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6th MAY 1997
The Annual General Meeting was held last month, at
which the officers and committee were asked to represent the charity
for another year. Your Chairman, Mr May thanked those present for
their endorsement, and added that he hoped further significant
progress would be made during the ensuing year.
Subscriptions were set at last year's rate and are
payable now.
Another weekend of activities involving the
Queen's Pier will take place on the 28th and 29th June.
On the Saturday, we will be having our annual flag
day in Ramsey. We should like to have more collectors this year, and
would welcome anyone who is prepared to give up an hour or so of
their time. Please contact Mr Fred Hodgson if you are prepared to
help.
On the next day, Sunday 29 June, we are staging
our second "day of the pier", which will be run on very
similar lines to last year, starting at 1.00pm. Once again there
will be access to the Queen's Pier and we hope for better weather
this year. There will be a range of attractions throughout the
afternoon, including musical entertainment, displays, stalls and
children's rides. This year we are very fortunate in that our
patron, Mr Norman Wisdom OBE, has kindly agreed to open the
proceedings, other commitments permitting.
We do hope for a large attendance, which will
demonstrate to Government that public opinion is firmly in favour of
our aims. To mark the day, the third in our series of limited
edition models has been commissioned.
The most important news in this letter is arguably
the following:-
The Department of Transport has set up a working
group to investigate the potential future uses for the Queen's Pier.
This group is chaired by Mr Leonard Singer MHK, and is briefed to
report its findings and conclusions to the Minister by the end of
September 1997. The officers of the Friends have already met with
the group, which comprises representatives from the Departments of
Transport and Tourism & Leisure, Manx National Heritage and
Ramsey Town Commissioners.
At the meeting, we were asked for our opinion on
matters, and how we felt that we could assist. We have now been
asked to provide a written submission detailing why public funds
ought to be spent on the pier, supporting our views with a reasoned
business case.
We believe that our report should not look at the
pier in isolation, but should also link it with other issues. We are
thinking here in terms of the regeneration plans for Ramsey, and the
possibility of having the pier taken under the wing of Manx National
Heritage, and forming an integral part of its package for the north
of the Island.
You may very well have other thoughts worthy of
discussion. We should like to complete the report by the end of
June, and would be delighted to hear from you the members, with
suggestions that could be used in a realistic way to support our
case.
This really is your chance to make the difference
between possible success or failure, and we would appreciate your
help.
Suggestions regarding meaningful fund raising on
an ongoing basis may prove useful, as the costs of refurbishment and
maintenance is probably the major consideration.
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