Ramblers Association Doncaster Group
Minutes of Committee meeting held on 18th March 2019 at The Three Horse Shoes
Committee Members Present: David Gadd , Stephen Saddington, Peter Rowsell, David Horne, Sue Robertson, Steve Robertson, Tony Marsh, Tony Liversidge, Dennis Neal, Bob Carlisle, Peter Gravestock , Jim Elvidge and Martin Wyman.
Also attended: Cynthia Elvidge
- Apologies.
Apologies received from: Dave Binnington, and Norman Lewis.
- Minutes of previous meeting 21st January.
Minutes confirmed as accurate. DG/BC.
- Matters arising from those minutes.
Ref Item 11. AOB. Steve R referred to the item on generic addresses. MW replied that he had investigated this, and after discussions it was decided they were not necessary for Doncaster Ramblers.
- Financial Report.
DH said matters had been quiet since the last meeting. A big bill is due from Fina Print Ltd for the Summer programmes.
DG added that the Chairman’s expenses of £40 were for Flickr where we had exceeded our free allocation.
- Publicity Officer.
PR said we had fewer entries in the Free Press; he had a new contact and was hopeful of more coverage. There had also been items in the Arrow Press.
There were several Parish forums on Facebook around Doncaster and he had joined them all to spread the word.
DG added that the last two reports in the Free Press had been excellent.
- Walks Programme .
The Summer Programme is at the printers.
PR asked if the new Programme in print format could be added to the website, and could there be separate listings for the Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday walks. BC said that NL receives these as separate documents, so MW thought that should be straightforward.
DG distributed a document concerning the meeting he and PR had had with Hannah Wild on 11th March. She had asked for a poster advertising our walks that she could send to her walk leaders. PR agreed to produce one.
PR wants to create a ‘story’ around an individual about why they walk with us to use in publicity material.
BC asked a question raised by DB concerning whether, on our new Thursday walks, we should be asking walkers to become Ramblers members after 3 walks. After some discussion it was agreed they should be encouraged to join, but we will not insist.
DG added that if the Carer walks restart he will be looking for volunteers.
DG asked if the newsletter is included with Programmes given to members of the public via Tourist Information etc. PG replied they were a separate print run, but the same number of copies, but he was unsure what happened to spare newsletters. Can they be included in the public copies? PR agreed to do this.
- Rights of Way Report.
TM reported the following:
Meeting with DMBC Rights of Way
Work has been on-hold pending a meeting with Julie Guest & Stuart Horrocks from DMBC RoW.
A meeting eventually took place on Monday 18th March with the following outcomes:-
- DMBC Rights of Way need to ensure they are legally on safe ground when carrying out any
repair since the landowner is technically responsible for stiles, gates, etc,. Our volunteers have
been doing repairs with agreement from the landowner, but Julie Guest wants an agreed procedure.
- DMBC policy will be to move towards replacing stiles with gates or kissing gates. Stiles should only be
used for stock control.
- If we do repair a stile, we need to ensure that British Standards apply to all work carried out
- Need to clarify the insurance details with regard to our volunteers. Everyone is registered with
Ramblers CO but precise information will be sought.
- Larger teams working in different locations are of some concern.
- Future emphasis will be on repairs/replacement in areas which have been difficult to access
Squares update
Gavin Barnes has asked to be released from his two squares, 61NW & 61NE. Following a request for help on the Website Stephen Ruffles has offered to check 61NW and today Stuart Twell offered to cover 61 NE
Volunteers Work Party
Since the last Committee Meeting in January we have had just one session in Tickhill where a damaged stile was repaired and a way-mark post was replaced. Four volunteers were involved.
- Social Report.
DN said the Christmas meals went well and he is already looking at venues for Christmas 2019.
The coach trip to Pateley Bridge is in hand. TM volunteered to lead the shorter walk if required.
- Membership Report.
Sue R said membership was now 227. There had been one reinstatement and four new members.
- AOB.
- BC said they had already looked at the next Programme and Christmas Eve and New Years Eve were Tuesdays, so we would need to consider this.
- TL raised a question from Dianne Scolari concerning what was happening with lost ways. DG said we had paused the Lost Ways committee because no-one had the time or skills to pursue Claims. Claiming footpaths on an historical basis after the CROW Act 2000 was initially professionals’ job, and is now a big challenge for volunteers. MW added that the clauses specifying the cut off date of 2026 had still not been brought in to force, nor had the clauses in the Deregulation Act 2015 which were designed to simplify the process. Both remained prospective legislation.
- TM questioned the recent changes to the home page, particularly the ‘strong’ font and the grainy photos. DG/PG/MW agreed to consider changes.
Meeting closed 20:48