Minutes of the meeting of the Painshawfield Estate Committee held at Stocksfield Baptist Church at 19:30hrs on Wednesday 06th May 2026
| Present | Helen Rae Maryanne Spoor Brian McGurk Neil Chambers | Chair |
| In attendance | Judy Anne Allen | Secretary |
Apologies for absence
Phil Moore, Jen Adams, Dave Pern, Chris Smedley, David Elliott, Tobias Zimmermann presented apologies.
Conflict of interest
No conflicts declared at this point.
Minutes of the previous meeting
Approved
Actions from the previous meeting
All actioned within following minutes.
Secretary report
An email has been received advising the commencement of the Northumberland Local Plan, which outlines the strategy and framework for development throughout Northumberland. Planning matters outside of the Painshawfield Estate were discussed such as the potential construction of flats behind the shops and development on the land opposite the school. However, the Committee agreed that, although of interest to individuals, the Committee as an entity has no terms of reference to provide comment on development outside of the Estate.
The secretary has been advised that grass cutting of the Common Land will increase from £50 to £60 and it was agreed by all that this is a reasonable increase.
The Foxtail Pine bench has now been installed, and it was agreed that an article by Denise Mophet be put on the website.
Common Land
PM and HR have consulted with a solicitor regarding the requirements for a change of Trustees and are currently waiting to hear from Jade Burley re costs. The legal service will include obtaining formal deeds of resignation and formal deeds of appointment. Land registry details will also need to be changed. All existing Trustees have now been located. New Trustees proposed are Richard Maughan, Paul Adams and Jim Allen.
The Foxtail Pine bench is now in place, and a potential media launch will need to be planned to celebrate the tree’s history was discussed involving a local celebrity. To replace the Foxtail Pine, it was agreed that two native trees be planted to encourage wildlife on the Common. A Crab Apple and a Cherry Blossom variety were suggested.
Action: To assess and progress formal deeds of appointment for new Trustees once the solicitor has been in contact.
To organise a media launch at the appropriate time in conjunction with Denise Morphet and the Biodiversity Group.
To agree and organise planting of two native trees to replace the Foxtail Pine.
Digitisation of records
Discussion regarding the digitisation of records is continuing. Once the boxes of records are retrieved from storage, decisions can be made around which documents to retain and which to digitise. It was previously agreed that all historic documents and documentation relating to legal cases, financial information and AGMs should be kept.
Action: HR & JAA to look through the boxes currently in storage to assess quantity and important of documents. Once number of important documents is ascertained JA to obtain accurate costs of digitalisation of documents.
AGM
2026 AGM has now been arranged for Monday 8th June at 7pm with George Petrides acting as Chair.
The Chair is currently preparing all documentation with agenda and reports to be circulated to Covenators prior to the meeting. A pre-AGM meeting of the Committee will take place one week before the main meeting to agree all information.
Action: JAA to review previous Committee appointments to assess who is up for re-election. JAA also to support Chair is completing and distributing all documentation.
Mission Statement & Objectives
HR to review document and circulate final version to Committee.
Action: HR to review and circulate.
Fees
A review of all fees was discussed with a view to increasing all application fees due to the work involved.
Action: JAA to circulate proposed increased fees to Committee members who were absent from meeting.
Applications
0134 – 42 Painshawfield Road – small rear extension. Assigned to BM.
Outstanding P3 forms
- 7 Birches Nook – TZ
- 15 Meadowfield Road– PM.
- 33 Cade Hill Road – HR
Date and time of next meeting – Pre-AGM
19:30hrs – Wednesday, 3rd June 2026 at Stocksfield Baptist Church.