Present:Chairman: Stephen Langtree (Chester)
Vice Chairwoman: Kathy Fishwick (Rossendale)
Vice Chairman: Peter Colley (Ambleside)
Secretary: Iain Gerrard (Littleborough)
Treasurer: Brian Gilbert (Rossendale)
John Bedson (Nantwich), John Clancy (Pendle), Barbara Colley (Ambleside), Adrian Dunning (Worsley), Terry Edgar (Wallasey), Graeme Fellowes (Lytham St Annes), Roger Frankland (Lancaster), Kate Hartnell (Lytham St Annes), Paul Johnson (Kendal), Vivien McNeil (Mossley Hill), Beryl Radcliffe (Blackpool), Cynthia Radford (Hoylake), Keith Ratcliffe (Blackpool), Alan Shillaker (Timperley), Richard Shirres (Bolton), Gordon Sidery (Macclesfield), Elaine Smith (Blackpool), Millie Tyson (South Preston), Charles Walker (Bury) & Tom Webster (Didsbury).

The Chairman welcomed everyone and introduced Joanna Pugh (National Trust) and Carl Carrington (Blackpool Council) both of whom would be giving a short talk following the business of the day.

Apologies for absence: Ann Broomhead (Worsley), Marilyn Bysh (Darwen) & Susan Spibey (Merseyside).

Minutes of the 2006 AGM:Already circulated, these were proposed by Gordon Sidery as a true record, seconded by Adrian Dunning and agreed unanimously.

Matters Arising: None.

Chairman's Report. This had been previously circulated to all those present.
Stephen began by saying that the bad news had been the cancellation of the Autumn Gathering last November. The organisation of such events was always difficult but the last-minute cancellation of two speakers had made the event untenable. He was looking forward to the 2007 Gathering in Birkenhead. He referred to the 'Every Action Counts' initiative on sustainability issues and the meeting in Liverpool the previous December; amongst benefits from this was the involvement of the Environmental Law Foundation which proffered legal advice on planning disputes. They can be approached for one hour's free legal advice.
The networking event in March at Preston between the National Civic Trust and the North West Regional Association had been very successful and so had the May 'Paving the Way' event in Manchester where Don Pickis of the Littleborough Civic Trust had spoken of the Littleborough Town Design Statement. He referred to the progress in Conservation Areas in some societies which were becoming involved in appraisals in combination with their planning authorities. Communication with individual societies remained a problem and he asked that those producing newsletters send a copy to the Association on a regular basis.
His decision to step down from the chairmanship had been a difficult one as he had enjoyed the roll, but he felt that 'new blood' was a good idea.
Finally he said that he felt the best of the Regional Associations had to be Yorkshire & Humber which had managed to get full time professional help. Getting sufficient funds for this was very difficult and we were still trying.

Treasurer's Report.This was circulated and a copy is shown at the end of these minutes. The Treasurer went over the report pointing out that a bill from the University of Central Lancashire was still in dispute and had not been paid. It had not arrived until after the end of the financial year and so would eventually appear in the 2007/2008 accounts. He pointed out that it had been agreed by the committee that up to £30 could be granted to individual societies, particularly small ones, to help fund the expenses of any speakers they may have. He was asked if the data protection was strictly necessary. Adrian replied to this query saying that while it wasn't absolutely required in law it enabled us to hold details of societies on our database without specifically asking for their permission; otherwise there would be administrative costs probably greater than the fee paid.
The report was moved by Terry Edgar and seconded by Tom Webster and unanimously approved.
The Treasurer said that the same auditor needed to be approved for the coming year. This was moved by Brian and seconded by Stephen and agreed unanimously.

Secretary's Report. Iain Gerrard said that the most important aspect of his work was to try to establish and keep good communication between the individual societies and the Association. There was a need for the societies to keep him informed of any changes to personnel in their ranks for the database, and email addresses were now a serious priority in such interchanges of information; these cost nothing whereas material sent by snailmail was becoming more and more expensive.

The Chairman thanked both Brian & Iain for their reports.

Election of the Co-ordinating Committee.The Chairman asked Iain Gerrard to read out the nominations received. These were for: John Bedson (Nantwich), Peter Colley (Ambleside), Adrian Dunning (Worsley), Kathy Fishwick (Rossendale), Iain Gerrard (Littleborough), Brian Gilbert (Rossendale), Paul Johnson (Kendal), Stephen Langtree (Chester), Cynthia Radford (Hoylake), Gordon Sidery (Macclesfield), Elaine Smith (Blackpool), Susan Spibey (Merseyside) & Tom Webster (Didsbury). All thirteen were existing members of the committee. No nominations had been received from either Terry Edgar or Roger Frankland.
Of those received, two had asked to be considered for the position of Chairman, Peter Colley and Paul Johnson, while the existing officers had all offered to remain in post for the next year.
The Chairman said that there would be a ballot for the chairmanship of the committee after they had been elected. It had been agreed that the unsuccessful applicant for the chairmanship would become one of the vice chairmen.
Those nominated for the committee were elected unanimously. The vote for the chairmanship to take place in the short break after official matters had been completed.

Any Other Business. Peter queried the proposed alignment of the Regional Associations constitutions. Stephen said this had yet to be resolved but he hoped the constitution finally adopted would be little different from our own constitution.

The Annual General Meeting closed at 2.55 pm.In the interval the vote for the Chairmanship resulted in a draw but Paul decided that, due to personal problems, he would be better in the vice chairmanship position for the coming year. The Officers for 2007/2008 are therefore as follows: