Your Forum is Changing to Serve the KDBH Community Even Better!
We're Now a Registered Charity!
After nearly a year's preparation, we are hugely proud and pleased to announce that your Forum has successfully completed the rigorous process of registering with the Charities Commission. As of 22 July 2020, we are officially a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), operating as the ‘Knowle, Dorridge and Bentley Heath Neighbourhood Forum CIO’, with Registered Charity Number 1190521.
It's a big step for us, and not one taken lightly. At the end of the day, though, we believe it's the best way to secure the credibility and support of our local community, stakeholders, and potential funders that will be key to success in now implementing the KDBH Neighbourhood Plan.
Operating as a charity brings new opportunities. It allows us to seek external funding, develop partnerships with other like-minded organisations and also take a lead role in projects supporting our charitable purposes to benefit our whole Neighbourhood Area. We're not 'throwing the baby out with the bath water' though! The fundamentals of what we do remain:
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The KDBH Neighbourhood Plan 2018-2033 will always be central to Forum activities in helping to achieve sustainable development in KDBH; and
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Our work to achieve our charitable purposes will continue to be informed by you, the KDBH community. We highly value, and will maintain a strong focus on, our role to inform, engage, debate and reflect community views on the future of our villages.
The Mayor presents the Forum with the Group Community Involvement Award 2019
Let the Council Know That You Want Your Forum to Continue!
Because, you may be surprised to know, its not a given!
By law, a Neighbourhood Forum’s (NF) designation lasts only five years. Any NF, regardless of their track record, must then re-apply to their Local Authority to renew their designation, a process that includes another 6 week public consultation. Since we were first designated on 1 October 2015, this is what we must do, now as a charity of course.
We have accordingly submitted our application to Solihull Council:
"to enable the KDBH Neighbourhood Forum to continue its work engaging with the local community to enable successful implementation of the KDBH Neighbourhood Plan and help deliver the vision for future development in the KDBH Area".
You can read the full application, which summarises achievements to date as well as future aims and activities as a charity, on the Council's website Here.
The Council has requested that:
"Any representations about whether the KDBH Neighbourhood Forum is capable of being designated as a Neighbourhood Forum, should be emailed to Solihull Council at psp@solihull.gov.uk."
The formal consultation period started on 12 August and closes on 23 September.
We would, of course, greatly appreciate your support for the Forum's renewal as a way of letting the Council know that, as a community, we value the opportunity to come together and express our views, with the weight of law behind us, on what we want the future of KDBH to look like.