Minutes - September 2009

Surrey Gardens TRA General Meeting
Minutes
22 September 2009

In attendance: Tony (Chair), Cath (Treasurer), John, Jenny, Melissa, Megan, Anne (Friends of Pasley Park)
Apologies: Marcus, Jo, Katy, Andrew

1. Chair opened meeting

2. Chair’s report:

• Tony confirmed that the TRA’s application for Cleaner, Greener, Safer funding has been successful – Southwark Council have awarded £15,000 to improve the Lorrimore Cut Through. Tony to fix a time with the Council to discuss the project
• Tony thanked everyone for the great turnout and involvement with the Summer Picnic. The event was a real success, attended in good numbers by both adults and children from the local area. Special thanks to Cath and the Adventure Playground for securing the bouncy castle at the last minute

3. Treasurer’s report:

• Cath has secured additional funding (£800) from The Bill for filming that took place in Lorrimore Rd on two separate occasions
• Cath to look into possibility of getting just one of the notice boards (most likely the one on Carter Street) replaced and will report back on costs at the next TRA meeting

4. Any other business:

• Anne from Friends of Pasley Park attended the meeting to discuss this new venture. A meeting will be held on Friday 16th October at 7.30 pm in Pasley Hall, Stopford Rd, off Manor Place. The purpose of the group will be to help protect the park and to make more of the space, for both adults and children. Open meetings will be held once or twice a year, with a newsletter available for a nominal subscription fee. Please attend the meeting if you can in order to offer your own ideas for the park
• Cath complained about children playing on the garages and wall that runs along the back of the houses on Lorrimore Square. Tony to e-mail the council to pass on the complaint
• Cath suggested the idea of an art project with John Ruskin school. Cath to approach the school in order to ascertain costs associated with supplying an artist to help the children re-paint the boards currently displayed on the electricity sub-station. Cath to report back on costs for approval by the TRA
• Tony reminded everyone that the AGM is rapidly approaching and called for volunteers to stand for TRA committee positions. Please let Tony know if you have an interest in standing for a position

5. Next meeting – Tuesday 13th October 2009. This meeting will not be leafleted, though it will be advertised on the TRA website

6. Thanks from Chair and close

Summer fun

Thanks to all of you who attended the summer party in July! We had a great turn out (despite the weather) - the adults enjoying the company and the food, whilst the kids seemed to be enjoying themselves on the bouncy castle...

Here's to next year!

Following hot on the heals of our own summer party, the council held another event in Pasley Park to celebrate the zoo that used to exist there. It was a fantastic day - congratulations to everyone involved. The park was full of people enjoying the various displays, competitions and food available, and was such a success that the council are now looking into holding an annual event in the park - stay tuned for more details!

Which way to the zoo?

As many of you are probably aware by now (if not, read up on our local history here), Pasley Park (formerly Surrey Gardens - the location from which our TRA takes its name) used to, amongst other things, be home to a zoo to rival the size of the one in Regent's Park

Whilst the zoo has long since gone, Southwark Council are keen for us all to commemorate, celebrate and learn more about our local history through a series of events which will take place in the park over the coming months in honour of the 175th anniversary of the zoo. The biggest of these comes on Saturday 25th July from 12 pm - 5 pm, when the council will be laying on a number of things to do for all the family including:

• Tours of the area


• Animals from Surrey Docks Farm


• "The Lizard Experience", courtesy of ZSL, London Zoo


• Face painting


• Punch and Judy shows

Plus lots, lots more. See Southwark Council's website for more details!

Minutes - June 2009

Surrey Gardens TRA General Meeting
Minutes
9 June 2009

In attendance: Tony (Chair), Cath (Treasurer), Katy (Secretary), Marcus, John, Jo, Megan
Apologies: Andrew, Richard, Abbas, Jenny, Mary

1. Chair opened meeting

2. Chair’s report:

• Tony to attend CGS meeting at Manor Place to speak on behalf of the TRA to try and secure funding for our application
• There was a violent mugging in the cut-through between Lorrimore Sq/Rd at midnight the previous Friday. TRA members warned to be extra careful

3. Treasurer’s report:

• The insurance for the park has now been paid. Cath will look into getting the noticeboards updated
• Cath, having checked that the company has sufficient insurance, has booked a bouncy castle for the Summer Picnic on 14th July

4. Any other business:

• Flyers for the picnic were discussed – to be done by Katy. John would do the sign and Tony would do the food. John confirmed that Grahame has kindly agreed to loan tables for use during the picnic
• Historical boards were discussed. It was suggested that English heritage could help with suggested budget for this. Also of help could be: Friends of Kennington Park and the Museum of London. Katy agreed to investigate further

5. Next meeting – Summer Picnic, 6.00 pm – 8.00 pm, Tuesday 14th July 2009. The picnic will be leafleted and advertised on the TRA website

6. Thanks from Chair and close

Kennington Village Fete

Kennington Village Fete is upon us once again and will be held from 12.30 until 4.oo pm in Cleaver Square (or in St Anselm's Church if wet).

With plenty to do for all the family, special events for children, items for sale and food courtesy of local Kennington pubs and Restuarants it's sure to be a good day out.

Fingers crossed for sun...!

Minutes - May 2009

Surrey Gardens TRA General Meeting
Minutes
12 May 2009

In attendance: Tony (Chair), Cath (Treasurer), Katy (Secretary), Marcus, John, Jenny, Melissa, Andrew, Paul

Apologies: Megan, Pete, Abbas

1. Chair opened meeting

2. Chair’s report:

• Tony has posted a few things on the blog including a notice on the flower sale being held at Walworth Garden Farm every weekend in May – Saturday and Sunday (around 10am – 3pm) and also a post on the Food Up Front project as presented by Mary at the previous meeting
• The CGS team were holding their Councillors meeting this evening and would soon be reporting back
• Fr. Grahame has e-mailed to say renovation work on the ball court within the grounds of the church is to begin on 1st June and will take 3 weeks to complete

2. Treasurer’s report:

• Cath reported that we had now been credited with our tenants fund. The balance on the TRA account now stands at over £5,000, some of which will have to be put aside to pay insurance for the year ahead

3. Possible projects to be funded:

• The meeting discussed ideas for using our fund. Suggestions made:
• Katy proposed a historical board somewhere in the area (perhaps Paisley Park if we get permission from the council) to explain the interesting history of the area. Katy said she would investigate costings
• John suggested renovating the centre mosaic circle in the park, replacing with hard wearing granite blocks. Marcus agreed to get three quotes to see how much this might cost
• Katy suggested an Art in My Area Competition for the neighbourhood children to win a prize. This could include any kind of art – drawings, paintings, poems, photographs etc – which reflect something about the Surrey Gardens area, either how the children themselves view and experience the place or its historical background. It was suggested the winners would have their entries displayed on the electricity sub-station in the square’s park, replacing the older artwork there. It was agreed that this should be done in collaboration with local schools for children aged 9-11 (Years 5 & 6). Marcus volunteered to contact the heads of four local schools (John Ruskin, St Paul’s, Keyworth and Crampton) to see if they would be willing to take part and to obtain suggestions as to what might make a suitable prize. Meeting agreed the competition would be run after the summer break – entries to be submitted by October 1st – and the children would win a certificate and small prize while the school would benefit from some kind of donation

4. Any other business:

• Michael Maloney is no longer our Resident Involvement Officer at Southwark council. He has been replaced by Chuks Amaechi
• The Summer Party – To be held on July 14th. Meeting agreed to get some kind of entertainment for the children. Cath volunteered to look into the possibility of hiring a bouncy castle. Katy will make the flyers and food will be finger food bought by M&S by Tony. We will also look into the possibility of having music on the day
• Meeting agreed for Treasurer to pay insurance for the park
• Paul raised the issue of a local resident who regularly throws bread outside for the pigeons. It was suggested that this could be an environmental health problem since the bread may attracts rats, and that possibly environmental health at the council might be able to help
  

5. Next meeting – general meeting to be held in St Paul’s Church, Lorrimore Square at 7.30pm on 9th June. This meeting will not be leafleted, but will be advertised on the TRA website – with e-mail and text reminders sent to those who have signed up for this

6. Thanks from The Chair and close

Food Up Front

It seems that everyone is thinking about getting into their gardens recently! Not only do we have the ongoing spring plant sale at Walworth Garden Farm, but now Mary, one of our very own TRA members, is doing her bit to spread the word for another local organisation that'll have you growing your own food before you know it.

Food Up Front is a not-for-profit project supporting people who would like the help and advice of others to grow food in their unused outdoor spaces. Aimed specifically at those with limited outdoor space, whether that's a window box or a balcony, the network helps you make the most of what you've got and shows you just how much you can grow even in a relatively small area.

If you're interested and would like more information, please contact Mary (our local street rep for Food Up Front) on 07814 681800.