DIRECTORS’ REPORT TO THE AGM – 4th MARCH 2021
We last reported to the members at the Special General Meeting on the 30th of October 2019. At that meeting we presented a report on the Village Shop and Post Office which set out various options for involvement by FMCLT in supporting a village shop.
After participating in meetings about a Village Hub with various interested groups we decided that the CLT would not take a lead role in this project. We felt that planning to start a shop in a different location could be damaging to the current shop and possibly leave us in a situation where there was no shop at all. Following on from this we decided to investigate the possibility of purchasing the freehold of the village shop. A survey conducted amongst the members showed that there was strong support for this option.
Towards the end of 2019 the freeholder of the shop was contacted and in a meeting with directors he indicated that he would be willing to consider an offer for the purchase of the property (shop and dwelling).
At the start of 2020 we discussed an alternative suggestion to fund the purchase of the shop property. This involved developing it after purchase as a separate dwelling and shop premises. After research by Mark Edwards into this idea we came to the conclusion that property development, with the involvement of third parties providing finance, was not an objective that the CLT should support. It would be difficult to assure the community benefit duty of the CLT in this type of arrangement.
We agreed not to pursue this idea but to concentrate on the purchase of the freehold of the property by the CLT.
Our ability to keep members informed by public meetings has been limited by the pandemic although we have continued to issue Members Updates. As a further result of the pandemic our progress has been slowed by having to hold meetings virtually but some significant work was carried out by Mark Edwards on this project. By the end of the year we had agreed on the proposal to have a withdrawable share offer to finance the purchase of the freehold with the balance of the money being raised by a mortgage on the property.
As a possible separate project we met, in October of 2019, with representatives of Pennyfarthing Homes (who are planning the 30 home development on South Street) and Wessex Community Assets to investigate the possibility of CLT involvement in the provision of affordable homes on the site. This has not led to any progress at the current time, although we have recently agreed to recontact Pennyfarthing for a further attempt at involvement.
At the start of the first lockdown during March Jim Highnam resigned as a director and we would like to thank him for his work leading the Village Shop Group. Mark Edwards was appointed as a director in October.
Current emphasis of our work has been on preparing a prospectus for the share offer and a business plan to accompany it.
We would welcome any help that our members can offer towards any aspect of this project.