Dartmouth and Kingswear Society



Annual Report for 2022/23

Your Society has flourished over the last year. The main activities of the Society and your Committee are in support of community interests and have been intensive but rewarding. We trust that you, our Members, feel the same sense of achievement and purpose.

Firstly grateful thanks should be directed to all your Committee for their commitment and regular attendance. Without their efforts the outputs expected of us would be lacking. With them the performance overall has been admirable.

The Committee members and the Officers are willing to remain in place, if re-elected, with just one exception namely Linda Goss. Linda has tried to deliver for us but with family illness she has had a tough time. We are so grateful for her efforts over recent times but, while family illness remains a problem, she is standing down. We will miss her good local knowledge in our deliberations.

We wish to widen our committee membership with new and additional people. Any suggestions for us to consider would be most welcome.

Communications with members

We always aim to keep members properly informed as to our news on a timely basis. One recent request was to seek suggestions from members for additional ideas for events, speakers and appropriate activities for us to consider. This request remains on the table for consideration.

Most recently a letter was sent to Members in January 2023 setting out our Aims and our main achievements this last year, not least our contribution to the successful adoption of the Dartmouth Neighbourhood Plan (DNP), including our regular contributions to planning application requests and challenges. In this regard we regularly review planning applications, agree with many but challenge and/or object to others via the SHDC Planning website. With the DNP planning proposals now adopted and in place under the DNP we are better able to challenge what we believe to be unacceptable planning applications. In this regard we are grateful to members and the Community at large for advising us of planning matters which concern them. We are grateful to you all for alerting us so we can better hold the various relevant bodies properly to account.

For your information, just this week, we have been alerted by members and others to two notifications for proposed site licences for camp sites issued by Government in our wonderful AONB area in Dartmouth. Our advice has been sought as these licences appear to circumvent the normal planning application process. We have reacted quickly and understand that these two locations are arguably inappropriate sites for temporary camping licences within our area of natural beauty. We understand that the sites chosen may not accord with the code of conduct applicable to Natural England. Accordingly, we hope that this interpretation will mean that the sites are recognised in due course as inappropriate. This strange situation is mentioned now to give members an idea of some of the matters we review as part of our role.

Membership

This year we have sought to increase our membership to help improve our representation in our area. It is pleasing to note that some 40 new members have joined which will boost our subscription income in future years. We achieved this partially by advertising in By the Dart and in the Flavel publications.

Our finances

Our net assets remain adequate for our ongoing activities and our aims. You will note that we have incurred a small deficit in the annual accounts for 2022 of £836 compared with a surplus of £574 in 2021. This deficit in 2022 includes £540 for the advertising spend mentioned above but does not yet take credit for an estimated tax recovery of some £250 approximately which will be recognised only in 2023 when it is received.

Your Committee believes these transactions have been made in the best long term interest of the Society and are easily affordable from within our existing net assets.

Subscriptions

Members will be pleased to note that no increase on subscriptions is proposed for 2023.

Robert Brooke D & K Chairman
March 2023