THE MALVERN Hills Trust are reflecting back on a busy 2024 as the historic year for the trust draws to a close.
In a landmark year for the trust, new legislation to help better govern the care of the natural asset was recently submitted for consideration in parliament.
The piece of legislation was submitted to parliament in the form of a private bill which looks to reshape how the organisation carry out their custodial duties of one of the district’s greatest asset.
At the trust’s annual meeting of the board on November 14, chair, John Michael addressed attendees and reflected on the last 12 months in his report.
John thanked the local community and the public for showing interest in the trust’s work and its proposed changes.
The consultation period for the legislation received feedback from around 500 members of the public and organisations, while face to face events garnered 300 visitors.
Many mooted changes were met with trepidation from locals who have strongly voiced their opposition to various aspects of the proposed legislation.
Campaigners garnered 2,500 signatures opposing the bill in October, with major sticking points focusing on the possibility of the trust being able to install solar farms due to its new general power plans.
Following this campaign and consultation responses, trust board members proposed various changes to alleviate concerns.
The trust has since made changes to the proposals for general power, included plans to have a trustee as a named point of contact with each local area and have removed plans to allow fence installation for animal health reasons.
John said: ““There have been major changes at the Trust this year.
“I am glad to report that the new senior staff appointees have settled in to their posts following a difficult period towards the end of last year.
“Our new CEO Deborah Fox has not only stabilised the ship but got it heading in the right direction which has led to a happy crew thanks to her positive and effective leadership.
“Much of the criticism has been about how the Trust communicates with the general public and I acknowledge our need to improve and we will be reaching out to people even more in the coming year.”
“Trustees have given an immense amount of service this year, supporting the staff at the public drop-in sessions and taking on board the many views expressed.
“There have been other significant voluntary contributions from the various Chairs and members of committees and I thank them for their input.
“Finally in this section I wish to record, on behalf of all the trustees, our thanks to all the hard work and dedication displayed by our Office Staff, Wardens and Field Staff, who are the engines of the Charity, in the day to day care of managing the hills and commons that we all enjoy.
“This is the culmination of ten years of planning and consideration.
“I now expect all trustees to act collaboratively and in accordance with the principles of collected responsibility in regard to this important decision the Board has made.”
The formally submitted bill is now available to view on the parliament website. Visit https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3897/publications and https://www.malvernhills.org.uk/governance-changes/myth-busters/ for more information.
