Minutes of the Josephine Avenue Group Meeting 12/10/2005
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Those present: Sara Leon ( Co Chair), Garry Turnbull (Co-Chair), Mark Chetwynd, Pelle Kraft, Roger Blantern
Chris Van Duuren (Treasurer), Lillian Waddle, Geoff Bicke.
First time attendees, Lillian and Geoff were welcomed by the group.
1 Apologies received from Tim Sutton, Anne Brown.
2 Minutes of previous meeting held 13/09/05. Following errata noted; Item 3. Chris had not provided a breakdown of costs for Urban Art as she had not been provided with an expenses account by Tim S. Item 5. Sara had offered to find a replacement carpenter but had not mentioned ‘At a reasonable cost’. Also Roger noted that he had offered to provide an alternative site for the notice board. After these comments the minutes were approved.
3 Treasure’s Report Chris reported that the accounts figures stood as previously reported. She now has the Urban Art expenses list and will produce a cost breakdown.
4 Urban Art 2005 Sara gave a brief background for first-timers, Lillian & Geoff. In the absence of Tim it was decided to postpone any decisions until next meeting. There was however, a brief discussion. Garry noted that due to the continuing success of the fair, there was now the possibility of taking it to another level which might involve increasing the size, vetting / screening exhibitors, closing the street, increasing the fee to exhibitors…. Any or all of the above, in the opinion of some of those present, might prejudice the local / community aspects of the fair.
Mark suggested that it might be possible to have a two day ‘Urban Art’ with a ‘local / fringe’ day followed by a more serious ‘Art’ day…….
The children’s exhibition was thought to be a success and might involve the two other local schools in the future.
Pelle thought £20 fee for exhibitors was cheap and might be increased.
Here the meeting decided to move on allowing residents time to consider the various options before discussing them at the next meeting.
5. Notice to Railing Owners If you are the owner of any of the railings used for Urban Art and wish to claim your £20 rent fee, please contact us ( with proof of ownership) by 31st October 2005. If you do not we will assume you wish the funds to be donated back to JAG funds to help with street projects and next year’s Urban Art event.
6. Street Notice Board Sara had tried to contact a carpenter but with no success. Chris offered to try a carpenter contact she has.
Roger reported that he had had a talk with Lambeth Planning re the placing of the notice board in his front garden. They wanted to see a drawing and site photos before they could finally comment. Roger also mentioned that he might also prefer the notice board to be fixed to the existing railings thus avoiding any future issues of access to the board should he move or sell. At this point it was thought that as the same design could be used in either location we should wait for advice or comments from the planning dept. Roger will talk to them again.
7. Rubbish Dumping Geoff noted that he has seen a large white van dumping bulky items onto the pavement on two occasions. He can identify this van and says that it is often parked in Helix Road late in the evening. The group thought that a warning note on the windscreen condemning such behavior could act as a deterrent.
Mark offered to write the note. Geoff will place it on the Van.
8. CPZ Garry noted that he had received notice that the council had finally decided to implement the Brixton Hill East
‘Q’ Controlled Parking Zone. The work should start mid November and be completed mid December.
It was noted as unfortunate that some parts of the scheme had 2 hour restrictions while Josephine Ave will have 8.30 to 6.30 – all day.
9. Tree Inspection Roger has had no reply from the Lambeth Tree Officer regarding an inspection of the Avenue’s trees. In the meantime Roger had contacted Kew and Wizley centers re the worrying condition of the Chestnut Trees.
They confirmed the presence of a Continental Horse Chestnut Tree Moth parasite. This moth affects the white varieties of the species and apparently is affecting the Chestnut Trees in the avenue. Not much is known at this stage but roger offered to again attempt contacting Lambeth’s Tree Officer to arrange the inspection and find out if they had any knowledge or policy regarding this tree pest. Geoff offered to talk to a colleague who works in Brockwell Park re the moths.
10. JAG Grant System Awaiting news from Louise
11. Street Clean Date was set for next Street Clean, Sunday, Nov 27. Chris will liaise with the council re their involvement. It was decided to publicise the event with a notice circulated on next months meeting minutes and then a leaflet in the week before.
12. Car Boot Sale Sara will organize Car Boot Sale ( help from Louise) prob Feb / March 2006
13. Other Matters
a; Break-in Roger noted an opportunist break-in at No 7 but the culprit had been scared off by the Alarm sounding.
b; Abandoned Cars Mark noted that he thought someone was using an abandoned car for sleeping in. As this was recent he would monitor the situation and report if it worsened.
c; Police Meeting Garry reported that he had attended a meeting at the Brixton Police Station attended by representatives of the Vice Squad, Drug and Alcohol Unit, Community Safety Officer, Police Officers.
The purpose of the meeting was to explore ways of co-ordinating action against prostitution in Josephine Avenue. One of the issues raised was the level of street lighting in the avenue. The police have always considered this a problem. Pelle will contact Kate Newham, (Community Safety Officer) to offer JAG support for an approach to the council to once again address this concern. Jason Frith (Sergeant,Tulse Hill Ward) suggested that increased signage in the street might deter Kerb Crawlers but thought that residents were often against such schemes. Garry offered to sound out the JAG group which were in favour but would like to know what the signs would look like first. Garry to find out. Sgnt Jason Frith also pointed out that there would be a meeting of the Tulse Hill Community Panel on Tuesday 18th and it would be useful if JAG was represented. Pelle suggested that he would try to make it and report back to the group.
The minutes of this meeting can be found at this link www.garryturnbull.com/media/JAG_Police.pd
d; Minutes Distribution Pelle noted that he was a few copies short while distributing last month’s minutes. He suggests printing an extra 12 or so copies.
14. To Do List
Chris Van Duuren Cost break down for Urban Art. 2; Approach carpenter re street notice board. 3, Contact Lambeth re Street Clean.
Roger Blantern Contact Lambeth Tree Officer. 2, Contact planning re street notice board.
Garry Turnbull Contact Sergeant J Frith re signage details.
Geoff Bicke Talk to contact in Parks Dept re Chestnut Trees. 2. Place note on ‘dumping suspect’ van window
Mark Chetwynd Write letter for ‘dumping suspect’ van windscreen.
Pelle Kraft Contact Kate Newham CSO to liaise re the Street Lighting issue 2. Attend Tulse Hill Community Panel meet.
Meeting closed at 10.10pm
15. Next JAG Meeting will be held on Tuesday 8th November at 57 Josephine Ave, 8.00pm
Subsequent Meetings; Please note these forthcoming JAG meeting dates in your diary; Weds 14 December,