Barton & Tredworth Community Trust; The Wind-up?

[Joe K]

For those that don't use Facebook (yes, you, Kay), this letter was delivered by hand to members of the Baton & Tredworth Community Trust (which is easier when two thirds of the membership have been pared away in a misguided effort to reduce the quorum requirement, still a minimum of 20 however many members were dumped), this morning:


99 Barton Street, Gloucester, GL1 4HR
Phone [phone]
Email: [e-mail]


Dear Member,

Re: Future of Barton Tredworth Community Trust


You may already be aware that the Annual General Meeting held in November was again inquorate. Therefore the decision at that meeting was to try and reach an agreement remotely from the membership.

The board then sent out letters and minutes, to the 67 members registered, asking you to review the minutes and let the board know if you agree with the 'in principal' decisions taken at the inquorate AGM.

I am afraid, the return was less than impressive, only 6 responses were returned, of these:

- 100% agreed all existing board members could/should retire
- 85% agreed that Paul Harris (sic) should join the board
- onle one further nominee for the board membership

This leaves the existing board members with the dilemma of not being able to retire: as we would be in breach of charity legislation to retire leaving the organisation with inadequate levels of management and with only two board members this would be the case. Knowingly or intentionally leaving an organisation with insufficient managerial structure would leave the trustees open to a charge of negligence

We have therefore sought advice of the charities commission and we are now at a point where we can share the result with the membership.

Our only option is to formally seek closure of the Barton & Tredworth Community Trust, following the guidance of the Charity Commission Guidance CSD 1077A, section 7.2:

Reason for closure
7.2.3 Lack of trustees - The charity cannot find sufficient trustees to continue operating
7.2.8 Lack of members/supporter - Most probable in a charity that relies on volunteers and active members

Residual funds from the sale of the Trust Centre will be invested into a trust fund which will not be accessible until at least two years from its initial set up. This fund, which will be managed by a newly constituted BTD, will receive additional finds from BTD through profits made from their role as a socially responsible landlord. This should result in there being a Barton & Tredworth Trust Fund grant round in 2015-2016. It is also envisaged that BTD will manage the community garden.

I hope you will support us in this way forward.

Alternatively if at least ten members would like to come forward to make up a workable board; BTCT will be able to carry on in its current format.

Comments and nominations to the board can be sent to the BTD at the address at the start of this letter. Please be advised that there is a limited timescale to this so reponses should be submitted on or before 22nd April 2013.

Your sincerely,

C Francis (Mrs)
Chairperson

Anyone interestd in becoming a trustee (we only need five more), contact the BTD, and Paul Harries at [e-mail], so we have an independent record of the tally.

Trustees don't have to attend every meeting, or any, as long as enough attend to form a quorum (less than five, IIRC, thanks to low ambition and constitutional changes).

We need to keep the trust going, or lose more say in where the authorities spend money in our area, so please give this some thought.

[Joe K]

Just to clarify; the quorum for a trustee meeting is not the same as the quorum for an AGM.

The latter may also have been reduced, to about ten, but probably not with much consideration for the legitimacy of the amendment procedure...

[Deleted]

As you know, I'd be interested in this organisation, were it not for the fact that they supposedly ban membership from outside the Barton & Tredworth ward. Apart from three years during the 1990s, I have lived in Tredworth since October 1982, and yet have never been allowed to join. I only learned recently that Pat Scannell was allowed to join. I think that says all that I need to say about the unreasonable rules that the BTCT uses to keep out those that they don't consider to be 'one of us'. It seems to me that the trust was always drawn mainly from a small minority of residents in the streets around the Trust Centre. Others were only welcome if they didn't ask too many questions.

[Joe K]

Asking questions will be positively encouraged if I'm on the board, Kay, and we'll also be pretty liberal about the boundaries if I have any say at all. That is, division boundaries.

With an open day at the Trust Centre on the 20th for people to discover ' what goes on within its four walls', I hope we can get more than the 10-20 we need, and those who don't become trustees will be kept informed about what we hope to do (such as restore the Tredworth Residents' Association, with meetings upstairs?).

Trust Centre talk

It will make such a change, being pro-active.

Have you heard the city council are holding another It's a Knock-out tournament this summer, finale at Glos Park, July 28th? We might get a team together, this time...

[Joe K]

I've got one final thought today. Got stuff to do, so I'll copy it from Facebook:

Lots of residents will probably think that five or so isn't a big number to reach, and their help isn't needed. That's what drives apathy.

I'm thinking of suggesting announcing that, as of the board's viability being secured, we'll fund a seaside trip along the lines of what the TRA, and Community Counts before it, used to organised. Probably to Weston-super-Mare. Details of the arrangements to be discussed at the meeting at the city farm on the first Wednesday of May, after the Luncheon Club, where the TRA's future will be discussed. The BTCT can fund that meeting too, if the Friendship Café won't 'comp' us.

This announcement should provide an extra spur, especially if the weather is good...


(Have to start thinking of posters for tomorrow)

[Joe K]

Paul Harries seems quite confident that we'll get the required minimum, but then, he also thinks it will have to be achieved by Friday, because he is away the weekend. The notion that anyone could continue to work at this in his absence doesn't seem to be a consideration...

Oh, and the City Farm have confirmed that the room the TRA (as was) used before will be available to us on that Wednesday (May 1st), free of charge, for discussion of important ward issues. If the 'existing board members' stretch the deadline, fine. If they don't, it's up to residents to refuse to accept a 'limited timescale' I would call arbitrary if I didn't know exactly why they made it so short.

[Joe K]

I wonder why Phil Ellaway has to be so gratuitously snide?

He's the closest thing to to a troll the Gloucestershire Boards has at the moment...

www.visit-gloucestershire.co.uk/boards/topic/11996-future-of-barton-tredworth-community-trust-letter/#entry63200

[Deleted]

So, Carol's dying but still won't hand over control of the BTCT to anyone else who might save it. Is that correct?

[Joe K]

I thought it 50/50 she was being over-dramatic, which happens. Still don't know this isn't the case. It's the committee who let her continue as chair, if it's true, that I question. I would have been delegating...

[Deleted]

Joe, I don't know if you read the paper version of The Citizen every day, but here is an extract that should make your blood boil:

"Carol Francis
"In an article in The Citizen on April 17, 2013 headlined 'Plea for recruits to save group', we incorrectly referred to Carol Francis as the chairman of the Barton and Tredworth Community Trust.
"In fact Mrs Francis had resigned from the trust in November.
"In the article, we also incorrectly attributed a quote to Mrs Francis, which read: "We need to keep the trust going, or lose more say in where the authorities spend money in our area, so please give this some thought."
"We apologise to Mrs Francis for the error and are happy to clarify the matter."

What the fuck???

So who sent out the letter on 15th April? And who is in control of the trust now? And what about that bit in the letter about leaving the organisation with insufficient managerial structure would leave the trustees open to a charge of negligence?

I've just checked the Charity Commission website, and they still seem to think that Carol Francis is the head of the trustees for the BTCT.

[Joe K]

As I told the committee, Kay, the 'open to negligence' ship has sailed. The Charity Commission just isn't 'fit for purpose'...

[Deleted]

According to the Charity Commission website, Barton & Tredworth Community Trust ceased to exist on 25th June. No information on what happened to the remaining money from the sale of the Trust Centre. No blame. Isn't that nice?

Isn't it even nicer that Carol Francis is to receive an honorary fellowship from the University of Gloucestershire for all of her wonderful community work? It seems that she isn't dying any longer. Apparently, she'll then share her expertise with the university and its students. She could teach them how to destroy a charity and get away with it .

[Joe K]

That's more information than I could get from the commission website.

However, Googling for 'barton & Tredworth Community Centre 25th July' turned this up...

www.companydirectorcheck.com/brendan-joseph-mcinerney-2

[Deleted]

On the Charity Commission website, you have to use the specialist search for a charity name - it won't give you anything on the ordinary search box at the top. Click on 'Find charities' and do a 'Charity search' for Tredworth.

[Joe K]

Righty ho. For anyone reading who's interested, the Commission's website is www.charitycommission.gov.uk/

They don't make it easy. Even that limited information can't be linked to, the url, www.charitycommission.gov.uk/find-charities/, is the one for finding charities only.

What's clear is that most of the trustees, if not all of them, are now working for/with BTD, so I'm going to have to start asking them for information, as well as how residents can join the BTD board...