MINUTES
OF QUARTERLY GENERAL MEETING HELD ON MONDAY,
31 JULY 2006 AT THE COMMUNITY CENTRE
Presentation on “Our hospices” by Ruth White,
Chief Executive, The Rowans (Purbrook) & Alison Moorey, Director of
Nursing, St Wilfrid’s (Chichester)
In
addition to residential care (19 beds at The Rowans, 15 at St Wilfrid’s) both
hospices have a day care centre and provide support to people in their own
homes. They get some funding from the NHS (about 22% of expenditure for The
Rowans, 12% for St Wilfrid’s), so they rely heavily on fund-raising in the
community. The Rowans has a support group in Havant, which covers Emsworth, and
St Wilfrid’s has one in Westbourne. People also help as volunteers (e.g. as
drivers or receptionists).
A collection at the end of the meeting raised
£118.44 (£59.22 for each hospice), for which they have expressed their thanks
to our members.
Minutes of Meeting on 24 April 2006
The minutes were accepted. There were no matters arising.
Report by Chairman (Chris Curry)
1.
The Emsworth First Responders Group was officially launched on
29 July. He paid tribute to the work of Janet Barradell and Cllr Brendan Gibb-Gray
in getting it off the ground.
2.
The ERA is continuing to express its concerns about the A27 site
(between the road and the railway) and developments in the New Brighton Road
area. A meeting with HBC on these topics is planned in September, on which
he will report at the next QGM.
3. He gave an update
on various health service matters. All the Primary Care Trusts in
Hampshire are to be merged into a single PCT for the County on 1 October. A
deputation from the ERA had attended the HCC Health Overview & Scrutiny
Committee last Tuesday. He listed the concerns expressed and questions asked. A
major concern was the series of cuts in the scale of the new Oak Park Hospital,
expected to be completed in 2009, to 25 beds, making it in effect just a
replacement for Havant War Memorial Hospital. To the question whether the NHS
Capacity Plan took into account the additional houses in the SE Plan for the
area, the Chairman replied that it did not and the Committee had pointed out
that it should. Finally he reported that the collection at the recent meeting
on possible cuts in services at St Richard’s Hospital had raised £208.63, for
which the co-ordinator of the campaign to save the hospital had expressed
thanks
4. The ERA had
responded to two documents issued under the new planning system -
the SE Regional Spatial Strategy, thanks to hard work by Jo Dyer and
Frances Jannaway, and the Sustainability Appraisal of the Core Strategy.
5. He drew attention
to the display boards at the back of the room, including material on the new
Tree Warden Scheme. He reported that access to the Broadmarsh Community Tip
from the Broadmarsh roundabout would be closed for some time from 7 August. He
reminded the meeting of the Emsworth Horticultural Society’s Show on Bank
Holiday Monday, 28 August, at which The ERA would have a stall as usual.
Planning Report by Howard
Harding
He gave an update
on the status of various planning applications, which included a total of 96
new apartments at various sites in New Brighton Road. We have strongly opposed
the application for a liquor licence by the Texaco Garage in Havant Road.
EMS Report by
Richard Jannaway, Editor
He asked anyone
who had not received the EMS to let him know. He listed five gaps in the
distributor network and appealed for volunteers to phone him or Sue
Granville-George.
Any Other Business
A member said that he was in favour of a Town
or Parish Council for Emsworth. Another asked for more frequent updating of the
website.
The meeting
was attended by about 55 people; it closed at 9:14pm. The next meeting is on
Monday, 30 October.