NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND OF THE UK
BRANCH SECRETARIES – BSEC-23-08
From: Head Office
To: Executive Council Members
Branch Secretaries
Central Branch Members
Date: 25 May 2023
Subject: Notice of Annual General Meeting 2023
The Executive Council is pleased to inform members that the 2023 Annual General Meeting will take place at Windermere Manor hotel in Cumbria on Saturday 30th September 2023. With thanks to Pardy Gill negotiating preferred rates with the venue, and Liz Silver in helping us to decide the venue.
Windemere Manor is a fully accessible, VI friendly intimate hotel with a spacious indoor swimming pool and secure free run/spending areas plus a grooming room and provision of dog beds for the benefit of guide dogs. The hotel is located 1 mile from Windermere station, Northern Rail operate limited direct services to Manchester Piccadilly plus connecting hourly services to Oxenholme Lake District, with frequent Transpennine and Avanti West Coast services. Find out more about the hotel here: https://www.windermeremanorhotel.com
Following the success at Burleigh Court, hybrid access will be provided at Windemere Manor to widen participation. To encourage physical Branch representation from members, the Executive Council has once again agreed to support members with a 50% subsidy on preferred accommodation rates staying on Friday 29th September and Saturday 30th September. Weekend sighted
volunteer support will be available to benefit members, including volunteers who supported us at Burleigh Court. The hotel will
provide evening entertainment on the Saturday night and full details of the conference weekend schedule of events in the Drawing Room will be circulated nearer the date.
Subsidised accommodation rate applicable on Friday and Saturday nights, per person per night inclusive of breakfast and dinner:
Single room – £60 (2 rooms available)
Shared Double or Twin occupancy room – £60 per person
Sole occupancy room – £85
Preferred accommodation rate applicable on Sunday 1st October, inclusive of breakfast and dinner:
All room types – £75 per person
This Circular comprises of 2 parts: Nominations for AGM Branch delegates and observers Plus AGM booking process.
(1) Nominations for AGM Branch delegates and observers
Details plus deadline date informing Head Office.
(2) AGM booking process
To ensure a smooth booking process for AGM representatives, Louisa will once again be managing room bookings and accommodation payments internally so there is no requirement to contact the hotel directly. Windermere Manor have blocked 31 of the 35 hotel rooms for NFBUK internal booking on Friday 29th and Saturday 30th September. The provided Rooming List document below gives further details on room types, facilities and location. There are only 2 Single rooms available with the rest being Double, Twin or Sole occupancy and members are actively encouraged to room share where possible to minimise expenditure. 4 accessible rooms with wet rooms are available and 4 rooms have walk- in showers
only. Second floor rooms in the hotel have no lift access and the several Bradbury Cottage rooms are situated in the grounds a short walk from the hotel via guided handrail.
Branches should note these booking steps with AGM accommodation and payment.
- Branches call for nomination of AGM delegates and observers, notifying Head Office no later than Monday 14th August 2023
- Branch Secretaries notify Head Office of room requests for AGM representatives as early as possible but no later than Wednesday 16th August, subject to availability. Please provide the following details:
- Name of member or members if sharing a room
- Room type required and any preferences/access needs/bringing a guide dog
- Number of nights required
Please use the provided document as a guide, Louisa will allocate rooms internally on a first come first serve basis so Branches should book early to avoid disappointment with any room preferences. Please note that no rooms have been blocked for the optional stay on Sunday 1st October, so it is important that Branches notify Head Office as early as possible which members require a Sunday night stay to ensure a continuous booking can be obtained when Louisa confirms the Sunday stay and availability with the hotel.
- Branches arrange purchase of Rail travel where required for AGM representatives. Cost effective, Limited availability Advance tickets will be released in early July on the Oxenholme and Windermere route.
- Branches are requested to make accommodation payment for
all AGM representatives covering subsidised Friday and Saturday stays plus optional Sunday stay. Louisa will invoice Branches on total payment required and all payments must be received no later than Wednesday 23rd August.
Please note that if you are paying via cheque, that this must be received by this date, as your room/s will not be guaranteed.
Windemere Manor requires Full internal accommodation payment from Head Office on Thursday 31st August. No refunds are permitted after this date and any unsold rooms will be released for public sale.
Please contact Louisa if you have any specific queries on the AGM booking process at admin@nfbuk.org or telephone 01924 291313.
Below is the rooms we have blocked off for your Friday and Saturday night stays.
Ground Floor
1 – Double & Single – wet room
2 – Double – wet room
5 – Double & Single – wet room
1st Floor
6 – double – shower over bath
7 – double – shower over bath
8 – double or twin – shower over bath
9 – double – shower over bath
10 – double or twin – shower over bath
11 – double or twin – walk in shower
12 – double – shower over bath
14 – double – shower over bath
15 – double or twin – shower over bath
16 – double or twin – shower over bath
17 – double – shower over bath
18 – single – shower over bath
19 – double or twin – shower over bath
21 – double or twin – shower over bath
22 – double – walk in shower
2nd Floor (no lift access)
23 – single – walk in shower
25 – double – shower over bath
26 – double or twin – walk in shower
27 – double & single – shower over bath
28 – 2 x double beds – shower over bath
29 – double – walk in shower Cottage
30 – double – bath & walk in shower
31 – double – bath & walk in shower
32 – double – bath & walk in shower
33 – double (1st floor) – bath & walk in shower
34 – double (1st floor) – bath & walk in shower
35 – double or twin – wet room
36 – double or twin – bath & walk in shower