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Annual Report And Accounts 2019 · Leeds Civic Trust 24. Market Weighton Civic Society 25. The...
Transcript of Annual Report And Accounts 2019 · Leeds Civic Trust 24. Market Weighton Civic Society 25. The...
YORKSHIRE & HUMBER
ASSOCIATION OF CIVIC SOCIETIES
Annual Report
And Accounts 2019
YHACS Member Societies in 2019
Cover photograph of Selby Abbey by Kevin Trickett
1. Addingham Civic Society 2. Aireborough Civic Society 3. Barnsley Civic Trust 4. Beverley & District Civic Society 5. Bradford Civic Society 6. Brighouse Civic Trust 7. Castleford Heritage Trust 8. Doncaster Civic Trust 9. Dronfield Civic Society New! 10. Goole Civic Society 11. Great Grimsby Ice Factory Trust 12. Grimsby Cleethorpes & District Civic Society 13. Halifax Civic Trust 14. Harrogate Civic Society 15. Horbury Civic Society 16. Hornsea and District Civic Society 17. Horsforth Civic Society 18. Howden Civic Society 19. Huddersfield Civic Society 20. Hull Civic Society 21. Ilkley Civic Society 22. Knaresborough Civic Society 23. Leeds Civic Trust 24. Market Weighton Civic Society 25. The Oulton Society 26. Ossett Civic Trust 27. Pontefract Civic Society 28. Richmond & District Civic Society 29. Ripon Civic Society 30. Saddleworth Civic Trust 31. Scarborough & District Civic Society 32. Selby Civic Society 33. Sheffield Civic Trust 34. Skipton in Craven Civic Society 35. Spen Valley Civic Society 36. Thorne & District Civic Society New! 37. Wakefield Civic Society 38. Wetherby Civic Society 39. Whitby Civic Society 40. York Civic Trust
YHACS Annual Report 2019
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Chair’s Report
The Bigger Picture
There were a number of ‘big themes’ that cut across our work
during 2019. The quality of housing design, whether beauty is an
important concept in design, a growing awareness of climate
change issues and how to respond to the demands of a growing
population while also protecting the planet, and, yes, I’ll mention
it now to get it out of the way, the implications of Brexit. On top
of that, we now have a new government with a strong enough
majority to ‘get things done’. Whether the things that get done
are the things we want doing remains to be seen.
As I discussed in these pages last year, there has been much
debate about what constitutes ‘good design’, not just within the
civic movement but elsewhere as well. I’m not sure that we have
moved any closer to agreement but I hope we can now accept
that aesthetic considerations, so often a subjective response to
design, are only one part of the discussion.
It should, of course, be possible to apply some objective tests to
whether or not any design is fit for purpose, whether we are
talking about the plan for a single property, the blueprint for an
entire housing development, or a sketch for a single piece of
furniture. And yet, no matter how rigorous we might be at
scrutinising the paperwork, experience shows that there’s often a
gap between concept and actuality once we see schemes being
realised. If you’ve ever caught yourself saying (or even thinking)
“Oh, I didn’t expect it to look quite like that”, you’ll know what I
mean.
A new report, A Housing Design Audit for England, just published
by the Place Alliance, makes for sad reading concluding that the
design of new housing environments in England is ‘mediocre’ or
‘poor’. Our region, Yorkshire and Humber, is classed as ‘solidly
mediocre’.
Is there anything that civic societies can do to help improve
things? Well, it certainly helps to maintain the pressure through
consistent and continuous comment, not to mention by lodging
objections when we see something proposed of poor design.
Kevin Trickett MBE,
A river cuts through
rock, not because of its
power, but because of its
persistence.
Jim Watkins, Author
YHACS Annual Report 2019
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Sometimes, it’s the steady, persistent and consistent lobbying for change
that brings about the change we want to see, although it can take a long
time to capture the interest and imagination of those responsible for
making decisions, be they politicians or developers. Sometimes, a more
obvious response is necessary, but I leave it to members to decide
whether or not they are prepared to ‘lie down in front of the bulldozers’.
If we are to make a case for better design, we need to be able to articulate
sensible arguments, couched in the language that developers and
planners understand – and which shows that we know what we are
talking about. It was to help societies to develop deeper insights into the
question of what good design might look like that we ran our Design
Workshop back in February which looked specifically at housing design
and what might be done to provide an alternative to what the major
housebuilders are producing (such as self-build, housing co-operatives
and co-housing.)
Facilitated for us over two days at the Cedar Court Hotel in Wakefield
by Sheffield-based Integreat Plus, the workshop attracted some 24
members from 11 societies plus a representative, Sarah James, from
Civic Voice. The event attracted broadly favourable feedback. There was
some criticism that day 2 was a little ‘niche’ and that it might have been
better to offer two one-day workshops instead, but overall, I think we
can judge the event as a success. Certainly, if we were to run such an
event again, we would run them as two separate events. However, the
workshop was subsidised by YHACS and we would need to look at the
cost to those attending to reduce the financial burden on YHACS and to
make them more sustainable.
Running in parallel with the debate on what constitutes good design
was a new debate on whether developments that are regarded as
‘beautiful’ are an easier ‘sell’ when it comes to gaining community
acceptance.
Following the announcement in 2018 that the government was to set up
a new commission to look at the importance of beauty in the built
environment, Civic Voice set up a panel, of which I was a member, to
gather views on the subject from the civic movement. Given that the
civic movement is the only structured community-based interest group
that is associated with planning issues on a nationwide scale, we were
well-placed to provide feedback and duly did so, having first conducted
a survey of members’ views and soliciting input at various meetings and
workshops, including the YHACS spring event in Sheffield.
Managing Market
Weighton Civic
Society
In 2019 we unveiled a
blue plaque to
aeronautical engineer
Hilda Lyon (1896-1946)
on behalf of Market
Weighton Civic
Society, which we
continue to manage.
Funds came from
individuals and
community
organisations. The
unveiling ceremony at
Market Weighton
Town Hall was
attended by members
of the Lyon family.
Alas, it did nothing to
attract new members to
the Society!
We shall persevere.
YHACS Annual Report 2019
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The purpose of the ‘Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission’ is
“to tackle the challenge of poor-quality design and build of homes and
places, across the country and help ensure as we build for the future,
we do so with popular consent”. To my mind, that very purpose
conflates two distinct, if intertwined concepts – design and beauty. My
view, for what it’s worth, is that whereas design can be tested
objectively, beauty is very much more a subjective experience, albeit
one on which popular consensus may be possible.
The Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission has already
produced an interim report and the final report is now due although
the recent death of Commission co-chair Sir Roger Scruton may have
some impact on the publication date. What is emerging is that beauty
does, of course, matter greatly to people – not just the beauty of the
buildings but also the beauty of place. My point is that we perhaps all
mean something different when we talk about what makes something
beautiful. We await the final report with interest.
A Climate Crisis?
No one can doubt that something is happening to our weather. We are
experiencing more consecutive extreme conditions across the planet
than ever in living memory. While there is still some argument about
the underlying causes, it does seem that at least some of the changes
are down to global warming and mankind’s activities are undoubtedly
contributing to the latter.
As a species, we have the ability to take control of matters – at least to a
certain extent – and governments and companies across the world are
waking up to the need to do something. We can all do our bit to reduce
our carbon footprint and collectively, if every man, woman and child
took some action, we could make a difference. However, we also need
governments and big business to set an example, perhaps even, in the
case of government, legislating to force change. Microsoft has just
announced its intention not only to be carbon neutral by 2030 but to go
further: they intend to be carbon negative by 2050 – something they
will achieve by removing all the carbon from the environment that the
company has emitted either directly or by electrical consumption since
it was founded in 1975. This is an excellent example that we can only
hope others will follow – but 2050 is a long way into the future – even
2030 is a decade away – and a lot needs to happen in 10 years.
Changes to the
YHACS Committee
(1)
In last year’s Annual
Report, I was able to
celebrate the arrival of a
new committee member.
Alison Drake MBE, chair
of Castleford Heritage
Trust (CHT) since its
formation in 2000, joined
the YHACS Committee at
the AGM in January 2018.
Sadly, I have to record
that Alison was lost to us
when she passed away in
April 2019. That Alison
had not been in the best
of health was something
that we were aware of,
but it nonetheless came
as a great shock to see the
report of her death just a
few days after emailing
the committee to say how
much she was enjoying
working with us.
YHACS Annual Report 2019
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It is clear that civic societies have a role to play within their local
communities, from reviewing planning applications to test the
impact of proposed developments and their concomitant
infrastructure requirements on the environment, to campaigning on
issues such as recycling and tree-planting initiatives. We can, and
must, do something.
At the end of 2019, the YHACS committee, recognising the writing
on the wall, agreed that we would make 2020 the year of the
environment and that we would put environmental issues front and
centre of our meetings and newsletters.
Brexit and Politics
Worry not, I’m not going to discuss either Brexit or politics here
other than to point out that, whatever the rights and wrongs of
Brexit, we have spent over three years as a nation (and indeed as a
continent) discussing the matter. It has caused divisions within
families, within communities and within political parties. I rather
fear we have not seen the end of that division and the endless
debates about Brexit but what I think we can agree on is that politics
has effectively been in stasis with little real progress being made on
other issues.
Now that we have a new government with a large majority, it’s
likely that we shall see a raft of legislative changes coming through
thick and fast. It may prove hard to keep up. It’s also possible that,
because of the large majority, the government will find it relatively
easy to pass new laws and to scrap old ones, but now without the
rigorous scrutiny and debate that might otherwise have been the
case. It will be interesting to see if the government can manage
Brexit, unite the country, and deliver all its manifesto pledges. In
next year’s annual report, we will be able to start taking stock of
where we are.
Members and Money
YHACS relies on its members for its income. By charging member
societies £50 a year for their membership (great value!), and inviting
donations to top up the membership fee, YHACS has an annual
income of a little over £2,000. We also now have a category of
membership for individuals, who are asked to pay £10 a year. We
only have one such member at present, but early days.
Changes to the
YHACS Committee
(2)
Members will, I am
sure, by now be aware
that YHACS Treasurer
Richard Ward was also
taken from us in 2019.
His death in
September was sudden
and unexpected.
I had known Richard
for around 17 years
and mourn his passing
not only as a fellow
committee member but
also as someone who
had become a good
friend over the years.
I’m sure we shall all
miss his dry humour at
our events.
YHACS Annual Report 2019
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At the end of 2019, we had 40 societies in our membership. This was
one up on our closing position in 2018. We were delighted to welcome
Dronfield Civic Society from over the border in Derbyshire (they
came to our spring 2019 meeting in Sheffield and liked what they
saw!) and we were very pleased to see a brand new civic society –
Thorne and District Civic Society – being created. We offered them
free membership for their first year. Alas, we seem to have lost
Pickering Civic Society – we understand that they have had difficulty
filling committee posts so they are doing the minimum necessary to
keep the society ticking over.
Our Programme In 2019, in addition to the Design Workshop in February, we
organised our usual four quarterly meetings and our 20th Anniversary
Lunch in York.
Our quarterly meetings were in Harrogate (the AGM), Sheffield,
Selby and Pontefract.
Details of our quarterly meetings are as follows:
AGM, Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate, January. Key Speakers:
Where Does Design Fit Into the Planning System? Stephen Walker, Senior
Conservation Officer, East Riding of Yorkshire Council
Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission – Kevin Trickett
Spring Meeting, The Circle, Sheffield, April. Key Speakers:
Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission: Ian Harvey, Civic Voice.
Salmon to Sheffield, Rachel Walker, Don Catchment Rivers Trust
Summer Meeting, Selby Town Hall, July. Key Speakers:
Welcome - Mayor of Selby, Cllr Malik Mohd Rofidi
History of Transport through Selby - David Lewis, Selby Civic Society
The work of Transport for the North Stephen Smith, Transport for The North
Autumn Meeting, Pontefract Town Hall. Key Speakers:
Councillor Lynn Masterman, Heritage Champion, Wakefield Council
John Walker, Stakeholder Engagement Officer, Historic England
Cultural Cities – A miracle cure? Jenny Layfield, Wakefield Cultural
Consortium
In addition to the key speakers listed above there were the usual
updates from YHACS and Civic Voice, together with news from local
societies at all our meetings where time allowed.
Attendance was low for Sheffield (36) but reached 50 for the other
meetings in the year.
Changes to the
YHACS Committee
(3)
Each year in the run
up to the AGM, we ask
for volunteers to join
the committee. No one
came forward as we
approached the AGM
in January 2019 – but
imediately after the
meeting, Alan
Goodrum from Halifax
Civic Trust
approached me to say
he would be willing to
serve. Needless to say,
we took him up on the
offer and co-opted him
to the committee. Alan
is now not only a
committee member but
also our treasurer! Co-
option and a
promotion!
YHACS Annual Report 2019
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We would like to thank Sheffield Civic Trust, Selby Civic Society and
Pontefract Civic Society for their help and generosity in helping to
organise and to host the quarterly meetings.
We continued our custom of inviting members to join the YHACS
Committee and representatives from the hosting society for dinner on
the eve of our Harrogate, Sheffield, Selby and Pontefract meetings.
These are very enjoyable evenings and, apart from the Sheffield event
when my partner and I were the only people who turned up (we
enjoyed ourselves nonetheless!), were all well supported.
67 people came to our 20th Anniversary Lunch at the Principal Hotel in
York (perhaps we should do lunch more often!). Co-hosted with York
Civic Trust, it was a considerable success. Guest speakers included the
Lord Mayor of York and Sarah McLeod, CEO of the Wentworth
Woodhouse Trust. Stephen Lusty of York Civic Trust welcomed
everyone to the lunch.
Looking Ahead
As already mentioned, our theme for 2020 will be the environment in
all its aspects. We are in the process of planning the programme for
the year with our AGM booked for Harrogate on 25th January and
events booked in Beverley on 25th April and Addingham on 25th July
(notice a theme there?).
We hope that members will continue to support us throughout the
coming year – we couldn’t do it without you. (Well, we could, but
there wouldn’t be much point!) Yes, we’re there for your benefit. Use
us or lose us, as the saying goes.
Our Newsletter
Our quarterly newsletter, Society Insight, continues to receive
favourable comment/rave reviews for both its content and breadth of
coverage and I would like to thank all our contributors for their
articles. As ever, we could use more, so please, do get writing! (And
keep writing.)
Pulling it all together is a labour of love (and, I suspect, more than a
little frustration) for our editor David Moss.
Please, please keep those articles coming in 2020.
The YHACS/Peter
Spawforth Award
At the AGM in January,
we announced the
results of our annual
awards.
First prize (£200) went to
Ripon Civic Society (above);
second prize (£100), went to
Addingham Civic Society
(below).
Third prize (£50) went to
Whitby Civic Society (below)
In addition, Horbury Civic
Society received a
commendation which was
presented to them after the
meeting
YHACS Annual Report 2019
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And finally…
YHACS is run by a committee and, as ever, I would like to put on
record my personal thanks to all committee members for their
continued support during 2019.
Our secretary, Helen Kidman, who is also a trustee of Civic Voice,
continues to chair the Civic Voice Regional Forum. To allow Helen
to act as an impartial chair, YHACS committee member Paul
Cartwright attends these meetings to represent YHACS interests.
Helen is one of four Civic Voice trustees from our region, the others
being Paul Bedwell of Sheffield Civic Trust, Si Cunningham of
Bradford Civic Society, and since the recent Civic Voice AGM,
Martin Hamilton of Leeds Civic Trust.
Peter Cooper continues to act as YHACS webmaster and Alan
Goodrum has been getting to grips with our financial affairs.
As can be seen from our accounts on the following pages, the books
have balanced once again and YHACS remains financially solvent.
We subsidised the Design Workshop in February and the 20th
Anniversary Lunch in November but have ended up with more
money in the account than we started with thanks to a most
generous donation at the end of the year in memory of Richard
Ward when his widow Pam presented us with a cheque for £2,000,
at the YHACS 20th Anniversary Lunch. The YHACS Committee is
now considering how best to put this donation to a good use.
Kevin Trickett MBE, Chair.
Our 2018 quarterly
meetings
programme
Member meetings
were at Harrogate
(AGM), Sheffield,
Selby and Pontefract.
Above: Our AGM, held at
at a new venue, the Old
Swan, Harrogate
Above: Members in
workshop mode at
Sheffield
Below: YHACS members
enjoyed dinner at Monk
Fryston Hall Hotel on the
eve of the Selby meeting
Below: And again at
Rogerthorpe Manor on the
eve of the Pontefract event.
YHACS Annual Report 2019
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Our 20th Anniversary Lunch, The Principal Hotel, York,
Saturday, 23rd November 2019
YHACS Annual Report 2019
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10
YHACS Annual Report 2019
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11
YHACS Annual Report 2019
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12
Income and Expenditure Account
Balance Sheet as at 31st December 2019
YHACS Annual Report 2019
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13
Income and Expenditure Account
2018
2019
£ £
Income
Subscriptions - 2018
1,900.00
0.00
- 2019
1,250.00
710.00
Sundry donations
210.00
60.00
Richard Ward Legacy Donation
2,000.00
AGM refreshments
100.00
63.00
Design Workshop
1,100.00
YHACS 20th Anniversary Lunch
2,327.00
£3,460.00
£6,260.00
Expenditure
Meeting expenses
612.10
399.75
Travel
486.75
433.95
Insurance
271.78
285.36
YHACS/Spawforth Awards - prizes
350.00
350.00
- certificates
0.00
33.95
Website
102.00
137.96
Gift and prize
25.00
0.00
Design Workshop
0.00
1,710.00
YHACS 20th Anniversary Lunch
0.00
2,757.00
Civic Voice campaign donation
100.00
0.00
£1,947.63
£6,107.97
Surplus/Deficit
£1,512.37
£152.03
YHACS Annual Report 2019
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14
Balance Sheet
31.12.18
31.12.19
£
£
Balance of Accumulated Fund brought forward
5,211.34
6,723.71
Surplus/Deficit for year 1,512.37
152.03
£6,723.71
£6,875.74
Monies held for Market Weighton Civic Society £620.40
£535.40
£7,344.11
£7,411.14
Represented by:
Cash with Co-operative Bank 6,994.11
7,411.14
Unbanked cheques 0.00
0.00
Uncleared cheques 350.00
0.00
£7,344.11
£7,411.14
Accounts prepared by Alan Goodrum, Treasurer, and agreed by Kevin Trickett, Chair
Reserves Policy:
In 2016, the YHACS committee agreed to hold reserves of £2,000. This money is a notional sum and
represents the minimum level of unrestricted funds that the committee will endeavour to maintain in our
accounts at all times. We have chosen this figure because it is equivalent to one year’s funding and, should
there ever be a sudden and unforeseen drop off in our income, it would allow us to continue to operate and
cover all potential liabilities for one year until such time as we had restored our income or made the decision
to wind up the charity’s affairs. Having a reserves policy does not mean that we will never allow our funds to
drop below £2,000 but, in the event of that happening, the committee would make it a priority to raise
sufficient income to bring the level of reserves back to the target amount.
This policy will be kept under annual review by the committee.
YHACS Annual Report 2019
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Who we are
The Yorkshire and Humber Association of Civic Societies (YHACS) is a registered charity (no. 1112290) and
a membership organisation for civic and amenity societies around the Yorkshire and Humber region.
We aim to be a distinctive voice for the civic society movement in Y&H and seek to strengthen and develop
the movement by offering our members advice, support and networking opportunities. We also campaign on
their behalf on matters of mutual concern and promote awareness of the work civic societies do through our
website, in our quarterly newsletter and other publications, and through the issue of occasional press
releases.
At the end of 2019, there were 39 paid-up member societies within YHACS (an increase of one compared
with 2018). Additionally, Thorne and District Civic Society had joined YHACS part-way through the year and,
as this was their first year of membership, the subscription fee was waived.
Civic societies are independent, grass roots groups of citizens who seek to enhance the quality of life in their
communities. Mostly run by volunteers, civic societies have a particular focus on improving the public realm
and built environment through helping to preserve the best of our built heritage while campaigning for the
highest standards of architecture, design and town planning. They often act as public watchdogs or mediators
between local authority planning officials, developers and the general public on developments that impact on
the quality of life for local people.
Civic societies can also be called upon to act as custodians of local history and heritage. As a result, they
make an excellent springboard for fostering a sense of civic pride and community cohesion.
Many societies celebrate the heritage of their locality through publishing literature, organising walks, and
erecting commemorative plaques.
YHACS encourages member societies to see themselves as part of a wider movement and to share ideas
and experiences. YHACS has been instrumental in establishing civic societies in Barnsley, Bradford and
Sheffield and has stepped in to prevent the closure of Horbury and Market Weighton Civic Societies.
While we still regard the protection of our built heritage as a key aim, we recognise that new development can
be a necessary step in delivering vibrancy and prosperity in our communities. Where civic societies might
once have viewed development sceptically, the civic society movement in our region looks to present
development as an opportunity to create the heritage of tomorrow through good design. At YHACS, we are
driven by a desire to reconcile the past, present and future of our townscapes with a vision developed by
communities in their local civic societies.
YHACS is a member of Civic Voice, the national charity for the civic society movement in England, and
collaborates with others, such as Historic England, on matters concerning the conservation and preservation
of our built heritage.
Our aims
Our aims are to promote and encourage:
• a high standard of architecture, building, and town and country planning;
• the preservation of beauty or amenity in cities, towns and villages or the countryside, and of land,
buildings and features of beauty or interest in such cities, towns and villages or countryside;
• a sense of civic pride amongst members of the general public by the provision of support and advice to
civic societies in the Yorkshire and Humber area.
YHACS Annual Report 2019
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Membership
Membership of YHACS is open to any civic or amenity society that has aims in sympathy with our own.
Membership is subject to an annual subscription (held again at £50 in 2019), payable each January. In 2018,
the YHACS Committee agreed to open membership to individuals sympathetic to our aims for which the
annual fee is £10. We also welcome and encourage donations from societies and individuals who can afford
to make an additional payment.
Statement of Public Benefit
The Charity Commission require charities to provide a statement of public benefit. Having taken account of
the guidance produced by the Charity Commission, the YHACS trustees (ie the Executive Committee) have
prepared the following statement:
Our vision is to enhance the quality of life for all citizens in the region by engaging people not only in the
protection of local heritage but also in the promotion of sustainable economic development and urban
renaissance. Through our campaigns and networking and through the provision of advice and support to civic
and amenity societies, YHACS aims to help make Yorkshire and Humber a better place in which to live, work
or relax. This is for the overall benefit of the general public, whether or not they are members of any particular
civic society and whether they be residents or visitors to the area.
Governance
As an unincorporated registered charity, YHACS is managed by an Executive Committee of volunteer trustees
in accordance with our written constitution, dated 24th September 2005 and amended in January 2008 and
again in January 2017. The Constitution provides that the charity shall be managed and administered by a
committee comprising Officers and other members duly elected at the Annual General Meeting held in
January each year. Such persons are also the Trustees of the charity.
In addition to the Executive Committee, YHACS also has an elected President. The role of President is
honorary. The President, who is elected at the Annual General Meeting each January, is consulted for advice
and is invited to attend meetings of the Committee to take part in discussion but does not vote.
YHACS welcomes, and indeed encourages, applications from anyone wishing to join the Committee and who
can help us to run the association.
The officers and committee who held office during 2019 were as follows:
President:
Peter Cooper
Chair: Secretary:
Kevin Trickett Helen Kidman
Vice Chair Treasurer:
David Moss Richard Ward (died September 2019)
– Alan Goodrum from October
Committee members:
Phyllis Barnes
Paul Cartwright
Alison Drake (died April 2019)
Alan Goodrum (co-opted March 2019)
Martin Hamilton
Margaret Hicks-Clarke
Tony Leonard
Jim Robinson
Malcolm Sharman
Published by the Yorkshire and Humber
Association of Civic Societies (YHACS)
January 2020
www.yhacs.org.uk
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @YHACSChair
Registered Charity No: 111229