Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 16th October 2025
Present:
- Chris Janes – Chairman, Theo Berkhout – Acting Treasurer, Hannah Leonard – Secretary
- Derek Palmer, Ken Allford, Angela Reiss, Chris Smith, Jo Manser, Jonathon Wallis (committee members), Jenny Allford, Adam Chamberlain, Sandra Emmet, Heather Gill, Robert Gill, Barry Grossman, Laura Ilica, Richard Martin, Paul Morton, Bev Turner (online)
- Apologies for absence had been received from John Brown, Mary Brown, Pippa Cooke, Mike Day, Sheila Grimmant, Hazel Halliday, Charles Ledsam, Claudia McKelvey, Shelagh Maughan, Jan Palmer Sayer, Hilary
Scott, Paul Russell, Diana Wilkinson - Minutes of the 2024 AGM dated 10th October 2024 were approved by the meeting. Proposed by Jonathon Wallis and seconded by Derek Palmer.
- Matters arising from the minutes – There were no matters arising.
- Honorary Treasurer’s Report – These were provided to the meeting and had been made available online prior to the meeting. The Treasurer noted an error in the published document in that expenditure had increased by £5k, not decreased as printed. As the accounts themselves have not yet been audited and require some amendments before final examination, these were not formally approved at the meeting.
- To appoint the Honorary Independent Examiner for the ensuing year. Bev Turner had
agreed to continue, and this was approved by the meeting. Proposed by Barry Grossman, seconded by Ken Allford. - To receive the Honorary Chairman’s Report. The report from Chris Janes was received by the meeting and accepted, proposed by Jenny Allford and seconded by Paul Morton.
- To elect the Management Committee for the ensuing year. Theo Berkout stood down from both Trustee Board and Management Committee, as notified at the previous meeting but deferred due to lack of successor. Of the remaining six Trustees, the two longest serving retired by rotation (Derek Palmer and Andy Lee) but were willing and eligible to stand again. Robert Gill also stood for election. The meeting unanimously approved the three appointments. The Chairman, having completed his first two-year term, stood unopposed for re- election. There were no nominations for the roles of Treasurer or Secretary. It was therefore proposed that Hannah Leonard, having completed the first year of her first term in office as Secretary, transfer to the role of Treasurer, with the duties of Secretary being shared by the remainder of the Management Committee until a successor can be found. The seven remaining committee members all stood for re-election, along with Adam Chamberlain. No formal election was therefore required and the meeting agreed to approve the appointments en masse, proposed by Jenny Allford and seconded by Angela Reiss. For the avoidance of doubt, the Board and Committee are now as follows: The Trustees for the year 2024/25 are:
- Chairman – Chris Janes
- Treasurer – Hannah Leonard
- Trustees – Robert Gill, Andy Lee, Derek Palmer, Angela Reiss, Jonathon Wallis
The Management Committee for 2024/25 are:
- Chairman – Chris Janes
- Treasurer – Hannah Leonard
- Secretary – Not Yet Appointed
- Committee – Ken Allford, Adam Chamberlain, Andy Lee, Jo Manser, Derek Palmer, Angela Reiss, Chris Smith, Jonathon Wallis
- To elect Honorary Life Members as may be recommended by the Management Committee. There were none. The Management Committee proposed that the practice of appointing Honorary Life Members should cease, on the proviso that alternative methods of honouring significant contributions will be explored and put in place. There were no objections.
- Confirmation of revision of Annual Membership Subscription Rates. Subscription rates for 2026-27 will remain the same.
- Updates and discussions on Theatre Development Plans. The Chairman reported that, in view of significant challenges, particularly a lack of available major funding sources, as well as a shortage of volunteers to assist, the Management Committee has made the difficult decision to allow the current planning permission to lapse. Funds already donated remain ringfenced for future development and the Company remains committed to making improvements for the benefit of audiences and members, particularly in respect of an accessible toilet provision via Front of House. Ken Allford shared a more detailed history of the project to date and the work undertaken. Members were invited to communicate their key priorities and ideas both at and subsequent to the meeting. The Chairman thanked all those who have contributed to the work to date, particularly Ken and Theo.
- Any Other Business. None was raised.
