FRIENDS OF PRIORY PARK, WARWICK
2025 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING – TUESDAY 25th MARCH
Attendees
Dave Skinner (Chair), Andy Stewart (Secretary), Mo Hooper, Jo Birkbeck, Lesley Hall, Diane James, Karen Stephenson, Marshall Stephenson, Jules Handford, Paul Gerrard, Margaret Gerrard, Becca Woodbine, Lucie Cox, Richard Bainbridge, Richard Lewis, Mary Ann Baynes, Trevor Jenkins, Ian Jones, J Hooper
Apologies
Trevor Day, Tim Robottom, Janet Eslick, Mandy Burford, Johnathan Branson, Gayle Harris, Helen Reid Jackson.
Welcomes
Dave welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked them for attending.
2024 AGM Minutes
The minutes of the AGM held on the 23rd April 2024 were accepted as a true record.
Chair’s Report
Dave commenced by saying that FOPP had only had one meeting over the last year and that was the 2024 AGM. His commitments to Warwick Town Council (WTC), especially the role of Mayor, meant that he hadn’t had any available time to organise or attend any other FOPP meetings. However he has been proactive in progressing some background tasks.
Dave mentioned the three year grant that he had applied for from WTC. This was for 10 Hi-Viz waistcoats with a FOPP logo, enhanced insurance to cover both public and volunteer liability as well as the website hosting charges. This application was successful and Dave has already procured the waistcoats.
In our previous meeting, Dave had said that FOPP had been named of one of the beneficiaries of the late Andrew Philip Griffin. Unfortunately the sale of the flat associated with this estate recently fell through so no real progress has been made on this matter.
Dave then discussed tree loss in the park, especially the large beech tree that fell during one of the winter storms. Prior to the falling of this tree, Dave had previously attended a meeting in Priory Park with the Warwick District Council (WDC) Green Spaces team with one of the purposes of the meeting being to discuss trees that may be at risk. The beech was noted to have fungal infection and it is likely that this is what weakened it to the point that it got blown over. Also discussed during this meeting were the occurrences of youngsters mountain biking in the dip / dell area and also that they were digging ramps to jump their bikes over. The Green Spaces team are proposing felling some of the smaller trees in this area that have suffered damage from squirrels and replanting with some new whips with the hope that this will reduce this sort of behaviour. This work would need to be agreed by Historic England and in the future they will be visiting the area in question with the aim of coming to a decision concerning this work.
Although the tree safety survey is an ongoing process, a lot of non-essential tree work has been postponed with the priority being making safe any trees in the local area that did fall because of the winter storms. It was noted that although the beech that was blown over is still in the location where it fell, it has been made safe and the intention is to leave it where it is in order to provide enhanced habitat for various animals. There is some concern about another beech located near the one that was blown over as it has already lost a large bough. If there are any concerns about the safety of trees in the park, we will make the Green Spaces team aware but the team are being proactive concerning tree maintenance in the park, especially with the recent appointment of Deb Merrick to the position of Green Spaces Team Development Officer.
Dave then spoke about the wildflower meadow, saying how successful it had been last year with 25 species being in flower by midsummer. Cowslips are already visible in the meadow this year and the edge mowing has been completed. It was queried whether we should be introducing any extra native species this year. Lesley said she didn’t think that this would be necessary and also that the brambles had already been cut back around the edges of the meadow area. She also mentioned the unknown person who had been spotted litter picking in the park. Lucie queried how often the meadow area was cut and Dave answered that it was once a year with the cut intended to be early autumn. In October 2024, Lesley and Jo had raked a lot of the cut material from the meadow area as this had been left in place after last year’s cut. Dave asked Lesley whether she would be surveying the species in the wildflower meadow as she has done in previous years and Lesley confirmed that she would be performing a monthly survey.
Dave said that he hasn’t yet uploaded to the FOPP website the 2023 entomology information and photos that a friend of Lesley’s produced in July 2023, but that he would try and progress this. Lesley mentioned that her friend may repeat this exercise this year and also asked Paul whether he had managed to progress the survey of grasses in park. Paul answered that he had and would provide an update at a future meeting.
It was mentioned that encroachment of soil and other such material was causing some of the paths in the park to become quite a bit narrower and Dave answered that although he could mention it to the Green Spaces Team, he didn’t think it was necessarily something that they would get involved with.
Lesley mentioned that the oak tree that was recently planted in the park appears to have become established. She also commented that the small leaved limes that the group planted in 2022 were budding nicely and wondered whether we should be thinking of removing the guards. The ties will need adjusting and the ground area around each tree could do with a bit of clearance but volunteers for this work would be required. Lucie said she would be willing to assist with this. Dave asked Lucie whether she thought we would need to notify WDC when this work is to go ahead and Lucie confirmed it would be best to notify them.
Dave then mentioned the 3 QR code information signs that Johnathan had organised in conjunction with funding from Warwick Unlocked. When scanned, the QR redirects to the FOPP website. It was mentioned that these signs are meant for casual users of the park rather than members of FOPP as it is expected that FOPP members would already be aware of the website. Dave is intending asking Dianne Loftus whether there has been any increase in traffic to the website since the signs were installed.
Dave then spoke about the new finger post sign that has been installed in the park as part of the WTC wayfaring project. Jo asked why the sign didn’t reference the Priory Pools area. Dave answered that this is because the Priory Pools area isn’t big enough to be referenced on the sign but that when the new Priory Pools Community Centre (see later in the minutes) is completed that there will be signage referencing Priory Pools. Dave also explained that although the new sign appears to not reference the shortest route to Warwick Hospital, the sign is actually directing to the main entrance of the hospital on Lakin Road.
Dave then talked about birds in the park and mentioned the egret that Karen had seen in the park in February. He also mentioned that he hasn’t seen the grey heron that had been spotted previously and that this may be due to the work on installing the new lifts at the railway station proving a disturbance. It was queried whether this work could be causing a deterioration of water quality in St. John’s Brook but as the brook currently contains frog spawn, this is possibly not the case. Dave mentioned some of the birds that had been spotted in the park over the last year. These included sparrowhawks, nuthatches, stock doves, song thrushes and buzzards. He also said that although he had seen some goldfinches, he hadn’t observed chaffinches or bullfinches for quite a while and the same was true for mistlethrushes. It was also mentioned that neither muntjac or roe deer had been seen in the park for a while and it was possible, especially for the roe deer, that they were passing through the park rather than living permanently in the park. Dave also asked that if people have any good photos of wildlife in the park could they upload these to the group’s Facebook group.
Dave then referred to the railway bridge tunnel mural. Although this has been discussed in the past, funding has now been obtained and the work has been put out to tender with Brink Contemporary Arts being awarded the work. They will be liaising with community groups and young people to determine what content the mural will include. The work is being progressed with assistance from Chiltern Railways and Network Rail. Although the walls of the actual tunnel will be painted, the mural will not be painted inside the tunnel as it is thought to be too damp for mural paint. The location of the mural will be partly where the current mural is as well as on two of the buttresses of the bridge. Unfortunately Tim Robottom from Brink was unable to attend the meeting which is why Dave provided the update as part of his report.
Diane suggested that it would be a good idea to reestablish one new pool in the Priory Pools area but also said that an archaeological survey would likely need to precede any such work. Lucie agreed that this was a good idea as it would increase biodiversity in the area. It was also commented that it would be good to try and provide some information about the history of the Priory Pools area.
Richard then informed the group about the forthcoming work by Warwick County Council to resurface Priory Pools Path. The work will consist of overlaying the current path surface as permission to lift and replace the current path was not forthcoming. Becca queried whether the bollards will be replaced as speeding bikes are a potential hazard on the path but no-one had an answer concerning this. Jo asked whether the drains on the path will be properly cleared as it appears as if only one out of three drains appears to have been cleared. It was noted that WDC have performed some sweeping of the path.
Dave then referred to the forthcoming flood alleviation work by the Environment Agency in relation to St. John’s Brook. Although the majority of this work will be in the Wedgnock area, some work on St. John’s Brook in the park may be required, possibly including removing silt from the culverts. Lucie asked what else may have to be done to the brook in conjunction with this work as she hoped that they wouldn’t need to perform any dredging. Lesley said that previous work on the brook had straightened out some of the curves of the brook.
Dave said that although he had received an apology from Trevor Day for his non-attendance at the meeting, he hadn’t obtained a treasurer’s report. A report was obtained after the meeting and has been added to these minutes.
The bat walk that was held in August 2024 was highlighted as a very successful event and it was asked whether this should be repeated in the future. Some of the donations received on the walk were used to reimburse Warwickshire Bat Group who had hosted the event. This was the only direct fundraising over the last year and Dave commented that we can’t always rely in grants as a source of income and that we should be looking at future events that would generate income for the group.
Treasurer’s Report
The bank balance at the date of the 2024 AGM (23.4.24) was approximately £188. In May 2024 FOPP received £300 and £184 from Unlocking Warwick and WTC respectively, which we used to fund signage (£286) and waistcoats (£186). We received a further £95 from WTC in June which they gave us to pay our insurance costs of £100 and also a donation via. the website of £19.47. There was also a payment of £34.96 in May 2024 for that year’s domain name registration fees for website.
On 30.8.24 we received £68.52 via the Square App following the bat walk. The total amount of donations during the bat walk was £98, but £30 was given to Tricia Scott as a donation to the Warwickshire Bat Group as had been agreed prior to this excellent event. Another payment of £34.96 for the domain name for 2025 has also been made recently.
This leaves the FOPP bank account balance at approximately £213 at the date of this report.
Election of Officers
Dave was re-elected as Chair. Andy was re-elected as Secretary. Trevor was re-elected as Treasurer.
New Priory Pools Community Centre
Unfortunately Mandy Burford was unable to attend the meeting. Mandy has been one of the main figures pushing for a new community centre for the Packmores area. Dave provided a brief summary of this project which was first proposed many years ago. The new community centre will be known as the Priory Pools Community Centre and will consist of interview rooms, a group room, multi-use rooms, a large community space and a community café. The plans for the new building have been approved by WDC and of the £2 million required to complete the project, £1.6 million has already been secured with funds having been obtained from various sources including WCC and WDC. There is an event to launch the next round of fundraising being held in the Market Place on Saturday 23rd April between 9am and 3pm.
Once the new centre has been completed it will need to be managed and it is intended that this will be a community lead venture in much the same way as The Gap centre is. Diane asked where exactly the new centre will be located and Dave explained it will be facing both towards the garage area to the side of Sussex Court and towards Sussex Court itself. This is because the new building has be a slightly ‘dog-leg’ design.
Access to the new centre from both Priory Park and the Packmores Community Garden was discussed. Some concern was raised that access to the new community centre had the potential to increase footfall on the lower path in Priory Park, which in turn could lead to further deterioration of what is at times a treacherous path. Paul said that it the path were to be improved then proper drainage into St. John’s Brook would be required. However as has been discussed in previous meetings, any such improvement would require extensive funding which is not currently forthcoming.
Railway Bridge Tunnel Mural
As Tim Robottom from Brink was unable to attend this meeting, this topic was covered in the Chair’s report.
- & A. Session
Lucie mentioned that funding has been obtained for the new Wildlife Gardening sessions which are being held at Lyttleton Community Garden. These sessions are being held weekly on a Friday between 10am – 12pm with monthly sessions on a Saturday in the future. ARC have been advised that due to the possibility of contamination of the area they shouldn’t disturb the central area. Therefore most of the gardening work will be in raised beds.
Diane mentioned how useful she finds the Merlin Bird ID app. Dave said he wasn’t that keen on it as he prefers to do bird identification by eye and bird song. Diane countered as often the only indication of a bird is it’s song and that is what she finds most useful about the app. Dave mentioned the ‘Birds of Priory Park’ section on the FOPP website. This provides a detailed guide to the birds that can be seen or heard in the park.
Jo said that she thought that the squirrels in the park were becoming more invasive but it was thought that there wasn’t anything the group could do to counter this.
There was then a discussion around the perceived increase in anti-social behavior by youths in the park. Examples of such behavior include bike ramps being built, fires being lit and reports of knife carrying, which lead to a general feeling of being unsafe in the park at times. Dave mentioned again the potential work by the Green Spaces Team in the dip / dell to reduce the use of bikes in that area. There has been an increased police presence in the park and Dave emphasized that any anti-social behavior should be reported to the police as that will make it a lot easier for it to be investigated. It was mentioned that the new community centre may go some way to alleviating anti-social behavior, especially as it will be promoting extensive youth engagement. It was also highlighted that not all the youths in the park are behaving in an anti-social but simply engaging in activities such as bridge or den building.
A.O.B
The time and date of the next Open Meeting was agreed as 7pm on Tuesday 17th June 2025 with the location being as usual the Wild Boar, Lakin Road. Dave again thanked everyone for their attendance and then closed the meeting.