Whatley Common Good Trust
This trust was set up in 2002 with an endowment from Hansons of Whatley Quarry (now owned by Heidelberg Materials), following the extension to the quarry which resulted in the closure of the road linking Chantry and Mells.
Its purpose is to fund projects, large or small, which will benefit the residents or the villages of Whatley or Chantry, or both.
Trust meeting dates 2024
2nd July 7pm The Parish Cabin, Whatley Field
8th October (The George, Nunney)
The next meeting of the Whatley Common Good Trust is on 8th October 2024 7.00pm at The George in Nunney.
If you wish to attend, please can you inform the Secretary, Olly Goodden on ogoodden@yahoo.co.uk before the date of the meeting.
The annual report for 2023 is available to download below.
The trust has funded a wide range of local projects. It helps with the cost of maintenance of the parish field in Whatley, and with the activities put on by the Whatley and Chantry Community Association, including events in recent years to celebrate the royal wedding and diamond jubilee.
It has supported several projects at Mells School and at Mells Nursery, and at both Whatley and Chantry churches.
There are funds currently still available, and the trust accounts, which are independently audited, are available on request.
There are normally five trustees, two appointed by Whatley parish council and three elected by parish electors. The current trustees (as of January 2024) are Martin Payne (Chair), Stephanie Greshon (Treasurer), Olly Goodden (Secretary), Nigel Brock and Sue Pollock.
The trustees are always interested in hearing from anyone who might have ideas at any time for projects which the trust might fund - , please contact the trust secretary, Olly Goodden for more information, or use the links below for an application form and guidance. Members of the public are welcome to attend the first part of the meeting.
We are also interested in hearing from people who might be interested in serving as trustees when vacancies arise. The only qualifications required are a genuine interest in your local community and the willingness to make a constructive contribution at up to four meetings a year. Again, please contact the secretary for more details.
Please click here guidance notes for project funding.
Please click here for the WCGT application for funding form
Here is the latest Annual Report from the Common Good Trust.
Please click here for the Declaration of Trust
What can be funded by the Trust?
The Trust can fund any project which is in the interests of and will bring direct benefit to Whatley parish, or any part of it (which includes Chantry), or all or some of the inhabitants of the parish. This broad remit allows the trust to fund a wide range of suitable projects.
There is no maximum or minimum level of grant, and the trust can fund the whole cost of a project (subject to its own financial position). However, the larger the amount requested, the more likely it is that the trustees will wish to be satisfied that efforts have been made to secure funding from other sources as well. The signatories to the bank account are mandated to sign cheques up to £100 without authorisation by all trustees. Bids over £100 up to £5000 must be agreed at committee meetings. Bids over £5000 shall be referred for comment using the village email list with residents on the list asked to refer the matter to others they believe have no email access. Responses to be received before the next meeting either in writing or in person at the meeting.
Application procedure
Please complete the application form attached to these guidance notes and return it with all supporting documentation to the secretary of the Trust, Olly Goodden by email. Please give as much detail as possible and send sketches, photographs or plans if you think that these will help the trustees evaluate the proposal. Please supply full information about the costs of the project, and copies of estimates where available.
You should also give details of other sources of funding which have been applied to, or which have already made grants for your project. If you are not sure which other bodies might provide funding for your scheme, we may be able to direct you to sources of advice: please contact the secretary above.
If the outcome of the project will need ongoing maintenance, please indicate how this will be achieved.
Support for applications
As the aim of the Trust is to fund projects which will benefit the parish or people living in it, the trustees may take into account the level of support for a particular project when deciding whether to make a grant. It may be helpful to include details of support (e.g. letters from parish residents) when submitting an application. The higher the sum asked for, the more important will be evidence of local support. In any case, please give as much information as possible on the application form as to how you think the project will benefit the parish.
“In principle” applications
You might wish to have an initial opinion from the trustees as to whether an application might be favourably considered before embarking on time-consuming applications to other bodies and organising estimates. The trustees will be happy to consider “in principle” applications, and will then confirm whether or not a full detailed application is likely to be successful.
Consideration of applications
Copies of applications and supporting documents received will be circulated by the secretary to all trustees, and placed on the agenda of the next trustees’ meeting for discussion.
The trustees will decide before the meeting whether any further information is needed to help them in determining the application, and you may be asked to supply this. In the case of large or complex applications, the trustees may hold a preliminary private meeting to discuss what further information might be required, as permitted by the trust deed.
Trustees’ meetings
All applications will be considered and decided at a public meeting of the trustees. These are normally evening meetings. You will be informed of the time and place of the meeting when your application will be considered, and are welcome to attend, as is any other member of the public. You will be invited to speak in support of your proposal if you wish, but you do not need to attend or speak if you would prefer not to.
The trustees will discuss your proposal, and may ask you further questions about it if you are happy to speak at the meeting. They will normally reach a decision and announce this at the meeting, but may not always be able to make a decision immediately - for example, if it becomes clear at the meeting that further information is required. In these circumstances, the trustees will decide how to proceed, and will explain to you at the meeting how you will be notified of their decision in due course. Occasionally, the decision may need to be adjourned for discussion at a further meeting.
Notification of decision
Whether a decision is made at the meeting or afterwards, the secretary will write to you to confirm this formally, and if an application is declined, to give reasons. In some cases, the application may be deferred to give you an opportunity to overcome any issues which have been raised.
Advice on procedure
If you have any queries about any part of the application procedure, please feel free to contact the secretary beforehand, or at any time during the process. However, applications can only be considered by the trustees after they have been discussed at a public meeting, so the trustees are unable to give informal opinions “off the record” as to the likely success of an application.