Thursday, February 5, 2015

2015 AGM

The Dereham Society's 2015 AGM will be held on Thursday 26th February, 7:30pm, at Dereham library.

As has been reported in the Dereham Times newspaper of 5th February 2015, the current committee is proposing the dissolution of the society, unless there is significant new interest in membership, and in new people joining the committee.

The Executive Committee has been operating on a 'holding position' for the last two years. Membership has continued to fall and no new members have joined the Committee. Reluctantly we feel that the AGM must consider the dissolution of the society.

From the Constitution;
15. Winding Up.
  • The Society may be dissolved by a two-thirds majority of members voting at the Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting of the society confirmed by simple majority of members voting at a further Special General Meeting held not less than 14 days after the previous Meeting. If a motion for the dissolution of the Society is to be proposed at an Annual General Meeting or Special general Meeting this motion shall be referred to specifically when notice of the Meeting is given. In the event of the dissolution of the Society the available funds of the Society shall be transferred to such one or more charitable institutions having objects similar or reasonably similar to the herein before declared as shall be chosen by the Executive Committee and approved by the Meeting of the Society is confirmed. On dissolution the minute books and other records of the Society shall be deposited with the Civic Trust.

The committee requires the following posts;
  • Chairman, 
  • Vice Chairman, 
  • Secretary, 
  • Treasurer, 
  • Plus 6 Committee members.

At the AGM, the present committee will set out a schedule to close down the Society and arrange for the funds to be dispersed to an agreed charity or similar organisation. The Society has been looking after funds previously raised by the Neatherd Moor Preservation Society and similar arrangements will have to be made for the disposal of the money held for  the Moor's Society.
Dereham Society was created to help raise the profile of the Town by preserving and protecting aspects of the Town such as buildings and green spaces. There is still an urgent need for an independent voice to safeguard Green Spaces from future housing development and other types of encroachment as pressure is exerted by central government for land to be freed up. The success of the Mattishall Matters action group shows how effective local action can be, can this be replicated in Dereham when needed in areas presently not earmarked for development ?
The demise of the Town Centre where shops seem to close almost weekly, combined with uncertain developments in Norwich street raise big question marks over what the centre will look like in the future. This is an issue across many Market Towns but if Dereham Town Centre is to thrive it needs a vision for the future which should involve an active dialogue with residents to determine what they want from the centre. The Society could provide a forum for views to be discussed and plans put forward, however the present lack of support for the Society in its present format suggests changes are needed or that people are not too concerned by these developments.
If you want to become involved and contribute to how Dereham develops in the future please attend the AGM.

Contact; Philip Morton; tel. 01362 696758; e-mail, philbrig333 @ googlemail.com

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