Each year the RHS holds an Annual General Meeting (AGM) to enable members of the Society to find out what has been achieved over the past year and to have a say in how the RHS should develop in the future.
The 2022 AGM will be held at 11am on Tuesday 14 June 2022 at RHS Garden Bridgewater, Salford, Greater Manchester.
See the Notice of the AGM (2.6MB pdf), which includes the full business to be dealt with on 14 June including, the election of the President, Treasurer and Council Members.
Attendance at the AGM
All members need to pre-book attendance at the AGM. Bookings will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis. In order to manage capacity, members will be unable to attend without pre-booking.
Amendments to Society’s Bye-laws
Council have also proposed amendments to the Society’s Bye-laws, which will be considered at the AGM.
The amendments include provisions such as the enablement of virtual meeting AGMs which were not previously included and also improving understanding and updating language, for example using the word ‘email’ rather than just the term ‘electronic communication’.
The proposed changes fall into the following categories:
- Amendments affecting Council procedures;
- Amendments to provisions around Membership and general meetings;
- Reflecting the flexibility in the Charter to change the size of Council; and
- Other minor amendments
Find out more about how to vote on Council’s proposed amendments further down the page.
How will the changes be considered?
Full information was provided to members via an Initial Change Notice published on the RHS website and an email about the proposed changes was also sent to members on 17 March 2022. Members were able to propose amendments to Council’s proposed change by 3 April 2022. The April edition of The Garden also alerted members to Council’s proposal.
All members will be able to vote on the proposed amendment to the Bye-laws as outlined below.
Feedback from members regarding the
proposed changes
The proposed amendments were outlined in full to members in March and Council received 25 responses to the Initial Change Notice, as set out below:
- 4 responses supported the change;
- 1 response opposed the change;
- 7 responses were general queries or comments regarding the Bye-laws;
- 11 responses were general queries or comments, not related to the Bye-laws;
- 2 members proposed amendments to Council’s proposed change
The member amendments received were:
- Minor grammar and punctuation;
- That anyone considered for committee membership should have a proven record of working in the horticultural industry of at least ten years, plus recognised horticultural qualifications, ideally going back to giving preference to those who have served as head gardeners
The Nominations, Appointments and Governance Committee and Council have considered the responses received.
Council feels that it is crucial for committee and board members, as well as Council, to have a broad range of skills and experience to sit alongside the members with horticultural expertise. Our Council has a wealth of horticultural knowledge and a rich mix of commercial and charitable experience, which is vital to continue and will always be valuable to the governance of the Charity.
Council, in its discretion, has therefore agreed to include the minor amendments to grammar and punctuation in the proposed amendments to the Bye-laws.
Council, therefore, puts forward one amendment to members to approve the amendments to the Bye-laws.
How to vote
To vote on this resolution you must be over 18 and a fully paid individual member of the Society or represent a member organisation such as an Affiliated Society.
Voting before the meeting will be by online proxy. The President will act as a proxy for all online voting and in the following link you will be able to vote:
- For the amendment
- Against the amendment
- Witheld
- For the President to vote at his discretion
Members will also be able to vote in person at the Annual General Meeting.
Voting online is open until Friday 10 June 2022 at 12noon.
CESVotes have been appointed as an independent scrutineer to conduct the poll and ensure the proper conduct of the ballot.
Please note: This voting service is being provided by Civica Election Services (CES) on behalf of RHS. Please read the members’ section in the RHS Privacy Policy and the CES Privacy Statement for more information on how your personal data will be processed.
Further information
Read versions of the Bye-laws showing the exact wording of the proposed amendments on the links below. You can also see detailed information about the proposed changes to the Bye-laws and existing Bye-laws on our RHS Charter and Bye-laws page.
Get in touch
For more information about our Annual General Meeting, please contact The Secretary at [email protected] or telephone 020 7821 3068.
