AGM 6:30pm on 10th September

The Annual General Meeting of the Prices Lodge Residents Association will be held at Harrison Primary School at 6:30pm on Tuesday 10th September. Please could all members of the Association attend.

Agenda

1. Agree the minutes of the last AGM and to deal with matters arising therefrom.

2. Chairman’s annual report.

3. Treasurer’s annual report.

4. Questions from the floor.

5. Elections for an Honorary Chairman, Vice-chairman, Secretary and Treasurer and up to 6 committee members.

6. Debate Proposals (see below).

7. Set the annual rate of subscription.

8. Any other business.

Proposals

If you want to put a proposal for debate at the AGM then please do the following:

• Put it in writing, with the names of a Proposer and a Seconder (who must both be members).

• Deliver it by one of the following methods by Tuesday 20th August (3 weeks before the AGM):

• Email to paul@cogito.org.uk. Please include “AGM Proposal” in the subject line.

• By hand to 33 William Price Gardens.

Electronic delivery is preferred. Proposals will be circulated to members before the AGM, and also posted on our web site. If you wish to speak for or against a proposal then please let the Chairman know.

Two proposals have already been made: see below.

Proposal: Hedge Width Reduction

Over the last decade the hedges between the open space and the houses around the estate have gradually increased in height and width. This has now reached the point where the gardener cannot cut the entire width of the hedge from the open space. To cut from the other side he has to stand on garden walls, which is both unsafe and likely to damage the walls. This situation is clearly unacceptable.

In previous years a tractor with cutting equipment was used. However this is no longer possible, partly because the hedges have become too wide for this equipment, and partly because trees have grown up near the hedge and now make access to much of the hedges impossible.

The increased width of the hedges now means that the gardener needs three days to cut them all. This is going to result in increased costs in the future.

There are two options for resolving this situation:

• Option 1. Cut back the hedges to a maximum width of 3 meters from the garden walls, including removing stumps and reseeding grass where necessary. The gardener has quoted £2,350 + VAT (total £2,820, or £34.40 per household) for this work.

• Option 2. Cut a 1 meter wide path between the hedges and the garden walls to give access by step ladder to both sides. Remove ivy from the walls. Also in one or two places the hedge will still be too wide to cut, so some thinning of the front will be necessary too. The gardener has quoted £1,452 + VAT (total £1,742.40, or £21.25 per household) for this work.

I must emphasise that this is a choice between Option 1 and Option 2: doing nothing is no longer an option.

One of the advantages of the hedges is that they makes it harder for intruders to gain access to back gardens. However as the hedges have got thicker in some places the gardener has had to cut his own paths into the hedges, making them ineffective as barriers. Obviously Option 2 would completely negate this.

Proposed by: Paul Johnson, 33 WPG.

Seconded by: Deana Tarrant, 14 WPG.

Proposal: Hedge “Knuckle Growth” Removal

For many years the hedges between the open space and the houses were cut at the same height every year, usually at the same height as the wall. This led to “knuckle growths” where each year a twig was cut off and a new twig began growing from the same place, creating an irregular lump of wood. Meanwhile the branch below the knuckle growth was never cut and so grew in thickness.

As a result of the knuckle growths it has become impossible to keep the hedges down to the original height. The gardener has also broken hedge trimmer blades on the knuckle growths, and in future this cost will have to be passed on in the form of higher charges.

Therefore the proposal is to use loppers and pruning saws to remove all knuckle growths from the hedges. Initially this will reduce the height of the hedges below the original, but in future new growth will be softer and can be kept trimmed to the original height with hedge trimmers.

The gardener has quoted £1,575 + VAT (total £1,890, or £23.49 per household) for this work.

Proposed by: Paul Johnson, 33 WPG.

Seconded by: Deana Tarrant, 14 WPG.