Minutes AGM 29th September 2009

Crystal Palace & Norwood Chamber of Commerce
MINUTES OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
29th September 2009: Patrick's Bar, Westow Hill

Those Present:
Ray Hall* (New Crystal Palace, Chair)
Andrew Parfitt* (Honorary Secretary)
Hannah Bougen* (Full Spectrum Integration)
Kevin Carleton-Reeves (transport consultant)
Sarah Dacre (Amphlett Lissimore)
Peter George (GO Contaminated Land Solutions)
John Greatrex (Great Exhibitions Ltd)
Jerry Green (Haynes Lane Market)
Stephen Jopson (Synergy)
Frank Lissimore* (Amphlett Lissimore)
Kevin Monk (MangoSwiss)
Stan Morris (Shinebright)
Sue Nagle* (Bambinos)
Ahmet Rashit (Alistairs Café Restaurant)
Jonathan Rowlandson (Jonathan Rowlandson Design)
Tim Sharville (MangoSwiss)
Annabel Sidney (guest, Picture Palace Campaign)
Andy Stem (Bambino’s)
Joan Vernette (Friends Hair and Beauty)

* Management Committee
Apologies:George Filbey (Instrument and Gauge Engineering and Cllr, LB Croydon)
Bradley Millington (Upper Norwood Joint Library)
Silke Rudolph (The Massage Practice)
Pat Ryan (Cllr, LB Croydon)

1. Introduction

Ray Hall welcomed all to Patrick’s Bar and thanked Sue Nagle for providing the delicious catering. He noted how all the Chamber members’ names are in “A pat on the back” on the back page of “The Journal” (see item 3), which he had distributed to all present.



1.1. Minutes of Previous AGM

The minutes of the AGM of 5th August 2008 had been re-circulated to all members and were agreed as a fair record.

1.2. Minutes of Previous Meeting

The minutes of the main meeting of 22nd September 2009 had been received by all members and were approved as a fair record.

2. Reports

2.1. Membership position

Sarah said that over the year the number of paid-up Chamber members has risen substantially, and now stands at 53. She added that owing to an oversight, some members were unfortunately omitted from the list on the back page of “The Journal”. The next edition will have the following names added:
· Alistairs Café
· Friends Hair and Beauty
· JAG Designs
· Sefgrove Chemist’s
· Top Quality Dry Cleaners

Ray thanked Sarah Dacre and Silke Rudolph for all their hard work in consolidating and collating our increasing membership base.

2.2. Financial statement

Frank Lissimore said that Stan Morris had asked him to provide an update as, owing to another commitment, he would be late for the meeting. There is a balance of about £4,000 in the Chamber’s bank account. Sarah is preparing information to provide to Thornton Springer, who will audit the accounts by the end of December 2009. Frank is also arranging for the necessary signatures to conclude the final closure of the Chamber’s account at NatWest, which will allow for the transfer of all historical information to the Chamber’s active account at Barclays.

Frank noted how the Chamber controls expenditure effectively, with any payment of over £100 requiring authorisation by all Management Committee members. But the only source of income is the membership fee. Following discussion, Andy Stem proposed that the membership fee should increase to £30 a year from 1st January 2009, and that the Committee should review the level of membership fee in future years, with a proposal tabled at the 2010 AGM. Frank Lissimore and Tim Sharville supported this proposal which was accepted by all present.

Other fund-raising ideas were raised:
· advertisements in “The Journal”;
· hire out of the Chamber’s bunting;
· an annual Chamber auction;
· charging for the use of the logo in shops;
· Chamber merchandise, for instance tee-shirts.

Ray thanked Stan Morris for keeping such strong control of the finances over the past year. All applauded his efforts.

3. The Journal

Hannah Bougen said that the first edition of “The Journal” is designed to highlight and celebrate local businesses, cover topical issues and inform people about the Chamber. It is a record of the Crystal Palace business community. The first edition is particularly large; subsequent editions would probably be slimmer. As Kevin Monk noted, it is designed to be very separate in emphasis from “The Transmitter”, staying focussed as the voice of the Chamber. Tim Sharville suggested that we include as a regular feature “The Diary of a Local Businessman”; Frank and Sarah proposed that they produce a legal page for each issue.

Hannah said that she would welcome contributions for future editions such as articles and photographs. In future there will be advertising opportunities. She gave particular thanks to Jerry Green for his written material, advice and guidance; to Sue Nagle as co-editor; to Tim for the design and text layout; to Matt Ball (Electron Repro) for the printing; and to Ray and the Committee for their encouragement.

Peter George said that is a very good publication for a Chamber of a relatively small size. Ray added that he received a very positive response when he shared a draft with senior people at LB Bromley at a recent meeting.

Jerry said that some copies would be given to local businesses, although the main means of distribution would be electronically. It was suggested that electronic versions should be sent to local papers and to Chamber members and associates.

Ray thanked Hannah, Jerry, Sue, Tim and Matt for their great achievement. He noted that “The Journal” also signals the launch of the new Chamber logo, for which he is very grateful to Tim and Mango Swiss for the excellent design. The logo can be incorporated into stationery and business cards.

4. Chair and Vice-Chair Reports

4.1. Review of 2008-09 (Vice-Chairs)

Frank said that the past year has seen a remarkable change, with substantial growth of membership and the establishment of an effective Management Committee. People are getting involved across the spectrum of local businesses. The meetings are much improved, with people sharing experiences, a diversity of issues being covered and the focus being kept on business. At the recent South London Business meeting of Chambers of Commerce, it was noticeable that, despite our relatively modest size and resources, we are beginning to be taken seriously.

Sue said she had been very committed to Ray becoming Chair, because of his unique ability to rebuild the Chamber. With increased numbers, we are gaining a much greater prestige and respect. Over the past year, Ray has met hundreds of people, tirelessly following up every lead. We are on the brink of establishing our future viability as a district centre, and are planning a meeting with senior representatives of the five London Boroughs who have a direct interest in Crystal Palace.

Sue said that the coming year promises to be exciting. There is the potential for further progress with the Crystal Palace Park and New Crystal Palace, the possibility of an independent cinema in Church Road and the arrival of the East London Line. People keep talking about the bright future for the area: it is essential that we keep Ray as Chair and support him in his vision.

4.2. Prospects for 2009-10 (Chair)

Ray said that since Andrew Rumsey’s performance at the 22nd September meeting, “Penge in Bloom” had been constantly in his mind. It seemed therefore appropriate to establish a tradition by which people who had particularly contributed to the Chamber over the past year were thanked with a flowering plant. He presented primulas to Stan, Jerry, Sarah, Hannah, Sue, Frank, Tim, John and Andrew and said that he would subsequently give primulas to George Filbey and Silke Rudolph. Ray asked all present to propose their choice – and all replied: Jenny Hall. All applauded the recipients.

Ray said that over the past year we have made a lot of progress, “getting on to the beach”. Over the coming year, we need to consolidate and take the Chamber further. To that end he would be approaching London Boroughs with a view to their providing financial support for the Chamber’s operations. The aim was to have a meeting of all five of the “Crystal Palace” London Boroughs in May 2010. This would establish how regeneration can accelerate within Crystal Palace. Already Bromley are ready for such a conversation, and Croydon and Lambeth are expected to follow soon. But generally he is amazed at the lack of dialogue between London Boroughs. Businesses and visitors do not think in terms of LB boundaries, and neither should government. Our logo as a Chamber could in effect be “Crystal Palace without borough boundaries”.

The programme for 2009-10 is as follows:

October 20th: John Collins will talk about the potential of Crystal Palace as a globally-recognised leisure destination. John is a world ranking leisure specialist and is part of the New Crystal Palace team.

November 17th: Hannah Bougen will lead the Mount Sustainability event, which will discuss how we can - through environmental, economic and social means – help our locality and our planet to live. Crystal Palace could become an exemplar.

December 15th: this will be the Christmas party for Chamber members at a private house in Crystal Palace, with musical entertainment and Chamber of Commerce fun.

January 19th: this is planned to be led by Ken Kiss of the Crystal Palace Museum, to discuss the commercial dimensions of the Crystal Palace and how we can build on the business opportunities which this legacy presents.

February 23rd: Sir Bob Scott, the chair of South London Business (SLB), and the driving force behind the Manchester Commonwealth Games, and Peter Pledger, the Chief Executive of SLB, will talk about Crystal Palace within the context of the broader market place.

March 23rd: we will use this meeting to prepare for the May 2010 cross-borough meeting in the context of our international connections.

May 18th: showcasing the business cluster of Antenna Studios.

June 22nd: showcasing the business cluster of Coopers Yard.

July 20th: showcasing the business cluster of Haynes Lane Market.

Ray said that the aim is to achieve a clearer understanding of who we are, and what we are trying to achieve. Our vision should be to make Crystal Palace a central light for South London by 2011-12. Ray said that, whether or not he succeeds as he intends with the New Crystal Palace project, he is very confident that Crystal Palace will shine, and he thanked each member individually for playing their role and for their support.

5. Election of Officers

John Greatrex proposed that Ray should be re-elected Chair for 2009-10, and this was seconded by Andy Stem. Members voted unanimously in favour of Ray’s re-election.

Members also voted unanimously in favour of the election of the Management Committee for 2009-10:
Honorary Secretary: Andrew Parfitt
Honorary Membership Secretary and Vice-Chair: Sue Nagle
Honorary Solicitor and Vice-Chair: Frank Lissimore
Honorary Treasurer: Hannah Bougen

6. Ambassadors

Ray recommended to the AGM the appointment of Ambassadors from within the membership to promote specific aspects of the Chamber in the broader community. He was pleased to report that the following had agreed to perform that role:

Stan Morris in relation to the Triangle, which he knows so well because of his window cleaning business.

John Greatrex in relation to all things Olympics, because of his strong athletics background.

George Filbey in relation to the public sector, because of his experience as a Councillor.

Other names would be proposed as we progress forward. The idea is that the new committee services the Ambassadors as the Ambassadors work to raise the profile of the Chamber amongst members and beyond. The Ambassadors would also bring issues and opportunities in their arena to the committee and membership for consideration and action as appropriate.

The proposal for Ambassadors and the names of the people put forward was welcomed by all present and was approved.

Kevin Monk particularly welcomed Ray’s goal of the membership debating and deciding on issues relevant to the Chamber whenever possible.

7. Informal Presentation: Annabel Sidney “Bringing a Cinema to Crystal Palace”

Annabel thanked the Chair and Chamber members for their support for the Picture Palace campaign, and for the helpful resolution at the 22nd September meeting to retain the existing D2 (leisure) use of the former Gala bingo hall at No.25 Church Road and to oppose a change of use to D1 (church) use. This is very important for Crystal Palace.

There have been thousands of signatures of the local and online petitions, and over the weekend the campaign team collected many objections for delivery to LB Bromley. D2 (leisure) use is vital and independent cinema operators are interested in the property. A cinema would be an anchor business for the Crystal Palace district centre, bringing diversity, trade and culture, keeping its vitality and driving forward the regeneration of the area.

For Annabel has seen evidence of how independent businesses are currently struggling. There is a need to boost the daytime and evening economy, and to achieve retail and environmental improvements in Church Road. A cinema would provide footfall throughout the week, helping local shops, restaurants, pubs and cafés. And a cinema would be diverse, open to all regardless of background or belief, young and old. It would enhance the artistic community of Crystal Palace and the unique sense of place in the Triangle. There is fantastic local support.

Annabel stressed that the campaign is not anti-church. But there is a need to find the church a more suitable home, because of the impact it would have on traffic and parking, and the removal of the only leisure facility in the Triangle. In conclusion, she welcomed the Chamber’s support and noted how the campaign has made us even stronger as a community.

Annabel encouraged all members to attend the consultation meeting on the Croydon Core Strategy on Monday 5th October from 5 to 7 pm at the Phoenix Centre, Westow Street. Traders’ views are vital in order to put Crystal Palace on the map. She also invited all to attend a public meeting at the Queen’s Hotel, Church Road from 3 to 5 pm on Sunday 18th October, which would be a celebration of Crystal Palace and cinema.

Ray thanked Annabel for her presentation and asked Andrew to send to all members his letter to Bromley on behalf of the Chamber in support of the retention of the existing use of the site. He also echoed the importance of the October 5th Croydon planning consultation meeting.

8. Any Other Business

Stan asked about progress towards providing a pedestrian crossing in Church Road. He also noted the poor state of the roads in the Triangle, with their potholes. He said that we need to tackle the fundamentals. Frank and Sue said that matters on the pedestrian crossing are going forward behind the scenes, but that these things take time. Stan said that he will discuss with Amber Rusk (Croydon Economic Development Company) the issue of the potholes in his new role as Ambassador for the Triangle.

Kevin Monk said that he welcomed a Chamber with more teeth. He is concerned that there is a proper process for notifying and publishing resolutions. Chamber meetings should allow for a discussion of the pros and cons of resolutions. The point was noted: resolutions are already circulated in advance, with the opportunity to oppose, but it is worth re-emphasising that the Chamber embraces democratic principles. Ray agreed, now that the Chamber is growing, we needed procedures in place that will enable us to decide on issues before and when they arise. He therefore welcomed Kevin’s desire for that to happen and asked Frank to set out draft procedural guidelines.

Frank proposed a vote of thanks to Ray. All applauded Ray for his great work on behalf of the business and community interests of Crystal Palace.

9. Date of Next Meeting

Tuesday 20th October, Patrick’s Bar, 6.30 for 6.45 pm. John Collins (one of the world's most respected leisure destination specialists and part of the New Crystal Palace team) will be talking about the potential of Crystal Palace as a globally recognised leisure destination.

Circulation: all members of the Crystal Palace & Norwood Chamber of Commerce