Item

CONSTITUTION OF THE

HARNHAM NEIGHBOURHOOD ASSOCIATION

As amended 2010

The Harnham Neighbourhood Association was formed in 1974

Item 1 Object of the Association

The object of the Harnham Neighbourhood Association (hereinafter referred to as “HNA” or the “Association”) is to elect a Committee which shall be its representative body in promoting the interests of the residents of Harnham and its environment.

The HNA and its Committee are non-party political and non-sectarian and shall act accordingly at all times

For the purposes of this constitution Harnham is defined as the ecclesiastical parish of Harnham

Item 2 Membership and Eligibility

All persons whose name appears on the Electoral Register at an address in Harnham are automatically Members of the HNA without payment of any fee and without the need to register.

All Members present at the Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) or at an Extraordinary General Meeting (“EGM”) of the Association are entitled to participate in discussions and vote on all resolutions put before the meeting.

All Members of the Association are eligible to seek election to the Committee of the Association except that ex-officio members of the Committee may not simultaneously serve as elected members.

Area Representatives must live in the Area they represent.

Item 3 Annual General Meeting and Election of Committee

The administrative year shall commence with the Annual General Meeting at which the members of the Association shall elect the Officers of the Committee, and Area Representatives for those Areas becoming vacant.

The AGM takes place during the month of September unless otherwise approved by an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Association.

The date of the AGM shall be advertised a minimum of four (4) weeks in advance: on HNA notice boards; in the Parish Magazine; and on the HNA website.

The Elected Committee shall consist of:

a. Three (3) Officers (Chairman, Secretary, and Treasurer)

b. Twelve (12) Area Representatives being 6 representatives for each of two Areas designated Harnham East and Harnham West. The boundary between Harnham East and Harnham West shall be as the Committee shall from time to time determine to give an approximately equal number of Members in each Area.

Officers are elected for a period of one year, but are eligible for re-election if consenting and duly proposed and seconded.

Area Representatives are elected for a period of 3 years. At the end of that period retiring Area Representatives are eligible for re-election if consenting and duly proposed and seconded.

The election of Officers and Area Representatives takes place in order. First the retiring Chairman steps down and the Secretary takes the nominations for the Chair and conducts the ballot if necessary. The Secretary and Treasurer then retire in turn and the newly elected Chairman takes nominations and conducts ballots if necessary. The Chairman then takes nominations and conducts ballots if necessary for any retiring Area Representatives.

The Chairman presides over the rest of the business of the Annual General Meeting and subsequent meetings of the Association and of the Committee.

Except as provided in Item 4 below decisions of Meetings of the Association are by simple majority of Members present, with the Chairman holding the casting vote in the event of a tied result.

Item 4 Nominations for Elected Officers and Area Representatives

Nominations for Officers and Area Representatives may be submitted in writing to the Secretary up to seven (7) days prior to the published date of the Annual General Meeting. The nomination must be signed by the proposer and seconder and must include the written consent of the candidate, all of whom must be Members of the Association

Nominations may also be proposed and seconded in person at the Annual General Meeting but require the written consent of the candidate.

In the event of more than one (1) nomination being made for an Officer of the Committee, provision shall be made for a secret ballot. In the event of more than two (2) nominations being received, unless a majority of more than 50% of the votes cast is secured by any one candidate, a further ballot will take place between the top two (2) candidates for the allocable position.

In the event that more nominations are received for Area Representatives in any one Area than positions available, then a secret ballot shall be held and the candidate or candidates with the highest number(s) of votes shall be elected.

Item 5 Ex Officio Members

In addition to the elected Officers and Area Representatives the Committee shall include ex-officio members as follows:

All elected Wiltshire Councillors and Salisbury City Councillors representing any electoral district lying partly or wholly within Harnham

One representative from each recognised Church body practising in Harnham.

A representative of Community Policing in Harnham

Ex officio members attend for the purposes of informing and advising the Committee and are entitled to participate in all deliberations of the Committee.

An ex officio member is permitted to vote on any matter, except where that matter bears directly on his/her role and responsibilities in the position which entitles him/her to be a member of the Committee. In such a case the Member shall declare an interest, and refrain from voting on that matter. He/she shall withdraw from the meeting during the consideration of that matter if so requested by the Chairman.

Item 6 Interim Vacancies

If during the Administrative year an elected Committee Member (whether Officer or Area Representative):

(a) Resigns by letter to the Chairman or Secretary

(b) Ceases to live in Harnham

(d) Becomes ineligible by virtue of becoming an ex-officio member.

then that Member is deemed to have resigned thereby creating a vacancy.

The Committee may at its discretion fill a vacancy for an Officer by appointing one of the existing elected members of the Committee to serve for the remainder of the Administrative year, or in the absence of a candidate, by inviting nominations for candidates by notice in HNA Notice Boards and on the HNA website

The Committee may at its discretion fill the vacancy for an Area Representative by co-opting a member of the Association to serve for the remainder of the Administrative year, or in the absence of a candidate, by inviting nominations for candidates by notice in HNA Notice Boards and on the HNA website.

In the event that more nominations are received than vacant posts, then an Extraordinary General Meeting of Members of the Association shall be called and an election take place in accordance with the procedures set down in Item 4.

Officers appointed or elected during the Administrative year and Area Representatives co-opted during the Administrative year shall retire at the following AGM but are eligible for re-election subject to the provisions of Items 3 and 4.

Area Representatives elected during the Administrative year shall retire as if they had been elected at the beginning of the Administrative year.

Item 7 Co-option of Advisory Committee Members

The Committee may at its discretion co-opt additional members to act in an advisory capacity. Such members are entitled to participate in all deliberations of the Committee, but are not permitted to vote on any matters.

Item 8 Quorum and voting

A quorum of the Committee shall consist of at least five (5) Elected Members including Officers.

Decisions of the Committee are by simple majority, with the Chairman holding the casting vote in the event of a tied result.

Item 9 Vice Chair

At the first meeting of the Committee following the AGM the Committee shall elect from among its elected Officers and Area Representatives a Vice Chair to act in the absence of the Chairman.

Item 10 Meetings of the Committee

Following the AGM the Committee will normally meet in alternate months. The time and location of Committee meetings shall be notified to all Committee members as early as possible, and in any event not less than 14 days in advance.

Item 11 Extraordinary General Meetings of the Association

The Committee shall call an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of the Association if so requested in writing to the Chairman or Secretary by a minimum of eight (8) Members of the Association.

The Committee may at its discretion call an EGM of the Association at any time.

Notice of an EGM shall be given as early as possible and in any event not less than 14 days in advance by notification on the HNA Notice Boards and the HNA Website.

Item 12 Amendment of the Constitution and Dissolution of the Association

Amendment of the Constitution and Dissolution of the Association shall only be by decision of the Association at the AGM or at an EGM.