Minutes of first Annual General Meeting held on 18 March 2008 in Wesley Church

1. Attendance and apologies.

The acting Chair, Dick Baxter, welcomed those attending and introduced himself as the replacement for Geoffrey King who had resigned from the post. Thanks were expressed to Geoffrey for his leadership and hard work over the past year. Twenty four members attended together with Alistair Wilson and Sarah Tovell (Green Spaces Department, Cambridge City Council) and Angelika von Heimendahl (owner of the cattle that graze the Common). Apologies for absence were received from Mr and Mrs Sabry and Mr and Mrs Unstead-Joss.

2. Notes of Inaugural Meeting.

These were approved without comment.

3. Financial Report.

The Treasurer, Brian Smale-Adams, presented the audited accounts for the year ending December 2007. These were approved. Questions were raised about Fenweb's fees for the design and implementation of FoMC’s original website. The website had been redesigned by Dick Baxter and Nick Levine and future costs would reduce to about £12 a year. In response to a query, the Committee had no knowledge of there being any stock in hand of FoMC tee shirts. It was discussed whether or not FoMC should be funded at a level that would allow it to mount a legal action against the Council, should this be necessary. The Acting Chair was not in favour but promised that the Committee would consider this and the need for FoMC to be covered by liability insurance at its next meeting. The Treasurer, Brian Smale-Adams, was thanked for his good work.

4. Election of Officers.

The following were proposed by Tom Stanley and seconded by Cynthia Smale-Adams:

     Chair:      Dick Baxter
     Treasurer:  Brian Smale-Adams
     Secretary:  Barry Higgs

There were no votes against.

5. Election of Committee.

The existing members of the Committee - Milo Keynes, Rosemary Davidson, and Erica Hunter (who had been co-opted) - agreed to serve again. Nick Levine and Susan Stobbs had been nominated to give a full complement of eight. They were all appointed unanimously.

6. The Past Year.

The Secretary reported on the past year.

1. The successes. Establishing a viable organisation with almost eighty members; a good, updated and current website; and sound contacts with officials and Councillors were the major achievements of FoMC in its initial year. Additionally, the Tree Fund initiated by Geoffrey King, the former Chair, had been most successful raising over £1,400 and resulting in a now-completed full replanting programme. FoMC had replied to Council requests for opinions on Access Points to the Common and whether an Easter Fair should be held in 2008. Members had assisted in the river clean-up organised by ‘Camboaters’. It had also asked the Council to prevent Midsummer House Restaurant expropriating the adjacent Pound; this they did. FoMC had also conducted a comprehensive lobbying campaign asking that the nuisance caused by Strawberry Fair should be addressed by the organisers and the Council. Following a meeting with Council officials and representations to the Council’s Area Committee a Stakeholders' Meeting was held. The organisers of Strawberry Fair responded with numerous measures to reduce nuisance. The Council also required other changes but agreed to a 2008 event. A ‘wash-up’ will be held soon thereafter and well before the planning process for the subsequent year got under way. A further success, but not one for which FoMC can take much credit as it is a legal right, has been the grazing of eight Red Poll steers on the Common in 2007. These have been generally welcomed (see below).
2. The Failures. There were two major failures: the further decline in the state of the Common and the continued nuisance caused to local residents by Strawberry Fair. Additionally, progress with painting the railings was painfully slow. Excessive vehicular traffic to the Fort St George and Midsummer House Restaurant also continues and the planned controlled access is still awaited. After prolonged delay in installing them, FoMC’s Committee eventually decided to withdraw its request for Notice Boards on the grounds that they exhibited problems elsewhere - many were vandalised, were seldom kept up-to-date and brought further ‘street furniture’ to open spaces.
3. The Cattle. The owner of the cattle, Angelika von Heimendahl, spoke of her plans for the current year. She intends to run eleven cattle and to replace some of those taken to slaughter later in the year with younger stock so as to maintain a consistent herd size which was important to good husbandry. She was grateful for the considerate manner in which the public had responded to the cattle but needed to inform people that cattle, being ruminants, should not be disturbed when laying down as they needed to be allowed to re-digest their feed. Warning notices needed to be posted.

7. The Year Ahead.

Dick Baxter, the Chair, asked those present to indicate what they would wish FoMC to achieve in the year ahead. The meeting expressed its concern at the continued poor state of the Common and especially with the increased infestation of nettles, thistles, chickweed, and Barley Grass. In respect of Strawberry Fair, there was a desire that the Police should close some local roads to non-residents although it was doubted whether they had the power to do this unless there was an incident. There was a query as to whether FoMC might hire security staff to patrol areas where fouling and other anti-social behaviour occurred. It was doubted whether the writ of such people would run on public roads even if they could be afforded. Regarding the fun-fairs, it was queried whether the weight of the operators' vehicles, which seemed to increase year-on-year, might be limited to prevent further compaction. It was doubted that a limit below that applying on the highway could realistically be imposed. The Chair invited Alistair Wilson of the Cambridge City Council Green Spaces Department to address the meeting. He covered the following points:

1. Management Plan and Performance Strategy. Alistair Wilson accepted that the management of Midsummer Common and the accomplishment of what should be routine activities were deficient. He hoped that a new plan, drawn-up in conjunction with the Wildlife Trust, would provide the framework for better performance, the attainment of which would be monitored. FoMC would have a role in this iterative process.
2. Events. The Council would be drafting an ‘Events Framework’ designed to establish what should be held where in the City and to meet what needs. FoMC would be invited to participate in this process.
3. The Pindar. Although the Pindar retired in July 2007 a successor has yet to be appointed. This would be investigated.
4. EDF Trenches. The need to remove remaining bark over the EDF trench was acknowledged as was the need to apply more top-soil and re-seed. The unauthorised emergency trench dug by EDF on the Common adjacent to the Four Lamps roundabout on Maids’ Causeway was the subject of on-going discussions between the Council and EDF. Reparation and possibly compensation were under discussion, especially as at least one tree had been killed.
5. Controlled Gate. Work was in hand to investigate and design the delivery of electricity to the site of the proposed electric gate and, subject to the project proving feasible, the gate would be purchased. Five electronic passes would be issued to each of the Fort St George pub and Midsummer House Restaurant. It was hoped that the gate would be operational by the time of Strawberry Fair.
6. Greenstat. FoMC was asked to access the ‘Greenstat’ web-site and enter feedback on Cambridge green spaces including Midsummer Common.

Susan Stobbs expressed appreciation to Alistair Wilson and his fellow officials for their efforts and for coming to talk to FoMC.

8. Any Other Business.

There being no other matters, the meeting closed at 8.30pm.

B Higgs Hon Secretary
20th March 2008