The STAR Constitution was adopted at the AGM held on 12.11.24.
The new constitution is intended to streamline the running of the association, reducing admin and running costs and making it easier to bring on board and involve new people and new ideas.
The key elements of our new approach are:
No more annual “membership” fees
SPTRA already has sufficient money in its bank account to act as a rainy-day fund, and historically SPTRA events have always generated small surpluses as well.
By also significantly reducing the admin costs of running the association we intend to eliminate the need to collect annual fees – while also retaining the option to ask for contributions should unforseen situations arise which may need association funding.
This also means all local residents can officially now be “members” irrespective of whether they have paid an annual membership fee.
Re-energising the current committee structure
There are many residents in our neighbourhood who would like to get involved in our community, and have ideas and experience which they are keen to share – but for whom “standing for election” and being tied into regular committee meetings about the administration of the association may feel like a committment too far.
A more flexible, dynamic and informal way of operating, meeting only when there are ‘live’ projects and initiatives to discuss and take forward, empowering the committee to appoint new members (rather than waiting for annual elections to replace those who may need to step down) encourages and enables residents to choose to get involved in any neighbourhood activities where they feel they have both the time to do so, and specific interests, skills and experiences to contribute.
Changing the way the assciation engages with the neighbourhood.
Our neighbourhood already has a significant number of active communities within it – many of them operating virtually through WhatsApp and other platforms, built around shared interests in our local schools, groups of neighbours or entire roads, chat groups with shared interests in nearby planning issues, and local churches and other community groups.
STAR can play a valuable role in connecting and publicising all of these groups, helping new residents to quickly get connected to their immediate neighbours and working with them to disseminate news and promote any activities taking place in the area.
Where road-level groups don’t already exist we want to encourage them to be set up – as well as revamping the association website, and (of course) continuing with more traditional “through the letterbox” communication through our road reps as well for those not on smartphones and the internet.
The STAR Constitution
You can download a copy of the constitution here.