Constitution of Caradon Heritage Partnership

This is the constitution of Caradon Heritage Partnership. Readership is public. A paper copy of this document, signed by the originating officers, is lodged with the secretary of the organisation.


Name

The organisation shall be known as 'Caradon Heritage Partnership' ('the Organisation').

Aims

The aims of the Organisation shall be to:
  1. Support the aims and objectives of its member organisations;
  2. Facilitate economies of scale for its member organisations;
  3. To own and manage common intellectual property and assets for the benefit of its member organisations;
  4. Provide a nucleus for communication among member organisations and between member organisations and other parties such as Commoners, Landowners and administrative bodies;
  5. Promote understanding and appreciation of the cultural and natural history of the Caradon Hill area and facilitate related educational opportunities for the wider community.

Membership

  1. Membership is open to formally constituted non-commercial organisations in the Caradon Hill area whose aims are consistent with those described in section 2 above and who are willing to be bound by the rules of the Organisation.
  2. Organisations become members of the Organisation when approved at a meeting of its Management Committee. Where it is considered that membership would be detrimental to the aims of the Organisation, the Management Committee shall have the power to refuse, terminate or suspend the membership of any member organisation by resolution passed at a management meeting.
  3. Each member organisation is entitled to a single vote at management meetings of the Organisation.
  4. Rules of the Organisation shall be consistent with its constitution, maintained in a public document and determined by the Management Committee described in section 5.
  5. Any member organisation may resign their membership by providing the Secretary with written notice.

Powers

In furtherance of the aims, but not otherwise, the Management Committee may exercise the power to:
  1. invite and receive contributions and raise funds where appropriate, to finance its work and the works of the member organisations, and to open a bank account to manage such funds;
  2. buy and maintain equipment useful for meeting the aims of its member organisations and allocate such items as it sees fit;
  3. publicise and promote the work of the member organisations;
  4. work with other organisations to exchange information, advice and knowledge with them, including co-operation with other voluntary bodies, charities, statutory and non-statutory organisations;
  5. employ staff and volunteers as are necessary to conduct activities to meet the aims;
  6. take any form of action that is lawful, which is necessary to achieve the aims.

Governance

  1. The Organisation shall be administered by a Management Committee of no less than five (5) people, drawn from its member organisations. All member organisations are entitled to have up to two nominated members present at committee meetings.
  2. Committee members serve for a period of up to two years and may then be re-elected at an Annual General Meeting.
  3. Officer roles assigned to specific people have a maximum term of three (3) years, after which the assigned person must stand down from the role for a period of at least a year to allow the skills involved to be distributed amongst the Organisation.
  4. The Committee may co-opt other persons to join it where that person has particular experience or skills to contribute to the aims of the Organisation.
  5. A majority decision of the Committee shall be binding.

Officers

Officers are Management Committee members nominated by the Committee to perform specific functions.
  1. A Chair person shall preside at each meeting of the Committee and at the Annual General Meeting. The person performing this function shall be a Committee member nominated during a preceding meeting so that chairmanship duties may rotate amongst the Committee members.
  2. A Secretary shall be responsible for keeping minutes of all meetings of the Committee and to archive all correspondence between the Organisation and outside parties. Minutes must be accessible to member organisations and, where possible, to the public. The secretary is also responsible for maintaining membership lists and other digital assets of the Organisation.

    This role is assigned to a specific person at the AGM.

  3. A Treasurer shall be responsible for the duties described in section 5.2. This role is assigned to a specific person at the AGM.
  4. An Equipment Manager shall be responsible for inventory of equipment, archives and other tangible assets. They will ensure that material is correctly stored, maintained and issued.

    This role is assigned to a specific person at the AGM.

Finance

  1. Any money acquired by the Organisation shall be paid into an account operated by the Management Committee in the name of the Organisation. All funds must be applied to the aims of the Organisation and for no other purpose.
  2. Any deeds or cheques relating to the Organisation's bank account(s) shall be signed by at least two (2) of the Organisation's officers.
  3. The Treasurer shall be responsible for receiving all monies due to the Organisation, prompt payment of debts and the keeping of accurate records of accounts. Accounts are to be independently examined annually and a financial report shall be published to members at least one week in advance of the AGM. The Organisation's accounting year shall be determined by the Management Committee.

Meetings

  1. Meetings of the Committee shall be arranged by the acting Chair in conjunction with the Secretary. An agenda shall be prepared and circulated to Committee members at least one week before the date of the meeting. Such meetings shall take place not less than four times per year.
  2. Meetings are not open to the general public unless the Committee makes specific arrangements for that to be so.
  3. All meetings must be minuted and the minutes accessible to member organisations.
  4. All committee members shall be given at least fourteen (14) days notice of when a meeting is due to take place, unless it is deemed as an emergency.
  5. A quorum of 4 Committee members must be present at a meeting before a resolution can be passed.
  6. Members must declare any pecuniary interest they may have in an issue under discussion.
  7. Resolutions are normally binding for a period of 12 months before they can be reconsidered.
  8. Voting at committee meetings shall be by show of hands and decided by majority. In the case of a tied vote, the Chair shall make the final decision.
  9. The Annual General Meeting (AGM) is a Special meeting that shall take place no later than three (3) months and no sooner than one month after the end of the financial year. The purpose of the AGM is to receive reports of activity in the preceding year, approve the financial report, to elect officers and to consider other issues that may be on the agenda. This meeting may be attended by members of the public.
  10. Member organisations may propose issues for consideration at the AGM in writing to the Secretary. Such proposals must be sent at least twenty eight (28) days in advance of the AGM.

Intellectual Property

  1. For the purpose of this Constitution Intellectual Property Rights shall have the meaning as defined in the Copyright, Patents and Design Act (1988) as amended.
  2. The Organisation inherits all intellectual property from the Caradon Hill Area Heritage Project (CHAHP).
  3. Use of any Intellectual Property Rights shall be strictly for the purpose of the fulfilling the aims of the Organisation and for no other purpose.

Variation to this Constitution

  1. This Constitution may be modified by a resolution passed by a three fourths majority of the members present in person, or by proxy at a special meeting convened for that purpose and of which notice has been served to all member organisations at least twenty eight (28) days in advance.
  2. A variation to the Constitution shall be executed in writing and signed as approved by the Chair, Secretary and Treasurer.

Dissolution

  1. Dissolution of the Organisation may be effected only by a resolution passed by three fourths majority of the members present in person or by proxy at a Special Meeting convened for that purpose and of which notice has been served to all members at least twenty eight (28) days in advance.
  2. Steps must be taken to dissolve the Organisation if there have been no Committee Meetings for a period of nine (9) months or if the number of member organisations falls below the number required to maintain a quorum.
  3. If a motion to dissolve the Organisation is carried by the said majority, then unless any third party funding agreement expresses otherwise, the Organisation's funds, property and assets shall be given or transferred to such other charitable institution or institutions having aims similar to the aims of the Organisation and if that's not possible, then to some other charitable purpose.

Adoption

This constitution was adopted at a meeting held at Sterts Theatre on 2013-11-06.

Signatures of officers present:





























Updates

This document is maintained by Caradon Heritage Partnership. Comments are always welcome and should be addressed to the secretary.
  1. PNJ, 2013-10-14. First draft work in progress. Based on other constititions and meeting discussions.
  2. PNJ, 2013-10-22. Completed draft.
  3. PNJ, 2013-10-24. Minor amendments prior to circulation.
  4. PNJ, 2013-11-04. Amendments after feedback from Anne Hughes and Iain Rowe. Name changed to Caraden Heritage Partnership. Annotations removed for formal publication.
  5. PNJ, 2013-11-05. Amendments from Jane Gorst.

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