The name of the group shall be Houndwood Community Group.

The aims of Houndwood Community Group will be:

To improve the environment and wellbeing of the Houndwood estate and to foster good community relations among the residents

Membership. Membership is free and open to anyone who lives on the Houndwood estate, comprising all the Barratt and Crest Nicholson/Icon developments.

A register of members will be held by the Secretary.

Ceasing to be a member: Members may resign at any time in writing to the secretary.

Any offensive behaviour, including racist, sexist or inflammatory remarks, will not be permitted. Anyone behaving in an offensive way may be asked not to attend further meetings or to resign from the group if an apology is not given or the behaviour is repeated. The individual concerned shall have the right to be heard by the management committee, accompanied by a friend or representative, before a final decision is made.

Houndwood Community Group will not discriminate on the grounds of gender, race, colour, ethnic or national origin, sexuality, disability, religious or political belief, marital status or age.

The business of the group will be carried out by a management Committee elected at the Annual General Meeting. The Committee will meet as necessary and not less than four times a year.

The Committee will consist of a minimum of 6 and maximum of 12 members and be composed of a minimum of the elected officers and up to 8 committee members. Up to 2 additional members may be co-opted onto the committee at the discretion of the committee.

Chair, who shall chair both general and committee meetings

Secretary, who shall be responsible for the taking of minutes and the distribution of all papers

Treasurer who shall be responsible for maintaining accounts

In the event of an officer standing down during the year a replacement will be elected by the next General Meeting of members.

Any committee member not attending a meeting without apology for three months will be contacted by the committee and asked if they wish to resign.

The Committee meetings will be open to any member of Houndwood Community Group wishing to attend, who may speak but not vote.

Annual General Meetings

An Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held within fifteen months of the previous AGM.

All members will be notified in writing (which may include email, newsletter and noticeboard/ website notifications) at least 3 weeks before the date of the meeting, giving the venue, date and time.

Nominations for the Committee should be made to the Secretary before the Meeting.

The quorum for the AGM will be 10% of the membership or 10 members, whichever is the greater number.

At the AGM:-

The Committee will present a report of the work of Houndwood Community Group over the year.

The Committee will present the accounts of Houndwood Community Group for the previous year.

The officers and Committee for the next year will be elected.

Any proposals given to the Secretary at least 7 days in advance of the meeting will be discussed.

The Secretary will call a Special General Meeting at the request of the majority of the committee or at least eight other members giving a written request to the Chair or Secretary stating the reason for their request.

The meeting will take place within twenty-one days of the request.

All members will be given two weeks’ notice of such a meeting, giving the venue, date, time and agenda, and notice may be by telephone, email or post.

The quorum for the Special General Meeting will be 10% of the membership or 10 members, whichever is the greater number.

Committee meetings may be called by the Chair or Secretary. Committee members must receive notice of meetings at least 7 days before the meeting. Minutes are available on request to members and members can attend any committee meetings with prior agreement

The quorum for Committee meetings is four Committee members including at least one Officer.

All questions that arise at any meeting will be discussed openly and the meeting will seek to find general agreement that everyone present can agree to.

If a consensus cannot be reached a vote will be taken and a decision will be made by a simple majority of members present. If the number of votes cast on each side is equal, the chair of the meeting shall have an additional casting vote.

An account will be maintained on behalf of the Group at a bank agreed by the committee. Three cheque signatories will be nominated by the Committee (one to be the Treasurer).  The signatories must not be related nor members of the same household.

All payments will be signed by two of the signatories.

For cheque payments, the signatories will sign the cheque.

For other payments (such as BACS payments, cash withdrawals, debit card payments or cash payments), a requisition note will be signed by two signatories, and held by the treasurer.

Records of income and expenditure will be maintained by the Treasurer and a financial statement given at each meeting.

All money raised by or on behalf of Houndwood Community Group is only to be used to further the aims of the group, as specified in item 2 of this constitution.

Amendments to the constitution may only be made at the Annual General Meeting or a Special General Meeting.

Any proposal to amend the constitution must be given to the Secretary in writing. The proposal must then be circulated with the notice of meeting.

Any proposal to amend the constitution will require a two-thirds majority of those present and entitled to vote.

Dissolution

If a meeting, by simple majority, decides that it is necessary to close down the group it may call a Special General Meeting to do so. The sole business of this meeting will be to dissolve the group.

If it is agreed to dissolve the group, all remaining money and other assets, once outstanding debts have been paid, will be donated to a local charitable organisation. The organisation will be agreed at the meeting which agrees the dissolution.

This constitution was presented to the Annual General Meeting of the Houndwood Community Group 28th November 2018

Date 28th November 2018

Proposed by

Name and position in group ………………………………………….

Signed ………………………………………….

Seconded by

Name and position in group ………………………………………….

Signed ………………………………………….

Adopted November 2018