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AGM
are most helpful.
We on the management board will continue to work on your behalf to the best of our ability and build on the successes we have had this year.
John Irwin, Chair of the Management Committee
COMPANY SECRETARY REPORT
This year has been unlike anything most of us have ever lived through and while there are still plenty of unprecedented challenges, the good news is that as a Society we have successes to celebrate. There were few benefits of the recent lockdown but people were definitely reconnecting with allotments. We managed to keep allotments open during this period by being in contact with Government departments and
the National Police Chiefs Council. We have provided sound Covid 19 advice in a Q and A format for our members and many Local Authorities have used our guidance to ensure the safety of their allotment and plotholders.
Many members have reported to us that their allotments have never been in such good condition and this is excellent and helps to safeguard allotments for future generations. The demand for allotment plots and the interest in the natural world has been amazing.
2020 was the start of our 90th year celebrations, trading as a Co-operative and we had lots of plans for our members many of these will now take place hopefully during 2021.
One of the main reasons for NAS existence is to protect Statutory Allotment land and is a major part
of the work we do. It is now equally important to ensure that allotments are included in all new major developments. This is going to be more important with proposed changes to planning law that we ensure more land is protected and allotments plots are provided for people on waiting lists.
On a functional level our IT database system has been progressing through Stage2andenteringStage3. Our Regional Representatives can now use the data directly online for their own Regions and we are beginning to operate the online retention system., so not only is it important to recruit new members
it is also important to retain and contact the members we already have.
During our financial year 2019/2020 recruitment of new members was excellent and this has thankfully continued throughout the Covid period.
During 2019 we managed to run many Parish and Town Council Training sessions all over the country. Also
a range of Association training courses covering ‘Back to basics’ for Self-Management and also ‘Crisis Management’ for those Associations struggling with serious issues. We hope to continue expanding the
range of training courses we offer
to our membership and in fact are piloting some short webinars for Council members during October and November 2020.
THANK YOU
We are so proud and thankful for the support we have received over the past year. The support and loyalty of our members is critical to the successes and achievements of the Society. So, a huge thank you to all our categories of members:
Individual Members Association Members Life Members Council Members Landowner members Schools
One of the main reasons for NAS existence is to protect Statutory Allotment land and is a major part of the work we do
VOLUNTEERS The NAS have
enjoyed the support of ten Regional Representatives, eight Mentors and
the Governance Committee Members during the year, as well as the members of the Regional Committees who all give the NAS the gift of their time to support the Society.
NAS STAFF I would also like to express my sincere thanks to all our staff, who work hard to continue taking the Society forward. Also, who have faced and responded so well to all the challenges that2020hasthrownatus. AsIwrite this report the threats have not gone away but with our members invaluable support and the commitment of our staff, we will be well equipped to face 2020/21.
Liz Bunting, Legal and Operations Manager
GOVERNANCE
Our management committee
The NAS Management Committee
is responsible for overseeing the performance and setting of the overall direction of the business. They set out the strategic aims and oversee the conduct and continuously monitor performance.
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