Friends of Ruskin Park

Chair  Veronica Hardstaff - 64 Linaker Road, Sheffield S6 (Tel. 233 5414)

Secretary  Barbara Waterhouse – 106 Cromwell Street, Walkley, Sheffield S6 (Tel. 233 9805)

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Friends of Ruskin Park, held on Tuesday, 23rd September at 7.45 p.m.

Present :  Councillor Veronica Hardstaff (Chair), Max Telfer, Deb Loasby, Fraser McDermott (Ranger), Barbara Waterhouse, Jillian Missen (SCC), Sue Ireland, Chris Ireland (Treasurer), Brenda Wren, Keith Gower, Lindsay Berry

Apologies :  Rosemary Telfer

1.                  Minutes of the AGM 22nd October, 2002

These were agreed as a correct record

2.                  Chair’s report

Veronica listed the highlights of the past year :

• 2 unsuccessful applications to the Community Chest for further funding
• Planting of bulbs, which came up well
• Clean up day
• Resurfacing of MUGA (multiple use games area) (though fencing still needs attention)
• Fun Day, as part of the Walkley Festival, with many thanks to Fraser and his team
• Play bus visited the park over the holiday
• Creation of plan by Ian Stanyon, incorporating some of Sarah Watson’s information and other feedback
• Creation of butterfly garden, developed by Cheryl with children from St. Mary’s School

The Chair extended thanks to all members of the committee, all Area Panel coordinators, Ian Stanyon and Jillian Missen and the Rangers for their continued support  and Ian Loasby for maintaining the web site.

3.                  Election of officers 2003/4

Chair                                                   Veronica Hardstaff

Secretary                                           Barbara Waterhouse (with Keith Gower as assistant)

Treasurer                                           Chris Ireland

Vice-Chair                                         Max Telfer

Publicity Officer                                 Alan Garner 

Committee members                       Diane Leek, Brenda Wren, Deb Loasby, Sue

                                                            Ireland, Keith Gower

4.                  Treasurer’s Report

Chris reported that about £450 remained in funds following the payment of the Community Alliance money to Sarah Watson. A small amount of money was raised at the Walkley Festival event in Ruskin Park.

The Treasurer was thanked for his hard work during the year.

5.                  Further discussions

A possible revamp of the web site was discussed. It may be possible to display Ian Stanyon’s plan on the web site and possibly also on the noticeboards in Ruskin Park. Ian’s plan was on display at the meeting along with potential layouts provided by three different manufacturers of playground equipment. Ways of getting feedback on the preferred plan from these three were discussed, and the plans are to be displayed at St. Mary’s School and at Walkley Library.

We also discussed possible sources of funding.

We could apply for a Lottery grant. This wouldn’t need much money to start with, but we would need to arrange a lease from the City Council. This could be limited to the area to be redeveloped. Ideally we would like a lease that leavesthe responsibility for health and safety and maintenance with the City Council. The wording should indicate the the equipment to be erected would be a selection from that on the plans, rather than the whole lot.

Living Spaces is another possible source of funding. No lease would be required for this, but matched funding is required for anything over £5000.

There was some discussion about the merits of trying to do the whole lot at once. The consensus was that this was the preferred option.

6.                  Date and time of next meeting

Thursday, 6^th November. 7.45 p.m. at the Royal Hotel, Walkley St.