Stockland Community Pub Limited

Stockland Community Pub Limited (SCPL) is a Registered Society for the benefit of the community, under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014.

The purpose of the Society is set out in the Governance Rules and can be briefly stated as being:

Managing the assets and resources of the Society for the benefit of the community now and in the future.

Having purchased the pub in 2019 and appointed tenants to run the pub  (which opened in January 2020), SCPL will continue to secure and safeguard the future of the Kings Arms public house, and promote it as an amenity of prime importance to the community.

The Society is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) using a set of pre-approved model Governance Rules developed by The Plunkett Foundation (a charity which has been helping communities to set up and run community-owned enterprises since 1919).

In the latest reports for 2019, Plunkett state that there are 95 community pubs and over 360 community shops operating in the UK., with scores more in the process of starting up. 

For more information about registered societies and the 2014 Act, visit https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/registered-societies-introduction

The Society is a democratic organisation operating on the principle of one member one vote regardless of the amount each member has invested.

Limited liability

The Society is a limited liability entity. This means that the most a member can lose is the amount they have invested through the purchase of Community Shares. 

Members

The community benefit society structure means that any person who buys the minimum number of shares becomes a member of the Society. Each member then has one vote to exercise at the Annual Members Meeting regardless of how many shares they hold.

Members may present themselves as candidates for election onto the Management Committee.

The elected Committee is responsible for running the day to day business of the Society, and will produce an Annual Report, which will set out details of the operation of the Society and how it has developed its activities over the previous year. It will also include a report of the accounts.

The Governance Rules also provide for a number of other ways in which the membership may hold the Management Committee accountable for the running of the Society, including calling a special general meeting if required.

Corporate bodies, Community Groups and Clubs can also become members. In these cases the body concerned must appoint a person to represent them at meetings, and to exercise their vote (they only have one vote, the same as any private individual member).

The Society’s Governance Rules can be downloaded here.

A Membership Application Form can be downloaded here