Millennium Green Trust AGM Minutes 2019
Henbury Millennium Green Trust
A Report of the Annual General Meeting of HMGT held in Henbury Church Hall on 21st May 2019.
Trustees Present: Sir Francis Graham-Smith, Chairman, Dr S Browne, Mr J R Cousin, Secretary, Mr C J Dafforn, Mrs S E Pegg, Mr D E Plews, Treasurer, Mr C G Sunter
Apologies for Absence: Dr D J Walker,
Note: The accompanying PowerPoint presentation AGM Presentation2019_1.ppt forms the backbone of this report.
Attendance at the Meeting:
The meeting was followed by the AGM of the Henbury Society and was attended by approximately 25 Henbury residents.
Chairman's Address
Sir Francis Graham – Smith (Graham), a founder Trustee, welcomed residents to the AGM and announced his decision to resign from the Trust after more than 20 years' service. He reminded them about the legal constitution of the Trust under the Deeds and Covenants laid down by the Countryside Agency and the Charity Commission. Then he recalled the history of the land we now know as the Green as far back as the 19th century and how at the end of the 20th century, it became the green space we treasure so much today. He has thoroughly enjoyed his time as Trustee and Chairman is proud to be handing over the Chair to Mrs S E Pegg.
Incoming Chairman's Address.
Mrs S E Pegg (Susan), introduced herself and thanked Trustees for appointing her as Chairman.
Based on .ppt slide 2 she thanked Graham for the extraordinary contribution he has made to HMGT since the trust was formed in September 1998 and his devotion to all aspects of its creation and development. She also introduced and welcomed Mr C G Sunter (Chris) who recently became a Trustee of HMG.
Using .ppt slide 3 she revealed what is involved in running the Trust and how the Trustee team and volunteer helpers make it all work smoothly.
In conclusion she presented Graham with a bottle of whisky as a token of our thanks for all his good work and wished him a happy retirement.
Treasurer's Report
Mr D E Plews, gave the report on the Trust's financial situation. He explained why the Trust funds are designated as Unrestricted, Endowment and Play Area.
Unrestricted Fund receipts were mainly from the Bonfire/Firework event and generous donations from Henbury Parish Council and the Events Committee. Bank interest was a miserable £5!
Payments included the cost of fireworks and marquee hire for the Bonfire, maintenance including grass & hedge cutting, replacement of the buzzard, and public liability insurance as well as improvements, in this case the new hardstanding near the gate.
The result was a modest surplus of Receipts minus Payments.
Thanks to gift aided donations made by individuals the Endowment Fund returned a growth approximately in line with inflation.
The Play Area Fund, initially comprising residual grant money from the installation of the equipment and an Events Committee gift, will shortly be in debit since fresh play bark has just been installed by Trustees. However, a contingency fund held by Henbury Parish Council for the Play Area maintenance is available to assist.
He also explained how the Trust's funds are held in long term investments and bank deposits in order to protect them as much as possible from inflation.
In conclusion he thanked the individuals who continue to donate to the Trust as well as the Parish Council and the Events Committee whose gifts are vital in maintaining and improving the Green for the community to enjoy.
As David Plews, Roger Cousin and Graham are the only founding Trustees currently involved with the Trust, David took this opportunity to say how much the trustees have come to respect Graham and enjoyed working with him over the years. One memorable occasion came to mind when Graham, the 13th Astronomer Royal, asked David, an electrical engineer, to check the alignment of the sundial! To both their surprise the results agreed to within one degree.
Activity Report.
Susan used .ppt slides 4 – 10 to illustrate her report on development of the Green since the last AGM.
There were no questions but David Nuttall, Chairman of Henbury Parish Council, assured the meeting that the PC considers the Millennium Green to be a great asset to the village and will continue to strongly support in the future.
In conclusion Susan thanked everyone for their attendance and wished them much enjoyment of the Green in the coming year.