BBRCC - Chairman’s Report for the year ending 31 December 2017
Welcome to another BBRCC AGM. We have enjoyed another busy year in many ways and, of
course, this means that your committee has been hugely busy also. During the year we welcomed
three new committee members, John Friend, Fliss Aries and Patrick O’Herlihy.
I’d like to extend a huge thank you to all the committee on behalf of the club for all their support and
hard work throughout the year, more of which later. Suzanne Whitling has again audited our
accounts in time for this meeting (no mean feat!) and we are grateful to her also.
Just before Christmas, I was saddened to hear that Annette, our cleaner at Cae Groes, had been very
poorly and would have to stand down from her duties. Many of you will have met Annette over the 12
years (especially those who have locked themselves out!) she has helped us and will know that she
developed a passion for Cae Groes, often chiding us if things were not quite right! She will be sorely
missed and I like to say a massive thanks to Annette for all her help and we wish her a speedy
recovery.
Both houses continue to be well used and the booking secretaries continue to provide an absolutely
first rate service. This means that we have had sufficient funds to be able to continue with members
of the house sub-committees working hard to make considerable improvements to both properties:
Raven Crag:
• Stone wall re-built to front of the house
• Old garden shed removed & replaced by a weatherproof storage box
• Drainage channel created to remove water run-off from the fell-side garden
• Bulk of work identified in the Fire Risk report completed
• Wall & ceiling fire-retardant plaster-boarding to lounge, stairs & bedroom 3 and these areas re-
decorated
• New fire door to drying room and additional fire sensors (loft & lounge)
• Bespoke ladders & roll bars fitted to all the bunk beds
• Extractor fans replaced - kitchen & downstairs bathroom/shower area
Cae Groes:
• New larger car park with improved drainage that has considerably improved access and ease of
use. A little over budget due to unearthing some water pipe issues, but all worth it.
• New apartments stairs that are both easier to use and more accessible
• Front porch re-plastered and painted
• Remote heating control installed. This was finally sorted after 9 months of not working and turned
out it had been installed wrongly! Thanks to Shaun’s tenacity, the considerable cost to resolve
has all been recovered from the original company. Works wonderfully now and we look forward
to some savings!
• House has new room heaters that are both safer, and warmer.
• Spaghetti wiring in the kitchen (what other type of wiring would you have in a kitchen?) has been
sorted
Our plans for 2018 are well advanced, with more improvements planned including addressing fire
safety issues at Cae Groes and continuing to improve the fabric of the building and for Raven Crag,
improving draining to the rear of the building as well as installing more double glazing and replacing
more of the plumbing (the acid water in Langdale is eroding the copper pipes and causing leaks!).
Our membership continues at a good level with a small but steady churn of leavers and joiners and
good usage levels at the properties means that we are in good health.
Thanks to everyone who has continued to enjoy and support the club of the last 12 months and I hope
2018 will bring more adventures for you all.
Graham Raymond
BBRCC Chairman
27 January 2018