Update On Meeting Held on 21/9/17

The first thing we would like to say is THANK YOU. We really want to thank everyone who attended the meeting on Thursday 21/9, the turnout was one of the biggest so far. We also want to say a huge thank you to Mick Allsopp as he steps down from his role as Vice Chairperson to concentrate more on helping to improve Galley Hill through his role as our local Councillor, thanks for helping us to get set up, thanks for his work with the Stony Stratford Town Council to get our residents association recognised, and thanks for his continued support.

The meeting itself was packed, the committee all arrived early (with apologies from Joy Sumner who had work commitments) to get through the stuff which needs to be agreed or discussed among ourselves, and thanks to a rather muted Nyomie (Chairperson), who was suffering with a bad throat, we managed to get all of the other stuff out of the way in time to announce our vote for a new Vice Chairperson, with choices of Dave Tavener or Paul Flecknell, both of whom are invaluable assets to the GHRA.

While people were cogitating over who to vote for we heard from our Treasurer, Roy, who has been beavering away on the finances and arranging the tree carving in place of Mick. Roy informed us that we have the £1500 tree carving funds securely in our account ready to pay the carver. We have also been granted £400 from local council funds which is in the process of being transferred to our account to be used for some of the events being planned. The Tuesday coffee mornings have also added to our total fund, and we have raised over £100 (full figures will be made available on our financial statement soon) from all activities.

We then counted the votes and it was a bit of a surprise landslide win for Dave Tavener to be our new Vice Chairperson, with 20 votes for Dave and 3 for Paul. So congratulations to Dave, but Paul will be continuing in his role as events coordinator so all is not lost.

We then heard from our visitors from Stony Stratford Council and Milton Keynes Library Service on the ongoing plans for the library building in Stony Stratford. They explained how the building was going to be refurbished and the library may be moved to the first floor, while the ground floor would be used for offices and an open area which may be rented out. These proposals are still in negotiation and this meeting was used as part of the ongoing consultation process. For those who weren’t at the meeting and want more details of the plans you can find them at the Stony Stratford Town Council website. 

There was a Q and A session regarding the plans for the library building, and several points were raised by attendees. Concerns which were raised included

  • Access to the first floor by less able bodied people
  • How money was being raised for the refurbishment
  • If the library service closes the Stony library then how is it to be funded in the future as it also serves as offices for the Stony Stratford Town Council.

These points were discussed and are to be taken into account as the plans progress. We will keep you informed as the consultations continue.

The meeting was brought to a close by Nyomie, minutes will be available to view here as soon as they are agreed to be acceptable.

Thanks to all who support the GHRA from all of The Galley Hill Residents Association Committee.

Reminders

We have so much going on that it’s difficult to know where to start, so we will start with the tree carving news. We have secured the funding for the tree carving, to turn the fallen tree near the park into a bench. We are working with Stony Stratford Town Council, who are helping to arrange the tree carver, and St. Marys St. Giles school to get ideas from local children on how it should look.

On the subject of the school, they are looking for volunteers to help paint the school interior, do some odd jobs and move a shed for them. If you are willing to help and available on Friday 22nd September from 4pm to 8pm (or any time in between) or Saturday 23rd between 9 am and 6pm then please come along and pitch in.

We also have our public meeting on Thursday 21st September from 7pm at the Small Meeting Place (above the shop). We will be asking for people to vote on who our next Vice Chair should be as Cllr Mick Allsopp stood down from the position earlier in the year.

We also have some guests from Stony Stratford Town Council coming along to the meeting to talk about their plans for the library building in Stony Stratford. This is part of their ongoing consultation on their proposed refurbishment of the building and you can have your say on Thursday.

Finally a quick reminder that our coffee mornings are still happening every Tuesday between 10 am and 12 at the Small Meeting Place. Everyone is welcome for coffee, biscuits and a chat.

We hope to see you at any or all of the above events, from all the Committee of the Galley Hill Residents Association.