03/06/2026
Apologies for Absence
All directors were present, other than Emma Davies, who was absent due to illness, and sends her apologies.
Attendance
Including directors, a total of 22 people were present for the meeting, both online and in-person.
Declaration of Interests
No declarations of interests were noted.
Approval of Previous Minutes
Previous minutes from 6th of May 2026 were approved.
Development Update – Encore/U&C
Encore & U&C
Tracey provided an update of topics brought up in the last meeting.
It was confirmed that Tracey met with Whitings and Urban & Civic to discuss the handover of the Community Gardens at Windsor Road, including the allotment plots. It was identified that there were several remedial works that need to be completed, including guttering and external frames that have become detached.
It was noted that there were a number of allotment plots that have been allocated but left alone or have been ceased using. Out of 23 plots allocated, there are at least 11 plots that have not been maintained. Tracey advised that these plot holders need to maintain them if they want to keep them, otherwise they will be handed over to individuals on the waiting list.
The groundworks for the second community noticeboard have been installed on the entrance to Elizabeth Park. They are just waiting for confirmation from the providers of the noticeboard installation as to when they can complete the works.
There have been several sightings of bee orchids around the Weald – these flowers are protected in the same manner as wildflowers, and the landscapers have been advised to look out for them so that they’re not mowed down. If residents spot any bee orchids, please let Tracey know so that the landscapers can be advised.
Following the sightings of poison hemlock around the Weald, Tracey confirmed that these have been removed, and will continue to be monitored. In some cases, cow parsley has been identified, which looks very similar to poison hemlock, but cow parsley flowers throughout the spring, whereas hemlock flowers throughout the summer. If you do come across any plants you may suspect to be poisonous, please report these to Tracey to be passed on to the landscapers for further action.
There was a query around the frequent use of weedkillers, specifically glyphosate on the Weald. It was suggested that there needs to be an alternative, such as boiling water sprays or burner torches for spot weed-killing. It was also noted that it seemed contradictory to promote wildlife but also use pesticides.
Tracey confirmed it’s too late in the season to implement an amended weed strategy, as the maintenance plan and costings have already been agreed. However, as part of the 2026/27 maintenance plan, they will be reviewing a hybrid approach used on other developments to reduce the use of glyphosate. It is something they’ll be able to look at in the new service charge budget year commencing October 2026. They aim to issue a maintenance plan to cover the summer and winter maintenance. Tracey confirmed the pesticides that were used were necessary and this was undertaken in a controlled manner.
Natalie noted that a huge amount of effort goes into keeping the estate management charge down, so if we want to introduce a different weed management strategy, it may have implications on the estate management charge.
It was asked if weed killer use will continue on the Weald, could residents be notified of a schedule to avoid contact. Tracey advised there is a plan to produce maintenance FAQs to update residents on topics such as this. It was queried that FAQs may not be sufficient, and a schedule would be more appropriate. It was confirmed that glyphosate is currently categorised by the WHO in group 2a, meaning it is a probable carcinogen but there is not sufficient enough evidence to say that it is cancer-causing.
There was also a query regarding the dog area, as the grass was too deep. Tracey highlighted that there is a mixture of amenity grass and wildflowers. There are currently different cutting regimes for each, however it has now been agreed in the last few days that the wildflowers will be cut back in the same manner as the amenity grass.
Natalie said there had been queries around edging of paths – it was confirmed that these areas have not been weed-killed, but the browning is purely down to road specifications from the council.
There was a query around the Swynford Road allotments, these will be followed the same as Windsor Road in terms of management.
It was noticed that some of the trees looked withered down Wassingley Way. Tracey has identified one down Wassingley Way, and this has been highlighted to the landscapers. Tracey also noted that when the house builders plant the trees, they don’t make any provision for watering. When Encore take handover, the landscapers do monitor as and where possible, but if residents spot any they are more than welcome to water if they wish!
There was a query around a potential zipwire for the Weald – Natalie said that there are always requests for a zipwire in the consultations for designing the phases. This suggestion will be revisited and the design team will look into it.
Food Festival Update
Celina confirmed the Food Festival planning is going well. Notices have gone out looking for volunteers for the AWCA stall and stewards for the event. Celina confirmed the stall is fully manned, but we are still looking for stewards for the event from 4pm onwards. This would require individuals to wear a radio, walk around the event, and radio if bins need emptying, first aid is required, etc. We would just be looking for an hour of cover per individual. If you are willing, please contact us!
We have a number of stalls & activities. Ermine Street Choir, Weald Thing, and RAW Theatre Production will be providing music entertainment. Lawn games will be provided by Huntingdonshire Entertainment Team. The Watch Office and Really Awesome Coffee will be in attendance. For food, we have: Pizza Mondo, Buffalo Joe’s, Sebshimi, Pimp My Fish, Paella, Ice Cream, Baked Escapes, Churros, Gwnawty Bites, Karim, Sri Lankan Food, German Sausages, Roly’s Fudge. Non-food stalls include Saragusta, Friends of ESCA, Little Toy Spot, Co-op, and some other gift stalls.
With this, we have generated around £1,170 income, which will help go towards hosting our Heritage/Family Fun Day on the 12th of September.
Natalie has confirmed that there will be a flypast (weather-permitting) at 2.30pm, and it will be a Dakota.
Martin has been reviewing raffle prizes. We have 13 confirmed raffle prizes. It was suggested that these could be split over the Food Festival and the Heritage/Family Fun Day.
It was asked if the Prize Draw will be promoted at the event. Martin confirmed yes. It was also asked if people manning the stall could be provided with a preamble to help with discussions on the day. Martin confirmed yes.
Heritage Day
Heritage Day is the 12th of September. Historically, Natalie with U&C has run the Heritage Day, and AWCA have run a Family Fun Day on the green. Natalie needs to submit a full plan with events and activities 10 weeks in advance, so this needs to be submitted in the next two weeks.
If you know that you would like to volunteer, please let us know, as we will need help with this event.
Hidden Gardens Update
Jacqui has confirmed that they’ve secured 16 gardens and allotments for the event. A JustGiving page and a QR code has been set up to collect donations for tickets, we are just waiting for the finalisation of the maps. The posters are ready to go and waiting for the tickets to be available. The Co-op, The Watch Office and Swynford Coffee have agreed to sell tickets. The only thing that is left to do is to work on signage for the day.
Finance Update
More funds have come in mainly from the Food Festival, there are a couple invoices outstanding but most are paid.
Total, including money outstanding, is £3,953, with £240 of that being outstanding.
There were some queries on the Prize Draw, which were agreed to be covered later on in the meeting as part of the agenda.
Website
Dan confirmed that we desired a website that all the directors could access. There was a previous website that was made by Ped at Digital Mosaic.
There is a homepage with basic information, a small map of events, a bit about The Club and local parks, and some useful links at the bottom.
The ‘About’ page includes details about AWCA and the Hardship Fund, with a QR code to donate to the Hardship Fund, if you wish.
There is an ‘Events’ page with a list of events that will be taking place.
The ‘Team’ section provides an introduction to the directors.
The ‘Membership & Community’ section will help to manage the Prize draw, as well as give businesses the opportunity to donate and have their business promoted on the website – more to come with this.
The new site was wanted to help with SEO and ease administrative demands due to automation availability. There is no cost to it now, but it will cost roughly £130/ year to maintain the website and have a select number of email addresses with the domain.
There was a vote to decide whether to move to the new website built by Dan, or keep using the website that was built previously. There were 12 votes counted for the new website, meaning a majority vote for the new site.
Here is the link to the new website, if you’d like to take a look!
www.alconbury-weald.org
Prize Draw Update
Martin stated that the directors recognised the current Prize Draw process takes considerable administrative effort. It also is believed it wasn’t as appealing to residents to enter.
Martin suggested that upon looking at the rules that govern lotteries, we seemed to sit in a bit of a grey area with licensing due to the participants as we have to make sure it’s closed and not open to the public. It was believed that this lottery could only be open to members of the AWCA. It was later confirmed that, as long as those signing up to the Prize Draw were residents of Alconbury Weald, this would be sufficient and regulations were followed in the initial set up.
Currently, with the number of participants, the £25/ year investment seems difficult to get a valuable return on.
The directors got together to consider how this could be improved to ultimately make it more attractive. A monthly payment was suggested, where participants would be able to opt in and out month-by-month, and also potentially have a larger winnings pot. The proposal was to have a monthly fee, rather than annual, continuing the monthly draw. It was also proposed that 1 person won every month, rather than 3, to make the winning larger every month. It was calculated that, based on a £5/ month entry, with 1 winner, winnings each month would be £85, based on 34 participants. This is also based on the current 50/50 split between money put towards AWCA and money put into the draw, but this could also be up for discussion.
With current participants, there is potential for either a partial refund, or you can put your remaining funds towards the new draw.
There was a query around the price, as the proposal suggests going from £25/ year to £5/ month, meaning over the year, it would be more than a 50% increase. It was asked if it could be a reduced amount to make it more accessible to residents, such as £2.50/ month. Martin also noted that you would be able to opt out as needed, providing more flexibility and a lower initial investment. However, a lower price could be considered. It was also highlighted that currently, there are not many participants, with thousands of residents, so increased advertising could mean that a higher monthly cost is not necessary.
There was a query on how the new strategy for the draw would ease administrative pressure. It was confirmed that everything would be handled in the new website with automation to make things easier.
If we do go ahead with the new strategy, we would need to pay for a license, which would be £40 for the application and £20 for the year. This would allow the lottery to be open to anybody, including neighbouring towns and businesses that are based outside of Alconbury Weald.
After a lot of deliberation, it was agreed that this topic requires further discussion, so will be on the agenda for July’s meeting.
Hardship Fund Update
A poster has gone out online and up at Swynford Coffee promoting the Hardship Fund. There has been lots of work to try and get funding for the Hardship Fund. There have been no recent applications.
Martin mentioned that there has been work to streamline the process. It was suggested that there was a group of around 15 people that made decisions on the applications. It was then said that a decision had been made to create a smaller panel of 5 individuals that will be making decisions on these applications to maintain confidentiality and ensure applicants cannot be easily identified.
***Following the meeting, it was confirmed that the initial decision-making group was not quite as large as suggested, and we would like to highlight that applicants have never been identifiable; confidentiality and privacy has always been a key priority to AWCA. The new decision-making panel will still be 5 individuals as stated.
Prize Draw
1st place – £15.75 – AWCA0031
2nd place – £9.25 – AWCA0003
3rd place – £6.25 – AWCA0004
Winners will be emailed shortly regarding their winnings.
AOB
Natalie mentioned that the local charity Airfield Research Group, who do historical research on the airfield, are looking for volunteers to help them move buildings, if anyone would like to help.
A local gentleman offered to teach skateboarding to children, it was agreed by the group that this would be a good idea.
Natalie confirmed that a water fountain by Swynford Coffee would not be possible, due to legionella risks in the winter.
The Garage Sale, on 2nd of August, has 7 signed up so far, if anyone else would like to sign up, please let us know.
Jacqui advised that she is just about ready to advertise the Willow Weaving event on October 18th. It’s limited spaces, it will be roughly a 3.5 hour workshop, attendees will have the choice to make either a Highland cow or a hare, and afternoon tea is included. The cost of this is £45, and it will be hosted at The Pavilion. Posters will be advertised once it’s ready.
The next Community Association meeting will be Wednesday, 1st of July at 7.30pm.
Any questions, please email us at alconburywealdca@gmail.com.