Sherington Historical Soc.
Minutes of the meeting held on Wed 8th November 2000. at the Sports pavilion.
Those present, Barry Hollis, Mark Vale, Anita Arnold, Norman Arnold, & Gail Waters.
Apologies for absence, Sheila Quinn, Sheila & Jesse Line, Mike & Sue Tofts, Oliver Powell, Kay Turrell, Enid Pepper (belated)
- Chairmans report,
- Norman & Sheila represented SHS at the LHI forum.
- Treasurers Report, The bank account has now been opened with a deposit of £75 with the Nationwide, it is a club account and always needs 2 signatures to withdraw funds.
- Mark brought his laptop computer to show & explain how the website is progressing and also how it works. He also brought along some basic printouts of how the pages would look on paper, these met with everyones approval. Also it was agreed that the change of the Sheep logo to that of the Pump was an improvement. But already that is part of our history, to be recorded.
- AOB. Barry Hollis announced that he has been given access to the Parish Council minutes for research, this can benefit our Society. Also that he would undertake to research the old POW camp, in the Hill View area.
LOCAL HERITAGE INITIATIVE: Tuesday. 7' November, 2000 at Newton Longeville
Norman Arnold & Sheila Quinn.
L.H.I. regional officers, Kevin Haugh & Lisa Birch. Can be contacted by phone 01622 765222, or on their website, www.lhi.org.uk. their office is in Maidstone, Kent.
The presentation was by Francis Gomme assisted by Penny Maylin, both from Bucks Community Action. most organisations represented at the meeting appeared to be larger and more advanced than SHS and were looking for funding for specific projects as opposed to " Kick start" money.
Grants of between £3,000 and £15,000 are available for 40 projects per area per annum over the 10 years of the scheme, which was launched in February, 2000. Bucks. and MK are within the South East area which extends north from the Isle of Wight through Surrey, Sussex, Kent and Bucks, but does not include London. Obviously there is a high degree of competition for grants. We do appear to meet the basic criteria for eligibility. But possibly L.H.I is the wrong league for us. Francis Gomme expressed a willingness to come to Sherington during the daytime to discuss our particular needs, look at the way we are set up (constitution, bank account etc) and advise us of the best way to apply for funding and the best organisation to apply to. So we really need to do this, will you let Sheila Line know if you are willing & able to attend an afternoon meeting There is a Small Grants Scheme that provides fast track money to get groups off the ground! NA & SQ wondered if it would be possible for the MK. Heritage Association to apply for a L.H.I grant and split it between local historical societies who met the necessary criteria or if 3 or 4 local village historical societies could band together and apply. Obviously, before having a meeting with Mr. Gomme, SHS. would have to put together a small presentation of files and have an idea of future projects and plans. NA & SQ thought that discussions with the CLUTCH club would be beneficial as would their inclusion in the meeting with Mr Gomme . Funding would greatly add to our credibility as well as our coffers.
It should be pointed out that funding is not entirely free; 5% of the grant has to come from the organisation in actual cash, as does 40% of the project cost. Therefore, a £3,000 grant is really funding a project costing roughly £5,000. The good news, however, is that the 40% is calculated in kind, e.g. man hours of volunteers and specialist volunteers (local historian!) the cost of a days (Volunteer work is equivalent to £50 and a specialist (IT professional) £150 per day.)and the 5% could possibly by provided by the Nationwide Building Society for hard up groups!!
The basic criteria we appear to fulfil, a bank account, a constitution, run by local people, for local people. The one criteria we cannot meet at this time is public accessability, but that is our intention. There must be no commercial involvement. The payment cannot be retrospective, but they will fund existing projects & will fund professional expertise.
Funding appeared to be available for things like sending members on IT courses and researching archives in County Record Offices. Also for the purchase of items such as lap tops and digital cameras, photocopiers etc. As well as the obvious projects like restoring stone walls, cleaning village ponds. On the basis that our greatest need at the moment is space, storage units, files etc. perhaps looking for a smaller grant would be more likely to succeed. However, we should always bear in mind our thoughts on publishing a better quality book some time in the future and that this an ongoing project and our needs will grow with us.
If any of you would like more information on this L.H.I. initiative we have a presentation folder that you can borrow.
ITEM of INTEREST to NA & SQ
Two examples of parish maps (both wished we had taken cameras) were displayed. Advice and funding is available for such a project. Penny Maylin offered to come and discuss the possibility with us. Copies usually sell for approximately £5 and looked to be very good value. Suggest we contact Chicheley PC clerk as one is being produced there with the help of Bucks. Community Action.
The meeting closed at 9-45 pm. Thanks to Anita & Gail for making the coffee. The next meeting will be on the 13th December at 8 pm, in the Sports Pavilion. There will be mince pies available, and anything else you would care to bring along. We will have little formal business, there will be some more old photos to see, etc.