The St John’s Society has been part of our community since 1998. Over that time, St John’s has changed, the Society has changed, and the way people want to get involved in their local community has changed too.
For that reason, we have undertaken a substantial review of the Society’s Constitution. The intention is not to change what the Society stands for, but to make sure that the way we operate reflects the organisation we are today and, importantly, the organisation we want to become.
At the heart of the revised Constitution remains a very simple purpose: to promote, protect and enhance the character of St John’s and the wellbeing of its community, as a positive, vibrant and healthy place to live and work.
Opening the Society up
One of the most important changes is a much clearer distinction between Members, Volunteers, the elected Committee and Working Groups.
Historically, community societies can easily become defined by their committee. We want St John’s Society to be much more than that.
Under the revised Constitution, membership is free and open to residents of the St John’s area, while people can also volunteer and participate in projects without having to become formal Members.
That distinction is deliberate.
Not everybody wants to sit on a committee, attend every meeting or take on a formal position. Someone might simply want to help plant trees, improve Friendly Gardens, organise an event, tackle litter, support a local arts project or campaign for better public transport.
We want to make that easier.
Members and Volunteers are therefore welcome to attend and contribute to meetings, while the elected Committee remains responsible for the formal governance and decisions of the Society.
Moving from a committee to a community organisation
The revised Constitution also introduces a clearer structure for getting things done.
The Society now has defined Areas of Interest covering Greening, Planning, Arts & Culture, Transport, Waste & Recycling, and Health & Wellbeing. These can evolve as the priorities of St John’s change.
Within these areas, Working Groups can be established to deliver specific projects. Crucially, these groups are open to Members and Volunteers alike.
This means someone should not have to be elected to the Committee simply because they have a good idea or want to contribute their time and experience.
The Committee provides governance and accountability; the wider community provides much of the energy, knowledge and enthusiasm that makes things happen.
That is an important shift in how we see the future of the Society.
Being clearer about what we stand for
We have also formally set out the values that should guide how the Society behaves: Community, Inclusivity, Stewardship, Collaboration and Action.
These are not intended simply as words in a document.
They reflect the type of organisation we want St John’s Society to be: one that brings people together, welcomes different perspectives, cares for our local environment and heritage, works constructively with others and, above all, turns ideas into practical improvements.
The revised Constitution also commits the Society to agreeing an annual strategy and workplan with its Members and making its policies and actions available to them.
That should make it much easier for residents to understand what we are working on, what our priorities are and how they can become involved.
Working with other community groups
St John’s does not exist in isolation, and neither should the Society. There are already excellent groups and initiatives operating locally. The new Constitution therefore provides a mechanism for the Society to recognise and support Affiliated Community Groups while allowing them to retain their independence.
The current list includes the Brookmill Road Local Nature Reserve, St Johns Station Users Group, That Place in the Park and the Community Collective. The Society can support such groups through communications, promotion, funding applications, representation and coordination, without absorbing or controlling them.
We believe collaboration will increasingly be important if we want St John’s to have a strong and effective voice.
Better governance and greater transparency
Opening up the Society also needs to go hand-in-hand with stronger governance.
The revised Constitution therefore provides much greater clarity around elections, Committee responsibilities, finance, conflicts of interest, safeguarding, equal opportunities, complaints and the responsibilities of individual Officers.
It also makes transparency much more explicit. Meeting minutes and relevant papers are to be published, meeting notices are publicised more widely within the community, and written minutes are to be reviewed, approved and shared.
The website will become the Society’s primary source for formal notices, minutes, policies and decisions, with WhatsApp, social media, email and noticeboards helping us reach the wider community and directing people back to that central record.
This matters because the Society belongs to its Members and exists to serve the wider St John’s community. People should be able to see what we are doing, how decisions are made and how money is being managed.
Why we are sharing the Constitution
A constitution can sound like a fairly dry administrative document. In reality, it answers some very important questions:
Who are we? What are we here to do? Who can get involved? Who makes decisions? How are those decisions made? And how are the people running the Society held accountable?
That is why we believe the Constitution should be visible rather than sitting unnoticed in a folder.
We want residents to read it, understand it and, most importantly, see it as an invitation to become involved.
Our ambition is for St John’s Society to become increasingly representative of the community it serves — not simply a committee of elected individuals, but a wider network of residents, Members, Volunteers, Working Groups and community organisations working together to improve our area.
That will take time. It will also require us to listen, adapt and encourage more people to participate.
But the revised Constitution gives us a much stronger foundation from which to do that.
Ultimately, the success of the St John’s Society will not be measured by the number of people sitting around a committee table. It will be measured by how many people feel able to contribute, how effectively we represent our community and, most importantly, what we collectively achieve for St John’s.
St-Johns-Society-Constitution-20260831.pdf
Paul Middleton
Chair, St John’s Society