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Chairman’s Report 2011

Many of us work hard to ensure that FoBP Ltd fulfils its charitable aims of enhancing the park and surrounding area for the benefit of the local and municipal community.

Over the 13 years of our existence we have seen major improvements in the park and can be proud of our achievements so far.  We work in close co-operation with Kirklees Council who have successfully applied for Green Flag status this year which means that they have a commitment to improve the park over the next five years and it is that commitment that the founders of FoBP were seeking on its formation.

In 2003 Kirklees Council applied to HLF for 3 major park developments, Greenhead Park – now completed-, Crow Nest Park – 2009 -  and Beaumont park - 2012 -  in that order.  However, due to changes in Lottery funding Crow Next and Beaumont Park will not now receive the money for complete overhaul.  Having foreseen this change our policy of cherry picking specific items for funding has been vindicated.  Now that the bandstand has been reinstated we have to consider future projects but before we do that let us look at those we are dealing with now.

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Visitor Centre
We have submitted a planning application to Kirklees Council for a larger temporary visitor centre probably twice the size of our existing one.  The old one has been up for 8 years and will need replacing at some stage.  A larger one will meet our requirements for the medium term future.  In the Council’s management plan they indicate that a permanent visitor centre will not be in place before 2020 so the new temporary building is vital to us now.  We are short of space for several functions and are limited in what we can offer to organisations who want to use the centre.  In addition the catering facilities will be improved enabling us to provide a better service to park users.
We need funding for this project and have submitted a pre application to BIFFA.  The council will help with the services and other items.

Woodland Management and History of Meltham Railway Branch Line
A woodland management plan was completed in 2010 on recommendation from Green Flag judges and as a consequence we are attempting to link the railway line and woodland beyond the park with walking trails connecting the two areas.  The plan advised that we should involve local schools who will research the history of the railway line and the information will be displayed on information boards and leaflets.  All schools will be involved in a Forest School Project which means that children will be involved with and understand the woodland from infant stage right through to leaving Moor End Academy.  This will give them a respect for their local environment and should discourage vandalism.
An application to HLF for a grant of £50,000 has been submitted.  If successful it means that we will become more involved with local schools and parents which will be good for our local community.
We are also talking to the Pennine Line Partnership about publicising a walking trail from Lockwood Station through the Park and woodland then on to Berry Brow Station.

Refreshment Hut
The reason for the formation of FoBP was the demolition of the pavilion overlooking the playground in 1998.  As more people make use of the park they have commented that toilets and a refreshment hut are needed near the Butternab Road Entrance as that is where a lot of park activities take place.  I think we all agree with this and it should be a project which we ought to pursue.  Our  experience with the new temporary visitor centre indicates that we should have some drawings done, apply for planning permission and then look for funding – EASY!!!
In our accounts we have £10882 in the Mary Roberts legacy fund which has to be used for restoration purposes so this could be used for matchfunding.  We need to get ideas on what, where, when and how we can start this process.

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We now need to examine the roles of our various committees to see what lessons can be learned from their operation, whether they are still needed and whether any new ones need to be established.

Park
In 2003 BTCV gave a grant for chain saws and training in their use and since then a great deal of necessary work has been carried out in clearing much of the overgrown vegetation.  This has resulted in a large increase in the numbers using the park because it is now a pleasant place to visit, the views for which the park was noted have been opened up and people feel safe again.  Whilst we have played a large part in this improvement credit must be given to the Council as, in the last two years since John Mason became head gardener, they have been able to put more people to work in the park thanks to them using various schemes such a Governments Back to Work project. However John will be working on his own this winter.
For the past 3 years we have agreed a winter work schedule with the Council with various tasks allocated to us. Now that there is a Beaumont Park management plan for Green Flag purposes and a woodland management plan to work to it is all laid out in the two plans.  We also have money from HLF to improve planting around the bandstand area.  When we met the Council this year to discuss the winter work schedule we felt that the park had been cleared of sufficient vegetation in previous years as to make it more manageable by John Mason so it was agreed that our volunteers liaise with him about work needing to be done.
We also need to be aware of the efforts of our Monday morning volunteers who plant bulbs, clear vegetation, look after herbaceous beds and generally help to make the park attractive.  They are assisted by pupils and staff from Crosland Moor Junior School and Moor End Academy.  They also agree with John Mason on the work they carry out.

Visitor Centre
The visitor centre has had a very successful year thanks to the efforts of all our volunteers who man the centre, bake cakes, organise social events and look after the stall by the bandstand.  Success is not measured by money but by the number of people using the facilities as this gives an indication to outside bodies of how popular the park has become. The more visitors the more they contribute to our income.
One of the reasons for the success is that many volunteers are involved in decision making as they have a sub committee meeting on a monthly basis and this is something which all teams need to consider.

Events
Now that we have the new bandstand it needs to be used and the events committee is working on next year’s programme.  In the past we have concentrated on brass band performances but, as part of the HLF grant conditions, we must open up our programme to other forms of entertainment, whilst maintaining and increasing our band commitment.

The committee are bearing this in mind and contact has been made with local schools who will also use the new bandstand.

In addition to musical events on the bandstand we have recently been putting on events for local children, parents and the general public including a bat walk, a geoday and an Autumn watch which have been well supported.  There is also a Saturday Forest School for children and parents every month.  These are encouraging additions to our events programme which should be developed but we need volunteers to assist with the organisation.  We are fortunate in that Emily will spend 9 hours 20 minutes per week during the winter months on events organisation as part of her degree project but most of the events take place during summer months hence the need for more volunteers for this committee.

History and Heritage
I have recently been questioning the need for this team but now realise that it is vital point of our committee structure.  This team was set up when we were dealing with the signage project funded by HLF in 2005 and the results of their research can be seen on various information boards, leaflets and the Beaumont Park book.  Recent work has been done on two bandstand information boards still to be installed.  We now need an information board on the castle site and possibly one for the path to inform about the blast wall once it is removed.

20,000 park maps were printed in 2008 from money from the signage project and less than 2,000 remain so we need to update it and have a reprint.  A decision on the reprint of the park book has yet to be made.  It contains some inaccuracies, a picture of the new bandstand would improve it and some new information has come to light.  Paid for by HLF it can be self financing and both Waterstones and  Tourist Information Office will sell it but because of reprint costs we may lose a little if sold by these two shops.

I previously mentioned research into the History of the Meltham Railway Branch Line to be carried out by local schools but we need to help them with any information in our records and also point them in the right direction for other source material.

Finance
Our current financial situation is healthy according to the latest accounts but we have to be aware that some of the money is already allocated.  We know that the council have a very strict budget and we should be prepared to spend money on projects which improve the park. This is why we raise money.

Committee Structure
Since formation our interests have gradually developed from wanting the council to pay more attention to the park rather than demolishing assets to running a visitor centre, helping with vegetation removal, putting on a programme of events and working with the local community.  This is probably a much greater commitment than originally foreseen by the first committee in 1998 and we have been fortunate in the number of volunteers we have encouraged to give time and effort to the ‘friends’.  However we have spoken in committee this year about the danger of overload.  People volunteer because they enjoy what they do and feel that they are contributing to something worthwhile in their local community.  However if asked to do too much they can easily walk away so it is  vital that work is shared among as many volunteers as possible.
About six years ago the committee was split into teams taking responsibility for specific tasks outlined previously and this has worked reasonably well since then..  As our role in the community centred round the park has developed I think now is an appropriate time to consider how we can improve our organisation so that the increasing burden can be spread amongst more volunteers rather than fall on the shoulders of general committee members.

I have already mentioned the way the visitor centre team operate by having its own sub committee meetings involving several volunteers and issuing minutes to all the general committee so that we are always up to date with their activities.  They are not reliant on one or two individuals and there is always cover for holidays, sickness, etc.

The events committee has increased in numbers this year consisting of general committee members but we need to bring in non committee volunteers especially as there is a large increase in events planned for next year.  There are several aspects where we need cover for tasks such as lighting, bandstand, clerical organisation, chairs,etc. We have had meetings with Council Culture and Leisure Services but reductions in budget and staff mean that they cannot give any more assistance than they already provide.

The Park committee deals with the council and, as stated before, we have seen a vast improvement in the park to the extent that it can be managed more easily now.  However we are now involved with the woodland area and will need volunteers to help with vegetation clearance.   There is already action built in the woodland management plan and the HLF project will include more jobs.  Once again more volunteers are needed although we have a nucleus from our winter monthly volunteers days.

The History and Heritage Team relies on 3 – 4 members of general committee but volunteers could be coopted to do archiving and researching the History of the Meltham Railway in conjunction with the local schools.

Administration is also an area where we are being stretched as people become more aware of the Park and what it has to offer.  There are several jobs not falling under the main team headings that need doing.  Posters, Newsletter issues, plant sales, funding, etc.

We have a lot of support from the community for what we have achieved so far and we need to tap into this to involve more volunteers the vast majority of whom do not like committee work but are quite happy to help out with specific tasks. It is also probably true to say that ‘volunteers’ need to be asked as most people are reluctant to appear to be pushing themselves forward.

Summary
We are considered to be a successful organisation by many and I think we can all agree with them but we need to examine the way we operate every so often to see if any improvements can be made. This will be discussed at the next two committee meetings.

Finally I would like to thank all committee members for their support and a special thank you to Joan Hannan and Pauline Blackburn who have served on the committee from the start so we will miss their experience. We are sorry to lose them but will not lose them altogether as they have indicated that they will help out when necessary.

7 December 2011.