NOVEMBER 2017
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Join us for a glass of Mulled Wine at the Progress Estate's Christmas Social and AGM at 2pm on Saturday 9th December at the Progress Hall, Admiral Seymour Road.
Seasonal music will be provided by the Choir of St. Thomas Moore Catholic Primary School.
There will also be Christmas Goods stalls and a raffle with a variety of seasonal prizes to be won.
AGM Agenda
1) Minutes of the 2016 AGM
2) Annual reports (a summary is included in this newsletter)
3) Resolutions submitted to the Secretary
(please see page 4 for further information)
4) Continuance of affiliations
5) Election of Officers and committee members
Letter from the Chair of the committee
Phew, the Progress Residents Association has managed to survive another year. This has been a mixed year – three Committee Members, Lynn, Martin and Rui, left due to other personal commitments and I would like to thank all three of them for their valuable contributions. Thankfully we were able to replace them with Kirsty, Philippa and Jimmie - some much needed new blood.
We have managed, with a struggle, to persuade Hyde Housing to continue with their small annual grant to us which enables us to hire the Progress Hall for any events we may hold. We monitor the Estate’s planning applications to the Council, keep an eye on conservation matters and we send representatives to other local bodies such as the South Greenwich Forum and the local Police Panels so that we remain in touch with local matters. We had our first attempt at an “antiques/collectables” event early in the year and we have recently held a very successful Race Night. The summer also saw the publication of a book to celebrate the Estate’s centenary in 2015 “The Origins and Evolution of the Progress Estate” a labour of love by one of our committee members, Keith Billinghurst, and the sales so far have been very encouraging.
We will be holding our Xmas Social on Saturday 9th December at 2 p.m, by necessity preceded by a very brief Annual General Meeting. It should be fun and I urge you to attend - even if you can only spare the time for a brief visit it would be lovely to see you. Do remember, it is your Association and we represent you. Come to our events; let us know what you think – good or bad; volunteer to help your committee if it is at all possible.
Finally, I would like to thank all our Committee Members for giving up their time and energy in an attempt to retain a sense of community on this Estate and to thank all of you who support us by attending events and to thank in anticipation all those residents who will be making a new year’s resolution to support the Progress Residents Association.
Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas and a peaceful and successful 2018.
Margaret Oliver
Chair, Progress Residents Association
The Aims of the Association
The Progress Estate Residents Association committee meets regularly to ensure that the aims of the association are met for the benefit of the Residents of the estate. The aims of the Association are:
a) To represent the views and interests of all Residents in appropriate forums be these recognised organisations, groupings or otherwise.
b) To promote and encourage a sense of community amongst Residents.
c) To monitor proposed alterations to, developments on and maintenance of the Estate with a view to ensuring they are in keeping with its designation as a Conservation Area covered by an Article 4 Direction.
d) To exercise influence to ensure, insofar as is possible, that Residents receive the best possible housing, environmental and community-related services.
The Associations activities for the year are included in this newsletter. If you would like further information regarding the annual reports please contact the Secretary, Avril Martin, ideally by email to avrilmartin625@btinternet.com by 2nd December 2017. Those without access to email can obtain a copy of the reports by telephoning 07962877389 and providing your name and address.
What have the Association been doing to support the Aims?
Finance Report
The funds received by the Association in the last year have been from multiple sources; grants, income from the sale of the book “The Origins and Evolution of the Progress Estate” and income from fundraising activities undertaken by committee members. The Association received a grant in the year from Hyde South East Housing for £500.
Total income for the 12 months was £2,468 (£3,001 in the period ending September 2016).
The main expenditure has been; the hiring of venues, research and publishing costs plus other miscellaneous items and administrative expenses.
Total expenditure for the year was £2,406 (£2,508 in the period ending September 2016). Income exceeded expenditure by £62 (£493 in the period ending September 2016).
At year-end, the Association’s assets were £1,815. These were cash or cash equivalents. A huge thank you is due to all the volunteers and to the community who continue to show their support through attendance at our events.
Lisa Tallent
Planning report
Forty-seven planning applications were decided in the 12 months to the end of September 2017, a decrease of 19 on the previous 12 months. The Association has four options in deciding how to respond to any particular application:
• Support it
• Object to it
• Comment on it
• Do nothing
Our sole concern is whether or not, when judged by reference to the relevant planning and conservation guidelines, the proposed works will have a neutral or positive effect on our Estate. We support those that do and object to those that do not. Where we do have objection we provide a comment detailing them.
We do nothing if an application is for works that will not be visible from the Public Highway. These are commonly for the removal of trees in back gardens that are not visible from any public highway or for the construction of rear, single storey extensions behind mid-terrace houses.
We supported 24 of the applications received, objected to 8, remained neutral to 2 and made no comment on 6. For reasons beyond our control, we missed the deadline for responding to the remaining 7.
Jimmie Greene
Book Sales
The Residents Association published its book The Origins and Evolution of the Progress Estate, Eltham’s Garden Suburb at the end of July, 2017. By the end of September, 123 copies had been purchased by people living on our Estate at £10 each and 52 by others living elsewhere in SE9 for whom the price was £12 a copy. In addition, 17 had been mailed to addresses elsewhere in the UK at an all-in cost of £13.95.
Copies remain available and may be ordered by email from keith.billinghurst@btinternet.com or by calling or sending a text to 07962 877389. Please provide your house number, road name, postcode and phone number.
Keith Billinghurst
Houses Changing Ownership
During the 12 months to the end of August 2017 (Land Registry data is published approximately 5 weeks after the end of each month) 39 houses changed ownership, 7 less than in the preceding 12 months. New families moved into 24 Hyde homes. We have delivered Welcome letters to all concerned.
Keith Billinghurst
tel: 07962 877389
Social Events
Our Antique Fair, held early in the year, was a great success with stalls selling everything from china, jewellery and all kinds of memorabilia. We seemed to have a steady stream of people popping in to have a browse or making a purchase and then maybe having a cuppa and a chat, all-in-all a great afternoon.
Recently, on 21st October, we had a very successful Race Night but it would have been great to see a few more people. Those who did come along enjoyed it very much, all down to Paul who brought all his equipment, and his sense of fun that kept us on our toes. I think a few of us went home with a few more coppers than we came with. Thank you to all who attended.
We’d like to have some feedback on our social events so that we can learn from you what you like and especially, don’t like. Send your comments to our email address.
Margaret Johnson
Social Media
We continue to maintain our online presence through:
• Our email theprogressestate@gmail.com
• Facebook, search “Progress Estate Residents’ Association’ and don’t forget to ‘like us’
• Twitter account, https://twitter.com/progressestate
• Our website, www.progressestate.co.uk
At this current time we have:
• 305 email subscribers
• 347 Facebook likes
• 572 twitter followers
Our website, www.progressestate.co.uk continues to be popular with 70,518 views, of which 918 were in the month of September.
If you would like to receive future newsletters via email, please send an email to theprogressestate@gmail.com with the subject ‘Email list’
James Garner
Resolutions
Matters Residents wish to be considered at the AGM are called Resolutions. These include nominations for people to serve as Committee members, which must be seconded by a Resident who is present at the meeting. Resolutions will be passed if a majority of Residents voting, vote in favour.
Resolutions must be in writing and be received no later than 7 days before the AGM. They should be sent to the Secretary, Avril Martin, ideally by email to avrilmartin625@btinternet.com by 2nd December, 2017. Those without access to email should call 07962877389 to be told the address to which they should write their resolution to. Letters must be received by the 2nd December 2017, so please allow time for postage. You must include your name and address in your email or letter.
The Progress Estate Residents Association Committee look forward to seeing you at the Christmas Social and AGM on Saturday 9th December at 2pm and wish all the Estate’s Residents a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Making Progress is published by the Progress Residents Association.
It is printed on their behalf by:
David Evans Property Services,
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