Annual General Meeting Committee Report January 2021

As I’m sure all of you are aware, this is my last AGM report as Chair of the Garden Committee. Over the coming weeks I will be handing over to Henry Drysdale. I’m so grateful to him for agreeing to take on the role - to which I’m sure he will bring new energy and ideas. Happy though I am to be stepping down, I will miss the detailed knowledge of what is going in and out of the beds, which trees are most likely to drop a branch and which dog is in deepest disgrace. Most of all I will miss the regular contacts with so many people on the garden; I genuinely feel I’ve met so many more people and got to know everyone a little better as a result of being in the role. Thank you for all the support you’ve given to me and my thanks to the Committee who have shared so much of the work.

Since 2020 didn’t unfold as expected, there is much less to report than usual. Thus instead of following the format of previous years and taking a look back over the achievements and events of the year I thought I’d try to summarise what I see as the key moments of my time as Chair - a reminder perhaps of how much has changed but also of the constant need to invest in the garden if we are to secure its future.

When I took over from Michiel Bakker in January 2015, it was on the back of the completion of the railings project which had absorbed much of the Committee’s time and the garden budget for the previous three years. However alongside what was undoubtedly the largest infrastructure project since the garden was built, Michiel had commissioned the Longterm Planting Plan, which became the blueprint for everything we have done since 2015 and which continues to provide strategic focus for the garden.

As some of you may remember my first act as Chair was to secure the budget for the garden at a level which enabled us to make the first significant investment in plants and trees for many years. Equally importantly we were also able to increase Paul’s working hours from 14 to 21 a week. Two years later we began increasing the budget, roughly in line with the inflationary costs we were facing. It is my view that the current budget is the absolute minimum we need to manage and maintain the garden - indeed this year we have relied on a number of donations to be able to plant any trees and have had to pull a number of plans due to the costs incurred when the two trees came down at the Ladbroke Grove end.

Before we could even begin work on replanting and landscaping we had to clear a backlog of rubbish from the garden. Most of this was dumped at the Ladbroke Grove end of the garden, which had, in effect, become a tip. To say nothing of the garden shed which was effectively unusable - so rammed with broken down tools and rubbish. We took out skip after skip of rubbish. Predictably enough to start with every time we cleared, more rubbish seemed to appear, but over time this died down - if rubbish attracts rubbish, then the opposite is also true.

At the same time we began the long process of clearing out the dead and dying shrubs and rampant weeds from the main beds and removing the grass cuttings which were routinely thrown in the middle of the hollowed out beds. Again we used skips to do this, but after the initial phase, bought into the RBKC green recycling scheme and this is now the primary system we use to clear garden debris, alongside composting and the occasional skip.

We also began conversations with many residents about their borders. These vital spaces, so much a part of the garden (and indeed belonging to the garden NOT individual householders), were a hotchpotch of loved and unloved beds. The committee is immensely grateful to those families who contribute so much by looking after their borders and to Nicola Heywood who gives so much of her time to those looking for help and advice. We are always happy to help those who take an interest and it is pleasing that a number private gardeners have a good working relationship with both the Committee and Paul Walsh. It is particularly worth noting that the drier summers our taking their toll on the borders. It simply isn’t feasible for Paul to water for everyone - it is enough of a job keeping all the new trees and plants alive. Please, if you enjoy the garden, give a thought to whether your border might need some extra attention in the summer months.

By 2017 significant changes were taking place in the garden. The Rosmead border, a large part of which had been uprooted to allow for the new railings to be installed, was finally unveiled. The many new shrubs and significant number of new trees are by now really bedded in and provide all year interest, as well as creating a greater sense of space. Possibly the most exciting event was the arrival of the new playground - kindly donated by a number of families. I think it is fair to say it has been an unmitigated success. More fun, more challenging than the old one, it is nevertheless a sympathetic addition to the much improved Ladbroke Grove end of the garden.

In 2018 we added an additional 6 hours a month to Paul’s gardening schedule. We undertook an investigation into the build up of water on the path between 79 and 81 Elgin Crescent, to find that the drain leading from the sump in the garden is badly damaged, such that water drains away very slowly. Clearing out the sump had bought us time but this is ultimately something that will need to be repaired and will probably have to be paid for out of reserves. The same problem exists between 103 and 105 Elgin Crescent, where water accumulates on the path but there is no drainage. This is something the Committee is looking into. In 2018 the large yew tree outside 115 Lansdowne Road began to show signs of stress. We have had any number of experts look at it since then but none believe it to be dying - though it looks pretty ropey. It is on the watch list.

On a more positive note 2018 was the year when both of the central beds underwent a huge transformation. Although they were reduced in size the number of plants within them was hugely increased - creating more lawn, but more flowering shrubs and managed evergreen. Some two years later these beds are really beginning to come into their own. The magnificent walnut tree between the two beds has also been given the space to thrive and has put on considerable growth. This was the year the garden benefited from cash injections from the filming that was going on in the street - a total of £8,500 in donations (without there being any filming in the gardens). 2018 was also the year we took a close look at our insurance policy regarding Bonfire Night and as a consequence had to reduce the size of the bonfire and ensure that qualified first aiders were on hand.

Perhaps the most notable thing about 2019 was the return of a summer party after a two year absence - Valerie Montgomery having finally stepped down in 2017 and no-one being quite brave enough to pick up the mantle. After some talk of a smaller event, organic rebuilding, Amanda Waggot and Julia Heath brought the party back big time and with a new funding model -“sponsorship” by families to enable wide access to all - with well over 400 people attending.

The focus in the garden was on going greener and this remains a key objective. Leaf raking, bird boxes and composting were just three of the initiatives that saw the light. We also planted new plants in conversation with RBKC to assist bees - one of the key things being early spring bulbs. Sadly it was also a year in which we lost three trees in the garden - the ash outside Liddiard House, a Silver Lime at Ladbroke Grove and my own winter flowering cherry outside 105. All these trees have been replaced but their absence is still felt.

And so to 2020, though perhaps the less said the better. The garden was a great source of strength to many during the two lockdowns and I think we can all be proud of the harmony with which we co-existed under the most difficult of circumstances. Other gardens faired worse and some had much more stringent restrictions, but I believe we struck the right balance between safety and sanity. Dogs seem to have had a good lockdown, with fewer complaints about the usual issues. That may change in 2021 as there are new dogs around and it is more important than ever that dog owners take responsibility for their dogs, if they wish them to continue to have so much freedom in the garden.

Sadly all our planting plans got blown apart (literally) when the October storms brought down not one but two trees at the Ladbroke Grove end. The costs of their removal, in atrocious conditions and over a weekend, wiped out not only our tree budget but our planting budget and everything else budget too. Luckily knights in shining armour appeared in the form of a surplus from the 2019 garden party which has paid for the replanting of the two lime trees, Francesca Carega who is planting a new crab apple tree (a multi-stemmed Malus Golden Evereste) outside 79 Elgin Crescent and the generosity of Gilbert and Verena Chalk who are donating another crab apple, this one a Malus Golden Hornet, to the triangular bed near 115 Lansdowne Road, which we hope will grow and flourish and remind us and them of their 30 plus years on the garden as they move off to new pastures. Crab apple trees have been a strategic target for the garden since the inception of the planting plan. Thank you all. We were also able to increase Paul’s hours again this year and to a level which I believe, for the first time, to be a realistic amount of gardening time (though as any gardener will know, gardening fills the time available and we could easily keep 3 men in full time work in the gardens). We now have 3 men in the garden every Wednesday and once a month they come back for a full extra day. They were ably supported again this year with another leaf raking day. The more time we can put in to helping Paul, raking, weeding (and in my case pruning the roses in the Rosmead bed), the less we need to rely on leaf blowers (of which more later), weedkiller or the precept.

I have referred to the parties and bonfire night in passing, but there are a couple of other eventswhich take place in the garden which bring much pleasure. The first is camping night. It doesn’t always happen but when it does it is incredibly popular, even with the children I believe. I think it falls foul of several garden rules but I for one (who has never knowingly spent a night in a tent), think it would be a great shame if it didn’t happen. The second is Open Gardens which of course didn’t happen this year but which has become more and more popular every year that we have done it and for many people our garden is a “must visit”, along with the pop-up tea room.

A quick word on finances. The Committee is recommending increasing the garden budget by £1,000. It is my firm view that this is the minimum amount we need to maintain our garden - a budget breakdown is attached. It is worth noting that the garden actually absorbs far more than the annual precept. We get by on donations (the climbing frame, benches, skips, trees, plants to name but a few of the things that have benefitted), party and bonfire night surpluses and the amount of labour put into the garden by private gardeners. Without these contributions the precept would be much higher. They also help assuage my concerns about where the burden of the precept falls. It is worth saying that I am recommending that the £1,000 goes towards further green initiatives in 2021/22, such as the purchase of an electric leaf blower, an additional compost box and a bug motel and stumpery. It won’t cover all those things but we can find savings from other areas. We are not increasing Paul’s rates this year, but may well need to next year. We have managed to gradually rebuild the reserves (currently around £17,500). I believe it would make sense to have reserves in the region of £25,000 and to achieve this any surplus from events would go some way towards doing this.

A reminder that the AGM will take place on Zoom at 7pm on Monday 18th January, more details to follow. In addition to approving the budget we would like to formally approve the addition of Henry Drysdale (Chair), Justin Kennedy (dogs/keys) and Lizzie Tuckey (parties/IT), to the Committee.

2020/21 Budget 2021/22 Budget

Gardening 39,976.80 39,976.80

Trees 5000 5000

Planting/Greening 2000 3000

Garden Materials 2800 2900

Skips 1080 1100

Recycling Bags 400 400

Infrastructure 1250 1000

Water 1000 1000

Insurance 2100 2250

Misc 1043.20 1023.20

56,650 57,650Annual

Annual General Meeting Committee Report January 2020

A Greener Garden

Dear Residents,

It seems no time at all since I was writing the last annual report and yet so much has happened in the garden in the last 12 months. As usual this report aims to summarise the key events and decisions and to look forward to what is planned for the coming year.

I thought I would take this opportunity to announce my intention to stand down as Chair and to leave the Garden Committee in January 2021. Having joined the Committee as Secretary in 2013 (having done 5 years as Secretary on the Blenheim/Elgin Garden!) and as Chair since 2017, I feel it is time to hand on the baton. Others may have more energy and ideas from which the garden would benefit. I am incredibly grateful for the help and support of the Committee and in order for there to be a seamless handover, it would be good if the Committee was to expand by one or two. So, as usual at this time of year, we are putting out an appeal for new Committee members. The garden doesn’t run itself and for those of you who have never served on the Committee I can thoroughly recommend it as a way of meeting your neighbours and having some say in the way things are done - as well as “doing your bit”.

On the subject of the Committee I would like to say a special thanks this year to my fellow Committee members. It has felt as though the “stuff to be done” has been evenly spread around. I am extremely grateful for their continued and continuing support, as well as to those people who are not on the Committee, but who regularly lend a hand.

A reminder that the AGM is taking place at 7pm on Monday 20th January, at 105 Elgin Crescent. Please do come (the meeting will start promptly) - we welcome your views on what we have done well, what we could do better and what perhaps we’ve failed to do at all.

As usual the accounts for 2018-19 (the last full financial year) will be available. At the AGM we will be proposing an increase of the precept by 3% - to cover the rising costs of materials and also for Paul our gardener.

Parties and Taking Part

No one could have failed to notice that this year the summer party was back - more ambitious and more inclusive than ever. For that we have to thank Amanda Waggott and Julia Heath (many others of course, but they were the prime movers and undertook a huge amount of work ). For the first time funding came from donations, with a suggested family donation of £500. Money was raised from 25 families, including some who generously donated even though they were unable to attend. As a result £11,400 was raised and the Rockstars themed day was open to all. In addition to the evening event (this year self-catering), and the traditional races and tug-of-war (which was badly served by the rope breaking several times - we have a new one in the pipeline), there were many new stalls and attractions. The free bar and late night DJing from Annika Heath all made for a memorable evening. It is estimated that well over 400 people came to the evening party, with some 313 dining under the stars.

The enormous success of the day was down to meticulous planning and a great deal of hard work. For that reason it has been decided to take a break next year with a view to running it again in 2021. Although no final decision has been taken a garden picnic, possibly linked to camping night, has been proposed instead. Given the amount of work involved in the day I think this is sensible, unless a new team feels like taking up the challenge.

As before we opened the gardens in June for Open Gardens, again overseen by Hugo Heath with tremendous support from Annika. Over 700 adults and 40 children visited the garden (and much loved tea-room) and the volunteers on the day reported back that ours is by far the most popular garden. Next year we are proposing opening from 10 - 5, to give people more time to enjoy our garden on this one day of the year.

Despite horrendous weather the fireworks went ahead and many people came out to enjoy both the bonfire and the pyrotechnics. As a Committee we have to take the insurance and health and safety issues extremely seriously and this year we again had first-aiders on hand. Thanks again to Amanda Waggott, Julia Heath and Esmeralda Montgomery. As we have found ourselves increasingly reliant on the same few individuals, we have decided that next year we will employ St John’s Ambulance to look after the first-aid side of things. My thanks to the Committee members who braved the rain on Saturday to set up the event and who spent Sunday clearing up and in particular to Mike Staveley who continues to work so hard for this event, despite no longer being on the Committee. This year we organised for the turf where the bonfire had been to be replaced immediately, so no-one had to spend the winter looking at burnt lawn. In total the fireworks made a small profit which has been invested back into the gardens, to cover the additional work we have had to do on trees.

The other big communal event this year was the reintroduction of leaf raking, which happened the day after the fireworks. After the rain of Saturday I was hugely relieved by the mild weather and sunshine, which many people responded to by coming out and helping. In under two hours, to the sounds of Ella Fitzgerald, cheerful conversations and bolstered by croissants, all the bags were filled. Although it was a tad disappointing to see the leaves still coming off the trees the following day, the message from Paul was that it made a huge difference to his workload. Speaking personally I loved the chance have a day in the gardens surrounded by happy, busy people. I hope this can be an annual event. Thank you to everyone who took part. And to those people who object to leaf blowers, but weren’t able to make it this year, we look forward to seeing you next time.

Greener Gardens

2018 saw enormous changes to the gardens in particular to the two central beds - the replanting of which signified the last structural changes as set out in the Longterm Planting Plan. At the AGM it was agreed these beds should be allowed to mature before work started on the “triangles” - in effect we decided to pause for a year. In fact planning, planting and regeneration seemed to go up a gear! At our first Committee meeting it was decided that the next big initiative should be a green one. Ideas on wilding, bird boxes, greener delivery of material, reduction of pesticides and leaf-blowers, bug motels and bee hotels, planting for pollinators, composting, etc, etc. abounded. We asked around to see if anyone would be willing to join the Committee and take on responsibility for delivering a greener garden, but we still have a vacancy.

Assisted by Mary-Lu Bakker we have installed a number of site/species specific bird boxes in the gardens, designed to support our existing population of great tits, blue tits, long tailed tits and goldfinches. Meanwhile Nicola Heywood has engaged with RBKC who are working on a Bee Super Highway in conjunction with the London Bee-Keepers Association. We already plant with these important pollinators in mind, but are looking at ways we can help bees at the start of the year when food sources are scarce. One way is the introduction of early spring bulbs. In December Paul planted 300 early crocuses and a similar number of Iris Reliculata, to help the queen bees at the start of the season. We have also, on behalf of the gardens, signed up to an annual subscription to the Butterfly Conservation Organisation and Nicola will be receiving regular updates as to what is best practice to support butterflies.

Unfortunately we also lost three trees this year - two large trees, the Ash outside Liddiard House, which had been on the critical list for 3 years and a Silver Lime between the shed and Ladbroke Grove, which unexpectedly died. The Ash has been replaced with a Zelkova Seratta, as recommended by RBKC, our tree surgeons and Paul and the Silver Lime will be replaced with the same tree. I returned from holiday to discover the winter flowering cherry, a tree we planted 10 years ago, had suddenly died - it was a shock as it had been showing no signs of ill health. This has been replaced with a Strawberry Tree - a specimen we have been wanting to introduce into the garden but for which we hadn’t had a site. We continue to monitor the health of all our trees and to remain vigilant for disease and infestation. One tree which is giving us cause for concern is the large Yew tree at the back of 81 Ladbroke Grove. We have had numerous experts look at it and all believe it will recover, through it has now had several “resting” phases.

Once again I have been struck by how much longer the flowering season has become and how much more wonderful foliage we have in the gardens. Many of the new plants have now reached the point where we are able to divide and spread them around the garden. Whilst in the coming years we will be able to spend less on new plants, we will need to keep increasing the gardening hours (and continue to support Paul with our labour) if we are to keep on top of the gardening.

Finances

The financial year ending April 2019 ended with a small surplus due to the money made on fireworks and, more significantly, from the filming which didn’t take place in the gardens. So, despite spending considerably more than had been

in the budget we were able to put an additional £3,218.45 aside on top of the £3,000 we had budgeted. In doing so we knew that we were likely to be hit with costs on trees that are very difficult to budget for. As it happens we have had to act sooner than expected in taking down the Ash (and Lime) and so we expect to have to dip back into reserves at the end of the year. Over the next two years we plan to balance the books.

In planning for next year it is the Committee’s recommendation that we raise the precept by 3%. That would raise an extra £1,650. Paul our gardener is raising his hourly rate, having not increased it last year. This seems very fair. We are also giving him a few hours extra each week in the garden. We are budgeting on spending less on new plants and more on gardening, to help nurture those that we have planted. We have slightly increased the infrastructure budget. Every year there are running repairs in the garden and as soon as we can in 2020 we need to repair some of the benches and redo gravel boards. As with this year we are not planning to put any additional funds into reserves.

Other News

The issue of drainage has again taken up Committee time, though this time the responsibility for sorting it out rests squarely with Thames Water. At the time of writing they are busy excavating a collapsed drain at the Ladbroke Grove end, which caused flooding on Lansdowne Road. I am very grateful to Gerard Cunningham for his time in helping to sort this out. As the job has slowly progressed the amount of damage revealed has increased, meaning that the completion date is still uncertain.

18/19 Act 19/20 Bud 20/21 Bud (+3%)

Gardening 32,729 36,345.60 39,034.20

Trees 5,016 5,000 5,000

Long-Term Plan 11,638 3,900 2,000

Garden Materials 2,368 2,900 2,800

Skips (donated) 500 1,080

Recycling Bags 302 400 400

Infrastructure 1,295 2,000 2,200

Garden Design 2,935 0 0

Water 576 2,000 1,000

Insurance 1,581 1,950 2,100

Misc 247 1,004.40 1,035.8

Reserves 6,218.45 0 0

Total 64,650 56,000 56,650

Other News

Dogs and security remain the two topics which have generated most email traffic. Regarding dogs the message is very consistent - dog owners need to remember that not everyone likes the sound of barking dogs and no one wants to step in dog poo or be threatened by an aggressive dog. Dogs on leads, all or part time, remains an option if dogs owners don’t respect the incredible freedom they have to walk their dogs in the garden. Gates left open and contractors with keys, are probably the biggest threat to security on the garden. Everyone knows the rules and again we rely on people respecting them. We changed the keys fairly recently and a key fob system is currently not an option as we don’t have electricity at the gates - if this is something people feel we need I would suggest we fund raise to pay for this.

One final word. The Committee exercises what power it has through cooperation and community spirit. No-one wants to see the Committee taking residents to court for breaching the bye-laws. And hopefully no-one is seriously thinking of suing the Committee - though sadly that’s a threat that is occasionally put out there - which is a bit depressing. And as I said last year if your neighbours dog is barking in their garden, please don’t call me.

The Committee

Juliet Wilkinson - Chair

Neil Weeks - Treasurer

Hugo Heath - Secretary/Special Events

Nicola Heywood - Gardens

Gerard Cunningham - Infrastructure

Peter Bailey - Dogs

Diary Dates

Sunday 7th June - Open Gardens

Saturday 7th November - Bonfire Night

Monday 18th January 2021 - AGM

General Meeting Committee Report January 2016

Dear Residents,

Happy New Year to all!   The Annual General Meeting of Rosmead Garden will be held on Monday 18th of January at 7.30pm.  The meeting will take place at 105 Elgin Crescent.  You are cordially invited to attend.   This is the forum where we review the events of the year just gone and lay out our plans for the year ahead and we would very much welcome your presence and feedback.  

A copy of the Agenda and the minutes of last year’s AGM are attached. 

 ROSMEAD RAILINGS

The railings project is all but complete.   The physical work of rebuilding the wall, restoring the railings and replacing the gates is finished.  We will release the final retention payment of £2,600 to Metalcraft- who did the railing work- shortly, once they have dealt with a couple of 'snags'.  As reported last year the budget for the whole project was set at £147,000, which included £10,000 for replanting.  We anticipate the final cost will be £135,000 in total. However the original budget included a provisional sum of £10,000 for fob operated gate locks, which we subsequently decided to drop.  Therefore the revised budget is £137,000 versus a spend of £135,000.

The project has been funded as follows:

·         Resident voluntary donations                    £47,000

·         Precept increase 2014/15                          £27,000

·         Precept increase 2015/2016                      £27,000

·         Precept increase 2016/2017                      £27,000

·         Balance from  garden reserve                    £ 7,000

·         Total                                                                £135,000

A huge debt of gratitude is owed to James Tuckey, who has masterfully overseen the construction process, as well as to Nicola Heywood who has provided assistance throughout and has overseen the replanting of the Rosmead border.   We also wish to repeat our thanks to all residents who have so generously contributed to this project.

FINANCE

The Garden levy (or precept) was £55,000 for the financial year to 31st of March 2015 as a result of our decision at the 2014 AGM to double the precept for 5 years to help pay for the Rosmead railings project.  The accounts for the same period, prepared on a cash basis, show a surplus of £21,698, compared to last year’s surplus of £14,796.  However, the comparison is unhelpful for the same reasons as last year.  First, as you know we agreed to raise voluntary donations from residents towards the Rosmead railing project.  We had a tremendous response and raised a total of £47,000 from a large number of residents.  Second, by 31st March 2015 we had spent £43,000 on the Railings project.  Third, the children’s fund had collected £600 by end of the financial year. Adjusting for these 3 abnormal items leaves a ‘normal course’ surplus of £5,028.  Our normal income and expenditure during the year under review followed previous years with garden expenses taking the lion’s share of our income.  We try to ensure that the Garden Party and Fireworks evening, taken together, break even and I am glad to report that we met this objective again in 2014 with a healthy surplus of circa £2,500.   As in previous years we engaged the services of an accountant to help the Treasurer with the management of the accounts at a cost of £412.  A copy of the accounts are available from the Treasurer, James Tuckey, at 95 Elgin Crescent.

For the current year to 31st March 2016 the precept was again raised to £55,000, by agreement at last year’s AGM.  We anticipate that we will achieve a small surplus on ‘normal course’ income and expenditure, and on current estimates we are likely to have cash in the bank at the end of March 2016 of £3,300, at which point we will have paid for the whole of the  railings project,  but we will have almost exhausted our reserves. Cash flow from now until the receipt of the first 2016/17 precept will be tight and several members of your committee have agreed to provide a temporary loan, should this be necessary, to be repaid from the 2016/17 precept.

For many years your Committee have planned to hold, at any one time, a surplus of approximately one year’s precept in order to meet one off expenditures.  Any surpluses arising are added to the reserves which are essential to enable general maintenance projects to be carried out.   In order to rebuild our reserve and provide for some additional garden expenditure your Committee are proposing a final year of the £55,000 ‘exceptional precept’ for the upcoming financial year starting on 1st April 2016 and revert to a lower precept next year.     This would be the 3rd and final year of the double precept, and I am happy to report that this exceptional precept will end two years earlier than originally envisaged, largely because of the generosity of so many residents.     We propose that £37,500 of that amount is to be used for Garden expenditure and £17,500 will go towards rebuilding our reserves.   

GARDEN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

Email, mail drops and noticeboard notification will continue as per usual, but we would like to remind you there is a basic website where residents are able to find general information about our Garden, including the rules and notifications. The domain name is: www.rosmeadgarden.com  Your feedback and contributions to the site would be welcome.

 SOCIAL EVENTS

Last summer’s “Galaxy” party was crazy as always, helped by the fact that many residents spectacularly dressed up to the nines.   The irrepressible Montgomery family are the driving force behind our summer parties and Valerie and Jeff deserve our gratitude.   As usual the theme for this year’s party is still under wraps but will be revealed in due course.   The date will be Saturday June 25th, please mark that in your calendar.  We can assure you it will involve glamorous dressing up.

The Bonfire Night Firework Display is still in the post Pinter era, but rumour has it Stefan might be persuaded to come back one year.   This year ‘Pains Fireworks Company’ was engaged to be in charge of the fireworks and generally well received by all.    A few requests for more ‘spectacle’ have been received by the Committee and because the event generally is well attended we could up the budget from its current £2,400 to include some bigger ‘rockets’.   So we propose to work with them again this year should Stefan be busy. We also need to ensure the Bonfire goes off better this year, it was too wet.

PLANTING, TREES AND GENERAL GARDEN USAGE

During this year we have focused on the Long Term Planting Plan, specifically for the Rosmead borders following the successful completion of the historic railings restoration project. 

 Firstly, as we discussed at our 2015 AGM, we invited all those who were interested to join our Planting Group to help us with this project.  We circulated the draft plans for the borders along with all of Lucy Huntington's considerable work to date on the Long-Term Planting Plan, the garden map, and her very thorough report encompassing all the history we hold on the garden, and all the advisory reports we have in our archive.  We enjoyed a Spring ‘walk about’ one early evening with Lucy in the garden and invited all those who were interested to join us.  The planting group worked through all this information and gave us their feedback and suggestions and even their favourites.  The group then met to discuss the draft plan and everyone’s feedback. In addition to this several interested residents had given their comments on the garden too.   A big thank you to everyone for all their hard work and positive input.  We then sent all the feedback to Lucy who carefully considered all of this and came up with the final planting plan for the Rosmead borders. The first stage of this has now been planted, during early December last year.

Throughout the year we also did our regular maintenance and tree works, and we would like to thank Paul our gardener and his team for all their hard work. We also focused on the individual borders (formerly known as ‘no man's lands’). Working together with our residents, we encouraged everyone to take a look at these areas. Sometimes it was just to suggest an increase in maintenance, and perhaps also to consider some replanting, working with us on this.  And we have had great success:  working in partnership with Lucy, she is now involved in helping with over 10 of these individual borders, all of which are at various stages of development or completion.  We have formed some great working relationships with very helpful residents.

A copy of all of Lucy’s work to date can be found on rosmeadgarden.com and you may be interested to know that she has been appointed to do a long-term planting plan for the Blenheim/Elgin garden next door, where planting has already begun, as well as a specific project for Arundel/ Ladbroke.

We received many positive reactions to the Long Term Planting Plan, but we wanted to share one in particular, that of Thomas Pakenham, our resident tree expert and author of The Company of Trees:   “My reactions to Lucy's proposals? I was thrilled. Of course I had one or two suggestions: especially more magnolias. The list of suitable magnolia species and cultivars is enormous, and they do particularly well in Ladbroke. But the most important thing about Lucy's plan is that it's a plan for development.  For the first time for many years the committee will be in possession of a real long-term plan.  It's easy to call in an expert and cut down a lot of decaying trees and shrubs and re-place them with what are hoped will be better replacements. To carry out a long-term plan is much more difficult. No one can forecast how the replacements will take to their new home. We have to rely on guesses - and then adapt the plan accordingly. Every year (or more frequently) the committee should assess how things are going.  My guess is that our garden will turn out the most exciting - as well as the most practical - of all the 15 gardens in Ladbroke.”

Once again Open Garden Squares Weekend this summer was a great success. Over 650 visitors came to see our garden, and enjoy the cafe.  We will open on Sunday June 19th from 12 to 5pm on June and entry will be through the Rosmead Gate.

Sadly dog mess continues to be a problem, both our gardener and fellow residents report. However, on a positive note, following the removal of the bins, there has been much less litter in the garden.

POST BONFIRE COMMUNAL GARDENING DAY

It’s a Garden tradition for Residents to contribute to the removal of autumn leaves each year the morning after the Bonfire party.    On the day, only two people participated and we are asking you to come out in force this year at 10.30AM the day after the bonfire party.  Many hands make light work and the time saved by our gardener can be spent on more specialist gardening duties.   This year the November Bonfire Night falls on a Saturday (November 5th), so the communal gardening day will be on Sunday the 6th.    Please bring a rake!

 INFRASTUCTURE

This year’s infrastructure project, aside from the big railings initiative, has been to change the locks on the Ladbroke and Rosmead gates, Michael Staveley’s personal Swansong.  Over the years many hundreds of keys have been issued and to create a ‘clean’ register, we have now introduced numbered keys.  The person in charge of keys for existing and new residents is Stephen Fordham.   Stephen will also be the first point of contact for new residents, to help provide background information on the garden rules and insights into how things are generally done.   His email is: fordham@zadigam.com.

COMMITTEE

As at the beginning of January 2015 the Committee comprised of those mentioned below:

Michiel Bakker                                 

James Tuckey                    

Juliet Wilkinson

Gabriella Mitchell

Stephen Fordham                           

Nicola Heywood                              

Valereehah Montgomerio           

Michael Staveley

Gerard Cunningham

After 7 years as Chairman, Michiel Bakker will resign after the AGM, and after even more years on the Committee in charge of infrastructure, so will Michael Staveley. On behalf of the residents, the Committee wishes to express their gratitude to Michael and the outgoing Chairman, who has presided over a very productive 7 year period, which has brought us the ratification of the rules, a new name for the Garden, a long term planting plan and of course the restored railings.  Neil Weeks is proposed and seconded to join the Committee.  All other members are proposed for re-election.  It is proposed the following three members will hold the role of officers: Juliet Wilkinson – Chairman; James Tuckey – Treasurer and Gabriella Mitchell – Secretary.    Any alternative nominations should be notified to the Chairman by 5PM on Friday January 15th.

DATE FOR AGM

The date for this AGM was determined during last year’s AGM.  We will propose Monday January 16th 2017 as the date for next year’s AGM.

Other important dates for 2015:

London Open Garden Squares Day:          Sunday June 19th

Summer Party:                                                  Saturday June 25th

Bonfire Party:                                                    Saturday November 5th

Communal Gardening Day:                          Sunday November 6th   

We hope to see you shortly at this year’s AGM on Monday the 18th of January at 105 Elgin Crescent at 7.30pm.

Yours sincerely,

The Committee.

Annual General Meeting Committee Report January 2015

Dear Residents,

Happy New Year to all! The Annual General Meeting of Rosmead Garden will be held on Monday 19th of January at 7.30pm. The meeting will take place at 105 Elgin Crescent. You are cordially invited to attend.

A copy of the Agenda and the minutes of the last AGM are attached.

FINANCE

The Garden levy (or precept) was £27,730 for the financial year to 31st of March 2014 and the accounts for the same period, prepared on a cash basis, show a surplus of £14,796, compared to last year’s deficit of £4,443. However, the comparison is unhelpful for 3 reasons. First, as you know we agreed to raise donations from residents towards the Rosmead railing project. At the end of that financial year, 31st March 2014, we had collected £15,000 towards the Railings. Second, we had spent £2,010 on fees and survey works on the Railings project. Third, we kicked off a children’s fund and had collected £600 at end of the financial year. Adjusting for these 3 abnormal items leaves a ‘normal course’ surplus of £1,205. Our normal income and expenditure during the year under review followed previous years with garden expenses taking the lion’s share of our income. We spent nearly £1,000 on the bench commemorating Stephan Pinter’s contribution to the annual fireworks evening. We try to ensure that the Garden Party and Fireworks evening, taken together, break even and I am glad to report that we met this objective again in 2013. We engaged the services of an accountant again to help the Treasurer with the management of the accounts and a copy of the accounts are available from the Treasurer, James Tuckey, at 95 Elgin Crescent.

For the current year to 31st March 2015 the precept was raised to £55,000, following the AGM decision to double the precept in order to help pay for the Rosmead Railings. We anticipate that we will again achieve a small surplus on ‘normal course’ income and expenditure, and on current estimates we are likely to have cash in the bank at the end of March 2015 of £20,000. For many years your Committee have planned to hold, at any one time, a surplus of approximately one year’s precept in order to meet one off expenditures. Any surpluses arising are added to the Reserves which are essential to enable general maintenance projects to be carried out.

For the year to March 31st 2016, as previously agreed at the 2014 AGM, the precept will be maintained at the current level of £55,000 in order to fund part of the cost of renewing the Rosmead railings. Please see the section on the Rosmead railings project, below, for more detail.

INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT – ROSMEAD RAILINGS

The current status of the Rosmead railing project is as follows:
1. We have full planning consent for the scheme. A number of standard conditions have to be

discharged before we can make a physical start on site.
2. Our architect, Susan Walker, has persuaded RBK&C to waive their normal charges for diverting the

pavement in Rosmead Road and using 3 car parking bays during the works.

1. The cost of providing fob operated gate locks at both ends of the garden has turned out to be prohibitively expensive and the Committee has decided not to proceed with this item.

2. We decided to delay starting the work until early this year in order to minimise disruption to residents. We anticipate the physical works will take approximately 3 months to complete.

3. We hope to start work next month and we are in the final stages of negotiation with a contractor.

4. We will notify residents when we have a fixed start date.

5. The current budget stands at £147,000, including contingency and VAT. The increase has arisen

   through general building inflation since the budget was set in June 2013 and additional structural

   requirements to support Rosmead Road

6. Funding. We have had a fantastic response from many residents to our funding appeal and we have

   raised £43,000 so far.

7. Adding the £27,000 from the increased 2014 precept increases the Rosmead fund to £70,000.

8. We have spent circa £6,000 on fees and survey work, so we have £64,000 in a separate bank

   account.

9. We have unfortunately been unsuccessful in persuading The Council to contribute to the cost of the

   works. They have steadfastly maintained it is solely our responsibility.

10. When we collect the second precept increase in April 2015 of £27,000, the funding total will reach

    £97,000. The funding requirement is within last year’s AGM agreement to double the precept for 5

    years.

11. In order to enable us to proceed with the work and provide the balance of the cost which will need

    to be paid in April or May 2015, (on the current programme), several members of your Committee have agreed to provide a temporary loan to cover the remaining costs, which will be repaid either from current surplus funds or the increased precepts which will be received in April 2016 and 2017.

GARDEN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

Email, mail drops and noticeboard notification will continue as per usual, but we would like to remind you there is a basic website where residents are able to find general information about our Garden, including the rules and notifications. The domain name is: www.rosmeadgarden.info . Your feedback and contributions to the site would be welcome.

SOCIAL EVENTS 2014/5
Last summer’s “Caravanserai” party, was enjoyed by many and as always expertly organised by Valerie Montgomery. The event was cost neutral to the Garden thanks to the enthusiastic uptake of tickets by Residents. The 2015 party theme is yet to be decided, but it will be held on Saturday June 27th, save the date.

The Bonfire Night Firework Display has entered the Post-Pinter era. The ‘Fabulous Fireworks Company’ was engaged to be in charge of the fireworks and generally well received by all, though a few expressed that the ‘frisson’ of the Pinter-effect was missing. We will try to lure him back if we can. Thanks to the generous uptake of tickets by many of you, this event generated a profit for the Garden.

PLANTING, TREES AND GENERAL GARDEN USAGE

Long Term Garden Plan

At the previous AGM we discussed the need for a ‘Long Term Plan’ for the Communal Garden. What should the garden look like in 50 years? And what do we need to do going forward to achieve this? It was also suggested that we should consider the appointment of an external expert professional consultant to advise us.

We have now done so, and we are delighted to report that this Autumn, the Committee appointed Lucy Huntington (of Lucy and Francis Huntington) as our Consultant to deliver said ‘Long Term Plan’. Lucy Huntington has been in business for over 40 years, and she has a largely repeat client base, of both private,

and corporate clients. Lucy has been the Planting Consultant for the Hurlingham Club directing all their planting for the last 18 years.

Lucy will work with us on a continual basis, advising us and subsequent Committees each year on the next steps we need to take in order to achieve our long term goals and ensure continuity in management of the Garden. The plan will cover the whole of the Garden, the trees, plants, shrubs, lawns and open spaces.

We have supplied Lucy with all the historical information on the Garden we have in our files, old reports, and up to date reports, including our latest Tree Survey (July 2013). Most recently our own ‘Residents Survey’ and all the old Garden notes from previous Committee’s and any historical references we have.

We look forward to working with Lucy Huntington in the years to come, and as we are completing the planning stage of the ‘Rosmead Railings Restoration Project’, our focus will now shift towards managing the successful implementation of the first stage of the Long Term Plan.

The first stage of the Long Term Plan will be available at the AGM. If you would like to comment, please share your suggestions and thoughts and send feedback, either by hand to 87 Elgin Crescent, or email to nicolaheywood@gmail.com. We would appreciate all your suggestions and of course they will be put forward to Lucy Huntington.

General Garden Management

Again this year we ran the garden very carefully on a tight budget, covering maintenance only, as we are mindful of the Rosmead Railings Project. Our overall agreed spend was £18,000. With this we managed to maintain the garden, and to continue all the work on the lawns and pathways. Within this budget we allowed as usual for essential Tree Works which we carried out as directed by our Arboricultural Consultant (Report by A.C.S. Consulting/ July 2013). This recommended we focused on our four mature Horse Chestnut Trees (no’s 66 78 17 & 83 on the Garden Map). For Central London they are in ‘okay’ health, but tree no 78, opposite the climbing frame on the Lansdowne Rd. side, is not so good, even though it is safe. We also did more work than anticipated on the Ash tree in front on Liddiard House/Lansdowne Rd side (no 54) a Common Ash. This too does not have a long lifespan. So this year’s tree work (which ran slightly over budget) has further clarified the importance of succession planting in the context of our new Long Term Plan.

London Garden Open Squares Day - Once again a successful event, we had over 600 visitors. Thanks to Anita Dent for the fabulous charity ‘pop-up’ cafe. Please note: the date for 2015 is Sunday 14th June - from 12 - 5 pm. (Entrance gate TBC, dependant on Rosmead Railings Restoration Project).

Rubbish - Thanks to our many fellow residents who helped tidy up the garden this year, taking away rubbish, broken glass and Dog Mess. It’s an on-going problem so please help us this year too, bins overflow occasionally (with domestic rubbish?) and an excess of Dog Mess. Whenever possible, please take any rubbish you come across home with you. Our gardener Paul comes just once a week and he has the garden to look after as well as doing the clearing up! Also it would be helpful if you could encourage everyone to take away food too, don’t leave it in the garden, it just encourages more foxes, rats and other vermin.

Garden Waste - Please don’t put your garden waste into the Communal garden, or onto the pathways as we have no means of disposing of it. Can we encourage everyone to use our Councils ‘Green Bag Scheme’. The next collection is on Tuesday 28th January. You can apply for your free ‘Green bag’ on 0207 361 3001 or email; streetline@rbkc.gov.uk. They also supply Bio-degradable leaf bags in Autumn/Winter at a small cost of £8.10 for a pack of 25. Again the contact details are as above, or you can pick them up from The Market Office at 72 Tavistock Rd., W11 1AN (just off Portobello) Tel: 0207 727 7684. NB: opening times Monday to Saturday 9AM to 1PM.

COMMUNAL GARDENING DAY

It’s a Garden tradition for Residents to contribute to the removal of autumn leaves each year the morning

after the Bonfire party. Last year was a total wash-out, but hopefully this year (2015) the weather will be kinder.

COMMITTEE

As at the beginning of January 2014 the Committee comprised of those mentioned below:

Michiel Bakker James Tuckey
Juliet Wilkinson Gerard Cunningham Victoria Fordham Nicola Heywood Valerie Montgomery Michael Staveley

Victoria Fordham has resigned and Stephen Fordham is proposed to replace her on the Committee.
also pleased to announce that Gabriella Mitchell has been proposed and seconded to join the Committee as the 9th member. To ensure continuity around the Rosmead railings project, it is proposed the Chairman remains in place for one further year, which is two years beyond the usual 5 year term. All other members are proposed for re-election. It is proposed the following three members will hold the role of officers: Michiel Bakker – Chairman; James Tuckey – Treasurer and Juliet Wilkinson – Secretary. Any alternative nominations should be notified to the Chairman by 5PM on Friday January 16th.

DATE FOR AGM

The date for this AGM was determined during last year’s AGM. We will propose Monday January 18th 2016 as the date for next year’s AGM.

Other important dates for 2015: London Open Garden Squares Day: Summer Party:
Bonfire Party:

Communal Gardening Day:

Saturday June 14th Saturday June 27th Saturday November 7th Sunday November 8th

We hope to see you shortly at this year’s AGM on Monday the 19th of January at 105 Elgin Crescent at 7.30pm.

Yours sincerely,

The Committee.

Annual General Meeting Committee Report January 2014

Dear Residents,

Time flies! The Annual General Meeting of Rosmead Garden will be held on Monday 20th of January at 7.30pm. The meeting will take place at 95 Elgin Crescent. You are cordially invited to attend. We would like to draw your attention to the ‘Rosmead Railings Restoration’ project, which will be an important part of the meeting.

A copy of the Agenda and the minutes of the last AGM are attached.

FINANCE

The Garden levy (or precept) was £26,160 for the financial year to 31st of March 2013 and the accounts for the same period, prepared on a cash basis, show a deficit of £4,443, compared to last year’s surplus of £1838. Income was virtually unchanged but expenditure during the year was about £6,000 higher than in 2012 as we had ‘one-off’ garden expenditures, such as the tree removal, spring closures on the Rosmead and Ladbroke gates etcetera. We ended the year with circa £18,000 in the bank. We try to ensure that the Garden Party and Fireworks evening, taken together, break even and I am glad to report that we met this objective again in 2012. We engaged the services of an accountant again to help the Treasurer with the management of the accounts and a copy of the accounts are available from the Treasurer, James Tuckey, at 95 Elgin Crescent.

For the current year to 31st March 2014 the precept was raised by 6% to £27,730, notwithstanding more representations from RBK&C to hold the precept flat. We anticipate that we will again achieve a surplus, before one-off expenditures and on current estimates we are likely to have cash in the bank at the end of March 2014 of circa £19,000, compared to £18,000 at the same point last year. For many years your Committee have planned to hold, at any one time, a surplus of approximately one year’s precept in order to meet one off expenditures, such as those carried over the last couple of years. Any surpluses arising are added to the Reserves which are essential to enable general maintenance projects to be carried out.

For the year to March 31st 2015, The Committee are proposing to double the precept to £55,000 in order to fund part of the cost of renewing the Rosmead railings. Furthermore, we anticipate holding the precept at this level for a number of years for the same reason. Please see the section on the Rosmead railings project, below, for more detail

INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT – ROSMEAD RAILINGS

Following the discussion at last year’s AGM, the Committee have done a considerable amount of work on the question of how to repair or replace the Rosmead Road railings and garden wall which are in a very poor state. This is an issue which successive Committees have grappled with but without a plan emerging. As we told you last year we resolved to take action! A working group including Nicola Heywood and James Tuckey were asked to take matters forward and this is where we have got to:

•   The railings and the supporting wall are in danger of collapse: in some places being held up by the proximate trees and shrubs.

•   An architect, Susan Walker and engineer, Brendon Malone were engaged to survey the existing structure and draw up preliminary plans. Both have considerable experience with garden railings in London. Details are shown on the display boards which will be available at the meeting. We will seek planning consent for the works shortly.

•   By raising the brick retaining wall 500mm, we are able to re-use the existing spear headed shafts - after refurbishment- and significantly increase the overall height of the structure thereby improving security. The shafts are original dating from the 1850’s and are amongst few examples in London to have survived the WW2 search for iron and steel.

•   We have obtained budget prices from appropriate contractors and the overall budget figure is £130,000 including VAT. This figure includes a contingency of £10,000- a sensible precaution at this stage -and also assumes we will introduce a fob activated locking system on both the Rosmead and Ladbroke gates. The budget includes the cost of removing the existing vegetation around the wall and replanting with mature shrubs, but does not include rebuilding the steps, which we would not propose to do at this stage.

•   A significant component of the buildingcost results from the need to provide additional reinforcement to support Rosmead Road, which is at a higher level than the garden alongside. We have approached RBK&C asking them to meet this additional cost but, to date, without success.

•   We are also looking at other possible sources of external funding but, even if successful, are unlikely to raise more than a modest contribution. Therefore the residents will have to meet the lion’s share of the cost.

•   The Committee have considered a number of different ways of raising the required funds from residents including: raising the precept, resident loans, external borrowing and donations/sponsorship. We are also looking at a charitable trust structure.

•   However, the most secure way to start the funding process and the Committee’s preferred solution is to use the precept as the principal driver of funding, with resident loans providing the cash-flow to complete the project this year.

•   The Committee has received initial indications from a number of Residents who are in principle prepared to contribute to providing such loans.

•   The Committee proposes to continue to explore alternative sources of funding to reduce, where possible, the reliance on the precept.

•   Our proposal as mentioned in the Finance report above is to double the precept for 2014/2015 will allow us to set aside circa £30,000 towards the project.

•   Without other funding sources the precept will need to be maintained at this level for a maximum of five years.

•   The Committee’s preference is to carry out the work in 2014, avoiding the summer if possible, Residents’ loans will have to be secured before a physical start can be made.

  The Committee proposes therefore to increase the precept by 100% for the next financial year and to indicate its intention to keep it at this level for a maximum of 5(five) years. The AGM will be asked to vote on this point.

  GARDEN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

  Email, mail drops and noticeboard notification will continue as per usual, but we would like to remind you there is a basic website where residents are able to find general information about our Garden, including the rules and notifications. The domain name is: www.rosmeadgarden.info . Your feedback and contributions to the site would be welcome.

SOCIAL EVENTS 2013
Last summer’s “Wild West Party”, with music legend Bobby Mason on guitar and vocals will go down in history as one of our best, if not the best, though with the dynamic Montgomery duo at the helm we are now making a habit of saying that. Valerie has again graciously offered to be our glamorous organiser in chief. This year’s (2014) party will be themed “Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves” and will be held on Saturday the 28th of June. We are looking forward to the costumes!

The Bonfire Night Firework Display was for a final time created, lit and donated by Stefan Pinter. The Garden will be forever grateful for Stefan’s 21 years of consecutive, uninterrupted and sequential years of Fireworks! This special occasion was marked with a ‘celebratory’ fireworks bench which proudly sits, gold- leaf ‘n all, at the Rosmead end of the Garden. Thanks to Mary-Lu Bakker for acquiring and to Nicola Heywood for gloriously restoring said bench. This means there is now a vacancy and in an ideal world we would like to keep the Fireworks ‘in-house’. If anyone amongst you is interested in stepping in the Maestro’sshoes, please do let us know.

PLANTING, TREES AND GENERAL GARDEN USAGE

This year we ran the garden very carefully on a tight/reduced budget, as our Treasurer pointed out at the start of the year that we were in danger of dipping into our reserves, (which was unadvisable). Our overall agreed spend was reduced (to £16,400). Our gardener’s basic salary remained constant (at £12,500) without the extra days we normally allow for in both Spring and Autumn for pruning and clearing up, and for working on the perimeters of the garden ( both inside and out) at Ladbroke Grove and Rosmead Road. We then budgeted for a reduced sum onto of this for all our maintenance costs (£4,000). We managed to simply maintain the garden and to continue all the work on the lawns. However, we planted nothing this year, and did very little repair work to the Gravel boards, which edge the lawns and some of the beds. In contrast to other years we also put down a very small amount of new gravel. However, within this tight budget we allowed as usual for essential Tree Works (at £2,000), which we carried out.

We were delighted because keeping within this reduced/tight budget allowed us to commission Hal Appleyard, Arboricultural Consultant, from ‘A.C.S. Consulting’ to conduct a Tree Inspection of all the trees in the communal garden, including the significant trees in each of the “no man’s” lands. This gives us a complete picture of all the trees in the garden, their health, and ‘stage in life’. Overall we are pleased to report that it is a very good picture, “the tree stock is generally in good order, having been managed well in the past”. Going forward we will update the report every 3 years, at a much reduced cost. It now gives us a clear schedule of work.

Rosmead Garden Questionnaire

Thank you for your time filling in the Garden Questionnaire. We have received 23 responses and the results are attached. We are pleased to note that 70% of respondents are broadly satisfied with the balance between planted areas and open spaces. Your answers will now form the basis of a mid- to long term management plan for the Garden which the Committee will share with you in due course.

London Garden Open Squares Day - This Summer it was an even bigger success. The numbers rose from just over 400 in 2012 to over 600 in 2013. Thanks to Mary-Lu Bakker and Poppy Fordham for holding the fort on the day with the volunteers, and to Anita Dent for the fabulous charity ‘pop-up’ cafe.

Please note: The date for this year is Sunday 15th June - from 12 - 5 pm. (Rosmead Road gate)

Rubbish - Thanks to our many fellow residents who helped tidy up the garden this year, taking away rubbish, broken glass and Dog Mess. Please help us this year too, bins overflow occasionally (with domestic rubbish?) and an excess of Dog Mess. Whenever possible, please take any rubbish you come across home with you. Our gardener Paul comes just once a week and he has the garden to look after as well as doing the clearing up! Also it would be helpful if you could encourage everyone to take away food to, don’t leave it in the garden, it just encourages foxes, rats and other vermin.

Garden Waste - Please don’t put your garden waste into the Communal garden, or onto the pathways as we have no means of disposing of it. Can we encourage everyone to use our Councils ‘Green Bag Scheme’. The next collection is on Tuesday 28th January. You can apply for your free ‘Green bag’ on 0207 361 3001 or email; streetline@rbkc.gov.uk. They also supply Bio-degradable leaf bags in Autumn/Winter at a small cost of £8.10 for a pack of 25. Again the contact details are as above, or you can pick them up from The Market Office at 72 Tavistock Rd., W11 1AN (just off Portobello) Tel: 0207 727 7684. NB: opening times Monday to Saturday 9AM to 1PM.

COMMUNAL GARDENING DAY

It’s a Garden tradition for Residents to contribute to the removal of autumn leaves each year, the morning after the Bonfire party at 10AM. Many thanks to so many of you who joined the raking on the day last year, we could do with more of you this year. Removing the autumn leaves is a tough task for Paul our gardener to complete on his own.

COMMITTEE

As at the beginning of January 2013 the Committee comprised of those mentioned below:

Michiel Bakker James Tuckey Virginie de Selliers Victoria Fordham Julia Heath

Nicola Heywood Valerie Montgomery Michael Staveley Natali Bottoli

Both Natali Bottoli and Virginie de Selliers were unable to devote sufficient time to Committee matters and Juliet Wilkinson and Gerard Cunningham have kindly accepted to join the Committee. All members are proposed for re-election. It is proposed the following three members will hold the role of officers: Michiel Bakker – Chairman; James Tuckey – Treasurer and Juliet Wilkinson – Secretary.

DATE FOR AGM

The date for this AGM was determined during last year’s AGM. We will propose Monday January 19th 2015 as the date for next year’s AGM.

Other important dates for 2014: London Open Garden Squares Day: Summer Party:
Bonfire Party:

Communal Gardening Day:

Sunday June 15th Saturday June 28th Saturday November 1st Sunday November 2nd

We hope to see you shortly at this year’s AGM on Monday the 20th of January at 95 Elgin Crescent at 7.30pm.

Yours sincerely, The Committee.

Annual General Meeting Committee Report January 2013

Dear Residents,

The Annual General Meeting of the Rosmead Communal Garden will be held on Monday 21st of January at 7.30pm. The meeting will take place at 95 Elgin Crescent. A glass of wine will be available and all residents are cordially invited to attend.

A copy of the Agenda and the minutes of the last AGM are attached.

FINANCE

The Garden levy (or precept) was £26,160 for the financial year to 31st of March 2012 and the accounts for the same period, prepared on a cash basis, show a surplus of £1838, compared to last year’s deficit of £8294. Income was unchanged but expenditure during the year was about £10,000 lower than in 2010 as we had less ‘one-off’ expenditure so we ended the year with circa £22,000 in the bank. We try to ensure that the Garden Party and Fireworks evening break even and I am glad to report that we met this objective again in 2011. We engaged the services of an accountant again to help the Treasurer with the management of the accounts and a copy of the accounts are available from the Treasurer, James Tuckey, at 95 Elgin Crescent.

For the current year to 31st March 2013 the precept was held at £26,100, following more representations from RBK&C. However, we will again achieve a surplus, before one-off expenditures, which in 2012 have included: removal of the Japanese Elm, replacement notice boards, repainting the Ladbroke railings and spring closures on both Ladbroke and Rosmead gates, about £7,000 in all. On current estimates we are likely to have cash in the bank at the end of March 2013 of circa £20,000, up from £15,000 at the same date last year. For many years your Committee have planned to hold, at any one time, a surplus of approximately one year’s precept in order to meet one off expenditures, such as those carried over the last couple of years. Any surpluses arising are added to the Reserves which are essential to enable general maintenance projects to be carried out.

For the year to March 31st 2014, we have again received a request from RBK&C to maintain the garden levy at its present level. The basis for this request is that the Borough has been incentivised by the national government to keep council tax flat year-on-year. Though our garden precept is not part of the official council tax system, it is however collected by the council and as such it counts towards the overall number. However having followed the Council’s bidding for 3 years, your Committee is proposing an increase of 6% in the precept for 2013, an increase of £1570, which will not quite cover inflation over the last 3 years.

INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS

As per last year’s AGM report, the main infrastructure projects were as follows.

• -  Painting and maintenance of Ladbroke grove railings

• -  Improved privacy at Ladbroke Grove

• -  New notice boards

All of the above projects have been completed although the privacy at Ladbroke grove will improve over time with the growth of the trees and bushes which have been planted. Other works undertaken were the installation of automatic gate closing mechanisms on the Ladbroke and Rosmead gates. We have also carried out some work on the concrete ramp under the large Ladbroke gates for ease of access.

We will be taking a closer look at security this year particularly near to the Rosmead gate and beside the large gate on Ladbroke grove. There have been a number of occasions when bikes have been stolen from back gardens during the year and at least one burglary where access has been gained via the gardens

The Rosmead railings project, as discussed at last year’s AGM has again been delayed after the Committee re-assured itself that the railings still pose no immediate danger to residents of the Garden. The need for restoration of these railings and their supporting wall remains present and the Committee will continue to ponder a plan of action.

GARDEN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

Email, mail drops and noticeboard notification (on our brand new boards) will continue as per usual, but we would like to remind you there is a basic website where residents are able to find general information about our Garden, including the rules and notifications. The domain name is: www.rosmeadgarden.info Your feedback and contributions to the site would be most welcome.

SOCIAL EVENTS
Our 2012 Olympics/Gods and Goddesses - themed Summer Party was a great success. As always the irrepressible Montgomeries took the organising lead supported by Amanda Waggot and all members of the Committee. The garden and the grass looked lovely and the food was great this year and because of that we could have perhaps done with more of it. The theme for the 2013 Summer Party will be: “Wild West” with barbecue and rodeo-style play and dinner entertainment of country music first, then moving towards dance music later. Date 29th June. Yee hah!

The Bonfire Night Firework Display was once again created and lit by Stefan and Aidan Pinter. We are very lucky to have both of them so enthusiastically delivering these spectacular displays. The tension in the air beforehand was palpable and lots of oooh’s and aaah’s and wow’s followed. The Committee wishes to thank Stefan and Aidan for their continued generosity!

PLANTING, TREES AND GENERAL GARDEN USAGE

Last year we concluded the second phase of our ‘Tree Enhancement project’ with tree experts Bartlett's. Our focus was t(h)reefold: to prolong the life of our many elderly trees, to create space and light on the Lansdowne Road side of the garden and to consider Health and Safety. Last spring after due consideration and consultation we took the decision to remove the old Ash tree from one of the central lawns. Sadly, shortly afterwards, in May during a weekend of extremely strong winds the Japanese Elm on the Rosmead Lawn lost a major limb. After many weeks of consultation with expert advisors and residents, the Committee decided to remove the remaining tree. It had reached maturity, having been planted in the mid 70's after a request from The Council. This was during the period of Dutch Elm Disease. This spring we will once again check our trees against disease. Unfortunately, we must now add the Ash trees to our list.

On a happier note this year both our Horse Chestnuts and our Plane tree were checked by Bartlett's and given the 'thumbs up'. Given how diseased many central London trees are, ours are really looking quite healthy.

In terms of planting, looking back now it is hard to imagine that as we began the year we faced drought warnings, and indeed a hose pipe ban came into force last spring. So, to allow watering we invested a modest sum of money into permitted 'leaky hose pipes’, as did our neighbouring gardens. Once again we focused on general garden maintenance, including gravel boarding the lawn edges and new gravel on the

paths. We also concentrated again on the lawns, aerating them, applying sand and 'amenity' grass seed. Luckily as the year moved on we did not have to water this in! As the railings on the Ladbroke Grove end of the garden were being painted and restored we took the opportunity to plant a Laurel Hedge alongside the railings. This will increase our privacy as discussed at previous AGMs and help protect us against noise and pollution. Prior to the painting a great deal of work took place to clear the ground immediately adjacent to the railings. This year we planted new shrubs throughout the garden, and we focused on one of the central beds replanting the perimeter of it.

The sun shone and we had a very successful 'Open Gardens Square’ day In June. We welcomed over 400 visitors to the garden, many of whom return each year. Both the Garden and the 'Pop-Up' charity Cafe organised by Anita Dent were a great hit. This year's date is Sunday June 9th.

Once again we won third prize in The Brighter Kensington & Chelsea Garden Scheme competition, in the Garden Squares North category. A great result. The Committee would like to thank Paul, our gardener, for all his hard work and his tremendous dedication throughout 2012. We also thank our fellow residents for all their help, support and ideas.

Garden Housekeeping: may we remind all residents that we can only deal with our communal garden- waste, we cannot cope with individual garden-waste. Unfortunately someone dumped 30 large Tomato plants and an enormous bag of garden waste which was too heavy to move at the bottom of the ramp just a few days before the Summer Party. This was quite a hindrance to all those who had to deliver equipment for the party. Please use the free 'green bag’ service provided by our Council. Residents can apply for your free Green Bag on 0207 361 3001 or email: streetline@rbkc.gov.uk. They will also supply Bio-degradable leaf bags in Autumn/Winter at a small cost of £8.10 for a pack of 25. Again the contact details are as above or you can pick them up from The Market Office at 72 Tavistock Rd., W11 1AN (just off Portobello) Tel: 0207 727 7684.

We had a few reports of broken glass this summer in the Garden. Plastic glasses would be better or extra vigilance please. If you see any glass, please help us remove it.

Dog waste – Please only use the dog bins for dog waste. If the dog-waste bins are full, please take your dog waste home.

Rubbish bins - again these are really meant for light use primarily by the children. This summer we found all sorts in the bins and they were overflowing frequently. Please can we encourage everyone to take there rubbish home with them. This problem is most prevalent with the bin at the corner of Ladbroke and Lansdowne. The problem is that foxes then pull the rubbish out and root through it.

Finally, your help please: for some months now someone has been putting trays of cooked meat around the Ladbroke pedestrian gate steps. The problem is not only the rubbish and its attraction to the foxes, but we are encouraging rats. If anyone can help us stop it that would be great.

COMMUNAL GARDENING DAY

Many thanks to so many of you who joined the raking on the day after our Bonfire Party. Removing the autumn leaves is a tough task for Paul our gardener to complete on his own and this year the old saying of ‘many hands make light work’ was put into practice in a big way. Please do come out at again this year at 10am on the day after the Bonfire party.

COMMITTEE

As at the beginning of January 2012 the Committee comprised of those mentioned below with their respective roles and responsibilities:

Michiel Bakker James Tuckey Victoria Fordham Virginie De Selliers Julia Heath

Nicola Heywood Valerie Montgomery Michael Staveley David Fraser

Chairman Treasurer Secretary
Dogs
Keys
Trees and Planting Events Infrastructure ‘Floating’

David Fraser has left the Committee. On behalf of all the residents, the Committee wish to thank him for his brief but productive stint on the Committee. During the cause of the year Natali Bottoli (‘floating member’) has agreed to join the Committee to take David’s place. All members are proposed for re-election.

DATE FOR AGM

The date for this AGM was determined during last year’s AGM. We will propose Monday January 21st 2014 as the date for next year’s AGM.

Other important dates for 2013:
London Open Garden Squares Day: Sunday June 9th Summer Party 2011: Saturday June 29th Bonfire Party: Saturday November 2ndCommunal Gardening Day: Sunday November 3rd

We hope to see you shortly at this year’s AGM on Monday the 21st of January at 95 Elgin Crescent at 7.30pm.

Yours sincerely,

The Committee.

Rosmead Garden Committee Report January 2012

Dear Residents,

The Annual General Meeting of the Rosmead Communal Garden will be held on Monday, 23rd of January at 7.30pm. The meeting will take place at 71 Elgin Crescent. A glass of wine will be available and all residents are cordially invited to attend.

A copy of the Agenda and the minutes of the last AGM are attached.

FINANCE

The Garden levy (or precept) was £ 26,160 for the financial year to 31st of March 2011 and the accounts, prepared on a cash basis, show a defecit of £ 8294. As I reported at last year’s AGM we committed to a number of one-off expenditures during the year under review including works to the Rosmead steps, the fence alongside the main access gates on Ladbroke Grove and major tree works, in all about £19,000. We ended the year with circa £20,000 in the bank but with some payments outstanding which reduce net cash to circa £13,000. We try to ensure that the Garden Party and Fireworks evening break even and I am glad to report that we met this objective in 2010. We have again engaged the services of an accountant to help the Treasurer with the management of the accounts and a copy of the accounts are available from the Treasurer, James Tuckey , at 95 Elgin Crescent.

For the current year to 31st March 2012 the precept was held at £ 26,100, following representations from RBK&C. We will again achieve a surplus, before one-off expenditures. On current estimates we are likely to have net cash in the bank at the end of March 2012 of circa £15,000. For many years your Committee have planned to hold, at any one time, a surplus of approximately one year’s precept in order to meet one off expenditures, such as those carried out last year. Any surpluses arising are added to the Reserves which are essential to enable general maintenance projects to be carried out.

For the year to March 31st 2013, we have again received a request from RBK&C to maintain the garden levy at its present level. The basis for this request is that the Borough has been incentivised by the national government to keep council tax flat year-on-year. Though our garden precept is not part of the official council tax system, it is however collected by the council. As such it counts towards the overall number.

It is therefore our recommendation to leave the garden precept at its current level for 2012/2013.

INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS

As per last year’s AGM report, the main infrastructure project for the year to March 31st 2011 was the erection of a new security fence by the Ladbroke Grove gates. This project has been completed and we have planted in front of it to improve the aesthetics and privacy.

For 2012, given the limitations on our finances, we will undertake a limited number of infrastructure projects:

• -  Painting and maintenance of Ladbroke grove railings

• -  Improved privacy at Ladbroke Grove

• -  New notice board opposite Ladbroke gate

  The Rosmead railings project, as discussed at last year’s AGM has again been delayed after the Committee re-assured itself that the railings still pose no immediate danger to residents of the

Garden. The need for restoration of these railings and their supporting wall remains present and the Committee will continue to develop a plan of action.

GARDEN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

Email, maildrops and noticeboard notification will continue as per usual, but the Committee has asked Mary-Lu Bakker and Amanda Waggot, who run the world famous local website ‘pavlovadiaries.co.uk’ to construct a basic website where residents will be able to find general information about our Garden, including the rules and notifications. Sensitive information will be password protected. The domain name is: www.rosmeadgarden.info and it should go live in Beta shortly. We would hope this will help the flow of communication and make it easier for residents to register their email addresses. Your feedback would be much appreciated and please spread the word.

SOCIAL EVENTS

Our 2011 Circus-themed summer party was a great success. The tireless work and generosity of Amanda Waggott and Valerie and Jeff Montgomery made for a beautiful circus parade and a colourful event, supported by a great band and our resident DJ Hugo Heath. On the whole the new location and shape of the tent, as well as the fan-shaped layout of the tables were well received and we aim to repeat that formula for this year’s event. The theme for the 2012 Rosmead Garden Summer Party will be: SUMMER OLYMPICS (Greek Gods and Goddesses!). The Fireworks in keeping with tradition were expertly and spectacularly ‘administered’ by Stefan and Aidan Pinter, who continue to steadfastly refuse to cash their cheques (causing the Treasurer both pleasure and pain) and we thank them for their continued generosity. The Committee is committed to the aim of ensuring the Garden events are open to all residents and are genuinely accessible to everyone. Notices are always posted on the notice boards in the Garden.

PLANTING AND TREES

Following on from last year’s major project of Tree Enhancement our chosen partners Bartlett’s planted four new trees in the garden in the second phase of the project.
If you remember our focus was threefold, on prolonging the life of many of our older trees, on creating space and light on the Lansdowne Road side of the garden, and on Health and Safety.

We also planted Silver Birches in front of Lidyard House, along with Hydrangea Quercifolia in a couple of nearby beds and a variety of other shrubs. We created a copse of English Laurel and Bay at the corner of Ladbroke and Lansdowne in order to build up our privacy in that area, this is on- going and this year we will add Pittosporums. Increasing our privacy at this end of the garden, along with reducing the noise and air pollution through our planting schemes, is a project we will be working on throughout this year. In order to cover the new security fencing in the opposite corner of the garden, the Ladbroke and Elgin corner, we planted a hedge of Laurels and cotoneaster.

It is the Committee’s aim, where practicable and taking into account the opinions of residents, to stay true to the original Victorian layout and planting of our Garden

Throughout last year we had a really big focus on general maintenance in the garden. We continued to repair our gravel boarding and lay new gravel. We also doubled our efforts on the lawns last year. We sow an amenity grass seed, which is used on football pitches so it’s perfect for our garden. It was a big job, the preparation is extensive and we were delighted with the result. We are planning to do the same again this year. However if we continue to have hot dry summers we may have to review this as it does require a period of watering in.

We had a very successful Open Garden Squares Day in June despite relentless rain, and we would like to thank Victoria for all her hard work organising the day.

In the Brighter Kensington & Chelsea Garden Scheme competition we were awarded third place in the garden squares category, so that was a great result. We also had two fellow residents who won joint second prize for the best front gardens, so once again congratulations to them and many thanks to all those who entered the competition.

Once again the committee would like to thank Paul our gardener for all his hard work and tremendous dedication, we greatly appreciate it. May we also thank our fellow residents for all their help, input, ideas and support.

COMMUNAL GARDENING DAY

Many thanks to so many of you who joined the raking on the day after our Bonfire party. Removing the autumn leaves is a tough task for Paul our gardener to complete on his own and this year the old saying of ‘many hands make light work’ was put into practice in a big way. Please do come out at again this year at 10am on the day after the Bonfire party.

COMMITTEE

As at the beginning of January 2011 the Committee comprised of those mentioned below with their respective roles and responsibilities:

Michiel Bakker James Tuckey Victoria Fordham Verena Chalk
Julia Heath
Nicola Heywood Valerie Montgomery Michael Staveley Christopher Williams

Chairman Treasurer Secretary
Dogs
Keys
Trees and Planting Events Infrastructure Infrastructure

Christopher Williams and Verena Chalk have left the Committee. The Committee wish to thank them on behalf of all the residents for their selfless contributions in the areas of Treasury, Infrastructure and ‘Dogs’. During the cause of the year David Fraser (‘floating member’)and Virginie de Selliers (‘Dogs’) have agreed to join the Committee to take their places. All members are proposed for re-election

GARDEN NAME

The new ‘Rosmead Garden’ name is bedding in and will gain further momentum when the website goes live.

DATE FOR AGM

The date for this AGM was determined during last year’s AGM. We will propose Monday January 21st 2013 as the date for next year’s AGM.

Other important dates for 2011: London Open Garden Squares Day: Summer Party 2011:
Bonfire Party:

Sunday June 10th Saturday June 30th Saturday November 3rd

We hope to see you shortly at this year’s AGM on Monday the 23rd of January at 71 Elgin Crescent at 7.30pm.

Yours sincerely,

The Committee.

Lansdowne Road – Elgin Crescent Garden Committee Report January 2011

Dear Residents,

The Annual General Meeting of the Lansdowne Road – Elgin Crescent Communal Garden will be held on Monday, 17th of January at 7.30pm. The meeting will take place at 95 Elgin Crescent. A glass of wine will be available and all residents are cordially invited to attend.

A copy of the Agenda and the minutes of the last AGM are attached.

FINANCE

The Garden levy (or precept) was £ 24,000 for the financial year to 31st of March 2010 and the accounts show a surplus of £ 2,100. We have again engaged the services of an accountant to help the Treasurer with the management of the accounts and a copy of the accounts are available from the Treasurer, James Tuckey , at 95 Elgin Crescent. We try to ensure that both the Garden Party and Fireworks evening break even, at worst, and I am glad to report that we met this objective in 2009 For the current year to 31st March 2011 the precept is £ 26,100 and we will again achieve a surplus, before one-off expenditures, which in the year to 31st March 2011 include works to the Rosmead steps, the fence alongside the main access gates at Ladbroke Road and the major tree works. Further details of these works are provided below. As a result of these expenditures, likely to total circa £22,000, the current year will show a deficit. However we anticipate ending the year with about £10,000 in the bank. For many years your Committee have planned to hold, at any one time, a surplus of approximately one year’s precept in order to meet one off expenditures, such as those carried out in 2010. Any surpluses arising are added to the Reserves which are essential to enable general maintenance projects to be carried out.

For the year to March 31st 2012, we have received a request from RBK&C to not increase the garden levy. The basis for this request is that the Borough has been incentivised by the national government to keep council tax flat year-on-year. Though our garden precept is not part of the official council tax system, it is however collected by the council. As such it counts towards the overall number.

It is therefore our recommendation to leave the garden precept at its current level for 2011/2012.

INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS

As previously reported in April of 2009 the main access gates at the Ladbroke Grove end of the garden have been substantially repaired. In the year to March 31st 2010 no further infrastructure projects were undertaken. Projects that have been completed last year are the steps to Rosmead Road, major tree works and the beautiful restoration of the garden benches under the auspices of

Helena Stranack. This year (2011) we aim to replace the security fence along the ramp leading from the main Ladbroke Grove double gates.

The Rosmead railings project, as discussed at last year’s AGM has been delayed after the Committee re-assured itself that the railings pose no immediate danger to residents of the Garden. The need for restoration of these railings and their supporting wall remains present and the Committee has received a proposal from Christopher Braddock architect to undertake an initial feasibility study at a cost of £ 1650. This would include: sketch proposals; photographs and assessment of surrounding precedents; meeting with LBKC planners; assessment of requirement for other consultants including structural engineer and tree expert; assessment of methodology for construction process, including access and security arrangements; preparation of programme; initial cost plan based on budget prices from three contractors; advise of all associated costs relating to local authority and other consultants; preparation of report for Garden Committee and potential funding bodies.

Once this initial study is completed, the Committee proposes to call an exceptional AGM to discuss the timing and funding of this project.

GARDEN RULES

At last year’s AGM the Committee proposed to have the latest version of the garden rules to be submitted to the court for ratification, as this process had not been done for several decades. Following the AGM’s decision to proceed, approval of our rules has been obtained from Kingston upon Thames Crown Court in March 2010. Copies of the rules are available from the Chairman at 115, Elgin Crescent.

SOCIAL EVENTS

Our 2010 80’s themed summer party was once again a success. That event together with our Bonfire party generated a profit for the garden, helped yet again in part by the generosity of the organisers, the Montgomery family and Stefan Pinter respectively.
The Committee is committed to the aim of ensuring the Garden events are open to all residents and are genuinely accessible to everyone. Notices are always posted on the notice boards in the Garden, but any ideas you have to widen the participation in our events to include more residents are welcome.

PLANTING AND TREES

As previously reported the year to March 31st 2010 has been a relatively quiet year in terms of planting and trees, with mainly general maintenance work being undertaken as well as some enhancements in overall planting of shrubs. It also saw the change of guard from Mary-Lu Bakker to Nicola Heywood at the January 2010 AGM.

Our major project this calendar year 2010 in the garden has been Tree Enhancement.
After considerable research into companies and costs we decided to appoint Bartlett Tree Experts to advise us and carry out all the necessary work. They came with the highest recommendations and are considered to be amongst the very best in their field. Bartletts have an excellent relationship with the RBK&C Council, based on many years of professional collaboration.

Health and Safety was one of our major concerns. We had a very large amount of dead wood to remove. Some of you may have noticed that we had quite a lot of branch drop earlier on in the summer.

We also wanted to prolong the life span of some of our very old trees by reducing the crowns, and reducing some of their branches and thinning them out. This involved a much closer look at some of our trees, culminating in a special survey / Health & Safety Report on one of our old Horse Chestnuts.

One of our main aims was to create light and space on the Lansdowne Road side of the garden, which over the years had become overgrown thus depriving residents of light. We achieved this by selective crown reductions, raising canopies, thinning out, and the removal of some branches, a few of which were also an H & S issue.

The majority of the work was carried out during a two week period in December 2010. We will be planting four new trees early this year (2011), these will be in keeping, and our main concern will be (long term) succession planting. Residents are invited to submit their views on succession-planting to Nicola Heywood at nicolaheywood@googlemail.com.

This year we also planted Silver Birch, Laurels, Thornless Brambles, Dog Woods and Philadelphus amongst others and removed some smaller trees/shrubs due to issues such as overcrowding and/or context. It is the Committee’s aim, where practicable and taking into account the opinions of residents, to stay true to the original Victorian layout and planting of our Garden.

Many thanks to all of you who helped on the project. The Committee wishes to thank Paul our gardener and also Bartlett Tree Experts for all their help, advice, and hard work.

Everyone involved thought that the Garden is very special indeed, with its variety of beautiful trees and shrubs it’s perfect for wild life too. To encourage this further we have used some of the wood from our trees to create a new eco / insect friendly area. Mary - Lu, our resident Bird Expert has reported that she has seen twenty five different species of birds in the garden this year.

The judges for the K & C Brighter Gardens scheme praised the garden highly but unfortunately this year we didn’t quite get a prize, fingers crossed for next year.

COMMUNAL GARDENING DAY

Many thanks to so many of you who raked massive amounts of leaves on the day after our Bonfire party. Removing the autumn leaves is a tough task for Paul our gardener to complete on his own and this year the old saying of ‘many hands make light work’ was put into practice in a big way. Please do come out at again this year at 10am on the day after the Bonfire party. Bloody Mary and warm coco incentives might well be provided again.

COMMUNICATION WITH RESIDENTS

We will distribute flyers for the main events and post notices in the relevant places as per usual, but if you wish to be included in our email mailing list, please forward your address to the Secretary.

COMMITTEE

As at the beginning of January 2010 the Committee comprised of those mentioned below with their respective roles and responsibilities:

Michiel Bakker James Tuckey Michele Wolfson Verena Chalk
Julia Heath
Nicola Heywood Valerie Montgomery Michael Staveley Christopher Williams

Michele Wolfson will be leaving
the residents for her tremendous contribution not only as Secretary over the past five years, but also as general go-to person for all matters administrative as well as being a super-chef at various children’s BBQs . The other eight existing members are proposed for re-election. In addition we propose that Victoria Fordham of 71 Elgin Crescent (victoriafordham@hotmail.com) should be elected as Secretary.

GARDEN RENAME

At last year’s AGM the Committee reported it had been approached with the suggestion of proposing a rename from the rather descriptive and cumbersome “Lansdowne-Elgin Communal Garden” to “Rosmead Garden”, Rosmead Road being the very link between Lansdowne Road and Elgin Crescent. As the minutes of last year’s meeting will attest, a vote was carried out at the AGM and a narrow majority was achieved. However, since the issue appeared to split the room in half, it was decided to postpone a final decision to a future AGM.

The Committee proposes a final vote on this issue at the upcoming AGM.

DATE FOR AGM

The date for this AGM was determined during last year’s AGM. We will propose Monday January 16th 2012 as the date for next year’s AGM.

Other important dates for 2011: London Open Garden Squares Day: Summer Party 2011:
Bonfire Party:

Sunday June 12th 10AM - 5PM Saturday July 2nd
Saturday November 5th

Chairman Treasurer Secretary
Dogs
Keys
Trees and Planting Events Infrastructure Infrastructure

the Committee. The Committee wish to thank her on behalf of all

We hope to see you shortly at this year’s AGM on Monday the 17th of January at 95 Elgin Crescent at 7.30pm.

Yours sincerely,

The Committee.