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Dukinfield East.

Residents’ Association.. Meeting held on 9th October 2013

This ninth public meeting and 2nd AGM of Dukinfield East Resident’ Association (DERA) was held at Astley Sports College, Yew Tree Lane, Dukinfield.

This followed a leafleting of 3000 addresses within the area boundaries.

Present: John Heywood (JH) Chairman Kathy Inglis (KI) Secretary

David Bottomley (DB) Treasurer

John Bevan (JB) Committee Member Angela Carr (AC) Committee Member

Dorothy Cartwright (DC) Honorary President

Guests: Sue Parker (SP) PCSO Mark Storie (MS) Astley Sports Village

Paula Parker (PP) Deputy Head, Astley Sports College Simon Blomeley (SB) Neighbourhood Coordinator for Gorse Hall and Yew Tree,

New Charter Sarah Chilton (SC) Neighbourhood Coordinator for Gorse Hall and Yew Tree,

New Charter

Apologies: Pam Devine, Judith McKenzie, Councillor Dave Sweeton and Councillor Claire Reynolds

Preamble to Meeting: JH confirmed that there were sufficient members present to form a quorum, under the rules of the

constitution. The meeting, therefore, proceeded to the agenda.

Welcome members and guests: Opening address by the Chair: Introduction of the committee.

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Annual report by the chairman (reported verbatim): Last year, when I presented the Chairman’s annual report, I dwelt largely upon the time that the committee had spent in setting up DERA, establishing our aims and objectives, Constitution and Code

of Conduct and various requirements to meet the bureaucracy and the documentation that was a necessity to become a constituted body.

The work was carried out, mostly by the committee members that are present tonight, and despite our efforts to bolster the number of committee members, we lost Steve Fisher (aka Starlord) at the

beginning of the year as he moved on to pursue his many other interests. Although two young ladies were elected at the previous AGM, one unfortunately had to resign due to ongoing health issues and

it proved extremely difficult to arrange meetings to accommodate the other person due to her work commitments, resulting in her having recently resigned. Following dissolution of the current

committee later in the meeting, we will be pleased to take additional nominations prior to the

elections.

It has proved a demanding and challenging year for our association, exacerbated by circumstances related to the various agencies we deal with and events outside our control.

It has been difficult to achieve continuity due to personnel changes; at the latter end of last year Ben

Buckley was promoted to Team Leader within the New Charter Hierarchy and a new Neighbourhood Co-ordinator, Tom McGuire was appointed to cover the Yew Tree area. He proved to be a very

enthusiastic and competent officer and, during the short period under his management, a number of outstanding projects involving New Charter were brought to a conclusion. However, after just a few

weeks on our patch, Tom took early retirement and we were left without cover for a few weeks, until Sarah Chilton and Simon Blomeley were appointed on a temporary basis until a permanent

replacement could be found. This situation prevails and, though both Sarah and Simon are doing a

sterling job, unless we can persuade New Charter to allocate one or both officers to our area on a permanent basis, we will again be faced with a ‘New Kid on the Block’ situation.

A similar position applied within GMP, where we lost our Neighbourhood Bobby, Zad Latif. Zad was

enthusiastic and committed to community policing and particularly keen on fostering close working

relationships with Homewatch and Residents’ Associations such as DERA. However, just as his efforts were beginning to bear fruit, he moved on, due to prospects of promotion in a different ward. We

have yet to meet his replacement, Simon Ritchie, who is currently taking paternity leave, but we will offer him help and support in establishing his presence in our neighbourhood and hope that his

appointment may be more long- term than we have previously experienced.

And finally, during the past 12 months, we have sought to strengthen our relationship with Astley

Sports College and were about to discuss the possibilities for joint ventures with the college whereby DERA might be able to secure funding for projects that would benefit our community. Natalie Craig

had regularly attended our public meetings and was keen to work closely with DERA but, unfortunately she recently left the college and so we will have to open new discussions with her

successor.

In the meantime, our small but committed and enthusiastic band has moved forward with the various projects on hand, some with great success and others to a lesser degree.

So, I will update the meeting, starting with a matter that has, I can only describe as having ‘dragged along’, for nearly two years and I find it incredulous that a relatively minor problem cannot be

resolved by the agencies concerned, New Charter and Tameside Borough Council. This is the

problem of litter and general untidiness in the vicinity of the shops on Yew Tree Lane. Some time ago, New Charter agreed to replace the current waste bins on the shop forecourt with larger capacity

units, with lids and side entry opening for depositing litter, so that it would not blow around once the bins were full. They confirmed that funds were available for the new bins, but the stumbling blocks

appear to be in getting permission from Tameside council to demolish the existing concrete containers and then to agree which organisation will become responsible for emptying and disposing

of the rubbish. In essence, it appears that DERA has, yet again, fallen foul of corporate

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reorganisation whereby people moving jobs are either unable or unwilling to take decisions. We will

continue to pursue this project with both parties in the hope that it will have been resolved before our next AGM.

Staying with the topic of the shops, we were successful in working together with new Charter to disguise the unsightly appearance of the wheelie bins at the side of the block of flats by infilling the

gaps in the metal railings.

On Chester Avenue itself, during the year, the passageway from the estate leading to the green land,

known locally as ‘The Circle’ was cleared of undergrowth and overhanging branches and the surface made good. Although this has been used extensively by dog walkers, it was intended as a prelude to

improving the green area, for the betterment of the community in general. However, those of you who attended last year’s meeting will no doubt remember the hostile reception to the proposals by

members living on the Green Booth estate. A working party was established to discuss possible uses

for the land and, although tentative agreement was reached to plant the area with trees and reinstate an existing footpath, there remained underlying animosity towards any development at all by a small

number of individuals. In the interim, Persimmons, leaseholders of the land had expressed their desire for DERA to take over the lease. Without going into too much detail, the legal implications of

taking such a step proved quite daunting and it was agreed by the committee that DERA was not in a

position to move further forward with the project at the time. It is possible, though, that this situation may change, for reasons that will become apparent during our following General Meeting.

However, having reached an impasse with the Circle project, it allowed the committee to concentrate

on bringing another major project to fruition; the purchase of a minibus for community use by not-for-profit organisations at attractive hire rates. We were successful in raising £10,000 from the

Lottery Fund, £2,000 from the council run You Choose Fund and further, lesser amounts from New

Charter, Duki Drop-in and Dukinfield Congregational Church. Put together, this allowed us to purchase an excellent 17-seater minibus which I hope you will have noticed parked outside. The bus

has yet to be converted for wheelchair access in the near future and though we envisage that the scheme will require financial support during the first 12 months, we hope to establish a core of

regular users so that it may soon become self-sufficient. I will not enter into further details at this

stage, since it is a topic on our agenda for the General Meeting when my colleague Kathy Inglis will provide further information and answer any questions about the operation of the scheme.

The final item in last year’s report concerned general running costs for the Association, and we were lucky enough to obtain £640 in funding from Forever Manchester Seed Fund which enabled us to

purchase a laser printer and printer cartridges to produce our own posters and leaflets, as well as

cover general office expenses. Although there remains a small balance of this funding, we will need to seek additional moneys for the coming year.

Turning now to our plans for the future, we have entered into discussions with New Charter with a view to possible affiliation. Here again, I will not go into detail within this report, since there will be

time for discussion during the general meeting which follows. As to short-term plans, New Charter and TMBC are to organise a local litter pick and clean-up early in

the New Year and I hope that we can raise volunteers within our community to back this effort.

I have been speaking for long enough now, so I will close with the message that we need your support, your ideas and input to influence future developments within our local community. You can

now contact us and follow us on either Facebook under Dukinfield East Resident’ Association or Wordpress at dukieast.wordpress.com or by email at deramail@aol.co.uk or, if you prefer give me a

ring on 07999877102.

Statement of Accounts by Treasurer: DB the account balance as £2,713.34 Of note, the £9,954 purchase of a minibus, the £200.00 interest free loan is from Duki-Dropin.

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Nominations and Election of Committee: Supervised by Dorothy Cartwright:

John Heywood proposed as Chair by Angela Carr, seconded by John Bevan

Kathy Inglis proposed as Secretary by John Heywood, seconded by John Bevan David Bottomley proposed as Treasurer by John Heywood, seconded by Angela Carr

John Bevan and Angela Carr volunteered as committee members. All passed with no

objections.

DC asked if anyone present would like to join the committee. Nobody put themselves forward.

Resolutions:

None were received.

Close of AGM

General Public Meeting: Review and update of AGM Meeting 12th September 2012 (Update in Red) The circle area

There is tentative agreement to plant some trees and put a path through the area.

The project is currently on the back burner whilst we concentrated on the Minibus project.

The owner of Premier store on Yew Tree Lane has invested in their own security, and complains that

the PCSO’s simply ask for logs of events and was concerned that opening up the circle area could lead to gangs congregating there.

SC: New Charter have future plans to review the area along with Tameside MBC, this will consider issues such as the frontage including security of the area.

SC: New Charter’s Neighbourhood Manager has witnessed the bins overflowing at the shops - particularly when the kids finish school.

20 plays areas have been removed in the area.

DERA is seeking possible sites for a play area Oak Tree Drive, land we looked at as a potential play area, has been approved for housing.

Area surrounded by Tennyson Avenue was considered but has a problem with young people playing football, causing damage to fences and entering residents’ gardens. This matter was brought up at

the Dukinfield Assembly.

A resident from the south east corner of the circle complained that someone had broken into his shed

and hidden items in the grass to the rear of his property which had grown long due to lack of maintenance. Also, the trees were overgrown and need trimming. This is in the area which is New

Charter property.

JH reported that the new path put in by New Charter has become over grown.

SC: This area needs to be put on the Green Charter regular maintenance plan; this matter has been left with Les Crowther who is the manager over that at New Charter.

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SB: There are reports that a resident has been cutting down trees in the area; he has viewed the

area and some cutting has taken place but proving who has done this will be difficult without witnesses.

SC: Currently New Charter is only doing tree work where there is diseased, dangerous or dead

growth; they will examine the area to see what can be done.

A gentleman from Gorse Hall Road advised the meeting that elderly people were complaining about youths congregating in an intimidating manner, and suggested gating entries to prevent this. SC: New Charter is not aware of any problems from that area at present.

A member from Lyne Edge complained about New Charter placing young people in flats adjacent to, or above, elderly residents causing problems. SC: New Charter vets tenants the best they possibly can and new tenants are on 12 months’

probation. They do try to look at sensitive lets where there have been problems in the past. In the

first 12 months, using ‘Section 21’ notices, they can remove problem tenants but these cannot be acted on for 6 months and the tenant can appeal.

If tenants are found cultivating cannabis then the default is repossession.

Address by guests: Sarah Chilton, New Charter They are targeting the main households that have been causing ASB on Chester Avenue.

They are proposing a neighbourhood clean, first week in January, Fri 3rd, weather permitting.

Households will be leafleted before Christmas. Also, the benefits bus will be in the area and other events are being planned, at the same time,

involving other agencies.

New Charter is seeking neighbourhoods which may want a community Christmas tree. The idea is to

organise an event based round this; carol singing for example, and involving the children to make decorations.

Sue Parker

GMP only has one PCSO for the area due to pregnancy, they are currently advertising for a

replacement.

Zad Latif has moved on; we currently have a temporary replacement, Simon Ritchie, whom we have

not yet met.

Crime in the area has been mostly insecurities, garages where tools have been taken, theft of cycles

(3 in one week) and front doors being left unlocked.

Operation Brunswick concentrates on really bad ASB areas and targeting offenders, Dukinfield/Stalybridge has now been taken off this list; this is the only area that has been removed.

SC: Most of the problems are now caused by the under 10’s. It is the same households time and time

again, which New Charter are targeting

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Mark Storie

Thanked DERA for the donation towards the annual community fun day. JH: Next time we would like to have a DERA stall.

In the last 6 months the school has done more to make children aware of recycling to reduce litter in the area.

There is an ongoing problem with ASB on the site after 6 o’clock, some has been from students and

there are procedures in place to deal with this. However, the college would like more support from the police in dealing with other youths under 14.

SC: If any of the youths are New Charter tenants then they would target them.

Now that Natalie Craig has left DERA’s new contacts at Astley are Mark Storie or Paula Parker, Deputy

Head.

Proposal to affiliate with New Charter Housing Trust: JH (Reported Verbatim)

Having had a couple of years’ experience in running DERA I believe we now have a better understanding of how to best work together with the agencies that affect our daily lives within our

community for the benefit of all residents, whether homeowners or tenants. Without doubt, New Charter Housing Trust are major stakeholders within our neighbourhood and,

since its inception, DERA has sought to cultivate an understanding and a working partnership with the trust that would enable both parties to achieve their common objectives; to make life better for

people living in Dukinfield.

Some time ago, we were approached by New Charter to consider affiliation. The feeling of the committee at that time was that DERA wanted to retain its independence and, though our aims and

objectives, Constitution and Code of Conduct were very similar, we would have to adopt their corporate versions and there were certain exceptions that deterred us from taking that route.

On setting-up DERA we had anticipated that we might see a number of issues would surface, where

residents could not resolve problems directly with New Charter and would turn to our association for assistance. Experience has shown this not to be the case and, generally, tenants seem to be

perfectly capable of resolving their difficulties by direct negotiation with the Trust. Therefore, it appears that there would be no conflict of interest if we were to affiliate.

A meeting took place on the 25th September between DERA committee and Linda Whyatt, Resident

Involvement Officer for new Charter and Sarah Chiltern who, as previously mentioned, is our temporary Neighbourhood Co-ordinator. During the meeting a number of issues were discussed

relating to affiliation and it was established that:

DERA would benefit from support and guidance by NC when seeking and applying for funding

for its projects. Indeed, there would be a ‘Start-up’ award of £300 (possibly £350) of ‘unattached’ money upon affiliation and £300 p.a. thereafter.

NC would also support and assist with organising fund raising events such as Fun Days or

table top sales etc.

NC would not require an officer to sit on DERA committee.

They would have no influence over the choice of projects DERA wished to pursue.

NC would be able to audit DERA accounts

There would be no requirement to alter the frequency or number of committee/public

meetings.

NC code of conduct includes a clause which enables their Tenant Participation officer

authority to terminate a meeting. This was explained as a safeguard; for instance should the

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meeting degenerate into a ‘one-on-one’ argument between tenants with insulting behaviour,

Under those circumstances it may be necessary to close the meeting.

Regarding application for NC funding (the Community Chest) LW was asked whether they

were prepared to fund such things as running cost for the minibus, which JSH felt would

need support for the first 12 months until a core of regular clients could be established. Most

charities would fund purchase of assets, but not running costs. LW was unsure on this point,

but would check and get back to us. However, if we affiliate, it is possible that NC would use

this facility for other forums and associations’ organised events. LW also offered to promote

the service on Tameside Radio and in the Reporter newspaper (both partly owned by NC).

NC would support DERA in organising a litter pick and clean-up of the area. The beginning of

January was proposed by SC so as to collect any rubbish generated over the Christmas/ New

Year period.

There was a brief discussion regarding the land known as the Circle. If we affiliated, New

Charter may be able to offer support that would enable us to go ahead with the improvement

scheme, by bringing it under their general insurance cover. The terms of the lease from

Persimmons would have to be would have to be checked and investigated by NC legal

department as a first step.

Finally, it was agreed that, if DERA were to try affiliation and decided that it wasn’t right for

the association, they could return to an independent body.

Following that meeting, the general consensus of the committee members present was that it would be in the best interests of DERA to affiliate but I would like to open this topic for discussion by the

meeting tonight and then following this, vote on the issue by show of hands, and a simple majority

decision.

A resident asked that if we decide to unaffiliated how this would affect any lease agreement on the Circle Area we had arranged with New Charter.

JH: Unaffiliation with New Charter would have no effect on the lease, but would remove Public Liability Insurance if DERA was covered under an ‘umbrella’ arrangement.

We don’t know what would happen in this instance, nor indeed, should DERA dissolve its Association,

in relation to Persimmons. The options are for one of our members to take on the lease or form a trust to take on the lease.

A proposal to affiliate with New Charter was passed by show of hands; unanimous 8

votes for, none against.

Overview of minibus scheme by Kathy Inglis: Parking has been provided by Astley Sports College.

KI will take the minibus to a company in Devon over the school half term to get the disabled access

fitted, to enable 1 wheelchair user, at £1,500.00 this was the cheapest quote and within our budget for funding.

We are planning two fund raising events on the 19th October at the Duki-Dropin, a table top sale in

the morning and a live music event in the evening.

We hope to increase the number of partners participating in the scheme.

Users of the bus must be “non-profit” organisations (TBC).

We have a published pricing scheme, details available from our secretary, Kathy Inglis.

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Any Other Business A resident asked if the money originally offered by Persimmons Homes, to assist in taking over the

lease of the circle area, was still available. JH replied that, as far as we are aware, the money is still available.

A resident asked about the bins on Cheetham Hill Road and Heron Avenue that have been removed;

he raised this at a previous meeting. TMBC had informed him that the one on Cheetham Hill Road, at

the passageway to Chester Avenue, would be replaced soon, but it has still not happened. The passageway seems to be cleaned every few months but litter is accumulating again. He believed that

it is New Charter’s responsibility to clean this area. SB will find out who is responsible.

A resident asked about the area at the bottom of the circle area which belongs to New Charter, and

plans to create a tree nursery on the site. SC: this depends what happens with the Persimmons land before any plans are made.

Dates of 2014 public meetings:

Monday 20th January 2014

Monday 28th April 2014

Monday 14th July 2014

Annual General Meeting Monday 29th September 2014

Date of next Meeting Public: 7.00pm, Monday 20th January 2014, Astley Sports College (TBC)

Committee: TBA, Astley Sports College