Minutes of Annual General Meeting of
Friends of Linford Lakes Nature Reserve
Tuesday 3 June 2026
Start time: 7.00 pm at the Pavilion, Campbell Park
Attendance: 21 people
Apologies: Dave Barrett, Helen Castley, Chris Coppock, Ian Facer, Peter Loose
Welcome from Tony Bedford, Chair of FoLLNR
Tony welcomed everyone to this the 14th AGM since the Friends group’s formation in 2011.
At a recent Friends’ committee meeting, Tony was confirmed as Chair of the group to be put forward for election.
Election of officers
The Friends of Linford Lakes Nature Reserve is a properly constituted not-for-profit organisation. Our constitution requires that the three main officers of the Group, i.e. Chair, Treasurer and Secretary, must be elected/re-elected at an Annual General Meeting each year by vote of the membership.
The following officers were elected.
Chair Tony Bedford. Proposer: Simon Bunker; Seconded: Keith Gander
Treasurer Pauline Studman. Proposer: Charles Westwood; Seconded: Jane Grisdale
Secretary Janice Robertson. Proposer: Jenny Brown; Seconded: Keith Hogben
All officers were elected unanimously by a show of hands.
Chair’s Report
Welcome to this AGM in what is now FoLLNR’s fifteenth year of existence.
The Linford Lakes Centre building has remained closed for 5 years now. Originally it was due to be redeveloped, then the plan was to have it knocked down and replaced by a modular build – now the plan has reverted to refurbishing the existing building.
Without a centre including toilets and catering facilities, it has again been difficult to organise the various walks, talks and discovering wildlife events that used to be a feature of the Friends’ calendar. Nevertheless Andy Harding kindly hosted a Warbler Walk for us earlier this month and we are planning a guided birdwatching event for 14th June.
Again because of lack of facilities, monthly task days have been reduced although we did manage a few
sessions in cooperation with the Green Gym. We were able to carry out general tidying around the reserve, supplying bird food, and replacing feeders at the Warbler Hide. We plan to repaint the Warbler Hide soon.
Our aim remains to try and resume a more regular programme of work in co-ordination with The Parks Trust over the coming year but we recognise that our previously active members are becoming less so due to the ravages of old age and/or infirmity, and to this end we are trying to recruit new (and fitter) members to help with these tasks.
We have not yet held our annual fish and chip supper and quiz night at Campbell Park, which is usually very well attended, and hope to hold this event in the autumn.
We have renewed our insurance policy to ensure we have public liability and accident insurance to cover events run by FoLLNR and to protect any money being handled.
We have continued to update our website as far as possible and have continued to maintain a species list throughout each year. We have also gathered information from the Flickr website, ringing records and members’ observations to ensure a comprehensive list of records for LLNR is sent to BMERC each year, in order that official records continue to reflect LLNR’s status as one of the most valuable sites for wildlife in the county. For example, over 71 species of birds have been recorded.
FoLLNR meetings with Parks Trust representatives have reduced following restructuring of The PT staff and we hope these can be rescheduled on a more frequent basis. These meetings have been successful in achieving refurbishment of the Heronry Hide door.
Kenny Cramer has continued to run his ringing programme for the BTO at LLNR and I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for all his efforts and support and for the wealth of information his records provide.
We recognise that The PT have been very active in maintaining much of the reserve with replacing boardwalks and clearing pathways, and this to a degree has reduced the need for much of the physical activities FoLLNR members used to carry out. Until we can recruit a more physically capable team it is likely that FoLLNR activities will be more based around walks, talks, presentations and indoor events. To this end the rebuilding of the Centre is critical.
Thanks to The Parks Trust for helping us with the use of the meeting room facilities at Campbell Park.
I would like to thank also the help and support provided by my fellow committee members, and special thanks as always go to our Treasurer Pauline for keeping a tight rein on our funds and to Janice our secretary, who does a fantastic job of co-ordinating and communicating with the membership and the Parks Trust.
Treasurer’s Report
Pauline Studman said we have not had any income in the past year. Expenses have included insurance premium and bank charges. We have also bought a strimmer/hedge cutter with spare battery, bird food, and tick remover for the first aid kit.
The current balance totals £5152.01. The accounts have been independently audited by a qualified accountant and were available at the meeting if anyone wished to check.
The Parks Trust Report
Tony was pleased to welcome Kyra Turner, Nature Sites Officer at The Parks Trust, to the meeting. She explained that her background in countryside management helped her to her first role in the Parks Trust but her recent appointment is to manage four sites: Stony Stratford, Floodplain Forest, Stanton Low, and Linford Lakes.
Wetland Arc project. Kyra was asked to introduce The Wetland Arc project which Florie Bryant, Lewis Dickinson and Ellie Durrant are working on, an ambitious initiative covering 355 hectares (about 500 football pitches) of linear parkland along the River Great Ouse in the north of Milton Keynes. Kyra showed a presentation onscreen. This masterplan will integrate:
- Community ideas to ensure local voices shape the future of the landscape
- Accessibility improvements to make the area welcoming for all
- Ecological evidence to protect and enhance biodiversity
- Climate and nature-based solutions to address environmental challenges
The goal is to create a landscape working with local communities to shape a future where people and nature thrive together.
Emma Reynolds, Secretary of State for DEFRA, visited recently to see the pilot project at Trinity Meadow. Here schools have been involved in planting trees and creating wetland areas. Access Ambassadors have been appointed to understand access needs. There are future plans for new groups sharing projects. Kyra handed out leaflets, and also questionnaires so that those attending could enter their comments, which many did. For more information about the Wetland Arc project, visit theparkstrust.com/wetlandarc.
Centre building at LLNR. The plans were submitted to the MK Council on 15 May, and will take 12 to 18 weeks to be determined. It is unlikely to be turned down as it is now a refurbishment. Kyra passed round her laptop with images of the new plans for people to see.
Questions and comments from the floor
At the last AGM we heard about possible government funding as part of Biodiversity Net Gain. Kyra said the management plan for the application was still going through the various stages, including a hydrologist to sample river water and soil to understand the water table.
Tony said the current condition of the centre creates a very poor first impression of the reserve and makes it difficult to attract new members, once the centre has been rebuilt that he hopes to build up the Friends group and encourage new initiatives that might include: a new hide, more perches for kingfishers, and maintain the incredible site for wildlife. Keith said seven cuckoos have been caught by the BTO ringers, there are a pair of bitterns that might breed, and a marsh harrier and hobbies are often seen this year. Tony’s three ambitions for the reserve are to help with physical maintenance, hold events for education and sharing, and to protect the site from threats such as development.
Surveys for bats and newts which could have returned to the building. Kyra said surveys were regularly taken.
Permit numbers. Tony thought that up to recently there were about 300 permit holders and 200 Friends. The Friends do not receive money from the permits. The only income was from events such as Open Sundays in the past where up to 100 people attended and bought refreshments and secondhand books etc. As a not for profit organisation we try to cover the costs of the events we hold, and any surplus goes on tools, bird food and other costs.
Tony would like to discuss with the PT if there could be other revenue possibilities such as photography permits which would justify the cost of constructing another hide.
Printing of permits. Some people do not have modern phones that can display permits or facilities to print them. Tony said we will take this up with The Parks Trust. People could perhaps collect printouts from the PT’s Pavilion office or the new centre when it opens. Tony has previously asked for a car park permit for display and will take it up again with The PT. The volunteer wardens check permits. They patrol the reserve on a rota and also report damage, sweep hides, etc.
Storage sheds. There will be new storage facilities but probably not as much as before. We will not have space to store and sell secondhand books and are donating our stocks to charity.
Tenants. There will not be a flat for rental. There will be extra seating outside for school groups.
Dog daycare facility and café at the main road entrance. Seems to have stopped most fly-tipping, and the owners see to locking the gates.
School parties. Were an important part before. They will start again and will complement the work at Howe Park Wood centre.
Close of meeting
The meeting concluded at 8.15 pm. Tony thanked all for taking the time to attend. The Friends’ committee appreciate all those who participate and help to make things work.
No comments:
Post a Comment