AGM Notes
The 47th Annual General Meeting of the Hitcham and Taplow Preservation Society took place at the Taplow Village Centre on 13 October 2006, attended by 31 members.
The highlights of the Society’s activities and achievement over the past year include the success in limiting the Cliveden development to 135 age-restricted units; the Society’s successful objection to the name 'Cliveden Village', and suggesting alternatives; the Society’s contribution to the Conservation Area consultations; the Implementation and Monitoring Group for the Taplow Parish Plan and the South Bucks District Council initiatives; the successful 21st Village Green Party and another two high-standard newsletters, with thanks to Fred Russell and Andrew Findlay.
The Treasurer reported that membership remained stable. A loss of £195 on the Village Green Party had been offset by grant aid from SBDC. There was an excess of income over expenditure of £576. There was no need for an increase in subscriptions which should remain at £5 per household or £4.50 for those in block membership schemes, and £50 for corporate members. These payments are due on 1 October.
Bernard Trevallion gave a talk about the complexities of the raft of documentation being introduced by the new planning system. Although intended to bring about greater community involvement, it generally fails in this objective. There is particular concern that the Parish Plan is left out of the process.
Thanks were expressed to Taplow House Hotel for making their conference facilities available for the Society's meetings throughout the year and to Andy and Annick McKenzie for organising the evening's tea.
There followed a discussion on the future of the Society and means of recruiting new members to the Committee to undertake the tasks of the Society. Among the suggestions were: that meetings with guest speakers and social occasions and activities might be held; that the word 'preservation' in the Society's name may be a stumbling block for recruitment; that a recruiting campaign should be launched, including advertising and information packs to new residents.
Finally there was a vote of thanks for the outgoing Chairman Anne Hanford.
