News: CCLT holds its inaugural Annual General Meeting
Last night, at a meeting where 33 members voted, Chilbolton Community Land Trust appointed a new board of eight directors, approved the rules for the charity and how the accounts would be drawn up.
Maureen Treadwell opened the meeting with thanks to the founding Directors - Tony Ewer, Martin Gossling, Andrew Kent and Sue Larcombe. She noted that the turnout of members was important since a vote of 10% of the membership - now over 100 - was needed for the major decisions on the agenda.
Martin Gossling, who has been acting as secretary for CCLT, explained that members would now control what the Trust does. He thanked Maureen for her hard work over the previous months. He then formally opened the AGM.
First order of business was to elect the directors who would replace the founders. This was completed promptly with all eight who were standing voted by a clear majority of those present on a show of hands.
The new Directors are: Andrew Bradley, Neil Connor, Martin Gossling, David Hall, Sue Larcombe, Steve Picco, Maureen Treadwell and Richard Youell. A ninth candidate, Catherine Watson, withdrew before the meeting. Brief biographies are at the bottom of this article.
A discussion then took place about the rules for the Trust. Maureen Treadwell explained that they had been written to cover a wide range of Charitable Community Benefit Societies with a spectrum of charitable aims.
She noted that changing the rules for CCLT would be costly and complex. A member then raised an issue over a rule which would exclude members if
they do not participate in, nor deliver written apologies in advance for, two consecutive annual General Meetings of the CLT
Martin Gossling said that they would have to consider how the rules were applied, how meetings were designated and perhaps allow voting by proxy. The rules were approved by a clear majority on a show of hands.
Turning to the accounts, it was explained that the first year-end for CCLT was 30 Mar 2025. There was no money in the charity then. It was yet not clear whether accounts would need to be presented for 2025, and might not need to be presented until 2026.
A member, who is an accountant, recommended that zero balance accounts should be presented. The meeting agreed to approve the principle of the zero balance accounts. These would be circulated to members.
At the request of a member, the new directors briefly introduced themselves. The meeting was then opened to questions.
A member asked for confirmation that the two founding directors who had not applied for re-election - Tony Ewer and Andrew Kent - had now stepped down. Martin Gossling confirmed that they would step down as soon as new directors had completed “fit and proper person” vetting with the Financial Conduct Authority.
Another member asked how directors would be allocated to roles within the Trust. It was clear that more detailed plans would have to be assembled, then skills assessed with the option of co-opting where there were gaps.
Maureen Treadwell pointed out that Homes England, who provide grants for housing, would make a skills audit to be sure there were no gaps. 80% of applications for grants are turned down, mainly because of their concerns over skills.
The discussion then turned to the relationship between CCLT and Chilbolton Parish Council and also between the ten affordable homes and the ten downsize homes. David Hall said “[CCLT] is a jigsaw piece - the Parish Council and its Chilbolton Development Committee are the larger entity”.
A member stated “Communicating how this all fits together is vital. You might need someone in charge of communication”. There was some discussion of the suitability of email and social media as a means of doing this and generational preferences for how information is consumed.
Proceedings were concluded in a brisk 70 minutes.
The sense at the end of the meeting was confidence that a well-qualified board had been put in place, tempered by the knowledge that a lot of work faces them with, perhaps, some difficult decisions to be made.
Brief biographies of the selected Directors:
Andrew Bradley: Has lived in the village with his wife and two children for four years. He has experience working in the social housing sector including affordability, assessing development sites and housing tenure. His own experience of shared ownership has given him an appreciation of the role accessible housing plays in building stable communities
Neil Connor: Has experience of complex programme and service delivery in Information Technology in both private and public sectors including local authorities. He has lived in the village for 25 years, actively involved in Chilfest and the Superfast Broadband campaign. He was a governor at Wherwell Primary School
Martin Gossling: A farmer’s son from the New Forest, he is a founding Director of CCLT and has contributed to the Neighbourhood Development Plan. He is an experienced chairman and successfully developed multi-disciplinary teams. He and his wife, Jane, have lived in the village since 2002.
David Hall: A former Executive Director in European and Australian banking, he has experience of developing services for those excluded from the traditional banking sector. He has lived in the village for 17 years, is responsible, as a councillor, for fund-raising for the Parish Council. He is an experienced treasurer and trustee of a local charity.
Sue Larcombe: Is is a founding Director of CCLT and chairs the Parish Council’s Planning Committee. She played a large part in the production of the Neighbourhood Development Plan, and was later a member of the Strategic Working Group. She runs her own design company and works for the Citizen’s Advice Bureau.
Steve Picco: Ran his business in Chilbolton as an electrician for 17 years. Previously he had been a freelance sound engineer covering drama, entertainment, sports and current affairs. He moved to Chilbolton in 2001 and married his wife Gwen in St Mary the Less church in 2002.
Maureen Treadwell: Has lived in Chilbolton for more than 40 years. She is the Co-founder of a national charity focused on reducing maternal and neonatal morbidity, doing significant research, communications, and lobbying. She served as a Borough Councillor and was a member of the TVBC Planning and Development Committee, contributing to the development of Local Plans.
Richard Youell: Worked at Lloyds, the shipping insurers, for 35 years, then as an arbitrator in commercial disputes. He served as a Magistrate in the Andover Courthouse. In his own words “I’ve never served on any Parish Council, but I want to see a bit of the village, owned by the village”.