is noteworthy that there appears to be a trend towards people driving to the pub rather than actually joining the wander. The task of leading these wanders falls to Tracy, Eve, Linda and John. This spread of responsibility has eased the load.
In the belief that some people are discouraged by the prospect of a long ride home particularly after dark in unlit country lanes we have also decided to delete some of the more distant pubs from the list. Future wanders will visit pubs within 4 miles of Bromley. The rides will still be a distance of around 10 miles. We are aware there is an interest amongst some riders to visit non pub type premises (coffee/teashops and similar) unfortunately such premises are generally closed by the time we would wish to visit. It is worthy of note there are some evenings when not a single alcoholic drink is purchased by our wanderers.
Other Rides
There have been several longer weekend rides which have been well attended. In particular Bob G and Andrew F put on some lovely rides which are very popular. TP has led Viking Trail, Shoreham, Design Museum and Quietway Rides. The rides in London have been particularly nice.
The Ride to Rio Event on 14 May in Norman Park was an outstanding success. I think it is right here to record our gratitude to SH who organised and delivered this event almost single handed. It should also be noted that on the day EE worked extremely hard to ensure that the event was successful. Over five hundred riders of all abilities took part.
Adult Cycling Course 2/16
In complete contrast to the first course the second has been very successful. There were originally more than twenty registrations, places on the course were restricted to twenty and of these fourteen completed; eight achieved Bikeability Level 1. Course members are in contact with Cycling Officers at Bromley Council to complete the outstanding Bikeability assessments. There were a total of sixty-six individual attendances out of a possible one hundred and twenty. Eight of the students were taken on a bike ride up the Waterlink Way on the Saturday after the course, which was well received. Many students joined the feeder ride to the FreeCycle event in London. Last Saturday we organised a ride to Downe and suggested that they are now in training to join the Bigfoot to Brighton Ride next May, this was generally well received. There will be ongoing contact with these students to invite them on rides tailored to their developing ability.
The next Adult Course starts on 17 September.
FreeCycle
The group successfully led c.70 riders to central London to participate in the event and brought c.50 back again afterwards. There was great marshalling support from group members and supporters.
Cycle to Work Day
The group has been asked to lead a Bike Train from the borough to Central London on 14 September. This will be led by Tim W and JHW.
Communications
The next issue of the magazine insert for inclusion in the September London Cyclist Magazine has been submitted today.
We sent our third e-Newsletter in July; it was most unfortunate that I inserted an incorrect day for this meeting which meant that a correction had to be sent.
Metrics.
January:
The email was sent to 631 email addresses, It was opened by 255 – 41% (compares with average of 20% open rate so very good)
There were 13 recorded clicks on linx in the mail however because I used the wrong sort of links there were probably more click throughs.
April:
The email was sent to 626 email addresses, It was opened by 245 – 40%
There were 44 – 7.1% recorded clicks on linx in the email.
July
Slightly confusing metrics because of the follow up correction email. It appears that we had about a 30% open rate. But this could higher as it is not possible to work out whether people opened both emails or just one.
Media Engagement
There are three media messages we are encouraged to promote when engaging with the media:
London’s growing population.
The increase in popularity of cycling in London.
The urgent need for more segregated cycling lanes to increase cycling further.
Targets
Asks
Spencer and I have had a meeting with a Transport Planner regarding the ‘Ask’ for improved cycling infrastructure between Bromley South and Shortlands avoiding the Westmoreland Rd / Masons Hill junction. SH will be giving a presentation about this in a minute.
Membership
We continue to promote membership of the LCC at every opportunity. The borough coordinator is following up lapsed memberships and encouraging them to rejoin
At the recent ‘Groups Forum’ some details of the new membership model was revealed. In future there will be three types of membership: Full (incl. family membership) with all benefits applied, Associate with no benefits (so just a financial supporter) and Patron.
Increase attendance at group meetings
We have sent out numerous emails inviting various groups to this meeting:
Ward Councillors
Residents Associations
This Church
Bromley Road Safety
Schools
Scouts
Transport, Traffic & Infrastructure
Borough Speed Limits
RG has been doing some research into the various speed limits in the borough. Whilst we realise that a blanket 20mph limit in residential streets in the borough is probably unattainable RG is wondering whether we could take a slightly different approach to achieve an improvement. This is a work in progress and we will keep you informed of significant developments as things progress.
Road Safety Panel
It seems that our report to you in May about being invited to be represented on this panel was somewhat premature. We have now been informed by the panel chair that we cannot be members as membership is restricted by their constitutions to representatives from residents associations, we will in future be invited to those meetings where it is considered that cycling related matters will be discussed.
Accounts 2015-16
BUDGET
LONDON CYCLING CAMPAIGN
LOCAL GROUP GRANT APPLICATION 2016/17
Name of local group: Bromley Cyclist
Borough: London Borough Of Bromley
Should you consider not claiming your grant this year?
Predicted Reserves at 31 Mar 2017 (from budget on page 3) (A) £ ________
Budgeted Surplus/Deficit for 2016/17 (from budget on page 3):
Surplus £ _________
OR
Deficit (B) £ _________
Number of years’ deficit covered by your Predicted Reserves
(A divided by B) _________ years
As you are probably aware, charities are required by the Charity Commission not to accumulate reserves which exceed their requirements but instead to ensure that they use their resources to further their charitable objectives. As a constituent part of the charity London Cycling Campaign, each LCC local group should also try to ensure it does not accumulate excessive reserves.
The calculation above is designed to demonstrate if you should apply for your local group grant, based on the level of your reserves and your current levels of expenditure. If you have a budgeted surplus for 2016/17 and you have a reasonable level of reserves, we would ask you to consider not claiming your 2016/17 LCC grant. Alternatively, if you have a budgeted deficit for 2016/17, but the number of years deficit covered by your Predicted Reserves exceeds 2 years, we would also ask you to consider not claiming your LCC grant for 2016/17.
Grant claim
|
This group has decided to apply for our annual grant from LCC
This group has decided to waive our annual grant from LCC
Amount of grant claimed
Basic local group grant: = £200.00
No. of members: 222 @ £0.30p each =0.30 (see list of membership numbers by borough)
Total claimed: = £_66.66
Application made by: L Rampling
Group banking details:
Bank Name Unity Trust Bank
Sort Code 60-83-01
Name of account Bromley Cyclists
Account number 20224662
Name: L Rampling Date: 30/05/2016
Notes:
- Your application must be accompanied by:
- a budget for the forthcoming year (2016/17), completed below
- if not already sent, a financial information return for 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016
– Please return the completed grant form by 31 May 2016.
- Please advise us if you do not need to claim your grant.
- Payment will be made by bank transfer to your group’s Unity Trust Bank Account. If your group has no Unity Trust account, please give the bank details above and consider switching your account to Unity Trust.
- Please email your grant applications and financial information returns to chris@lcc.org.uk or post to Chris Evans, LCC, 2 Newhams Row, London SE1 3UZ.
- If you need help with your return, please contact Chris as soon as possible for help and advice.
2016/17 Budget (excluding LCC grant) for
_____________________________________________
| Description (e.g. income from rides and grants, cost of print, room hire, events. Please do not include the LCC grant here) | Income | Expenditure |
| Table for Event | 129.80 | |
| Engraving | 12.00 | |
| Hall Hire | 75.00 | |
| Hall Hire | 39.00 | |
| Flags for Events | 268.78 | |
| Hire of Halls for future meetings | 200.00 | |
| Total | 724.58 | |
| Budgeted Surplus or Deficit for 2016/17 (excluding LCC grant) | ||
| Reserves brought forward 1 Apr 2016 | 881.46 | |
| Predicted Reserves at 31 Mar 2017 (excluding 2016/17 LCC grant) | ||
