Minutes of Open Meeting 25 September 2003 This is a note of the above meeting. Over 90 people attended all or part of the meeting at the Newbiggin Leisure Centre, which made it impossible to take the names of those present or prepare minutes in the usual way. The following is a summary note of proceedings. The Chair (Mike Goodman) opened the meeting by explaining that this was the first open meeting that the Community Partnership had held. He explained what the Partnership was, who could join and how it fitted in to the wider Wansbeck Initiative structure. He then went through the minutes of the previous ordinary meeting, noting that three young people had come forward to attend the Ocean Youth Trust trip and that an application had been submitted to Living Spaces to cover the proposed work at the Memorial Park. There was also a mention of the fact the Wansbeck Online would shortly be going live and that it would contain information about the Partnership as well as about groups active in the area and events they may be holding. Andrea Malcolm (Newbiggin Life) talked about the Woodhorn Gateway , noting that some funding had been secured from Europe . She then passed round an artist's impression of the proposed Gateway feature. It was noted that people taking part in the Intermediate Labour Market scheme would be involved in the work and it was also proposed to engage local schools. There would need to be further consultation and planning permission but she also noted that some of the funding would only be available for a limited time , a vote was taken on the gateway feature and this was agreed. Roberta Buchanan, also from Newbiggin Life, told the meeting that Newbiggin Life proposed to hold an event in the autumn which would divide the village into 4 and invite all residents to participate. (This would prepare for the Planning for Real exercise in about two years time), She noted that they would not be able to arrange crèche facilities at the events but that they were wiling to make house calls. There was a lot of discussion about boreholes that had been drilled to test soil conditions near the Health Centre. A number of those present felt that there should have been consultation before this work was undertaken, but Andrea Malcolm countered that only when this work had been completed would it be possible to come up with proposals for consultation. There were also questions about the role of the CAP Executive Group and their decision making powers with regard to funding and whether this was being done in a ‘bottom up' way. A broader discussion of funding ensued, especially how much the village had benefited from NRF interventions. Charles Tremeer, the Wansbeck Initiative Manager, invited those with concerns in that area, to contact him separately to discuss the issue. There was also a lengthy discussion of issues around developments in the vicinity of Front Street , again with concern being expressed about the lack of consultation. Kevin Wright ran through the presentation detailing the results of the membership questionnaire. He highlighted some of the issues such as the fact that some people only attended once and the lack of engagement with young people. At the end of the meeting the Newbiggin Bay project was mentioned, the Chair noting that it was expected that the Consultant's report would be produced in December and that the funding for work had yet to be secured. Finally, it was noted that the next Partnership Meeting would be at 6.30pm on Thursday 27 November. The Chair closed the meeting, thanking all who had attended. After the meeting, large numbers of Initiative Information Packs and Newbiggin Life Business Cards were taken by those attending. Charles Tremeer, Initiative Manager