Annual General Meeting
The 2026 Annual General Meeting of the Birmingham Canal Navigations Society will take place on Friday, 22 May 2026 at 7.00pm at Titford Pumphouse, Engine Street, Oldbury, B69 4NL. This coincides with the Society Summer Gathering of Boats at the Pumphouse.
BCNS Council has 15 members which is the maximum permitted by the Society’s Articles of Association.
The following members are due to retire by rotation:
Mike Anson, Bob Fox, Kirsten Smith, Jeff Carter, Mike Rolfe, Harald Joergens, Marie Sherratt, and Phil Wild.
Mike Anson, Bob Fox, Kirsten Smith, Marie Sherratt and Phil Wild have indicated their willingness to stand again.
Any BCNS member may apply to stand for the Council. It is Council that appoints the actual positions on Council and the Society’s Articles of Association require nominations to be submitted no later than 14 days, but not longer than 35 days, before the date of the AGM.
Nominations may be submitted to the Society Secretary, Michael Smith-Keary, from Friday 17 April but in any event no later than Friday 8 May, with confirmation that the person being nominated is willing to be a Council Member.
Please also note that there will be an EGM immediately following the AGM.
EGM – Friday 22 May 2026 to follow the AGM.
Governing Council has called an Extraordinary General Meeting to follow straight after the AGM on Friday 22 May at Titford Pumphouse.
Your Council has considered and voted unanimously that the Society should convert to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). This is a purpose built vehicle set up by the Charity Commission to allow smaller charities that are both registered charities and limited companies to merge into a single entity. One benefit is that we will only be required to submit one report and accounts annually rather than a different version to both the Charity Commission and Companies House. It also gives us the opportunity to update our constitution in line with current practice but it most definitely does not change our aims and objectives. In effect it is an internal house keeping exercise to keep our constitution relevant and reduce bureaucracy. A copy of the proposed Constitution will shortly be available to view on our website. Alternatively, a hard copy is available to view by appointment at Titford Pumphouse, B69 4NL or a copy can be requested from the secretary.
We are required to submit the following resolutions to the Extraordinary General Meeting.
COMPANY NUMBER: 04306537
CHARITY NUMBER: 1091760
CHARITABLE COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE
SPECIAL RESOLUTIONS
of
THE BCN SOCIETY (the “COMPANY”)
The members of the Company passed the following resolutions as indicated (Resolutions).
1. SPECIAL RESOLUTION
IT WAS RESOLVED THAT the Company shall apply to convert to a charitable incorporated organisation (“CIO”) pursuant to s228(1) Charities Act 2011 (“Act”) and the Charitable Incorporated Organisations (Conversion) Regulations 2017 (“Regulations”). IT WAS FURTHER RESOLVED that this resolution shall be treated as a conversion resolution pursuant to s228(3)(a) of the Act and the Directors are authorised to take such steps that are necessary in order to ensure that the Company converts to a CIO.
2. SPECIAL RESOLUTION
IT WAS RESOLVED THAT, in the event that the Company is converted to a CIO, that the CIO constitution attached to this resolution be adopted in substitution for, and to the exclusion of, the Company’s existing articles of association and that this resolution should be considered a resolution adopting the CIO constitution in accordance with s228(3)(c) of the Act.
3. ORDINARY RESOLUTION
IT WAS RESOLVED that Shakespeare Martineau LLP be authorised to attend to the requisite applications and consents in relation to the above matters, and any other filings in relation to the conversion of the Company to a CIO at the Charity Commission and Companies Registrar