The 5th Annual General Meeting of the South Childwall Residents Association
Held at Liverpool Hope University
Room AJB 058
on Tuesday 15th October at 7.30 pm
On 15th October 2024 the fifth AGM of SCRA was held at Hope University, who were wonderful hosts as usual.
We are legally bound to have an AGM each year to report to members and to vote on a new committee. We usually invite a Keynote Speaker who is connected to the community in some way, and this year, the Neighbourhood Manager and Officers told us about their role in the community.
The Chair went through the aims of the Association and what SCRA had been doing throughout the year to fulfil those aims.
The 4 aims of SCRA and how we fulfil them.
-
Aim 1. To represent the views of members to Councillors and other relevant partners and to work towards ensuring that the best interests of members are served.
SCRA representatives meet with councillors each month and report to them the concerns of the community. Other agencies are contacted if there are any problems and these are followed up until a solution has been gained.
-
Aim 2. To ensure that all members are consulted regularly and that all residents entitled to membership are encouraged to join.
SCRA has information stands at every community event, our details are on the Triangle Noticeboard and there is an electrical membership portal on the website.
-
Aim 3 To improve residents’ security and the environment.
SCRA is a Large Neighbourhood Watch Group and Residents Association rolled into one. Each month the Neighbourhood Watch Newsletter is published on the SCRA website and there are many security related articles in that each month.
We also have a large WhatsApp group to keep members connected alerted and informed.
The litter-picking group ‘Rubbish Friends’ keeps the area litter-free by having group picks on the second Sunday of each month, however, they were granted £500 from the Councillors Local Neighbourhood Fund, and new equipment was bought for the group. Different streets were targeted each day for a week and a skip was bought in for community use. That took a lot of rubbish out of the area, and made a noticeable difference.
-
Aim 4. To encourage a greater sense of community.
There are many reasons to come out of your home and join neighbours if you are a SCRA member.
There are recreational activities on offer throughout the area and these include many free courses at Hope University and at the Childwall Abbey Hotel. They are advertised each month on the SCRA website’s ‘Upcoming Events’ page and each group, has a social element built into it, with groups meeting socially for walks or lunches and Christmas celebrations. If you would like to join any of the groups there are contact details on the website on the ‘Upcoming Events’ page.
ChildwAll Together
But we are not the only community organisation in Childwall. We are part of ‘Childwall All Together’ a group of 6 organisations who join together to bring community events to the residents. Those organisations are SCRA, Friends of Childwall Woods and Fields, All Saints Church, Hope University, Childwall In Bloom and Childwall Abbey School. Together these organisations bring Community events to the residents throughout the year
All of the events are to be found on the website.
The SCRA Website.
This is the Residents Association shop window. On it, you can find Useful Police Information about scams and where to report them. There are links to the Neighbourhood Watch Newsletters, upcoming events, electronic membership, information about the constitution and policies that SCRA have adopted, as well as information on all of the recreational courses that are on offer.
The treasurer Geoff Titchmarsh presented the Accounts
TREASURER’S ACCOUNTS SHEET
Financial Year 2023-2024
Debits Credits Balance ( – ) ( + ) ( £ )
6/1/23 Opening balance in account at this date £1205.66
Total debits £1591.71
Total credits £1572.00
31/9/24 Closing Balance in account at this date £1185.95
A brief breakdown of the funds
June 2023 to September 2024 background detail
Total Debits figure of £1,591.71 during this financial year covered expenditure
on:-
-
Annual Public Liability Insurance,
-
‘Project Linus’ crafting expenses
-
Flowers for SCRA members with health issues
-
A £210 Donation to Alder Hey Childrens Charity,
-
Catering expenses for our AGM last October,
-
‘Rubbish Friends’ expenses – litter picking equipment etc and cost of skip hire,
-
Stationery & postage costs,
-
Christmas 2023 expenses – cards and mince pies for elderly members.
Total Credits figure of £1,572.00 during this financial year comprised income
from:-
-
Members voluntary donations made on joining or at renewal,
-
Our ‘Art at the Abbey’ group – an excellent initiative selling prints of
-
their fine paintings of the church to benefit Alder Hey,
-
A grant from the City of Liverpool’s ‘Local Neighbourhood Fund’.
If anyone would like to take a closer look at the accounts please contact Geoff at L16scra@gmail.com
A report from the Police Liaison Secretary Jan Brown OBE,
Jan explained that our area was in the low crime bracket, but Scams are an ongoing problem and are getting more sophisticated every week. There is a link to the Which website on the ‘Useful Police Information’ page so that you can keep up to date with the latest scams. You can also check phone numbers on the ‘Who has phoned me’ website. Jan also suggested that more police officers were appearing on the streets and City Watch had been very responsive on this runup to Halloween and Bonfire night.
A report from the Community Liaison Secretary John McCombs
John told us about Childwall All Together and the importance of all the community groups working together. More information to be posted here ASAP
A 20 minute break for Refreshments
After the breeak it was time to vote on the new committee.
Eddie McCabe and Helen Minett were standing down after many years of service to SCRA and they were thanked in their absence.
Proposed members of the new committee were presented. Jan Barnes-Orme was welcomed onboard as the Craft Group Leader.
Apologies for absence were given from Simon Quinn, Elaine Kerr and Janet Brown, and then the new committee was returned unopposed.
The Proposed SCRA Committee 2024-25
Chair Brenda Cameron
Vice Chair Simon Quinn
Secretary Elaine Kerr
Treasurer Geoff Titchmarsh
Membership Secretary Geoff Titchmarsh
WhatsApp Group Secretary Elaine Kerr
Assistant Membership Secretary Diane Jones
Police Liaison Secretary Janet Brown OBE
Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator. Geoff Bird
Community Liaison Secretary John McCombs
Craft Group/Project Linus Leader Janet Barnes-Orme
The Keynote Speaker was next to present.
Hayley Corless – Neighbourhood Manager
Hayley introduced her team of Officers and explained that all areas within Liverpool are different with different problems and needs. It is the role of the Neighbourhood Officers to get to know the community within their area and listen to their problems and needs.
Then with the support of the Neighbourhood Manager, the officers would work with appropriate agencies to alleviate the problems.
The areas of Liverpool
The team then presented 3 areas where that had happened.
Eva told us about the parking problems in Speke associated with the Airport. The problem was tackled by working with appropriate agencies, and the airport and putting in signage to stop people parking erratically and antisocially.
Jenna worked with the Lee Valley Pensioners group to combat isolation in that area. They connected pensioners to groups and services and made sure they were getting support when needed.
Fran, who is our Neighbourhood Officer, organised a Car Free Day in Wavertree. Stalls were selling food on the street that was closed, there was a stage for local bands and market stalls run by teenagers from the area. The day was a great success and promoted walking and cycling instead of car use.
The Neighbourhood Team was applauded and thanked by the chair.
Questions
There were questions from the floor:
Question: It was stated that there were areas where there were not enough litter bins. Bus stops were the worst places for litter but some didnt have a bin. Could there be a bin by every busstop?
Answer: We were told by Cllr Pat Maloney that although bins were not expensive, the labour to put them in was, but he would raise this with the relevant department.
Question: Why are areas being left without high street pharmacies.
Answer: Hayley Corless told the meeting of the online consultation that is being carried out by Liverpool City Council until the end of December. It is a Consultation on Liverpool Pharmacy Services, and Hayley urged all members to log onto that and give their views.
Consultation on Liverpool Pharmacy Services – Liverpool City Council
Question: The chair was asked if members had to be residents of L16 to join SCRA.
Answer: The chair answered that L16 was the original target area for SCRA but many residents nearby in neighbouring postcodes had been allowed to join.
————————————————————————