Present: Julie Morton Chair, Pat Still Advocacy, John Britt Groundwork, John Gunn UNA, Mike Pratt DBC, Phil Kessel DBC, Alan Cremer DBC Secretary, David Meade Chair Waste/Pollution Group, Richard Wiltshire Website Manager, Alex Cerny VSU Youth in Action.

1) Apologies for Absence: Pat Martin, Richard Stone.

2) Minutes of the Previous Meeting: Had been received and were approved.

3) Matters Arising from the Minutes

a) Responses to the QED Festival Notice Board: All have now had a reply.

b) "Gardens for People" Conference: Ten people attended a very enjoyable event.

c) Mie Women's Centre: This was a very successful visit from delightful Japanese ladies and gentlemen. The visit is fully recorded on the website

d) Dartford Local Plan Deposit: Phil Kessel will ensure that copies of this document are available to the Steering Group when released. (Please Note: Subsequently to this meeting Phil has spoken to Paul Foster. The Plan is NOT yet on Public deposit. There may have been some confusion over a draft report which precedes the Local Plan. This was issued some months ago. The Dartford Borough News refers to consultation on the Draft Local Plan review starting in the Autumn - this may well be the triumph of hope over probability! We will distribute copies as soon as they are available).

4) Requests for Expenditure and Statement of Accounts

The current balance stands at £4,304-15p. There is, however, an outstanding bill for £500.

a) Previous Requests

i) Visit to Reading/Cheam: Visit to Reading/Cheam: This has been postponed until Spring 2000.

ii) Great Dartford Pumpkin Competition: This has been won by Wentworth School which will receive a cheque for £100. As there was only one entry it was decided to dispense with the services of a judge on this occasion. Pumpkins will be auctioned or used in a "guess the weight" competition. Any proceeds will be donated to BBC Children in Need. Thanks were offered to Barry Ringrose who built the school's compost bin.

b) New Requests: Mike Pratt requested funding for the next edition of the Swanscombe and Greenhithe Newsletter. Agreed. Members were asked to consider items for the next meeting.

5) Voluntary Service Unit (Alex Cerny): Alex introduced the Group to the Youth in Action section of the Voluntary Service Unit. A proposition was made that the QED Youth Group might have things in common with this unit. Phil Kessel explained that most of the really active members of the Youth group have now moved on, and the remainder had joined forces with the Big Issue. Alex explained that they have no funding for specific projects. It was agreed that when VSU has a specific project Alex should approach QED to see whether it could give physical and/or financial help. John Britt will attend the VSU Steering Group meetings on behalf of QED. Publicity will be given on the QED website. Alex introduced the Group to the Millenium Volunteers scheme through which young people are asked to donate 200 hours of their time spread over a year.

6) Any New Information from QED Groups: There was nothing extra for groups to report.

7) Chairmanship of the Steering Group: Julie Morton proposed that the Group might like to consider a "rolling" chair for the future. This proposal will be postponed until the AGM in March.

8) From the Website: Richard Wiltshire reported that the website now contains 187 pages and over 100 images. There is a consultation document from DETR on Limiting Landfill. A copy will be obtained. Phil Kessel also reported that a consultation document on Sustainability Indicators is also available. A copy is enclosed with printed minutes for each member

9) Review of Outstanding Projects Proposed by QED Groups:

Alan Cremer reported that in doing the research for the annual review of the current position of QED he has identified a number of projects which have been suggested by the various groups and not taken any further. A comprehensive list of outstanding projects will be compiled and circulated to all groups and to VSU.

It was suggested that training in skills for project planning might be very helpful. John Britt offered to front this initiative as he is a trained trainer. It was agreed that a special meeting be held to identify training needs. Please note: This meeting has been arranged for 7.00p.m. on December 8th. in room E23 in the Civic Centre.

It was also agreed that Groups will go through the list of outstanding projects and select one for immediate consideration. Chairs will take these back to their groups and get their views on training needs. This will be discussed again at the meeting after next.

10) Other Business

a) Encouraging Involvement of Council Members: Julie Morton has a letter which is to be sent from the group to Chris Oliver concerning the working relationship between DBC and QED. The wording will be amended as agreed.

b) The Welcome Pack: It was agreed that we will try to contact an appropriate person from Swindon as they have produced a successful pack. John Gunn offered assistance with a brochure, and Mike Pratt will also help.

c) Strategy Documents: There will be a meeting on October 11th. to discuss these. QED will be represented by Julie Morton.

11) Next Meeting: November 17 from 7.00 pm at Enterprise House

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