You are warmly invited to
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OUR GUEST SPEAKER
Professor JULIAN LLOYD WEBBER Principal The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
“PERFORMER to PROFESSOR”
49th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Wednesday 25th March 2020 7.00 for 7.30pm
THE SENIOR HALL EDGBASTON HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS WESTBOURNE ROAD EDGBASTON B15 3TS[By kind permission of Headmistress, Clare Macro]
NEW MEMBERS WELCOME - JOIN ON THE NIGHT[£10 per household per year.]
www.calthorperesidents.orgRSVP [email protected] or 0121 454 9054
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Summary Notes of the 48th AGM of The Calthorpe Residents’ Society held on March 20 2019 at The Octagon, Edgbaston High School for Girls, Westbourne Road, Edgbaston, B15 3TS.
[Full minutes of mee.ng available by applica.on to Commi7ee Secretary ([email protected])]
Present: Peter Arnold (Chairman); Officers, Commi9ee, Councillor Deirdre Alden and 170 members.
1.The Chairman welcomed members and thanked Dr Ruth Weeks, Head of EHS for kindly leIng us once again use The Octagon for our AGM and thanked the members of staff who also helped. 2.Apologies – 37
3.Minutes of the 47th AGM March 21st 2018 including Marcus Begby-‐Clench’s amendment were unanimously approved.
4. CommiOee Report: The Chairman and Vice Chairman: • Explained the new system of working with 5 working groups ac\vely supported by more members. • BCC’s Review of the Edgbaston Conserva\on Management Plan with CRS involvement is going well
with Andy Fuller, City Design Manager, pleased with progress to date. • Links with Mainstay maintain last year’s improvement, along with close liaison with BCC and CE. • Ongoing problems with residents having difficul\es gaining access to take part in the decision
making progress where traffic and parking is concerned. • Successful Traffic and Parking Forum held. • Problems raised with the proposed A38 cycle way on Bristol Road – traffic problems an\cipated
when in opera\on. • Cllr Alden explained how BCC’s proposed Clean air Zone (CAZ) is likely to affect Edgbaston
residents. CRS were currently very ac\ve:
• Contribu\ng to keeping Edgbaston clean by regular li9er picking. • Contribu\ng to the revised Calthorpe Residents’ Handbook incorpora\ng the Scheme of
Management. • Regular mee\ngs with CE and Spiaire Developments re: proposed major development at No 6
Norfolk Road. • Group of volunteers involved with produc\on of booklets – Blue Plaque Walks – Edgbaston and
Harborne. • Finalising liaison with CE re: signage from Broadway Plaza to BCU and BBG. • Monitoring planning apps and opposing where appropriate e.g. developments at Pritcha9s Road. • BBG – s\ll keeping a watchful eye – Na\onal Trust now involved.
5. Treasurer’s Report: Balance as at 31.12.2018 -‐ £6,370.60; 55 new members joined during the year. Mr Guy Litherland was thanked and re-‐elected as Honorary Auditor.
6. ElecQon of Officers and members of the CommiOee – New Commi9ee Secretary elected along with two new Commi9ee members. Vice Chair did not stand for re-‐elec\on along with four Commi9ee members. All remaining members were duly re-‐elected.
7. AOB – none
The Chairman welcomed Guest Speaker, Mark Lee, Chief Execu=ve of Calthorpe Estates who gave an enlightening presenta.on on “Vision for the Calthorpe Estate’s Community”. He explained how the 300 year old Estate was changing with the .mes, but the “green oasis” of Birmingham is important and should be kept and enhanced for the future.
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CALTHORPE RESIDENTS’ SOCIETYChairman Peter Arnold
TREASURER COMMITTEE SECRETARY MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY Peter Barnett Barbara Bradbury Sheila Hirst
A G E N D A
1. Welcome to members; thanks to students of The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire for a welcoming performance: Chairman
2. Apologies
3. To receive the minutes of the 48th Annual General Meeting held on 20 March 2019 [see Page 2]
4. To receive the Committee’s Report [see Pages 4-6]
5. To receive the Treasurer’s Report, approval of accounts for year ended 31 December 2019 [see Page 7] and election of Auditor
6. To elect the Officers and Members of the Committee [see Page 8]
7. Any Other Business
8. Our next Annual General Meeting will be CRS’s 50th ANNIVERSARYWednesday 24 MARCH 2021, to be held at a venue yet to be confirmed. Speaker: John Crabtree OBE,
Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of the West Midlands
Following the conclusion of formal proceedings, our Guest Speaker is Professor Julian Lloyd Webber
Principal The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire “PERFORMER TO PROFESSOR”
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ITEM 4: COMMITTEE REPORT Presented by Chairman: Peter Arnold.CRS has established itself as a strong representative force on the Estate. We have improved membership and website communication. Major areas of concern continue to be the increase in traffic and parking; the possible effects of the Clean Air Zone; the expansion of the University; the reduction in police numbers together with an increase in crime and antisocial behaviour. We continue to monitor closely all these issues. Household membership and links with residents’ groups and organisations are defined in five major areas of activity:
QUALITY OF PLACE Coordinated by Sandy Taylor The Society’s Conservation Area Working Group has met several times during the year, working with the Council’s Conservation Officers to begin the process of reviewing and updating the Edgbaston, Lee Crescent and Ryland Road Conservation Areas. The City Council has resolved to merge all three of these areas and had enlisted the help of the Society to review the existing Character Appraisals for all three. We have now produced a working draft for the Council’s Conservation Team. The next stage will be for the Council to begin the process to review this and embark on a formal public consultation with key stakeholders including Calthorpe Estate and residents. A Conservation Area designation is legally the responsibility of the City Council and will therefore be considered and formally approved by the Council’s Cabinet. This process is expected to take some time to conclude.
Members will be aware that CRS responded strongly in 2017 to Birmingham Airport’s proposed expansion of the MOSUN flightpath over our area. Despite our deep concerns, the CAA formally approved the expansion in early 2019, and the new arrangements were due to be implemented in May 2019. However, due to a late objection by the Ministry of Defence over its impact on RAF Brize Norton, the planned weekday expansion of MOSUN has been indefinitely deferred. However, the Society remains in dialogue with the Airport, and we will report back on new developments.
SAFETY & SECURITY Coordinated by Stassi Chilas Over the last twelve months we have continued to encourage residents to take a greater responsibility for their personal safety, the security of their homes and to work with their neighbours to build safer communities. The highlight of the year was a well-attended Safety and Security Forum at Tally Ho! where residents heard from expert speakers on a range of security related issues including: a candid update from the West Midlands Police Commander for our area; advice from the Master Locksmiths’ Association; guidance for online safety; and advice on how to set up a Neighbourhood Watch scheme or start a Street Watch group. Within just a few days, over fifteen residents had received training to carry out Street Watch patrols. We continued to foster strong working relationships with the Police and City Council and ensured that our voice was heard on several influential forums.
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TRAFFIC AND PARKING Coordinated by Dr Yoann H. Teo-LeTeuffIn the last year alone, we worked hard to ensure the residents’ voice was heard on the A38 cycling lane project, the new University Train Station, the proposed new Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) on Harborne Road, the Council’s new Parking Strategy 2020, and many more.
We are currently working with BCU and the Botanical Gardens to develop practical footpaths connected to public transports in order to minimise traffic on Westbourne Road when there are large events taking place.
In 2020, CRS will focus on the impact of the expansion of the University of Birmingham on traffic and the impact of the Clean Air Zone (starting in July 2020) on street parking and air quality.
T&P Forum 6 February 2020 panel.
PLANNING & SCHEME OF MANAGEMENT Coordinated by Pauline Luget OwenCRS maintains positive engagement with BCC Planning and Calthorpe Estates/Mainstay. Resident members are supported by enquiries, comments and objections made on their behalf. We continue to campaign against garden grabbing schemes in Wellington Road and various other locations especially within the Conservation Area. This includes encouraging working towards a sensitive and ‘joined up’ solution for 6 Norfolk Road. Although disappointed that Pritchatts Park student village and car park has been approved, we are pleased that pressure from residents has reduced the scale of the original proposals.
We are very pleased to have collaborated with Calthorpe Estates on the production of a new Residents’ Handbook which updates guidance on the Scheme of Management. Regular meetings are held with Mainstay, and CRS has encouraged Mainstay’s regular Residents' meetings at BTP Edgbaston on the second and last Tuesday of every month. Also, CRS has recently established a working relationship with the Locality Manager for Trident Housing at Templefields where we seek to encourage improvement to the shops, parking arrangements and the semi derelict garages.
Current concerns include Five Ways Tower; Marie Stopes/Calthorpe Clinic [recently closed] and the proposals for a high rise block on 'The Trees' site in Spring Road. Although not on the Estate, such a development would greatly affect many Calthorpe residents. Loss of trees, applications for major extensions and/or rebuilds continue to be of concern along with prolonged/unduly messy building schemes causing distress to neighbouring residents.
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1. Development of Centre for Urban Gardening at BBG (with Friends of BBG)
2. Chad Vale School and Edgbaston Community Centre gardening projects.
3. Community Notice Boards ( with Calthorpe Estates)
4. Local residents’ group activities.5. Four Blue Plaque Walks (with TASBE).6. Art exhibition, workshops and classes.7. Traffic & Parking and Safety & Security forums.8. Edgbaston Conservation Area Review (on behalf of BCC).
SENSE OF COMMUNITY Coordinated by Ruksana Hussain Baig
LOCAL INNOVATION FUND 2017 to 2019 Led by Elizabeth Dancey
£26,000 awarded by BCC to support the development in Edgbaston of:
• A community hub at Birmingham Botanical Gardens
• Activities such as walking, art and gardening
LITTER & LITTER PICKING Thank you to members for their help, participation and taking time out of your busy Saturday schedules most recently on 8 February 2020. Over ten bags of rubbish were collected from the pavements of Edgbaston, hurrah! And Big Thank You to Josh & Staff at Edgbaston Coop, Templefields Square for holding/removing the collected rubbish bags.
Collecting rubbish, also, saw many of us chatting with local residents, as we enjoyed the fresh air [day before Storm Ciara] whilst getting some free exercise too. CRS has invested in litter picking kits. To borrow these contact Ruksana via [email protected] next litter pick has been organised for Saturday 6th June 2020 please save the date in your diaries!
The CRS Communications Group has had a busy year following the Committee's decision to refresh the CRS website. The look and feel of the site has been maintained, but the navigation structure has
been made more logical to reflect our activity groups and content made more attractive with images of activities and events. Online forms have been added for membership applications and contact with the Committee. We are now focussing on improving our social media presence, in order to reach out to and interact with our membership and local community. Your comments on all of this would be most
welcome. Jonathan Middle, Communications lead.
“THE HISTORY of YOUR HOUSE” Those of us living on the Calthorpe Estate appreciate the history and quality of life which we gain from living here. Our houses, whatever their age, reflect that history. Many of us are interested in when our house was built, whether our house was designed by a noted architect or if someone well known or famous once lived there. CRS will be preparing a “toolkit” to help members research the history of their home and this will be made available at our AGM.
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ELECTION OF OFFICERS Standing for re-election
Peter Arnold ChairmanBarbara Bradbury Committee Secretary
Sheila Hirst Membership Secretary
ELECTION OF COMMITTEE Standing for re-electionPriti Bansel Branch
John BranchRuksana Hussain BaigDr Elspeth Insch OBE
Dr Yoann H. Teo-LeTeuffPauline Luget OwenDr Jonathan Middle
Sandy Taylor
STANDING FOR ELECTION Pranav GuptaFaisal Ahmed
Colin Morley Treasurer
STANDING DOWN - Stassi Chilas, Peter Barnett and Guy Litherland CRS thank you for all your input and very hard work! We will miss you!
RESIDENTS’ GROUPS We have Contact Members throughout the Estate. Active Groups linked to CRS include:
Audley St George, Arthur Road, Upper Carpenter, Chancellors Hall, Estria Road, Farquhar Road, Frederick Road, George Road, Greville Lodge, Hagley Road
Retirement Village, Hemisphere, Michael Drive, Norfolk Park, Pebblemill/Taverners, Priory Lodge, Queenscroft, St James Apartments, The Regents, Warwick Crest,
Wellington Road, Westfield/Chad Hill, Woodbourne.
CRS TAKES THIS OPPORTUNITY TO THANK ALL VOLUNTEERS AND WORKING GROUPS - TOO NUMEROUS TO LIST - you know who you are
and how much we appreciate you all. Please do not hesitate to offer to help on an occasional or regular basis.
YOU WILL BE MOST WELCOME.
For details of ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP for Leisure, Educational, Cultural, Sporting or Business Organisations: