Members’ General Meeting

A General Meeting was held on 29 November, attended by 20 people.

Anna Dias gave a summary of the background to the Community Garden proposal. She explained her vision of how the project that would provide great benefits to the local community, especially for mental health and wellbeing. It is supported by the local GP surgeries and it is hoped the approach will link with the possible integration of health services in Plymstock. Sian Lane is the coordinator for the project.

Tess Wilmot explained the principles behind the “bottom-up” approach of community involvement in surveying the land and designing possible approaches to designing a plan for the site. She plans to run several 3 hour sessions in the New Year/early spring in which members can learn some of the principles of permaculture to come up with a design plan. She has used this approach successfully in several previous ventures, notably working with the Collings Park Trust.

Colin Munn gave an outline of results from the online survey and informal discussions with local residents and park users. This developed into a general discussion which echoed these findings. People feel strongly that we need to ensure protection of this open space from encroachment of further building development. People like the natural “countryside” feel of the fields, and are anxious that this is maintained. There were some differences of opinion about the lack of regular mowing in the bottom field. Most people felt that the Council’s “mowing for nature” policy is beneficial to provide habitats for insects, birds and wildlife, but a more nuanced approach would improve the situation — with a better balance between managed and unmanaged areas. The problems of access were discussed. Members felt strongly about closure of the footpath from Horn Lane during development of the housing on the former Downham School site. It was only after considerable pressure that a gate was provided from Sackville Close. The biggest problem is the lack of easy access from the Broadway Car Park. This results in the fields being invisible to many people. One of the most urgent needs is Improvement to the path alongside the wall to the west of the Community Centre. This could possibly be linked with repair of the stone wall, which is falling onto the Centre’s land. Pam Mills (chair of the Community Centre) said she has been pursuing this for over a year with no success so far. Members feel that there needs to be a careful balance between providing sufficient accessibility and maintaining the natural ambiance of the site: too much hard paving will greatly spoil the site. The closure of the paths directly adjacent to the Community Centre and Venton Centre was questioned: this had been necessary for security reasons. Heather Stenning said that she thought the path alongside the Venton Centre could be opened during the daytime for specific activities and events, as occurred during the recent Apple Pressing Day.

Colin Munn then explained the outcome of preliminary discussions with Councillor Rebecca Smith and the Natural Infrastructure team at PCC. They were very supportive of our aims but stressed that effective liaison depends on our (re)establishing a formal structure and Constitution. Membership applications were completed and the proposed Constitution was accepted unanimously. The following members were elected to the Management Committee: Jim Greenaway, Gillian Stevens, Nigel Jackson, Terry Phillips, Sam Rebeiro, and Colin Munn. It was agreed that the Committee will work closely with Sian Lane, Heather Stenning, Pam Mills, and Tess Wilmot as key stakeholders; they will be invited to attend relevant Committee meetings.

Other points during discussion included

• ideas for an early public event in the Spring (e.g. litter picking or plant/wildlife survey) to encourage people to find out about the site and our plans.
• seasonal activities such as guided walks, nature surveys etc. – try to get involvement of local schools and playgroups.
• a key drive to include involvement of young people in the design process and future use of the park.