## Annual General Meeting 2021 To be held at 3pm on 18[th] September ## online via Zoom ## AGENDA 1. Apologies 2. To approve the minutes of the 2020 AGM 3. To receive and approve the Accounts for the year ended 31st July 2021 4. To re-elect Yvonne Hin as Trustee 5. To elect Glyn Pollington as Trustee 6. To approve the appointment of Andrew Hedges as independent examiner 7. To receive and approve the Trustees' report No official motions having been received from the membership, the meeting will conclude with an informal (un-minuted) discussion. ## **DRAFT ACOUNTS 1st August 2020 - 31st July 2021** |**INCOME**|| |---|---| |subscriptions BACS|140| |subscriptions Paypal (net*)|548.63| |Gift Aid|215.76| |VAT repayment|1187.17| |grants|3404.48| |**TOTAL**|**5496.04**| |**PAYMENTS**|| |HRA subscription|75| |insurance|176.72| |planning application|515.92| |(Ilfracombe Station Rd sign)|| |heritage installations inc VAT|6000| |(signal & wifi points)|| |**TOTAL**|**6767.64**| |opening balance 1st August 2020|4874.86| |income|5496.04| |expenditure|-6767.64| |closing balance 31st July 2021|3603.26| *PayPal fees: 20.37 on receipts of 579.00. Net receipts 548.63 **Minutes of 2020 Annual General Meeting** 03.10.2020, 3pm, online via Zoom. Present: John Burch – Trustee Richard Heacock – Trustee Yvonne Hin – Trustee David Luggar - Trustee Gary Best - Member Glyn Pollington – member John Saul - member 1. Apologies Adam Cooke – member, Margaret Faultless - member, John Horne - member 2. To approve the minutes of the 2019 AGM. Approved. Proposed by Richard Heacock and seconded by Gary Best. 3. To receive and approve the accounts for the year ending 31[st] July 2020. Approved. Proposed by Gary Best and seconded by John Saul. 4. To re-elect John Burch as Trustee. Proposed by Gary Best and Seconded by Richard Heacock. 5. To elect Richard Heacock as Trustee Proposed by Glyn Pollington and Seconded by John Saul. 6. To approve the appointment of Andrew Hedges as independent examiner. Proposed by John Saul and Seconded by David Luggar. 7. To receive and approve the Trustees’ report. Proposed by Gary Best and Seconded by Yvonne Hin. No official agenda items were received from the membership. The meeting concluded with an informative Powerpoint presentation by John Burch to commemorate the 50[th] anniversary of the closure of the Ilfracombe line. Meeting closed at 3.45pm. ## **Report of the Trustees of Combe Rail CIO for 2020-2021** ## **Structure** The Charity (Registered Number 1164083) is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO.) Registered Address: Flat 5, Holly House, Avenue Road ILFRACOMBE EX34 9AT ## **Management** The CIO is governed by its Constitution, adopted on 21st October 2015. In the event of the CIO being wound up, members have no liability to contribute to its assets and no personal responsibility for settling its debts and liabilities. ## **Aims and Objectives** The objects of the CIO are: (1) To preserve and protect the heritage of the Ifracombe to Barnstaple railway by restoring, maintaining and operating the railway line. (2) The advancement of education for the public benefit about the history of the railway and its connections with the localities through which it ran, in particular but not exclusively through the preservation and display of historical artefacts, relics and documents connected with the railway and carrying out research into the history and operation of the railway and the study of its importance to the local area during the time it ran, in particular the holiday traffic and the publication of the results of such research and study. (3) To provide or assist in the provision of facilities in the interest of social welfare for recreation or other leisure time occupation of individuals who have need of such facilities by reason of their youth, age infirmity or disability, financial hardship or social circumstances with the object of improving their conditions of life. ## **Appointment of Trustees** The Trustees of Combe Rail in 2020-2021 were Richard Heacock (Treasurer) Yvonne Hin (Secretary) Lewis Daniels, John Burch (Chair) and David Luggar. Under UK charity law, two trustees must be elected/re-elected at each AGM. Yvonne Hin is standing for re-election, and Glyn Pollington is standing for election. By the deadline of 5th August 2021, no additional applications to become a trustee had been received from the membership. ## **Chair’s Report by John Burch** Frustratingly, Combe Rail have experienced another year during which the Covid pandemic has curtailed our activities. In particular it was sad that we were unable to mark the 50[th] anniversary of the closure of the line as planned in October last year. We had a number of plans for this. We will just have to wait until the next suitable anniversary. Perhaps the 150[th] anniversary of the opening of the line in 2024? Despite this, there have been some very positive developments. To start with, we now have the first 4 Wi-Fi points operational along the trail. These are accompanied by nicely designed QR code bearing plaques at each of the 4 locations which visitors can interpret using their smart phone. These provide an audio visual interpretation of each of the locations and bring to life the old railway along this stretch for those who may not be aware of the history of the line. One of the QR points interprets the fixed distant signal that we have reactivated. They have added to the two existing interpretation boards at the Ilfracombe station site and at Lee Bridge. We are also awaiting delivery of a redundant track panel from the West Somerset Railway. This has been held up, because the pandemic has had a serious impact on the WSR too, but they have now recommenced operation and we are hoping to have the track panel delivered in the near future so that we can once again re-start work on the demonstration track section. In the meantime we have submitted a planning application for our planned Ilfracombe heritage station sign. This we hope to erect at the foot of the old pedestrian stairway that led to the station. It is our hope that this will effectively sign the start of the railway trail. Turning attention now to our **Taw Link** project. We have made a second application to the Department for Transport’s (DfT), **Restoring Your Railway fund** . Such applications depend very much on support from as many groups and agencies as possible. We have been helped significantly by the huge effort from David Hoare, the North Devon MP’s Constituency Manager, who conducted an on-line local public transport survey. Dominie Dunbrook, North Devon Council’s Economic Development Officer has also given constructive assistance. We’ve also had letters of support from, amongst others, Selaine Saxby MP, Great Western Railway, Andrea Davies (who is the Devon CC portfolio holder for transport and also currently the Chair of the Peninsula Transport board), the Heart of the SW Local Enterprise Partnership and Petroc College. At the time of writing this report the DfT response to all this is still awaited. Currently the Government is treating resurrected rail operations in a positive light and members will know, for example, that the Okehampton line is due to be re-opened by the end of the year. We are keeping our fingers crossed for a positive response. In the meantime members of Combe Rail have continued to gather material in connection with the history of the line. Our team have continued develop new contacts and it is astonishing just how many items have come to light during our existence. We have continued to gather memories from those who remember the line and these continue to be reproduced in our newsletter the **Devon Belle** . We have so far reached issue 22 and there is still material to fill future editions. Our social media presence has also attracted interest in our work. This has all allowed us to further grow knowledge of the railway between Barnstaple and Ilfracombe. We hope that as we begin to come out of the restrictive phase of the pandemic, Combe Rail will have the opportunity to once again further raise awareness of our projects by being able to attend some face to face live events once more. I’d like to pay tribute to my fellow Trustee who have continued to support the Combe Rail project with their amazing fund raising work and contributing to our various activities. This has been especially the case during these difficult times where contact between us has been restricted. I very much hope that we will see a continued recovery from the pandemic in the year ahead. I would like to think that the year ahead will enable us to once again undertake activities in connection with our work raising awareness of the old line. It would also be absolutely fantastic to be able to welcome some more members of our community to join in with this work.” We are continuing to review our policies and procedures to ensure that we comply with the Charity Commission's guidance on good management. Approved by the Trustees 16th August 2021 John Burch Chair of trustees, Combe Rail