Great Ouse Branch AGM 2023

Great Ouse Branch

A NNUAL G ENERAL M EETING

to be held on T hursday, 23rd M arch 2023 at 8.00 pm

This will be followed by an update from a River Manager of the Environment Agency

Please forward any questions to be directed to the Environment Agency to our Secretary

john.hodgson@waterways.org.uk

Ouse News - Appendix 1

Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Great Ouse Branch of the Inland Waterways Association will be held on Thursday, 23rd March 2023 at the North Lodge Pavilion, North Lodge Park, Milton, Cambridge, CB24 6UD at 8.00 p.m.

AGENDA

1. Chairman’s welcome and apologies for absence

2. Approval of the Minutes of the AGM held on 24th March 2022printed in Appendix 2

3. Matters Arising from those Minutes, not included on this Agenda

4. Chairman’s Report - printed in Appendix 3

5. Secretary’s Report - printed in Appendix 4

6. Treasurer’s Report and presentation of Accounts - printed in Appendix 5

7. Election of Branch Committee

8. Any Other Business

9. Close of Meeting

Notes: (following the amendment of Byelaws dated 14/3/09)

1. Accounts are audited by IWA Head Office. There is no need to adopt the accounts or appoint an auditor.

2. There is no longer any limit to Committee numbers. Members serve for 3 years after which they retire but may seek re-election.

3.There are 4 Committee Member due to retire by rotation this year : Carole Alderton, Enid Hodgson, Keith Alderton and John Hodgson. All are available for re-election.

4. New Committee Members are most welcome. Those who would like to stand must sign the consent form below and send to the Branch Secretary, John Hodgson (email: jandehodgson@gmail.com) before the start of the AGM.

INLAND WATERWAYS ASSOCIATION CONSENT FORM

I agree to stand for election at the 2023 Annual General Meeting of the Great Ouse Branch. I am a member of the Great Ouse Branch.

(Sign) .................................................. Print Name ............................

Date ...............................

Minutes of the 2022 Annual General Meeting of the Great Ouse Branch of the Inland Waterways Association on Thursday 24th March 2022.

Held at the North Lodge Community Centre, Milton, Cambridge at 8.00 p.m.

Present: Keith Alderton (Chairman) plus 13 Great Ouse Branch members.

1. Apologies for absence.

The meeting was opened at 8.01 pm and the Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Gail Mead, Meg Foote, Ray and Sue Thompson, Philip Barker and Chris Howes.

2. Minutes of the 2021 Annual General Meeting held on 22nd April 2021 via video link

The minutes of the previous AGM, having been circulated as Appendix 2 of the AGM booklet were proposed as a true record of the meeting by Chris Buck and seconded by Peter Webb. This was agreed unanimously.

3. Matters arising from the AGM on 22nd April 2021.

There were none.

4. Chairman’s Report

The Chairman’s report was similarly included in the AGM booklet as Appendix 3. He had nothing to add to the report as presented. There were no questions for the Chairman.

5. Secretary’s Report

The Secretary’s report was also printed in the AGM booklet as Appendix 4. There was nothing to add to these notes. There were no questions for the Secretary.

6. Treasurer’s Report.

The Treasurer’s report and accounts were available in Appendix 5 of the AGM booklet. There were no questions for the Treasurer.

7. Election of Committee Members.

Stephen Foote and Peter Webb were due for re-election as their three year term of office has ended. They are both eligible and available for re-election. This was proposed by Cat Buck and seconded by Chris Buck. Stephen Foote and Peter Webb were re-elected unanimously.

8. Any Other Business.

There was no other business.

9. The Chairman closed the meeting at 8.06 pm.

Ouse News - Appendix 3: Chairman’s Report 2022-2023

Without doubt, 2022 proved to be a difficult year for the branch. It would seem that after emerging from the trials and tribulations of Covid, people generally are very reluctant to get out and about and resume their former level of activity. We are not alone in this respect as many such organisations are experiencing similar problems. However, we as a branch now need to take stock and formulate our plans for the future.

What do you the members want from the branch? Do you just want to pay your subs as a general measure of support for the IWA’s aims and objective, or do you want to participate in a varied programme of branch events?

The forthcoming branch AGM will provide the ideal format for members to put forward their views. Please do try and attend if possible.

I would once again like to echo John Hodgson’s plea for members to put themselves forward to join the branch committee. We do need new ideas and a new impetus.

As always, I would like to thank our advertisers for their continued financial support and assure them that it is our intention to resume publishing Ouse News in full colour format from this summer onwards.

I would also like to thank the branch committee members for holding the fort whilst Carole and I have been on ‘garden leave’ as she recovers from a broken neck. All now looks positive on that front.

Keith Alderton

Ouse News - Appendix 4: Secretary’s Report 2022-22023

At last the restrictions imposed in response to the covid pandemic are, for most practical purposes, finally over.

The February and March 2022 meetings went ahead, the latter incorporating the AGM (the minutes for which can be seen elsewhere) followed by the traditional update from the EA.

The usual spring “away day” was moved to November in place of the branch meeting. The plan was to visit the Welney Wetland Centre for a talk and to watch the swan feeding. Unfortunately this was cancelled as there were not enough people (only two outside of the committee) interested in going.

The October meeting was likewise curtailed. It was due to be a fish and chip supper with a waterways themed quiz. As only one person other than committee members attended, the quiz was cancelled and we settled for the fish and chips. Both of these events have been popular previously albeit a number of years ago.

Committee meetings have also continued in person – occasionally. Alas our newsletter editor, Carole Alderton, sustained a serious injury in the spring and has been unable to either attend meetings or edit the newsletter. As neither she nor Keith were able to attend there have been few committee meetings since then.

Of the four possible, three were cancelled and the other had only four members present. This underlines the need for more committee members. Branch members will recall that this is a perennial call, particularly at each AGM and the need is now becoming more urgent. Please consider joining the committee and helping your branch, or the future may become uncertain.

The branch membership continues in a slight decline. In itself this is disappointing as it continues to fare better than that nationally.

The branch has still been involved with other organisations, although they have not met often or we have not been able to provide a delegate – for reasons see above! This includes “Project Hereward” so alas there is nothing to report from there.

At the forthcoming AGM, March 2023, four committee members are ending their three year term of office – Carole Alderton, Enid Hodgson, Keith Alderton and John Hodgson. All four are eligible for re-election.

As noted on the nomination form there is no limit to the number of committee members and we have lost some over the last few years. More would be welcome, again – see above.

Please contact either Keith Alderton or John Hodgson for details. The nomination forms can either be sent to the Secretary or be completed on the evening of the meeting.

The branch accounts remain in a healthy state as expenditure has been lower than normal, although contributions and sales at meetings are missing. This year our advertising income will not be available as there have been no proper newsletters, so our loyal advertisers will have their previously paid for adverts in the forthcoming issues of Ouse News.

Our newsletter editor, Carole Alderton is always keen to receive contributions from as many authors as possible to offer a variety of content style.

John Hodgson

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