Minutes 3rd August 2004

Minutes of Meeting on 3 August 2004:

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

1. Present
Honorary Chairman - James Slattery-Kavanagh - Quotes
Honorary Membership Secretary - Mary Kennedy - The Tanning Shop
Kevin Carleton-Reeves - Transport Consultant
Geoffrey Gibbs - Gibsons
Moira Bailey - Moira Bailey Associates

2. Apologies
Honorary Secretary - Lucy Smith - MyMatiz.com

3. Minutes of previous meeting
These were proposed by Kevin Carleton-Reeves and seconded by the Chairman.

4. Matters arising
There were no matters arising.

5. Chairman's Review
5.1 Membership and Finances
The Chair announced Chris Brody had joined the Chamber of Commerce and welcomed Moira Bailey to the meeting

5.2 September Meeting
It was agreed there would be no September meeting because of holidays. The next meeting will be at 7pm on Tuesday 5th October 2004 at Lorenzos restaurant.

5.3 Member's Directory / Diary
The Chairman produced a sample of a diary which could be obtained printed with the Chambers' logo and a page of information. Assuming an order of 100 items, the gross cost would be £361. If there were to be a second page of printed matter then this would add £15. In view of the lack of numbers at the meeting it was agreed to canvas the interests of the members with the view to placing an order after the next meeting. It was also suggested that the members agree to take a certain number of diaries to underwrite the project.

5.4 Westow Street/Hill Junction
The Chairman produced a draft proposal as to the phasing of the lights at this junction which currently has a lack of pedestrian facilities across from North to South and contains restrictive no left and right turns between Gipsy Hill and Central Hill meaning the traffic is forced to do an unnecessary lap of the one way system or forced into the back streets. The draft was arranged in four new phases and allows pedestrians to cross from the North to the South side of Central Hill, a right turn from Gipsy Hill to Central Hill and a left turn from Central Hill to Gipsy Hill. It was agreed to submit these proposals to various organisations for comment, e.g. the AA, ROSPA (or its successor), the Town Centre Manager etc. It was also agreed that in due course these drafts would be the basis of a formal submission to the local authorities as it is clear there would be significant traffic and safety benefits arising from these changes.

6. East London Line Extension
The Chairman reported that the control of this project had recently passed from the Strategic Rail Authority which is being disbanded to the Greater London Authority. Subsequent to this change it was announced that the first phase of the East London line extension would be in operation hopefully by 2010. Full details of the proposals had already formed the basis of the July 2004 Chamber of Commerce Newsletter. There was a discussion as to the benefits of this scheme as clearly Crystal Palace would be part of the tube network and change the whole ethos of commuting from the area. The Chairman agreed to make contact with Transport for London with a view to obtaining someone involved in the project to speak at the next Chamber meeting. It was also agreed to raise awareness of the difficulty of access to the low level station and a need for future publicity of new travel routes such as changing onto the Jubilee line at Canada Water. It was agreed that the Chamber would produce a Press Release on the subject of the East London line after its next meeting.

7. Any Other Business
7.1 Ray Hall's Proposal for Crystal Palace Park
The Chairman reported that he received a promotional CD from Ray Hall in relation to his proposed scheme for Crystal Palace Park. Obviously this meeting did not have the audio visual facilities to play the CD but it was available for loan to any member who wanted to review it. The Chairman agreed to make contact with Ray Hall and enquire if he would be willing to be a speaker at a later meeting.

7.2 Feedback from Crystal Palace 150th Anniversary
The Crystal Palace Foundation (organiser of the Crystal Palace 150th Anniversary) have requested feedback from the Chamber about next year's event and what format should it take. The Chairman stated that he would be speaking with the people involved and canvassing the views of members.

Date of next meeting: Tuesday 5 October 2004 at 7pm, Lorenzo's Restaurant (First Tuesday in the Month)