Minutes of 2026 Annual General Meeting
Date: Thursday 14th October 2026 at 8pm
Place: North London Cricket Clubhouse
Chair: Rob Jackson
Committee: Nick Evans, Henry Perks, Simon Willietts.
Present:
Peter Barber, Mark Beardall, Miriam Bindman, Richard Budgett, Sarah Budgett, Dave Cohen, Reg Dhanjal, Debbie Grossman, Virginia Jackson, Chris Kelleher, Don Kelleher, Bernie Morey, Elizabeth O’Donaghoe, Veronica Phelps, David Phelps, David Scott, Michael Steen, Adam Sharples, Liz Stokes, John Walters, and Tony Westbrook. Also present were Councillor Imad Ahmed, Councillor Luke Cawley-Harrison, and Councillor Fiona Orford-Williams.
Apologies:Karen Matthews, Albert Rostock, and Ching & Tony Smith. The chair was sorry to announce the death of Brian Fitzpatrick, long-standing local resident and one of the first chairs of the Residents’ Association.
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 2025 AGM
The minutes of the AGM held on 9th October 2025 (previously displayed on the GMTRA website) were approved. All matters arising were agreed to be covered by the agenda.
3. Finance and Membership
RJ gave a brief report on the Association’s finances. Expenditure during the year had totalled £193.10, leaving a balance of £1,487.60. Given this satisfactory position the committee had decided that there would be no need to charge membership subscriptions for the coming year.
Of the 150 households in the Association’s area, 83% were on the current mailing list. The chair asked members to encourage any new residents in the area to join.
4. Report on Activities
RJ presented a verbal summary of the committee’s activities over the past year.
Street scene: two trees had been lost during the year. The council had acted to remove them and would be replacing the new tree (located outside 34/36 Glasslyn Road) in due course. The older tree (located outside 4/6 Tivoli Road) was not currently due to be replaced.
Gullies & drains: these were now being cleaned regularly. White line markings had also been refreshed.
Planning applications: the committee continued to monitor planning applications. Most were of limited impact, concerning tree maintenance or home improvements, but any proposals which might have an impact on the wider community were more closely examined. The only application of concern during the year had been the Hornsey Cricket Club’s plans for the addition of floodlighting and canopies to the padel courts which the club intended to erect on the tennis courts site at the end of Tivoli Road. Members of the committee had met with the Club and their chosen operator in February to exchange views, and a formal planning application had been submitted by the Club in March 2026. The committee had concluded that the proposals were overambitious given the limitations of the site and during the consultation process had expressed concerns about noise, car parking and traffic congestion, as well as the visual impact of the development on Metropolitan Open Land. The application had finally been refused by the council 2 weeks ago. As yet no further information had been received concerning the Club’s plans.
Highgate Wood School: The proposed redevelopment of the upper playing field, and the suggested designation of part of Montenotte Road as a ‘school street’ remained pending, with no further progress reported. Information from residents suggested that the playing field project was now being progressed.
Website: RJ thanked Henry Perks for his work in maintaining and developing the Association’s website. He reminded members of the ‘recommended tradesmen’ listing facility.
Neighbourhood Watch: The chair said he attended regular meetings with the local police team who provided briefings on local crime. Car theft and shoplifting remained local police priorities. Noted that there had been a recent spate of burglaries in the Muswell Hill area.
5.Members Concerns & Suggestions
Lime Bikes: Members reported that obstruction of pavements by Lime bikes remained a problem, particularly close to the school. Luke Cawley-Harrison said that matters were made more difficult by a general lack of a suitable area for parking bikes in the area. The new council contract with operators would require them to collect bikes reported as obstructive within 2 hours (the previous contract had specified 2 days), but that bikes would need to be reported. He undertook to provide a link for reporting for circulation to members.
Parking in Tivoli Road: members complained that Palace Motors (on Park Road) continued to use local streets for parking vehicles. Tivoli Road was particularly badly affected on weekday mornings, leaving parking for local residents diminished. Palace Motors was noted to have a substantial forecourt, but this appeared to be used for storage of vehicles rather than as working space. It was reported that the business had recently changed hands and suggested that the new owner should be approached and made aware of residents’ concerns. The chair said that the committee would follow this up.
6.Election of the Committee
RJ was re-elected as chair. The meeting re-elected Nick Evans, Henry Perks, and Simon Willietts as committee members. Thanks were expressed to committee members for their work.
RJ noted that we have lost one committee member during the year (Zander Calderwood) and have vacancies on the committee should anyone like to participate. In particular we have no representative from Montenotte Rd.
7. AOB – Crouch End Neighbourhood Forum
Luke Cawley-Harrison said that the Forum had applied for redesignation and encouraged the Association to consider adding its name as a supporting local organisation. RJ said that the committee would discuss the matter.
Thanks were expressed to the North London Cricket Club for the use of their clubhouse.