which took place on Sunday 27th February 2005 at The Portland Basin Museum, Ashton under Lyne
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Minutes of Annual General Meeting 2005
which took place on Sunday 27th February 2005 at The Portland Basin Museum, Ashton under Lyne |
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1. Those Present
Ray Butler, Barbara Catford, Ken Catford, Martin Clark, Sue Day, Eddie Frangleton, Mark Holmes, John Lockley, Tim Lucey, Di Mitchell, Martin Mitchell, Ed Mortimer, Sean Neill, Kate Nicholls, Cath Turpin2. Apologies for Absence
Derek Armstrong, Harry Arnold, Di Ascott, Lynnette Crossley, David Daines, Neil Gore, Tony Lewery, Robert Mackenzie, John Martin, Cathy O'Brien, Mary Parry, Jenny Roberts, Mike Turpin3. Minutes of 2004 AGM
The Chairperson apologised to the meeting for the lack of minutes of 2004. The Secretary was absent from the AGM and no committee member recalls taking minutes. The consensus of the meeting was that the apology was accepted.4. Reports from the Committee
Chairperson - Sue Day I intend to look at the Society's aims and objectives, as I have done before, when giving this annual report. I shall attempt to tell you about the Society's work over the last year, and how I as chairperson have worked on behalf of the Society. Other committee members will give their own reports. The Society's aim is to preserve and promote horseboating. We have continued to do this by fulfilling many of our objectives. 1. Communication and co-operation between persons and organisations with an interest in horseboating. We always have someone on the committee whose role is to keep in touch with the trip boat operators. As before, not all of them are members, but we contact them all regardless. I brought the list of them to the attention of BW, who subsequently advertised them all on their website www.waterscape.com At last year's AGM, I boldly suggested that we should try several Society outings, to include all the trip boats within the year. This did not happen, one of the casualties of me breaking my shoulder last summer, and being distracted. What was very satisfying was several members working together on a horseboating project with the Boat Museum Society's boat Gifford, representing The Horseboating Society (HBS), Boat Museum Society (BMS), and Shropsire Union Flyboat Restoration Society (SUFRS). This collaboration grew out of the 2002 trip with Gifford, but that was initiated by me as a BMS member suggesting that we horseboat Gifford rather than use a motor tow all the time. The BMS committee has really taken the idea on board and developed it with much hard work and enthusiasm. 2. Responsible operation of horsedrawn craft on inland waterways I work for the membership by offering my horseboating journeys as opportunities for everyone to get involved in horseboating. In 2004 I still held the boathorse contract at Calder Valley Cruising, which I'd resumed at the end of 2002. So, with the passenger boat commitment there, the main journey for 2004 was to centre around Maria on her 150th anniversary. We took her to Marple (where she was built in 1854) for an Easter canal ceremony, then to a canal festival in Mossley in early May. In mid-May I had a riding accident which resulted in my dislocated and broken shoulder, so further plans to take Maria to the IWA National had to be cancelled. We managed to take Maria to Marple again in July to celebrate the bicentenary of the locks and again the boat's 150th anniversary. Yesterday we horseboated Maria here to the Portland Basin Museum, and she is looking very different from how many of you have known her in previous years. She has been deconverted, with her long cabin removed to return her to her 1854 appearance. 3. Training of crew and horses to acquire the skills necessary for horseboating We recommend members to contact any of the horsedrawn trip boat operators for involvement and training. However the HBS long distance journeys obviously offer the most experience and variety, involving locks, tunnels, aqueducts, etc. Some of the passenger boat companies had new horses in training last year and very often they introduce new crew. At Calder Valley Cruising, Nigel Dix took over much of my work when my injured shoulder prevented me from horseboating. He had started training the previous season and was then able to build on that. On the HBS journeys, several people handled my boathorses. I want to emphasise that I only let people drive the boathorses if they have previous experience of driving horses in some capacity. I have been in contact with the Waterways Craft Guild and I suggest that for grading boathorse handlers we adopt something similar to their 3 tier system of awards. Thus we have several Apprentice horseboaters. The next stage is Journeyman and the top level is Craftsman. 4. Maintenance and restoration of the waterway environment to a standard suitable for use by horsedrawn craft This area has taken up considerable time. The chairman of BW has ensured that the HBS is represented at national level at many BW meetings. As a result I travel to Hatton, Warwickshire (2 hours) or Watford (3 hours) or even London, for about 6 meetings. I also attend several IWA meetings and I am on the Manchester IWA Branch committee. Obviously I raise issues concerning horseboating, such as unsuitable motorcycle barriers and overgrown towpath vegetation. My intention is to represent horseboating issues over the whole of the national network. This has led on to some great advances: - BW has issued an operating instruction to its managers, directing them to support the passage of horseboats. After discussions at Watford, I was more or less told to write it! - The Society was consulted on BW's national cutting guidelines. The Chief Executive of BW has ordered a cut of vegetation from the hedge or wall to the water's edge, over the entire national network to be completed by the end of March 2005. He has budgeted extra resources to this North-West region due to the appalling tree growth that has occurred whilst maintenance staff were relocated during the Northern canal restoration projects. At top management level the Chairman and Chief Executive of BW wish to support our horseboating aims on the grounds of heritage. The problem seems to be getting things to happen at local level, with managers taking the passage of horses and towlines into account. - About 10 organisations are contributing to a towing path access document, which the HBS has initiated and is leading. Robin Evans, Chief Executive of BW has kindly agreed to receive this from us at the IWA National Festival in August 2005. 5. Preservation, restoration and maintenance of the various types of horsedrawn craft The Society has not been directly involved with this type of work but supports wholeheartedly the efforts of individual members who are in other organisations doing this work. Of particular note is the news that the flyboat Saturn was launched yesterday. The hull is complete, and now the cabin must be constructed and fitted out, then of course the paintwork remains to be done. She slid down the planks at great speed yesterday, keen to be in the water, waiting eagerly to go horseboating! With the AGM notice, all HBS members received a sheet offering the chance to comment on the future of horseboat Elland. She has already been restored and therefore requires ongoing maintenance now. We will discuss this issue later in the AGM. 6. Education about the history and present use of horsedrawn craft I always try to remind people about the important role of the horsedrawn passenger trip boats which introduce thousands of people to the experience of horseboating. These boats nearly always have a commentary, referring to the past use of horseboats as well as their more modern leisure use. The trip boats, for several decades, have taken parties of all ages on board. For school groups, worksheets are available and teachers build the trip into a project back at school. The educational work during the Wheelock video project, or the Gifford project in 2004, is therefore a continuation of this work. On our journeys we have always made ourselves as available as possible, advertising our routes by radio, newspapers or magazines. This year at the IWA National Festival, we are going to be involved with the Wild on Waterways (WoW) activities. Children will come to the boathorses and horseboats for a short activity, to help fill in their activity sheets or passport. The BW Chairman is keen for us to get involved in WoW. 7. Research Mostly being done by Tony Lewery perhaps, but we all keep our eyes and ears open! Ray and I produced the Maria 150 presentation by researching Maria's first 150 years. 8. Retention of horseboating information in archives The Society still has no formal archives - we have no central storage place either. Nonetheless much valuable material is in existence in private collections of members. Most of us are happy to share this by lending items out or making them available for viewing. The waterway museums of course also have collections of written material and artefacts. 9. Finally, what of the future? We are looking at a 3 year plan, building up to the World Canals Conference in England in 2007. I would like to see The Horseboating Society represented there with horseboats on view and horseboating on the agenda. For 2005, we are boating Elland, Gifford and Maria, taking all 3 to the IWA National Festival at Preston Brook to create a record entry, beating our previous record of 2 at Huddersfield. The boats cannot be horseboated without crew, so please offer yourselves as much as possible, and return the crew sheet if you have not already done so. It remains for me to wish you A HAPPY HORSEBOATING YEAR. Secretary - Jenny Roberts Ray Butler read a written report from Jenny in which she announced that she was resigning this year as Secretary as she has not got the time needed for this post. Also she has trouble getting to meetings and activities, especially in the summer, when her horse drawn boating company is a full time job. Jenny felt that she can best preserve horse drawn boating by carrying on running this business to its full potential, but this needs full-time commitment. She wished her successor every success in the post. She is remaining on the committee as Southern representative. Treasurer and Membership Officer - Tim Lucey There was very little activity in the account all year and we finished the year £500 better off than the previous year.
Full accounts are appended to this report. The Society's bankers had changed the terms of our current account so that it no longer paid interest. Tim sought the AGM's authority to open an interest-bearing account to make the Society's cash balance produce a modest income. Cath Turpin proposed that "The Officers are authorised to open an appropriate interest-bearing account in the Society's name." Martin Clark seconded. The proposal was carried nem con. Ray Butler proposed that the Treasurer's report and accounts be accepted. Martin Mitchell seconded. The report and accounts were accepted nem con. Other Committee Members Lynnette Crossley Ray Butler read Lynnette's written report on trading for the 2004 season from the remaining commercial horse drawn passenger boat businesses and their plans for the 2005 season. Grand Western, Tiverton 2004 was a good season with the boats full most of the season despite the poor weather. Almost ready for the coming season with all boats painted. To start at Easter. Working with 2 horses. Jim retired, so Prince will now be working with Taffy, a 7-year-old Irish cob X Shire who is working well so far - Pat Brind. Welsh Canal Holiday Craft, Llangollen No details available - office reopens March 7th for bookings etc. Foxton Boat Services 2004 season OK. For past 4 years working with party bookings only - no general public trips. Business deteriorated since they lost their base when BW 'reclaimed' their pub, which has now stood empty for the past 2 years and is to be 'traditionalised', then run by Harvester. Foxton Boat Services plan to build a new pub base on the opposite side of the canal. Will be working this season with Grace and Girlie (mother and daughter quarter and half bred Shires respectively). Grouse died last year aged nearly 30. - Tony Matts Kennet Horse Boat Company, Newbury New owners took over last year (son and daughter in law of previous owners) Trips slightly down on previous years partly due to changes in ownership. Busy now in run up to season. Have 2 boats, (one horse boat and one motor) and 3 horses, all Shire X : Hannah (approx 22 years); Bonnie (17 years) and new boy Sam, (8 years) now in training. Plan is to carry on as before. Will launch new website soon. - Charlotte Butler Godalming Packet Boat Co. was very busy with bookings both private charter and public trips on nb Iona, with Rosie now aged 19, and Ben aged 12, doing all the work. Calder Valley Cruising, Hebden Bridge (now Bronte Boats) Business sold at the end of the 2004 season and the boats are all now for sale. New owners have talked about possibly running occasional horse drawn trips but this may be difficult as their new wide beam boat is a motor. 5. Events 2005
Sue Day referred to the Towlines circulated with the AGM notice and posted on the Society's web site. This contains details of all known events of interest to members, not only those organised by the Society. She urged members to visit the events page of the web site to get latest details, as it is not practical to advise changes by post. Sue advised the following corrections and additions:Thursday April 14th 2005 Slideshow by Tony Lewery: "Saturn, Flyboat Restoration Project", for the Macclesfield Canal Society, The New Liberal Club, Boden Street, Macclesfield, 7.45 pm Sunday 10th - Sunday 21st August Horseboating Journeys to Preston Brook - should read Sunday 10 July - Sunday 21 August . Saturn is not now to be horseboated all the way to the IWA National Festival because her restoration is not expected to be complete until just before the event and is taking all the attention of SUFRS. If timing permits it may be possible for her to be horsedrawn for a short distance to arrive on site. John Lockley asked whether it would be possible to run a pair of horseboats (2 boats, 1 horse) en route to the IWA Festival. Sue explained that the boats would be travelling different routes and so could not be paired up for this season. The Committee will investigate whether a project to recreate this aspect of horseboating practice would be possible in the future. John was requested to help. 6. Election of Officers and Committee Members
The Chairperson explained that committee members were elected for a two year period, and therefore Lynnette Crossley, Neil Gore and Tim Lucey were not up for re-election.
Derek Armstrong, Sue Day and Jenny Roberts were due to retire by rotation and had offered themselves for re-election, and Ray Butler offered himself for election to the Committee and as Secretary. Sue called for further nominations from the floor. None were received, and nominations were declared closed.Ray Butler - proposed by Martin Clark, Martin Mitchell seconded, elected unanimously. Eddie Frangleton - proposed, Ed Mortimer seconded, that the remaining candidates be re-elected en bloc; this was carried unanimously 7. Amendment to the Constitution
Ray Butler proposed that Paragraph 5 e) should be amended to read:"Any action required or permitted to be taken by the committee may be taken without a meeting if the members of the committee shall individually or collectively consent in writing or by electronic mail to such action. A majority of consents will carry the issue in question, provided that the number of responses equates to a quorum of the committee. Such written or emailed consent or consents shall be filed with the minutes of the proceedings of the committee and shall have the same force and effect as a vote of the committee" Ray explained that as a national society it can be difficult to get the whole committee together in the same place at the same time. The amendment extended the current rules on quorum and voting to decisions by correspondence including e-mail. Sue Day seconded, drawing attention to the practical benefits. In discussion, members made a number of helpful and supportive suggestions. The officers confirmed that this was not a replacement for scheduled face-to-face committee meetings, which members are free to attend and are notified in Towlines. Rather it gave the committee flexibility to react to matters quickly and efficiently. It was suggested that committee meeting dates should be shown separately from other events on the web site, and the officers and webmaster accepted that suggestion. The amendment was put to the vote and carried unanimously. 8. Formal Motion
Ray Butler proposed that :"The Society agrees that its current activities, assets, liabilities and members should be transferred to a Company Limited by Guarantee. The Committee is instructed to make the necessary arrangements to set up such a company with aims and objectives identical to those of the current society, and constitutional and governance arrangements as close to the current constitution as is compatible with the requirements of the Companies Act" In proposing, Ray outlined the advantages of limited liability in protecting members and of by guarantee status, which was compatible with charitable status, should we decide to seek this in future. The costs would be up to £400 if we used a company formation agent, and annual filing fees of around £30 for annual reports and accounts. The administrative and governance requirements for a company limited by guarantee are no more onerous than those of a members' club of comparable size / turnover. Any additional workload would fall on the directors. Sue Day seconded. In discussion a number of supportive comments and suggestions were made. - The current constitution should be checked against the requirements of the Charity Commission to identify any minor changes needed to enable a smooth future transition to charitable status; these could be made at the same time as any minor changes needed for Companies Act compliance. - Ed Mortimer had recently set up the Hollinwood Canal Society as a company limited by guarantee with charitable status without using a company formation service, and he offered help and advice to the committee. In response to the debate, Ray emphasised that any changes to current constitutional arrangements would be minor; anything that would make a major difference would be referred to a future extraordinary or annual general meeting. The motion was put to the vote and carried nem con. 9. Items for Discussion
None had been received.10. Date and possible venues for AGM 2006
Sue Day outlined the reasons for bringing the 2005 AGM forward - The intention was to allow commercial operators to attend before their season started at Easter. Unfortunately bad weather had prevented their attendance at this meeting. Sue sought the meeting's opinions on the date and venue for 2006. The consensus was: - The critical item would be the preparation / presentation / audit of accounts to allow compliance with company reporting requirements, assuming that we were a company limited by guarantee; and The AGM should avoid the a clash with HNBOC AGM on the first weekend in March; - There was a suggestion for a Midlands venue - perhaps a return to the Black Country Museum. No formal decision was made and the matter was left to be finalised by the Committee. 11. Fundraising - Heritage Lottery Fund Grant
Sue Day reported that the Committee were pursuing a grant from the national lottery to enable us to: - Conduct a three-year programme of horseboating journeys and educational events culminating with attendance at the 2007 World Canals Conference in Liverpool; - Produce the revised leaflet "Why do Canals have Towpaths?"; - Produce the towing path access guidance. During the discussion it emerged that members had offered a total of £1,000 towards the purchase of Elland. The consensus of the meeting was that - Elland should be preserved for horseboating; It would be preferable if a small group of individuals or a separate society were to purchase and maintain Elland and offer her to the Society for horseboating activities. 12. Any Other Business
Leaflets: Barbara Catford offered some of the BMS' existing stock of the leaflet "Why Do Canals Have Towpaths?" in the event that the Society's revised version was not ready in time for the June journeys with Gifford.Insurance: John Lockley asked what the Society's insurance position was. The Committee had had considerable trouble finding a carrier for public liability insurance, but had received a quotation from Carriage House for around £300 per year to cover use of the boathorse and towline. The meeting agreed that the committee should take out this insurance. There being no other business, the AGM closed at 4:10 pm. No raffle was held, as insufficient prizes had been received as a number of committee members had been unable to attend because of snowy road conditions. The prizes on hand were auctioned in aid of Society funds, as follows: Recipe Book (Di Mitchell) £3.00 Horseboat "Elland" Toffees (Tim Lucey) £3.00 Tray painted with roses and castles by Tim Lucey (Martin Clark) £7.50 Boathorse postcard (Ed Mortimer) £2.20 Total: £15.70 Balance Sheet 1st Jan - 31st Dec 2004
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