Countryside Management Association News

Dear Member

While the early years of the Countryside Management Association and its administration are unfortunately lost in history, it has been obvious for sometime that we need to re-organise ourselves by adopting a modern constitution and become a formally registered charity in order to obtain substantial tax and other benefits.

With several name changes over the last 40 years and at least one major new constitution, I appear to have inherited an organisation that is neither incorporated under the Companies Acts nor recognised by the Charity Commission. In fact even our name does not appear to be registered, so any other organisation could probably set up in direct opposition and literally steal our identity.

With the full support of your National Council, I believe that we must protect our future interests by establishing a new Company incorporated under guarantee with the Registrar of Companies, as a matter of urgency. Hopefully, that new Company will be called Countryside Management Association Limited (or something very similar) and will have a constitution (Memorandum and Articles of Association) structured to conform with the requirements of the Charity Commissioners, so we can obtain full charity status.

Full details of our progress will be circulated in time for the AGM early in August and as the last AGM had to be aborted due to lack of a quorum, on this occasion we will be tabling Accounts for the two years ended on 31 March 2007, supported by the work of a suitable reporting accountant.

Yours sincerely

Mike Woods
Chairman