Governance
The hall is a registered charity, independent of the Parish Council, and is run by a board of trustees who meet monthly.
Governing Documents
The hall has been in use since 1910 but it is not clear how it was managed until the Trust document of 1949. At that time it seems something like 20 organizations including churches, sporting groups, political parties and social clubs were using the hall and this was rationalized by creating a two tier system where the many stakeholders electing a smaller executive group. However by 2010 many of these
stakeholders had disappeared or no longer had any interest in the hall which was, by default, being run on an ad hoc basis by members of the Parish Council.
Work on the centenary celebration events of 2010 and other governance issues demonstrated that the 1949 constitution was no longer fit for purpose and after consultation with the Charity Commission an amendment was passed by the 2012 Annual Meeting of Electors which now defines how the Hall is managed today.
Thus Backwell Parish Hall is managed according to the Trust Deed (1949) as amended (2012). The latter document defines the current board composition.
The text of the 1949 Trust document can be found here: 1949 Trust
and that of the 2012 amendment can be found here: 2012 amendment
stakeholders had disappeared or no longer had any interest in the hall which was, by default, being run on an ad hoc basis by members of the Parish Council.
Work on the centenary celebration events of 2010 and other governance issues demonstrated that the 1949 constitution was no longer fit for purpose and after consultation with the Charity Commission an amendment was passed by the 2012 Annual Meeting of Electors which now defines how the Hall is managed today.
Thus Backwell Parish Hall is managed according to the Trust Deed (1949) as amended (2012). The latter document defines the current board composition.
The text of the 1949 Trust document can be found here: 1949 Trust
and that of the 2012 amendment can be found here: 2012 amendment
Trustees
The board of trustees is constituted as follows:
- Four elected trustees.
- Three trustees appointed by Hall users, viz The Parochial Church Council, the Parish Council and the Toddlers Group.
- Two ex-Gratia trustees, The Rector of St. Andrews and the Chair of the Parish Council.
The trustees can at their discretion co-opt additional trustees and can create new customer representative trustees.
Elections to the board of trustees are held at the Annual Meeting of Electors in April each year, and any resident interested in standing is encouraged to contact the Secretary for more information. Volunteers to help with maintenance and improvement of the Hall are also welcome,
Trustees elected in April 2026 are Andy Stagg (Chair), Chris Elliott (Treasurer), Chris McMahon (Secretary) and Bill Charnock. They are joined by Sian Hurst, representative of the Toddler Group, and Sarah Ould, Chair of the Parish Council.