The Annual General Meeting of
Kennerleigh and District Community Association
will be held at Kennerleigh Parish Hall
on Friday 9th March 2012 at 7.30pm.
Any items for discussion and inclusion on the Agenda must be sent to the Secretary, PIppa Pettifer. Tel.01363 866579 or by E-mail tomandpippa1@btinternet.com no later than 27th February 2012
The 2011 Annual General Meeting of KaDCA was held on 4th March 2011.
Chairman's Report by Donald King
Consolidation and Expectation sum up the past year.
We have consolidated the position of KaDCA as the mouthpiece of the wider community served by Sonia’s shop, both in dealings with local authorities and by establishing the association’s website on sound administrative and financial foundations. Your Association’s core aim remains to support the shop on an as and when required basis and to serve the wider community as and when appropriate within that remit.
For the website success, all of us must say a very big “thank you” to my predecessor, Nick Gosling. At a time when we were facing problems with funding for hosting and managing the site Nick took over the management with gusto and continues so to do with competence and diligence – free of charge. This is a very public spirited of you Nick and we all thank you very much. The entire community is grateful. We hope you are enjoying the Christmas presents.
It is encouraging that the website continues to be supported by local advertisers. In line with other community associations’ charges we have reduced annual advertisement fees to £10; the website is primarily a means of communication, not a money making exercise. When we need additional funds we will organize functions.
The excellent roadside signs for the shop were erected last month. They were made of weather resistant marine ply by committee colleague, Michael Roberts, who also prime painted them four times before handing them over to Sarah Harvey who designed and created the signs themselves. Thank you Michael and Sarah.
At the invitation of the Parish Meeting we took over funding for two notice boards and another seat outside the shop for customers to use in warmer months. Michael Roberts was tasked with carrying out these projects. Thank you again Michael. And, you may have noticed tidying up improvements immediately outside the shop on the road which were combined efforts of Michael Roberts, Peter Hester and others. This gives Sonia’s customers and suppliers more parking room.
I want to thank each of our committee members who have supported me so well this past year – and who have nudged me and reminded me and chivvied me into performing my duties when I was sleeping – rather like the dormouse in Through the Looking Glass.
Thank you, Pippa, for being such an able and efficient Secretary. We would not have achieved what we have without your backing and the wise counsel Tom provides.
Indeed, Tom and Nick were the inspiration for a businesslike KaDCA response to the Government’s proposed post office mutualisation plans. Nick put together an excellent paper on the subject, though none of us knew exactly what the Government had in mind because its proposals were singularly short on detail and Tom suggested we tell Devon County Council our view which is: we welcome the Government’s declaration that it has no programme to close more rural post offices but note that does not rule out a change of policy later; that Government consultations do not have good reputations, especially those involving post offices. We said:
“If the Government’s flagship Big Society policy is to mean anything it must embrace not only what the public has to say but involve a commitment to act on the public will . . . Governments of whatever complexion need to learn the lesson of flexibity . . . one size does not fit all.” And, I might have added if your’e not flexible you are apt to break.
We suggested Devon County pass on the Kennerleigh arguments to all threatened rural Devon post offices or their community associations for their comment and then to represent these combined views to Government.
That was good proactive work from KaDCA and it has all happened.
Now for the ‘Expectation’ bit which is not so good. The Government’s Postal Services Bill has passed through the Commons without protest being publicized in the media that I know about. Senior people in the sub-postmasters federation, however, accuse Government of bulldozing the legislation through Parliament. They talk about the Act potentially “butchering” one last vital public service and “killing” post offices and communities. They are lobbying members of the House of Lords to amend the legislation so that “sub-postmasters should have an equal say in the running of the post office with a casting vote”. They are asking sub-postmasters to sign a petition at www.actionchange.org.uk and lobby their customers but not, at this stage, local MPs. That website gives more details.
Devon County Council has been examining the Bill with affected bodies – sub-postmasters, the Rural Shops Alliance and others – and is monitoring its passage through Parliament. It is seeking clarification on all important ‘public consultation’. Angela Welch, the executive assistant to DCC’s CEO, outlined possible further DCC action to me, some of which I allude to here.
One of the council’s key concerns – and KaDCA’s - is how quickly new Government business can be channeled into post offices.
Angela Welch said: “We welcome proposals for the post office to become the front office for government but action is needed urgently if we are to avoid more closures or more reductions in service. We are aware many sub-postmasters have simply had enough and wish to close. Significant volumes of government work which provides fair profit margins and income streams need to be channeled through the network urgently.”
KaDCA agrees.
Yet, this morning we read the Government is withdrawing pensioners’ ability to cash benefit cheques at post offices; it has to be done elsewhere, swiping a card at a PayPoint terminal.
Excuse me, Mr Cameron, but I don’t quite see how this Big Society thing is working.
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Devon County is working with KaDCA and others to produce a practicable response to the Government’s proposals and has told us it is – I QUOTE “very grateful to KaDCA’s work on the Postal Services Bill, including the excellent resources on the KaDCA website” – another reason to be grateful to Nick Gosling. It awaits reactions from the other 15 rural post offices and shops it supports. I wonder: are we all behind a fast-moving Government agenda here?
We are indeed fortunate to have such an on-side local authority as Devon County Council and such a hard working county councillor as Michael Lee. Thank you, Michael.
Your association and the wider committee has been nobly supported by our ever-increasing posse of volunteers, now numbering 15. Your association is obliged to keep records of hours worked and each year we add individual totals. For reasons which will shortly become apparent I asked Deputy Treasurer, Ken Lancaster, to audit the figures and to read out the results of the 2010 volunteer register. Councillor Lee has kindly consented to make the Certificate of Merit presentation to the winner.
Before that I draw your attention to (a) the fact that Fair Trade is under the investigative spotlight and that (b) UBS Bank says British supermarkets are ripping off British shoppers by increasing prices faster than inflation.
Please join us for a drink and refreshments after the meeting. Thank you.
Other points from the meeting
was held on 4th March 2011. by Donald King
The Treasurer was able to report an excess of income over expenditure for the year
The meeting voted to keep subscriptions at their present level of £5
The Committee was re-elected en bloc
Guest of Honour, Devon Councillor, Michael Lee, presented the annual Certificate of Honour to the Kennerleigh volunteer with the most hours worked in the shop during 2010 to Mrs Joan King.
