Under the general heading of matters arising, the following items were discussed:

1. Ross had spoken with Nick Hodgson this morning and confirmed that the 15000 pounds 'earmarked' for the project by SHDC was a grant and would not be clawed back if the project failed to deliver a successful outcome. There was flexibility in the release of funds although the Council would insist on a clear audit trail. Alan R would be writing a formal reply to Donald's letter about this. SHDC also agreed that the volunteer time to date would act as a 'catalyst' as far as matching funding was concerned.
2. Peter asked if SHDC had made available the Savilles information that had been promised at past meetings. Ross said that Nick Hodgson would be sending it to DOS soon.
3. Peter asked if there had been any response from local businesses to his letter asking others to contribute to DOS funds as Harrison Sutton had done. Susie responded that as far as she knew none had as yet.
4. Ross noted that SHDC could probably supply the office with a printer, but one had not been allocated yet. They would also be prepared to provide exhibition boards.

Di Parkin, who is an organisational consultant with considerable experience of "Planning for Real" events then joined the meeting. Over the course of an hour she explained how the "Big Event" should work, with particular emphasis on the role of facilitators and the use of post-its and stickers. The following points came up during this period:

1. In order that the importance of parking was properly represented at the event, we need to encourage those from outlying villages and local businesses to attend
2. We need to get people to register when they arrive (so that we can analyse how representative the sessions have been).
3. We will need quite a lot of very large plans (A1 at least)
4. It was felt that 3 hours (the original plan) was too long for a session - though the provision of refreshments (tea, cakes etc) might help this.
5. Di suggested that a small group should be responsible for the detailed organisation of the event - she was prepared to help them.
6. Di would be running Facilitator Training sessions in the Project Office on Monday 7^th June at 7pm and Sunday 13^th June at 5pm
7. The event will last from Tuesday 29^th June until Saturday 3^rd July, as follows:

The meeting then discussed the continuing delay in setting up a DOS Bank Account. It was agreed that this should be resolved as soon as possible. There was some discussion of how necessary it was to enter into an agreement with a charitable organisation. Susie pointed out that there were two reasons for doing this:

1. To allow funding requests to be made to organisations that only give to charities
2. To avoid paying business rates on the Project Office

The first reason was in fact no longer so pressing. Bill Brown's original budget had included several items (such as paying for a traffic survey) that were no longer needed (or had been solved in other ways). It was felt that rather than the original target of 45k, a figure closer to 30k might be adequate.

The business rate issue was still open. The office is not the subject of a written agreement or lease, but an informal license from Tony Osborne. Ross was going to get a definitive answer from Nick Hodgson.

A final decision on whether to pursue an arrangement with a charitable trust would be made in the next week or so.

The meeting then turned to the working groups and what work was still needed. Shirley distributed a document describing this. Donald pointed out that it would be wise to add in some public meetings during the 3^rd Phase. He felt it was highly likely that during this phase there was likely to be some 'drift' away from the consensus arrived at by the Big Event (because some constraints would not have surfaced earlier). It would help if people were aware of this as soon as possible, rather that being disappointed right at the end. Peter said he hoped that it was not just he and Bill who would be involved during this phase. Dave asked if it was likely that several alternatives would be produced, rather than just a single design. Peter confirmed that this was highly likely.

This discussion sparked discussion of exhibition materials in general. Ross noted that SHDC had the ability to produce large coloured posters (A1 size) and it was agreed that we needed to plan the production of such items. He agreed to get information as to printing capacity and lead times.

Under the heading of Any Other Business, Pruw reminded the meeting that the second DOS Newsletter should be going out soon and she needed material for inclusion. The main purpose of this issue was to publicise the Big Event.

The meeting closed at 12 noon. The next meeting will be held on 9^th June at 9.45.