Report of Cavendish Park Community Association General Meeting,
Monday 6th April 2009 @ Christ Church, Grange Farm Avenue:

Once again the turnout was very good, not many empty seats.

Before the meeting commenced a presentation was made of the “Sporting Wheels“ to Connor James. This young man had a serious accident in 2008, damaging his spine; this means Connor will need to use a wheel chair for the foreseeable future. Connor was keen on sport before his accident so The Association members and friends raised £809.10 through the “Wheel Appeal” and purchased a set of “Sporting Wheels”. These will enable Connor to continue to participate in sport. Click here for more information.

Reports were given by the Community Police Support Officer - Andi Hillman and the beat officer PC Dave Gledhill, which included updates on crime figures for West Ward - 2008/2009 total crime reduced by 14% compared to 2007/2008.

Town and District Councillor – Mike Ninnmey and Town and County Councillor Graham Newman. Reported on the new Cycle tracks, Skateboard Park progress and the Local Government Review (or not as the case may be). A number of questions were asked by members of all the speakers.

Kirsty Mann informed the meeting of a new group, “West End Play”, formed to provide supervised, unstructured, non-threatening but challenging activities in West Ward for young people.

Mahbulbul Allam , Community Training Manager, gave an overview of the Community Education Centre, based in Maidstone Road; and asked for input re: training courses people required.

The Hon. Chairman, Barry Farr, opened with an appeal for a minute secretary and then reported on the work done by the committee since the last general meeting and what was coming in 2009. Christmas donations of £50.00 each went to:
- Felixstowe Salvation Army.
- Felixstowe Alzheimer’s Group.
- East Anglian Children’s Hospice
- 2nd Walton Brownies
He informed the meeting that our nomination for a Mayors award had been successful this year. Our nominee, Mrs Lis Goodard, is a founder member and for many years chair of the Felixstowe Arthritis group, she is also a founder member of the Young at Heart Club. Lis herself has suffered terribly with Arthritis for many years but still manages to think of others. We are proud of her.

Once again Seaport Freight Services have agreed to sponsor the Community Awards we present to children of Grange C.P. School, and the “Team Spirit Trophy” will be presented on sports day at the school. The Chairman wished Sue Todd, the outgoing Headmistress, every success for the future and thanked her for the wonderful co-operation we have had over the past 4 years.

We hope to run a Summer Fete/s  in partnership with Grange School, The Firs residential home and the Oaks Children’s Centre, dates to be advised.

The Association gives its full support to The Oaks children’s centre, which is doing wonderful work with families in and around Felixstowe. Under the leadership of Jenny Clark-Pearson the centre is becoming a centre of excellence for this kind of work, her staff are very dedicated and deserve our praise and support.

The following propositions were debated and passed unanimously:

Resolution 1 - Addressed to Town, District & County Councils
This Association has grave concerns about the provision of care services for the elderly in our community.
We would ask this council to adopt a more robust approach in its dealings with the agencies involved in the provision and procurement of these services.

And, we request that the council vigorously pursues improvements in care for the elderly of our community.

Proposed by - Barry Farr.  Seconded - Margaret Good

Resolution 2
This General Meeting of Cavendish Park Community Association very warmly welcomes the possibility of the passage of the Olympic Torch through Felixstowe as this once in a life time experience would be an unforgettable spectacle for residents and tourists of all ages.

The Association calls upon Felixstowe Town Council to give its full support and to work towards a successful outcome which would benefit the whole community.

Proposed by - Michael Sharman.  Seconded - Marc James

Flower Baskets. The meeting agreed to sponsor 2 flower baskets for “Felixstowe in Flower”.

Date of the A.G.M - 7th September 2009 @ 7.30pm. Venue - Meeting room at Christ Church. Everybody welcome.

Socialising then took place, where members could talk to the councillors and others. Refreshments including cakes and biscuits were served. Mike Sharman won the Fun Quiz with a measly score of 9 out of 20. And the 100 Club draw was made.

We are always happy to welcome visitors to our General Meeting.

Barry Farr,
Hon. Chair