Chairman's Report October 2009
I would like to begin by thanking you all for your support over the last year, and by being here tonight. I would also
like to thank the members of the committee for all their time and support over the last year.
We have had a busy year, and I am delighted to tell you that our initial phase one project, to complete ditching to
the farmer’s bridge is going to commence next month as we now have the funding in place to complete the job.
The contractors will be Baldwins and the job will be supervised by Warrington council; they have expressed their
amazement at how quickly the money was raised.
During the last year we have arranged a litter pick on the linear park,applied for grants [a time consuming and
thankless task] and had our ranger given back to us, albeit part time. We have found and rescued two
abandoned puppies left in the hedges last winter, and arranged for our wooden owl to be carved from a broken
tree. We have paid for bird food to help the wild birds and animals on the park, raised money in lots of ways. We
have organised a stall for our Victorian day, a book stall at our community day and again at Birchwood carnival,
had a great party in the park in July and organised a successful quiz night, and also a karaoke evening which was
particularly enjoyed by the young people in the village. We have also purchased a gazebo to help us when we are
raising money.
I would like to thank the friends and family of the late Dave Watmough for their kind generosity. In his memory
they have given over £1550 which has gone towards the ditching in the park. It was a particularly sad way in which
to receive money, but was much appreciated.
At this point I would also like to mention the many man hours put in by Jack Delve, who has helped keep the park
in good condition. During the last few weeks he and the rangers have been digging silt out of drainage areas in
the hope of drying out the bridle path area; a somewhat frustrating task at times.
Unfortunately we have had two treasurers during the past year which has not been easy for them or for us. I thank
them both for their work.We are presently treasurerless [if there is such a word] at the moment and would love a
volunteer for this vital and sometimes thankless task. Happily, although we have handed over the money for the
ditching we still have approximately £1000 in our bank towards the next project.
We have unfortunately not been able to apply to the charity commission yet for charity status, as we need to put
£5000 through our bank in one financial year in order to do this. It is something we hope to achieve soon. Again,
many thanks to all who have supported us.
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