CHP committee, 2015-04-30

Minutes of a special CHP committee meeting held at Liskeard on 2015-04-30. Readership is public. This document has not yet been approved by the committee. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss a proposal to form a separate company to manage assets for the CHP.

Present:

Mike Todd            Linkinhorne history and community archive
Iain Rowe            Caradon Archaeology
Steve Hopkin         Caradon Archaeology
Peter Jackson        Secretary
Derris Watson        Phoenix 100
Jen Bousfield        Dormouse group
Hilary Taylor        Pensilva Wildlife
Anna Monks           Education
Brian Oldham         Walkers are welcome
Brigitte Mann
Rachel Bennett       Stuart House
Anne Hughes          Stara Community Woodland
Alan Groves
Lorna Shrubsole      Liskeard Town Council

The meeting was chaired by Mike Todd.

Introduction and voting procedures

If a vote is required in this meeting, there is to be one vote per member organisation.

Some of the property that may become available:

The Interprative centre at Minions (Houseman's Engine House): This has been closed for nearly two years for structural reasons. The main problem is a lintel and some broken roof panes. The repairs are nearly complete. There has been some commercial interest in using the building for filming, which would make a source of revenue.
The Prince of Wales building: Not the Mill, just the mine building.
SUSTRANS land: These are small strips of land previously forming parts of the railway. These include a 100m stretch between Darite and Higher Tremar and the bridge at Crows Nest.

Cornwall Council would like to divest itself of certain properties that it feels it cannot sustain from their own income. They have indicated that they would be happy to pass these on to other organisations if they could demonstrate that they could maintain them sustainably. Ideally they would like to have Parish Councils manage the assets, but this is unlikely to happen.

Not all of these assets could generate income, but we feel it desirable to have them in local ownership.

Before a committment is made, it would be essential to carry out structural surveys and a general feasibility study to indicate ways in which a company might maintain such assets in the long term and to understand the liabilities.

If we set up a company, its first task would be to acquire funding to carry out such a study.

If we do form such a company, it could also pick up some of the projects that were not completed under CHAHP and any other projects that member groups of the Caradon Heritage Partnership would like to see proposed and discussed.

If we do not act, there is a risk that these assets might simply go unmaintained and remain closed until they decay.

Form of company

There are several possible forms a company to manage these assets might take. The most suitable appear to be

Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO): These are like companies in that they have the same legal status as a person. This means they can enter into contracts in their own name and their trustees normally have limited or no liability for the charity's debts. However, they are not companies and do not have to register with Companies House.
Community Interest Company (CIC): This is a normal company that exists to benefit the community (a "social mission") rather than private shareholders. "CICs are less regulated than Charities and can therefore be more dynamic and flexible, being quicker to react to opportunities"
Charitable Company (ChC): This is a limited company with charitable aims. It is an incorporated organisation which means that it has a legal identity separate from its members. A ChC can own land and enter into contracts. The directors are agents of the company and are not personally liable for its debts.

There was lengthy discussion around the operating requirements of the potential company. In particular:

A charitable company may have access to funding sources not availble to non-charities.
Trustees/Directors must be committed and competent with relevant skills or knowledge. They must also have the personalities needed to manage employees effectively.
There may be a good reservoir of volunteers to carry out work associated with mining or railways.
If we intend to take on assets from Cornwall Council, we would be wise to set up a contract that defines the terms under which a transfer would take place. This may add to our setup costs but would minimise certain risks.

Action

The meeting agreed that it would be a good to pursue the setting up of a company, though most members are themselves unable to commit much time to the project.

It was agreed that a working group be set up. Its job is to:

investigate and obtain guidance about what style of organisation should be set up;
make recommendations for the company structure, including a proposed constitution or articles.

The results will be presented to the CHP for agreement to proceed.

The working group consists of:

Anna Monks
Peter Jackson
Derris Watson
Alan Groves

Updates

This document is maintained by the Caradon Heritage Partnership. Comments should be addressed to CHP_secretary at caradon dot org dot uk.

PNJ, 2015-03-20. Made from notes taken at the meeting.