1.   Apologies. Angela Gibson and Pete Smith

2.   Minutes of the 2023 AGM. Approved.

3.   Matters arising from the 2023 AGM. None.

4.   Chairmans annual report. The past year has been a good one for Doncaster Ramblers. The various strands of what we do have functioned well and there have been no significant problems.

Firstly, our walks programme has continued to provide three sets of walks every week, week in, week out. Thanks to the coordinators of these sets of walks – Charlie Pratt for the Tuesday programme and Angela Gibson for the Saturday programme. I coordinate the Thursday programme. As usual the walks are varied and interesting and generally the number of people attending them have been healthy. The biggest problem with the walks programme is the lack of sufficient leaders. This is a national problem, possibly worsened by central office insisting that all leaders must complete an online course before they lead. In the last month or so Debs and Malc Proctor have completed this course and have started leading. On a couple of occasions during Thursday pre-walk briefings Debs has explained to members that the course is very easy and merely states the obvious. We hope that this will encourage other members to follow their example.

We also provide walks for Doncaster Carers, organised by Steve Tomlinson, which provides a set walks in the summer for local carers and sometimes cared-for people. Steve also organised a successful coach trip to Whitby, with three separate walks being provided.

In December 2023 Gareth Cade organised the Christmas Walk and lunch which took place at The Royal Hotel in Norton and was attended by 33 members.

The second strand of what we do are the maintenance sessions, organised now that Tony Marsh has retired from the role, by Stuart Twell and Pete Smith. The transfer of responsibility went smoothly and we continue to provide support to the local authority regarding the maintenance of the public rights of way network in the City of Doncaster.

A third strand of what we do is the monitoring of the RoW network. This role is now filled by Di Scolari, who, in addition to organising members (and non-members) to walk their allocated paths, liaises with the local authority regarding diversion orders etc.

Membership figures are very healthy, with 235 members in October 2023 and 249 in October 2024. This is a very significant increase and reflects several aspects of what we do. Firstly, an interesting walks programme which caters for people new to walking, particularly the Thursday programme, as well as for more experienced walkers on Tuesdays and/or Saturdays. The effective walks programme needs to be promoted. Word-of-mouth is one very effective way, with the friendliness of the group being a strength in this respect. Secondly are the two strands of publicity. Brian Unsworth keeps the website up-to-date and interesting to visit, and Peter Rowsell looks for every opportunity to promote the group to the wider public.

In my last report I mentioned the Ramblers Don’t Lose Your Way campaign to save footpaths lost to us for historic reasons. Such paths are fairly easy to identify on old maps but research is needed to prove that these paths could be walked by the public. A month ago, I attended a presentation in Leeds by Sarah Bucks and Phil Wadey, the authors of the ‘bible’ on restoring lost rights of way. It was an excellent presentation and I now know what to do to submit a claim, with evidence, to save lost paths. To date I have only had the time to have a session in Doncaster Archives photographing the 1848 Tithes map of Tickhill. I hope I can find the time to do what I need to do next. Then I will extend my research to other parts of Doncaster. The deadline to submit claims is 2031, although as far as I know all local authorities, being short-staffed, have backlogs. In March 2024 some research by the BBC found there were nearly 8,000 outstanding claims with councils nationally, with Lincolnshire holding the record of 458 outstanding applications, some dating back to the 1908s. Jack Cornish, who is head of paths at Ramblers central office, says that councils processed less than a third of applications in the period 2019 to 2024. All we can do, those of us interested in restoring lost paths, is to get the claims in before the 2031 deadline. Now that I know what to do, anybody who would like to help could follow my process. I’ve stated that I’ve started with the tithe map of Tickhill; anybody else could look at tithe maps for their local area and shadow my subsequent process. I would be very happy to advise.

I thank everyone who has contributed to the successful running of our group. To walk leaders and back-markers, as well as those who take photos during the walk and write reports afterwards to help the group publicise itself. And the walk coordinators, who use their powers of persuasion and charm to encourage members to lead. And to all committee members, including those without a specific responsibility, for their time and thoughtfulness in discussing issues. The fact that this committee has changed significantly in the past year or so is a strength. Brian Unsworth has assumed role of Webmaster, Stuart Twell and Pete Smith have assumed the role of maintenance coordinators and Di Scolari has assumed the role of RoW coordinator.

At this AGM we are losing three long-serving members from the committee. Peter Gravestock joined Ramblers in 2007 has led many walks and has been on the committee for about 17 years. I’m delighted that Peter will continue his role as Walks Manager, posting our walks on the Ramblers database. Tony Marsh also joined Ramblers in 2007, has led many walks and has been a committee member for about 15 years, initially establishing the maintenance programme with the local authority and organising the monthly programme. Finally, Dave Binnington joined Ramblers in 2011 and has been a committee member for about 12 years, for much of that time as Tuesday walks coordinator as well as leading many walks. Dave also chaired the sub-committee which organised the Doncaster Walking Festival, when we provided 27 walks over a nine-day period. Martin Wyman also stepped down from the committee during 2024. Martin has been a member of Ramblers since 2009 and on the committee for much of that time. He was instrumental in setting up our first website and then in establishing its replacement, which we continue to use today. Martin also served as secretary for a number of years. In addition to all that I would like to thank the four former/ retiring committee members for their ‘good counsel’ over the years, at committee meetings as well on walks. I will miss you all.

Presented by David Gadd, Chairman.

5.   Treasurer’s annual report for the year October 2023 to September 2024. The vast majority of transactions for the financial year just closed were for the Whitby coach fares which were being paid directly into our bank account. This year the coach hire was £830.00. Taking into account all the income and expenditure, the coach trip made a profit of £62.00.

Fuel claims were significantly higher than last year, walk leaders are encouraged to submit fuel claims for doing the recce. The “other committee expenses” were largely made up of committee representation at “Get Doncaster Moving” seminars and the purchase of first aid kits as agreed at a recent committee meeting.

Other transactions are similar to recent years. Payments to Finningley Parish Council for the hall hire in respect of committee meetings totalled £118.00. The hall on one occasion turned out to be unavailable for a date previously agreed so the group were refunded £22.00. The Peak and Northern Footpath Society continue to receive a fee of £22.50 paid through an annual direct debit. The Walking Partnership contributed £160 to group funds, an increase on the previous year.

Finally, my thanks to all committee members for their hard work during the last financial year.

Presented by David Horne, Treasurer.

The income and expenditure summary and accounts are presented at the end of these minutes. DH explained it shows a shortfall of income over expenditure of £404.94, this is mainly due to the increase in fuel claims from members for pre walks, (up from £19 the previous year to £229) the claiming of which the group has actively promoted. As we have £1456.67 in the bank it is unlikely, we will receive any money from Area (SYNED) in this financial year. This has been the situation since we stopped the printed walks programme, all walks are now advertised online, which has significantly reduced our annual expenditure. DH confirmed funds from SYNED Area are available to us if required. DH also confirmed the accounts had been audited and approved by David Telford the Accounts Independent Person. DH confirmed that David Telford is happy to continue as the Accounts Independent Person. David Gadd advised that area (SYNED) also has a surfeit of funds due to legacies etc. and requested ideas for projects for which they can be used.

6.   Secretary’s report. Since the last AGM we have developed and introduced a group email system to make contacting all group members easier. The system uses MailChimp software and providing we limit our use is free. MailChimp is recommended by Ramblers Central office as it satisfies their data protection requirements. To receive group emails members, have to agree to receive marketing by email in their membership details on the Central Office website. The group emails are sent to about 180 of our 250 members and of these 70% are opened so we reach about 50% of member which probably equates to our active membership. The group email has been used to promote the coach trip and the Xmas Walk and meal etc. A short report is prepared by Stuart Twell following each maintenance work party so that the members are aware of the other activities of the group other than walking, this also means square walkers are notified of repairs carried out in their area.

Presented by Stephen Tomlinson Secretary.

7.   Membership Secretary’s report. Membership as of 4 November 2024 stands at 250 compared to 235 twelve months ago, an increase of 6%. We have had 7 new members since 30.07.24.
Current membership is summarised below.

My overall view is the majority of new members walk on Thursday.

During 2024 my view is the number of Tuesday walkers has declined. We are currently averaging low twenties. Thursday numbers have increased during 2025 and we seem to average around 20 to 25. Saturday numbers have remained steady between 10 and 15.

Although we do not actively recruit members, we seem to hold our numbers and increase them. This is due to the work carried out by Peter Rowsell with walk reports and photos on the website and other publicity.

We have updated the welcome letter to new members based on the new Central Office guidelines and the contents of our current letter. We intend to go live with this letter shortly after some final amendments.

Presented by Brian Milne Membership Secretary.

8.   Footpath Secretary’s report. The beginning of the year saw myself taking on the role of footpath coordinator and recruited 3 new square wardens to take us up to a full complement. I had requested that all wardens try to complete their footpath checking by the end of October and to date 25 of the 29 squares are checked. The 4 remaining ones are progressing well and should be completed by the end of November 2024. Three wardens no longer wish to continue, one having left the area, leaving 4 squares vacant. Of these 41SE, 40NW and 40NE have been taken on by one person, leaving 61NW still to fill, but a potential candidate for this square has come forward.

Prepared by Dianne Scolari Footpath Secretary.

During the meeting DS confirmed during 2024 she has taken over the role of liaising with the City of Doncaster Council (CDC) changes to the footpath network due to proposed development etc. This role had previously been carried out by Martin Wyman. DS also confirmed she is liaising with RoW section of CDC over the reporting levels they require for the reporting of problems on the footpath network. A brief email with a grid refence of the location and a one sentence description of the issue is all they require. DS advised she had advised all square wardens of these requirements and that new square wardens will be issued with guidelines. DS is also in discussion with CDC about reducing the burden on square walkers by identifying those footpaths which do not need to be checked annually, for example Clayflat Lane, Rossington which is a tarmac road. DS confirmed that a lot of footpath clearance by CDC direct labour and contractors has been delayed due to the wet weather in Autumn 2023 and Winter and Spring 2024. CDC have put in place a plan and programme to try and catch up but this of course is weather dependent. There also appears to be some confusion amongst square wardens about what constitutes an overgrown footpath. DS, Stuart Twell and Peter Smith are looking at producing guidelines.

9.   Footpath maintenance. The year began in March with some light maintenance work at Sprotbrough, clearing some steps and repairing handrails. At the same time a party replaced two marker posts in Brodsworth. The following 4 months saw more marker posts fitted, a couple of stiles replaced, a horse stile fitted, and clearance work also carried out at the same time across two sites. August saw a big turnout to replace a stile in Fenwick, and build a new bridge to replace an ad hoc “pallet construction”. September’s session was sadly cancelled due to lack of numbers for the task planned. October saw the resumption of the previous month’s planned task in Moss, where a number of marker posts were fitted. The final session of the year, on 06 November 2024, is to be in Rossington where a path is being diverted and marker posts are required. A stile is also to be removed, and a gate fitted.

The average time spent on the tasks is 14-man hours carried out by volunteers from Ramblers along with non-rambler volunteers.

The locations worked on this year are Sprotbrough (twice), Fishlake, Rossington (twice), Fenwick, Moss, and Askern.

Report presented by Stuart Twell, Footpath Maintenance Coordinator.

ST explained he and Pete Smith took on the role of Footpath Maintenance Coordinators at the start of 2024. They liaise closely with Stuart Horrocks of CDC RoW Department, who attends all the maintenance sessions, and generally has a good relationship with landowners. ST and PS have regular site meetings with CDC to organise the next maintenance sessions. They have also requested from CDC a programme for footpath clearance, see above re delays due to wet weather. ST also explained that CDC have discussed replacing stiles on well used footpaths with kissing gates but this would require landowner approval. ST requested approval to forward relevant group emails to Stuart Horrock. Approval was given

10. Publicity Officers report. It continues to be a quiet time for new marketing opportunities, in part because the publicity officer no longer walks due to ill health. A couple of things we did do was contact our local Members of Parliament after their electoral success and invite them on a ramble.

Of the four only Sally Jameson joined a walk, Tickhill to the North and South, on Thursday, 29th August 2024 which was led by David Gadd. Sally advised Peter if there any specific events we would like her to attend to get in touch. All other MPs replied they were too busy to attend a walk.

David Gadd and I also attended the Get Doncaster Moving Networking Event which took place on Tuesday 1st October at Bentley Pavilion. Overall, it was a disappointing event because the delegate list was heavily populated by City of Doncaster employees. The delegate list does provide some fertile ground for follow-up.

Several members also attended a Doncaster Mind Walk in August 2024

Facebook remains our most engaged communication tool. Below is a list of Facebook Groups who receive posts from Doncaster Ramblers.

Facebook Statistics are as follows

Local publications we regularly send walk reports etc. to are.

Presented by Peter Rowsell, Publicity Officer.

11. Election and re-election of officers. All the following were re-elected.

12. Any other business.

Minutes prepared by Stephen J Tomlinson 06 November 2024

ACCOUNTS FROM 01.10.23 to 30.09.24