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CTC CRUNCH TIME

edited March 2010 in General
CTC Council has done its level best to pretend that there’s only one side to the Special Resolution, and the barrage of ‘facts and figures’ on the CTC website, the one-sided presentation in Cycle, the e-mails from hand-picked councillors sent out by National Office wouldn’t disabuse you of that impression. A few simple truths remain

1. The club’s accounts are opaque.Costs are not attributed in a thorough manner seeming only as a collection of numbers. Staff time is not recorded against projects or lines of work.
2. The supposed tax advantages are far from certain, as the professional advice, presented to to Council only this year, makes clear. http://www.ctc.org.uk/resources/About_Us/CTC_Merger_Tax_Report_Summary.pdf
3. If the Club is taken over by the Charity, services to members will by the 25% rule( http://www.ctc.org.uk/resources/About_Us/CTC_Merger_Tax_Report.pdf) make the CTC vulnerable to competition from new entrants. All parties accept that the club can be run for £18 a member.
4. The Charity has not engaged members, or their expertise. It is entirely separate from the volunteer effort that has made this club the most respected cycling organisation in the country.
5. The Charity is a contractor organisation in a declining marketplace. Government expenditure on cycling is likely to take a hit and competition will be cutthroat. Steer Davis and Gleave's capture of the Bikeability programme belies the assertion the CTC will gain contracts by virtue of being a charity. Dozens of others, will be going for the same shrinking pot of work.
6. Combining the two organisations exposes the Club to the trading risks of the Charity.
7. Council’s definition of inclusion is bogus as something you buy in – when the contracts with disabled cyclists dry up, we’ll be no more representative by virtue of the Charity’s contracting work than we were before. In stark but happy contrast Local Groups are gaining members from all parts of the community by taking people out on their bikes.
8. Management time has been swallowed up by the Charity, to the detriment of the Club. The Membership service is second rate and despite the assertion made in last year’s annual report that recommendations had been made and acted upon, the independent report completed last summer tells a sorry tale.(ask for a copy)
9. London CTC Councillors Helen Vecht and Greg Price have given their reasons for opposing the takeover of the Club by the Charity.(ask for a copy)
10. The assertion that this is just a tidying up exercise is plain false. Our Strategic Vision, published in 2007, was clear –
By 2012 our work will be divided between structures as follows:
CTC - the membership organisation Bringing together the largest, most dynamic, most diverse and most passionate group of cyclists in the country in an independent organisation working for cycling and cyclists. We are knowledgeable, trusted and supportive, the organisation of choice for many cyclists. Making cycling more accessible, safe, enjoyable or practical.Through membership, activities and services we improve health, mobility, transport and leisure. We promote enjoyment, interaction and sharing of knowledge between cyclists.
CTC Charitable Trust
Extending the benefits of cycling beyond our membership organisation. Raising public and political awareness of the needs of current and future cyclists. The authoritative cycling voice campaigning for access to cycling for all. Building on our cycle training and local group strengths we will develop a range of CTC Charitable Trust community programmes and work with these communities to promote cycling’s benefits and access to cycling for all. Promoting cycling that is accessible and safe; cycling that is enjoyable and functional; cycling that enriches lives and communities; cycling for fair and inclusive access to health, mobility, leisure and environmentally sustainable transport
http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=4786

The CTC is a great Club. It offers people the opportunity to change their lives for the better. It offers services and protection that no sensible cyclist should do without. It runs campaigns that no-one else will run. We’re in great shape. The takeover of the Club by the Charity is unnecessary and divisive further marginalising the stalwart volunteers the Club’s reputation and reach depends on. Our present structure isn’t perfect, but it does offer the ghost of accountability. Please look at the website http://www.savethectc.org.uk , and consider voting against resolutions 8, 9 and 10. Council simply hasn’t listened to or understood the concerns of members. The changes that Council is asking you to vote for are irreversible. There will be no going back.....

Simon Legg

Comments

  • Geoff,

    What's this all about? I don't think we have received anything in the post about this from the CTC. Do we have a club position? Does it affect the club (CCA) at all?

    Thanks,
    Mark.
  • there is a serious rift between the Trust and the CTC limited club.....you need to read the various sites/docs. and make own mind up...this is important for the way cycling representation of individuals and clubs is handled...who do you trust to do the best job.....that's how it appears to me.....I've been in these institutional spats before..nothing new...members need to form a view and cast their vote......the "management" of the trust appear to think they know best for their membership, but don't seem interested in the memberships views...that's how is seems to scan.....the real concern is over transparency ...trust seems to obfuscate and generalise...it seems a lot of money has gone somewhere and not properly accounted for........
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