Northumberland & Newcastle Society Minutes of the Management Committee Held on Monday 4 December 2017 at 6.00pm in the Office, Jesmond Methodist Church.

1. Present: Geoffrey Purves (Chair) GP Lester Sher LS Fiona Thoburn FT Richard Appleby RA Frank White FW Jackie Salmon (taking minutes) JS John Matthews JM Virginia Armstrong VA Nigel Jenkins NJ Alan Grant AG

2. Apologies: None received

Conflicts of Interest: None declared

Item Subject Action No 3. Minutes of the last meeting held on 26 September

3.1 Referring to 3.1 it was RA, not FW who pointed out that the speaker’s name is Tony JS Atkinson not Tony Henderson.

3.2 The minutes were accepted as a true and accurate record of proceedings and were signed by the Chairman.

4. Matters arising

4.1 Logo – NJ and GP said that the Editorial Committee and the Trustees had agreed that the latest version of the logo (attached) will be used going forward. JM proposed a vote and the logo was approved by a majority vote. JS said there would be a variety of logo layouts and sizes created for use in different media. All will be shared.

4.2 Royal Grammar School (competition and working relationship) JS said she had an informative meeting with John Fern, the new Headmaster. John was happy to proceed with the idea of a competition but they both agreed it needed to be developed further. John suggested prizes for each of the age ranges in the school (Junior, Senior and Sixth Form). JS said the Society might apply for funding for the competition. LS said that the LV50 Lightship has launched a schools project – the planning of such a project needs to involve staff and be a two way dialogue. LS is happy to support JS with JS LS the competition, and it was agreed to defer the competition until at least September 2018.

4.3 JS said John Fern was pleased to consent to the free use of the Miller Lecture Theatre for our annual lecture.

5. Financial Report – Fiona Thoburn

5.1 FT said donations were less than expected.

5.2 The Sir James Knott Trust donation should be allocated to City & County, as it is given specifically for that purpose.

5.3 The Gift Aid claims for 2014/15 and 15/16 are done, and the funds expected any time now. They have been delayed as the account was still in Sue Howie’s name but HMRC had not informed FT of this.

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5.4 VA mentioned the Giving Machine – whenever a purchase is made online (e.g. through Amazon), a portion goes to the charity of your choice i.e. the N&N. VA has so far given ALL over £200.00 this way. All Members are urged to join, especially at this time of year.

5.5 It was agreed that FT would contact VODA to carry out the independent examination and preparation of the 2017 accounts. Their quote was around £300 which FT felt was very good value. This would take place in February with the accounts ready for the May 2018 FT magazine.

5.6 JS said that advertising revenue was down due to Boldon Farmhouse Pantry deciding not NJ/VA to renew their advert. Additional advertisers are sought, and the Editorial team will discuss the idea of seasonal advertising. 6. Administrator’s Report – Jackie Salmon

6.1 JS shared a brief report (attached) which included the Membership figures for November. JS explained that the figures are as accurate as they can be, but numbers will naturally go up and down. Anomalies crop up each month but take time to resolve, and result in a further (albeit slight) decline in number of Members. As people pay annually, it can take a year or more before anomalies are discovered.

There was a discussion about raising subscriptions and it was agreed to defer this until the 6.2 new system of collecting payments online is agreed and is up and running.

JS said a monthly payment option should be offered online, which would mitigate against

any overall increase. JS said until the technology is in place (see information below), a

subs increase should be delayed until September 2018/January 2019 at the earliest and in

any case, NJ said it would need to go through the AGM or an EGM. If timely, increased

subs could be mooted at 2018 AGM.

It was agreed that there needs to be wider discussion about what the new subs rates 6.2.1 should be, and we need to be clear on why are we putting rates up, and what we might

do with the increased revenue. JS shared some figures on what others, including CPRE

charge. GP said that we are currently ‘a steady ship’ so need to think carefully. JM said we

need to think about our longer-term aspirations.

RA felt that any increase should link directly to the budget. FT and JS will look at the 6.2.3 FT/JS budget again in 2018. We need to be clear about what our running costs are, and allow

for any anticipated changes or increases.

JS echoed FT’s earlier comments that further income could be achieved from sourcing 6.3 additional donors and appealing for legacies. JS said she intended to research additional

donors in 2018.

It was agreed that JM would write about the Sir James Knott Trust (donate £4,000 6.4 JM/JS annually) in a forthcoming City & County. JS to assist with donation history and amounts

etc.

For information – technology and process of moving to online payment collection – JS

Phase 1 - setting up a new system The merchant Go Cardless is the preferred system, but due to recent changes, the website provider Charity Checkout needs to reassure JS that this can be used on the new website.

Phase 2 – Migrating existing Members into new system Once Go Cardless is in place on the new website, existing Members paying by Direct Debit need to be moved onto the new system. This needs to be carefully planned and Members fully informed in advance of any changes and some will need support.

Phase 3 – Increasing Subscriptions and offering monthly payment plans Then, the practicalities/mechanics of collecting a different (increased) amount should in theory be easy – far easier than the current manual paper based Lloyds Teledebit system. A monthly plan can also be offered.

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7. Summary of Committee Activity

7.1 Tyneside Committee – John Matthews 7.1.2 JM said there has been little major activity, though the Committee is looking at the temporary (three years!) tepees on Pilgrim Street, (the old Odeon site); the St Mary’s Island development has been refused on wildlife grounds, and AG is still looking at the boundaries with the County Committee and how the two can work together.

7.1.3 JM said Len Netts is no longer able to attend in person due to ill health, but he is still involved, and comments remotely. Tim Wickens, a new N&N member may join the Committee.

7.1.4 AG explained his methodology for producing the rather concise minutes mentioned last AG time by FW, but agreed to ensure the location and description of each planning application is included in future.

7.1.5 JS said it has been a few months since all Committee minutes were shared and she will JS ensure this is done soon.

7.2 County Committee – Nigel Jenkins 7.2.1 NJ said the Committee has welcomed Annie Wright and Steve Lloyd as new Members. They hope to be able to achieve more as a Committee with greater numbers. They meet every three months, and there are no major updates to report.

7.3 NEPG – Lester Sher 7.3.1 NEPG and JS met Cllr Jackson and senior Northumberland County Council planners on 30 October. JS to share the letter summarising the meeting. JS

7.3.2 LS felt that Cllr Jackson does want to preserve open spaces, but NCC have not been as collaborative as they said they would be when they met a year ago – in the meantime, NCC has commissioned a Landscape Sensitivity Study, which they have agreed to share with NEPG and should be ready ‘either side of Christmas’ – JS to chase up in early 2018 if JS not forthcoming.

7.4 Events Committee – Richard Appleby 7.4.1 RA said the Top 100 Geordies event on 30 November had been well booked, but only half attended due to the snow. The speaker, local historian Anthony Atkinson, was given Honorary Membership for one year, which he seemed very pleased to receive.

7.4.2 Events for January to May 2018 are all confirmed. After the AGM events may include a talk on Sir Charles Parsons, which could be a possible Insights lecture. There was some discussion on the Charles Jencks lecture on 31 October which all agreed was excellent and well attended. 8. Any Other Business

8.1 GP – Vice Presidents Rt Revd , of Newcastle and Rt Revd , have both agreed to be Vice Presidents of the Society. Both will need to be formally nominated at the AGM. There was discussion about the role of Vice Presidents and a general agreement that although some posts are merely political, VPs are our ambassadors, lend kudos and are ‘assets to be mined’ (LS). VA suggested Vice Chancellors of the Universities as VPs.

8.1.1 The Editorial Team will consider asking a VP to contribute an article to City & County.

8.1.2 JS will circulate the list of Patron, President and VPs. JS

8.2 JS – The Five Committees meeting will be on Saturday 3 February 2018 at the Stannington Village Hall. More detail to follow soon. JS

8.3 AG – Data Protection AG asked if JS was aware of the changes – JS said she is aware and has a lot of information to read to ensure the N&N is compliant. JS Page 3 of 4

8.4 VA – a reminder that Membership can be given as a Christmas or birthday gift.

8.5 VA – date of AGM VA said in past years, the AGM had been held in May, thereby avoiding half term altogether, which would be a big help to JS. It may be too late to change the date for 2018 but should be borne in mind for future AGMs.

Date of next meetings Management Committee - 6.00pm Monday 12 February 2018 Five Committees - Saturday 3 February 2018, Stannington

Signed as a true record:

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Date:

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