ICDA 2023 AGM Minutes Page 1 of 6
ISLANDMAGEE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2023
MINUTES
MEETING DATE: 1900 on 15[th] June 2023
MEETING VENUE: Gobbins Community Centre
PRESENT:
| Paul Logue(PL) | Secretary | HilaryBailey (HB) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Bailey (EB) | Treasurer | GregMcKeen(GMcK) | DUP |
| GaryCaldwell(GC) | RoyBeggs(RB) | UUP | |
| Luan Ingram(LI) | ICDA members | ||
| Corinne Meekin(CM) | Chair | Local residents | |
| Jim Barr(JB) | Vice Chair | ||
| CathyMcCrudden(CMcC) |
APOLOGIES:
| SammyWilson | DUP |
|---|---|
| DannyDonnelly | Alliance |
| Paul Reid | DUP |
| Maureen Pimley (MP) | ICDA |
| Gordon Lyons | DUP |
| Maeve Donnelly | Alliance |
| Robert Logan | Alliance |
| AGENDA ITEM | ACTION | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 and 2.0 |
The meeting began at 1910 Present and Apologies As above |
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| 3.0 | Previous minutes not available due to the cancellation of the 2022 AGM on the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. A report for the 2021-22year was emailed to members. |
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| 4.0 | Chairperson’s Report It has been a very successful year for ICDA. Our popularCommunity Fridgecontinues to receive six donations per week from Tesco, ASDA and Sainsbury, combatting waste and so providing a useful service for the |
ICDA 2023 AGM Minutes Page 2 of 6
planet and community. We have also started a book swap facility which is going well. Our Events were well attended, each by hundreds of locals. Easter was celebrated in the Community Garden with the Easter Bunny, an Easter Bonnet competition, an egg hunt, and colouring-in too. The Jubilee was very colourful, had great weather and saw hundreds of folks gather in the garden to celebrate and listen to the Ballyduff Silver band. Christmas saw Santa in the Summer House plus storytelling, and gets bigger each year we do it. Thrive followed up in January with free sessions of yoga, Reiki, head massage, sound baths and much more, all aimed at helping locals get through the dark winter. The Community Garden looks beautiful with great planting of flowers and veg. The various other planted areas around Ballystrudder also look great and help make the place look better, brightening up the days of Islandmagee folks and visitors. The cottage and associated planting at the end of Gobbins Road was last year’s main planting project and is now successfully installed and in bloom as a cottage garden. We won an award for the best community garden planting from Mid and East Antrim in Bloom and have installed a yellow coloured Chatty Bench opposite the Spar in Ballystrudder where folks can sit and have a chat if wished. We continue to provide and maintain six defibrillators on the Island with a new one coming soon at Ballyearl. Our popular ICDA Community Newsletter continued its run of four editions per year supporting and supported by local businesses; we can be contacted through our Facebook/Meta page where we pass on many pieces of info about our newsletter, events, community and local issues throughout the year. This year past, ICDA have supported the following groups: Community Garden Group; the Community Fridge; Island Drumming; the 60s+ Group; Playaway Group; Islandmagee Primary School trip; Thrive.
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| CM finished her Chairperson’s report by thanking all the committee, volunteers and our funders. |
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| 5.0 | Treasurer’s report The Treasurer reported our audited accounts with a yearlyopening balance of £6018.09. Monies into our account comprised £105 from book sales; £3495.18 from grants; £61 from the Defib Fund; £690 from Newsletter advertising; £401 from events; and £150 from donations. Monies out of our account comprised: Community Garden £1435.87; Defib replacement/maintenance £2077; Mileage £472.28; playgroup Halloween event £100; Community Hall hire £12; Events £2312.16; Newsletter £34.74; and Community Fridge £23.58. Treasurer reported a yearlyclosing balance of £4552.64. Report Proposed by GC, Seconded by HB, agreed by meeting. |
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| 6.0 | All ICDA Committee posts declared vacant Cllr. Greg McKeen (GMcK) was invited to chair the meeting while the committee/trustees stood down and new committee/trustees voted in. GMcK thanked the outgoing committee and noted the really positive contribution from the events we put on that were always well attended by locals. He also noted that the finances were in good health and that MEABC look upon ICDA as a well-run group deserving of credit. It was good to see the AGM back after the Covid years and the passing of Queen Elizabeth last year. He then opened the floor for nominations to committeeposts. |
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| 7.0 | New trustees voted in The following were then voted in by the floor: Corinne Meekin - ICDA Chair Jim Barr - ICDA Vice Chair Paul Logue - ICDA Secretary Eric Bailey - ICDA Treasurer And as a block vote for ICDA Committee members: Gary Caldwell; Maureen Pimley; Hilary Bailey; Luan Ingram; and Cathy McCrudden. GMcK then noted that the committee were voted back in to continue the good work and he passed over to CM as newly elected Chair of ICDA. |
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| 8.0 | Open Forum CM thanked GMcK and opened the floor for discussion, first passing to PL for an update on recent correspondence about proposed battery storage plants at the Ballylumford end of the Island. Both proposed facilities will consist of battery energy storage areas, switch and control rooms, lighting, CCTV columns, and fencing, landscaping and planting. A general debate followed where some locals felt it would be best to build the sites on brownfield land, but it was generally acknowledged that they may be good things as they can store energy from wind turbines rather than seeing it wasted. RB suggested that ICDA put something about the issue on our Facebook site. GMcK advised that it would be best to meet with the applicants and then offer the gathered info out to folks through the Facebook site. Other residents raised the issue of noise and that that end of the Island was already noisy from the current developments there. GMcK felt that appropriate planting could help deal with noise and certainly with any visual intrusion. Residents also raised the difficulty in getting through on the phone to Meadowbridge Surgery to arrange an appointment. It was felt by some that there was a need for another small surgery in the area. GMcK told the floor that he had been trying to help locals arrange a meeting with Meadowbridge but there had been a lack of engagement from the surgery. One local man told us of how he couldn’t even get an appointment for his chronically ill child; the online system has been down for over 3 weeks, which is just too long. RB asked about who held Meadowbridge to account, and GMcK felt that it was now appropriate to approach the Health Trust on the matter. Next the ruined toilet block at Browns Bay was raised, and the fact that it has still not been repaired or rebuilt. GMcK offered to raise the matter directly with the relevant Director in MEABC. The lack of an adequate number of guides for the Gobbins Walk was discussed, in that advertised posts do not seem to be getting filled. Allied to this locals asked when would there be any consultation with residents about the proposed expansion of the Walk? Local concerns about road traffic and car parking came up, and that the present case of all walks on the Gobbins being guided gave a good degree of control that managed traffic and parking. Openingthe Walk as a non-guided option raised concerns |
Action - PL to contact battery storage applicants Action – GMcK |
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ICDA 2023 AGM Minutes Page 5 of 6
| about visitors jamming the place up for traffic and emergency services by parking everywhere – it was pointed out that this had already happened at Portmuck (and on Port Road next to Port Lane), so concerns are genuine. RB and GMcK said they would raise the matter with MEABC and aim to arrange a public meeting. Residents pointed out that the Gobbins Walk was a source of local pride and that we didn’t wish to see that ruined through badly managed future access arrangements. One resident raised how the road surfacing around the Gobbins were getting quite bad and could really do with maintenance plus better signage to direct visitors. Another resident asked that the Port lane vegetation be cut by MEABC as promised – GMcK said he would raise and have sorted. GMcK also said he would look into the matter of the promised signs at Millbay where shellfish pickers continue to take material from the beach there which is an ASSI. Parking during football matches was brought up and how residents feel that cars parking along the road and in Island Village make it very difficult to pull out safely. RB suggested that short double lines at the junctions could help and both he and GMcK said they would raise parking with the Club again and see what could be done. The matter of paying out £500 per year on mileage expenses for the community fridge was discussed and the committee were asked to consider/discuss viable alternatives. RB congratulated the committee on having 6 defibrillators on the Island, a wonderful and literally lifesaving achievement. CM then thanked everyone present and closed the open meeting at 2020. |
Action – GMcK and RB Action – GMcK Action – GMcK Action – RB and GMcK |
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| 9.0 | Vote of Thanks CM closed the meeting by thanking: Mid and East Antrim Borough Council for their support. All our Loughside Councillors. |
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| To Cllr. Greg McKeen for chairing tonight and helping install the new committee. Caldwell’s SPAR and Rinkha for their support Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury for their donations All our funders, donors and advertisers ICDA Committee and all our great volunteers |
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| 10.0 | AGM Closed The meeting concluded at 2025 |
Proposed: Cathy McCrudden___________ Seconded: Hilary Bailey ___