Archived Information


A.G.M. Held on 27/3/2012


Thanks to everyone who came and for making it a great night. The constitution was passed and is now in place. We have a working committee and a small amount of funds. A special thanks to the ladies for baking the cakes, they were Delicious. Yours Graham

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Appendix 1 - Cromwell Bottom – Draft Interim Constitution

  1. Name
The charity’s name is Cromwell Bottom Development Group
ACTION: name to be discussed further
(this was later amended to "Cromwell Bottom Wildlife Group")

  1. The purposes of the charity are:
[to look at the old constitution for guidance Action: Hugh to ask Robin to bring the old constitution to the next meeting]

In relation to the site – Cromwell Bottom including the North Loop
o       The protection of the flora and fauna or, protecting the development, wellbeing and welfare of the flora and fauna
    • The development of the site
    • The promotion of the site
    • The upkeep of the site


  1. Trustees
The Charity shall be managed by a committee of trustees who are appointed at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the charity.


  1. Carrying out the purposes
In order to carry out the charitiable purposes, the trustees have the power to;

(1)   Raise funds, receive grants and donations
(2)   Apply funds to carry out the work of the charity
(3)   Co-operate with and support other charities with similar purposes
(4)   Do anything which is lawful and necessary to achieve the purposes


  1. Membership
The charity shall have a membership. People who support the work of the charity, can apply to the trustees to become a member. Once accepted by the trustees, membership lasts for 1 year and may be reviewed. The trustees will keep an up-to-date membership list.

The trustees may remove a person’s membership if they believe it is in the best interests of the charity. The member has the right to be heard by the trustees before the decision is made and can be accompanied by a friend.



  1. Annual General Meeting – AGM
(1)           The AGM must be held every year, with 14 days notice given to all members telling them what is on the agenda. Minutes must be kept of the AGM.
(2)           There must be at least 10% of members present at the AGM
(3)           Every member has one vote
(4)           The trustees shall present the annual report and accounts
(5)           Any member may stand for election as a trustee
(6)           Members shall elect between 4 & 8 trustees to serve for the next year. They will retire at the next AGM but may stand for re-election.


  1. Trustee meetings
(1)           Trustees must hold at least 3 meetings each year. Trustees may act by majority decision.
(2)           At least 3 trustees must be present at the meeting to be able to take decisions. Minutes shall be kept for every meeting.
(3)           If trustees have a conflict of interest they must declare it and leave the meeting while this matter is being discussed and decided.
(4)           During the year, the trustees may fill vacant positions. They will stand down at the next AGM.
(5)           The trustees may make reasonable additional rules to help run the charity. These rules must not conflict with this constitution or the law.



  1. Money and property
(1)           Money and property must only be used for the charity’s purposes
(2)           Trustees must keep accounts. The most recent annual accounts can be seen by anybody on request.
(3)           Trustees cannot receive money or property from the charity, except to refund reasonable out of pocket expenses.
(4)           Money must be held in the charity’s bank account. All cheques must be signed by 2 trustees.
(5)           Withdrawals of money over £100 shall be agreed by the majority of trustees.



  1. General meetings
If the Trustees consider it necessary to change the consitution, or wind up the charity, they must call a General Meeting so that the membership can make the decision. Trustees must also call a General Meeting if they receive a written request for the majority of members. All members must be given 14 days notice and told the reason for the meeting. All decisions require a two third majority. Minutes must be kept.

(1)           Winding up - any money or property remaining after payment of debts must be given to a charity with similar purposes to this one.
(2)           Changes to the Constitution – can be made at AGMs or General Meetings. No change can be made that would make the organisation no longer a charity
(3)           General Meeting – called on written request from a majority of members
(4)           Trustees may also call a General Meeting to consult the membership




  1. Setting up the charity
This constitution was adopted on………………….20…………by the people whose signatures appear below. They are the first members of the charity and will be the trustees until the AGM, which must be held within one year of this date.
Signed                                     Print name and address
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Appendix 2 - ‘Wish List’ for Cromwell Bottom

1.    Toilets in the car park / skip area
2.    Map of “You are here” plus interesting points/highlights to visit
3.    Leaflets
4.    Educational base of area
5.    Obtain grant funding for the site
6.    Obtain sponsorship for the site – Marshalls sponsored the last group
7.    Mini-diggers / digger for ponds
8.    Bowsers to fill the ponds



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R.S.P.B. Regional Agricultural Adviser: Yorkshire & Humber


Site visit note:

Visit to Cromwell Bottom L.N.R.  GR SE123223 12th January 2012

Only the summary of objectives are reproduced here, the site description and other details have been omitted. Full report available on request.

Individuals present were: Chris Tomson (RSPB), Nick Adams (RSPB), Robin (ACO Lower Valley CMBC), Hugh (CMBC) and volunteers Alan, Graham, Mike and Bruce.

Reason for visit:

The visit was carried out to provide advice about management of the reed-bed and other adjacent habitats.

Objectives:

To maintain the range of valuable habitats and to maintain and increase the rich flora and fauna:

Key Species:

Species currently using the reed-bed are reed warbler, sedge warbler and reed bunting:

The scrub is a valuable habitat in the right place, but needs to be managed.

Objectives for the open water and reed-bed:

  • Maintain an area of open water.
  • Maintain the reed-bed by managing succession.
  • Increase the age structure of reed.
  • Improve reed vigour by reducing the litter layer.
  • Maximise edge effect (create coves and bays)

Recommended actions:

Construct a sluice between the two lagoons to control water levels.
Remove trees and scrub from the reed-bed .
Treat the stumps to prevent regrowth.

The wet woodland in the eastern lagoon:

The wet woodland is a scarce habitat but is of an even age, opening up some areas and creating shallow depressions will encourage new ground flora in the drier areas.

The lowland bog:

“A very fine habitat” with sphagnum and polytrichum mosses and it is important to maintain the water level. Some of the willows need removing.

Chris stated that this is a great site and looks forward to seeing it through the seasons.
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The new feeder area is up and running thanks to Allan's work on this , a few of the birds seen so far are
GSW / Nuthatch / all the tits / bullfinch / and Redpoll today , looking forward to seeing this area progress yours GWH
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NORTH LOOP INFO

As some of you know the North Loop area of Cromwell Bottom is to be recapped , the work was to go ahead in 2012 however due to contract issues this will not now happen until 2013 , the known newt colony that is now there will have to be moved and a new pond will be made away from the recapping area .
This gives us an opportunity to do a study / survey of that area which has been closed to us for 10 or so years , the details have to be sorted out with Hugh /Bob / Robin etc, but limited access will be given to a selected few, from the Groups involved . Anyone wishing to do a survey could they get in touch with me and when things are sorted i will relay the details to you .
yours GWH
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Hi All,

RSPB advisor Chris Tomson is meeting with members of the CBWG/CBCG/Calderdale Council on Thursday Jan 12th to assess the state of the reed beds at CB, with aim of arriving at a suitable management regime for the lagoon. For further information contact robin.dalton@calderdale.gov.uk

Please let me know if you are able to come along; it would be great if the visit was supported by someone from the CBWG/CBCG/HSS. I appreciate it is during the working week, so may not be possible for all. Please get in touch if you can come along to confirm the timings; also if you can think of anyone else who would be a good addition to invite.

We’ll be meeting Chris Tomson on the 12th, and we’ll meet at the normal Cromwell Bottom car park. (fishermans car park, past the pallets)

Kind Regards,

Robin
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Those interested in the future of Cromwell Bottom LNR then please follow this link for further information.

Also for your interest:
Off road usage.
Signs are going up to warn off trials bikes/quads from trespassing onto the Reserve. Barrier enhancements are also planned for the metal ‘gate’ by the Calder.
North Loop.
Look out for an e-mail in the near future for an evening meet about the plans for North Loop, as the Council moves towards re-capping the land fill in 2012.
Work Parties.
Saturday practical work parties will be starting again over the autumn. I’ll send out a start date in a couple of weeks for anyone keen to get grubby!!
Audio trail.
An audio trail taking you around Cromwell Bottom can be downloaded from the Natural England website following this link (ctrl and click):


Many thanks for your interest and support.

Regards,

Robin

Robin Dalton
Area Countryside Officer - Lower Valley
Safer, Cleaner, Greener
                                                                               
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