RUSHMERE COMMONERS COMMITTEE

Registered Charity No. 274900

 

Minutes of meeting held on Wednesday 18th March 2026
at Rushmere Golf Club commencing at 6.30pm
 

Present

Trustees

Mike Shields Vice Chairman (MS)

Alison Pledger (AP)

Kev Driver (KD)

Diane Grayston (DG)

John Adams (JA)

Clive Pink (CP)

Alan Moore (AM)

Steven Reason (SR)

 

Also present

Chris Kendall (Clerk)

Bob Gosden (Warden)

 

Apologies were received and accepted from Mike Gilson.  All at RCC send our condolences to him on the recent loss of his mum.

 

  1. Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 21st January 2026

Agreed.

         

  1. Matters arising from the meeting held on Wednesday 21st January 2026

          Ray’s resignation – Ray has declined the offer of a lunch out.  So Chris to organise for a cream tea to be delivered to him.

          Dog bags – the new dog bag dispenser is continuing to be very popular, so we do not save any money by using this type of dispenser instead of our existing ones.  JA suggested that dog bags could potentially be sold by RGC.  The issue of money for bags and dog fouling will be considered at our next meeting. 

          Old logo – this will be dealt with at our next meeting.

          Pond clearance – SR has acquired some waders, but as the pond now has frog spawn in it, this matter will be dealt with in the Autumn.

          Charities Risk Assessment – MS has produced a document and MG has started looking at this. Update at next meeting.

          Gorse clearance – this has been done.  More later in the meeting.

          NEIF (National Energy Improvement Fund) Grant – SR has registered our expression of interest for a grant. More later in the meeting.

          Pond work – SR has made a stumpery, near the pond, to provide wildlife habitat.  Suffolk Wildlife Trust will let us know when they are coming to look at the pond again.

          6 month tree survey work – this will be discussed at our next meeting.

          Path from 7th to 1st – this will be added to the CNCI list for Autumn.

          Prospective new trustee – Bob has been advised to ask the interested gentleman to nominate himself when the Preliminary Notice of AGM goes up.

          Role of the warden/succession planning/HR issues – to be discussed at our next meeting.

          City Fibre Wayleave – later.

          RGC Licence Agreement – RGC’s agreement to carry on with the existing Licence following its incorporation, will be obtained at the liaison meeting on 8th April.

          Investments – Chris explained her findings about saving with CAF (Charities Aid Foundation) Bank, instead of, as we currently do, with Barclays and Lloyds banks. If we were to move to CAF we would need to open a current account with them first and this may be subject to a monthly fee.  AP noticed that we are receiving more interest from Barclays than Lloyds, so it should be considered whether to move  more funds to Barclays. Chris said that we should not have more than £85,000 with any one institution, but has since found out that this is now £120,000.  Therefore, we could consider moving more funds from Lloyds to Barclays.  Next meeting.

 

  1. Management of the common

          Gorse clearance – Matthew Allen has cleared part area 26 and part area 29 and this is now looking good.  On this first visit Matthew managed to clear approx. 0.6 hectares but would anticipate being able to clear a hectare a day in future. SR queried whether other areas could be done, and this will be included in next year’s budget. SR also asked about clearing the area by the old football pitch by scraping and planting heather.  BG said that the best time to plant heather is in the autumn. SR was given permission to clear the area near the 14th to give heather a chance. MS asked SR to be mindful of any risks whilst carrying out such work.  RGC may use Matthew to clear gorse on the practice area and we will mention this at the RGC liaison meeting and see if we can share some costs on the common.

          Overhanging tree Brendon Drive – permission to do the work on a tree with a TPO,that overhangs 2 Brendon Drive, has been granted. Chris has asked the homeowners if they will agree 50/50 on the cost of this job.  When agreed Chris to instruct Tom Lyon to carry out the work.

          City Fibre Wayleave – our solicitors have agreed the wording of the wayleave relating to an installation on the service road along Woodbridge Rd.  MS will sign the document.  Chris to return the document and request the £100 grant.

          Pond fence/gate posts – Chris Wilton has provided a quote of £407.90 to replace some fence and gate posts around the pond.  The quote is agreed.  Chris to liaise with CW and ask him to do the work.

                   

  1. Heath warden’s report

          Dog fouling – Bob said that this has been an issue for years.  He considers that the current system works well.

          Lighter evenings – Bob asked that we be vigilant regarding issues due to the lighter evenings, especially about one hour before dusk.

          Dead animals - Bob reported that he has dealt with a muntjac and one or two foxes lately.

          Damage to 7th and 8th greens – the damage here is now growing out.

          12th green – the green has been moved, temporarily, due to water damage.

          18th tee – Bob and the greenkeepers have filled in some digging here.

          Electric bike – SR has spotted an electric bike being ridden at a high speed.  If we can find out where the cyclist lives, we can send a letter saying that bikes etc. are not allowed on the common. AP will investigate how we can report this in our local magazine articles.  We will speak to Bob Tawall, about any permitted vehicles, at our liaison meeting.

 

  1. Golf club matters

          Only those matters already mentioned.

                   

  1. Finance and budget

          New budget – Chris said that our year end is 31st March.  Trustees then gave details of some items to be included in the budget for the year commencing 1st April.  Chris to include 30 days at £400 per day for CNCI path work and 4 days for Matthew Allen £4000) to do more gorse clearance in accordance with the Management Plan. Tree work, same budget as this year, as 6 month survey work will need to be done.

          Insurance for trustees to carry out burns – Chris to request a quote for this to be added onto our insurance policy.

 

  1. Any other business

          NEIF grant – SR has spoken to the grant administrators about our EOI.  They have advised that we are out of area but the panel will consider whether this would preclude us from applying for the grant or not. A decision should be given on this in   June.

          Communication boxes near tank traps – AM asked if we have wayleaves in place for these boxes, that have been present for a long time.  Chris to investigate.

         

  1. Date of next meetings

            Chris to book RGC for the 3rd Wednesday bi-monthly for the rest of the year.

          Chris to note that Alison will not be available for the 20th May meeting.

 

Meeting ended 19.50

 

 

Mrs Chris Kendall – Clerk to Rushmere Commoners