This is the Chairman's Report for the year-ended February 2019. The Full Annual Report, Accounts and half-yearly Dividend, will be issued through the post to all those persons on the Pastures Roll during May 2019.
THE ENROLLED FREEMEN OF THE BOROUGH OF GREAT GRIMSBY
CHAIRMAN’S ANNUAL REPORT 2019
I started my report last year by discussing the changes that had occurred with our Clerks position, this year it is the turn of Peter Fearn, our Treasurer who is having to relinquish his post following the AGM owing to increased responsibilities at his firm owing to the retirement of a senior partner. We are fortunate that Peter has been able to nominate a colleague, very experienced in charity matters, to take over but has offered to continue to give us the benefit of the knowledge he has acquired over the last ten years.
Other than that, I would have to say that it has been pretty much business as usual since February 2018….with the added interest of knocking down a 1960’s shopping precinct.
The Business and Digital Hub, officially opened in January 2014, is now home to a number of varied tenants, some businesses and some having charitable objectives working with the unemployed or those who find themselves living on the margins of society. At the time of writing we have gone from being completely full to just one vacant units, which is very pleasing since we knew that it would take some time to reach this position. Rooms, including the large seminar room on the ground floor which opens out onto the market, are being used regularly for training purposes, video-conferencing, general meetings, our Saturday Kid’s Club and the GAP Theatre activities and special events such as art exhibitions and others during the Christmas period. Our tenants include Forefront Training, Cloverleaf Advocacy, Invento Software, The Oven Cleaner, Cat Zero, Freewheelin’ Web Design, Farmers Recycling Alliance, Standguide, Bridge Friends, Glyn Atkinson Safety Services and D.W. McMahon.
The Pastures Development Company Ltd. (PDC), a wholly-owned subsidiary, continues its’ role of the management and promotion of The Hub and any other initiative which otherwise might fall outside of the purely charitable objectives of the Enrolled Freemen. The PDC comprises four Directors drawn from the Pastures Committee, Sara Meller, Richard Bellamy, Stephen Wakefield and myself, and we meet regularly as a group and with our Clerk and Treasurer on a monthly basis. There is a Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/The-Pastures-Development-Company-of-the-Enrolled-Freemen-of-Grimsby-170951346435206/ or just search for The Pastures Development Company. There is also a website set up purely for any special events organised under the banner of Freeman Creative and you can find this at www.freemancreative.co.uk although we are looking for some inspiration here.
Renovation and improvements to the market generally is on-going until all of the stalls have received a makeover. These improvements are almost complete and have been greatly appreciated by traders and shoppers alike but we have struggled to let all of the stalls as falling footfall has affected a number of businesses; we also see levels rise and fall at various times during the year. All of the Solar PV panels on the roof are now working to their full potential.
During the year admissions to the Freedom were slightly less than those removed with the result that the number of Freemen on the Roll now stands at 948, (was 985 last year). I, along with Stephen Wakefield, (Vice-Chairman), and Jonathan Goolden, (Clerk), attended the Admission Courts last year and will continue to do so in order to add to the sense of ceremony of the occasion.
I would remind you of The result of the Ballot, held in 2017, under the provisions of the “Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill (HL)” was in favour of admitting women who marry sons of Freemen to the Roll in the same way that men who marry daughters of Freemen are admitted.
Please encourage all members of your family to apply for Admission if you think that they may be eligible. It is not the case that only the first-born can apply, admission is open to all children, including legally adopted children, of Freemen parents – father or mother and previously admitted widows of Freemen can now apply in their own right.
I would like to thank all members of the Pastures Committee, The Pastures Development Company, and Freeman Street Regeneration Ltd for their diligence and hard work over the last year. We do have several vacancies though that we urgently need to fill on the Committee, to be elected at the AGM, and it will be up to you, the Freemen of Grimsby, to decide who the fourteen will be since the entire Committee has to be elected annually.
There is a list of current Committee Members in the Trustees’ Report together with the number of meetings each has attended during the year; this is something that we have always done, without comment. All I would say is, is that a number of our members have to try to fit in around their working arrangements and others around family commitments. Each one makes a valuable contribution to the work of the Committee.
Our Committee is under strength so it is very important that at least four Freeman (male or female) offer themselves for election this year; we would particularly like to see more younger people put themselves forward. Any person whose name is on the Pastures Roll, with the exception of Widows of Freemen, may propose themselves for inclusion on the Committee. If you wish to be considered please apply, in writing, to The Clerk’s Office no later than Wednesday, 29th May. Please include your full name and brief details of your education and employment history outlining what relevant skills and knowledge you could offer. In the event that we have more than fourteen candidates then a vote will be taken at the AGM, if we have the exact number required then they will be automatically appointed. Nominations from the floor will not be accepted on the day, nor co-optings afterwards.
This is a very exciting time to be a part of the committee as we are very involved in the future development of Freeman Street.
It is now eleven years since I first wrote about the plans for the regeneration of Freeman Street. The report of EC Harris, which was commissioned by North East Lincolnshire Council, is a public document and the NELC Cabinet have adopted the Report and Plan as one of their Primary Regeneration Projects. Most of you will be aware that Shoreline Housing Partnership have merged with Boston Mayflower producing Lincolnshire Housing Partnership and have been preoccupied restructuring their services over the last year. The demolition of the high-rise flats and Comber Place was completed last year and by the time you read this report we shall have similarly demolished the northern block of the Freeman Way Shopping Centre. The Chief Executive of LHP has indicated that the former high-rise flats site may be looked at in conjunction with our site in any redevelopment plans and no doubt you will have seen the various reports in the Grimsby Telegraph as to what “might” be built there. There is a long way to go though but we continue to enjoy a very positive relationship with the Council and we are delighted to have been offered this opportunity to work alongside them and their investors in what may be viewed as a spin-off to the Town Deal arrangements. This has meant that those of us from the Committee, as Trustees, have had to put additional time in to attend the various meetings, and to carry out research etc., along with our Clerk, Treasurer and Surveyor. We would not have achieved a fraction of what we have without their willingness and, again, I would like to express my gratitude to them on your behalf.
Much has happened since we held the workshop last April to discuss the future of The Freeman Centre. We thought that we had a possible client and then the interest waned but we are now on the verge of making a joint announcement concerning a new development for the site which will commence just as soon as it is cleared of rubble. This will be presented, for discussion, following the AGM but if you wish to keep up to date with what is happening see our dedicated Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/FreemanStRegen/ . We have set up a second wholly-owned subsidiary – Freeman Street Regeneration Ltd., again with four directors, to oversee the partial demolition and redevelopment of this site.
Our general news items may be seen on our Facebook Page, https://www.facebook.com/EnrolledFreemenofGrimsby/.
Following the inaugural Charter 1201 Event last year I asked for expressions of interest for a similar social get-together with the December Dividend cheque but there was a very poor response so it didn’t go ahead.
We are members of the Grimsby Renewables Partnership and have also been supportive of the Ice Factory/Prince’s Regeneration Trust collaboration for the possible positive effects that these could have on the Freeman Street/East Marsh Regeneration.
Turning now to the Financial Activities and, in particular, the Market. Trading conditions continue to be very difficult which hasn’t been helped by the loss of the local residents and reduced footfall. It is difficult to compare exactly like for like in each year for a variety of reasons. For example, income from stall rents, The Skills Centre and the Solar PV FIT show some ups-and-downs whilst costs have increased, (a large amount of which is depreciation), so that the loss here for the year is greater than the previous year. We have also had to include some of the preliminary costs, and income, associated with The Freeman Centre. The Council’s 1/20 share has decreased since it is related to specific elements of income. However, the losses incurred on all trading activities are more than offset by income generated from the sale of ground leases and the increased value of investments which produces a nett increase in the Freemen’s Funds of just under £10,000. If you have any specific questions regarding the accounts the Treasurer will be attending the Annual General Meeting to answer them.
The Solar Panels, mentioned earlier, yielded a Feed in Tariff of £32,763 over the year, (£30,590 previously), and also helped to keep our electricity bills down. We haven’t applied for any more awards since we haven’t added anything further to our installation or extended our other “green” credentials.
The Skills & Craft Centre, also known as “The Courtyard”, took a long time to recover from the loss of Minimatt from the recording studio and others. We are gradually letting out the vacant units again but the recording studio was difficult to let and the new tenants are not using it as a studio but simply as an office suite; the work on converting what was the remainder of the woodworking shop has now been completed to allow GAP Theatre to move in having relocated from The Hub. We lost the Lego Shop, which had been very popular, since the proprietor has moved from the area. The Buzz Box hairdressers and Custom-Funky, an outlet for printed mugs, tee-shirts and workwear continue to do well. The whole of the market has Wi-Fi and The Courtyard Bistro, which is under new ownership, have extended their opening hours to non-market days and is very popular with shoppers who like the atmosphere that we have created. We are always open to ideas and suggestions for other possible uses within the Courtyard area. The Courtyard tenants are Custom Funky, Courtyard Café, Restore and Resettle, GAP Theatre Company, The Buzz Box, Beauty by Tanya, and Grimsby and Cleethorpes Craft Fairs with current occupancy at 100%.
As with last year, we have once again held stall rents in an effort to retain our traders until the economy picks up. The stall occupancy rate currently stands at 81%.
Two special events were held last year in The Hub. The first being the Regeneration Workshop, previously mentioned, and the second our Act of Remembrance for Poppy Day on 10th November presided over by our Chaplain, Revd Mary Vickers with The Mayor in attendance and representatives and Standards from various branches of the Uniformed Services and a Bugler and Drummer from the Lincolnshire Regiment Association. The Freemen were represented at the Civic Service at the Minster and a wreath was laid at The Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday.
I would repeat my appeal for names that we can include on a permanent memorial to Freemen who have died in service to their country; so far only two names have been put forward, surely there must be others? This appeal is now extended to include those men who would have become Freemen but lost their lives before the age of twenty-one or before they had a chance to be admitted.
None of this could have been achieved without our dedicated staff and I would like to take this opportunity to thank our General Manager and his team, including our newly recruited apprentice, for their hard work on the Market in helping to transform it and for steadily improving its internal appearance. Those of you with access to the internet may care to visit www.freemomarket.co.uk, or www.enrolledfreemenofgrimsby.org. In addition, both the Market and The Enrolled Freemen now have Facebook pages so do take a look for the latest news. My thanks, on behalf of the Committee, also go to our Clerk and Treasurer and their respective staff who work most diligently to keep our legal and financial affairs in good order. I would also like, again, to thank the Members of the Committee for the time they have given to the affairs of the Freemen on your behalf.
I would urge you all to support the Market, if you have not seen the improvements we have carried out do go and have a look; I think that you will be surprised.
As has been said in previous reports, if you require any assistance please apply to the Benevolent Fund through either the Clerk or the Treasurer. The criteria for applying to the Fund are, in the case of extreme financial hardship, the payment of a household utility bill, (usually gas or electricity), the replacement/repair of cooking facilities, (e.g. a new basic cooker if your existing one is not able to be repaired, to enable one to keep warm, (e.g. a portable heater), and essential repairs to property. Each case will be considered on its own merits. The Fund is not available for general financial assistance. Please do not be afraid to ask, there were no requests last year.
If you move home kindly inform either the Clerk or the Treasurer of your new address.
The Annual General Meeting is to be held at 12.00 noon on Monday, 3rd June 2019, at The Hub, Freeman Street Market again this year rather than the Town Hall, please note the change; a hot buffet lunch will be served so please let us know if you will be coming by calling Chris Wilson at the market on Grimsby 356518. Please make every effort to attend in order that you can elect the new Pastures Committee for the next twelve months and to ask any questions that you may wish to put to the Committee or its’ Officials. We shall have a guest speaker who will talk about the plans which are now being put together for the former Freeman Shopping Centre site.
Stephen P White
Chairman