19 members present with apologies from Iris Clark, Heather & John Cox..
1. Article on Bramcote Ridge in 'Focus - Beeston North '. Norman introduced Steve Carr - LibDem Councillor for Beeston North to comment on the article brought to the attention of the Committee. Steve explained that Beeston North covered the area to the East of Sandy Lane and that contents of 'Focus' would vary from area to area. He did confirm that as part of Broxtowe's Open Spaces Policy, it was proposed to set up a Steering Group to direct and develop activities areas including the Ridge. The Friends were deemed to be a vital part of this group and would be invited to participate. Members raised various issues with Steve:-
- Steve Fisher from Broxtowe BC had previously walked the Ridge with the Friends and due to re-organisation within the Council, this was now seen as the way forward,
- Documents submitted by Geoff Fewkes to Broxtowe had not been acted upon and the whereabouts of these documents were unknown. It has been disappointing that in view of the work, that these are not available as a basis for work on the Ridge.
- If preservation of the area was paramount, concern was expressed that approval had been given to the erection of a further Mast on the Ridge. Steve explained that the previous Council had approved this - but that any future development would be very carefully monitored by the current Councillors.
Norman thanked Steve for attending.
2. Working Groups on the Ridge. Initial response to 2 work days each month was encouraging, but this had severely dropped off and was unlikely to be repeated except for special projects e.g. Flower Planting and also September mowing which was very expensive using £1000 of Ratepayers money (see later).
3. Other Concerns.
- Fires - despite severe fires earlier in the year, generally fewer were made overall.
- FlyTipping - could become a problem. If seen, this should be reported to 0115 9173183 or 0115 9173187 ( Works Dept - Kimberley ), to try to avoid further dumping.
- Antisocial Behaviour - generally on the increase particularly late at night. Very little Police presence but this is being followed up at the new CAT groups meeting on Sept 2nd and 8th.
4. John Appleton - has been invited to speak about the Ridge at Wollaton Wildlife Group and took the opportunity to show members a series of Photographs of the fauna, flora etc of the Ridge through the seasons. The photos also included activities such as path construction, bird spotting etc. All members agreed that the photos were excellent and showed just what a precious and valuable area this was.
5. Walter Grauberg - reported that he had attended a meeting at the Town Hall on funding initiatives and that considerable monies were available (£100 - £5000) and details would be passed to Norman for consideration by the Committee.
6. The next Meeting is on Monday October 6th at 7:30pm. when the guest speaker will be Ray Cobb who will talk about Fungi.
7. The annual mowing of the grass area will over two days
- Saturday 20 September - 10:30am - 4:30pm
- Sunday 21 September - 10:30am to 12:30pm
It is VITAL that as many helpers as possible give whatever time the can ,however short, to remove the cut grass or just to give moral support to everyone. See the Project Newsletter for more details and don't forget you rake and gloves
The Friends are always looking for extra pairs of hands to help out or to simply support their work, so...
- to find out when the next work session will take place, click here, or
- to find out about becoming a member please contact us here, or
- to discover what goes into managing the sites click here.
