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SEAMER PARISH COMMUNITY FUND CONSTITUTION
Objective
The fund will be called the Seamer Parish Community Fund; the purpose of which is to allocate monies for the benefit of the residents living in the Parish of Seamer and provided by the owners of the Seamer Wind Farm (Ventient Energy).
STATUS
The allocation of the monies will be overseen and administered by the members of Seamer Parish Council. Applications to the Fund will be discussed as an agenda item at the bimonthly Parish Council meetings.
MEMBERSHIP
A minimum of three Parish Councillors must be in attendance at Parish Council meetings to be quorate and able to recommend allocation of monies.
a) An Independent Chairman will be co-opted by the Parish Council to chair the meeting held annually to ratify grants made and to report on the year to date. The Independent Chairman must also have wide ranging experience and knowledge of chairing meetings.
b) The role will include leading discussion on priorities and ensuring that the monies are allocated in a free and fair manner.
c) The independent Chairman, if at all possible, must not be a resident in Seamer Parish.
d) The independent Chairman must state if he/she has any conflict of interest when reviewing applications to the Seamer Parish Community Fund.
e) The views of the Chairman will be treated of equal importance to those of the Parish Councillors where grants are equal to, or exceed £1,000, but the final decision will be taken by members of the Parish Council.
Final approval of disbursements will be confirmed at the Parish Council meeting. The Parish Clerk (or other appointed person) for this purpose will be asked to take minutes
and give advice when requested. The minutes are ratified at Parish Council meetings.
ALTERATIONS TO CONSTITUTION
The constitution of the Seamer Parish Community Fund (‘SPCF’) will be kept under review and any changes agreed at the Annual Parish Meeting.
COMMUNICATION
A standing item will be included on the Parish Council agenda under the heading ‘Seamer Parish Community Fund’.
Reports of meetings will be provided to those living in the parish via the Grapevine and through minutes displayed on the parish noticeboards. Information can also be accessed by attendance at Parish Council meetings.
FINANCE
a) A separate bank account shall be maintained in the name of the ‘Seamer Parish Community Fund’.
b) All cheques to be signed by, two from three nominated Parish Council members. Reviewed and updated Aug 22
c) Accounts will be kept and audited in line with the Parish Council accounts and reported on at the Annual Parish Meeting or as required by the Parish Council.
d) The audited accounts shall finish with the statement… I/We have audited the accounts for the financial year …… in accordance with approved auditing standards. In my/our opinion the attached accounts are a true and fair view of the financial state of the affairs of the SPCF as at … (It must be noted that the monies received by the Parish Council to administer the day to day affairs of the Parish are a completely separate entity to that of the Seamer Parish Community Fund.)
APPLICATIONS
a) Applications should be in writing on the approved form and sent to the Parish Clerk who will then forward them to the Parish Council for consideration at the next Parish Council Meeting.
b) Applications should include accurate costings or estimates provided by bona fide tradespeople.
c) If applicants wish the Parish Council to instigate work on their behalf, then this must be made clear in the application and reasons should be included as to why the applicant wishes the project to be done.
d) The Parish Council can also nominate ways in which the SPCF can be spent. The same format as for other applicants should be adhered to and any projects should not take priority over any other suggestions in the normal course of events. A parish councillor must declare if they have an interest, financial or otherwise, when making a suggestion as to the use of the Seamer Parish Community Fund.
e) It will be for the Parish Council to decide if an application should be treated as urgent, thus given priority. Reasons for this action will be provided in the minutes of Parish Council meetings.
f) An appeal process shall be available if any aspect of the administration of the fund is perceived to be unsatisfactory. Initially, it should be addressed with the Independent
Chairman. Should no resolution be found, an appeal to a panel of the local district councillors shall be available. Reasons should be provided by letter and signed by a minimum of ten residents of the parish of Seamer.
LIAISON
It is the responsibility of the Parish Council to liaise, as and when necessary with the Wind Farm owners, to discuss any matters appertaining to the Seamer Parish Community Fund.
This document is reviewed annually