The current Management Committee is made up of the founder members of the Society. We will continue to hold office until the first Annual Members Meeting when we are required to stand for re-election.

Normally, members of the Committee hold office for three years from the date of election. Members who are co-opted on to the Committee serve for one year only.

The role of the Committee

The Management Committee’s responsibility is to ensure that the Society fulfils its business and community objectives.

Its specific responsibilities include:

  • Ongoing care and maintenance of the building
  • Selecting and appointing staff
  • Managing the Society’s financial affairs
  • Drawing up and managing leases
  • Selecting tenants.

The committee is also required to produce an Annual Report for members, setting out details of the Society’s performance over the past year and its plans for the year ahead, and to report once a year to the FCA, which is the regulatory body for community enterprises. 

Members of the Management Committee are individually and collectively responsible for ensuring that the organisation is efficiently run, solvent and meets all its statutory requirements. If members believe the committee is failing in its duties, they have the right to hold them to account by calling a special general meeting. 

Committee members

The Committee currently consists of the following:

  • Linda Love is a local Parish Councillor and works part-time for the National Trust at Westbury Court Garden. Prior to this she worked for twenty-two years in the Legal and Democratic Services department at Shire Hall, Gloucester.
  • Paul Manning (Secretary) is a freelance editor, writer and graphic designer. A keen musician, Paul helps run the local Film Club and Community Library, and is a regular volunteer at The Grange, one of the two local Camphill communities for adults with special needs.
  • Sarah Tempest (Treasurer) is an award-winning BBC radio producer, journalist, PR and Comms specialist. She now works for a not-for-profit social housing company. Sarah has young children and in her spare time helps to run a youth drama group and is quizmaster at the local pub.
  • Siobhan Smith (Chair) is a former local GP and mother of five and has lived in Newnham for twenty years. A former school governor, she is currently chair of Newnham Fairtrade Committee and sings in the George Choir when time allows.
  • Carolyn Black (Vice Chair) has worked in the arts for more than twenty years and has extensive experience of curating, fundraising, marketing and project management. She is the founder of Flow Contemporary Arts, which connects people and places in order to show art in unusual locations.