Minutes of the Porthcawl Chamber of Trade AGM held on
Tuesday 23rd April 2024 at the Y Centre, John Street, Porthcawl
Present: Margaret Minhinnick (President), Alun Edwards (Treasurer), E Jones (Vice President), Matthew Edwards, Jon Hurley, Jane Hurley, Michelle Smith, Lyndsay Morgan, Mark Morgan, John Berry, Evan Williams, Emma Baker,
Gemma Lewis, Nick Ashton, Sarah Ashton, Peter Foster
In Attendance: Sarah Watkins
Welcome and opening by the President
Margaret Minhinnick, Chamber President welcomed Members present.
It was agreed to change the order of the agenda in order for the BCBC presentation to be held at the beginning of the meeting.
Apologies for absence
No apologies received.
Presentation:- Porthcawl Town Centre Placemaking Strategy by Officer(s) of Bridgend County Borough Council
Margaret Minhinnick introduced and welcomed Billy Stark, Principal Regeneration Officer, BCBC along with Jacob Lawrence, Porthcawl Regeneration Programme Manager, BCBC officers to the meeting.
Billy begun the presentation surrounding the Porthcawl Town Centre Placemaking Strategy. It was advised that the study area was centred around the retail core of John Street and overlapping onto the Porthcawl waterfront to establish what works well for Porthcawl and how the areas can be developed further as part of this strategy.
The Glamorgan Holiday Home, Dunraven and Pier Hotel, John Street/Hillsboro car parks, Knights Arms square were amongst some of the areas discussed for regeneration.
Members raised concerns on the poor state of John Street in the town centre and that re-development is very much needed in this area. It was advised that there is National Lottery funding available for the Porthcawl Chamber of Trade should they be keen to pursue this with the local businesses further.
Lack of car parking in Porthcawl was also raised by Members. Billy and Jacob advised that BCBC would be evidence gathering re parking monitoring initially prior to any final decisions being made on car park buildings/structures.
Billy and Jacob advised that although the consultation on the Porthcawl Town Centre Placemaking Strategy had officially closed that they would be happy to receive suggestions/concerns from any local businesses. Members were asked to send their views through to Margaret Minhinnick who would in turn forward them onto Billy and Jacob for BCBC consideration.
Members gave thanks to Billy and Jacob for their time in providing a detailed and very informative presentation.
To consider and approve the minutes of the last AGM meeting held on 21st March 2023
The minutes of the AGM held on 21st March 2023 that were circulated via
e-mail prior to the AGM were accepted and approved by Members.
Matters arising
It was advised that Margaret Minhinnick and Jon Hurley had attended a productive meeting with Parkdean Holiday Resort and that a sign had since been put in place in Trecco Bay promoting the town.
To receive Annual Report 2023-2024 Presentation
Margaret Minhinnick gave a brief synopsis of the Annual Report and outlined the positive impact and the changes that the Porthcawl Chamber of Trade had made throughout the past year.
Margaret continued by providing Members present with the details of all the new local businesses that had opened in Porthcawl during 2023-2024.
It was advised that a copy the Annual Report presented to the meeting would be placed on the Porthcawl Chamber of Trade website in addition to being circulated to Members.
To approve the End of Year Accounts/Appoint Accountant for the ensuing year
Alun circulated copies of the end of year financial accounts to Members.
It was confirmed that there are currently fifty Members on the Porthcawl Chamber of Trade.
Members were reminded of the previous discussion surrounding the Christmas trees distribution for local shops and were further informed that there is no funding available from BCBC for 2024.
Alun requested approval to reappoint the current Accountant for the ensuing year. It was advised that they do not charge a fee to the Chamber and that they have consistently provided a first-rate service. It was agreed by Members to continue with the current Accountant for 2024.
It was agreed that the accounts would be signed off at the next scheduled meeting.
Secretary’s Report
A copy of the Secretary’s report had been circulated to Members via e-mail prior to the meeting. Members noted the report.
Election of Officers:-
It was advised that the Secretary had only received one nomination paper from Members. However, following discussion the results were as follows:-
President Margaret Minhinnick
Vice-President Elen Jones
Treasurer Alun Edwards
Executive Members Jon Hurley, Nathan Goldsworthy
Membership Development Plan (Executive Committee)
Jon Hurley advised that a new membership package had been devised. It was explained that the packages have been divided into three tiers Bronze, Silver, Gold and Jon provided a brief outline of the packages. Details of the various membership packages can be found on the Porthcawl Chamber of Trade website.
Concluding remarks
Margaret Minhinnick thanked members for electing her as President again for this year and that she looked forward to her further term of office, working with the local businesses in the town.
Date of next meeting
21st May 2024, 7.00pm.
Meeting concluded at 9.10pm
