The Chairman's Report to the AGM

CHAIRMAN'S REPORT

At the outset of my report last year I referred to the retirement of Lord Belstead as our Patron. I now have pleasure in reporting that his successor as Lord Lieutenant of the County, Lord Tollemache, has kindly agreed to become the new Patron of the Society in this, our 75th Anniversary year and we have accordingly welcomed Lord Tollemache and hope that he will enjoy his association with the Society over the coming years.

Richard Ward, our Director, is well into his stride now and there can be few areas of the Society's work that have not already benefited from his guidance. He has regularly attended meetings of each of the district committees and is gradually deepening his involvement with all aspects of the Society's policy formulation. In particular, policies on renewable energy have been drafted and circulated to all District Councils in Suffolk, the CPRE's night blight campaign has been enthusiastically supported and the Society's views on several transport issues have been well publicised.

Constructive criticisms have been submitted on the Government's proposals for a fundamental review of the planning system. The Society's main concern has been that amidst moves to speed up the planning process so as to promote faster economic development and provide more housing, sight should not be lost of the absolute imperative to safeguard the quality of the towns and villages, coastline and countryside that make Suffolk what it is.

One of the most successful events of the past year was the Planning Workshop led by the Director and held in January at Haughley Park Barn by the kind permission of Mr. & Mrs. Robert Williams. Despite challenging snow on the roads, some 58 delegates attended, many of whom represented Parish Councils across Suffolk and it is gratifying to be able to report that, by popular demand, another similar Workshop is planned for 25 August. In addition a further Workshop is being arranged for amenity societies to improve joint working. Again, this will take place at Haughley Park Barn on 29 September.

The new category of membership of the Society, known as Friends of Suffolk Preservation Society has been successfully introduced, following the receipt of formal approval from both the Charity Commission and the CPRE and to date 397 Friends have been registered. This includes 389 existing local supporters who have automatically become Friends.

Membership of the Society currently stands at 1845, representing a 1 % increase on the position as at the last Annual General Meeting. It is hoped that the new recruitment leaflet which Pat Barnes and other volunteers have been instrumental in producing, will result in an improvement in the rate of recruitment of new members. It is certainly a very attractive production. Copies have been made widely available and any members or volunteers who think they could utilise copies to recruit new members should contact either their district chairman or Little Hall to obtain some.

As I write this report the special 75th Anniversary edition of our newsletter, Suffolk View, should be dropping in to members' letter boxes. I hope it brings information and pleasure to all its readers. Do let Little Hall know what you think of it. I rather enjoyed the introduction of the cartoons: many thanks to their creator Bryan Haylock. The newsletter represents the culmination of a great deal of collaborative effort by many people, including, of course, our Director, Richard Ward, the indefatigable Jane Allen and our special Anniversary edition editorial consultant, Alison Withers.

The two major 75th Anniversary events to which we look forward and which have been at the planning stage during the year under review are a day of celebration centred upon Newmarket on 15 June and a concert at Snape Maltings on 12 September. It is hoped that as many members, volunteers, Friends and other supporters as possible will take tickets for these events. Details are available from Little Hall.

The Society's presence at Suffolk Agricultural Association's Show at Ipswich has continued as has the programme of events organised by individual districts. The district committees continue to monitor planning applications in their respective areas as well as maintain a wider watching brief over matters of concern and Richard Ward has always been willing to offer help in formulating comments on major proposals. I would like to record my appreciation of the efforts of the district committees under the guidance of their chairmen.

Particularly welcome is the gradual revival of the Forest Heath district committee under John Howell's careful stewardship. Ralph Carpenter has taken on responsibility for the Babergh district committee following Maureen Fell's resignation whilst Dan Pillar and the St Edmundsbury district have again had to concentrate much of their energy on the Cattle Market development proposals in Bury St Edmunds.

Waveney and Suffolk Coastal district committees have both identified renewable energy, particularly wind farms, as one of the most contentious issues facing them. Within CPRE at national level debate is developing whether wind farms should be opposed per se or whether each proposal should be judged on its merits. The Society prefers the latter approach.

Finally, in Mid Suffolk a proposal for a large leisure development at Blakenham could, if approved, have enormous implications on traffic flows in the vicinity, quite apart from anything else. This will be a major issue for John Buxton and his committee to consider.

One of the welcome developments during the past year has been the revitalising of the Society's Farming & Countryside Group. New terms of reference are being proposed for the Group and will be reported in due course to the Executive Committee.

The Alfred Williams Prize has continued its good work of seeking out and rewarding excellence in design and the Suffolk Building Preservation Trust has persevered with its bid to improve the facilities for visitors to Pakenham Water Mill.

No review of the past year would be complete without reference to the munificence of the late Miss Pleasance Partridge who, by leaving a substantial portion of her estate to the Society, has enabled the Society to strengthen its activities in various ways and especially in developing its appeal to young people. New exhibition stands and material have been acquired and have been seen at events around the county, whilst at Haughley Park Barn on 23 June the schools design competition will be launched.

It is a privilege for me to be chairman of the Society's Executive Committee in this 75th anniversary year and I should like to conclude by thanking all members, volunteers, Friends and staff for their cheerful and energetic contributions to the work of the Society.

RICHARD TOFT Chairman