Minutes of Annual General Meeting
held on Sunday 2nd November 2014
at Perran View Cornwall
Present Liz Ashenden Chairman
Jean Tolchard Vice Chairman
David Lappin Secretary
Trevor Healing Treasurer
Anne Earl Membership Secretary/Site Representative
Site Representatives: Barrie Hockley, Sandie Newberry,
Simon Arkell, Ted Hand,
Christopher Nell, Judith Hasell
Attendance 84 Members
Apologies 96
Madam Chairman opened the meeting at 12 noon and thanked all for attending and trusted that members who attended the Tolroy and Perran parties enjoyed the evening.
Minutes
Madam Chairman asked the meeting to approve the Minutes of the Spring meeting held on 23rd March 2014. John Bennett proposed the approval and was seconded by Richard Ashenden.
Matters Arising
TV Licences
Last year those members who let through JFH were offered the opportunity to participate in the Hotel group TV Licence system. Tolroy members were first to take advantage of the scheme which was followed by Kenegie, St. Ives and Perran View. The Secretary enquired if all had gone smoothly, but added that he was aware that some members had received enforcement notices from the TV Licence agency threatening action for operating a television in non- licenced premises. He went on to explain that communication between departments at Capita the agency issuing licences was not at its best. Members affected will need to re-contact and provide the Hotel group Licence
No. MULTI/900001178. TV Licence Tel No. 0300 790 6097.
Bedding
Members were advised that new bedding would be introduced using neutral colours probably white to replace the rather loud colours currently being supplied by JFH. The changeover on a roll out basis was to have started at Kenegie, but due to an administrative error this failed to happen. The other sites have started their own programme by intruding the new linen for Gold rated accommodation. This programme will be extended during the coming season. New linen will be used for Kenegie next season.
JFH Owners online Booking system
A new owner’s booking system was introduced at the start of the year. After a request by CMOA some additional features were added to enable owners:
- to make or cancel private arrangements online 24/7.
- retain booking history for the year.
Owners are now seeing repeat booking coming through for 2015. The booking system will retain all bookings made during 2014 and new bookings will be added on a rolling calendar basis during 2015 enabling owners to maintain the history and check for repeat bookings. Some further enhancements are planned for 2015.
Perran View
The exterior of the properties are in urgent need of restoration and Gavin – Perran View manager has been researching best solutions. A presentation and update will be provided during the Q & A session.
Tolroy & Kenegie
A scheme has been put to owners during the season for the provision of Window and Gutter cleaning. Kevin – Tolroy and Kenegie manager will discuss with owners during Q & A session.
St. Ives
A number of meetings have taken place with St. Ives representatives and Matt (St. Ives manager) during the season. Matt will provide an update in the Q & A session.
Reputational damage
At the last meeting there was considerable concern expressed about the negative comments made by visitors on the likes of TripAdvisor. All complaints are investigated by Pat Jennings at Ilfracombe and responded to even though they don’t always relate to JFH bookings. A feedback form was introduced to combat negativity. The managers say that complaints are falling. This has been helped by the grading system and a general raising of standards that everyone is working hard to achieve. Damp and mould in certain properties continues to be a source of complaint. Solutions will be discussed by the respective managers during the Q & A sessions.
Sub-letting
At the last meeting members were reminded of the dangers of sub-letting and one of our members wishes all owners to know about the situation she has found herself in by doing just that.
She let her property on a short team basis without any written or verbally agreed contract. After a couple of months the tenant stopped paying and refused to move out. The owner has little power to take action herself and has now been forced to turn to the courts and incur considerable legal costs to try and get her property back. The situation has yet to be resolved and the tenant is continuing to enjoy rent free furnished accommodation plus free Council tax and energy bills.
Your committee wish to remind all owners again of the dangers of sub-letting.
- Properties on JHF sites do not have residential status and therefore cannot be let for more than 28 continuous days
- Owners cannot claim Business Rates
- Insurance cover is for holiday accommodation only, therefore will be rendered null and void for any other type of use.
- Residential insurance cover is not available for a holiday let.
If an owner lets their property for more than 28 days the person renting will become a tenant and enjoy tenant’s rights. In law, the owner will be the landlord but will not have any landlord rights as there is no legal contract of tenancy available for non-residential properties.
Chairman’s Report – see attached
Treasurers Report
The Treasurer presented the accounts for year ending 31st March 2014 stating that CMOA has made a small loss for the year amounting to £260 but it is not a matter of concern.
One of the reasons for this was that unusually, there were two meeting at Swindon this financial year. The usual one held in March and a special meeting in October regarding the potential Kenegie project. This amounted to £262 and was authorised as part of the expenditure approved last year. In addition £250 was spent on CMOA website over and above the normal annual fee, which was not a regular item, but a one-off. These two items are more than twice the deficiency. Deposit account interest is dismal, but the Treasurer cannot find a better investment that is secure.
The current situation is that CMOA have £2,950 in the current account and £18,300 in the deposit account contingency fund. 208 subscriptions have been collected in the current year against 197 last year and in theory we have 10 still outstanding, but he is optimistic that they will pay.
Election of Officers
As required by CMOA constitution all committee members are required to stand down at the AGM and can if they wish stand for re-election.
Madam Chairman informed the meeting that all existing committee members with the exception of the Treasurer are willing to stand for re-election and will now stand down.
- Chairman – As there were no nominations from the floor the Chairman, Mrs Elizabeth Ashenden was re-elected as Chairman.
- Vice Chairman – Mrs Jean Tolchard was duly re-elected as Vice Chairman as no other nominations were received.
- Secretary – The Secretary Mr David Lappin said he was willing to carry on in the light of developments with possible change of ownership of JFH sites leading to more involvement and workload! However he was still happy to hand over to a new Secretary. As there were no volunteers, he was duly re-elected.
- Treasurer – Mr Trevor Healing announced his retirement after 17 years as Treasurer of CMOA. Mr Arthur Saunders (CMOA past accounts auditor) is willing to stand for the position of Treasurer. Although he was unable to attend the AGM, he was duly elected as Treasurer designate. The Treasurer handover is not straight forward as there are legal matters to attend to, therefore Trevor will continue in role for a couple of months to ensure a smooth transition.
- Membership Secretary – Mrs Anne Earl was duly re-elected as Membership Secretary as no other nominations were received.
- Site Representatives. All site representatives were duly nominated and re-elected by acclaim
Committee 2014/15
Chairman Elizabeth Ashenden
Vice Chairman Jean Tolchard
Secretary David Lappin
Treasurer Arthur Saunders – Designate
Membership Secretary Anne Earl
Site Representatives
Kenegie Paul Hunter, Barrie Hockley
Perran Judith Hasell, Nick Muller
Tolroy Simon Arkell, Christopher Nell
St. Ives Sandie Newbury, Ted Hand, Anne Earl
List of Committee attached
Madam Chairman thanked all committee members being re-elected and took the opportunity to pay special tribute to our long standing, trusted and loyal Treasurer Trevor Healing, who has safely looked after CMOA’s finances for the past 17 plus years. Trevor will continue in his role for a short period to ensure a smooth handover to the new Treasurer Arthur Saunders.
Sale of JFH Parks
Earlier this year as most members were aware JFH decided to put up for sale nearly half of its business, which included Ilfracombe. It is no secret that the company’s plan is to move away from mixed accommodation sites to caravans only. Included in the sale were the four CMOA sites. The Secretary recently wrote to Martyn Fowler to obtain an update and report findings to the meeting. He replied that all sites with the exception of Kenegie Manor have now been withdrawn from the market. He assured CMOA would be the first to know of any changes to that position.
Kenegie Manor
Kenegie owners have been working for some time to put a buy-out offer to JFH. A working committee was established to look at all the aspects of buying and running Kenegie as a stand-alone holiday enterprise. A couple of months ago an offer was made to JFH, but because it was below their expectations, the offer was rejected. Kenegie Manor will now remain part of JFH until a new owner is found.
Review of grading system
This is the first full season that all properties let through the JFH letting have been categorised as:
Gold – Silver – Bronze
Below is a breakdown as to how each CMOA site has fared during the season as mentioned by Madam Chairman in her report.
John Fowler Holiday business increased by 3% year on year
Occupancy Rates
St. Ives 82% – increase of 5%
Tolroy 86%
Perran View 74%
Kenegie 76%
These figures were obtained despite some serious setbacks at the beginning of the season. Following the severe storm in February Tolroy lost its swimming pool facilities as the building was badly damaged. St. Ives lost the water supply as a tree had severed the supply pipe. These problems resulted in a business downturn of some 13%, but started to pick up again just before Easter.
The success figures above reflect the efforts put in by John Fowler staff to move the business forward from Sales and Marketing at Ilfracombe to running the various sites by the respective Managers and their staff. The Secretary asked for a show of appreciation which was duly followed by a round of applause. The Secretary added that CMOA members can play their part as well.
John Fowler Holidays have informed CMOA that business for 2015 is showing signs of encouragement.
The Secretary then reported on meetings held with the respective Managers to get their feedback on the success or otherwise of the grading system. Their findings are overall, with some adjustments required, that the grading system has been deemed a success. The main benefit being that visitors know what they are getting for their money. No longer are they able to compare two like properties and then complain that one is better than the other and demanding a refund.
Some of JFH’s properties are in urgent need of refurbishment and are going to be classified as “budget” for next season until an upgrade is carried out. The Secretary also informed the meeting that all properties will be re-assessed for the new season. This exercise will be carried out with the help of the marketing department at Ilfracombe. Owners will be notified of the grading in the New Year. It is understandable most owners want to achieve the highest standards when letting, but it is also important to have a mix of accommodation on offer for marketing purposes and it may well be that a silver rated property may attract more bookings than a gold during the season and a higher income level as well.
Celebrating 25 years
At the last meeting members present voted in favour of celebrating 25 years of CMOA in 2016 and to hold it in a hotel or other suitable venue in the early part of 2016. Ted Hand and Simon Arkell committee members agreed to research possible venues.
Ted Hand then presented their findings and recommendations to the meeting.
Two locations were chosen that had easy motorway access and fitted geographically with the majority of members.
- Torquay – Imperial Hotel
- Bristol – Holiday Inn
Both hotels are able to cater for members needs in providing a celebration dinner and overnight accommodation including breakfast and car parking. Ted recommended the Holiday Inn as the Imperial Hotel required a minimum of 130 people whereas the Holiday Inn required a lower number of 70 people.
Cost
To provide a Dinner and Dance with overnight accommodation based on double/twin rooms including breakfast is circa £170 per couple.
Your committee would like all members to attend this important 25th (quarter of a century) celebration of the forming of CMOA. It will be a night to remember!
The proposed date is Saturday 27th February 2016.
Payment
To ease the pain of parting with your money just before the event, our Treasurer has arranged for an easy payment plan to make 10 monthly payments at say £17 per month and members can choose any of the methods below.
Payment methods:
- Online standing order
- Manual online monthly payments
- Send monthly cheques to the Treasurer.
Please refer to attached reply form for further details.
Side Meetings
Kenegie Manor – Barrie Hockley and Paul Hunter- please refer to site report
Some of the points raised and discussed at the Q & A attended by Carenza & Kevin were as follows:
- A new children’s play area will be installed for next season
- Installation of 16 Lodges, as per planning permission, has been put on hold for this winter.
- A full time Gardener has been appointed.
- Dog walking area to be improved
- Exterior painting will be carried out on the Barns and Park Bungalows with Old Court being painted the following year 2016.
- Window & Gutter cleaning. The uptake was not sufficient to enable this service to be provided. There are a couple of alternatives on the table in providing a window cleaning only service and a separate gutter cleaning service. Owners will be notified in due course.
The site report attached provides more detail.
St. Ives – Sandie Newberry, Anne Earl and Ted Hand – please refer to site report
Ted Hand reported back to the main meeting and confirming that the Q & A session had covered a lot of areas and proved to be most beneficial. The only addition to be added is the subject of protective mattress covers. In the past it has not been general practice to use
protective covers on bed mattress. As this is a potential health and hygiene hazard, St. Ives will now provide the covers as standard for all properties let through JFH.
The site report contains comprehensive details.
Tolroy Manor – Christopher Nell and Simon Arkell – please refer to site report
Simon Arkell reported back to the main meeting confirming that the Q & A session had been very positive.
Full details are covered in the site report
Perran View – Judith Hasell and Nick Muller- please refer to site report
The subject of property appearance was discussed in greater detail with photographs on display as to how they would look following external refurbishment. Gavin was able to provide cost details that would be on a per metre basis. The majority of owners are now in favour as they see that the benefits to themselves and Perran View in general by making it more attractive as a holiday destination. However it does need 100% commitment for the project to proceed, which it is hoped will soon be achieved.
Gavin also took the opportunity to discuss solutions to damp problems that continually come to the fore. A working unit was on display with an explanation as to how it worked to combat the problems of damp and mould etc. in properties affected. Perran owners need to contact Gavin for more details if they wish to resolve the problem of damp.
The site report contains further details of the Q & A session.
General discussion
A general discussion then took place with one member asking why a window and gutter cleaning service could not be common throughout the sites. Other members pointed out that each site was different and therefore the service needs to be tailored to the sites need.
Following earlier discussion on the need to make owners aware of the dangers of attempting to let their property during the winter for more than 28 days, some members queried the terms of their lease with some having 8 months use and others 10 months. This was added to by St. Ives members reporting that St. Ives would be closed for 2 months. The Secretary later queried this with Matt, who said the message was misunderstood, however he would seek clarification on winter use from Ilfracombe. In the meantime the Secretary stated that as far as he understood John Fowler Holidays did not have a problem with owners using their property as they wished during the winter months and could let it out for no more than 28 days on the understanding there would be no facilities on site for the user.
Members were reminded that if their details changed i.e. moving house, telephone, email address etc. to please notify the Treasurer.
There being no other business Madam Chairman closed the meeting thanking all for attending and gave a big thank you to Gavin and his team for looking after everybody so well at Perran View.
Madam Chairman also thanked Carenza, Kevin and Matt for their input at the Q & A sessions. This was followed by a spontaneous round of applause.
Next meeting – Swindon – date to be advised.
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