Our Club’s new winter meeting place and why its has occurred

What’s up! I hear you cry. The issue of concern is our future meeting place. As our address is included in our Constitution (Rule 2) we will need the approval of a members meeting to change the rule. Consequently, you will be asked to consider a proposal to change our meeting place and to vote. 

Your committee is most concerned as to whether we will be able to use the Football Club in the long term. As most of you know, the Football Club has not been open on Mondays since mid summer. They have not written to us about the closure and have not responded to emails etc. We are also aware of various rumours regarding the council’s intentions for the site and soundness of the Football Club’s finances. The last thing we heard, unofficially, was that they are trying to let the concession to run the bar to an outside contractor and that this might be sorted by November.

Because of this continuing uncertainty, it is the view of the committee that we should move elsewhere before we are pushed. What we have in mind is to relocate our winter meeting place only and to continue to use the public car park at the Football Club as our meeting place for our summer and Sunday ride outs.

We have contacted various local organisations and have been offered facilities at St Francis Hospital Social Club in Haywards Heath. Whilst not being in Burgess Hill, it does offer superior accommodation with a bar and food available most evenings. It also has a number of meeting rooms.

Some thirty or so members attended our EGM and Prize Giving Evening on Monday 20 November 2006 at St. Francis Social Club (SFSC).

The EGM purpose was trailed as being to consider our banking arrangements and to decide on a new venue, given the problems were have had with the Football Club.

After further consideration, no motion was tabled regarding the club’s banking arrangements, so they will remain the same.

Members had the chance to sample the hospitality of St Francis Social Club before we considered the site of our new meeting place. I was most impressed with what SFSC has to offer-two bars, a choice of meeting rooms, food available and a very welcoming and comfortable environment. Most members I spoke to thought the same.

There was a short discussion about other options and some disappointment was expressed that the SFSC was not in Burgess Hill.

As it was felt that we may need to deal with this sort of problem again, it was suggested that we need not state a specific address for the club in our Constitution and Rules. The following proposal was then put to the meeting:

Rule 2 Address should now read:

“The registered address of the club shall be decided by the Management Committee and will be announced to members in the Newsletter.” Proposed by David Dyke, seconded by Paul Stevens.

This motion was carried unanimously.

So because of this, I can now say that the committee has decided that our winter meeting place will be St Francis Social Club Princess Royal Hospital Lewes Road Haywards Heath West Sussex RH16 4EX . We will normally meet at 8.00pm on Mondays. We will still meet at Burgess Hill Football Club Car Park for our summer Monday night ride-outs and for Sunday morning runs.

So if you are not a regular on Mondays during the winter, why not come up to SFSC in the near future and see the place. The drinks are cheap and there is some good biker company.