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Minutes of CRAG Members’ Meeting on Thursday 12th December 2024 @ Bishop Lloyd’s Palace, 51/53 Watergate Street Row Chester
In attendance:
1. Mike Hogg - Chair (MJH) Cheshire Heritage & Sustainability Enterprises . (CHASE)
2. Pauline Brown (PB) Westminster Park Residents’ Association (WPRA)
3. Simon Burtonshaw-Gunn (SBG) Cestria Building Tenants’ Association (CBTA)
4. Roger Wynne (RW) Friends of Grosvenor Park & Groves (FOGG)
5. Helen Speke (HS) Queens Park Residents’ Association (QPRA)
6. Andrew Kendall (AK) Curzon Park Residents’ Association (CPRA)
7. Sandra Magilton (SM) WPRA
8. David Colclough (DC) Commonhall St. Residents Association (CSRA)
9. Julie Colclough (JC) Commonhall Street Residents Association (CSRA)
10. Jim Parrish (JP) Bridgegate East Residents’ Association (BERA)
Apologies:
1. John Walker Vice-Chair (JW) 1761 RTM Limited (1761)
2. Pat Wynne (PW) FOGG
3. Bill Grady (BG) Bridgegate East Residents’ Association (BERA)
4. Anne Grady (AG) Bridgegate East Residents’ Association (BERA)
5. Don McRae (DM) Friends of Grosvenor Park & Groves (FOGG)
6. Tim Schofield (TS) Queens Park Residents’ Association (QPRA)
7. David Starbuck-Edwards (DS-E) Dee Hills Park Estate Association (DHP)
8. Colin Potts (CP) Shipgate Management Association (SMA)
9. Rob Hulme (RH) Commonhall Street Residents Association (CRRA)
10. Trevor Farrell (TF) Hough Green Residents’ Association (HGRA)
11. Rev. Jonathan Phillips (JP) St Peters at the Cross
12. Vanessa Bond (VB) White Friars Residents’ Association (WFRA)
13. Jennifer Crew (JCr) Westminster Park Residents’ Association (WPRA)
14. Deborah Reid (DR) King Street Residents Association (KSARA)
15. Ann Farrell (AF) George Street
16. Chris Hughes (CH) Chair FOGG
17. Clive Bond (CB) White Friars Residents’ Association (WFRA)
MINUTES 12th December 2024
Item 1. Introduction:
MJH opened the meeting and thanked all members for attending.
Item 2. Minutes of the meeting held on 18th July 2024:
These were reviewed, considered to be a true record, approved and signed by the chairman.
Item 3. Matters arising:
(a) 5G masts. Whilst there will still be a need for a few masts in and around Chester, this number will be reduced as a consequence of the decision to install a network of small signal boosters on lamp-posts around the city.
(b) The PCC Dan Price has now launched a fund for community led anti-ASB projects.
Item 4: Minutes of 2024 AGM held on 19th September 2024:
These were tabled and reviewed but will not be submitted for approval until the 2025 AGM in September.
Item 5. CRAG 2024 Conference Review:
A comprehensive review document was circulated to members prior to the meeting and PB summarised the key points. Again, the conference was deemed a success, and there was support to hold a further conference in 2025. A number of suggestions and observations were made as to elements to be included or aspects changed for 2025. It was agreed that invites should again be issued to local schoolchildren as this aspect had been one of the highlights in 2024, but that consideration should also be given as to whether an evening or weekend session could be included to enable those with work commitments to attend. MJH thanked all of those who had contributed to making the event a success, but particularly JW, PB & VB who had done a great deal of the “heavy lifting”.
Item 6. 21st November Meeting with CW&C CEO Delyth Curtis:
RBW, VB & MJH met with CW&C CEO Del & Director of Strategy & Transformation Natalie Abraham. The meeting was warm, positive and constructive – with CRAG very much being seen as a valued partner. A wide range of topics was discussed, centred upon how CW&C and CRAG could work more closely together and also a Chester focus could be enhanced within the overall scope of CW&C’s borough-wide responsibilities. Del & Nat have committed to report back early in 2025 on a number of ideas and initiatives in these areas.
Item 7. City Centre Living update:
MJH reported that CRAG has been asked to lead on the OCP City Centre Living action item. To address this issue, he has been working with a group of residents (all of whom live within the walls and most of whom belong to CRAG member RAs) on defining what “good would look like”. Twenty-four issues were identified for consideration, which have been gathered into seven areas for discussion. The aim is to complete this work by the end of February 2025, so that it can them be shared and debated with CRAG as a whole and also key stakeholders such as CW&C, licensees, police etc
Item 8. Living above the Rows:
MJH explained the project that has been completed by three local architects - Tony Swindells, Tony Barton and Guy Evans. In short, it is a guide to potential investors in Chester as to how to address and overcome the variety of planning, conservation and practical challenges involved in developing unused spaces in the city centre – primarily above shops and the Rows. This is a significant opportunity as there is currently over a million square feet of empty premises – largely as a consequence of the reduced need for office and stock storage. This empty space provides the potential for conversion into a range of different residential dwellings.
Item 9. 2024 / 2025 CRAG Subs payment:
RBW handed out invoices for subs to the representatives of RAs present at the meeting and will distribute the remainder ASAP.
Item 10. A.O.B:
(i) MJH reported that CRAG has been asked to help Cllr Alex Tate to set up a Residents’ Association for Lache – and that he had attended a meeting with local residents and her to explain both the benefits and also what it would involve to set it up.
Item 11. Dates of Next Meetings:
The following dates have been agreed for the meetings to be held in 2025: Q1: Tuesday 20th February @ 7pm @ Bishop Lloyd’s Palace. Q2: Thursday 26th June @ 7pm. Location TBC. Q3: Thursday 25th September @ 7pm (AGM). Location TBC. Q4: Thursday 11th December @ 7pm. Location TBC
MJH Closed the meeting at 2030 and thanked all for attending.