NEWSLETTER SPRING 2010

Dear Member

I thought you might be interested in the outcome of the AGM.  Twenty-six members and seven interested locals watched the presentation by Peter Brown and took part in the discussion afterwards.  Whilst the business of the evening was progressing Peter totted up the results of the ballot. Of the twenty-six members who indicated their preferences there were twenty-two permutations of the options.

The result was that the people present preferred option C.  If you remember from your AGM papers this was the option to build a small mooring basin which will be built to enable the waterway to continue onward at a future date.  

The committee are now progressing this.  Our first priority is to gain permission from Shropshire Council to dig some holes for soil analysis.  It is important to gain this knowledge early on as if the soil is contaminated this will involve extra costs in disposal.  After the results are received then further geo-technical studies will be required before planning permission can be applied for. Some serious fund-raising will be required and that will be another aspect that the committee will be working on.

Since Kathryn, and now Andrew,  has retired from the committee we are short of committee members so if anyone feels they may have some time and enthusiasm on their hands we would like to hear from you. We could also do with other forms of help that do not necessarily mean being on the committee.  A newsletter editor is very necessary to keep us all in touch and is something that has lapsed of late.  Someone with PR skills would be great for press releases and generally getting us noticed.  Any offer of help with coffee mornings or the boat rally would also be gratefully received.

Two new benches have been purchased and installed along the Arm.  One was purchased with money from the Support Group and a plaque denotes that fact.  The other was made possible by a legacy.  We are very grateful for this support.  

A boom has been made to try to keep the leaves from entering the Arm.  Unfortunately we didn’t get it in position very early this year, and then it got frozen in, but we are hopeful for more success this autumn.  We have arranged with a local contractor with a digger and a dumper to remove most of the leaves at the Chemistry Bridge end of the Arm as it is looking very unkempt at the moment.  Whilst waiting for the machinery to finish its current job the frogs got there first.  The end of the Arm is full of frog spawn, and tadpoles, so there will be a delay.

We are taking a leaf out of the Whitchurch Better Welcome group’s book and renewing the signage on the Arm.  The sign at the entrance looks tatty and the one along the Arm is out of date.  We are also putting a contact telephone number on the sign.  No-one reads them so they shouldn’t really be worn out!

With my membership hat on I would like to thank those members that renew their membership by standing order.  This makes my job much easier as I don’t have to send out reminders.  If you know anyone who would like to join please let me know.

With my rally hat on I can tell you that the Gathering of Boats will be on 18th and 19th September and plans are well under way.  Half of our available stall space has been booked, the plaques have been ordered and sixteen boats have booked in.  The man carving with a chain saw will be demonstrating again, the dog show is being held on the Sunday and a model boat club will be demonstrating their boats on the Saturday.  I hope you will able to come along and support the Trust.

Those with internet access do keep an eye on the website, reports of meetings are posted and all the news as it happens.

Best wishes

Lindsay Green