AGM 18th October 2005:

Report on the Annual General Meeting which took place at Cavendish Community Church.

Considering the competition from European football, a number of members who work shifts and a number of members who are in hospital, the turnout was good.

The meeting opened with the chairman welcoming everyone, including the two main speakers, Keith Bartlett, the Crime Reduction Officer for the area and Peter Mellor a member of the Save Our Hospital Action Group. It was also pleasing to welcome new members.

The chairman informed the meeting of the serious operation one of our County Councillors, Ann Rodwell had just undergone and Harry Dangerfield, our Town/District Councillor, had just entered hospital for an operation; the chairman wished them both a speedy recovery.

A presentation then followed given by Keith Bartlett, Crime Reduction Officer, which was entertaining and informative. The main point of the presentation was taking the necessary measures to prevent burglaries of our homes. By the rye smiles on one or two faces he seemed to strike a cord with some. Keith gave a number of leaflets with information on various aspects of crime prevention.

The next to speak was Peter Mellor who gave some historical background to the creation of the present P.C.Ts (Primary Care Trusts), the financial mess they are in and their proposed remedies - closing local hospitals, closing beds in Ipswich hospital, closure of an operating theatre in Ipswich and the closing of support services for those who have mental problems plus many more remedies.

Many in the room expressed their shock at what is proposed and their disagreement of them.

Mike Ninnmey (Town & District Councillor) then gave an update - in his own inimitable way - on what was happening in and around the town. This covered a wide range of subjects such as building affordable homes, sea defences, the Southern Seafront Development, the situation with the Herman De Stern, progress of the Felixstowe South Re-configuration (the Port expansion) public enquiry - we are awaiting the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to make a decision on whether the port can proceed in increasing its deepwater berth capacity and put an extra 1.4 million (yes million) containers on to the A14/Felixstowe Dock Road. The answer to which should be know in the next few months. There are existing environmental problems around the port area, an area where our members live and raise families; we await the answer with interest

Graham Newman our County Councillor then gave us some in-site into the problems the County Council is having in financing the services we all need without having to raise our Council Tax by a large amount in the coming year. Graham is a new County Councillor and we welcome him to our meetings.

The Chairman then gave his yearly report.

This has been a very busy, frustrating but satisfying year; some prominent people within the town are not as open minded as one would have hoped but many others are and have been willing to work with us. We started from nothing and now have over 160 members and a reasonable, though not excessive, amount of money in the bank.

We have formed links with Town, District and County Councillors, The Firs residential home, Grange CP School, plus many local organisations and businesses. By forming these links we hope to strengthen the community and improve the quality of life for ALL who live in and around Cavendish Park. We are also building links with the wider Felixstowe community to help make this town a place to be proud to live in. We have actively supported the Save Our Hospitals Campaign.

The Summer Fete’ at The Firs was a great success; it was most pleasing to see how much those residents of The Firs, who could attend, enjoyed mixing with the rest of the community. We will pursue the following projects in the coming year:

The Grange School Community Prize; for a child who has thought of others in the community.
We will continue to provide volunteers to The Firs residential home and once again hold a Summer Fete’ in conjunction with them.
Strive for improvements to the environment and facilities in the area covered by the Association.
We will expand our links with other local organisations and work to increase our membership.

After the re-election of the existing officers and committee members an amendment to the constitution was passed which allows us to have Associate Members; these are people who live outside of the Association’s geographical boundaries but believe in the same aims as the Association and are willing to work with us in furthering those aims.

Social evening

After the Association’s business had been concluded we moved on to the social part of the evening. Everyone enjoyed the fun quiz; which was based on things you would find in your shopping basket. Tea, coffee and squash were available plus two magnificent cakes, kindly provided by Dot Paddick, to celebrate our 1st birthday; the cholesterol levels must have shot through the ceiling. Raffle prizes were won and friendships renewed.

It was agreed that the dates for next year’s meetings will be:-

General Meetings - 7th March 2006 and 4th July 2006.
AGM - 17th October 2006.
Guests are welcome.
Now we start the work for 2005/2006.