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5 Mar 26

Membership Subscriptions

  • For details about paying your subscription by direct debit, using GoCardless, please click the link below.​​

25 Mar 26

Birdwalk : Steamer Point - Tues, 31 March @ 6:45am

  • Charles Newman will lead this early morning bird walk around Steamer Point.

  • The meeting point is the visitors hut at the entrance to the nature reserve.

  • The woods have dried out a bit with some good weather, but sturdy outdoor footwear is still recommended.​​​​​​​​​​

25 Mar 26

FCRA Quiz : The Haven House Inn, Mudeford Quay - Thurs, 23 April @ 7:00pm

  • We are now taking bookings for the FCRA quiz where we will be raising money for Cancer Research UK, our quizmaster Carole’s chosen charity.

  • The start time will be 7:00pm; tickets are £20 per person and include a fish & chips supper. 

  • We anticipate teams of 4 people and can help to sort out teams or you can arrange your own if you prefer.

  • To book tickets please email sara.luder@talk21.com and pay the ticket price into the FCRA account

    • Sort code: 30-96-26     ||     Account Number: 58605268

    • In the reference, please quote your name and QUIZ, so we can identify who has paid

  • Please let Sara know if you have any dietary requirements and she will sort something out with the Haven Inn​​​​​​

FCRA Open Meeting : Thurs, 19 March 2026

  • Thank you to everyone who came to our AGM last week and contributed to another successful meeting which saw over 80 attendees.

  • The meeting minutes will be posted here in due course; in the meantime here are a few highlights:​​

    • Our second year of community awards saw the following winners being enthusiastically congratulated

      • Sarah Crosby & Daisy May : Admins for the Blue Tits swimmers

      • Ron & Jo Smith : Beach Hut Cafe

      • Sam Stanbridge : Our, very popular, local postie

      • Ian Stevenson : Local historian

      • John Whiffen : East Cliff Way landscaping

    • The meeting voted that FCRA should donate £2,000 towards All Saints Church stained-glass window.

    • The existing FCRA Committee stood down as required and was re-elected with one exception.

      • Sarah Webb, our Head Road-Rep, decided to stand down permanently; many thanks for your support and efforts over the last few years Sarah

      • There were no nominations on the night and, after the meeting, the Committee appointed Jackie Alves to the role of Head Road-Rep; welcome to the Committee Jackie​

​25 Mar 26

Beach Access and Security on the Green

  • The barrier at the bottom of Seaway Ave has been modified to allow easier access to the green​

    • The lock box has also been changed to improve access to the padlock

​10 Feb 26

Beach Maintenance

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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 

  • 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.

  • FCRA has flagged the loss of this amenity but there is little we can do about the reduction in parking.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • The matter is now with BCP and we will provide an update when possible.

Water Pollution Update 

  • 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.

  • In the December 2021 edition of Forum, FCRA wrote an article on the sewage/phosphorous/nitrogen situation as we saw it at the time.

  • The situation is evolving and FCRA has written a new article which provides an update.

  • A copy of this article is available by clicking the link below.

FCRA Member Subscriptions

  • We now use GoCardless to manage our direct debits.  

  • The annual subscription for 2026 remains at £5 per household; however, many households choose to pay more and we are very grateful for this.  The system therefore offers four annual subscription amounts (£5, £10, £15 & £20) so that those who wish to contribute more can do so.

  • To set up your direct debit, choose your subscription amount and follow the appropriate link:​​​​​​​​​​

5 Mar 26

  • You will then be asked to fill in your details, and that's all there is to it! 

  • The amount selected will be collected on 1 April each year.

  • We will email residents each year, before the collection date, to give time to set up, amend or cancel their direct debit before the next collection date.

  • Our Road Reps will continue to collect subscriptions in cash from residents who still choose to pay this way.

  • If you have any problems or questions, please email enquiriesFCRA@gmail.com.

FCRA Action List â€‹

  • An up-to-date copy of our latest Action List is available by clicking the link below.

​18 Mar 26

FCRA Members' FACEBOOK Group 

  • If you are a Residents' Association member PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THIS GROUP using the link below

  • The page will be a quick way of communicating local issues, events etc - including those mentioned above

2026 FCRA Open Meetings

  • Dates : Thursday - 4th June  |  10th September  |  3rd December 

  • Start time : 7.00 pm

  • Venue : Highcliffe Sailing Club, Mudeford Quay, Christchurch BH23 4AB

  • 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

​22 Jan 26

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