The Annual Meeting of the Board of the Malvern Hills Trust was held on the 14th November. At the meeting, the Annual Accounts were approved and the Levy Payers voted to retain the current auditors.
The Chair of the Board, John Michael addressed the meeting and reflected on the last 12 months in the Chair’s Report:
“There have been major changes at the Trust this year of which I’m sure you’re all aware. I am glad to report that the new senior staff appointees have settled in to their posts following a difficult period towards the end of last year. Our new CEO Deborah Fox has not only stabilised the ship but got it heading in the right direction which has led to a happy crew thanks to her positive and effective leadership.
I thank the local community and the public at large in showing such interest in the Trust this year which demonstrates their desire to see the Hills well managed and open to all. We had feedback from around 500 members of the public and organisations about our proposed governance changes and we met somewhere near 300 people at the drop in sessions we ran throughout the summer. Numerous individuals have taken the time to make comments at our Board and committee meetings which are always open the public.
We encourage such participation and while some of the views stated made uncomfortable reading it is vitally important that their views are heard and acted upon. Much of the criticism has been about how the Trust communicates with the general public and I acknowledge our need to improve and we will be reaching out to people even more in the coming year. We have limited resources to meaningfully engage with our many neighbours bordering the Trust’s land in addition to our local residents and the many visitors who visit the Hills but it is work in progress as we develop more effective ways of engaging so please do have patience with us.
Trustees have given an immense amount of service this year, supporting the staff at the public drop-in sessions and taking on board the many views expressed. Special thanks must go to the consultation working group and those that put up hundreds of posters, distributed leaflets and attended meetings along with our new CEO to publicise the consultation and encouraging engagement in it.
There have been other significant voluntary contributions from the various Chairs and members of committees and I thank them for their input which also includes those who have worked with staff in creating the new Staff Trustee Protocol designed to improve relations which was adopted by the Board in May of this year. I also extend my thanks to those who have given their expertise in a voluntary capacity such as in land management while we eagerly await the arrival of our new land and property manager taking up her post at the beginning of February next year.
Finally in this section I wish to record, on behalf of all the trustees, our thanks to all the hard work and dedication displayed by our Office Staff, Wardens and Field Staff, who are the engines of the Charity, in the day to day care of managing the hills and commons that we all enjoy.
Most recently, the Board overwhelmingly voted to submit a Parliamentary Private Bill by 27th November. Back in November last year the new intake of trustees received their induction training and there were several workshops run to get them appraised on the governance changes proposals. This is the culmination of ten years of planning and consideration which included two public consultations that broadly supported these proposals. I now expect all trustees to act collaboratively and in accordance with the principles of collected responsibility in regard to this important decision the Board has made.”
John Michael. Chair of the Board, MHT
