Constitution

HEADLANDS AREA RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION

CONSTITUTION

1. Name and purpose

1.1 The name of the body is the Headlands Area Residents Association.

1.2 The purpose of the Association is to promote the common interests of all residents who live in the Headlands area.

2. Area covered

The area covered by the Association consists of the following streets in Kettering, in this Constitution referred to as the ‘Headlands area’-

Headlands, Ostlers Way, Lonsdale Rd, Cranleigh Rd, The Close, Kettonby Gardens, The Links, Glebe Avenue, Roundhill Rd as far as Argyll St, St Michaels Road as far as Argyll Street, Garfield Street, Hawthorn Rd as far as Argyll St, Broadway as far as Argyll St, The Drive.

3. Aims

3.1 The aims of the Association are -

a) to represent the interests of members;

b) to ensure that all residents eligible for membership are encouraged to join;

c) to ensure that all members are consulted regularly;

d) to provide a forum for Headlands area residents to exchange information and experience;

e) to draw attention to developments which may affect the quality of life in the Headlands area;

f) to monitor and comment on major issues affecting the quality of life of residents in the Headlands area, including planning, licensing, cultural activities, community safety and policing;

g) to further good relations with Kettering Borough Council and other organisations in the Kettering area and make valuable input to local decisions and the monitoring and measuring of local performance.

h) to ensure that decisions about any improvement to and the management of the Headlands area reflect local needs within the area.

3.2 The Association may raise such funds as are necessary to achieve these aims.

4. Membership

4.1. Membership is open to all residents on the Electoral Roll for the Headlands area of Kettering who accept the aims of the Association.

4.2 Subscription is by household. A paid-up member is one who is in a household that has paid the subscription.

4.3 A person wishing to join the Association must apply to the Secretary and the application will be considered by the Committee.

4.4 Members must at all time conduct themselves in a reasonable manner when attending meetings or any other functions in connection with the Association.

4.5 The Committee may suspend the membership of any member for failure to observe paragraph 4.4, or for any other conduct not in line with the aims of the Association, or whose conduct damages the reputation of the Association.

4.6 Suspension can only be done at a meeting of the Committee convened for the purpose and any member so suspended has the right of appeal to the next general meeting, before expulsion.

4.7 In considering a person for membership, or in making a decision on any matter, no account is to be taken of ethnicity, religion, special needs, language differences, learning difficulties, sexual orientation, gender, age or disability.

5. Subscriptions

5.1 Subscriptions are set at the annual general meeting and are to be kept as low as possible, consistent with decisions of the members as to activities to be undertaken.

5.2 The Committee may reduce or waive the subscription in individual cases if the Committee considers that there is exceptoinal hardship or other good cause

5.3 The members may agree on raising additional funds for particular purposes from among themselves or in other ways, but contributing to such additional funds is not a condition of membership.

5.4 Subscriptions or other money raised by or on behalf of the Association may only be used to further the aims of the Association.

6. Committee

6.1       The business of the Association is to be conducted by the Committee.
6.2       The Committee consists of a Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer as officers and at least 4 other members.
6.3       The election or removal of officers or Committee members may only be carried out by a meeting of the Association.

6.4 Candidates must be proposed and seconded by members of the Association and elected by a simple majority of members present at the meeting.

6.5 The Committee may temporarily fill any vacancy in the officers from its other members until the next meeting of members of the Association, at which time an election must take place.

6.6 No Committee meeting may take place without a quorum of 4 members of the Committee, including at least one officer.

6.7 Each member of the Committee has one vote, except that in the event of an equality of votes, the Chairperson has an additional casting vote.

6.8 The Committee may nominate one of its members to act as Chairperson duringthe absence of the Chairperson from a meeting or from Kettering.

7. Annual General Meeting

7.1 The Committee must call an annual general meeting of the Association in each year at which the

agenda items must include –

a) Committee report on the year’s activities;

b) Treasurer’s report and presentation of accounts;

c) election of officers and Committee members.

7.2 14 days’ notice of the AGM must be sent to all paid up members and must include the date, time, venue and agenda of the meeting.

7.3 The Committee, at its discretion, may invite residents of the Headlands area who are not paid up members to attend the AGM.

7.4 The quorum for an AGM is 30 members of the Association.

8. Other meetings of the Association

8.1 The Committee must –

(a) arrange a minimum of 2 open meetings each year for the members of the Association to discuss issues affecting the Association;

b) ensure that every resident in the Headlands area is notified of such a meeting.

8.2 A special meeting to discuss emergency matters directly affecting the Association or its interests must be convened if at least 3 committee members or at least 20 members of the Association so request in writing.

8.3 14 days’ notice of a special meeting must be sent to all paid up members and must include the date, time, venue and agenda of the meeting.

8.4 The quorum for a special meeting at which any decision is to be made is 40 paid up members of the Association.

8.5 Minutes of the AGM and of open and special meetings of the Association must be posted on the website and copies made available to any member on request.

9. Duties of officers

9.1. The officers are responsible for organising the work of the Association.

9.2. The Chairperson, or acting Chairperson, conducts the meetings of the Association and of the

Committee.

9.3. a) The Treasurer must open a bank account in the Association’s name.
b) Cheques should be signed by two of the signatories.

c) The Treasurer must keep a proper account of all money received and spent by the Association.

9.4. The Secretary’s duties include –

a) giving notice of meetings of the Committee and of the Association;

b) keeping minutes of the Association’s meetings and of Committee meetings;

c) maintaining a list of the Association’s members;

d) maintaining the Association website;

e) dealing with Association correspondence.

9.5 The Committee may designate one or more members of the Association to assist in the performance of the duties of the Secretary or Treasurer, and such members do not need to be members of the Committee.

10. Sub-committees

10.1 The Committee may appoint one or more sub-committees to carry out the activities of the

Association. Any sub-committees formed to look at a particular project or problem must keep

accounts of its income and expenditure and a record of its meetings.

10.2 Sub-committees can include members of the Association who are not members of the Committee,

and may invite other persons to attend meetings as advisors.

11. Finance

11.1 The Committee may accept on behalf of the Association donations in money, goods or services intended to promote the aims of the Association.

11.2. All monies subscribed, donated to or raised by the Association must be used only for the benefit of the Association or its members, in line with the purpose and aims set out in this Constitution.
11.3 All expenditure must receive prior agreement of the Committee. Expenditure other than petty cash requires formal approval by the members of the Association. A vote (which may be by correspondence) must be taken and the result minuted.

11.4 All income and expenditure of the Association must be accounted for to the members at the AGM.

11.5 Any member may ask to see the books of account on giving reasonable notice to the Secretary.

12. Amendment

12.1. Any amendment to this Constitution can only be made at a meeting of members convened for the purpose. Members must have been given at least 14 days notice of the date and venue and of the proposed amendment.

12.2 An amendment requires the approval of at least two thirds of the members present and voting at the meeting.

13. Dissolution

13.1 The Committee or, if a committee no longer exists, 20 members of the Association, or a majority if there are fewer than 20 members, can convene a meeting of members of the Association for the purpose of discussing dissolution of the Association.

13.2 At least 14 days notice must be given to all those eligible for membership of the Association of the date of the meeting and the fact that dissolution will be discussed.

13.3 At such a meeting, a quorum does not apply; and the Association may be dissolved by a two thirds majority of those present.
13.4 Once the Association has satisfied its liabilities, any assets of the Association must be used for purposes of benefit to the residents of the Headlands area as a meeting of members may decide.

14. First Committee

14.1 The provisions of paragraph 6.3 as regards election of a Committee do not apply to the Committee that was formed for the purpose of forming the Association and adopting this Constitution.

14.2 That Committee, consisting of Mary Bland, Rebecca Garvin-Elliot, Lynda Hayes, Stephen Howlett, Janet Marchand, Kevin Marchand, Alison Mercer, and Neil Whiteley was elected at a meeting of residents of the Headlands area held at 125 Headlands on 4 June 2008 at which it was resolved to form this Association and the Committee were tasked with setting up the Residents Association, producing a Constitution and dealing with current issues.

Adopted by a meeting of the First Committee this 15^th day of June 2008.