Annual Report

SHERINGHAM AND DISTRICT PRESERVATION SOCIETY

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF TRUSTEES

The Executive Committee present their annual report and the financial statements of the Society for the year ended 31 December 2010.

Status

Sheringham and District Preservation Society is a registered charity (No. 280951) formed in August 1979 and is governed by a constitution revised at the 2004 AGM to bring it in line with current Charity Commission requirements. The accounts are compliant with current statutory requirements and in accordance with the constitution.

Principal activities

The main objectives of the Society, as defined by the constitution, are to preserve and improve features of historic interest, to promote high standards of planning and architecture and to stimulate interest in the area of benefit, which is the town of Sheringham and the parishes of Upper Sheringham and Beeston Regis. These aims are promoted by the executive committee, which meets at least monthly. All planning applications in the town of Sheringham are reviewed and comments referred to the district council where necessary. A newsletter is distributed to members regularly, a website is maintained and social events are organised. The Society is responsible for the upkeep of the newly renovated former fishing sheds on West Cliff, Sheringham, containing the Fishermen's Heritage Centre and the Peter Coke Shell Gallery. Both were opened for public viewing at Easter 2006 and remain open for as many hours as possible during the summer months each year. The Fishermen's Heritage Centre incorporates the historic Henry Ramey Upcher Lifeboat and its shed for which the Society has taken responsibility since 1983. An art exhibition has been organised annually from the earliest years of the Society's existence. As well as providing an opportunity for local artists to show and sell their work, the exhibition is now a well-anticipated annual fixture for residents and visitors.

Review of developments, activities and achievements during the year

The Society continues to put a large proportion of its energies into the operation of the Fishermen's Heritage Centre (FHC) and the Peter Coke Shell Gallery (PCSG). The FHC incorporates the Henry Ramey Upcher (HRU) still in its original shed. The Society has been responsible, on behalf of Sheringham Town Council, for opening the HRU shed to the public since 1983. Annual Reports for the years 2006 to 2010 describe the process by which the former Fishing Sheds were renovated by the Society to accommodate the FHC and PCSG. These were first opened in 2006 with ongoing improvements in successive years.

Visitor numbers to the FHC in 2010 at 9975 were 8 per cent lower than in the previous year. This was mainly attributable to a shortage of volunteers, causing opening hours to be reduced, but also because of weather conditions, especially a very cold Easter. As a consequence, donations were also reduced (by 6 per cent). Sales have declined to roughly half of what they have been in previous years, necessitating a review of items presented for sale. The number of visitors to the PCSG (6212) increased by over 10 per cent compared to 2009. Although donations were slightly reduced, sales of shells and associated items were up by 18 per cent. The small craft shop was rented out for the sale of locally made craft goods and other items of interest.

The annual art exhibition organised by members of the Art Section attracted a large number of entries which were again of a very high standard. A total of 245 paintings by 45 artists (six more than the previous year) were exhibited, of which 55 to a value of £3296 were sold, an increase on last year. Norman Mackie generously donated a painting for the raffle. The profit from the exhibition was added to Society funds.

Much to the Society's regret, its efforts over 14 years to oppose the construction of a Tesco supermarket on Cromer Road Sheringham, which had previously received overwhelming support from councillors on North Norfolk District Council (NNDC) planning committees, were finally defeated by the narrowest of margins. The Society fears that this decision will have detrimental effects on the retail core of the town and will greatly increase traffic congestion on the Cromer Road. The Society continued to monitor all other planning applications in the area concerned. It also continued to support proposals for the future development of the area contained in the NNDC Local Development Framework (LDF).

Three issues of the newsletter were issued during the year and the Society's website provided a useful source of information for members and non-members. Successful lunches were organised. Regular monthly coffee mornings, started in 2009, were continued to allow members to meet socially and hear a short talk. Many interesting speakers gave talks covering a wide range of topics. The largest audience was for a talk by Wing Commander Ken Wallis about his work on the development of autogyros.

The Society is represented at meetings of the North Norfolk Museums and Heritage Partnership and Maritime Heritage East (MHE). It supplies material for the MHE website which provides an information resource and promotes visitor attractions along the East Anglian coast. It is also a member of the Museums in Norfolk Group (MING), the Association of Independent Museums (AIM), the Association of Historic Towns and Villages (ASHTAV) and the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE). The Society has so far decided not to join Civic Voice (the successor to the Civic Trust).

The Society continued to receive subscriptions from members and relies on these, on donations and the unpaid services of several individuals, most of whom are members. At the end of the period there were 168 members of whom 20 were life members over 90 years of age. In addition, approximately 20 former members were in arrears with their membership at the end of the year, some of whom may rejoin. Membership has been declining steadily over recent years. This is mainly because the cohort of members who were the mainstay of the society from its beginning are gradually being lost through age, but an encouraging number of new younger members have joined recently.

The Executive Committee believe the Society's affairs to be satisfactory and its finances secure. It would benefit from having more members actively engaged in the running of the Society's activities, but it is encouraging that two new members of the committee are expected to be elected at the 2011 AGM to take on the posts of secretary and treasurer. Secretary Kathleen Bird and Memberships Secretary William Rusdell are both due to retire at the 2011 AGM and the Society is extremely grateful for the invaluable efforts they have put into its running over many years. More stewards in both the FHC and PCSG are always being sought. Methods of increasing active involvement by the membership in the running of the Society, in order to guarantee its future viability, therefore continue to be a major concern.

R Grimes

Chairman

19th May 2011