Covent Garden London
The heart of London's West End
CONSTITUTION OF THE COVENT GARDEN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION
1. Name
The Name of the Association shall be the Covent Garden Community Association.
2. Objects
The Association is established in the area bounded by High Holborn, St Giles High Street, St Giles Circus, Charing Cross Road, Northumberland Avenue, Victoria Embankment, Lancaster Place, Aldwych and Kingsway for the following purposes:
- to stimulate public interest in the Covent Garden area, promote high standards of planning and architecture in the area and to secure the preservation, protection, development and improvement of buildings or features of historic or public interest in the area.
- to advance the education of the public in matters relating to mental, physical and social welfare.
- to provide or assist in the provision of housing and associated amenities for persons in necessitous circumstances upon terms appropriate to their means.
In furtherance of these purposes but not further or otherwise the Association may:
- Undertake research into social, economic or environmental matters within the area and disseminate the results thereof.
- Promote or assist in promoting activities of a charitable nature throughout the area.
- Make surveys and prepare maps and plans in relation to any place, erection or building of public utility or historic interest within the area.
- Educate public opinion to give advice and information.
- Establish and maintain a centre or centres to be used for the purposes of the Association.
- Act as a co-ordinating body and co-operate with local voluntary and statutory bodies in all matters pertaining to the purposes of the Association.
- Have power to do all such other lawful things as are necessary for the achievement of the objects.
3. Membership
Membership of the Association shall be open to:
- Full members: any person who is living or who has lived, working, studying and/or conducting business in the area. Anyone sponsored in writing by ten full members and approved by simple majority of the Association at a General Meeting and after the Chair has heard objectors and given the sponsored party the right to reply.
- Associate Members: any other person wishing to become a member.
- Affiliated organisations: organisations wishing to affiliate can apply to the Executive Committee of the Covent Garden Community Association for acceptance.
4. Termination of Membership
The Association shall have the right for good and sufficient reason to terminate the membership of any individual member, at the request of a meeting by a simple majority and after the individual member has had the right to reply.
5. Subscriptions:
The annual subscription shall be such sum as the Executive Committee shall from time to time decide.
Senior Citizens, students, unemployed and permanently disabled persons will be exempt from this subscription charge.
The subscriptions shall be payable yearly, as from 1st April. Members joining on or after 1st January will be valid members of the Association until 31st March of the following year.
6. Meetings
An Annual General Meeting will be held within 15 months of the previous Annual General Meeting to receive the Executive Committee's report and audited accounts and to elect officers and members of the Executive Committee. At the Annual General Meeting all candidates standing as an officer and/or an Executive member of the Association should be asked by the Chair to speak to the meeting.
The Committee shall decide when ordinary general meetings of the association will take place and will give at least fourteen days notice as to when the Annual General Meeting will be held. A Special General Meeting of the Association shall be held within thirty days of receipt of a written request signed by members representing not less than 10 percent of existing members of the Association whose subscriptions are fully paid up.
Fifty members personally shall constitute a quorum for a General Meeting.
Each full member of the Association shall have one vote at any General Meeting of the Association.
The questions arising at any such meeting shall be decided by a simple majority of those present and entitled to vote thereat. In the case of an equality of votes, the Chairman of the Meeting will have a second or casting vote.
7. Minutes
Minutes books shall be kept by the Association, the Executive Committee and all other Committees and the appropriate secretary shall enter therein a record of all the proceedings and resolutions.
8. Officers and Nominations
Nominations for the election of Executive Committee members shall be made at or before the Annual General Meeting. Each such nomination must be supported by a full member and the consent of the proposed nominee must first have been obtained.
If nominations exceed the number of vacancies, a ballot shall take place in such a manner as may be determined. Members of the Executive Committee shall be appointed annually at the Annual General Meeting of the Association. Ongoing members may be re-appointed.
Only full members over the age of eighteen shall be eligible for election as Executive Committee members.
The Annual General Meeting shall elect: a) Chair b) Nine Executive Committee members, all of whom shall relinquish their Executive posts every year and shall be eligible for re-election at the Annual General Meeting.
The Chair and Executive Committee members shall elect from among themselves a Vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer who shall be Officers of the Association. If an Executive Committee member does not attend three consecutive Executive meetings of the CGCA without good reason, that member will be invited to resign.
9. Executive Committee
The Executive Committee shall have the power to appoint or dismiss a secretary and determine the amount of remuneration. A month's notice should be given before termination by either party. The Executive Committee shall also have the power to appoint and dismiss such persons and or organisations, whether corporate or not, as it may from time to time determine the remuneration, if any, of such person or organisation.
The Executive Committee shall be responsible for the management of the Association. The Executive Committee shall consist of the Chair, Officers and six other persons, all elected from and by full members. The Committee shall have the power to co-opt four further full members.
In the case of an equality of votes the Chair of the meeting shall have a casting vote.
The Executive Committee shall, having decided when the Annual General Meeting will be held, give at least fourteen days notice to all of its members and will publicise this date locally.
10. Meetings
The Executive Committee shall meet not less than once each month, and the honorary secretary shall give all members not less than seven days notice of each meeting.
One officer and four Executive members are needed to form a quorum at an Executive Committee Meeting.
The Executive Committee shall have the power to fill casual vacancies occurring among the Officers and Executive Members of the Association until the next General Meeting at which the vacancies shall be filled.
11. Sub-Committees
The Executive Committee shall have the power to appoint such Sub-Committees as it may from time to time decide and may determine such Sub-Committees' power and terms of reference and request reports from such Sub-Committees on the execution of their delegated duties.
12. Expenses of Administration and Application of Funds
The Executive Committee shall, out of the funds of the Association, pay all proper expenses of administration and management of the Association. After the payment of the administration and management expenses and the setting aside to reserve of such sums as may be deemed expedient, the remaining funds of the Association shall be applied by the Executive Committee in furtherance of the purposes of the Association and for no other purposes.
13. Investment
All monies at any time belonging to the Association and not required for immediate application for its purposes shall be invested by the Executive Committee as it may think fit.
14. Property
The title of all and any real properties which may be acquired by or for the purposes of the Association shall be vested in Trustees who shall be appointed by the Executive Committee and who shall enter into a deed of trust, setting forth the purposes and conditions under which they hold the said property in Trust for the Association. The number of Trustees shall not be less than two nor more than four.
15. Amendments
The Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds majority of full members present at the Annual General Meeting or Special Meeting of the Association, provided fourteen days written notice of the proposed amendment has been given to all members of the Association.
No amendment shall be made which will cause the Association to cease to be a charity at law.
16. Winding up
The Association may be dissolved by a two-thirds majority of members voting at an Annual General Meeting or Special Meeting of the Association confirmed by a simple majority of members voting at a further Special Meeting held not less than fourteen days after the previous meeting. If a motion for the dissolution of the Association is to be proposed at an Annual General Meeting or a Special Meeting, this motion shall be referred to specifically when notice of the meeting is given. In the event of the dissolution of the Association, the available funds of the Association shall be transferred to such one or more charitable institutions having objects and aims similar or reasonably similar to those therein before declared as shall be chosen by the Executive Committee and approved by the meeting of the Association at which the decision to dissolve the Association is confirmed.
17. Equal Opportunities
The Association is positively committed to equal opportunities and against discrimination of any kind. No persons, be they service users, staff, Officers, Executive or sub-committee members, consultants or contractors, and bodies or persons represented by the Association or under investigation by the Association, shall receive less favourable treatment on grounds of race, colour, nationality, age, religion, ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status or disability, or are to be disadvantaged by conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be justifiable. This applies to all the objects and aims of the Association and at all levels of communication between individuals and organisations with the Association. Last amended: 24th July 1998
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