1. Name
The name of the group shall be Glamorgan Smallholders.

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2. Aims

The aims of Glamorgan Smallholders will be:

a)    To bring together and foster understanding amongst smallholders and those with an    interest in smallholding within Glamorgan

b)    To promote social activities, mutual support and joint aid among our members

c)    To establish good smallholding practice across our members

d)    To establish good networking practices between our members and their suppliers and       retailers

e)    To educate through demonstration and the teaching of both traditional and new skills and practices

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3. Membership
Membership is open to anyone who:
a)   has an interest in Glamorgan

b)  supports the aims of Glamorgan Smallholders
There are six categories of membership:
a)    Member – open to individuals aged 18 and over
b)    Junior Member – up to 18 years old 
c)    Family/joint membership - A couple or family including no more than two members over the age of 18
d)    Business Member for businesses with 6 or more employees
e)    Life Member – awarded to individuals who have made a significant contribution to the group.  
f)    Honorary Member – awarded, and reconfirmed, on an annual basis to specific individuals who has a key relationship with the organisation but is not a candidate for membership. 

 

Membership code of conduct:
a)    Members and Life Members are entitled to one vote each on association business.  Honorary Members and Junior Members are not entitled to vote.  Business Members can nominate one representative to vote on their behalf.
b)    Membership will begin as soon as the membership form and annual payment has been received. 
c)    The Committee shall have an absolute discretion to accept or reject any application.  If an application for membership is refused, the first subscription shall be returned to the applicant.
d)    There will be annual membership fees, due on March 31st of each year.  The fee for each category of membership, and any groupings of members, will be advised at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and will be payable by all members except Life and Honorary Members.
e)    A list of all members will be kept by the Secretary.

 

Ceasing to be a member
a)    Members may resign at any time in writing to the secretary.
b)    Any member who has not paid their membership fee for one year will be contacted by the committee, who will then decide whether that member is deemed to have resigned. 

c)    The privileges of a member shall not be transferable or transmissible and shall cease with death.

d)    Any offensive behaviour, including racist, sexist or inflammatory remarks, will not be permitted.  Anyone behaving in an offensive way or breaking the equal opportunities policy may be asked not to attend further meetings or to resign from the group if an apology is not given or the behaviour is repeated.  The individual concerned shall have the right to be heard by the committee, accompanied by a friend, before a final decision is made.

e)    Life and Honorary Membership can be withdrawn at any time at the discretion of the Committee. 

f)    A person ceasing for any reason to be a member of Glamorgan Smallholders shall not be entitled to any refund in whole or in part of any annual subscriptions or other moneys already paid to the Glamorgan Smallholders and they shall remain liable for payment of all annual subscriptions or other moneys due by them to Glamorgan Smallholders at the date at which they cease to be a member.

 

Expulsion of a member from Glamorgan Smallholders
a)    Any member whose conduct in any respect shall be, in the opinion of the committee, deemed derogatory to the character or prejudicial to the aims and interests of Glamorgan Smallholders including behaving in an offensive or illegal way, the mistreatment or neglect of any animal, or breaking the equal opportunities policy, may have their membership revoked by resolution of the committee.  

b)    This resolution must be passed by a bare majority and must take place at a meeting at which a minimum of five committee members must be present and vote.  

c)    The individual concerned shall have the right to be heard by the committee, accompanied by a friend, before a final decision is made.

4. Equal Opportunities

Glamorgan Smallholders will not discriminate on the grounds of gender, race, colour, ethnic or national origin, sexuality, disability, religious or political belief, marital status or age.

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5. Duties of the Committee
The duties of the committee shall be:

a)   To take such actions as it shall in its absolute discretion consider necessary for the efficient management of Glamorgan Smallholders, and the promotion of Glamorgan Smallholders’ aims and objectives, and to report such actions promptly to the membership via a General Meeting, social media, e-mail, letter, flyer or other recognized means.
b)   To promote Glamorgan Smallholders 
c)    To Arrange the Society’s AGM and any other meetings.
d)    To Propose rule changes.
e)    To meet regularly and hold a minimum of four committee meetings per annum.
f)     To maintain a membership list and determine membership subscriptions for approval at the AGM.
g)    To abide by all GDPR rules and regulations
h)    To Appoint representatives to attend meetings in the interests of Glamorgan Smallholders
i)     To raise funds via grants or other means for the benefit of Glamorgan Smallholders
j)     To organise events or represent Glamorgan Smallholders at events where possible
k)     To insure the property of the society against any foreseeable risk and to take out other insurance policies to protect the society when required.
l)     To enter into a contract with any firm or company only if the goods and services are actually required by Glamorgan Smallholders, and the nature and level of the remuneration is no more than is reasonable in relation to the value of the goods or services and on normal commercial terms.

6. Officers and committee

a)    The business of the group will be carried out by a committee elected at the Annual General Meeting.

b)    The committee will consist of a maximum of 10 members and be composed of a minimum of 4 officers and 4 committee members.  Up to 2 additional members may be co-opted onto the committee at the discretion of the committee.

The roles of officers of the committee:

The positions of chair, vice-chair, treasurer, secretary & membership secretary of the Society shall be appointed by the committee from among their number in such a manner howsoever the committee may from time to time decide.

The chair:

a)    who shall chair both general and committee meetings shall hold office until the close of the Annual General meeting following his/her election. A retiring chair shall be eligible to be re-appointed. 

b)    Any casual vacancy in the office of chair shall be filled by the committee in such a manner as the committee shall decide.

The vice-chair:

a)    will support the chair and act on their behalf as necessary 

The Secretary:

a)    shall be responsible for the taking, distribution and storing of minutes and all correspondence on behalf of Glamorgan Smallholders and keeping and storing records of members in accordance with GDPR regulations.
The Treasurer: 

a)    Shall keep proper books and records.

b)    Shall manage Glamorgan Smallholder’s banking affairs.

c)    Shall report the financial status of Glamorgan Smallholders to the committee when requested.

d)    Shall prepare annual financial statements for presentation to the membership at the AGM.
The membership secretary (when held as a separate position from the secretary): 

a)    Shall be responsible for welcoming new members and keeping records of all members 

b)    Shall be responsible for issuing all society information to the members.  

c)    Shall uphold all GDPR legislation.

Officers of the committee:
a)    are subject to the right of a majority of all members of the committee to remove an officer at any time. 

b)    In In the event of an officer standing down during the year, a replacement shall be appointed by the committee from among their number in such a manner howsoever as the committee may from time to time decide.

c)    An officer of the committee, at the committee’s discretion, may allocate some of their duties to others on the committee.

A committee member:

a)    who is not an officer may be appointed to other duties as agreed by the committee in such a manner howsoever the committee may from time to time decide. 

b)    may hold more than one position on the committee if decided upon by the Committee. 

c)    Each year, two committee members will be required to stand down, based on their length of service.  They are eligible for re-election in the same year.  Members will be advised of the continuing committee and invited to be nominated for the committee.  

d)    Any committee member not attending a meeting without apology for three months will be contacted by the committee and asked if they wish to resign.  In exceptional circumstances, where a committee member is unable to fulfil their role, the chair and vice-chair can agree that another member can support them for a specified amount of time. 

7.  Meetings
Meetings will normally be held in person at suitable venues throughout Glamorgan.  If circumstances prevent face to face meetings, these can be held electronically, for example via Zoom or Google meets.  The business of meetings will still be structured and minuted in the same way. 

 

Annual General Meetings:

a)    An Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held within fifteen months of the previous AGM unless circumstances beyond the control of Glamorgan Smallholders make it impossible.

b)    All members will be notified in writing at least three weeks before the date of the meeting, giving the venue, date, and time.  Notice may be given by email or post.
c)    Any proposals for matters to be discussed, and for inclusion in the agenda of the AGM must be received by the secretary two weeks prior to the meeting.

d)    Nominations for candidates to stand for the committee must be made to the secretary two weeks before the meeting. All nominations will require a proposer and seconder.  The proposer and seconder of candidates being nominated need to have been members of Glamorgan Smallholders for a minimum of 6 months at the time of notice being served.

e)    The Secretary shall notify the members of the names and brief details of the candidates standing for election in advance of the general meeting.

f)    If the number of candidates does not exceed the number of vacancies, elections may take place by a show of hands at the general meeting.

g)    If the number of candidates shall exceed the number of places a secret ballot shall be held.

h)    The agenda will be sent out at least seven days prior to the meeting.

i)    Appointment of Life and Honorary Members will take place at the AGM.

j)    The officers and committee for the next year will be elected.

k)    The Chairman will present a report of the work of Glamorgan Smallholders over the year. 

l)    The Treasurer will present the accounts of Glamorgan Smallholders for the previous year.

m)    The quorum for the AGM will be 10% of the membership or ten members, whichever is the greater number.

Special General Meetings:

a)    The Secretary will call a Special General Meeting at the request of the majority of the committee or at least eight other members giving a written request to the chair or secretary stating the reason for their request.

b)    The meeting will take place within twenty-one days of the request.

c)    All members will be given two weeks’ notice of such a meeting, giving the venue, date, time and agenda, and notice may be by telephone, e-mail or post.

d)    The quorum for the Special General Meeting will be 10% of the membership or ten members, whichever is the greater number.

Emergency General Meetings

a)    An Emergency General Meeting (EGM) can be called by any member with seven days’ notice, highlighting the key area needing to be discussed.  

b)    If a committee member believes that an EGM is necessary, they should contact the chair or secretary who would then arrange it.

c)    The quorum for the Emergency General Meeting will be 10% of the membership or ten members, whichever is the greater number.

General Meetings

a)    General Meetings are open to all members and will be held at least once every three months or more often if necessary.

b)    All members will be given two weeks’ notice of such a meeting, giving the venue, date, time and agenda, and notice may be by telephone, email or post.

c)    The quorum for a General Meeting shall be 10% of the membership or 5 members, whichever is the greater number.

 

Committee Meetings

a)    Committee meetings may be called by the chair or secretary. Committee members must receive notice of meetings at least seven days before the meeting.

b)    The quorum for committee meetings is four committee members.

c)    In the absence of the chair, another committee member nominated by the committee may preside as chair of the meeting. 

d)    Meetings will normally be held in person at suitable venues throughout Glamorgan.  If circumstances prevent face to face meetings, these can be held electronically, for example via Zoom or Google meets.  The business of meetings will still be structured and minuted in the same way.

e)    The committee meetings will be open to any member of Glamorgan Smallholders wishing to attend, who may speak but not vote. Members wishing to attend a committee meeting should contact the Secretary for information on how, when and where the meeting will be taking place. 

 

Rules of Procedure for meetings

a)    All questions that arise at any meeting will be discussed openly and the meeting will seek to find general agreement that everyone present can agree to.

b)    If a consensus cannot be reached, a vote will be taken and a decision will be made by a simple majority of members present.  If the number of votes cast on each side is equal, the chair of the meeting shall have an additional casting vote.

 

8. Finances

a)    An account will be maintained on behalf of the Association at a bank agreed by the committee.  

b)    The bank account can be operated via the internet.  

c)    Three authorised signatories will be nominated by the Committee (one to be the Treasurer).  The signatories must not be related nor members of the same household.  

d)    All payments will be single signatory at the bank or online but must be accompanied by a requisition note which will be signed by two of the signatories.

e)    Records of income and expenditure will be maintained by the Treasurer and a financial statement given at each committee meeting.

f)    All money raised by or on behalf of Glamorgan Smallholders is only to be used to further the aims of the group, specified in item 2 of this constitution.

9. Amendments to the Constitution

a)    Amendments to the constitution may only be made at the Annual General Meeting or a Special General Meeting. 

b)    Any proposal to amend the constitution must be given to the Secretary in writing 14 days prior to the AGM.  

c)    The proposal to amend the constitution must be circulated to the membership seven days prior to the AGM. 

d)    Any proposal to amend the constitution will require a two thirds majority of those present and entitled to vote.

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10. Dissolution

a)    If a meeting, by simple majority, decides that it is necessary to close down the group it may call a Special General Meeting to do so.  The sole business of this meeting will be to dissolve the group.

b)    If it is agreed to dissolve the group, all remaining money and other assets, once outstanding debts have been paid, will be donated to a local charitable organisation.  The organisation will be agreed at the meeting which agrees the dissolution.

This constitution was amended and agreed by a show of hands, being more than two thirds majority of those present and entitled to vote
at
The Annual General Meeting of Glamorgan Smallholders

on 

Date 8th October, 2022