East Grinstead Memorial Estate www.egmel.co.uk is a ltd company and registered charity which owns the 100+acre site of East Court and Ashplats Wood which is a designated SANG for the Ashdown Forest. The site is leased to Mid Sussex District Council who operate it under a 125 year lease.
As a charity, apart from owning the asset of the estate we also have some investments which provide a small income, most of which we distribute to good local causes. We are all volunteers and work jointly with MSDC to agree plans for essential maintenance and development of the estate.
The first question usually asked by prospective volunteers is what would be the likely time commitment - and the answer is a piece of string! There are currently four board meetings a year and e-mails in between, so not onerous. There are naturally opportunities to do more and particularly in the areas of overseeing the local authority, community engagement, media development etc, but having knowledgeable sector expertise to call upon would be the biggest bonus to the board.
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