The inaugural meeting of the steering group was held on Monday 8^th December 2008 in the Marriage Room, Mountfield and lasted for two hours.   Nineteen people came and it opened with each person giving their name, explaining their interest in the project, how much time they could spare and what skills they brought to the group.

There is a lot of interest in the transition town project, but not everybody has the time to be an active member of the steering group so it was agreed that two lists would be set up; one for the steering group and one for ‘interested people’.  

Volunteers came forward for the roles of convenor, scribe, website co-ordinator, website moderator (though more moderators will be needed) and press officers.   Another volunteered to take on the job of investigating the financial and legal status of the group.

A working group has been set up, which will arrange a meeting to get the website up and running as soon as possible.   The content of the website was discussed; it will be a multi-level, hierarchical system, with safeties in place to ensure hackers cannot pollute the site.   There will be a graphics capability and a forum to encourage public input.

A name for the group was discussed, but no decision made, with no strong feelings on the subject.

A competition for local schools to design a logo was suggested and agreed to be a good idea.   A working party has been set up which will organise a meeting to prepare the project.   No timescale was decided on but it may be linked to the ‘great unleashing’.   A simple information sheet will be needed to explain the concept of a transition town.

To avoid the danger of the steering group becoming a ‘talking shop’ with nothing happening between meetings, it was agreed that as much as possible should be done using email and website forums as a means of collecting and disseminating information.   Investigating other TT groups’ work will also help.

A strict geographical boundary for the project was considered unnecessary and simply needs to encompass the town of Bridport itself plus the outlying villages.

A monthly ‘green drink’ has been planned and a venue and first date will be organised as soon as possible.

A timetable of events was planned; 6-9 months for ‘awareness raising’, and ‘laying the foundations’, with ‘the great unleashing’ and ‘forming working groups’ to follow.   Background steps of ‘building a bridge to local government’ and ‘letting the plan go where it wants to go’ are already in train and ongoing.   The Town Council is in full support and links with other groups and NGOs in Dorset made.   It was highlighted that this is a long-term project and we should not expect overnight success.

Fundraising was discussed and we plan to start as soon as possible in the new year.   The Food Festival/Charter Fair week is an important time in Bridport and it was agreed that the transition town project should be well represented and highlighted as a theme.

The Electric Palace, The Arts Centre and the Town Council have all shown interest in the scheme and we hope to approach them for support in due course; perhaps by way of film screenings at the cinema, use of the Arts Centre as a venue and funding from the council.

The steering group plan to meet again in January 2009.