Clubhouse Project News
David Tomlinson, our Clubhouse Project Co-Ordinator, will be giving some very important feedback at the A.G.M. David has out-lined his report below so members will have some knowledge of what is going to be discussed at the meeting. As you can see, there are potentially some very important decisions coming up as to the future direction of the club.
'My report to the AGM will say that full replacement of our clubhouse right now is probably not an option. The issues that arise which, on behalf of the clubhouse project team, I shall address in my presentation to the AGM are these.
1. Short lease – what can we do about that to make major investment worthwhile?
2. What must we do in the meantime to keep our clubhouse in a usable condition?
3. Could we do more than just a prop-up job so that we get improved facilities whilst we get into a position where full replacement is feasible? (these could be linked into a phase 1 of a 2 or more phase project)
4. As part of any improvement project should we consider making our club more usable by those with a physical or other disability (e.g. wheelchair users)
5. Is there a good reason to form an association with another club?
From my discussion around these questions I will be asking the club to support further action and investigation as follows.
· Explore the cost and feasibility of buying the freehold from Barnet Council
· Come up with a scheme to keep us going in the meantime
· Continue our discussions with a local athletics club which is losing its clubhouse
The outcome of this further work would lead to a proposal in the coming months with sufficient detail to allow the club to make a clear decision.
If you want to influence the way we move ahead at the outset it is important that you come to the AGM this year.'
David Tomlinson
Older news.....
The sub-committee have had their first meeting and here is a report from David Tomlinson, our Project Co-Ordinator.....
Opening Ceremony 4th May 2013 – put it in your diary
The Olympics will be forgotten and will not distract the nation from the excitement of our project. Andy Murray will be world number 1 and we will have a clutch of developing challengers to his title from within the UK, at least one from BLTC. Celebrities will fight to be the honoured ceremonial club opener.
We have started work on our project and set ourselves a completion target of the beginning of May 2013. We have to test the feasibility of this but we are ambitious in our aim.
- Alex Lake is leading on fund raising formal applications for grants and loans; local sponsorship; and internal. Ideas for fund raising will be just as welcome as cash.
- David Taylor is our resident expert on planning applications and will steer us through this particular labyrinth.
- Robert Brazier is a quantity surveyor so accustomed to the industry from the perspective of cost and project planning. He will also control key documents. A great asset.
- John Hall and Doug Morley are in charge of sports development. We are looking at expanding our range of activities and facilities – more anon. Additionally John has agreed to be the key club communicator - a job he already does well with the newsletter.
- Jackie Czuprynski will be keeping us in order by recording and tracking decisions and promises.
- George Panayi will look after finances and will update the club business plan.
- I have the simple job of co-ordinator and I will be starting the process of choice of architect. We plan to learn from recent clubhouse projects at Ravens and Ealing so we can avoid pitfalls as far as possible.
Other key responsibilities will emerge and be allocated to those sub-committee members without portfolio. It is already plain that all of us will be quite busy.
Our first job is to clarify what it is we want from our new clubhouse and for this we want to hear from you right now. We will put up the design of a new clubhouse that was prepared for which we got planning permission but which wasn’t progressed. There will be a hard copy in the club and we will try to put it on the website as well. This is your opportunity to have your say right at the beginning. Later we will report back on what we have been able to incorporate and there will be a chance to comment on the overall design. It is crucial that we do this early and thoroughly as change later on can cause delay and additional costs
We will put the notes of our meetings on the website for those who wish to keep a closer eye on progress
David Tomlinson
Minutes of Meetings