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Present at the Meeting::
Andrew McCabe (Chairman)
Pat Griffiths (Vice Chairman)
John Bennion (Honorary President)
Gerald Codd (Treasurer)
Brian Coleman (Archivist)
Pearl McCabe (Publicist)
David Glennerster
Martin Dawes
Janet Coleman (Secretary)
Tessa Bishop
Eira Neads
Pam Codd
David Morgan
Apologies for Absence:
Rob Scourfield
The Secretary read the Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 29 August 2002. These were signed by the Chairman as a true record of the proceedings.
The Report covered the year to 31st July 2003 and is attached as Annexe A. The Chairman announced that the application for funding made to the Welsh Assembly had been unsuccessful which was very disappointing. However, applications had been made to PLANED and PAVS, with the support of the Community Association, and it is hoped that sufficient funding will be obtained to cover the project being undertaken by Dr Martin Bates during September. It has already been agreed by the Group that the cost of one day's work can be met by Group Funds if necessary. The Vice Chairman said she would speak to Christine Gwyther AM and advise her of our dissatisfaction with the way the grant application had been handled by those administering the Community Facilities and Activities Programme.
Tessa Bishop asked whether the grant applications had been for the restoration of the fishponds only but she was assured that the whole of the medieval landscape had been included .
Pat Griffiths advised that the National Parks will be applying for a Heritage Grant for the restoration and maintenance work on the Dovecote and Mill.
The Report was approved.
The Report to 31st July 2003 copies of which had been circulated . The Treasurer presented the accounts which had been audited by David Henderson. The Report was approved.
Andrew McCabe had indicated at the meeting held on 4th August that he would not be standing for re-election.
| Chairman - Pat Griffiths |
Proposed by Janet Coleman Seconded by Pearl McCabe |
The Chair was then vacated by Andrew McCabe and taken by Pat Griffiths
| Vice-Chairman - Gerald Codd |
Proposed by Pat Griffiths Seconded by Janet Coleman |
| Secretary - Janet Coleman |
Proposed by Gerald Codd Seconded by Andrew McCabe |
| Treasurer - Gerald Codd |
Proposed by Pat Griffiths Seconded by Janet Coleman |
| Archivist - Brian Coleman |
Proposed by David Glennerster Seconded by Pearl McCabe |
Publicist - Pearl McCabe had indicated at the meeting held on 4th August that she would not be standing for re-election. However, at the request of John Bennion and the Group she agreed to give assistance with future publicity if requested.
On behalf of the Group Pat Griffiths expressed a warm vote of thanks to Andrew and Pearl for all their very hard work during the past three years which had enabled the project to get off the ground and given it a real impetus for the future.
| Martin Dawes |
Proposed by Pat Griffiths Seconded by Andrew McCabe |
| David Glennerster |
Proposed by Brian Coleman Seconded by Pat Griffiths |
| Liz Thompson |
Proposed by Martin Dawes Seconded by Pat Griffiths |
| Rob Scourfield Re-elected as National Park Representative | |
| Tessa Bishop |
Proposed by John Bennion Seconded by Pat Griffiths |
| Eira Neads |
Proposed by Gerald Codd Seconded by Pam Codd |
The next meeting will be held on Monday 8th September at Tir-Nan-Og, Pembroke Road at 7 pm
Welcome to the third AGM of the Fishponds Group.
Perhaps we should introduce ourselves.
There is some information displayed which I hope you will take this opportunity to examine. It includes a list of members of the Group, today's press report from the Tenby Observer, some photographs of the Group in action and my Progress Report of February this year.
The agenda has been circulated and the first item is the minutes of last year's AGM -
Janet will read them out. Are the minutes agreed as a true record ?
Now to my report:
Is there a need to remind the meeting of the Group's objectives ?
Briefly these are :
" To recapture the medieval landscape adjoining Manorbier Castle by restoration of the fishponds and completion of remedial work to the nearby dovecote and watermill. Located in a parkland setting with safe access and appropriate interpretation boards, the scheme is being planned to benefit the whole community and provide a tourist attraction."
The Group has completed three years of solid work on the project and much has been achieved. The past year has been like a football match - a game of two halves. In the period up to the end of January we were very pleased with the public reaction to our exhibition held here almost exactly a year ago, were awaiting the report on the archaeological survey carried out by the team from Trinity College and were preparing a case for funding for another investigation which hopefully would determine the nature and location of the fishponds. Since then there has been much frustration and a lot of time has been spent in chasing the final report from Dr. Howard Williams and awaitinfg the result of our application for funding. However we remain undeterred and we have not been idle ! Stamina and patience are prime requirements on this project.
Before providing more detail on these activities I should report that Nonie Sharland resigned earlier this year and the vacancy was filled by the co-option of David Glennerster.
The exhibition which we staged here on 30th August 2002 was an outstanding success. Entitled "Aspects of Manorbier's History" it succeeded in placing the project in the context of its environs. Attended by some 400 local residents and visitors as well as the Chairman of the National Park, the Vice-chairman of the County Council and Christine Gwyther, AM, it provided an important link with the community and the wider world. Staged with the help of the County Council Library Services, the exhibition was another example of our ability, as a Group, to work in partnership with other organisations - an important feature in this enterprise.
Another of our partnerships has been with Trinity College, Carmarthen. The report from Dr. Howard Williams and his team on the archaeological survey carried out last summer has proved most useful particularly in his description of the medieval landscape but in terms of hard data on the fishponds it was rather inconclusive. However that led on to discussions with Dr. Martin Bates, a geoarchaeologist from Lampeter College who is willing to undertake a further survey which will focus on providing geoarchaeological and paleoenvironmental evidence which will address the question of the presence, nature and location of the fishponds. It is hoped this work will be carried out in September.
The full cost of the new survey including laboratory work, analysis and contingencies would be around £3500 and an application for that amount was made on 31st January to the Welsh Assembly Government under its 'Community Facilities and Activities Programme'. Despite phone calls, letters and the support of Christine Gwyther much time has been lost waiting for a response. Yesterday, exactly seven months later, we received a reply - in the negative.
The frustration during this waiting period has been enormous but aware that the response could be a 'no' we approached PLANED in mid-July and submitted an application to that body, with the support of the Community Association. The Group would like to formally thank the Association for their help. A response from PLANED is awaited.
Meantime the Group has decided to commit £1245 of its own funds to the Martin Bates survey so the first phase can take place next month. You may be interested to know that in the first two years of the Group's existence the amount of volunteer effort generated has been calculated as equivalent to £67,000 and of course we have now completed a third year of undiminished effort.
The Group has also been responsible for initiating the start of the eradication of Japanese Knotweed from the fishponds site and surrounding area, by the use of persuasion on the National Park and the County Council.
In January and February this year some members of the Group, with the help of the National Park Ranger and volunteers started work on improving the mill and dovecote sites by clearance of the undergrowth and provision of new fencing. Much remains to be done and we have entered into discussions with the Prince's Trust with a view to enlisting their help on the clearance of ground cover.
However the latest news on removal of weed growth from the stonework of the two buildings is that we have persuaded the National Park to take over that responsibility. At this stage we are not sure how this development affects the maintenance of the adjoining ground.
Recently the Group has undertaken three visits in its pursuit of knowledge. St. David's Cathedral Library provided more information on the original latin texts of Giraldus Cambrensis our key figure in this endeavour.
A trip to Caldey Island, which has strong links with Manorbier, at the invitation of Brother Gildas proved inspirational. A tour of the historic sites there, including the fishponds and discussion with another of our outer circle of specialist advisors covered a wide range of relevant references.
The third visit to the pond and mill at Norchard House gave the Group a practical example of what can be achieved and a glimpse perhaps of their own project once completed. Heulwen Leah, Nona Rees and Brother Gildas have been thanked for their kind invitations.
During the past year the Group have attempted to keep the community informed, most importantly by last year's exhibition but also by means of articles in the Community Newsletter, the Tenby Observer, Pembrokeshire Life.
During the past few months the Group has received letters of support from the Chief Executive of the National Park, the Chair of the Community Council and the land agents for the site owners. As already reported the Community Association has supported our application to PLANED and Christine Gwyther, AM, our applicaion to the Welsh Assembly.
Once the result of the September survey is known and we have more details of the maitenance work to be done by the Park on the dovecote and mill the next stage of the project will be to secure funding for a comprehensive design and business plan in order to secure the sustainability of the project. The final stage will be seeking funding for the creation of the complete project as specified in the design plan.
I will not be involved in these stages as I have decided to step down. After three years in the Chair it is time for someone else to take over and provide new impetus and drive. A lot of the groundwork has been completed, the way ahead is clear and the project can now be moved into its final stages. I still very much believe in the concept which once completed will be of great benefit to the community. One final thought for the Group next year: It will be marvellous if the latest survey provides what we want but if it is inconclusive do not letthat deter you but forge ahead anyway. Remember that we are constrained by the configuration of the landscape of the present day and can only achieve what is possible today.
I would like to thank everyone who has been associated with the project over the past three years as members of the Group and in our wider circle of specialists and supporters.
There are far too many to name and this is not an Oscars ceremony but there is one man who deserves special mention not only for having the original vision but also for all his practical application, commitment and commom sense and that of course is our Honorary President, John Bennion. Well done, John!
We are willing to take questions at this stage and will do our best to answer them.
Are there any questions on my report or on any aspect of the project ?