Chairman’s Message
Dear fellow Members,
It is good to see more and more normality returning to our lives and to the Club. We still need to take the utmost care with other Members, especially the most vulnerable, and staff as Omicron is still virulent. Nevertheless, the Club’s life is vibrant with plenty going on and many events planned.
The Board met in January and was pleased to receive reports confirming the Club’s good financial health and a strong intake of new Members (155) to replace the 153 who had resigned. Our total membership, including Absent Members is just under 5,000. The Board is very grateful to all who renewed their memberships for 2022 and for doing so in a timely way.
Improvement Projects
Against this background, the Board approved a number of projects for the coming year. The passenger lift in Reception needs to be replaced. This will be done by a larger car in the same shaft. We aim to carry out this work in August and arrangements will be made for a temporary stairlift for Members and guests who need help to get to the first floor.
An airtight vestibule will be installed between the indoor and outdoor pools to reduce the cold air draught from one to the other. This cannot be completed for what is left of this winter, but will be in place for the next one.
The male and female changing rooms in the Clubhouse will be refurbished this year. Designs, costings and proposed timetable are being finalised and will come to the Board for final approval next month.
Our architects, ADP, have been re-engaged to work with us on plans for the new sports shop and improvement of the social areas of the Clubhouse. These are longer term projects, not for the next two years or so, but it will benefit us all to think carefully about our likely future needs in both buildings.
Club Rules Review
The Board continually reviews our Rules to ensure they are up to date. In light of developments, it has become clear that Rule 10 – Members’ bankruptcy – was out of date as it did not cover the modern law of insolvency. Accordingly, and after taking legal advice, the Board has decided to replace that rule with a new one which may be found here.
From time to time, Members have asked about the Board’s policy for admitting new Members, the grounds for objecting and the procedure involved. In December the Board reconsidered these questions and its policy and guidance for applicants and Members is set out here.
Committee Chairs and Captains’ Forum
This week, Marc Newey and I with liaison Directors had a meeting with the Chairs of the various Committees, captains, representatives of various forums. We reinstituted these meetings, following the interruptions of Covid, which are normally held twice a year. The aim, as an additional channel of communication between the Board and the committees and forums, is to give information about our development plans and future thinking and to seek views and comments. Topics covered included an update on the Masterplan 2035: Airhall 2 and the associated community use agreement required as a condition of any new planning permission (known as a section 106 agreement)[1]; the proposed Indoor Golf Centre; the work on redesigning the Clubhouse and Sports Shop. We heard from the Club’s planning consultant about the special considerations the planners have in looking at our applications, as we are on Metropolitan Open Land. The section 106 agreement giving formal legal status to our community programme with Rackets Cubed is of vital importance in this regard. The planners are also very concerned about traffic in our neighbourhood. The survey which all Members will all be asked to complete next month will include questions on our use of transport to the Club.
The meeting also received information about the Club’s progress and plans to reduce its carbon footprint and improve the sustainability of its facilities and operations.
Representatives were asked to give short reports about their respective sections or group’s activities and state of health. It was clear that all were vibrant and enthusiastic.
That is a good note on which to conclude this update and on which to look forward to an enjoyable and successful year for us all at the Club.
With best wishes,
Alan Jenkins
Chairman – chairman@roehamptonclub.co.uk
[1] We were required to extend our existing arrangements with Rackets Cubed to allow them use of the new airhall at off-peak times in term times and to make those arrangements legally binding as between the Club and the Council