The wider picture: national civic issues
Civic Voice, the national charity for the civic movement in England, campaigns on a wide range of issues that have an impact on local communities across the country.
Inevitably this year, the 50th anniversary of the creation of Conservation Areas, Civic Voice has been raising aware- ness of their importance and launched a campaign “The Big Conservation Conversation”. This is intended to emphasise that designating a Conservation Area should not be seen as an end in itself: we live in a changing world and for the historic environment to survive and continue to be cherished it needs to be positively managed.
Civic Voice also alerts members to potential changes in legislation that might affect local communities. A recent example is Civic Voice’s assessment of the implications of a new Charity Governance Code. The Code at this point is just guidance, based on current legal requirements and recommended practice. It is set out under seven principles and introduces the notion of “apply or explain” – in other words, charities should apply the Code’s principles wherever they can and explain those instances where, for whatever reason, a charity cannot apply the recommendations.
Much that is in the Code will be familiar already, but there are some interesting new recommendations about recruitment and retention of trustees – in our case, Committee members – which will have far-reaching implications for many. Not least of these is the recommendation that trustees serve for a maximum of nine years.
This will certainly give our Society something to think about as several Committee members have served longer than this, but their knowledge is invaluable and we do not want to lose them. However, it is important for the health of any society to be invigorated by new members bringing in new ideas.
To find out more about Civic Voice, go to the website: www.civicvoice.org.uk
Inevitably this year, the 50th anniversary of the creation of Conservation Areas, Civic Voice has been raising aware- ness of their importance and launched a campaign “The Big Conservation Conversation”. This is intended to emphasise that designating a Conservation Area should not be seen as an end in itself: we live in a changing world and for the historic environment to survive and continue to be cherished it needs to be positively managed.
Civic Voice also alerts members to potential changes in legislation that might affect local communities. A recent example is Civic Voice’s assessment of the implications of a new Charity Governance Code. The Code at this point is just guidance, based on current legal requirements and recommended practice. It is set out under seven principles and introduces the notion of “apply or explain” – in other words, charities should apply the Code’s principles wherever they can and explain those instances where, for whatever reason, a charity cannot apply the recommendations.
Much that is in the Code will be familiar already, but there are some interesting new recommendations about recruitment and retention of trustees – in our case, Committee members – which will have far-reaching implications for many. Not least of these is the recommendation that trustees serve for a maximum of nine years.
This will certainly give our Society something to think about as several Committee members have served longer than this, but their knowledge is invaluable and we do not want to lose them. However, it is important for the health of any society to be invigorated by new members bringing in new ideas.
To find out more about Civic Voice, go to the website: www.civicvoice.org.uk
