Windmill Angling Club – AGM March 2026
The Club’s Annual General Meeting was held on Monday 16 March 2026, with a strong turnout of members.
The evening covered key updates on club finances, ongoing projects at Hunters Pool, environmental matters, and plans for the year ahead.
Pictured above are Mark Bowden (left) receiving his small token of thanks and, likewise, Peter Boyce getting his gift. Both were presented by our President, Ray Boden.
Opening of the Meeting
Chairman Mark Bowden opened the meeting and welcomed members, confirming that this would be his final meeting as Chairman before handing over to Stuart Drabble.
There was also an attendance record taken of the members present and, going forward, we intend to publisize this as opposed to those who have not attended. Those in attendance at the AGM meeting were: Mark Bowden, Andy Southern, Stuart Drabble, Bob Hallworth, Andy Moore, Andy O’Brien, Jacob Wells, Roger Chapman, Andrew Whittle, Phil Mannion, Alistair Gibson, Mike Harding, Steve Bell, Alan Peacock, Nick Hunt, Mike Hayes, Pete Boyce, Dave Collins, Mick West, Adam Sebes, Gillian Beard, Dave Walker, Ray Boden, Sandra Carter and Mark Stockton.
Apologies for absence were noted from Brian Smith, Geoff Poole, Tony Martin, Pete Pantiledes, Paul Davies, Allan Kaye, Mike Braddock, Nick Metcalfe, Chris Cheney, Alan Chaplain, Richard Stanford and Tony Bent.
All members agreed to the recording of the meeting to support accurate minute-taking, in line with Club policy.
Approval of Previous Minutes
Approval of the minutes from the 2025 AGM was proposed by A Southern and Seconded by R Hallworth and approved by the membership present.
Secretary’s Report
A major focus this year has been environmental monitoring.
The Club has purchased a water quality monitoring system to build a consistent dataset on the health of Hunters Pool. Although an Environment Agency grant was not awarded (as funding cannot be retrospective), the equipment is now in (initial) use and will support ongoing weekly testing. Once Andy & Bob have perfected the operation and consistent taking of readings, they will invite some members to assist, so we can achieve tests every week at, hopefully, the same time. We have also purchased other items such as Phosphate testing strips and a water collection vessel and, eventually will install water depth gauge boards – as monitoring the water’s level and, any impact it has on its quality also needs. Monitoring and recording.
This work is particularly important given the proposed Peak Cluster pipeline project, which may impact Hunters Pool directly or, our feeder stream and other local waterways. The Club has taken a proactive approach by:
- Engaging with Fish Legal, the Angling Trust, and the Environment Agency
- Liaising with other affected angling clubs such as Lingmere Fishery, Port Sunlight Angling Club and Peak Forest Angling Club
- Working with land agents
- Raising awareness through the Angling Times
Andy Southern also mentioned that he will identify and approach affected local Councils to open a dialogue with them. Such councils include Mottram-St.-Andrews Parish Council, Macclesfield Council, Cheshire East Council and so on.
The priority remains clear: to protect the quality and supply of water at Hunters Pool and ensure the Club is fully prepared with evidence should any issues arise.
Treasurer’s Report
The Club remains in a healthy and sustainable financial position.
Annual surplus (2025): approximately £472
Current balance (as of 16/3/26): £4,397.25
Fish Stocking Fund: £275
General Donations: £232
The increase in funds is largely due to the alignment of subscription rates, which has significantly improved sustainability and places the Club in a strong position to fund routine maintenance, deliver small improvement projects and manage unexpected costs without external funding
The annual insurance premium, £568, remains the primary upcoming routine expense, whilst the new “Sump” project will be our biggest single outlay for 2026.
Match Secretary’s report
The 2025 match calendar was successful, and 2026 fixtures are now available on the website. The first match is the Lee Parrott Junior Angling Challenge (Junior’s match) on 21st June and the Thales match has been arranged for 18th July.
Plans include a return to the Serpentine Canal. Stuart had completed a site visit and, after discussions with the owners and hearing their commitments to improvements and ongoing maintenance was willing to recommend a match in 2026.
The Lee Parrott Junior Angling Challenge, taking place in June, now has a fantastic new trophy kindly donated in his memory – thank you to Craig for this, welcome, donation.
Fisheries & Working Parties
- Ongoing and planned work includes:
- Construction of a silt trap near the car park that will be undertaken as soon as the feeder stream dries up. This is our major infrastructure project for the year and, as previously mentioned, will catch the water as it comes onto our land and, more efficiently cleanse it of silt.
- General maintenance and peg improvements and repairs
- Tree management and bank levelling
The March working party has been cancelled due to the stream not being dry enough to start construction of the sump and, the WP was to prepare for this. The next Working Parties are planned for late April.
Fish stocking has also been arranged, with new stock expected early in the year. As agreed at the January meeting, the proposal is to order 200 Ide (8-10″) and 200 Tench (6-8″) at a cost of approximately £2,200.
Archaeology at Hunters Pool: Work with a local archaeological group has revealed that Hunters Pool may originally have been an industrial site, likely linked to historic mining activity. Further investigation is planned and, it is hoped, will further insulate us from unwelcome development from Peak Cluster.
Safeguarding & Welfare
Andy Southern read on Craig Watson-Parke’s behalf and confirmed the Club remains ahead of best practice in safeguarding.
A full risk assessment review will be completed by April 2026 and, as of March 2026, no new welfare concerns were identified
The aerator should be back up and running later this week – ready for the summer season. Going forward, Craig would like to install a second pump so each aerator head has its own pump to give maximum amount of airflow. Plus giving us redundancy in the case of a pump failure or the event an extra aerator head needs deploying in any part of hunters. The system was designed with 2 pumps in mind.
Future improvements include:
- Additional aeration at the deeper end of the pool
Election of Officers (2026)
The following officers were elected:
President & Honorary Auditor: Ray Boden
Chairman: Stuart Drabble
Secretary/Treasurer/Data Protection Officer/Website Officer: Andy Southern
Match Secretary: Stuart Drabble
Welfare & Aerator Officer: Craig Watson-Parke
Fisheries & Working Party Officer: Bob Hallworth
One issue that was raised by Peter Boyce concerned our insurance with the Angling Trust. Specifically, if one person, doing both the Treasurer and Secretary role affected our insurance. Update: They have replied that it does not affect it at all, indeed, it’s a situation more-and-more clubs are finding themselves in, with less people wanting to take on such roles within Angling Clubs.
The election of Committee members was passed by 23 members with 1 abstention and 1 objection.
As the Committee said, they will be spending the year identifying a couple of candidates they feel could take on the Secretary’s role and then approaching them, so, gradually expanding committee roles over the coming year. Of course, that is subject to a member agreeing to take the role on!
Rule Changes
Minor updates to the Club’s rules and constitution were read out and approved by those present.
A proposed change to Rule 15 (attendance requirements) was withdrawn following a member vote on our WhatsApp group.
Any Other Business
Discussions included:
- Future fish stocking (with confirmation that F1 stock cannot be introduced)
- Westhoughton Fisheries Management Course – Mark Bowden delivered a great presentation of his personal conclusions following a Fisheries course he attended. The details can be accessed by members on our private WhatsApp group. For the purposes of this report, the club has agreed to purchase several “orange” work vests for the Scarecrows and a number of Laser Pens.
- Encouraging member suggestions for future Club development
Acknowledgements
The Club extends its sincere thanks to Mark Bowden and Pete Boyce, who stepped down from the Committee after many years of service. Their contributions to the Club and Hunters Pool have been invaluable.
The meeting concluded at 9:37pm.
Members are reminded that ideas and suggestions can be shared at any time via the Club’s WhatsApp group or by contacting the Committee.