The committee meets regularly, and every spring we hold an Annual General Meeting. Membership is open to everyone who shares our concern to maintain the area and ensure that it survives for the enjoyment of future generations.

The Committee

Glenys Law (Chair)
Paul Secher (Secretary)
Sarah Martin (Treasurer)
David Abram
Ros Abrams
Jane Bywaters
Jeff Duckett
Rob Jackson
John Larkin
Jacky Wedgwood

Membership secretary: Alys Elphick

CREOS Annual General Meeting

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 12 May 2025 at 145 Park Road, London N8

31 Members were present.

1. ‘Tree Hunting’ – presentation by guest speaker Paul Wood. Glenys Law [Chair] welcomed members to the AGM and introduced Paul Wood, the author of several books, including  London is a Forest.  Paul’s presentation was based  on his latest book, Tree Hunting, subtitled ‘1000 Trees to Find in Britain and Ireland’s Towns and Cities’, due to be released at the end of May.In Tree Hunting, over a five year period, Paul sought out the best individual trees – the most charismatic, quirky or spectacular, growing in Britain and Ireland’s cities, towns  and villages.  From a stumpy sycamore in Lerwick, bent and twisted by harsh weather to Brighton’s treasure trove of rare elms.  Paul revealed how trees are connected to the stories of cities and towns, have always meant so much to those who live near them, and how they continue to shape the fabric of urban and rural life, sometimes in very surprising ways.  Paul’s richly illustrated presentation, included such specimens as ‘the hungriest tree’ and ‘the weirdest tree’ and was followed by a large number of questions from his audience, a rousing round of applause, and a presentation of wine by Glenys, as a token of our appreciation.
2. Apologies for absence: Peter Barber, Joan Bayes, Jeff Duckett.
3. Minutes of the last AGM, 2 May 2024: were approved as an accurate record.
4. Reports of the honorary officers: were presented by the Chair, Treasurer and Secretary and were included in the papers for the meeting.
   Chair’s report by Glenys Law can be found here>>. Glenys concluded by thanking everyone for their efforts during the past year – with special mention of the outstanding work carried out by the retiring treasurer.  There was one question from the floor regarding the HWS playing field.
   Treasurer’s report
   David Scott presented his final report, a copy of which, together with income and expenditure account and balance sheet, were included in the AGM papers.  David reported a deficit for the year of £1,589.43 on a higher turnover of £5,899.98.  Overall balance of funds had dropped from £13,410.20 to £11,820.77.  David said that this was a satisfactory outcome in a year which saw the completion of another major path upgrade. David reported that the charity remains financially sound, with a number of procedures having been updated;  and ended by acknowledging the Chair’s remarkable dedication to the work of CREOS during the past decade.  There was a question from the floor regarding possible consideration of a ‘retained’ or ‘sinking’ fund.
   Secretary’s report
   Paul Secher presented his brief report, a copy of which was included in the papers.  This covered the main aspects of the Secretary’s role, including arrangements for committee meetings and the AGM; dealing with  enquiries via the website; liaising with other environmental organisations; and communicating with local media.  In recent months Paul has been working with fellow trustee, Rob Jackson preparing a revised and updated CREOS Constitution for approval by the membership.
5. Election of honorary officers: Paul Perlin kindly acted as ‘Returning Officer’ in the election of honorary officers. Glenys Law was re-elected Chair; Paul Secher was re-elected as Secretary; and Sarah Martin was elected as our new Treasurer.  Details of all three candidates were included in the  papers.
6. Election of committee members: Paul Perlin again acted as ‘Returning Officer’ in the re-election of committee members, who had put themselves forward as candidates.  All were re-elected.  They were: Rob Jackson; Jeff Duckett; Ros Abrams; John Larkin; David Abram; Jacky Wedgwood; and Jane Bywaters.
7. Revised Constitution – approval: Rob Jackson outlined the work which he and Paul  had completed in order to bring the [1987] CREOS Constitution up to date.  Our constitution serves as the charity’s ‘governing  document’.  Copies of the revised, draft constitution had been distributed to all CREOS members several weeks prior to the AGM and further copies were included in the AGM papers.  Rob explained that no change was proposed to the ‘Objects’ of CREOS.  Most of the current constitution, which had served us so well for almost 40 years, was not being amended.  Some tidying up was necessary [eg ‘Chairman’ to ‘Chair’] and inconsistencies corrected.  The main substantive change was to make provision for the appointment, duties and removal of trustees – not covered in the current constitution – and more generally to update in accordance with modern charity law and best practice.  Following brief discussion, the following resolution was put to the meeting:
   “RESOLVED THAT: CREOS (Crouch End Open Space), Registered Charity Number 296860, adopts the revised Constitution comprising pages 13 to 17 of the papers presented to members present at the CREOS AGM held on 12^th May 2025, in place of the existing Constitution.  This revised Constitution shall become effective as of today’s date.  The trustees are authorised to take all necessary steps to comply with any requirements of the Charity Commission, including submitting the revised Constitution for their approval and making any necessary notifications.”
   Of the 31 members present, 29 voted in favour and there were no votes against.  Consequently the revised Constitution was approved and adopted.  Glenys thanked Rob and Paul for their work on updating and revising the Constitution.
8. AOB:
   1) Retirements from the Committee: David Scott [treasurer and committee member]; Emma Prinsley [committee member]; and Sue Secher [committee member]. Glenys thanked all three committee members [and David in his capacity as treasurer and committee member] for their hard work and prodigious efforts and support for CREOS over very many years and expressed the appreciation of their colleagues, in making presentations to David, Emma and Sue [in absentia].
   2) John Newton, on behalf of Shepherds Cot Trust; thanked the honorary officers and the committee for keeping a close watch over the ‘Open Space’ and for the collaborative way in which the Trust and CREOS continued to operate during the past year. He expressed the wish that representatives from the two organisations should try to meet on a regular basis.
   3) John Larkin mentioned the forthcoming Bat Survey on 24 August [7.30-9.00pm] and encouraged members to sign up [further details to follow].
   4) Glenys thanked Abide Church for inviting CREOS to make use of the church’s excellent facilities for the purpose of holding our AGM.

There being no further business, the meeting was closed at 9.45pm and was followed by convivial socialising and discussion.

Recent Chair’s Reports