Hemyock

Herewith the minutes of the Upper Culm Community Land Trust's AGM October 2017

 

 Upper Culm Community Land Trust Ltd 

 

 

 

 

Members Attending:

Heather Stallard (Chair), Neil Punnett (Secretary), Tim Barton, Lesley Barton, Ian Pike, Laurence Mulliner, Janet Mulliner, Bob Hawkes, Katherine Sinclair, Euan Roberts, Richard Kallaway, Bob Pike, Roger Lambert

 

Members’ Apologies:

Ian McCulloch, Jackie McCulloch, Jocelyn Pritchard, Nigel Moberley, Don Atlee, Yvonne Pike.

 

1. Welcome

1.1 Heather welcomed members to the meeting.

 

1. Minutes of the Last Annual General Meeting held on 8th October 2016

2.1 The minutes were accepted as a true record.

 

1. Chairs’ Report

 

3.1 Heather presented her summary of the past year. During the past year the CLT has:

 

1. Gained full planning approval for the construction of eight affordable homes on land SW of Conigar Close.
2. Successfully gained the status of a Registered Provider of Social Housing with the government’s Homes and Communities Agency for our subsidiary company UCCLT Housing Ltd. For this status we have to pay an annual fee of £300.
3. UCCLT Housing Ltd has joined the National Housing Ombudsman Service which is the organisation that aims to receive and resolve complaints from tenants. This is a requirement of Registered provider status.
4. Produced two Newsletters updating members on these developments.

 

Next year will be a busy one as we prepare to purchase and manage the eight affordable homes. In addition to inviting applications for the homes and selecting the tenants we will need to prepare all the required documentation such as Tenancy Agreements, Repair & Maintenance Forms, Property Fire & Safety Assessments and so on.

 

1. Treasurer’s Report; Approval of the Accounts 2016/2017

4.1 Following a correction spotted by Ian Pike the Accounts showed an opening balance on 1st April 2016 of £8577. Closing balance on 31st March 2017 was £10543. Tim Barton proposed acceptance of the accounts, Bob Pike seconded and the resolution was passed unanimously.

 

RESOLVED: The members voted unanimously to approve the accounts for 2016/2017

 

1. Audit Exemption Vote

5.1 Neil P said that the small nature of the accounts made an external audit unnecessary. The CLT can ask members to vote not to have an external audit of the year’s accounts if the turnover is below £100,000. The CLT Rules state:

 

25.2 The members shall vote annually, as allowed by the Deregulation (Industrial and Provident Societies) Order 1996, at the Annual General Meeting, to have, when necessary in law, or where the membership require, an audit carried out by a registered auditor, or unaudited accounts, where the conditions for such prevail.

25.6 If the membership vote for unaudited accounts, the society’s Income/Expenditure Ledger shall be scrutinised by the secretary and board members only and signed, as a true record, by the secretary and two board members or such other number as may be required by legislation.

 

5.2 Tim Barton proposed that the Trust forego an external audit and Richard Kallaway seconded.

RESOLVED: The members voted unanimously to forego an external audit.

 

1. Chair’s Open Invitation to shareholders for questions and comments including suggestions for future projects
   1. A query on progress with hydro-electric turbines was posed. Tim B had attended a conference which provided information. The CLT’s Green Working party had investigated the possibility of installing a micro-hydro turbine on the Culm at the site of the weir above the Blackdown Healthy Living & Activity Centre. The advice given was that there was insufficient flow of water throughout the year to enable the scheme to be viable financially.
   2. A question was asked on how repair and maintenance would be handled for the new homes. Heather replied that a sum was set aside in the business plan for the eight homes. Neil P said that the sum was prepared on the advice of Unity Trust bank, with £750 p.a. per 1- and 2-bedroom property and £1200 per 3-bedroom property. Taking into account the shared equity percentages the plan sets aside £4713 in the first year, increasing at 2.5% per year thereafter.
   3. A question was asked about Old School Court. Heather replied that we are keen to retain the building as flats for the elderly, especially after failing to progress a scheme at Downmead. The Parish Council is aware of the situation and has agreed to consider purchasing the building if and when it becomes available.
   4. A question was asked about the possible impact of Brexit on our plans. Our business plan includes stress tests on interest rates up to 10%; we shall just have to wait and see what happens.

 

1. Election of Directors.

7.1 Two Directors are required to stand down each year. On this occasion Tim Barton and Neil
Carter have stood down. Both sought re-election and were re-elected unanimously.

 

RESOLVED: Tim Barton and Neil Carter re-elected as Directors of the Trust

 

1. Membership Subscriptions
   1. Subscriptions totalling £75 were received from all 13 present plus two partners.

 

1. A.O.B.
   1. Roger Lambert thanked the Directors and officers for all they have done. Heather thanked the members for their continued support.

 

 

The meeting closed at 8.30 p.m.

 

Neil Punnett

Secretary