Proposed Amendments to the RIGRA Constitution
1
As the development has grown, the proposed amendments are to bring further refinement and improvements on the governance of RIGRA. RIGRA has worked tirelessly and on a volunteer basis to improve the development. There is significant historical knowledge in the current Committee, and the intention of the amendments is to encourage a more active member base as the development begins to stabilise and transform the management structure.
Below are the amendments to be voted on through an on-line Survey post the AGM. There will be a series of votes as outlined below.
Current Wording | Proposed Wording | Rationale |
5.2 Committee members shall serve for three years and shall retire in rotation. Retired Committee members are eligible for re-election. | 5.2 Committee members shall serve for three years and shall retire in rotation. Schedule of appointment and end of term to be published for each AGM. Retired committee members are eligible for re-election for one additional term, effectively can serve for 6 consecutive years. If there are not enough members up for election, and a seat remains empty after such election, a retired member may be co-opted until the next election. The rotation shall be one third of the committee each year is up for election. | Term Limits serve to give volunteers a chance to leave the Committee, to bring fresh perspectives to the Committee and to ensure that transfer of knowledge occurs. Allowing for veterans of the Committee to be co-opted at the end of two terms until a seat is filled is based on the intention to retain the knowledge in the committee if enough members do not stand for election in a given year. |
Current Wording | Proposed Wording | Rationale |
5.4 There shall be three officers to the Committee, namely a Chair, a Vice-Chair, and a Secretary, each holding office for three years from appointment. The Officers will be elected by the members of the Committee as and when vacancies among the officers arise or at any stage at which a majority of the Committee express a desire in writing to the Secretary that they favour a re-allocation of one or more of the officers’ posts. . | 5.4 There shall be three officers to the Committee, namely a Chair, a Vice-Chair, and a Secretary, each holding office for three years from appointment, subject to article 5.2. The Chairman shall be elected by the membership of RIGRA. The Vice-Chair and Secretary will be elected by the members of the Committee. Should a vacancy arise at any stage, the majority of the Committee may elect an officer until the next AGM. At any stage a majority of the Committee members can express a desire in writing to the Secretary that they favour a re-allocation of one or more of the officers’ posts | This is too preserve continuity in the leadership, but allow for transition of the Chairmen if there is support of the membership. As the community has increased, the membership would retain the right to elect a leader, rather than just Committee members. If this is adopted, then it would become in effect after the current Chair’s role expires. |
Current Wording | Proposed Wording | Rationale |
5.12 A quorum for any meetings of the Committee shall be at least five of whom at least one must be an officer. 5.17 A record of committee attendance for the past year by Committee Member should be published in the Annual Report
| 5.12 A quorum for any meetings of the Committee shall be at least 50% of the Committee | This ensures that the Committee can meet and make decisions without an officer being present. It also moves the quorum to 50% versus the 35% it is today based on 14 members. It is important that if people are on the Committee they attend the meetings, especially as physical meetings aren’t required anymore. 5.17 introduced to give more transparency to the members about the commitment and decision making of the Committee members
|
Current Wording | Proposed Wording | Rationale |
7.8 Voting shall otherwise be by show of hands or voting cards unless a secret ballot is requested by a Member. 7.9 – NEW 7.10 – NEW | 7.8 A quorum for voting should be established as 25% of the Members. If a quorum is not established, then the voting should remain open for 14 days with notification to all Members of need to vote. If a quorate is not attained, a second call for voting with 3 open days is done, if the quorate is still not attained, the vote can be validated by 65% of votes received.
7.9 Voting shall otherwise be by either electronic method (i.e. Survey Monkey), show of hands or voting cards unless a secret ballot is requested by a Member. 7.10 Results should indicate compliance with quorum �For application: Once a quorate is established, a simple majority applies. When the quorate is not established, the vote remains open for a further 3 days to attract new votes. Initial votes are retained for the final determination after 3 days. At that point, if the 25% quorate is not obtained, then 65% of the votes cast determine the outcome. | A quorum is common practice, and recognized under the ARMA guidelines. The quorum was removed in 2020, but since then the development has expanded with two additional buildings. The procedure is not to frustrate meetings or business, but rather to allow all leaseholders sufficient time to participate. It also clearly states that if leaseholders chose not to participate, that more than a simple majority is required to pass a non-quorate vote. |
Current Wording | Proposed Wording | Rationale |
Clause 8: A resolution of the Committee shall be sufficient authority for payments or the incurring of liability of payments under the service charge for matters initiated by the Committee up to a limit not exceeding one hundred pounds per leaseholder per year. Beyond such limit the Committee shall seek approval of such expenditure by the Association either at the Annual General Meeting or at an Extraordinary General Meeting. Authorisation limits on general expenditure by the Managing Agent shall otherwise be subject to the normal regulations.
| Initial Clause 8 remains (as current wording) with the new sub-clauses added 8.2 Full account of the use of the discretionary funds to be submitted to the AGM
8.3 On instructing any spend (ie surveys, legal advice, consultant reports) the committee shall communicate to all Members informing them of the amounts proposed, proposed allocation to building or development, reasons for the expenditure, and what has been done to ensure best value for leaseholders.
8.4 Members will have the right to see any outcomes (reports, advice etc) from expenditure instructed by RIGRA. These will be made available in a way that is accessible to all leaseholders and complies with the terms and conditions of the engaged advisor.
| Clause 8 was amended in the Nov 2023 EGM to increase the amount of discretionary spend to £100 per leaseholder (from £50). The proposed new clauses are to give more transparency/accountability on the use of the discretionary funds. This is an information only requirement, and does not mean that RIGRA needs approval to exercise their right to spend the discretionary funds. |
Upon Voting Results, the RIGRA Secretary reserves the right to amend numberings to facilitate the implementation of proposals approved.
In addition:
the clean-up of the definition of the Property (Clause 2) will be updated to include:
All of the flats, amenity areas and common areas of and at the premises of the property known as River Gardens, Greenwich, London, SE10, where Greenwich Wharf LTD is the ultimate landlord / freeholder. For avoidance of doubt, this includes the buildings that were developed by Bellway.
the clean-up of the Clause 4.1 will be adjusted to reflect the above Property description:
Membership shall be open to all persons who are Tenants of the tripartite Lease between Greenwich Wharf Limited and Greenwich Wharf Management Company Ltd. and the Tenant, being owners of the Leasehold flats in the Development of the Property known as River Gardens, Greenwich, London SE10.