Council Meeting

One other major factor is the difficulty in obtaining good reliable forecourt staff. It appears that the British worker is very reluctant to serve others, for instance, they do not make very good Cafe or Restaurant waiters nor Hotel domestic staff, whereas Southern Europeans are much more willing to do this type of work. Similarly serving petrol appears to be a distasteful occupation, and it is more than difficult to find an attendant who will give a really good, willing and cheerful service. Most autoroute Service Stations on the continent automatically wash your windscreen and really clean it. One seldom gets this type of treatment on a motorway site in Britain, and if you do it is with an oily rag that leaves the windscreen smeared.

From the safety factor which you gentlemen are more than interested in, practice has proven without doubt that a self service site, be it pre or post payment is no more of a hazard than the attendant type of site, and in many instances considerably safer. Newer and more sophisticated types of equipment in use and the natural self preservation instinct of customers, as well as the loving care lavished on their family car all contribute to the excellent operational record to date.

The safety requirements for pumps and associated equipment are generally covered in the revised model code of 1968. However, the Board of Trade together with BASEEF A stipulate other specifications which are intended to increase the safety factor. These specifications are adhered to by all manufacturers even though we do not think some of them are at all necessary. There is one point which does give manufacturers some considerable concern, and I hope you will not take exception to my mentioning it at this time. The Home Office Code is, as you know, simply a guide for local authorities who can interpret it in many different ways, and it is not a binding legislation that the whole country has to follow. What is acceptable in one area is not in another, and what is interpreted one way in one area can be interpreted completely different in another. This not only applies .to the and the associated equipment, but also to the mstallatlOn, etc. You can appreciate that to a manufacturer and to installation Companies non standardisation extra time, work, material and effort which simply mcreases the cost of the project which in turn has to be handed on to the customer and inevitably handed on to the motorist. It is hoped that the move towards the O.I.M.L. and E.E.C. Regulations which will become law in the continent during 1972 will also result in complete unification of regulations in this country and of their interpretation by all concerned.

COUNCIL at SOLIHULL

Report of a meeting held on 3rd March, 1971

Present J. Birks, J. Forman, J. W. Frid, D. Hall, S. W. D. Harris, G. H. Harvey, W. Hetherington, J. W. Hewison, R. P. Holdaway, K. C. Hughes, T. Kerr, H. R. MelIor, C. T. Peacock, R. E. J. Roden, J. Short and B. W. C. Thacker.

Apologies Apologies were received from Messrs. E. V. Beeby, J. Beer, G. N. Dean and C. R. Peskett.

Minutes The minutes of the previous meeting (circulated) were received and after some discussion were accepted.

Matters Arising Mr. Holdaway, the previous Editor, suggested that as the result of the second reprint of the Model Codes, Branch representatives should keep a stock of Codes for sale and distribution. This was agreed. Correspondence The Honorary correspondence Secretary from the reported that he had Home Office including . d receIve the draft of the proposed amendments to the Petroleum S . 't M h· . pIn ( otor Ve lcles etc.) RegulatIOns 1929 which will allow th f I t· . e use 0 p as IC con tamers for the keeping of petroleum "t Th A . t' , spIn . e SSOCla IOn s comments were invited on the I d se proposa s an the. Secretary reported that these had been obtained and notIce of them conveyed to the Home Offi ce. The Secretary further reported that a t' h C '1'" , c mg on t e ounCI s mstructIOns, he had been in commun' t' 'th h . lca IOn WI t e Home Office regardmg representation by th A .. h e ssocIatIOn on t e Home Office Committee which is shortly to commence work on the production of a new Model Code for and multi-storey car parks. The Secretary was mformed the sub-committee, which had had this task delegated to It, had agreed to set up a working party to a new Model Code. The Association was asked to nommate d 't an 1 was a representative to serve on this work' d' mg eClded to submit the name of Mr. R. t par y E. J. Roden,the present Chairman of the Association and this was accepted by the Home Office.

It was proposed by H. R. MelIor, seconded by G. H. Harvey that the Secretary's action be confirmed and that R. E. J. Roden be nominated as the Council's representative to serve on the working party of this new Home Office Committee. This was agreed.

It was agreed that the subject of a letter received from J. Birks, Secretary of the East Midland Branch, be deferred until later in the meeting.

CHAIRMAN'S REPORT This was incorporated in his report as Chairman of the Finance and General Purposes Committee.

SECRETARY'S REPORT The Secretary reported that due to the heavy booking commitments at York University for 1972, he had made a provisional booking at Vanbrough College from Sunday, 16th July to Wednesday, 19th July 1972 for the second advanced seminar. He asked that Council confirm his action. It was proposed by C. Peacock, seconded by B.W.C. Thacker that the Secretary's action be confirmed. This was agreed.

It was further reported by the Secretary that the Chairman's Badge of Office had been received and this was duly handed over to the Chairman. The Secretary was authorised to order, on the Chairman's advice, bars bearing the names of past Chairmen, for attachment to the collarette of the badge of office. Resulting from this, the Secretary asked if the Council would consider making an interest-free loan to any Branch which may wish to purchase a replica for their own Chairman. It was proposed by D. Hall, seconded by G. H. Harvey that the Treasurer be authorised to loan cash for this purpose if requested by a particular Branch. This was agreed.

Lastly, the Secretary drew the Council's attention to the question of powers of entry to Crown Property when construction works (underground car parks, etc.) were being undertaken by a government department for future lease to non-government departments (e.g. Post Office). The Secretary was instructed to refer this matter to the Chairman of the Reference and Legal Committee.

TREASURER'S REPORT The Honorary Treasurer submitted his annual statements which will be presented at the Annual General Meeting.

Arising out of the discussion, it was proposed by J. Short, seconded by W. Hetherington that the financial position and future prospects of the Association be reviewed by the Finance and General Purposes Committee for report to Council. This was agreed.

The Honorary Treasurer announced his resignation from his post. He did so most reluctantly but he felt that the work which was involved was more than he had expected and he now found that the calls upon his time were so great that he could no longer give the necessary attention tothistask.Heunder took to remain in office until a replacement could be found. The Chairman and Council members present expressed their appreciation and gratitude for the good work which Mr. Forman had done on behalf of the Association. It was agreed that steps should be taken forthwith to obtain a replacement Treasurer. EDITOR'S REPORT The Honorary Editor reported that he had been able to obtain quotations for the printing of the "Bulletin" and also the "Questions and Answers" supplement which were well within the budgeted amount specified by the Council. It was with regret that he announced that the January edition of the "Bulletin" had not yet been sent to members. This was due to the postal dispute. He assured members that these would be despatched as soon as possible.

COMMITTEE REPORTS (a) Finance and General Purposes Committee

The Chairman reported on the metting of this Committee which was held at Solihull on the 16th February, 1971.

Annual General Meeting It was confirmed that this would be held on April 6th and would take place at the Council Chambers, Gilmour Street, Paisley. There was a multi-storey car park adjoining the Council Chambers with an entrance off Smithhill Street. The Provost and Magistrates had invited Association members to lunch and this would take place at the Brabloch Hotel which was about half a mile from the Council Chambers. It was anticipated that about 70 members of the Association would be attending the meeting.

In view of the postal strike and the need to give twenty-one days notice in writing of the Annual General Meeting to all members contingency plans were considered and it was agreed that these would be discussed at the next Council meeting which has been re-arranged for 3rd March, 1971.

A notice of motion was received from the South East Midland Branch proposing that an amendment be made to Rule 4(E) of the Association's Constitution and Rules. After some discussion it was agreed to refer this to Council.

The Treasurer, Mr. Forman, was still drawing up the balance sheet assisted by Mr. Harvey at Dudley while this meeting was taking place. He had, however, sent a copy of his proposed report to the Annual General Meeting. This was accepted by the Committee without discussion.

Subject to the following items, the report was accepted.

In the light of the recent postal difficulties it was proposed by T. Kerr, seconded by C. Peacock that the 1971 Annual General Meeting of the Association be deferred until proper arrangements could be made to hold it, the date to be decided by the Chairman, ViceChairman and Honorary Secretary. This was agreed.

After lengthy discussion on the resolution which is to be put by the South East Midland Branch at the Annual General Meeting regarding the modification of Rule 4(E), it was proposed by J. Short, seconded by B. W. C. Thacker that the Council do not support this resolution. This was agreed, the Council being of the opinion that the existing rules already catered for the circumstances in question.