FoGP trustee meeting 3 October 2023 minutes

Present

Francine Lawrence (chair)	Helen Goodsell	Cllr Liz Dixon	Hazel Glenister
Gill Close (minutes)	Paul Hurst	Lia Colacicco

Apologies

Cllr Tariq Dar	Mark Cummins	Sally Long	Dick Heath-Brown
Sajjad Dar	Sylvia Gauthereau

David McClements attended to present his proposal to designate the copse a local nature reserve.

Actions are shown by initials in bold.

Approval of minutes

• Minutes approved.

FoGP public meeting

• Agreed 2pm to 4pm Saturday 18 November at the Kilburn Cosmos rugby club at the back of the Gladstone Centre. GC to check the date with SD.
• Agreed to invite Kelly, Sam and Continental Landscapes, the new contractors for the park. GC to invite a police safer neighbourhood team (Dollis Hill, Willesden Green or Cricklewood and Mapesbury) that will be on shift at the time. Councillors could be invited, including Krupa Sheth, the cabinet member for environment, infrastructure and climate action.
• Possible themes discussed: girl focused activity, what do you love about the park, asking questions and making suggestions. Cakes and tea would be provided.
• FL to draft a poster and circulate for comments.

Constitutional matters

• The treasurer’s report was accepted.
• Hazel reported that £800 of the annual £1000 allocation for wildlife had been spent. £320 had been spent on bulbs for the whole terrace and £79 on the SumUp Solo card reader that will assist with donations. Trustees agreed unanimously that this year’s spending could exceed £1000.
• Hazel said the annual report had been submitted. Trustees thanked Hazel for her work on it.
  FL carried forward the action to collate FoGP successes in the last 5 years, which could be used in the next annual report.
• Trustees agreed on taking steps to broaden trustee representation. GC reported that Sajjad Dar from Kilburn Cosmos could not attend today’s meeting but was looking forward to being a trustee. He had attended the 20 May FoGP Make Space for Girls public meeting. GC to give Hazel his details to arrange the formalities for him to be a trustee.
• Trustees agreed that officer tenure would cease at the next trustee meeting, when all officers (chair, deputy chair, treasurer and secretary) would stand down. At the meeting, trustees would then stand for each office and trustees would vote.

Application to designate the copse a Local Nature Reserve

• David McClements summarised what a local nature reserve (LNR) was and how the copse met the requirements. He had met with Martin Page (Principal Landscape Architect) and Leslie Williams (Parks Service), who had been involved in previous LNR applications and were in favour of this one. David set out the necessary steps with council officers and committees, then with Natural England. His presentation is an appendix to the minutes.
• Local LNR include Fryent Country Park, Masons Field, Brent Reservoir/Welsh Harp and Westbere Copse.
• As the park is Metropolitan Open Land, it would be safe from development, but the LNR status will prevent it from returning to a neglected state as it will have an agreed management plan that the council will need to deliver directly or through contractors.
• David explored possible relationships between the copse group and FoGP, and how the copse group would constitute itself to enable it to apply for funds long into the future. He will check if the copse group wants constitutional links with FoGP.
• Trustees agreed unanimously to support the application for LNR status. Trustees thanked David and the whole copse group for what they have done.

Long-term and short-term plans for FoGP to achieve

• Trustees considered the suggestions for long, medium and short term plans listed on the agenda.
• Trustees wanted toilets at the bottom of the park.
• Trustees also wanted a drinking fountain in the south of the park. GC to ask Kelly whether any funding for this could be found now that the fountain planned with funds from the Mayor of London had not been forthcoming. It was due to be at the entrance to the park opposite the end of Cullingworth Road, which is near to the MUGA and sports pitches. Kelly and GC had met Thames Water there to agree the location in relation to mains water supply.
• Trustees would like music events, for example on the Dollis Hill House footprint, which has an electricity supply and is near to where regular Sunday concerts took place back in the 1960s while people sat at the café’s outside tables.
• Trustees want to increase the diversity of park users and encourage more younger people into the park.

Council update

• Helen reported that Russ Kirk and Vincent Nurse from Continental Landscapes had visited the gardening group. They were not active in conservation or aware about the grass but seemed to be strong at parks management.
• Dean was now in charge of all voluntary groups in Brent. He reports to Vincent and then Russ.
• Continental Landscapes do not work at weekends so couldn’t pick up litter after the litter picks. GC to contact Kely Eaton about this.
• Continental Landscapes are not moving into the Gladstone Park rickyard to share the area with Veolia.
• FL saw a big digger knock down goal posts. GC to inform Sam Haines.
• Helen has agreed with Sam Haines the different content for the two meadow signs.
• Other items on the agenda were carried forward to the next meeting due to lack of time. GC to carry forward all items:
  • Litter collection times, clearing leaves from around drains
  • PSPO signs and explaining how to report breaches
    • FL to check whether the new PSPO signs have been stuck over all the old ones. Once they have been displayed, FL and GC to write wording for Facebook on how and why to report breaches
  • Park warden role suggestions for Kelly Eaton – to be sent following this meeting
  • Car park feedback for Kelly Eaton – to be sent following this meeting
  • Sunday football use and access along pathways
    • GC to check with Helen the times Sunday footballers use the pitch and if their access route is through the hedge
  • Broken railings (All to let GC know of any other ideas)
  • Resurfacing lower playground
  • Inviting Kelly Eaton and Sam Haines to a trustee meeting

Cafés and Gladstone Centre

• The Gladstone Centre is on Metropolitan Open Land so the only permitted building to replace it would be an adjunct to park use. Tanveer Ghani (Director of Property and Assets), Cllr Mo Butt (council leader) and Cllr Mili Patel (on maternity leave until spring 2024) were waiting for the doctors who had proposed a surgery to outline their business case and the finance they would provide. LD said a meeting had taken place involving SL and FL. LC has been in contact with Mo Butt about progress. Trustees thanked LC for all of the work she had done regarding the Gladstone Centre.
• LD reported that she and Cllr Parvez Ahmed had done a walkabout in the park with the new council chief executive Kim Wright. They had said that the Stables Café should be open at 4pm. Recently Kelly Eaton, Amin Soorma (Property Services estate surveyor) and LD had met again with the Stables Café leaseholders. The council had agreed to the opening days being Wednesday to Sunday. Trustees want the opening hours to match the lease, be publicised clearly and be kept to, at least the café open on Bank Holidays and until 5pm every day. LD to feed these back to Kelly.
• The Pavilion Café now has a small seating area outside. The café lessee asked the council to move the table tennis table that is in front of it but there are no plans to do this.

Actions for trustees from 10 July meeting not elsewhere on the agenda

• FL will circulate a draft about FoGP, how to become a friend, and litter picks, gardening group and copse group for a small notice to display on the park noticeboards.
• Carried forward
  • FL and SG to work on the wording for a small notice about StreetLink
  • SG to follow up with Imogen some Make Space for Girls information for Brent councillors
  • SG to put events in the website calendar and finalise the events section. SG, PH and Helen to liaise to update the calendar with walks. DH to put walks on Facebook.

Issues raised on Facebook page

• Concern about dangerous and stray dogs. Brent does not have a dog warden.

Any other business

• Helen has purchased the SumUp Solo handset. She has publicised in the newsletter the QR code that Robert Goodsell has set up for FoGP donations. Sums of £1, £2, £5 and £10 can be donated.

Date of next meeting

• 7.30pm to 9pm Monday 4 December 2023 at Helen’s, 79 Kendal Road NW10 1JE