Norsey Wood Society

Minutes of the 44th Annual General Meeting held at 7:45 pm

21st March 2022 in The Fold

The meeting was opened by the nominated Committee Member Ken Richmond at 7:45 pm. 

1.  Apologies for Absence: Peter Croot and Anne Gray had sent apologies.

2.  The Minutes of the 43rd AGM (printed in the Spring 2020 Newsletter): were accepted by the members and signed by KF.

3.  Matters arising. There were no matters arising.

4.  Committee Report (printed in the Winter 2021 Newsletter):

KR referred to the Committee Reports for 2020 and 2021 which had been printed in the Society’s Newsletters and rather than repeat what had been printed he would highlight a few important points.

• Roy Mahoney had been awarded the Volunteer Long Service Award by Basildon Borough Council for his many years involvement with The Norsey Wood Society.
• KR thanked KF for taking on the task of liaising with the council and identifying and co-ordinating the jobs for the work party since Chris’ retirement in 2020..
• He reminded members to look at the information boards that had been erected in the Dutch Barn.
• He reported that the thinning of the secondary woodland in Norsey Meadow was well underway and the improvements in the meadow were worthwhile.
• He also mentioned that the work undertaken round Tania’s Pond had been a great success.
• KR stated that although the Council had announced that there would be no direct replacement for the Ranger a Bio-diversity Officer had now been appointed. Josh Childs was previously the Ranger at EWT Langdon Reserve and his enthusiasm for the Wood was encouraging. His initial plans for Norsey Meadow were more ambitious than we could have envisaged.
• KR then reminded the audience that the Norsey Wood Open Day would be held on Sunday 8th May.

Adoption of the report was proposed by Paul Hudson and seconded by Nathan Hulme. Accepted.

5.  Treasurer’s Report: 

The Treasurer (KF) referred to the audited accounts that had been handed out on arrival. He reported a net increase of 20 members for year to the 31st October which was encouraging in spite of us not having the opportunity to attend public events. Donations were down this year but we enjoyed the regular sponsorship from Norsey Woodland Crafts and a £500 donation from the Waitrose Ecological Fund. We had spent over £3,500 of the Co-op Local Causes donation on tree felling in Norsey Meadow and some safety treads for bridges in the Wood. The remainder of the Co-op money has been used to purchase three picnic benches for the picnic area which will be installed in April. The Society’s balance at the end of October 2021 was £8,877 which includes the £1,900 for the picnic benches.

John Friend asked why the society had paid for the felling of the trees in Norsey Meadow. KR explained that the council were unable to give the grant that we had applied for as they owned the land and they could not be seen to give a grant to themselves. The work was an improvement and enhancement to the site and not general maintenance so would not come under the general budget for the Wood.

Paul Hudson asked why we had paid for the safety treads on the bridges and KF explained that the council would not approve the spend but they have subsequently agreed to fund safety treads for the remaining bridges which would not have happened if we had not kick-started the project.

 Adoption of the report was proposed by John Friend and seconded by Jill Perry. Accepted.

6.  Election of Officers and Committee members:

Chairperson: No nominations had been received so the position will remain vacant. 

Secretary: Lyn Smith, Proposed: Keith Freitag; Seconded: Debbie Sweet     

Treasurer: Keith Freitag, Proposed: Lyn Smith; Seconded: Roy Mahoney

Committee members:. Four retiring members were re-elected. 

Janet Clark: Proposed: Ken Richmond: Seconded: Jill Perry

Ken Richmond: Proposed: Jan Clark: Seconded: Paul Hudson

Terry Gilbey: Proposed: Dave Sweet: Seconded Jill Perry

David Sweet: Proposed: Terry Gilbey: Seconded: Nathan Hulme

New Member:

Steve Prewer: Proposed: Jan Clark: Seconded: Frances Hall

All nominations were voted on and accepted by the Members.

7.  Election of Honorary Auditor: Kevin Hughes was re-elected honorary auditor for the next year. Proposed: Keith Freitag; Seconded: John Friend. Accepted.

8.  Resolutions and Motions: None had been submitted

The Meeting closed at 8:10 pm.                                         Lyn Smith Secretary