Minutes of 2025 Annual General Meeting
Date: Thursday 9th October 2025 at 8pm
Place: North London Cricket Clubhouse
Chair: Rob Jackson
Committee: Zander Calderwood, Nick Evans, Henry Perks, Simon Willetts.
Present:Riley Ashcroft, Peter Barber, Miriam Bindman, Barbara Bleiman, Nick Bloxam, Richard Budgett, Sarah Budgett, Jane Campbell, Meg Cauduro, Reg Dhanjal, David Donnelly, Veronica Flavell, Virginia Jackson, Chris Kelleher, Don Kelleher, Bernie Morey, Elizabeth O’Donohoe, Delia Parker, Tim Parker, David Scott, Adam Sharples, Eamon Sherry, Philippa Stobbs, John Walters, Dilani Warnakula. Also present were Cllr Lester Buxton, and Cllr Luke Cawley-Harrison.
Apologies: Karen Matthews, Michael Rostock, Ching Smith, Cllr Cressida Johnson.
1. Introductions
Rob Jackson (RJ) welcomed all to the AGM. He introduced committee members and invited all those present to introduce themselves.
2. Minutes of 2024 AGM
The minutes of the AGM held on 8 October 2024 (previously posted on the Association website) were approved. All matters arising were covered by the agenda.
3. Finance and Membership
RJ gave a brief report on the Association’s finances. Expenditure during the year had been £120 leaving a balance at year end of £1675. Given the satisfactory overall position the committee had decided that there would not be any need to charge membership subscriptions for the coming year.
79% of households in the GMTRA area were signed up as members of the Association.
4. Report on Activities
Trees: Members were encouraged to water trees during dry periods. The tree lost at the top of Glasslyn Road during electrical works had now been replaced.
RJ outlined the successful campaign initiated by Cllr Luke Cawley-Harrison (LC-H) to plant up to 30 additional trees in Crouch End. LC-H said that placement of the trees was the subject of discussions between shop owners and council officers.
Parking: RJ said that following consultation the council had initiated various changes to the local parking regime. These did not appear to have had a major impact.
Gullies: It was noted that the council had made improvements to the gully cleaning programme and that significant flooding had been avoided during the year.
Pavements: LC-H said that the council’s consultation on priorities for repairs closed on Oct 10th, and the list of work to be undertaken would be published with the budget for the coming year.
Planning Issues: The committee monitors local applications as they occur. Most of are of limited impact relating to tree maintenance work or home improvements and are not of concern to the Association.
Highgate Wood School: RJ reported that the proposal to have the upper playing field area designated as a ‘Town Green’ had been abandoned. Plans by the school in partnership with one of the cricket clubs to redevelop the site as an all-weather sports area were still under discussion with the council, and a number of issues have still to be resolved.
The proposal to designate the downhill end of Montenotte Road beyond Glasslyn Road as a ’school street’ remained under consideration by the council.
Neighbourhood Watch: RJ reported that the Haringey Association of Neighbourhood Watches was now defunct, but that a quarterly ward meeting with local police and councillors was now taking place regularly. Current police priorities in Crouch End included shoplifting, vehicle theft, and theft from vehicles. A new initiative called MetEngage has been established by the Met Police across London to facilitate communication with residents, and GMTRA’s Neighbourhood Watch has been registered.
5. The Hornsey Club- site developments
RJ welcomed Jim Chapman, Chair, and Sophie Kent, Secretary of the Hornsey Club, who attended for this item.
RJ reminded the meeting that proposals for the development of new indoor facilities on the Club’s tennis courts at the end of Tivoli Road were first presented to local residents in May 2022 and have been the subject of various iterations and planning proposals since. During the past year parts of the site have been used for temporary padel courts, and some local residents have expressed concerns regarding increased noise and traffic.
JC introduced himself and said that he was keen to improved communication between the Club and local residents. The Club’s plans for a sports hall on the tennis court site had been shelved, and efforts were being made to develop a partnership with Highgate Wood School to improve the existing sports hall on the school site in return for access to its facilities. The proposals were currently under consideration by the council.
Following the granting of planning permission for the installation of four permanent padel courts on the tennis courts area the Club was seeking a new operator who would be expected to provide onsite professional coaches and site management. It was hoped that the new courts would be up and running by April next year. Questions were raised concerning the hours of operation of the courts (currently limited to 8am to 8pm). JC said that the Club was hard pressed financially and needed to maximise the income potential of the development. They would be seeking to extend opening hours to 10pm using floodlighting and install canopies to shield the courts from wet weather. He suggested that this latter measure would help to contain both noise and lighting but recognised that there would be a need for a new noise assessment and a further planning application to address these changes. The plans would also include the installation of a netball court at the View Crescent end of the site. In response to questions JC said that although it would be possible for padel and netball court users to utilise changing facilities in the cricket pavilion, it was hoped that some provision could be made as part of the improvements. Overall it was hoped that the plans would generate income which would both stabilise the Club’s finances and support their outreach work in local schools. JC concluded by reiterating his wish to see improved communication with local residents and offered his telephone number and email address for circulation. The meeting welcomed the overall thrust of the plans and in particular the abandoning of the sports hall proposals, but there were some concerns regarding opening hours, and noise and light pollution.
In response to a question concerning the proposed telecoms mast on the Club site, JC said that the Club had heard nothing further.
6. Lime Bikes
Several of those present commented on the obstructions caused by accumulations of bikes at various points in the locality, in particular at the end of Tivoli Road adjacent to the entrance to the Hornsey Club site. Concerns were also expressed at the apparently reckless use of ‘hot-wired’ bikes by under-age users. Cllr Lester Buxton said that the council was putting measures including parking bays and exclusion zones in place. There was a general feeling that operators needed to take greater responsibility for inappropriate use of the bikes. LC-H said that the Mayor of London’s office was considering the introduction of London-wide regulations.
7. Election of Committee
RJ was re-elected as chair. The meeting approved the re-election of all other committee members: Zander Calderwood, Nick Evans, Henry Perks, Simon Willietts.
8. AOB
There was a discussion about the support of frail or ill local residents and ways in which they could be supported.
Thanks were expressed to Andy Bennett and the North London Cricket Club for the use of their clubhouse.