RCTA Constitution

Roving Canal Traders Association Constitution
1. Name
The name of the group shall be The Roving Canal Traders Association or
RCTA
2. Aims
The aims of the Roving Canal Traders Association will be:
• To be a collective voice for all registered roving canal traders
• To provide advice to current and newly registered roving canal traders, as
well as those interested in becoming registered roving canal traders
• To support the Canal and River Trust to improve accessibility for
registered roving canal traders
• To hold waterside events that provide opportunities for registered roving
canal traders
• To promote trading activities
• To aim to increase membership levels on an ongoing basis.
3. Membership
There are three categories of membership:
• Associate membership
• Full membership
• Honorary membership.
3.1. Associate membership is available to those who:
• are over the age of 18
• are in the process of applying for a Roving Canal Trader Licence with CRT
• at the discretion of the committee, are invited to help the association by
providing support, skills, knowledge and experience
• are past members who wish to maintain contact and support the
association.
Associate membership is free and is renewed annually.
An application for associate membership and renewal is approved at the
discretion of the committee. An associate member cannot be co-opted onto
the committee or undertake another role as specified in the constitution.
Associate members cannot:
• vote at general meetings
• have access to Full Member benefits.
3.2. Full membership is available for up to two people, aged over 18, per
boat registered with CRT as holding a current Roving Canal Trader Licence,
of whom one must be a licence holder.
Full membership begins on successful completion of the application process,
payment of the membership fee & receipt by RCTA of any required
documents.
Membership can be renewed annually on the anniversary date of joining on
receipt of a current CRT Roving Canal Trader Licence and other required
documentation.
• A Full membership will have one vote per registered boat/business at an
AGM/SGM
• Full membership must be held for 3 months before being able to vote at
AGMs or SGMs
• Both people will have full access to other member benefits.
There will be an annual membership fee which will be agreed for the
following year at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and will be payable by
all full members.
3.3. Honorary membership is awarded at the discretion of the committee
to acknowledge a special benefit or service provided by an individual.
Honorary membership is free and renewed annually at the discretion of the
committee.
An honorary member cannot:
• hold a committee position
• be a trustee
• vote at a general meeting
• have access to full member benefits.
A list of all members will be kept by the membership secretary.
3.4 Ceasing to be a member

– voluntarily.
Members may resign at any time, in writing, to the membership secretary.
Any member who has not paid their membership fee for one month, will be
contacted by the committee who will then decide whether that member is
deemed to have resigned.
– non-voluntarily.
Any personally directed offensive behaviour, including racist, sexist or
inflammatory remarks, either verbally or written will not be permitted.
Anyone behaving in this way or breaking the RCTA Code of Conduct will be
sent a copy of RCTAs Zero Tolerance document, may be asked not to attend
further meetings or to resign from the group if an apology is not given, or the
behaviour is repeated. The individual concerned shall have the right to be
heard by the Trustees, accompanied by a friend, before a final decision is
made.
Physical assaults shall be reported to the police, and the offender
immediately suspended from the RCTA until both police and committee
investigations are complete.
4. Equal Opportunities
The Roving Canal Traders Association will not discriminate on the grounds
of gender, race, colour, ethnic or national origin, sexuality, disability, religious
or political belief, marital status or age.
5. Trustees and committee

5.1 Trustees

There are 3 Trustees, elected for a 3-year term by thirds (each year, one of the
Trustee positions comes up for election) to ensure continuity. A Trustee must
have previously fulfilled at least 3 documented RCTA volunteer roles within the
past 3yrs.
5.2 In the event of a Trustee standing down during the term, then a
replacement Trustee will be elected by a Special General Meeting of members
to fulfil the outstanding period.
Full Details of a trustee’s role can be found in Appendix 2.
The Committee
5.3 The business of the group will be carried out by a committee elected at the
Annual General Meeting. The Committee will meet as necessary & minutes
communicated to the Trustees.
5.4 The Committee consists of a maximum of 15 members. There are 3 core
Statutory Committee Members (Chair, Treasurer & Secretary). The remaining 12
positions fulfil the various roles necessary for the smooth running of the
Association. All positions come up for election every 2 years. Any vacancies,
(other than the Statutory Committee Members) can be filled by co-option
during that period. All committee members must have previously fulfilled
various RCTA volunteer roles.
5.5 Committee Members may take on multiple roles.
5.6 The roles of the Statutory Committee Members Chair, Secretary and
Treasurer are fixed unless changes have been approved by an AGM or SGM.
5.7 Any committee member not attending a meeting without an apology for
three months, will be contacted by the committee and asked if they wish to
resign.
5.8 The committee meetings will be open to any member of Roving Canal
Traders Association wishing to attend, who may speak but not vote.
All current committee roles can be found in Appendix 1.
Meetings
6.1 Annual General Meetings
An General Meeting (AGM) will be held annually, but no later than fifteen
months from the previous AGM/SGM.
Meetings may be held at both physical and virtual locations at the discretion
of the committee.
All members will be notified by email at least 3 weeks before the date of the
meeting, giving the venue, date, time and agenda.
Members who send their apologies a minimum of one week prior to the
meeting shall be allowed to vote on any expected issues in the agenda.
Nominations for the Committee may be made to the Secretary before the
meeting as per the agenda for that meeting.
The minimum attendance for a physical AGM will be 15% of the
membership, or 15 members, whichever is the greater number. Should too
few people attend, then a general vote shall not take place, and the
committee shall continue to carry out the business of the group.
For a virtual/online AGM the assumption is that all members eligible to
vote will be receiving the same information therefore are potentially
participating.
6.2 At the AGM
The Committee will present reports from various volunteers of the work
done for/by Roving Canal Traders Association over the year. The
Committee will present the accounts of Roving Canal Traders Association
for the previous year.
The Trustees and Committee members due for election will be elected. Any
proposals given to the Secretary at least seven days in advance of the
meeting, will be discussed, provided they have been notified to all members
in the remaining week prior to the meeting. Any new proposals arising
during the AGM, and which have not been circulated to all the membership
will be considered at a subsequent SGM or AGM.
6.3 Special General Meetings
The Secretary will call a Special General Meeting at the request of the
majority of the committee, or at least twelve other members, giving a written
request to the Chair or Secretary stating the reason for their request.
The meeting will take place within 21 days of the request.
All members will be given two weeks’ notice of such a meeting, giving the
venue, date, time and agenda, and notice may be by telephone or email.
Meetings may be held at both physical and virtual locations at the discretion
of the Committee.
Any proposals given to the Secretary at least seven days in advance of the
meeting will be discussed provided they have been notified to all members
in the remaining week prior to the meeting. Any new proposals arising
during the SGM, and which have not been circulated to the membership will
be considered at a subsequent SGM or AGM.
Members who send their apologies a minimum of one week prior to the
meeting, shall be allowed to vote on any expected issues in the agenda. The
voting window will be notified in the agenda sent out for that meeting,
depending on physical or virtual location.
The minimum attendance for the Special General Meeting will be 15% of the
membership, or 15 members, whichever is the greater number.
6.4 Rules of Procedure for meetings
All questions that arise at any meeting will be discussed openly, and the
meeting will seek to find general agreement that everyone present can agree
to.
If a consensus cannot be reached the subject may be carried forward to the
next AGM/SGM or a vote will be taken, then a decision will be made by a
simple majority of members present. If the numbers of votes cast on each
side are equal, the Chair of the meeting shall have an additional casting vote.
7. Finances
An account will be maintained on behalf of the Association at a bank agreed
by the committee. Two signatories, who should be responsible for any bank
accounts and any banking system deemed necessary, will be nominated by
the Committee. The signatories must not be related, nor members of the
same household.
Records of income and expenditure will be the responsibility of the
Treasurer, and an annual financial statement given at every AGM.
Any pre-agreed reasonable expenses shall be reimbursed.
Travel to Annual General Meetings or Special General Meetings are excluded
from reimbursement in all circumstances.
All money raised by, or on behalf of the Roving Canal Traders Association, is
only to be used to further the aims of the association and other canal based
charitable organisations wherever possible, as specified in section 2 of this
constitution.
Income from Membership and Markets shall always be kept separate. Any
large expenditure or charity donations over £1,000 must be agreed by the
committee & the members.
A monthly summary of income & expenditure should be offered to the
trustees, steering committee & members.
8. Amendments to the Constitution
Any amendments to all or part the Constitution may only be made at the
Annual General Meeting or a Special General Meeting.
Any proposal to amend all or part of the Constitution must be given to the
Secretary in writing.
The proposal must then be circulated with the notice of meeting.
Any proposal to amend the Constitution will require a two-thirds majority of
of votes submitted.
9.Dissolution
If a meeting, by simple majority, decides that it is necessary to close the
Association, it may call a Special General Meeting to do so. The sole business
of this meeting will be to dissolve the Association.
If it is agreed to dissolve the Association, all remaining money and other
assets, once outstanding debts have been paid, will be donated to a similar
charitable organisation.
This organisation is to be chosen at the meeting which agrees the dissolution
& must be within the ethos of RCTA.

The amendments to all or parts of the Constitution have been accepted
at the 10th Annual General Meeting of the Roving Canal Traders
Association on:
Date: 04/07/2024
Name and position in group:
Signed: Chair Lorraine Parker,
Signed: Secretary. Sue Meades

Changes to section 5 of the 2024 constitution amended by majority vote at SGM on 26th
October 2024.
Changes to section 3.3 amended by majority vote at SGM on 27th February 2025.
Votes prepared and counted by Tim Clarke (RCTA Website) and verified by Lorraine Parker (RCTA
Chair).

Appendix 1
Details of committee roles:
Tasks undertaken by committee members are as follows:
Chair: who shall be voted in by a majority members vote.
Shall chair both general and committee meetings. Is responsible for ensuring
that the trustees have not been barred from holding such positions. Can cast
an additional vote when there is a tie. The Chair in conjunction with the
Secretary & External PR volunteer will be responsible for public liaison. An
elected Chair should be a RCTA committee member.
Secretary: who shall be voted in by a majority members vote.
Shall be responsible for overseeing the distribution of correspondences and
communications internal & external to members. Distribute trading
opportunities to traders. To record items to include in meeting agendas. To
record all votes. Taking of minutes at general and committee meetings and
distributing these to the other Committee members. To digitally prepare all
minutes and any other documents that require storage, as provided by other
Committee members. To ensure members have access to meeting minutes
and documentation as required. To record and monitor any requests for
Special General meetings and, if necessary, call a Special General Meeting (as
required in section 6.3.) To maintain & keep tidy the RCTA email server,
distribute emails to members on a daily basis. The Secretary should be a
person well versed with the trading community, the expectations &
opportunities within that community from RCTA. Familiarity with
Wordpress, Outlook & One Drive would be advantageous.
Treasurer: who shall be voted in by a majority members vote.
Shall be responsible for maintaining accounts and ensuring financial
safeguarding. Will also ensure that all financial transactions are in keeping
with the aims and best interest of the Association. Inputting of invoices
raised, and payments received, receipt keeping for supplier payments.
Maintain the complete RCTA accounts, reconciling bank statements &
producing annual accounts for each AGM & monthly account
summaries/updates to the committee & RCTA Members.
Some form of accounting experience & a knowledge would be
advantageous.
6 x Statutory Committee Roles. who shall be voted in by a majority members
vote.
1.Vice Chair:
(only taken up in the event of a Chair stepping down before an AGM)
In support of the Chair to temporarily step in & take over the role as
required likewise in the event of the Chair stepping down unexpectedly until
a SGM or AGM can be held
2.Membership Admin/New Traders Liaison (Can be dual or separate
roles):
who shall be responsible for keeping an up-to-date database of members, in
liaison with the Website Manager, and ensuring all members adhere to the
membership criteria, maintaining members’ information and liaising with
them to enable them to keep their information up to date;
Point of contact and support for new traders. Produce new members ‘good
trading practises’ information. Help with getting started, booking events,
queries on moorings and any other issues.
3.CRT & Traders Liaison:
Shall attend meetings with CRT as the RCTA representative, prepare meeting
reports, and draft all correspondence with CRT for committee approval.
Point of contact for traders experiencing issues with mooring, and/or
licensing. If needed can be raised to CRT to take further. Ideally a member
who has worked with the Steering Committee & has experience of trading.
4.PR Communications.
In support of the Markets team sourcing/organising advertising for all
events, linking with local news, outlets, social media, and local radio.
Communicating at national level to boost the public profile of the RCTA.
5.Market Coordinator:
Manage & book CRT applications to hold RCTA events & liaise with CRT or
their bookings manager throughout.
Working internally with membership and PR volunteers, to ensure eligibility
to trade and maximum advertising exposure.
Organisation and updating of all supporting necessary documents as
required and sending them with event applications. Ensuring measurement
of locations and assessing moorings available is undertaken appropriately.
Deciding the maximum number of boats that can trade at a set Floating
Market location, communicating with traders booked via messenger groups
and emails from booking to arrival at the venue, issuing refunds and adding
bookings if required. Updating Fire Risk Assessments, Emergency
Information, and Health and Safety documents as required for each venue.
Issuing and collating Feedback forms after markets. Making sure all One
Drive folders applicable to RCTA markets/events are current, up to date &
hold all necessary information & documentation required to hold the event.
Working with other event organisers to secure priority trading places for
members at non RCTA events.
This role needs to be undertaken by someone with a minimum 20hrs a week
to spare at busy times of the year, familiar with the running of RCTA Floating
Markets & the ability to work with other event organisers to benefit RCTA
Members.
6.Website Manager:
In support of the SC maintaining & updating the website on a regular basis,
producing a Featured Trader piece monthly maintaining the Traders
Directory; adding/building links; keeping members documentation
accessible in liaison with the Membership Admin and Secretary. Continuing
to build & promote the website as appropriate, to support RCTA and its aims.
Experience in WordPress would be highly recommended.

Other committee roles are as follows:

These roles can be assigned by the Steering Committee as required.
Market Coordinator Northern Support

Preparing a list of attendees for each market and communicating this to
market managers & other market volunteers. Producing site plans &
mooring orders. Communicate with local/relevant CRT officials. Emailing
any relevant market and H&S information to attendees. Training market
attendees in Market volunteer roles. To liaise closely with Market
Coordinator, Market Admin and External PR & overseeing events where
possible.
This is a role for a member that participates in RCTA Floating Markets
throughout the year in the northern area.

Market Admin:
Liaison with relevant local authorities, fishing clubs, canoe clubs & other
local businesses.
Keep updated folders with food traders EHO docs.
Undertake any other tasks in support of the Market Coordinator as required.

RCTA Facebook Admin and Market Facebook Admin:
In support of Market Coordinator, Market Coordinator Northern Support and
Secretary. Administration & moderation of ALL RCTA Facebook Pages and
Groups. Answering questions from members and visitors. In support of
Market Coordinator, Market Coordinator Northern Support and Secretary.
Boosting FB market posts at least one week before each market.
Sharing market posts on all appropriate FB community and interest groups.
Sharing traders posts to any traders groups & regional RCTA FB pages on a
rolling basis as you see them. Controlling spam & trolling on RCTA FB Pages
and Groups.
This role is suitable for someone on social media daily.

Artwork & Graphics Design Volunteer:
In support of Market Coordinator, to design all posters/banners and any
flyers required, ready in good time for markets team to arrange printing
ready for distribution to market managers, prior to markets. Design and File
poster/flyer PDFs for members’ use, online communication and social
media. This is a design role only not a production role.

Marketing & Development:
Responsible in support of the Secretary, Membership Admin & Market
Coordinator for identifying & pursuing new opportunities for expanding
& benefiting the membership of RCTA together with wider public
awareness of the Association along with suitable funding projects using
RCTA donations. To continue with any projects already discussed or
underway on behalf of RCTA.

Complaint/Dispute Liaison
To work independently of the committee, responsible for managing and
actioning any complaints/grievances raised through the grievance
procedure for members.
Amendments 30th May 2024
Amendments 28th June 2024

Appendix 2
Role of a RCTA Trustee as per the Constitution.
A RCTA trustee is a voluntary role undertaken by a full member, with
documented volunteer experience in the previous 3 years.
An RCTA trustee is not a legally defined position with specific
responsibilities as in a charity. In our association, a trustee has no greater
authority than any other member of the steering committee. They do not
have a vote at SC meetings. What they have volunteered to do is to monitor
the governance or management of the association to ensure that it continues
to comply with its aims and purposes as stated in its constitution.
To achieve this a RCTA trustee will:
Ensure that the association is carrying out its purposes by:
• understand RCTA’s constitution and how the association can benefit its
members and other roving traders.
• making sure the association complies with its constitution.
• explaining to others how activities are intended to help its members and
roving traders generally.
• making sure that the association complies with the requirements of
legislation and criteria laid down by the Canal and River Trust.
• making sure that actions taken by individual steering committee
members do not conflict with the purposes of the association or
improperly benefit the personal interests of individual committee
members, their partners, business partners or dependent children.
• ensure all decisions are properly authorised by the steering committee
and where appropriate by the membership at a special general or annual
general meeting.
• making sure the association’s assets are only used to support or carry out
its purposes and that inappropriate risks are not taken with its assets or
reputation.
• making sure that appropriate policies, procedures and safeguards are in
place and taking reasonable steps to ensure that they are being followed.
• making sure that the association complies with the law, is well run and
effective.
• making sure the activities of the steering committee are accountable and
communicated to the members
Agreed at 2018 AGM
Amendments agreed to Trustee role October 2024.