2018 AGM

MINUTES OF THE

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of THE CHELSEA SOCIETY

held on

MONDAY 26th NOVEMBER 2018

in the

GREAT HALL, CHELSEA OLD TOWN HALL
KING’S ROAD, LONDON SW3

in the presence of 105 members of the Society

1. At 18:35 the meeting commenced with a broadcast from Greenland by the Society’s President, John Simpson CBE, apologising for his inability to be present. He congratulated the Society for its work in 2018 and wished it well for the coming year.

2. The minutes of the last Annual General Meeting held on Monday, 20th November 2017 were approved.
3. Elections to the Council of the Society: Michael Bach, Terence Bendixson and Jennifer Grossman retired pursuant to Rule 4.16 of the Constitution. Michael Bach and Terence Bendixson offered themselves for re-election and were elected.
4. The Accounts for the financial year ended 30 June 2018 were presented by Christopher Lenon as Acting Treasurer, and were adopted.
5. No Notice of Resolutions had been received under Rule 8.12.1 of the Constitution.
6. The Chairman’s Annual Report for 2018 was presented by the Chairman, Dr. James Thompson and will be found on the website at About Us/Chairman’s Reports.

7. QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS 19:08 – 19:33

A member asked whether the Society’s membership was increasing or diminishing. The Membership Secretary replied that we had 35 more members than at this time last year.

A member expressed concern about the enforcement of traffic laws in Chelsea. Cllr. Will Pascall, lead Member at RBKC for Planning and Transport, made a statement on improvements to the Council’s procedures for enforcing the planning laws, construction and construction-traffic management plans, and parking and waiting regulations.

Two members asked about TfL proposals to alter the bus services serving Chelsea.

The Planning Committee Chairman replied that the Society had objected to any reduction in these bus services, and a copy of the Society’s submission had been placed on its website at https://chelseasociety.org.uk/buses-consultation-route-changes/

The MP for Chelsea & Fulham, the Rt. Hon. Greg Hands also said that he had objected on behalf of his constituents, and thanked RBKC for their support for this objection. He said that the need to reduce bus services was due to the Mayor’s promise to freeze bus fares if he were elected.

A member asked about The Queen’s Head pub in Tryon St.

The Planning Committee chairman replied that he and the member of the Committee for Royal Hospital Ward had visited the pub and had spoken with the owner. They made it clear that the Society wished the building to remain as a pub or pub/restaurant, and would not agree to it being converted to residential, although we would consider some residential accommodation as part of the overall development. We had not heard from the owner for some time, and would contact him again as work had not yet started.

A member expressed concern about cyclists riding on the pavement.

The Planning Committee chairman replied that whilst cyclists rightly expected their rights to be respected it was important that they respected the rights of others. He had proposed some years ago that if cyclists committed traffic offences their bicycles should be held until they paid a fine, and invited the MP to bring this again to the attention of Parliament.

A member asked about the cinemas in the King’s Road which were both closed.

The Planning Committee chairman replied that the Society had been in dialogue with the owners of both cinemas and their architects. Building work would take some time, but on completion we would have two new cinemas, better than the old ones.

Work on the Curzon cinema would take extra time due to the need to keep the Waitrose store open. The manager of Waitrose was present at the meeting and said that he and his staff would do their best to provide a normal service throughout the works.

The Chairman closed the meeting at 19:33 and wine and soft drinks were served.