Minutes 2nd March 2004

Minutes of Meeting on 2 March 2004:

CRYSTAL PALACE & NORWOOD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
HELD AT 1ST FLOOR, LORENZO'S RESTAURANT, WESTOW HILL

1. Present
Honorary Chairman - James Slattery-Kavanagh - Quotes
Pat Ryan - Croydon Councillor
Lorenzo Nargi - Lorenzo
Emma Sheeha - Amphlett Lissimore
Mary Kennedy - The Tanning Shop
Kevin Carleton-Reeves - Transport Consultant
Chris Brody
Roger Sorell

2. Apologies
Secretary - Lucy Smith
Frank Lissimore - Amphlett Lissimore

3. Chairman's Review
James had not received apologies from any of the committee members so it was felt best to start later than scheduled to allow time for other members to arrive. They didn't, and eventually the meeting got underway. Lucy Smith was away on holiday and minutes were taken for this meeting by James.

4. Minutes of Previous Meeting
5. Matters Arising
Pat Ryan re-iterated the nuisance factor of the fair and suggested that the Chamber of Commerce should write to Bromley Council. Pat mentioned that the fair organisers were also running the new amusement arcade in Westow Hill.

James apologised that he had not written to Barbara Cassani as promised at the previous meeting. This would be done as soon as possible but explained that without offers of assistance there was only so much he could do. He is currently looking after the membership, newsletters, website and mailouts as well as the Chairman's role. Additionally the recent news about the National Sports Centre meant that the letter to Barbara Cassani would need to reflect the most recent events. Pat said that the Chamber needed to get results and if letters needed to be written then that should be done or else little progress would be made and urged the members of the Chamber of Commerce to do more. Lorenzo questioned why the turnout for tonight's meeting was so low. James was unable to explain why but said that 60 invitations had been posted and details had been posted on the web site and an email sent to 180 others using Virtual Norwood News. Mary offered to help out with things that needed doing for the Chamber.

5.1 Membership and Finances
James said there are currently twenty-five paid up members, several associate members and another 35 on the mailing list who haven't paid. In the last mailout details were sent to everyone asking to renew their membership and in due course people will be removed from the mailing list if they do not join. Since restarting the Chamber in October 2003 it was important to continue to inform those on the mailing list regardless of membership status so that they could learn what was going on with the Chamber. Pat said there was a need for the Chamber to represent local views. He suggested we should invite Malcolm Wheatley to our meetings.

5.2 Amendments to Constitution
James circulated amendments to the constitution to those present for feeedback. He explained that it was important the constitution reflected the present day operations of the Chamber and obsolete terms were removed. Lorenzo said that reviewing the constitution was not a priority and getting results and making meetings interesting was what counted. James said that getting the constution sorted was a formality and wasn't of great interest to himself either but it had to be done. Much of the work of the last few months has been sorting out the administration of the Chamber, getting the membership records straight, finances under control and meetings regularised. This work was starting to pay off and new members were getting interested. Chris Brody, a new guest, heard about tonight's meeting on the Virtual Norwood web site. Amendments would be proposed for adoption at the AGM next month.

5.3 Westow Street/Hill Junction
James explained that this issue was still on the agenda because nothing had been done yet. Pat said that it needed to be sorted out and something would be done soon. Mary said that the junction was very dangerous and needed to be changed as soon as possible.

5.4 Parking & Pavement Survey
James circulated a draft of the survey which would be ready for distribution at the next meeting. Lorenzo said that we had been talking about the survey for a long time and nothing had happened. James explained that it had taken some time to organise the proper mapping for the survey which was supplied by the Town Centre Manager and other preparations such as getting personalised pens and a Freepost address had already been sorted. Lorenzo wants to see one yellow line around the whole of the triangle. Pat said that despite other people's negative attitude he felt that Crystal Palace was lively. Lorenzo wants to see traffic wardens on patrol and emerging traffic from Jasper Road sorted out. Pat said the CCTV cameras are now working and Mo Egin would be happy to take people on a tour of the CCTV centre. Ian Smith is currently preparing a report on CCTV.

5.5 Committee Vacancies & AGM Date
The AGM will be next month on 6th April 2004 at 7pm in Lorenzos. There are vacancies for Honorable Secretary and Honorable Membership Secretary. Caroline Streek was stepping down from her role as Publicity Officer. The Honorable Treasurer (Peter Runacres) and Honorable Solicitor (Geoffrey Harding) were not present but it was believed they would be happy to stay in their posts.

6. Crystal Palace National Sports Centre
The recent news about the National Sports Centre was published in February's Newsletter. Bromley will be handing control to the London Mayor and Sport England and retaining one third control. The athletics track would be resurfaced and the Grand Prix will now go ahead this year. Everyone agreed it was very good news. Events at the NSC were regarded as beneficial to the local business community but since the athletics finished so late (10pm) it didn't bring extra trade to the local restaurants. Concerts and other events such as fireworks were better because they brought in more tourists and they tended to finish earlier benefiting the night trade. Roger said the complaints about disturbances from concerts were unfounded. James said it was difficult to know what was going on in the park and Pat suggested the Chamber write to Bromley council and they should be made responsible for informing the Chamber of park events.

7. Any Other Business
Pat said the library will be open in May. A quick redevelopment of the library was necessary so that the opportunity to do something wasn't lost. Rubbish clearance in the triangle was being handled by Cleanaway since last August and they operate until 10pm.

Date of next meeting - AGM - Tuesday 6th April 2004 at 7pm, Lorenzo's Restaurant (First Tuesday in the Month)