Joint Secretaries' report for 2008/9

Lynne Arnold, Gay Phillips and Helen Cornish

Three of us cover the role

By Lynne Arnold, Helen Cornish and Gay Phillips, NLCA joint Secretaries

Thank you to everyone who has given time, resources and skills to the NLCA this past year, not least to those who attend and speak at our monthly meetings.

Minutes

Minutes are available to everyone:

• via email for as long as you are interested - please contact us at: secretary@nlcaonline.org.uk to be added to the distribution list;
• in paper form for those who attend meetings (however, we will stop supplying minutes to people after 3-4 meetings of non-attendance);
• on this NLCA website - these are published after they have been accepted by the following meeting;
• and finally only in summary in the North Laine Runner.

Occasionally the email distribution list is used to circulate information, as it was regarding the possible 'regeneration of London Road' by Tesco.

Meetings

Attendance at meetings has averaged around 20-25 people each month.  We continue to be very grateful to people who give up their time to talk to our meetings.

This year we had the project managers Maggie Deacon and Charles Blunt from City College come and speak to us a number of times to keep us up to date with this significant and complicated development; Geoff Mead enlightened us about the history of market gardens in the North Laine; Gillian Marston kept us up to date with the changes for refuse and recycling; Tom Druitt came and told us about the services and plans for the Big Lemon Bus Company; and the team from Southern Water informed us about the plans for water and gas pipe replacement in North Road.

Some other thanks

Thanks also to all those street representatives who support us, and distribute the North Laine Runner every two months.  We are grateful to our local Councillors, Ian Davey, Keith Taylor and Pete West, who have attended meetings over the past year.  Thanks also to the Brighthelm Centre, the venue for our meetings.  The Lord Nelson pub continues to host our post-meeting drinks.

The Pensions Regulator continue to sponsor the photocopying of our minutes, for which we are very grateful.  Thanks to everyone who displays our posters about meetings in their shop and house windows, which helps to keep the NLCA profile high.

Although there are now three of us covering the secretarial role, we have not always been able to fulfil all our duties so we are very grateful to Kevin Daly for taking the minutes at the December and January meetings while Lynne was in New Zealand.

Finally, can we thank everyone for the patience and understanding they have shown this past year as we three seek to replace the very capable Sara Bragg and Mark Erickson.

NLCA achievements over the past year

This is just a summary and more detail about these activities is available in other reports in thissection of the website:

• We have met 11 times (every month except August).  Our meetings are open to all and allow any resident to bring concerns and have their say.  We have invited representatives from local groups and others to talk at these meetings, and we held our usual annual social in December.

• We have produced six issues of the North Laine Runner, distributed free to every household and shop in the North Laine

• We have responded to all relevant planning applications with a view to preserving the character of the North Laine as a conservation area.

• We launched the new NLCA website on 7 July 2008.

• We participated in the European Heritage Weekend, which resulted in 1,000 people visiting residences in Foundry Street

• We have been particularly active on local issues such as:
  • the City College redevelopment
  • the proposed regeneration of London Road (keeping a watching brief as it is not technically part of the North Laine)
  • the proposed introduction of communal bins throughout the city centre

• We have held a number of social events during the year, including a picnic in Pelham Square and a party in the Pavilion Gardens hosted by the Pavilion Gardens Café.

• We continue to maintain good relations with the North Laine Traders Association and are also members of Living Streets, the Brighton Society, the Community & Voluntary Sector Forum and the Friends of Pelham Square

• We have represented North Laine residents on various committees and at many events, such as CAG (Conservation Advisory Group).

• We have dealt with residents' particular concerns whenever possible.

[Previously published in the North Laine Runner, No 197, March/April 2009]