(a)

the Annual General Meeting had been held on 15 March 2020 at which a new Chairman had been elected (Nicola Cull); she had joined the Committee in 2019;

(b)

the Committee members included Gill Bunnell (Treasurer), Ann Creese, Steve Creese, Tony Hutchins, Neil Rugg, Carole Drummond, Alan Drummond and Nigel Bruce-Robertson (there were two vacancies on the Committee);

(c)

the cancellation of all events, due to the pandemic, had impacted the Friends’ current main funding stream (the car show and the Christmas fayre being the key income streams);

(d)

during this period the Committee had been able to re-focus on what it could do to ensure the future of the charity and its objective of helping to preserve the Park for the benefit of the public;

(e)

the Committee had been actively engaging with Park management and had reconnected with each trader on site, as lockdown was eased, in order to offer its support;

(f)

the Committee had updated its priorities for 2020/21 in order to reflect lockdown and anticipate a ‘new normal’ which included -

?

development of a stronger and more diverse membership base;

?

increasing funds without events;

?

involving more people;

to achieve this the Committee would -

?

run a membership campaign through to summer 2021;

?

highlight to visitors that donations, however small, made a difference;

?

encourage local visitors to become active volunteers;

it was anticipated that it would be possible to hold events during 2021 (this would be added back into the priorities when it was possible to do so);

(g)

the new marketing plan supported the priorities for 2020/21 which included -

?

the re-opening of Lambert Lodge during August 2020;

?

running a ‘hello’ campaign during August and September 2020;

?

holding a meet and greet for visitors;

?

undertaking a 10 question survey to obtain an insight into how to preserve and enhance the Park;

?

promoting the benefits and discounts available in the Park and the traders to encourage visitors to join the Friends;

?

launching a Facebook group (and running Facebook campaigns) and refreshing the website and repositioning the marketing material to reach target audiences;

(h)

highlights from 2019/20 included -

?

a total of £100,000 had been allocated to projects for 2020; the majority of the funding would be carried forward to 2021 due to the projects being on hold;

?

income from the book sales in the new Lambert Lodge had been significant prior to lockdown;

?

funds had been set aside for project such as new toilets and a children’s area.

(i)

sought clarification on what children’s project the legacy fund would be allocated to;

(j)

whether there was a demand for the books.