East Surrey Walkers’ AGM 2021
REPORTS
CHAIR'S REPORT
Overview
The last year has been overshadowed by the Covid pandemic which has had an effect on the walks ESW could offer and the social events which could take place. For the first time last year the AGM was held on Zoom as the country was in a period of Lockdown with limited social mixing. As we headed towards Christmas complicated rules emerged with tiers attached to each area and restrictions on entry and exit from Tier 3 then Tier 4. Christmas was much anticipated but at the last moment the government guidance changed and people could not meet as had been planned. Lockdown continued for the first 3 months of 2021. As Spring arrived a staged opening up of life and the economy took place. The Ramblers announced at short notice that organised walks could resume at the end of March with prior booking, limits on numbers and social distancing rules.
From 19th July the Covid restrictions on social activities ended in England. This allowed many Summer activities to proceed. The 3 month walks programme which was issued in June for July August and September still requested booking in advance for walks and a limit on numbers walking together. As the lifting of government restrictions meant that some of these provisions were unnecessary, walks were added through the Noticeboard at short notice.
Calendar 2023 to celebrate 40 years of ESW
John Nathan and Barbara Witherington have been working on producing a calendar to celebrate this anniversary. This was prematurely announced at the last AGM as the project needed to be modified before a feasible plan was established. Happily a viable plan was agreed and excellent photos have been selected to showcase the beauty of Nature in South East England.
Walks over the year.
The uncertainty about the Covid situation has led to leaders and walkers reducing their activities. Some walkers will have found friends to walk regularly with to reduce their wider social contact. Our walks Coordinator Helen McDonnell will give more feedback on this matter. The Ramblers expect that all volunteers join Assemble on the Ramblers website and that a Risk Assessment is carried out on all walks for insurance purposes and kept by the leader for a period of time. This has recently been extended to 3 years. With a pro forma to complete this is not an onerous process. A walk leader’s e-training is available on the Ramblers website for those who are registered as walk leaders on Assemble.
Social events
Christine Scott and her team of helpers succeeded in arranging two social events for ESW members in this difficult year of social isolation: a Cream Tea in June with a limit on numbers and a Summer Buffet in August. These were a welcome opportunity to meet people in person in beautiful surroundings.
Footpath maintenance
During Lockdown much of the maintenance work by Ken’s Krew had to be suspended. Surrey County Council gave their go ahead to works recommencing from 1st August. Ken’s Krew have been active in scoping the work and sorting out problems. Barbara Bulman has used her negotiating skills to get local landowners on board with the works.
Local Footpath secretaries with the assistance of Tony Pearson, Footpath secretary, have been involved in identifying lost rights of way in their areas as part of the ‘Don’t Lose Your Way’ initiative. Inevitably there will only be few that might be reclaimed as housing developments have been plentiful in the South East.
Publicity
On 2nd October an activities fair was held in Warlingham. Steve Hanks coordinated a stall to showcase ESW activities. Attracting new members into ESW is an important activity.
The appointment of Stacey Morris to ESW Facebook person has added to the visibility of ESW on social media. Stacey has just announced that she needs to step back. We are looking for volunteers to take on this role.
Committee membership
At the AGM there are three positions which will become vacant.
We have had a volunteer for Treasurer and for Chair.
The Social Secretary role is going to change. Each of the five social events in the year will be managed by a named person. We plan to use a local company for catering. Amanda and Helen Whiteley (Autumn social), Sue Halsey ( Cream tea and tea after AGM), Angie Horrigan (New Year Lunch) have volunteered; a volunteer to organise the Summer Buffet/BBQ is still needed
These volunteers are standing for election which will take place during the AGM
Fuel shortages
It is difficult to believe that yet another issue could affect the activities of ESW. The panic buying of fuel in the last 2 weeks leading to shortages has made travel more difficult. The power of the media in affecting our behaviour is indeed strong.
My thanks
I want to give my thanks to the officers of ESW who have contributed to its objectives during the last year. Sue Halsey, Welfare Officer, has helped at social functions as well as supporting those who are ill, and bereaved families, with a card. Keith Towers stepped forward to arrange a holiday to the Isle of Wight in May 2022. It was fully booked in minutes after applications opened. Robert Coupland had to reimburse members whose holidays were cancelled, rearranged and cancelled again over the last 18 months. Thanks too to the administrators who help with the website and communications with the membership.
My thanks goes too to Nigel Poulter and Helen McDonnell who have kept the membership informed about walks in these difficult times. Helen publicised a weekly Noticeboard with short notice walks in April before the May commencement of the walks programme.
Last but by no means least, I want to thank all the committee members who have worked hard to keep ESW activities going to help us come through the setbacks of the last 18 months.
I hope that ESW will have a bright future and that, once elected, the new appointees to the Committee will enjoy their involvement with the group.
Ruth Bradbury - Chair
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TREASURER’S REPORT
The finances of the group during the last year have continued to be affected by the enforced reduction of activity due to Covid-19. We received funding from the RA of £800 which had been budgeted to cover a normal year. However our expenditure has been much lower than anticipated and, with income from advertising included, there is a surplus of about £800 which the Committee has agreed should be transferred to the Kissing Gate Fund in order to preserve it for future use.
The cash balance held by the Group as at 30th September 2021 was £5,849.43. Dealing with the different funds in turn:
General Fund
As already mentioned, we received Group funding from the RA of £800. Advertising income, that we receive from HF Holidays Ltd and Ramblers Worldwide Holidays Ltd for advertising in our programmes, increased this year to £350 reflecting the increased number of programmes that we produced during the year. However, both companies have drastically reduced their marketing budgets as a result of the pandemic and its effect on the travel industry. As a consequence, this means that our advertising income will be considerably reduced in future years.
I would remind members that, if they book holidays with Ramblers Worldwide Holidays Ltd, to sign up on booking for the Walking Partnership and register their membership of the group. This will enable us to receive a rebate from the cost of their holiday which is another useful source of income. As a consequence of the pandemic and resultant effect on travel, no rebates were received last year.
Our expenditure was limited to volunteers’ expenses for footpath surveys and a limited amount of maintenance work, awards and general administrative expenses. A number of volunteers donated their expenses to the Kissing Gates Fund, raising an additional £83.58 for the Fund.
As mentioned above, the Committee has decided to designate £800 of excess funds from the General Fund to the Kissing Gates Fund for the purchase of gates in future years.
Kissing Gates Fund
This Fund is to enable kissing gates to be acquired to replace stiles in our area, following Surrey County Council expenditure cutbacks. No gates have been installed during the year but, including the £800 transferred from the General Fund, the total amount in the Kissing Gates Fund as at the year-end stood at £4,252.04.
Social Funds
The aim of our Social Funds is to even out surpluses and deficits on our social activities during the year. The only two social events in the year, the Cream Tea and the Summer Buffet, both made a surplus. Total funds now stand at £876.11, which acts as a cushion to pay deposits on future events; also, to cover either future events that show a deficit, or lost deposits on events that are cancelled.
Holiday Funds
These arise from holidays and week-ends away that are organised by the group, and are all aimed to be financially self-balancing. Any surplus which arises on a holiday from discounts given by the holiday company generally result in a direct reduction in the cost for all participants. During the year a holiday planned to the HF house at Abingworth, originally planned for 2020 and subsequently postponed by a year, was cancelled and all payments were refunded to participants. Deposits were paid for a planned holiday to the Isle of Wight in 2022. There is a small accumulated surplus carried forward of £39.56.
Ken’s Krew
A cash float is maintained by the organiser, Barbara Bulman, in order to reimburse the travel expenses of the volunteers. This is topped up as necessary from the General Fund.
Robert Coupland - Treasurer
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MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY’S REPORT
Membership at 30th Sept 2020 = 474
30th Sept 2021 = 471 plus 3 affiliates (with an additional 12 pending payment).
New Members = 50
Leavers/Movers = 53
The last year has, as we all know, been a very strange year. However, despite the fact that for the whole period we have been subject to restrictions of one sort or another - membership numbers have remained robust. There have been resignations as people have taken the opportunity to re-evaluate life priorities, but equally new members have joined even during the lockdown period when there were no walks
Sadly during the year 2 members passed away. Liz Friend died in May. Her death was communicated via Noticeboard and many members responded with their thoughts and memories about holidays shared with particular reference being made to Liz’s sense of humour.
The second member, Mrs Tuke, passed away in February.
Recruitment
At the beginning of October Warlingham held an event for local organisations to which ESW were invited. Being a very rainy day people were keen to attend an indoor event and there was a good turn out and plenty of interest in ESW. It is hoped that the interest translates into new members.
Janette Ruiz - Membership Secretary
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WALKS COORDINATOR’S REPORT
Well a difficult year for everyone, no walks, followed by walks of 6, followed by a booking system. None of it has been ideal and we are still not back to normal. Wednesday walks and fast fitness walks are back on track and ambles too are picking up well but weekend and ad hoc walks are a hotchpotch, some well supported, some thin on the ground, some non-existent.
We have to assume (and respect) that some walkers and leaders are still not comfortable to be out in a group and we have to hope that as time progresses things will return to something approaching normality. In the meantime we will continue to encourage participation and underline the need for new leaders. I think it is fair to say that a number of our ‘older’ leaders’ have decided it’s time to take a step back and fair enough too – so come on all you ‘younger’ walkers it’s your turn!
Helen McDonnell - Walks Coordinator
ESW Walks data can be viewed here. Please note this document was revised with updated figures on 6th November 2021.
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PUBLICITY OFFICER'S REPORT
Perhaps a positive issue arising from the Pandemic was that many non walkers discovered the enjoyment and health benefits of walking. The main publicity focus during this year has been to keep ESW to the fore and hopefully recruit new members.
To this end I have continued my predecessor’s practice of submitting articles to various local publications and have extended the list of recipients.
The articles concerning information relating to our walks and activities have been supplemented with walking anecdotes, information on points of interest or personalities connected to walking in general or relevant to locations on some of our walking routes. Our copy is submitted every month.
Feedback from editors has been positive it appears that most of the publications regularly include our articles. ESW also had an article published in The Walker which reaches a wide readership; I plan to repeat the exercise.
On 2nd October 2021 we provided representation at the Warlingham Hobbies event. Our presence attracted a regular stream of parties interested in walking and ESW. All were provided with appropriate literature and information. The event provided a worthwhile opportunity to showcase ESW. May I place on record my thanks to Helen McDonnell and Tricia Keep for their assistance and to Arthur Darby for procuring and printing superb photographs, taken by members, which formed a central part of our display.
I request that if anyone becomes aware of any event at which we may be able to organise a presence and promote ESW they make details available.
Hopefully the next twelve months will continue the return to normal ESW service, walking in groups, attending social events and holidays with friends, all without restrictions.
Stephen Hanks - Publicity Officer
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FOOTPATH SECRETARIES' REPORT
A second year where progress has been limited! But our local path network continues to be well used. During lockdown many of us were so appreciative that we live in an area where we can walk a multitude of paths in lovely scenery. But our paths need to be well maintained - one of the key purposes of The Ramblers.
We rely on Surrey County Council to ensure that public rights of way are not blocked and can be easily accessed. For over 18 months now, the practice of SCC has been to only deal with reported problems that represent a danger to the public. Yet a path at Eulyn Farm, Croydon Barn Lane, where the activities of an earth moving business prevents safe access, has not been investigated by SCC staff. Other reported problems are just mounting up and there is only so much that volunteers can do; it is for the County Council to contact landowners and resolve difficult problems. Path maintenance teams have to be supervised and ours (Kens Krew) were only permitted to restart in August. However, SCC were able to get funding for the installation by contractors of missing roadside fingerposts. Let us know if you still notice any missing ones in Tandridge district.
Some of our volunteers are authorised to do semi-annual inspections of a random selection of local rights of way. These recommenced in May and the results overall for Surrey showed 87% of paths “easy to use”. However for Tandridge the figure was 78%, the lowest in Surrey.
Our Volunteer Path Wardens have continued to deal with path defects that can be dealt with individually, e.g. small scale vegetation clearances, installing waymark discs, checking the state of particular paths etc. Some of these tasks are allocated out by the Local Footpath Secretaries, some are just dealt with as VPWs walk in the area. All of their work is much appreciated.
The Gates fund of East Surrey Walkers has not been utilised this year due to SCC not having the resources to negotiate with landowners and the lack of supervised work for Kens Krew, but we are hopeful that we will see more activity in the next few months that will require funding. In the meantime Limpsfield Parish Council has funded the acquisition and installation by contractors of 9 gates and also funded the repair of steps on the North Downs Way at Pitchfont Lane; this work was undertaken by volunteers of the Downland Partnership.
We have been advising the Vanguard Way Association (VGW), which wishes to replace awkward stiles with gates in memory of Graham Butler, who was also Secretary of Surrey Area of The Ramblers for many years. The VGW has raised over £4,000 and has decided to replace a series of stiles on the route at Woldingham. Once SCC and landowner permissions have been agreed, the gates will be installed by Ramblers volunteers and it is hoped that other nearby path maintenance teams will be able to assist Kens Krew.
The Ramblers Don’t Lose Your Way project is trying to ensure that any lost paths throughout the country are identified and registered by the 2026 cut-off date. Here in ESW, the Local Footpath Secretaries have checked historical maps to determine whether there are any paths for which a strong case could be made for them to become public footpaths or bridleways. To date no such paths have been identified. This project is based on historical evidence; it does not prevent a path being considered for public registration where it can be shown that the public have been using a path for an unbroken period of 20 years.
Another task ESW Footpath Secretaries carry out is responding to path diversions and planning applications which have rights-of-way implications. Recent examples involved an application by Sibelco which, as many walkers will be aware, runs a large mining operation between Bletchingley and the M25. The application in question included mention of some rights-of-way restoration but our response, while welcoming the principle, pointed out the lack of dates. It also observed that there were other restorations and indeed enhancements which Sibelco could make straight away.
Similarly, in conjunction with local community groups in Nutfield Parish, ESW Footpath Secretaries made representations regarding a large building development planning application. The application included the temporary closures and subsequent rerouting of footpaths. The rerouting would have resulted in a change of character of the ROW’s from rural to traversing a built up area. The application was refused by TDC.
Barbara Bulman, Steve Hanks, Richard Mascall, Tony Pearson, Ian Simm
Local Footpath Secretaries
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SOCIAL SECRETARY'S REPORT
Since the AGM in November 2020,there have been three social events, the DIY picnic held on September 6th 2020, the Cream Tea, held on June 27th 2021 and a Summer Buffet on August 22nd.
Covid rules limited numbers to a maximum of 30 for the first two events and approximately 30 people attended. No limit applied to the Buffet. 46 people came. All three events were held in Ian and Christine Scott’s garden. The weather was relatively kind to us, but a marquee provided a welcome refuge on occasion. Members were extremely generous with the delicious and varied dishes they bought and mention must be made of Christine’s loyal team of helpers, Sue Halsey, Veronica Dessent, Kate Roffey, Barbara Bulman and, of course, Christine’s husband, Ian.
Still to come in 2021 is a multi-media presentation by John Nathan to be held on the evening of October 23rd at St Agatha’s Hall, Hurst Green. Tea, coffee and biscuits will be provided in the interval.
The AGM is to be held on November 6th at Limpsfield Chart. Teas and coffees will be provided for walkers on their arrival at St Andrew’s Hall and cakes etc will follow the meeting.
The Autumn Social, a music and quiz night, is to be held on the evening of November 20th 2021 at St Peter’s Hall, Limpsfield. This event marks the end of Christine Scott’s term as Social Secretary.
A new system of organising ESW social events is to be trialled in 2022 in which one individual takes on responsibility for the organisation of an individual event. The office is to be held for a maximum of 3 years. The catering will be provided by a professional caterer.
To date, Angie Horrigan has volunteered to run the New Year Lunch (Jan 23rd 2022).
Sue Halsey will organise the Cream Tea to be held in June and Helen and Amanda Whiteley have volunteered to run the Autumn Social.
As yet, we have no volunteers for the Summer BBQ/Buffet
Christine has offered use of her garden for the Cream Tea and possibly the BBQ/Buffet.
Of course, a band of willing helpers will be essential to the successful running of all the above events.
Christine Scott – Social Secretary
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KEN'S KREW REPORT
Another year, with very limited tasks, due to the ongoing Covid situation. Some of the team carried out hand tool clearances, under Ramblers insurance, and a few of us installed some donated aggregate, under the gates across from the Haycutter, at Broadham Green, but Ramblers insurance won’t cover us to complete any installation work, or to use mechanical tools, without the authorisation, and support, of SCC, which wasn’t going to happen.
We have now started back to work, with SCC, having had some clearance, and waymark post work to do on Limpsfield Chart, in August, with our new Countryside Assistant.
We were asked to install gates at Ockley in September, as SCC had not organised any local tasks for us, and Mole Valley have limited volunteers, competent to complete installations. A long way to go, I’m hugely grateful, to Geoff and Stephen, who trekked across, during the current fuel shortages, along with Raymond, our regularly attending Croydon team member.
I’m hoping we shall now start to install some of the many ESW funded, and donated, kissing gates, awaiting our attention, and know SCC RoW have a few in stock.
Very sadly, the cost of steel had rocketed over the past year, and availability has dropped. SCC’s preferred supplier has no gates in stock, and no idea, for when they may receive a delivery. The manufacturers, in Stoke-on-Trent, have a 6 – 7 week waiting list. Things don’t bode well, in the short term.
I have contacted the Kent supplier, in Loughborough, and find they have eight gates in stock, SCC RoW were contacting them on Thursday, to claim them, but I have not heard if they were successful.
Onwards and upwards? Please do keep reporting defects to footpaths furniture, and vegetation ingress, to the SCC online reporting tool: https://rightsofway.surreycc.gov.uk/StandardMap.aspx
We have been much blessed by some very kind Fairies, who have cleared paths, and replaced stiles, to a very high standard, but they are extremely shy, so we don’t know who to thank.
SCC contractors, have been busy, replacing roadside finger posts, across the County, and still have some left to complete, but the new posts are obviously hugely beneficial, especially to new walkers.
Barbara Bulman - Ken's Krew
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