Town Team Meeting: 14-04-2021

via Zoom

Those Present: Judith Burden, Patsy Cummings, Clive Fraser, Libby Hamilton, Henry Lelen, Terry Lewis, Rachel MacKoy, Philip McCormack, Chris Peskett, Shuba Rao, Helen Stokely, Pooja Takiar, Dan Winder, Mary Wolf,

Apologies: Karen Eliatamby, Michelle Normanly, Paul Scott, Doreen Soukup, Sue Taiwan, Paul & Laura (SNCK)

Minutes of the Town Team Meeting on 26.11.2020

Matters Arising

1. Chair’s Welcome
   1. Self-introduction by Team members
      1. Spurgeon’s College has joined the Town Team
      1. Libby is Chair of the Friends of South Norwood Library
   1. Brief description of the Market’s history and progress.

• The Town Team – what we are and how things should work:  Members being more active
  • Restructuring of Working Groups
    • A summary of the origins and background of WLSE25 and its funding was given. The Town Team is not currently at maximum capacity.
    • Description of the 4 Working Groups (WG) and their structure was given. The project has evolved since the WGs were established and they now need to be project-led instead of driving the projects (ground-up rather than top-down). There is money available from WLSE25, separate from Good Growth Fund (GGF) money. The Town Team members were asked to approach the Community for project proposals once the process and conditions for the grants has been finalised.

• WLSE25 Funds
  • There is a total of £18,000 available, some of which can be spent on Community projects. The process and conditions for applying for small grants will be posted on the website, when the Officers have confirmed, with a deadline for applications, but initial proposals are:Projects should be referred to Officers, via info@wlse25, who will bring them before the Town Team for approval. These projects need not be constrained by the GGF boundaries.A total of £5,000 in small grants will be made available in the first round;The project must be visible to the Community e.g. power-washing sections of the pavements;The grants are open to anyone with a viable project;In the interests of accountability, the relevant WG will have a watching brief over the progress of each project
    • The bidding process should be accessible, without the need to fill in complicated forms.
    • Libby volunteered to put together information on social media when the scheme is on the website.

• Update on Regeneration Project and Current Negotiations
  • Socco Cheta Update (by proxy)
    • Contractors have been appointed. There was a gap between the contract and funds available so Socco Cheta are looking at value-engineering the project. The work should be finished by October and the building open by December 2021.
  • Community Capacity Building. (Michelle)
    • Patsy/Shuba will circulate this electronically, due to time constraints.
  • Placemaking
    • Underpass Project Update (Shuba)
      • Shuba has been liaising with the Council. Once completed, work on the design for the art-work can begin. The Council’s Highway Department will clean the tiles in May, depending on the funds available. The Risk Assessment will be in place so Will & Rob will work with community members to create the art work. It will be graffiti-proofed.
      • Henry has contact with the creator of the original photographs. It was proposed to preserve a copy of the artwork in another location as the originals are in too poor a state to save.
      • The underpass needs to be cleaned and the drains cleared regularly. The Highways Department is responsible but the subway is under ‘minor maintenance’ and is dependent on Council finances.
      • A plaque could be put up when the work is completed, to indicate it is a WLSE25 project and raise WLSE25’s profile.
    • Place of Station Road within the GGF revised plan. Are the shops in Station Road still to be painted? Patsy/ Shuba will circulate an update via email

• Engaging with different parts of the community post lockdown
  • Housing issues.
    • This does not fall within the remit of WLSE25.
  • Update on groups who could run The Albert Tavern as a Community Pub. Patsy willput out a call for interest from the community and an update to be circulated by email.

• Supporting the library campaign
  • Actions that will have most impact. (Libby)
    • 4 options were put forward by the Council: Closure; Reduced Hours; Community Run; Outsourced to Social Enterprise. The proposal put forward by the Friends of SN Library was included in the Community Run option. The options are to be discussed in May.
    • The Friends will stop lobbying for the Community Run option as a hybrid model would be more viable.
    • What Social Enterprise actually means needs to be defined.
    • An open Q&A meeting is to be held, with all election candidates invited to take part.
    • A Read-in has been organized to take place outside the old Library on Saturday 17^th April from 11.30 – 12.30.
    • The Friends are campaigning for a library in South Norwood at whatever location. The old Library would not be big enough for other activities to take place on site. Locating the library in the new building would be supported by the Friends, if it could be opened

• AOB
  • Spurgeon’s College
    • A description of the College’s part in the community was given.
      • It is a Higher Education College providing courses in Theology and Counselling up to Doctorate level.
      • The aim is to expand the number of courses.
      • It is pursuing a project to become the first home-grown University in Croydon and to increase its profile in the area. It is interested in making a greater investment in South Norwood.
      • The College has space, including the lawn, that they would like the community to make use of. The site is not used much at weekends or evenings. There would be no barrier to people or organizations from other faiths using the space.
  • Secretarial support
    • Pooja Takiar from Spurgeon’s College was proposed, by Helen Stokeley, to take over Shuba’s part of the secretarial duties.  APPROVED
  • Community announcements
    • Stanley Arts will be running the Time Travelling Treasure Hunt over the May Bank Holiday weekend.
    • A community baker is looking for information about empty shop premises with a view to moving in. Michelle is aware.

Date of Next Meeting: 6^th July 2021

Action Points 14.4.21