Extraordinary General Meeting Proposal – February 2024

Who are we?

• Simon Gleisner, SLT Chair
• Chris Stooke, BPT Chair and SLT Director & Trustee
• Gareth Milton, SLT Director & Trustee
• Charlotte Benstead BPT Director & Trustee
• Gerri McAndrew BPT Director & Trustee
• Lisa Thomas BPT Director & Trustee
• Adam Crook, SLT Members Club Chair

What do we want to do?

We are planning to propose changes to the way South London Theatre is structured and run. We would like to put these changes to a vote at a General Meeting of the SLT membership in May this year, with the intention of having these changes in place by the start of our new financial year in January 2025. This proposal has been developed over the last six months by a group of current members who sit on the various organising committees; we all believe this is absolutely the right thing for SLT to do now, to make us fit for the future. And it is very important that all members have a chance to review and understand what we are proposing, and have the opportunity to give us feedback and thoughts before we put our proposal to a vote. We are confident that the broad proposals are right for SLT, but completely understand that people will want to feel the same way. We are also open to ideas that can improve the proposal. Please take some time to review and consider, and join us if you can on Zoom on Monday 4th March or in person at the bar in The SLT Fire Station any time between 3 and 6pm on Sunday 24th March.

Why do we want to make these changes?

Firstly, it is quite complicated. The two committees have overlapping responsibilities, particularly around use of the building. Two different sets of decision makers, meeting at different times with different people and different priorities, makes communication difficult and can lead to problems. Things get missed, people assume other people are dealing with things, different directions are taken, work gets duplicated. By making things simpler, it will make life easier and less stressful for our volunteers, we will avoid duplication of effort and things falling between the gaps. And at a basic level, it will be easier to explain who we are.
Finding people who want to take on both a Trustee role, and the responsibilities that come with that, as well as giving up their time in a practical volunteering role is proving harder and harder. We haven’t had a full General Council since before the pandemic. The Building Preservation Trust has also struggled to find people who will take on those kind of dual roles.

Freeing up day-to-day management from the Trustee roles means we can move away from the current fixed roles on General Council (currently we need an AGM to make changes to the structure) and the need to elect members to do those day-to-day roles. That means we can be much more flexible and adapt to changing needs. At the same time it should make it much easier for people to get involved.

Finally, proper separation between Trustee responsibilities and day-to-day management will also help create a stronger organisation. The responsibilities of Trustees are very important and they should really be their focus. Daily tasks shouldn’t distract from our obligations as a charity and making sure that we operate within all relevant regulations - and fulfill our purpose of being a fantastic community theatre in West Norwood.

1 - Initial transition

Over the summer we’ll ask for nominations for the Board of Trustees. The nominees will all need to be members of SLT. These will be for the positions of The Executive Director (who runs the Executive Team), plus four additional Directors. These will all become Directors and Trustees of SLT.

The five Member Directors will elect a Chair from amongst them (this is the usual process in charities, rather than the membership electing a specific Chair as happens at SLT now). At the same time, the Board will assess the skill set of the elected Board against the needs of the organisation. They will then be able to co-opt two additional Trustees/Directors to fill any gaps. These can be SLT members, but don’t have to be. This means we can make sure we have a strong board of Trustees with all the skills needed to effectively carry out their role and responsibilities.

The elections for the Trustees will happen at the SLT AGM in September, and the term will be three years for all except the Executive Director. As the Executive Director plays such an important role in the day-to-day running of the theatre, the term will be for one-year, with a vote at the AGM to confirm their position and giving the opportunity to replace them.

Beyond the Executive Director, at least one Director will retire each year (typically the longest serving Director), triggering a vote for a new director. As we are proposing increasing the term of the majority of Trustees, it’s worth noting that formal processes do exist within Charity Commission rules to remove Trustees who do not meet their obligations.

The Executive Director will then build the Executive team. Executive team members won’t be elected and can put themselves forward at any time. All members of the team will need to be SLT members, and need to be approved by an Appointments Committee (made up of the Executive Director and two other Trustees). There will be an initial structure for the team, but it is entirely flexible, and can accommodate more or fewer people as needed. Each member will be expected to lead a team or committee to deliver what is needed for their area.

All our other activities - our season of shows, any hires, the Youth theatre etc - will continue unaffected by these changes.