About Us
REVISED CONSTITUTION OCTOBER 2017
The inaugural meeting of the Association was held in St George’s School on Friday 19th January 1973. The original Constitution was drawn up at a Committee meeting on 23rd January 1973.
The first ordinary General Meeting of the Association under the Constitution was held at St George’s School on 2nd February 1973. Mr D S Thomas was in the Chair.
Name
The name of the Association shall be The Stonehouse Residents’ Association, referred to below as the Association or SRA.
Area of Responsibility
The boundaries shall be set mainly within the current Stonehouse Peninsula Conservation Area.
See map: appendix 1 ( a separate document)
Objectives
To promote and care for the amenities and protect the general environment of our area of responsibility for the benefit of the local community.
Membership Eligibility
All permanent or temporary residents over 18 within the designated area of the SRA (see map) are entitled and can choose to apply for membership of the Association.
All residents living within or outside the designated area, whether members or non members, are welcome to attend general meetings and can be kept informed of events and developments by the newsletter, emails or by accessing the SRA facebook group or website.
Members and non-members can attend any events held by the SRA, but members will have priority and may be offered a discount on the cost.
Conditions of membership
Those residents who are eligible will renew their membership annually in October through the Membership Secretary. Membership of the SRA offers equality of opportunity regardless of race, colour, nationality, ethnic origin, marital status, ability or disability, religion, gender, sexual orientation, cultural background or political beliefs.
Active membership of the SRA offers a commitment to engage fully into the Association.
Members who have paid their annual subscription will be entitled to:
* vote at the Annual General Meeting
* nominate or second fellow members to stand for the SRA Committee
* stand for and serve on the SRA Committee, provided they have been a member for at least two years
The Committee may, on occasion, appoint honorary life members
All members will be expected to abide by the SRA Code of Conduct.
Subscriptions
Payment and renewal of subscriptions will normally be in October each year. Members who join the SRA at any other time of the year will pay the same amount and then renew their membership the following October. The amount of the subscriptions is decided on by the Committee and was last set in 2012. This will be reviewed every two years.
Meetings
Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting will be held in October each year to receive the reports of the Officers and the audited accounts presented by the Treasurer. The Committee for the following year will be elected at the AGM.
Any resolutions for amendments to the Constitution by the Committee will be stated in the Agenda. Any additional proposed amendments to the Constitution by members of the SRA must be presented in writing to the Secretary at least 28 days before the AGM.
Notice of the Annual General Meeting, the formal Agenda and Nomination Forms for the Committee will be sent out to members 28 days before the date of the meeting.
Nomination Forms must be completed and submitted to the Secretary no later than 14 days before the meeting. All candidates, having been members for at least two years, and those nominating and seconding must be fully paid up SRA members.
If members have additional proposals for the Agenda these items should be sent in writing to the Secretary no later than 14 days before the AGM.
The Chairman will be elected at the AGM by SRA members for a fixed term of 3 years
Once elected, the Chairman will complete the term of 3 years without further need for election annually at the AGM.
Once the term of 3 years is completed, the Chairman is not eligible for re-election but may be elected to the Committee.
Committee members will be elected each year.
AGM Voting procedure:
Candidates standing for the Committee on the completed Nomination Forms will be presented to the Meeting by the Secretary.
If the number of nominations is within the Committee capacity, voting will be done by a show of hands using cards issued to paid up members only.
If the number of nominations exceeds the Committee capacity there will then be a formal ballot using voting slips issued to paid up members only. Votes will be counted by independent non-SRA members.
General Meetings
These shall be held once in each quarter or as often as the Committee decides.
Extra Ordinary General Meetings
These shall normally be called by the Committee by a democratic vote.
If SRA members wish to call an EGM, this request must come from 10% of the membership and then be passed to the Secretary. The Committee will then consider the request.
At least seven days’ notice of the Special General Meeting and its purpose shall be given to the members. A quorum of 25% of paid up members is necessary before a Special General Meeting can be held and chaired by one of the SRA’s officers.
Committee Meetings
The Committee will meet quarterly or more regularly if required.
Officers and Committee
The officers of the Committee will be: Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and Planning Officer
The Committee will be elected annually at the AGM. Committee members are eligible for re-election at the AGM.
The size of the full Committee of paid up members will be 4 officers plus 8 others, a quorum being 6 members.
Once elected, the Committee will appoint the Vice-Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer from its members at the first Committee meeting following the AGM.
Co-option
Persons with skills and/or specialist knowledge may be co-opted to assist the Committee when major issues are being examined. They may not necessarily be SRA members and they do not have voting rights.
Roles and responsibilities : The Chairman
The role of the Chairman is to chair all meetings of the SRA and to lead in interpreting its policies and in maintaining its standards and ethos. In conjunction with the committee the Chairman shall establish the SRA’s procedures and order of business whilst in office. The Chairman shall also represent the SRA in negotiations with external bodies when the situation requires it. These activities may be delegated to other members of the committee should the need arise.
The Vice-Chairman
The Vice-Chairman stands in for the Chairman in all aspects of the role whenever the occasion demands.
The Secretary
The Secretary will communicate both within the SRA and externally on behalf of the Association. In the case of any communication with external agencies, he/she must have the authorisation of the Committee.
The Secretary’s remit includes the writing and distribution of minutes of all meetings. Drafts must be presented to the Chairman for approval. Non-confidential parts of the minutes of the Committee meetings can be made available to members. Confidential parts may only be sent to the Committee members.
The Treasurer
The Treasurer is responsible for keeping up to date accounts of income and expenditure, providing interim accounts to each committee meeting and certified accounts to the AGM of the Association. In addition, the Treasurer is responsible for maintaining a bank account, keeping signatories up to date, making payments into the accounts, reconciling the accounts with bank statements and managing internet banking. Payment cheques must have two signatures and a record of each internet banking payment must be downloaded and matched to an appropriate invoice.
The Treasurer should be a member of the Moorings sub-committee.
The Treasurer shall also be responsible for the administering of any small community grants as shall be agreed by the committee.
Planning Officer
The Planning Officer should be an elected Committee member and will examine:
- all planning applications and approvals for properties in the Stonehouse Peninsula
- transportation services involving local bus services
- management and development of parking facilities and
- offer support for the Stonehouse Community Liaison Panel.
Working alongside the Chairman, the Planning Officer will respond to the City Council on behalf of the SRA. This response will be presented at the next Committee meeting and/or sent directly to the City Council if the time frame is too tight.
President and Vice-President
The SRA invites persons of some standing in the community to serve as the President and Vice-Presidents. These are strictly honorary appointments. They have no executive function in the SRA and no voting rights, but will be chosen by the Committee and endorsed by the next General Meeting as persons likely to enhance the status of the SRA, or who have made an outstanding contribution to the Stonehouse Peninsula.
They are automatically Honorary Life Members unless they wish to resign.
A Quorum
A quorum comprising of at least 51% of Committee members, 2 of which should be officers or nominated by the Chairman or Vice-Chairman, is necessary to conduct the business of the SRA. In the event of Committee members resigning or leaving, the Committee may co-opt paid up members of at least two years’ standing for the remainder of that year.
Business
The Officers/Committee shall conduct and arrange all public meetings and other events connected with the business of the SRA.
The Committee shall take into appropriate consideration any discussions made at general meetings.
Winding Up
The SRA may be dissolved upon the decision of a full Committee meeting and presented to the AGM or a Special General Meeting (at both meetings, all must
be paid up members)
Step 1: The Committee members must receive notice of at least 28 days for a meeting and the dissolution Agenda must be given in advance of the meeting.
* two thirds (66%) of the Committee must be present
* four out of five (80%) majority of the Committee present will be necessary to carry the decision to proceed to a Special General Meeting.
Step 2: A notice to all the members must be given at least 28 days before the AGM or Special General Meeting. This meeting must have been notified as a ‘Winding up Meeting’ to the members.
A quorum of 30% of paid up members is necessary to discuss and vote on the resolution. A majority of two thirds of the members present is necessary to carry the decision to dissolve the SRA.
The SRA funds shall be transferred to one or more charitable institutions who have reasonably similar objectives to those of the SRA.
On dissolution, the minutes, books and all records shall be deposited with the Plymouth and West Devon Records Office (the archives for the City of Plymouth and West Devon).
Appendix 1: see map of the Conservation Area: not available at the moment on the website, to be shown at the AGM on 9th October 2017
Appendix 2
Code of Conduct
- SRA members shall conduct themselves in a reasonable manner at all times without bringing the Association into disrepute.
- Members shall only carry out any work or speak on behalf of the Association with prior agreement of the Committee.
- Members will:
* Work at all times in a consensus approach to decision making.
* Abide by guidance and limits set by the Chairman at all meetings.
* Respect the rights of each Member to have his or her say without disruption, offensive remarks, aggression or violent behaviour.
* Have the right to have their views recorded in the minutes of a meeting if they disagree with a decision, but will not undermine such a decision if it is agreed in a democratic manner.
If a member persists in breaching the Code of Conduct over a period of time, despite being offered appropriate warnings, the Committee may agree to expel him or her from the Association.
If, at any meeting, a member is in breach of the Code of Conduct, the Chairman may issue a warning to the offending member. If the breach of conduct persists, the Chairman may call a vote to decide whether the offending member should be excluded from that meeting. The vote will be carried by a majority of the members attending that meeting.
If the offending member refuses to leave, or will not abide by the decision reached, then such conduct will be deemed an automatic expulsion from the Association.
Dated 12th September 2017