We are really excited to announce that Wellingborough Eco Group is now a large membership Community Interest Company that is private limited company by guarantee. A large membership Community Interest Company (CIC) is a company with more members than directors. We will continue to be a membership organisation that is lead by our members.
Community Benefit
Wellingborough Eco Group Community Interest Company will carry on its activities
for the benefit of the community, and the environment. The
company’s activities will provide benefit to help improve Wellinborough’s
environment, to reduce, reuse and recycle items that would otherwise
end up in landfill, and to help local people reduce their carbon footprints.
ECO HUB – Includes activities where the community will benefit by saving money and/or items from waste by being able to:
- Swap Shop – Swap or donate to get clothes including school uniform, toys, books, entertainment and household items.
- Food Sharers – Get fresh food saved from local supermarkets.
- Happy Café – Eat hot food, drink tea and coffee, and take part in mindfulness activities for free.
- Litter Picking Hub – Borrow litter picking equipment and get council bags.
- Eco-Crafters – Join in with craft sessions to learn new skills.
- Eco Club for Kids – Take part in eco friendly activities with their children.
- Noughts and Crosses – Take part in Polish Community activities with their children.
- Repair Café – Get items repaired and to share skills.
- Replay – Reuse old games, toys and electrical items.
- Energy Savers – Save on their utilities with saving tips and advice.
Community Allotment – To give people the chance to share skills and to grow plants and food together. We also have a Tree Nursery.
Nature Rangers – To give plants, trees, birds, insects and animals a chance to thrive by restoring habitats and by creating new habitats, including planting trees; and by caring for our wild creatures.
Litter Picking, including Wellie Wombles – To organise group litter picks and to enable people to litter pick to tidy up our town and wider area and to save pollution.
How to… Green Tips and Wellingborough Eco Map – To run free workshops, to give free advice in person and online and to provide information on eco friendly services.
Good Company
We incorporated on 7th January 2025 with four directors, Emma Davies, Tricia Gilyead, Jonathan Hornett and Judy Sumner, each of whom have more than 25% but no more than 50% ownership of the company. Each have pledged a limited guarantee of £1 to the company. The Directors are responsible for managing the company’s business, and reserve the right to do so. Management or our projects will continue by our members and be lead by our committee.
Our company number is 16168300 and we are registered at 2 Roberts Street, Wellingborough, NN8 3HY. You can contact us via this website. You can also find out more about our company, including its registration and Articles of Association on Companies House website. We also have a Constitution which has now in parts been superseded by our Articles of Association (this will be reviewed and amended by our Committee) but it does delve further into the ethos and values of our group.
Membership
The members of a large membership CIC have a strong role in controlling the company’s governance, just as they have for the last five years. Membership is currently free of charge and open to everyone. All members need to be approved by the Membership Secretary and if needed the Committee. Members of what was our constituted community group will be transferred to being members of our CIC unless otherwise advised or they opt out. Do join us as a member and/or register as a volunteer today!
Meetings
All members can attend our General and Committee Meetings, attendance of Directors Meetings is limited by governing rules of the CIC. Members will continue to represented by our Committee, which will continue to have a Secretary, Membership Secretary and Treasurer. A Chair Person is elected at the start of each meeting, for that meeting only.
All members can be elected as Committee Members with a majority vote, project leaders are usually also Committee Members but this is not exclusive. All members can vote at General Meetings, but not at Committee Meetings. Committee Meetings are held every third Tuesday of the month at ECO HUB. General Meetings are our Annual General Meeting and as needed.
Sustainability
We have had five great years being a constituted community group, but as we have grown, we have outgrown this type of organisation. In order to keep growing to help the environment more, and to benefit more people, we have had to become a legal entity. We considered all of the options, and the large membership Community Interest Company by guarantee was the most sustainable. It gives us the flexibility to pioneer new projects, enables us to take on contracts and opens more options for funding.
We would like to thank everyone who is a member, who volunteers with us and all that join in with our activities. By becoming a CIC we hope to have many more opportunities to help people and to improve our environment, for many more years to come with you all. By becoming a CIC, Wellingborough Eco Group is more sustainable. We have come a long way together, thank you everyone for your support.