Taunton Region AGM 22 October 2006 - CA Pavilion

Top Table Usual Suspects plus Richard Gould, Keith Parsons, with Andy Hurry.  Roy Kerslake in the audience of about 80. Average age of audience was below that but noat massively!

The Taunton area made £10,681.96 from over £10K raised.  They gave £2K to Johnno's benefit and the rest goes into the Ground Development Fund...so something is going to happen!

Minutes were read from last year...forgotten there was so much but it clarified the fact that we haven't moved very far this year.

Secretary's Report  - Mary not impressed except for the Gloucestershire wins and the Surrey game at the end of the season

The Chairman of the Taunton area Report suggested the re-development is on the move.  He also highlighted the 20/20 against Gloucestershire but we're all waiting for the Chief Exec's report.

Richard G stands up - he enjoys the AGM season!  Cricket first.

We've had a 'difficult' season.  The 20/20 papered over some cracks and we lost Garraway and Shine in January which left a 'hole' but we have strength in depth pulling AH back from Dubai and moveing JK up to Academy Director.

We've learned some practical lessons.  We have a disparity in First class cricket and we are on the wrong end of it.  If you host international Test cricket you gain huge amounts of income (our turnover is about £3m while Surrey have £18m).

Andy Hurry Report - extremely frustrating.  But we have developments of Spurway, Durston and Suppiah.  Caddick and Willoughby were outstanding.  KP perfromed well in all forms of the game.  The Gloucester game left him speechless.  We are relatively in-experienced and we've moved to get some experienced winners - Phillips and Jones.  Turner is seen as a long term replacement for AC when he finally packs it up.  He has great pace and a great attitude.  Keiswetter and Robin Lett are both also signed and Cameron White is returning - if he doesn't go on from the President's eleven and make a name for himself with Australia!!  We do have back-up options.

We compete up to a point and then we lose the plot.  We need to work on mental toughness so they work through the critical points in a game.  Need to balance the young guys with experience.

Questions -

• No senior player at the top of the order?  We should be called the "Somerset Dominoes"  The club are looking for a senior batsman as second international player - lots of suggestions that point to Justin Langer.

• Do we work on the mistakes of batsmen who make the same ones over the season?  It's difficult to do but the off season is when intensive work needs to be done.  It's difficult in the season with so little time between games to make significant changes.

• Who will be the wicket keeper? Can't say at the moment.  Sam was there but there is competition.  He has big mental strength for a guy so young.

• Do the players try?  KP answers that there is huge disappointment in the dressing room.  Playing with pride and passsion is a key element of this club and they have to provide it to play for us - Andy Hurry's law. 

• What was the problem with Hildreth?  It seems to have been a phase of a mental nature.  He was unlucky early but then he had problems and it started to get better towards the end.

• Captaincy is a key element and Cameron is not a very good captain.  Who will be captain next season?  Present situation is not being able to make a decision.  Grateful to Cameron.  We need to have a strong leader.  Andy Caddick led with pride and passion.  Lots of noise on the field with other teams not with us.  Our side are predominently introverted and it is un-natural for them to be noisy.  Steffan Jones will alter this!!  We haven't decided the VC yet either.  Matt Wood needs to develop his assertive skills.  Last piece of jogsaw is second international signing andf that won't be announced until after the Ashes series (ergo the possibility of Justin Langer)

• Why don't we go to Australia for our second international player as we have in the past?  We have a list and we're looking at them.

• When will we know?  When the Ashes have finished.

• What is the present situation with Richard Johnson?  The club has made an offer to him but no deadline has been given so we are waiting.  Middlesex have been in discussions as well.  That's the situation as of tonight.

 Ground Re-Development

A slideshow then commences on the ground development led by Richard G. 

Some points of info first....

• Somerset has 5,308 members and 1,102 20/20 members (those who bought a ticket to all the games) last year.  The membership is spread across the peninsular but the heartland is the centre of the county.
• There are some areas where we have support but not membership (eg Yeovil, Exeter) and they are the places for membership drives in the off season. 
• The Elton John concert cemented us as a key point in the South West and in Taunton in particular. 
• We are also now the home of Women's cricket.  They will always come and play a fixture here - usually televised.  There are 3m women and girls playing cricket.
• Bath Festival - it costs £80K per year.  Gould has been reviewing it and that is where the press speculation came from.  It is not the case, the level of support is considerable and corporate demand is good.  But it is a recreation ground with a public right of way through it so we can't close it for the night.  We need 24 hour security. 
• This year it made a profit of £5K but there was heavy funding from the council and Friends of Bath fund-raising etc.  You will make £30K more at Taunton for 5 days cricket.  There are only 80+ members in the Bath city area. 
• Do we go to the regions?  We are looking at the options.  Maybe that we will reduce the amount of cricket played.  We earn more from the one dayer than all four days of the CC2.  (Looks like the option that they will go for).  The right fixture would generate a load of money - The Gloucestershire one dayer perhaps?  Bath Council will support the festival but it won't increase.  Could we increase the size?  The profitable festivals are all run by third parties.  Bath is almost entirely SCCC's responsibility.
• Truro has a consortium who want to look at first class cricket to Cornwall.  If Exmouth want us then they need to come up with a plan.

County Ground plans

We need to acquire land. 

• Part of the Coal Orchard car park we want it.  In principle the council have agreed to sell it us. 
• We need a 60 metre boundary and so we want some church land.  We've agreed a valuation of the land and that's going to contract. 
• The Organ works is also needed ( we expect that to be the main entrance in the end) and we may have agreed a price for that.

Phase 1:

The Ridley Stand has to comne down in order to extend the boundary.  That is where the 'Mound' is going.  Grass supporters bank with benches.  May be ready for 2007 but the church process is slow.  Fund raising money is being used for that.  This is intended to be a Memorial bank, probably named after Gimblett

Phase 2:

Coal Orchard retirement development (Pegasus developments) with 70-80 residences and some commmercial units facing into "Somerset Square".  Plus a stand for 2500/3500 seating. 

July 2007 start.  Planning application goes in by 8 December with public consultation starting 8 November.  Magazine to supporters will be coming.  Retirement flats will overlook the cricket ground.

Stragglers will remain until July then move to "temporary facilities".

Phase 3:

The Old Pavilion will then be developed with an indoor school with a glass front so people can see what is going on.  Ground floor will be a shop and reception etc.  Women's cricket have helped with this and the indoor school may become the National women's cricket centre with associated funding.  It will sweep from the Ridley side of the OP to the St James boxes.  There will be a terraced bar - possible Stragglers re-location. 

'Tractor' will have his own place!  (You heard it first here!! Gouldy promised in front of witnesses).

We are looking at 10,000 seater with 5,000 possible extras for internationals.  The roof of Phase 3 is very important and we're working to get that right.

Phase 4:

The present indoor school building is likely to remain but not as an indoor school.  Barnicotts has to stay because it is listed.

Phase 4 is still in planning and open to offers etc.

There will be a Scoreboard but funding will determine how much we can pay for it and therefore what it will look like. 

Floodlights?  Not such an important aspect as a few years ago.  Planning would be a problem and  'foldable' ones would be really expensive!

What about Parking? The same plan will be put in place as for the Elton John concert.  We did that so we can do this. 

There will be trees.  The trees went to stop protests but they will be replaced.  Phase 1 will cost 12million and inflation would have killed it while we waited for protests to be sorted had we left the trees up and then had to fight preservation orders for them!!!

Taunton Deane Borough Council are very keen that SCCC remains in Taunton.  It all looks very promising and much further on than a coupld of diagrams.  Up to Phase 3 it definitely looks on the cards.

And that was it.  Please let me know if i got anything wrong but that is the state of play in taunton as of this evening!