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FCRA Open Meeting : Thurs, 4 Dec - Highcliffe Sailing Club
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Please remember the new start time of 7:00pm
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Agenda:
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Councillor updates
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Main updates
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Finances
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Social
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Community Award nominations
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Neighbourhood Plan update
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The Forum Milestone
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All Saints Church progress
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Minutes of the Sept meeting are available at the link below​​​​​
​28 Nov 25

Beach Access and Security on the Green
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The barriers to the beach and green have now been replaced allowing delivery vehicles to stop off the road, thereby making the bend to Penny Way safer.
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However, BCP vehicles have been seen reversing onto the road due to poor design and, as a result, the Seaway Ave barrier will be modified to allow easier access to the green
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The lock box will also be modified to improve access to the padlock
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​8 Nov 25
Beach Maintenance
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Last winter (2024/25) storms brought beach levels on Avon and Friars Cliff very low, to the point where the concrete aprons on certain stretches of beach were clearly visible. At the same time the groynes became visibly more damaged, with rocks displaced and markers missing.
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We began our campaign for BCP to carry out urgent maintenance work in January by submitting a Freedom of Information Request regarding beach maintainance spend. As expected this revealed that BCP had spent no significant sums on our beaches for 4 years, and in its first 6 years BCP had spent one fifth of the amount Christchurch Borough Council had spent on our beaches in its last 6 years.
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Initially BCP confirmed no significant work was planned on our beaches before 2035. However, after regular pressure from FCRA, including going to local newspapers and TV, we were delighted to learn in July that BCP had successfully applied for a grant from the Environment Agency’s local levy to fund beach recycling (to raise beach levels) and groyne repair. The grant is for £290,000, to which BCP is going to add £50,000 (plus £30,000 in staff time) and CTC is going to add £10,000.
​8 Sep 25
Two Riversmeet (2RM) Leisure Complex / Christchurch Civic Centre
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The sale of the Civic Centre has resulted in the closure of the 2RM West car park on 13th Feb with the loss of approx 1/3 of the total car parking spaces available.
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FCRA has flagged the loss of this amenity but there is little we can do about the reduction in parking.
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Following this we have investigated the current pedestrian Right of Way (ROW) from Bridge St towards Stanpit Marsh, which is outside the boundaries of the Civic Centre sale.
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Due to the poor state of the ROW, pedestrians and cyclists have had to traverse the car park; now that this is closed, access to the ROW is effectively blocked.
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Your committee has taken up this issue and created a detailed position paper (available at the link below) and escalated the matter to senior levels of BCP drawing attention to their legal requirements under the Highways Act to maintain the ROW. This route is also an officially designated National cycle way.
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The matter is now with BCP and we will provide an update when possible.
Water Pollution Update
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There has been huge recent coverage in the press and social media about sewage and phosphorous/nitrogen levels in Christchurch harbour, and accusations of sewage being discharged directly onto Friars Cliff beaches.
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In the December 2021 edition of Forum, FCRA wrote an article on the sewage/phosphorous/nitrogen situation as we saw it at the time.
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The situation is evolving and FCRA has written a new article which provides an update.
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A copy of this article is available by clicking the link below.
FCRA Member Subscriptions
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We now use GoCardless to manage our direct debits.
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The annual subscription for 2025 has been set at £5 per household; however, many households choose to pay more and we are very grateful for this. The system is therefore set up to offer four annual subscription amounts (£5, £10, £15 & £20) so that those who wish to contribute more can continue to do so.
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To set up your direct debit, choose your subscription amount and follow the appropriate link:​​​​​​​​​​
​1 May 25
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You will then be asked to fill in your details, and that's all there is to it!
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The amount selected will be collected on 1 April each year until you let us know you want to cancel or amend.
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We will email members each year, before the collection date, to give time to cancel or amend their direct debit before the next collection date.
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Our Road Reps will continue to collect subscriptions in cash from those not signed up as we migrate.
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If you have any problems or questions, please email enquiriesFCRA@gmail.com.
2026 FCRA Open Meetings
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Dates : Thursday - 19th March | 4th June | 10th September | 3rd December
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Start time : 7.00 pm
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Venue : Highcliffe Sailing Club, Mudeford Quay, Christchurch BH23 4AB
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Format : 1/4ly meeting for Friars Cliff residents to hear about local issues & events
: Usually includes a guest speaker who will discuss a specific topic​
: Further details will be provided above, closer to the meeting date
​28 Nov 25

