(As at 25 October 2024)

1. Definitions and interpretation

1.1. The following definitions apply to Centre Rules, in addition to those at Bye-Law 1:

The 1960  Act                     the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act (1960).

Exemption Certificate       the certificates issued by the governments in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland which enable the Club to conduct activities (rallies) listed in Schedule 1 of The 1960 Act without the need to apply for a caravan site licence.

Independent Accountant  a firm which is a registered auditor under the Companies Act.

Officers                               the elected Committee members.

Registered member           a Club member who has registered with that Centre.

1.2.  Centre Guidance s issued to all Centres by Governance provides further explanation of these Rules.   Should any question arise as to the interpretation of the Rules, the matter shall be referred to the Executive Committee whose decision shall be binding on all parties. 

2. Officers and committee

2.1. Centres are established in accordance with Bye-Law 36.  The registered members shall:

2.1.1. Elect from amongst themselves a Committee, comprising the Centre’s officers, which must include a Chair, Treasurer and Secretary and, if desired, one or more Vice-Chairs to run the Centre on behalf of the registered members.  Appointments resulting from Centre elections are subject to the approval of the Executive Committee.

2.1.2. Appoint an Independent Accountant.  The Independent Accountant shall not be a member of the Centre Committee.

2.2. No registered member may be elected to fill more than one of the positions referred to in Rule 2.1.1.

2.3. Other than the mandatory positions of Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary, the Centre Committee may appoint officers as it deems desirable.  All such appointments shall be reported to Governance.

2.4. The number of members of the Centre Committee shall be determined by the Centre Annual General Meeting (AGM), but shall be not less than five or more than 15.

2.5. The Centre Committee may fill casual vacancies by co-opting members to the Committee to bring the number up to the number approved by the Centre AGM.  Governance shall be notified of such co-options.

2.6. The quorum for any meeting of the Centre Committee shall be four or such higher figure as the Centre Committee shall determine.

2.7. The Centre Committee may establish subordinate Committees as it deems desirable.

2.8. The Club Chair and Vice-Chairs shall be ex-officio members of all Centre Committees.

3. Centre registration

3.1. A Club member may register, in the format prescribed, with not more than one Centre on joining the Club and on an annual basis at the time of Club membership renewal.  It does not necessarily have to be the Centre covering the area in which they reside.  Registration with a Centre will entitle a registered member to be informed of that Centre's activities.

3.2. A Joint or Family Member may only register with the Centre with which the corresponding Full Member is registered.

4. Activities

4.1. Centres may make additional rules, as agreed and, from time to time, amended by registered members in General Meeting, to cover the conduct of Centre activities.  Such rules are subject to Executive Committee approval and shall be made available to the members of the Centre concerned.

4.2. Centres may not organise rallies, which involve use of the Club’s Exemption Certificate, outside their own areas except by permission of the Centre covering the area concerned.  Such permission shall not be unreasonably withheld.  Applications for permission must be submitted not less than six months in advance of the date of the proposed activity and the reply must be given within five weeks of the application being received.  In the event of unforeseen circumstances, it shall be permissible for the two Centres concerned to agree to waive strict adherence to these time limits.

4.3. All activities organised by a Centre shall be open to any Club member subject to space being available.  All members shall apply in advance to participate in Centre activities.

4.4. To comply with The 1960 Act, only rallies officially organised by, or on behalf of, the Centres are permitted.

4.5. Centres shall advise the Club of all activities it is proposed to arrange by uploading them to the Club’s website and for inclusion in the Club’s Rally Supplement. Any amendments are to be sent to Centre Events, within the Club’s marketing team.

5. Finance

5.1. Centres may not impose any additional annual subscriptions on members, but may collect fees from members for activities organised by the Centre.

5.2. No Centre shall pledge the credit of the Club unless authorised by the Executive Committee.

5.3. Grants received from Club funds by a Centre shall be expended strictly in accordance with the conditions attached to such Grants and wholly for the benefit of members registered with that Centre.

5.4. The funds of a Centre shall be administered by its Committee to the approval of the Executive Committee.  On the winding up of any Centre any remaining funds, trophies, etc, shall rest with the Club.

5.5. A Statement of Accounts for the preceding year, ending 31 December, together with an Independent Accountant’s Report, shall be forwarded by each Centre to the Financial Controller before the 31st March each year.

6. Annual general meetings

6.1. Centres shall hold their first Annual General Meeting (AGM) within 18 months after inauguration.  Thereafter, AGMs shall be held at such time and place as the Centre Committee decides, provided that every AGM shall be held not more than 15 months after the holding of the previous AGM.

6.2. The quorum for an AGM is five members registered with the Centre.

6.3. Officers shall be elected, and an Independent Accountant appointed (see Rule 2.1.2), at each AGM to hold office until the next AGM.  All officers and other Committee members must be paid-up Club members and be registered with the Centre throughout their period of office.  Centres may adopt their own additional rules governing the eligibility for re-election of their officers and other Committee members.

6.4. Any two registered members may propose any registered member to be an officer of the Committee of the Centre to which they are all registered.  Written nominations for election, confirmed by the nominee, the proposer and the seconder, must be received by the Centre Secretary not later than fourteen days before the AGM.

6.5. Formal notices of motion from registered members, duly signed by the proposer and seconder, must be received in writing by the Centre Secretary not later than 35 days prior to the AGM.

6.6. Not less than 21 clear days' Notice of AGMs shall be given to each member who has registered in accordance with Rule 3.1.  Only those members who have registered with the Centre shall be entitled to receive Notice of, or to speak or vote at, such Meeting, and shall be eligible for election to the Committee at such Meeting. The Notice of the AGM shall state the date, time and place of the Meeting and the principal business to be transacted, and shall include a copy of Rule 6.4.  Items that materially affect Centre activities added subsequently to the Agenda shall be notified to members accordingly.

6.7 Centres may opt to conduct their AGM business online and use an online voting process to engage all registered members. Any online voting will close three days before the date of the AGM.

7. Special general meetings

7.1. A Special General Meeting (SGM) of a Centre shall be called by the Centre Secretary at any time:

7.1.1. on the instructions of the Executive Committee or of the Centre Committee.

7.1.2. at the request, in writing, signed by no fewer than 50 registered members and stating the address of each such member.  Such requests must set out clearly the purpose for which an SGM is deemed necessary. 

7.2 Fourteen days'  Notice of an SGM must be given to each member who has submitted the form referred to in Rule 3.1 and the Notice convening the Meeting must set out clearly the purpose for which it is being held.  Members who have not, at least 14 days prior to the posting of the Notice convening any meeting, registered in accordance with Rule 3.1 shall not be entitled to receive Notice of, or speak or vote at, such meeting.

7.3. The quorum for an SGM is five members registered with the Centre.

8. Chair's casting vote

8.1. If, on the taking of a vote at any meeting, there is an equality of votes, the Chair of the meeting shall have a second or casting vote.

9. Discipline

9.1. The Centre Committee is empowered to take disciplinary action against any member who in the opinion of the Committee is guilty, either directly or by persons for whom he is answerable, of any conduct at any of that Centre's functions prejudicial to the good repute of the Club, the Centre or the comfort or convenience of other members attending one of that Centre's activities.

9.2. Disciplinary action may take the form of suspension from that Centre's activities. Governance l shall be informed of suspensions imposed under this Rule.

9.3. Any member who is disciplined under this rule shall be given the opportunity of putting a statement before the Centre Committee at a meeting convened by that Committee. 

10. Division representation

10.1. The Centre Committee shall appoint one delegate to attend a Division Team meeting that covers the geographic area of that Centre.

10.2 Centres should make every effort to participate in a Division Team meeting or keep in contact with their Division.

10.3 The Division is the first point of contact for a Centre in its area to offer support, assistance and advice. The Division will contact Governance for further advice, where necessary.

11. Data protection         

11.1. The Club is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as a data controller and is responsible for the compliance of all personal data processed in the course of Centre activities. Members’ personal data that is stored or processed by Centre Committee members in paper or electronic form, including on Committee members' computers and other devices, is subject to UK data protection law and must be handled in accordance with the law. 

11.2. Personal details of currently registered members only are to be held by Centre Committee members and are for the sole purpose of communicating Centre business, including activities. It is considered a legitimate interest of the Club to process personal data for the purpose of Centre business and activities. Centres should also be aware that processing data under this lawful basis can be objected to by a Centre member. In the event that a Centre member objects to the processing of their data for Centre activities the Centre must take necessary steps to ensure this is actioned and liaise with EGH as necessary. 

11.3. Membership data sent by the Club to the Secretary is for the use of the Secretary and, when necessary, other Committee members.  It should not be communicated to any other parties without the consent of the member.  Data should be held in password protected files or on password protected devices - with all passwords being strong and not easily guessable.  Such data should not be retained any longer than is necessary and any paper copies should be destroyed effectively, e.g. by cross-cut shredding or burning, with electronic copies being deleted securely when no longer required. (Please see the Club’s Data Retention Policy for further information.)

11.4. The law gives individuals the following rights regarding their personal data:

(a)     the right to access;         

(b)     the right to rectification;

(c)     the right to erasure;

(d)     the right to restrict processing;

(e)     the right to object to processing;

(f)      the right to data portability;

(g)     the right to complain to a supervisory authority; and

(h)    the right to withdraw consent.

11.5. In the event that a member exercises one of their rights and makes a request in relation to their personal data, the Centre member receiving the request should inform the Club immediately (due to the limited timeframes given to respond) and the Club will provide further guidance and support.

11.6. The ICO has published further guidance to the General Data Protection  Regulation (GDPR) and this can be found on their website.  Importantly, in every instance inform the Club to ensure correct procedures are being followed. It is unlikely that Centres will be approached in relation to all of the above rights. Committee members should therefore take care when generating correspondence, whether by letter or email, which refers to their Centre members. It is recommended that factual statements are adhered to, rather than personal opinions, where possible. In addition, if personal data is thought to have been lost, stolen or misused, the Club must be informed immediately. 

11.7. For more information on how we process personal data please refer to the Centres privacy notice at: https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/privacy-policy/centres-privacy-notice/

11. Amendment of rules

12.1. The approval of the Executive Committee is required to amend these Rules.