DONCASTER RAMBLERS
Minutes of committee meeting held on 20 March 2023
Finningley Village Hall
Committee members present: Tony Marsh, Stephen Tomlinson, David Gadd, Angela Gibson, Dave Binnington and David Horne.
Members present: Kim Binnington
1. Apologies. Peter Rowsell, Brian Milne, Peter Gravestock, Kim Poskitt
2. Review of the minutes of the meeting on 23.01.2023. These were accepted as accurate.
3. Matters arising from those minutes. None.
4. Financial report. Given by David Horne. Current account balance £1924.55. One payment of expenses has been made for £30.39 for postage etc. Prior to the meting an invoice of £20 was received for the hire of the hall for the meetings. David also advised that he had been notified by the venue provider that the hourly cost was increasing from £10 to £11/ hour due to increased energy costs.
Angela Gibson asked what the position was regarding claiming fuel and parking expenses for a pre-walk. It was confirmed this can be claimed from Doncaster Ramblers. AG considered that we should use the money that is allocated to Doncaster Ramblers annually because if it is not spent the allocation is withheld/not requested. Dave Binnington raised concern over the mileage rate that should be paid, one set by Doncaster ramblers or the national rate. He also stated that if expenses are paid for pre-walks should not square walkers, maintenance volunteers etc. be able to claim expenses. DB was also concerned that rules should be in place, for example expenses not back-dated and for a single recce only. Payments would beby online banking which will require members to handover their bank details which could cause privacy/security issues. It was decided that this needed further investigation and discussion before it could be approved and advertised. David Horne to review what area do, the mileage rate paid and the potential cost which could be in excess of £1500/annum though it was felt that not all members would claim expenses.
5. Walking programmes.
• Tuesday walks. The winter 2022/2023 programme is full. The summer 2023 programme from May to the end of October inclusive has 6 of the 27 dates filled, however there are walks still to be submitted by walk leaders which should fill the programme. Generally, no problem in the number of walk leaders for Tuesday walks.
• Thursday walks. The 2023 winter programme to the end of April has one vacancy on the 13 April. The summer 2023 programme has 26 available dates with only one so far filled. We like many groups are short of walk leaders for Thursday walks, and this situation has worsened as David Gadd advised that Martyn Wyman would be withdrawing from leading walks due to health issues. We need to maintain the Thursday programme as recent attendance has been excellent.
• Saturday walks. The 2023 winter programme to the end of April is short of walks on the 15 and 22 April. The summer 2023 programme has 26 available dates with only one so far filled. Still having problems with a shortage of walk leaders for Saturday.
• Carers walks. David Gadd produced a draft programme of walks and forwarded this to Stepping Out and Doncaster Carers. They are still to confirm funding but have asked us to proceed with the walk on the 12 April 2023 at Lotherton Hall. We have 7 volunteers for this walk and Steve Tomlinson and Neil Thornton are carrying out a pre-walk survey on the 29 March. The day after the meeting a revised programme of walks was received from Doncaster Carers, this has been forwarded to the eight members from Doncaster Ramblers who help on these walks and they have been asked to add these dates to their calendars.
• Proposed coach trip. Angela Gibson advised that she, Kim Poskitt, Kerensa Barker and Carmen Malton were in the process of organising a trip to the Yorkshire east coast with a walk from Staithes to Whitby. The walk will be on a Saturday in September. They are carrying out a recce in early April and following this will approach coach companies for costs. Angela has also made enquiries about a fish and chip restaurant for us all to meet at the end of the walk for a meal. Angela advised she did not have a leader for a short walk, however during the walk on Tuesday 21 March Charlie Pratt offered to led the short walk if he is available on the chosen date. It was suggested that a date is fixed for the walk and this should not clash with Pathfinders and HF walks in September as members of these organisations may wish to join us which will help to fill the coach. Probable Saturdays available are 23 and 30 September 2023.
Angela Gibson requested that Peter Gravestock and the Walks Programme Coordinators (Trevor Jenkins and Charlie Pratt) contact details are put back onto the website Home Page. This was done after the meeting.
6. Publicity. Peter Roswell’s report is presented at the end of the minutes. It was agreed we need to maintain links with “Get Doncaster Moving”.
7. Membership. David Gadd reported the current membership stands at 230, an increase of two since the last meeting, and that 10 new members had joined in 2023. Total membership remains stable and we are replacing members whose membership has lapsed. Angela Gibson
raised concerns that George James membership was not being recognized by the Ramblers. David Gadd confirmed he had received a copy of Georges membership card from Angela and had spoken to central office, and the problem is now resolved and his membership is shown
on the database. David advised that others like George who did not renew their membership during the pandemic, then rejoined at a later date, had experienced similar problems.
8. Rights of Way (RoW) and Maintenance. Report presented by Tony Marsh. Notification for a new designated Right of Way from Cadeby Road to Nursery Lane, Sprotbrough have been posted by Doncaster City Council. This project has been ongoing for quite a few years. Doncaster City Council have obtained ring fenced funding for the following improvements
• Footpath Sprotbrough 3. Flight of steps to the road by the Boat Inn.
• Footpath Cadeby 2. Flight of steps from the River Don (junction with the TPT) to Sprotbrough Flash.
• Set of steps adjacent to the M18 near Hatfield, Hatfield Footpath 14.
This work should take place in the 2023/24 financial year with Doncaster City Council arranging contractors to carry out the work.
Tony Marsh also reported that capital funding has been obtained by Doncaster City Council mainly for bridge replacements on footpaths.
The maintenance volunteers, three in total, carried out some limited work on Wednesday 8 March. This included clearing an overgrown footpath at Finningley and the removal of a damaged kissing gate at Kings Wood, Auckley. Tony Marsh expressed frustration that he was having difficulty getting confirmation of future work sites. It was agreed that Doncaster Ramblers should present Doncaster City Council RoW Department with a programme of proposed works and this is what we stick to unless advised otherwise. In April Tony is planning for our volunteers to replace 5 to 6 marker posts in Hatfield. Tony issued his usual appeal for maintenance volunteers; we could do with another 3 or 4. Work on site to be overseen by Stuart Twell and Pete Smith. Tony Marsh will continue to arrange the work teams, maps, parking etc.
Tony confirmed that all the footpath monitoring squares have allocated Doncaster Ramblers members as wardens. Steve Tomlinson confirmed that the new wardens, Gareth Cade, John Stapleton, Mel Palin, Paul Clarke and Ian Malkin had received their 1:10000 scale plans and a spreadsheet with the paths in their area listed. Tony Marsh expressed concern about the number of paths in the square around Thorne. Steve Tomlinson advised he had a potential volunteer so this area could be split if Paul Clarke was unable to inspect all the paths in this area.
David Gadd advised he was still having problems re two stiles on Footpath Tickhill 23. The top bar from these single step stiles had been removed but had been replaced with steel bars by the farmer.
9. Any other business.
• Training for new walk leaders was discussed briefly. Dave Binnington directed people to Assemble, the volunteers on the Ramblers website where there are several useful, documents and e learning modules. As time was running short it was agreed that this topic would be high on the agenda for the next committee meeting.
• David Gadd raised the issue of a Doncaster Ramblers newsletter to be distributed by email once or twice a year. No decision was made on whether to proceed but some committee members felt that our website covered what would be in a newsletter and we would just be repeating what had already been reported.
• As Martin Wyman is not well David Gadd asked if anybody has website management experience to help Peter Gravestock and Peter Rowsell who are trying to pick it up in Martin’s absence. The site is quite sophisticated and compiled with specialist software which Peter Rowsell is trying to learn. David to put a request on the Doncaster Ramblers Home Page for any member with website management experience to come forward. This has been done. Angela Gibson said she would approach Brian Unsworth who worked in IT. Angela has done this and D Gadd to approach Brian to see if he can and is willing to help. Tony Marsh advised that HF used an external source at a reasonable cost and this could be a way forward if experience is not available within the Group.
The meeting closed at 2100
S J Tomlinson 29.03.23.
Publicity Officers Report.
Things have been quiet over the last few months.
We now alternate our half page in the DFP with various other contributors who promote their activities. To compensate I now send our press releases to “Eastside” (a glossy who did a feature on us a few years ago) and “The Dalesman” who I’m told once published one of our walks once. I’ve still to discover what the response has been to these posts.
I have been unable to attend two recent “Get Doncaster Moving” networking events, one in Bentley, the other in Stainforth. As you know I attended the inaugural event last year with a Ramblers Pop-up stand, but didn’t find the session that useful. I still think it good to have a presence, as we feature on the GDM website including links to our site, it is especially important is to keep in touch with key staff running GDM.
Bawtry Heritage Group are planning walks later in the summer, and asked how we do our risk assessments. I offered as a template the Ramblers form, plus to recce any proposed route. They will get in touch once they have time and dates.
Having identified 55 local GP practices, I have sent a direct email to each containing a
• Covering letter, see below.
• Five copies of the flyer “Reading this could change your life”.
Total cost of postage £37.40
A full list of recipients is available on request
We have had fewer posts on Facebook which means less feedback. We have recently had a couple on comments on Facebook for the Skipworth Common walk on Tuesday 14 March 2023. These requested a plot of the route taken, this was addressed as a member had plotted the route on the Ordnance Survey App. The second comments concerned the photographs which complained that the photos mainly showed walkers backs, I replied that I would pass the message on to the photographer.
Don’t forget anyone has the right to reply using the Facebook link on our Home Page.
Covering Letter to GP Practices.
Dear Practice Manager.
The benefits of walking are well documented.
• NHS Walking is simple, free and one of the easiest ways to get more active, lose weight and become healthier.
• WHO Regular physical activity, such as walking, cycling, doing sports or active recreation, provides significant benefits for health.
• Harvard Medical School The next time you have a check-up, don't be surprised if your doctor hands you a prescription to walk. Yes, this simple activity that you've been doing since you were about a year old is now being touted as "the closest thing we have to a wonder drug," in the words of Dr. Thomas Frieden, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
We at the Ramblers have long (since the 1930’s in fact) advocated the benefits of walking in open spaces, for both physical and mental wellbeing. Joining a group is a great way to start walking, make new friends and stay active.
We invite you to display, if possible, our poster enclosed on your notice board and coffee tables
Gratefully Yours
Peter Rowsell
PR Manager Doncaster Ramblers
Mob 07768 760476
Email