The meeting was held at the Tite & Locke.
Present
Andrew Brennand (Chair), Dave Brookes, Hilary Short, Ian Procter, Jane Parker Mike Stevens, Norman Gardner, Sharon Diffenthal, Sue Nieduszynska, Sue Pope
1. Apologies
Carys Nelkon, Ian Diffenthal, Mark Tanner, Mick Short
2. Minutes from the last meeting
- These were agreed with a change to the payment for calendars and cards from £1081 to £1051
3. Matters Arising
- LGGS and Local Nature Reserve status – no progress
4. Treasurer’s Report & Annual Return
Bank balance
| Date | Account | Amount (£) |
|---|---|---|
| 21.01.25 | 140,172 | |
| 18.02.25 | Co-op | 53,262 |
| Skipton | 85,000 | |
| 21.01.25 | Total 138,262 |
Notes
This includes the legacy of £54,760 received in 2023
General funds
£138,262
Balance
£138,262
Significant income
- £232 donations from walk and talk on 29 January
- 1187 net income from calendars and cards
Payments
- £291 for fencing posts
- £2110 for work on ash trees
- £209 for mower repairs
- £279 for lock repairs on shed
Charity Commission annual return has been submitted
5. Playground
- Lease renewal is still with LCC – Andrew will chase
- LCC has removed the graffiti in the play area
6. Education
- Walk & Talk event on 29 January for MA linguistics students from the University of Lancaster – went well, weather was dry and £232 in donations
- Dan Morris has published a newsletter in which he promoted the Fairfield Nature Reserve. Andrew is meeting with Dan at 9am on Wednesday 19 February.
- Sue P met with Carys Nelkon, Morecambe Bay Curriculum (MBC) lead at Lancaster University, on Thursday 13 February and showed her around the nature reserve. MBC has contact with many teachers in the area. There is an online event on 18 March and a conference at the university on 4 July. Sue put Carys and Dan in touch with one another.
7. Fundraising update
- Lucy Brook redevelopment is likely to cost £38K. Sue N to share information so bids can be prepared.
- Footpath repairs – Sue Holden has agreed to coordinate bids. There are urgent repairs that need to be done asap. There are a number of urgent gate and post repairs too.
- QR code project – Mike Stevens will prepare a bid to the 3R foundation soon
- Notice boards – the majority of noticeboards just need refurbishing with a sander rather than replacing. The noticeboard by Cromwell Road needs modifying and moving. Woodscape has offered to modify the Cromwell Road noticeboard for no additional charge if we purchase new wooden benches for the play area. The cost to replace all the play area benches is approximately £22K. Mike and Andrew to conduct a detailed survey of the benches and consider fundraising from the wind turbine or Glasdon
- Accessible signage – talk with local groups about what is needed – Mike Stevens is happy to apply for funding. Abi Mills is LCC disability champion – Andrew will talk with Abi
- Fairfield Cycle Hub – bid has been submitted to Avanti for a second cycle hangar, a public access cycle parking rack and cycle toolkit that includes a bicycle pump
- Oral history project – Adrienne with Ruth are keen to get on with this. Norman is happy to be contacted by Adrienne – Andrew to facilitate.
8. Events
- Easter Egg Hunt – Bethany & Katherine Woodfine are organising for Monday 21 April (contingency date Saturday 26 April)
- Fairfield Festival on Saturday 24 May 2025 – Andrew, Mike and Jon Hill are organising – Global Village Kitchen to provide catering
- North Lancashire Wildlife Group (NLWG) – Sunday 25 May
- Wild Roots Nature Fest – 14 & 15 June – nature walks around the reserve organised by Ros Jones
- Open Yardens – 21 & 22 June – Jon Barry is organising. Mark will provide technical support
9. FFOG
- Andy Lee has dealt with the ash trees
- Dave and Sue N are meeting Frank Huddleston, contractor, about urgent work on footpaths and gates
- Mark has made an interactive map of the photographic evidence of the development of the reserve over the last ten years. Should there be a talk at the Storey? Mike is willing to help with an audio visual for the website.
- Snipe numbers are holding up this year
- Planting a tree ‘in memoriam’, suggest a minimum donation of £25 plus the cost of the tree
- Dog waste in the reserve – this is an increasing problem. Notices have been put in the noticeboards. Dog wardens spray dog waste with fluorescent pink chalk-based paint – Sharon and Ian are willing to do this in the reserve
- Fence is broken between the Gun Range and Carr House Meadow – this needs to be repaired
- Cattle – we’ve had two volunteers and the herd has reduced in size today
10. The Triangle
- Vandalism Saturday 15 February – quarter barrel needs replacing, volunteers have cleared up
11. Website, Facebook, Instagram and Newsletter
- Newsletter is in train for March to advertise the Easter Egg Hunt and the Fairfield Festival
- Request for volunteers to help with newsletter distribution has had an overwhelming response.
12. AOB
- Horse riding in the nature reserve. There are only footpaths in the reserve. Horse riding in the reserve is potentially dangerous – need to ensure any updated signage includes ‘no horses’
- Metal detectorists are not allowed in any of the fields, if seen please ask, ‘Do you have permission?’.
13. Date of next meeting
- The next meeting will take place at 7:30pm on Tuesday 18 March 2025 at the Tite & Locke.
- The subsequent meeting will take place at 7:30pm on Tuesday 22 April 2025 at the Tite & Locke.