A year in review…

Posted on Wednesday 30 May, 2012 - 16:38

Guests enjoying displays in the cinema's foyer before the meeting

Over 200 people attended our annual Garden City Meeting last night (Tuesday 29 May) at Broadway Cinema, which kicked off with a bang.  

The meeting started in a different style with a performance from Garden City Samba, a community percussion group specialising in Brazilian Carnival Rhythms, using new instruments funded by £1,000 grant from us.

Garden City Samba kick off the meeting with a bang

The meeting was co-hosted by Colin Chatfield and John Lewis with Ian Webb providing details of our strong balance sheet and stable property income.

Looking back over the past year, John reported that:

  • Outsourcing our farming operation had reduced financial risk and protected future charitable investment to the community
  • The Community Hub opened in October 2011, making us accessible via the town centre
  • Town Centre Consultation was nearly complete, with a garden centre-themed visitor attraction proposed for The Wynd
  • We were promoting Letchworth locally, nationally and internationally through new partnerships and relationships, including John’s trip to the far east to meet with Government representatives keen to learn how they can use the garden city model for creating new towns in China
  • Our Greenway App for the iPhone will soon be available to download, helping users navigate around Letchworth’s 13.6 mile countryside route
  • We are continuing to work in partnership with North Hertfordshire College, Letchworth Arts Centre, North Hertfordshire District Council and the University of Hertfordshire to create a new arts and culture venue for Letchworth
  • Broadway Cinema will be installing digital projection to show a wider variety of films and reduce the reliance on 35mm film
  • Our new website was launched yesterday with new features such as blogs, forums, videos and galleries

  John Lews reviews the past year

The evening continued with a powerful video from Herts Young Homeless highlighting the harsh realities of some local young people. Kathryn Salmon, from the charity, talked about their work and how we have supported them, funding a care worker to help children prevent or return from homelessness. 

A lively Q&A session was hosted by Colin covering sustainability, cycle paths, and the town centre consultation before the meeting came to a close.