About

Residents Association Castlefields

A district of the county town Stafford, Staffordshire, UK

The Residents Association of Castlefields was initiated by meetings arranged by the Neighbourhood Police Team in September and October 2009. A number of residents volunteered to form a steering committee to establish the association and its constitution.

The Residents Association of Castlefields is a voluntary and non profit organisation with an object to provide a voice and forum for discussions on the improvement of our community.

This web site is part of this process, as a communication medium for our 21st century community. This web site will develop and improve over the coming months. If you have any suggestions or comments relating to www.castlefields.org please Email them to web@ar.castlefields.org or any other topics please Email to Chair@ra.castlefields.org.

Constitution Page 1

CONSTITUTION OF THE

RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION

OF CASTLEFIELDS

NAME

The name of the organisation shall be Residents’ Association of Castlefields (hereafter referred to as the group).

2. OBJECTIVES

To safeguard and promote the interests of residents living in the area on matters concerning housing and the environment and to help to improve living conditions, community facilities and services. In order to do this, we are committed to representing the views of residents in the group’s area.
The group will uphold equal opportunities and work together towards good relations amongst all members of the community, specifically prohibiting any conduct which discriminates or harasses on grounds of race, religion, disability, political belief or sexual orientation.

3. MEMBERSHIP

Membership shall be open to all residents, irrespective of tenure, living in the area known as the Castlefields estate.
All voting members must be at least 16 years of age.
Membership shall cease immediately upon a person leaving the area defined in paragraph 3a.
Membership shall be free of subscription.

4. THE COMMITTEE

A committee shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the group and shall serve for 12 months.
The committee shall consist of at least 4 members, who shall have the power to co-opt other members onto the committee during the course of the year. All members shall have voting rights.
The committee shall elect from within their number a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer. No committee member shall fill more than one position.
The committee and office bearers shall make and carry out decisions in accordance with the objectives of the group.

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Meetings of the committee shall be open to any member of the group who wishes to attend.
There must be at least 4 of the committee members present for any decisions to be made at a committee meeting.
Councillors may attend committee meetings as and when invited by the committee.
Voting members may be co-opted from residents to fill casual vacancies throughout the year.
Committee members can be voted off if they have not attended three consecutive meetings without good reason and have not submitted their apologies.
Committee members must declare any interest they may have in the topic under discussion and the committee will decide if they need to forfeit their right to vote on this occasion.

5. CONDUCT OF BUSINESS OR STANDING ORDERS

Members to speak through the Chair on an informal basis.
Decisions will be agreed by a simple majority voted in through a show of hands or a secret ballot.
Meetings will end at the time agreed by the committee unless all those present agree to extend the meeting.
Any offensive behaviour including racist, ageist, sexist or inflammatory remarks will not be permitted.
Any member who brings the group into disrepute or refuses to comply with the constitution shall be expelled on a majority vote of the full committee.
Any such member will have the right to appeal within 28 days of the expulsion. The appeal shall be heard by the membership at a Special General Meeting called for that purpose.
The Secretary shall deal with all correspondence.
Agendas shall be distributed to the membership at least 4 days before a meeting, where possible. Items for the Agenda should be forwarded to the Secretary and Chair seven days before the meeting where possible.
Minutes will be distributed to the membership 7 days after the meeting where possible.

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6. FINANCES

The group may raise funds by obtaining grants from other bodies or by fundraising schemes. All money raised by or on behalf of the group shall be applied to further its objectives.
All funds shall be kept in a bank account that shall be opened in the name of the group.
The Secretary, Treasurer, the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson shall be signatories on the account and all cheques shall require 2 of these signatures.
Accounts shall be kept by the Treasurer and brought to every committee meeting where they may be inspected. Failure to bring the books to a meeting on three consecutive occasions will mean that the Treasurer shall be asked to resign.
All expenditure shall be agreed and controlled by the committee. Receipts should be acquired for all expenditure over £1.
All payments over £10 shall be made by cheque, not cash. Any exception to this rule shall be discussed and agreed by the committee.
No officer shall sign a blank cheque – all cheques to be filled in before signatures are added.

Once a year, the accounts will be audited and presented to the Annual
General Meeting of the group. The Auditors will be either:
a Council Officer, bank employee or
the committee of another constituted local community organisation

All correspondence of the group, including the bank statement shall be addressed to the Secretary

7. PUBLIC MEETINGS

Public meetings of the members shall be regularly held to discuss matters of importance and to keep members fully informed of the group’s activities
Members shall be given 14 days notice of a public meeting.
All votes shall be decided by a simple majority of the members present. This applied to all meetings of the group.
Any member, having the written support of 20 other members, may request the committee to call a Special Public Meeting of the group. The committee shall call the meeting within 21 days of this written request

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8. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM),

An AGM shall be held every year to discuss the activities of the group, to receive the audited accounts and to elect the committee.
The AGM shall be held at a suitable venue to accommodate as many members as possible.
The quorum shall be 51% of members present, with a minimum of 5 attendees.
At least 14 days notice of the AGM needs to be given to members.
At the AGM the resignation of all committee members shall be accepted and a new committee elected.

9. CHANGES TO CONSTITUTION

This constitution shall only be changed at a Special Public Meeting of the group or at the AGM.
For decisions to be taken there must be a quorum of at least 51% of members present, with a minimum of 5 attendees. The voting shall be by simple majority of those present.
All members shall be given 14 days notice of the meeting and proposed changes.
Proposed changes must be submitted to the Secretary in writing not less than 28 days before the AGM. The Secretary must notify members of any proposed changes within 21 days of the meeting.

10. CHILD PROTECTION

The group will ensure that any activities they are involved with will be a safe environment for children
If group activities are to involve children a Child Protection Policy will be adopted and a committee member will be appointed to take responsibility for its implementation.

11. LEASES AND AGREEMENTS

All trustees for and on behalf of the group, the current Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer, may enter into leases and access agreements that are transferable to ongoing elected office bearers to further the objectives of the group as set out in Clause 2.

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