Windmill Angling Club March AGM 2023 Meeting Minutes

1. Apologies for Absence

Apologies for absence were received from Julian Young, Chris Plant, Nick Metcalfe, Steve Scott, Bob Hallworth, Kieron Murphy, Russell Mathews, Nick Hunt, Ray Wills and Peter Pantiledes.

2. Minutes of the last AGM (2022)
The minutes of the last AGM (2022) were read from the website by Mark Bowden. There were no matters arising. Therefore, they were proposed by A. Southern and seconded by S. Drabble.

3. Secretary’s Report
Andy Southern reported that a point had come up concerning our insurance cover. The policy with the Angling Trust covers us in respect of Hunters Pool and any legal issues that stem from that, including fish kills, etc., that are due to a third party’s fault, such as pollution coming from somewhere else. However, we are not covered should our fish stocks suffer due to a non-fault issue, such as an oxygen crash during summer months. He has enquired with the insurance company that the Angling Trust recommends and established that in order to cover us, it would cost in the region of £1250 per year – pretty much all of our income from members’ subscriptions. It’s calculated to be around 5% of the value of the fish restocking. All those present agreed that this is not feasible for us to take up further and also agreed we were doing everything possible to mitigate against any preventable dangers to our fish stock, such as developing and deploying the solar-powered aerator.

4. Treasurer’s Report
The accounts have been audited and signed off by Ray Boden. The current account stands at £1045.42 as of 18/03/23. At present, we are £288.87 up on last year having paid out most of this year’s outgoings. The club remains in good financial health, and the accounts for the year were at the meeting and available for anyone to view on request.

The Environment Agency grant had been fully spent and all present at the meeting were enthusiastic to get to work on making the new bank usable.

Current membership stands at 72, made up of 2 honorary members, 12 juniors, 18 OAPs, and 40 seniors.

5. Match Secretary’s report
Stuart Drabble’s report reflected that unfortunately, it wasn’t possible to run as many matches as we had intended during 2022 due to the low water levels during the summer months. However, he also highlighted the huge success of the Juniors’ match, which we intend to run again in 2023. Matches will be organised again for the summer, and it might be necessary to limit the number of matches everyone can fish in order to share places out if they prove popular. All match dates for 2023 are now available on the website.

6. Working Party Officer’s report
Unfortunately, Bob Hallworth wasn’t available to join the meeting, but had requested that the Committee mention on his behalf the importance of all members making sure their rod licences were current and up-to-date. He also stated the importance of the April Working Party as it is the most important WP of the year, allowing as many members as possible to enjoy Hunters Pool during the summer months. This main Spring Working Party is planned for 22 & 23 April, and the other dates are there for everyone to see on the website.

7. Election of Officers and Committee for 2023/24
There were no changes to the Committee members or positions, so the Committee remains:
• President – Ray Boden
• Chairman – Mark Bowden
• Secretary – Peter Boyce
• Treasurer – Andy Southern
• Data Protection Officer – Andy Southern
• Webmaster – Andy Southern
• Match Secretary – Stuart Drabble
• Minutes Secretary – Stuart Drabble
• Honorary Auditor – Ray Boden
• Fisheries/Working Party Officer – Bob Hallworth
• Website Officer – Andy Southern

8. Notice of Motions
Andy Southern read through the proposed rule changes which are available on the club website, and these were voted through unanimously, as were the 2022 accounts.

9. Trustees of Hunters Pool

M. Bowden, S. Drabble, B. Hallworth, A. Southern
No change required for 2024

10. A.O.B.

Andy Southern provided a presentation to update the membership on the progress being made on the Solar Aerator System we are designing/building for Hunters Pool to mitigate against the risk of an Oxygen crash. This was very well received with much interest and positive feedback from all members present in the room. 

A big thank you was passed on to Andy Grimshaw (non-member friend of the club) and Craig Watson-Parke for all their hard work in making this happen for us. 

We also thanked several members for their donations and explained that these had been put to very good use and parts of the system are now being procured/commissioned with a view to installation in May 2023.

Craig queried whether it was necessary to review our rules regarding juniors fishing at Hunters Pool. The Committee confirmed that they must be accompanied and near the senior member to ensure their safety. The Committee agreed to review the rules and check if any amendments are necessary, such as making it clear that juniors must fish as close to the adult member as possible (i.e. on the next available peg), therefore ensuring their safety as much as possible.

11. Meeting Closed 21:00

Thank you to all the many members who attended; it was really great to see so many faces.