(a)

the Friends’ vision was to work in partnership with the Park management by jointly agreeing funding requirements and projects; to continue to support the Park and to preserve, or assist in the preservation of Mount Edgcumbe Country Park for the benefit of the public, as a place of historical, botanical, horticultural, architectural and natural beauty;

(b)

there had been a number of changes to the Committee which included the key posts of the Chair and the Treasurer; at the Special General Meeting held on 5 September 2021, all posts on the Committee had been filled which had been the first time in some years; there had also  been a change in policy to remove ‘ex-officio’ members from the Committee;

(c)

during the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, the Friends’ membership and reduced and the number of new members being signed up was extremely sporadic; since May 2021 and the easing of some of the lockdown restrictions, membership numbers had slowly risen back to pre-pandemic levels (circa 620); currently there was an encouraging increase in new members; a series of membership drives for 2022 were being considered, not only to increase numbers but also to try and attract families and a broader range of age groups;

(d)

during 2021 the Friends had provided £26,795 of funding for projects in the Park which included a utility vehicle for use by the gardeners (£12,345), fencing material for the deer fence (£5k), a tool to assist in erecting the deer fence (£3,450), bedding plants (£4k) and mannequins for the Blitz Exhibition (£2k); Lambert Lodge, the Friends’ second-hand bookshop had re-opened in June 2021 and was attracting new members and also raising some much needed funds; the Lodge was also providing to be an extremely useful information centre for visitors to the Park;

(e)

the Friends supported the future vision of the Park and would continue to work with the Park management to make it a success; however, there were concerns relating to the speed and timing of the zero funding from the local authorities, particularly in the aftermath of Covid 19; the Friends were keen to understand how much support the Park would receive from Plymouth City Council and Cornwall Council with regard to the review of the condition of the Park, the buildings, contents, vehicles and plant;

(f)

it had been agreed to investigate an increase in the car parking charges for the Summer Fayre and Car Show for the 2022 event; it was proposed to change the cost from car parking of £10 per car to a charge for all adults over 18 of £5; this would impact primarily those arriving from Plymouth on the Cremyll Ferry who previously would have entered the event free of charge; the rationale behind the change was the greatly increased use of time-consuming card payments which would reduce the rate at which the cars could enter the car parks and the likely impact of this on the highway with queuing and obstruction.