Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Douglas Bader Community Garden Charity
Held at Elmwood College on Monday, 11 February 2008

Present : Tracy Murray (Treasurer), David Du Puy (Committee Member), Elizabeth McInroy (Acting Chair), Andrew Gold (Project Manager), Douglas Shearer (Elmwood College), Keith Wardlaw (RAF Leuchars), Mr Bennett & Mr Gourlay (Lady Margaret Skiffington Trust), Susan Blake , Pete Cura & Edward Cook (Cupar Community Council) Andrew McDaniel (Kingdom Housing Association), Helen Rorrison (VONEF Manager), Lindsey Quinn (Fife Herald)

Apologies : Anne Williams ( Fife Society for the Blind), Paul Trayner (Cupar Cricket Club & Committee Member), Rosemary Abbott (Out-going Secretary)

Welcome: Helen Rorrison , Manager of VONEF, introduced herself as acting chair for the meeting, and welcomed everyone to the Annual General Meeting. She thanked Douglas Shearer for arranging the use of Elmwood College.

Resignations and Election of Office Bearers: In accordance with the Constitution, committee members have to stand down each year, but are eligible for re-election. Those who have indicated a willingness to stand for re-election are: David Du Puy , Paul Traynor, Tracy Murray, Elizabeth McInroy, with Anne Williams as a co-opted member. Election of the Office Bearers, including that of Chair, will be decided at the first meeting of the new Management Committee.

Treasurer's Report By Tracy Murray

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. My name is Tracy Murray and for those of you who do not know me, I was appointed treasurer of the Douglas Bader Community Garden charity at the end of last year.

Some around the table will know that I was the second person to hold this position last year. Unfortunately, George Boag had to stand down fairly late into last year due to family issues, and I took on the role.

As a result, I took on responsibility for the end of year accounts, and these were subsequently passed to an independent assessor via VONEF Ltd for their approval.

The accounts are fairly straightforward, and copies of this year's figures are available here tonight for all to see and comment on.

You will see that the accounts call the charity "Friends of the Douglas Bader Community Garden ." This is being changed to the correct title, DOUGLAS BADER COMMUNITY GARDEN .

For clarification purposes, it should be pointed out our charity's accounts coincide with the calendar year - from January 1 st until December 31 st .

From 2006 until 2007, our total income was up by 208 percent from £22,862 per annum to £47,463.81. Spending over the year was also up by 172 percent from £22,789.07 to £39,249.

Going through the spending categories, advertising payments were up considerably, mainly due to the fact we had to advertise the part-time Project Manager's post and this was extremely expensive.

Fuel costs were kept roughly the same, which is obviously good in the present climate. These came in at just over £1,000 for the whole year.

Professional Services were, and will almost certainly continue to be, the charity's biggest expense. Last year we spent £12,258.28 on specialist fees in order to develop the garden masterplan further, and to take us through the outline planning application process.

We also paid a total of £4,060 to Fife Council for our Outline Planning Application, which was a one-off fee.

With regards the funded Project Manager's salary, this is paid via agreed funding from the East Fife Leader Plus programme, which has been agreed until the end of 2008. Part of this particular funding is designated for the 30 hours a week post, with the rate of payment held at nationally agreed rates for this type of post in consultation with VONEF.

The cost of this post, including National Insurance and tax obligations, will be approximately £18,187 per annum in the coming year, as per the charity's contractual agreement up until December 31 st 2008 with Andrew Gold.

It should be pointed out we still have £8,941.50 yet to claim via Leader Plus, with a back payment of £6,008.44 currently due. This makes a total of £14,949.94 expected from Leader Plus. As we have also claimed some money from this fund in advance for salaries, we will be able to meet our responsibility for this post.

Therefore, at the end of the financial year we had assets of £17,352.63 of which £10,000 was ring-fenced for future development costs.

In terms of income, we were entirely dependent on donations and grants in 2007. We received £4,500 from Fife Council towards specialist fees, almost £20,000 from Leader Plus, and £10,000 from Awards For All.

We also kindly received £10,000 from the Lady Skiffington Trust, which has been ring-fenced for future development costs. This will only be spent with the Trust's prior agreement, and this will be discussed over the coming weeks.

If you add the surplus money which is not ring-fenced: i.e. £7,352.63 to the expected £14,949.94 from Leader Plus, we should have a guaranteed minimum income of £22,302.57 in 2008, even if we do not receive a penny in extra funding.

In terms of bank interest, we received a total of £433.31 for the year.

Overall, there is no doubt that the fluctuations of the public funding world will, and will continue to, have an effect on our progress and development. This is standard for most charities in our position. It is the financial world we, and countless other charities, inhabit and will continue to do so until we are in a position to generate our own income.

We continue to live within our means and have no other commitments expect for organisational running costs.

Again for explanatory reasons, it should be pointed out any income received from funders is always designated in advance for particular tasks. We are not always free to spend on whatever we choose - these tasks are always mutually agreed and accepted by both parties.

This year, because we are a charity, our accounts have to follow the guidelines set out by the Scottish Charity Regulator, OSCR. The Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 advice provides detailed guidance on the requirements for preparing receipts & payments accounts, which are acceptable for c harities with a gross income of less than £100,000.

Our accounts have been inspected for us by a qualified independent examiner, in line with the regulations. We have also followed the guidance to prepare a Trustees' annual report, which is at the start of the accounts. The statement of account and report from the independent examiner or auditor must be submitted to OSCR each year."

There were no questions raised as a result of the Treasurer's report, which was accepted by all voting members present.

Horticulture Sub-Committee

David Du Puy gave those present an indication of the work this sub-committee had been involved with, and how they were now at the stage of discussing progression of the actual garden, plant and flower options etc. This was felt to be an extremely important aspect of the Charity's planning process, as this involved local horticultural specialists with a wide variety of expertise. The sub-committee was set up to look at the likely make-up of the garden.

Project Manager's Report:

"Before looking back over the year, I would like to place on record my thanks to the many partner organisations we have. We really appreciate the advice, support and constructive criticism from, in no particular order, Elmwood College , RAF Leuchars, Fife Council, Fife Society for the Blind, Cupar Cricket Club, Fife Constabulary and Cupar Community Council. Many individuals have helped us over the year - far too numerous to mention.

Sadly, we lost one long-term supporter and committee member when George Craig sadly died last year. George, as many will know, was the designer of the original Bader garden and was with the organisation since day one, like myself. I attended his funeral, and it was a fitting tribute to a man who loved plants and the outdoors. He was a forthright man, and we had the odd disagreement here and there. But I spoke to him not long before he died, and he supported our goals 100 per cent and I would hope we can mark some kind of tribute to him when the garden is built.

Looking back over the year, I think we have made real progress. At the start of 2007 we progressed to the design stages for the garden and building, thanks to the support of our professional advisors TGP and IDP.

Since we strarted in 2005, we have listened to the advice and suggestions from many individuals and organisations. We tried to be all things to all men, and on reflection that was probably a mistake.

That was why I held discussions with partner organisations and major funders such as the Big Lottery Fund throughout the summer months. The scale of the project was then £5m. and rising, and the funding situation was fluctuating due to many outside factors.

I put the cards on the table at these meetings, and came back to the committee with the advice that we needed to re-examine the project. The advice we received was that a £2m. funding package was acheievable, and the committee agreed to ask our specialists to work within this figure.

Thus we re-drew the plans, concentrating on the elements we as a group wanted in the first place. I think the end result was that we all felt an awful lot more comfortable with the scale of things and the potential end result.

If we are to be criticised for being overly-ambitious, then so be it. I think many voluntary groups do the same, as I have been told by most of the major funders who have advised us.

The site is the same, and the aim is still to integrate facilities for Cupar Cricket Club into a hub building on one-level. The garden design is much the same size as the one which won our design competition two years ago - the water feature is still the key element.

We have always taken a cautious approach to the project masterplan, and I can report this attitude has continued through the year.

In May we lodged an outline application with Fife Council for the site, and in October it was granted. We were delighted - some others apparently less so.

The goal now is to complete our masterplan, which would take us to the point where building work could begin, funding permitting.

We have around £20,000 in committed funding, and we are currently in negotiation with the Big Lottery Fund to raise the £50,000 or so required to finalise this.

This is the final design stage, where the project is professionally costed, including maintenance and running costs. The money would also be spent on an independent specialist to examine our business plan.

The good news is that we got past the fist stage of the Big Lottery Fund process and have been accepted in principle. We are currently working with their specialist advisors to finalise our formal application, with the signs looking very encouraging. It is no certainty, but there has been great enthusiasm about what we are doing from outside funders. A site meeting is scheduled to take place on Thursday, in fact.

If this application is successful, the masterplan could be completed in three months. Then we would go back to apply for major funding from the Big Lottery Fund.

I would stress again that they believe our £2m. is achievable, through a mix of different funders.

If we get this batch of money, extensive consultations will take place with a whole host of community groups, Trusts, and organisations as to the make-up of the masterplan before the design process is finalised. The consultation process will include discussions regarding particular sections of the garden, the make-up of the rooms in the building, and specialist outside advice from the likes of Fife Society for the Blind and Fife Constabulary's Architectural Liaison officer.

Overall, I think we have continued to make significant progress over the year, and there is no reason at all to believe we cannot achieve our aims. Patience, however, is the key.

Finally, can I thank all of you personally for your support over the past year, and say that I look forward to achieving further significant progress in the months to come."

There were no questions raised in relation to Andrew's report. However, Mr Ed Cook, Cupar Community Council, advised that while he was supportive of the Project, he had some observations that he would like clarified.

•  He noted that the Business Plan published on the web-site had not been updated since November 2006 and contained inaccuracies. He was advised that it was the practice of the group not to remove any information from the site which gave an indication of the staged progress of the project, but was assured that the Business Plan was currently under review, with support and on the advice of potential funders.
•  He sought clarification that funding from Leader+ was still available and was advised that this was correct. Funding had been secured for 2 years.
•  He asked why VONEF would be moving into the proposed new building, and was advised that VONEF would remain at Volunteer House and would be providing the same service to this Project as is does with other community and voluntary organisations by supporting the booking and tenancy arrangements as required, at a central point.
•  He asked what impact the Project Building would have on Cupar rate payers, if the worst case happened and the Project went bust. Mr Cook was advised by the Helen Rorrison that this would follow the dissolution as stated in the Constitution and any Exit Strategy requirement of Funders. Mr Bennett, Trustee of the Lady Margaret Skiffington Trust, advised that any asset building of leased land would automatically become the property of the landlord, in this case, Fife Council, who would ultimately decide its use.

Mr Cook was advised that it was difficult to provide exact answers at this stage as the Project to date was complying with the outcome requirements of those funders who had made investments, and that the Business Plan would remain flexible and be amended in relation to needs identified by Consultants who would be liaising with other Partners. Once this stage had been completed, the Community Council would, as with the rest of the community, be advised accordingly. The management board agreed to Mr Cook's request that Cupar Community Council would be kept informed. Mr Gold also offered to meet with members of the Community Council once the charity's business plan had been finalised and agreed with professional advisors.

Helen Rorrison brought the AGM to a close and again thanked everyone for attending.

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