• 1 Apologies
Stephen Cudworth, Sam Gildert, Rachel Hadj, Lindsay Foote, David Foxholme, Shelley Carter, Peter Fell, Geoff and Sue Heaton.
• 2 Minutes of Last Meeting
Agreed as correct record.
• 3 Matters Arising (not covered below) and items for AOB.
Empty and sort out the noticeboard to remove Easter things.
RG to contact Brenda Garside re new ‘Newchurch’ highway sign as you approach Newchurch
Little Library – SC continuing to liaise regarding this and will report back
Simone has been looking into grants/quotes for the barrier/fencing that is required for the steps in the garden for safety. Will continue this.
RG to let Valley of Stone know about the New Kirk Fair – do they want a stall/stand?
SCPG received grant for Lantern Festival – contact Jackie Oakes about how to get involved. RG to do this and send information to the group
Rainbow group has 20 people coming regularly now so it has been a success and good for the village.
• 4 New Kirk Fair
Introduced Catherine Smythe – Chair of Bacup and Stackteads Carnival Has existed for many years but in 2004 it got relocated to Rawtenstall. But it wasn’t a success so Bacup got together in 2008 and decided to start their own Carnival. Started with a Facebook group and planned to have the first event in 2010. Newchurch Fair’s remit is more of a mingling of local residents and getting to know your neighbours with around 8 – 10 stalls whereas Bacup has 40! Ours is a community event rather than to make money (though profits are used to benefit the village). Bacup Carnival costs £3500 – for insurance, traffic marshals, toilets, banners, PA, music, programmes etc. Sponsorship comes from local companies helps out too (using their logos on the flyers in return). Bacup Carnival fundraises too – raised £900 since last year. Packing bags at supermarkets, raffles, baths of beans etc. Fundraising quiz raised £400.
Tips –
Be very organised!
• Use Facebook – gather members, keep the page updated regularly (regular photograph updates in the run up to the actual event)
• Start early
• Colourful posters everywhere
• Enlist ‘willing’ local photographers
• Leaflets, flyers and posters really help but not as much as the banners which go up as far away as Waterfoot. Need a licence from LCC for banners over the road (special mesh banners required, at a cost of £80; erection costs about £200). Catherine has details of contacts. Only allowed to have them up for 2 weeks (probably Waterfoot is the only place we could actually put it up as they use existing brackets used for lights)
• Build up to it in the press in the run up to the actual day
• Morrisons gave £50 as a carbon offset for the wagons that come in for the event which goes to Bacup Pride (who help maintain the town centre, using plants from Bacup Park). Another good press story for everyone.
• Bianca is a good contact at the Free Press – they were supportive of the Methodist Church article. Contact them in advance; don’t just send the article via email.
• Procession from town and events in the park – two teams; one for each side and lots of volunteers for each part of the day. Some were targeted, others just wanted to get involved.
Issues:
Police unwilling to help and wanted to charge £6000 for policing it (one year was quite drunken and expensive). Moving the event into the park from the town centre away from the pubs has helped this and alcohol is banned. It’s a family event.
Licence from RBC needed for the actual event (which also helps the group take alcohol off people as they ‘have’ the park for the day.
Press – Catherine is a journalist which helps their events.
Send Catherine a message on Facebook that she will post on their facebook page to see if any of their stallholders want a stall on ours. They charge £15 for groups/charities and £20 for business and up to £50 for food stalls. Though all is negotiable. Tesco Champion Collette Butler gets involved too.
The Diocese at St Nicholas’ have also booked on event on 9th July for the new Vicar which could impact us for tables, chairs, a venue and people. This event starts at 3pm with guests welcome from 2.15pm. Expect it to finish at 4pm.
Suggest we try to use the Methodist Church instead so Simone has provisionally booked this for 12.30 – 3pm then people can go to St Nicks afterwards. The event will be outside if its fine or inside if it rains.
Put a banner on the railings at the Church and also in the actual garden in case people turn up to the wrong location.
Primroses Wings have been contacted about a stall.
Rainbows, Brownies and Guides also involved.
St Nicks Year 6 want to have a stall too (though not sure what type of stall yet). Suggest we make a small donation to them from any proceeds we make as recognition for their hard work
SC has got raffle tickets.
Rachel Hadj can do some facepainting early on before she goes to Church.
Bottle stall outside the actual church in a gazebo; not inside the premises. Appeal for non-alcoholic bottles (olive oil, fizzy drinks etc). Or water bottles ‘exchange on your way out for a bottle of wine’. Details to be confirmed by Shirley and Simone.
Additional meetings to be arranged to organise the actual detail of the event and who will do what. SC to send out provisional dates and see if these are OK with Margaret to meet at the Boars Head.
Could the church do refreshments? Cream teas? Shirley to take to the Church Council next week.
• 5 Park/Garden Tidy Up
Temporary signs to go up made by the group in the short term and RG to contact RBC for official signs. See if the dog warden can get involved or what they need from NVCA to help them out.
An hour’s blitz should see the garden tidied up and weeds removed. Thursday 26th May 6.30pm followed by tea at the Boars after (Italian night).
• 6 Methodist Church Update from Shirley Suthers
Large building and money owed so the Church Council made a decision to close the church. However with the proposed closure of Staghills, libraries etc, could the Church not become an alternate community facility? They already have Brownies, Guides and Toddler groups as well as other groups who would miss out and suffer.
Meeting next Tuesday 24th to try to change the Church Council’s mind. So will know more after this if the group have a chance to try to turn it round and garner support. If it was to close it wouldn’t be before September 2016.
Margaret at The Boars offered to do a football card which would raise £20/week for the Church and also raises awareness.
• 7 Defib Training
Potential for this to be held at the Methodist Church but waiting to see what decision is made on Tuesday next week before dates can be agreed. Simone to keep group updated on this.
• 8 Dark Lane Update from Cllr Marriott
Connolly’s have sold the land to another developer who are going through planning at the minute. It is presumed that something will get through planning at some stage.
Don’t think there is a covenant on the land anymore so think it will be housing not sporting site
Public consultation – presume some consultation will be required as it will be a change of use from sport to housing so Sport England as a statutory consultee would have an opinion and would probably want a like for like facility on the site (or close by).
Site has become unsafe and a magnet for young people and anti social behaviour and doesn’t enhance the area.
Paddy to find out which officer is dealing with the project to say that NVCA would like a public consultation and to be involved. Would it be appropriate for a play area to be incorporated as part of it to replace the old one?
• 9 Queen’s Birthday Celebration
St Nicholas’s Church will be doing a series of events:
Friday 10th June 9.30 Jolly Tots party
Friday 10th June 12 – 4pm Exhibition Open.
Friday 10th June 7pm festival Concert.
Saturday 11th June 10-2pm Exhibition of Parish records on display and refreshments.
Sunday 12th June – 10.30 Celebration Eucharist.
Sunday 12th June 12-6pm Exhibition of Parish records.
Sunday 12th June 6.30 Songs of Praise.
Monday 13th June 10-2pm Exhibition open.
Monday 13th June 2pm Monday Club Party.
Tuesday 14th June – Exhibition 10-2pm Exhibition.
Boars Head Party 11th June from 3pm with singing from around 4pm. poster to go up in the noticeboard.
Want people to join in and sing – let Margaret know if you want to participate.
Dressing up and Crown competition to be judged by Paddy Marriott
• 10 New Vicar at St Nicholas’ Church
Rev Penny King, licencing event on 9th July. See earlier notes.
• 11 Membership and Payment
Simone is updating our contact list and chasing outstanding membership fees. She also has some more membership forms if anyone wants to sign up or ask family/friends to get involved.
• 12 Website and Facebook
Wilf volunteered to help with the website.
Facebook – might be easier to set up a new facebook page. Danny has offered to do this and Iain will take down the old one. Just have a handful of people with the log in details so content is managed.
• 13 Date of Next Meeting
Regular meetings:
Thursday 15th September 2016 at 7.30pm – AGM followed by regular meeting.
Tuesday 8th November 2016 at 7.30pm.
• Other Events in the Village
Thursday 26th May 6.30pm – Garden Tidy Up followed by tea at the Boars after (Italian night)
• Queen’s Birthday Celebration
St Nicholas’s Church will be doing a series of events:
Friday 10th June 9.30 Jolly Tots party;
Friday 10th June 12 – 4pm Exhibition Open
Friday 10th June 7pm festival Concert
Saturday 11th June 10-2pm Exhibition of Parish records on display and refreshments
Sunday 12th June – 10.30 Celebration Eucharist,
Sunday 12th June 12-6pm Exhibition of Parish records
Sunday 12th June 6.30 Songs of Praise,
Monday 13th June 10-2pm Exhibition open,
Monday 13th June 2pm Monday Club Party
Tuesday 14th June – Exhibition 10-2pm Exhibition
• Boars Head Party 11th June from 3pm with singing from around 4pm
Saturday 11th June – Garden Party event at the Boars Head from 3pm. See posters in the windows for more details.
Saturday 9th July - St Nicholas’s Church 2.15pm to around 4pm for licencing of new Vicar Rev. Penny King
9th July –The Boars Head Beer Festival.
New Kirk Fair on 9th July 2016 alongside the Beer Festival.