KIRKBY MALZEARD AREA COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION
In 2019 The Parish Council formed an advisory committee to look into how best to create a Community Association for the Kirkby Malzeard Area. The committee comprised five Councillors together with a representative from each of the primary local organisations who own or lease property in the village.
The Councillors comprised Peter Saxon (Chair), Jane Aksut, Alan Brownlee, Geoffrey Berry and Howard Mountain. The primary local organisations comprised the Mechanics Institute, Highside Playing Fields Association, School, Pre-school, St Andrews Church and the Methodist Chapel.
The Terms of Reference for the committee was to agree the aims of the Community Association, draw up a Constitution and consider funding before applying to be registered as a Charity with the Charity Commission. The Association is intended to be an ‘umbrella organisation’ through which all local organisations (not only the primary organisations but also those who use the venues which they provide e.g. Women’s Institute, Bowls Club etc etc) would be involved. It was agreed there was nothing to be gained from creating an Association which simply duplicates what is already being carried out by individual organisations – it would need to save work rather than create it and draw in new people to be involved not just rely on those who are already giving their time with existing groups.
Having met its termes of reference the committee was disbanded in May 2020.
In Summer 2020 a Constitution was produced and the nominated Trustees commenced the process of registering the Association with the Charity Commission. The Charity Commission asked for further information and clarification on some aspects of the application and further advice was then sought from Community First Yorkshire who had been advising the Committee.
At that point the Mechanics Insititute requested that the matter be put on hold until further investigations were carried out to ensure that they were able to legally merge into a Community Association having regard to their existing Constitution. The MIVH are presently taking advice on this matter and may initially seek to amend their own Constitution, before proceeding further with the concept of a Community Association at a later date.