1. TITLE: The Committee shall be known as the Taw Torridge Estuary Forum.
2. MEMBERSHIP: The Forum shall be made up of Amenity, Activity and Conservation organisations, representatives from District Councils and Parish Councils at their request ; the District and Parish Councils to be those adjoining the estuary complex of the Taw and Torridge tidal reaches. The Forum may, from time to time, co-opt individuals having a special contribution to make to its proceedings.
3a. CHAIR: The Forum will elect a Chairman biennially.
3b. VICE CHAIR: The Forum will elect a Vice Chair biennially.
4a. SECRETARY: The Forum will elect a Secretary biennially.
4b. TREASURER: The Forum will elect a Treasurer biennially.
5. TERMS OF REFERENCE: The Forum shall offer advice to the appropriate Authorities on all aspects of the management of the tidal estuary of the Taw and Torridge and their tidal tributaries. The Forum will act as a non party political organisation.
6. FINANCE: The Forum will set an annual subscription to defray expenses incurred by administration and other necessary costs; the subscription to be reviewed annually.
7. FORUM MEETINGS: There will be four meetings in each year on dates and times to be fixed at the AGM and called by the Secretary in consultation with the Chairman.
Items for inclusion on the Agenda shall be submitted to the Secretary at least twenty one days before the date on which the item is to be considered by the Forum.
The Secretary shall keep a proper record of the proceedings of the Forum.
Each member organisation will delegate one person to represent them at a meeting of the Forum. Where necessary member organisations may request that more than one representative attends with one attendee acting as lead member, such organisation will only have one vote if voting on a matter takes place.
Where a Forum officer is also the delegate of a member organisation they will be allowed to speak on behalf of that organisation.
Delegates of any member organisation shall have the right to speak at Forum meetings and may also be invited to attend and speak at other meetings on the Forum's behalf where they have a specialist knowledge or specific interest in the matters under consideration.
If circumstances should make the holding of meetings in person impossible, electronic methods may be used.
8. CONDUCT OF FORUM BUSINESS: The conduct of the day to day business of the TTEF shall be conducted by a committee, (Planning & Consultation Committee (P&CC) chaired by the Chair or Vice Chair in the absence of the Chair. The P&CC shall comprise of the Officers with 3 members elected from the Forum. The P&CC will meet every 5-6 weeks to consider planning applications, consultations and environmental and other issues.
The P&CC may be instructed by the main Forum on specific issues and will have delegated powers to deal with issues under the P&CC remit. The P&CC must report it’s activities to each main TTEF meeting for ratification.
The P&CC shall have the power to co-opt members as required.
9. QUORUM: The Quorum shall be nine members present at a convened meeting of the Forum and three for the P&CC.
10. PROPOSED AMENDMENTS OF THE CONSTITUTION: Any member wishing to propose an amendment to the Constitution shall do so in writing to the Secretary who shall give notice thereof to the members by including any details on the Agenda of the next meeting. Adoption of any amendments to the Constitution will be adopted at the next AGM.
11. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: Members of the Public have the right to attend meetings of the Forum, but they are not entitled to speak unless specifically permitted to do so by the Chair. In the event that a matter under consideration is of a confidential nature, members of the Public will be asked to withdraw and the matter will be discussed "in camera".
12. WEBSITE: TTEF will maintain a website giving useful information about the estuary complex, news items, details of events, agendas for meetings, minutes of Forum main meetings and minutes of the P&CC, details about the member organisations and contact forms for information to be sent to the website.
13. SUSTAINABILITY: TTEF will function as a sustainable organisation.
Approved by TTEF AGM 20 January 2025