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Minutes of Steering Group Meeting
Present: David Miles (Chair), Adam & Carol Bull, Adrian Coltman, Steve Jones-Blackett, Teresa Williams, David Lumb, Simon Conyers, Mike Walkden.
Martin Calvert, Hazel Gregory. 2. Minutes of the Meeting Held 12th March 2026 Agreed as a true record.
5. Bath House Open Heritage Day The Bath House will be open on Sunday afternoon 13th September as part of the Open Heritage weekend. Volunteers will be needed to help run the event. 6. Project to Refurbish Footpaths Three footpaths have been selected for refurbishment: the lakeside path opposite the Bath House, the upper path from the lake lodge to the garages, and the path parallel to Allerton Grange Way, including access to Brackenwoods. The Group has got the £10k funding required to contribute to FCC, a landfill operator. An application is being put together but will not be available in time for May as FCC need to go through a tendering process, so it will be sent in August. An application has been made to the National Lottery Heritage Fund and they have asked for more information. The local community will be consulted at the Green Fair for views on the path work. Teresa voiced her concerns about the top path and was keen for it not to be forgotten and the work would be completed as it is the last one to do. We are currently getting quotes to build a footbridge linking the field on Allerton Grange to the woods. David is also meeting with the Brackenwoods Community Centre to work together on the area. There was a meeting today with RSC who have done the work on the proposed wetland area. It has been difficult to get a definitive price for the bentonite clay required for the area to stop a leak. The Group are also looking at retained funds for completion of phase 2 of the project in the beck. Groundworks may also have some retained funds. Planting can't be completed until the clay is put in. A Global Champion of BUPA has spoken to the Group about putting in an application for funding. They also have staff who may be interested in volunteering. It is National Volunteering Day on 1st October 2026 and we have been asked if we want to take part. David will let them know we are interested as there may be opportunities for meadow clearing and to cut back the holly to restore some of the bluebell areas. The priority is to get information on a new site for the Green Fair. Adam has supplied the current website in a zipped file to Mike Walkden, hoping to move the website and email responsibilities over to Mike and Simon. We get around 2-3,000 page views a month. Mike is looking at how best to revamp the site. He is going down the AI route and has registered for charitable discounts and products e.g. cheaper hosting. He is also looking at a Microsoft Sharepoint type option so data can be shared. Mike needs a copy of the FGVW Mission Statement. The latest logo to use for the Green Fair is on the leaflet. We have a registered domain name for the Green Fair for use next year. The minutes from the Trustees Meeting held on 23rd March 2026 were circulated. Investigations are underway to see what would happen if the charity was to fold. David has been in contact with Wades Charity to get their view. They would consider taking ownership of the field on some form of lease with Leeds City Council who would manage it but they would expect a dowry for ongoing maintenance. Concerns were raised that this would open up the field for development as it had already been subjected to planning permission applications in the past. Meeting was held with REAP to get ideas as to how we can attract younger trustees into the charity. Rubbish is building up near the beck and Diocese field and has been reported. The Group is supportive of traffic calming measures on Gledhow Valley Road. Simon, Hazel and Adrian to look into a Community Speeding Watch initiative as there is currently no enforcement and the speed bumps have very little impact. The petition has been signed by 2,900 people. There was a massive spike after pictures of the mis-connections were shared. David has circulated the information provided by Yorkshire Water that they committed to sending us on the 3 mis-connections. They are sending quarterly updates. David has also posted the silt analysis on Facebook. He is trying to obtain information on what the normal levels should be but the Environmental Agency do not do research on urban run-off so he has contacted the University for help. A meeting is due to take place with Highways who clean the gullies, the Council and Environmental agency. Councillor Fabian Hamilton is due to meet Yorkshire Water in the next 2 weeks regarding our reports. David attended a talk by those running the Ilkley Water Campaign against sewage and rivers, etc. They have been very successful and a new system is being put in place. They have also formed a Sewage Campaign Network. The Group had no objections to be affiliated with the Network as a lot of local groups have already joined. The FGVW AGM will be held on 15th June, Venue TBC. The format will follow the same as previous years but there is a discussion to change this for future years. Steve to contact Karen for the financial statements and reports as they are due by 22nd April.
14. Dates of Next Meetings (Provisional)
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