RULES
NAME
1. The name of the Club shall be the BILLERICAY & DISTRICT
ANGLING CLUB.
OBJECTIVES
2. The objectives of the Club shall be to promote
good fellowship among all anglers, to promote lectures and debates, to hold
friendly competitions, to cater for all types of anglers, to promote friendship
amongst angling clubs, to seek, rent and buy suitable waters for stocking and
fishing and do everything in its power to assist in keeping the rivers and
waters pure and clean.
OFFICERS
3. The Officers of the Club shall be: - Chairman,
Hon. Treasurer and Hon. General Secretary. The Committee shall comprise of the
Officers plus Vice-Chairman, Minute Secretary, Membership Secretary, Match
Secretary, Junior Secretary, Newsletter Editor, Website Editor, Telephone
Helpline Officer and representatives from the Fishery Management, Junior and
Finance Sub-committees together with six ordinary members.
MEMBERSHIP
4. The Club shall
consist of such number of members as the Committee, for the general management
of the Club, shall decide at any given time.
5. Ordinary
membership shall be open to all persons who have attained the age of 18 years
as at 1st April in each year. Senior citizen membership shall be available for persons of state retirement age and over.
Junior membership shall be open to all children sponsored by an adult full member, from the date of their 5th
birthday until the 1st April following their 15th birthday.
Associate
membership shall be open to partners and spouses of existing members.
Except with the
consent of the Management Committee or in the case of an event organised by the
Junior or Match Secretaries;
Junior and Associate members will only be allowed upon Club fisheries or to
fish Club waters and attend Club outings and senior competitions if accompanied
by the Ordinary member nominated to be responsible for them and in the case of
senior competitions the Junior member must have attained the age of 10 years.
Intermediate
membership shall be open to all persons from their 15th birthday
until 1st April following their 18th birthday or to the
age of 22 years, with documented proof of continuous full-time education.
Non-Fishing
membership shall be available to all persons who have attained the age of 18 years
and shall allow that person only to enter Club waters.
6 All
applicants for membership will be required to give their details as per the
current application form for inclusion onto the Club’s membership database by
the Secretary duly appointed for that purpose.
7. Upon
payment of the entrance fee and first subscriptions they will become a member of the Club
and be entitled to all the benefits and privileges of that class of membership
and be bound by these rules.
8. Admission
to membership will be at the
discretion of the Committee.
MEMBERSHIP FEES
9. The
entrance fee and annual subscription for the following year shall be determined
at a meeting of the Finance Sub-Committee to be held in October annually. The
entrance fee shall be payable by all new members over the age of 15 except for
Associate and Non-Fishing members.
10. All annual subscriptions (except the first
subscription of a new member as provided by rule 7) shall be payable by the 1st
April each year.
11. All entrance fees and subscriptions shall be
paid to the account of the Club.
12.
If any member fails to pay the
annual subscription on or before the 30th April after it has become due, that person shall cease to be a member
of the Club, but may re apply for membership upon payment of entrance fee and
subscription.
HONORARY MEMBERS
13. The
Committee may invite, as honorary members, any person who has given outstanding
service to angling or the furtherance of the objectives of the Club. Members may propose any names in writing to the Hon. General Secretary. Honorary members are not required to pay any
entrance fee or subscription.
14.(a)
Honorary members shall be entitled to all the benefits and privileges of
membership except that they shall not be qualified to be Officers or members of
the Committee or to vote as members or to claim any share of the property of
the Club upon its dissolution.
(b) Honorary
Life Members shall be entitled to all benefits and privileges of ordinary membership.
RESIGNATION OF
MEMBERSHIP
15. Any
member wishing to withdraw from the Club may do so upon forwarding to the
General Secretary a written resignation, but his resignation shall not be
effective until all debts to the Club,
including subscriptions are discharged.
GATE KEYS
16. All gate
keys remain the property of the Club and must be returned on relinquishing
membership.
MANAGEMENT OF
THE CLUB
17. The
management of the Club shall be the responsibility of the Committee, all of whom including Officers shall be
elected at the A.G.M., shall retire annually and be eligible for re-election. The President shall be an ex-officio member of the Committee.
18. The
Committee shall meet at least once in every month to examine the accounts and
arrange the affairs of the Club. Minutes shall be taken of all the proceedings
of the Committee and shall be open to the inspection of any member of the Club
upon application to the Hon. General Secretary. Five (5) members of the
Committee shall form a quorum.
POWERS OF THE COMMITTEE
19. The
Committee shall have the power to appoint a member to fill any casual vacancy
on the Committee until the next A.G.M.
20. The
President shall be elected by the Committee, and shall hold office until death
or resignation, unless removed from office by a resolution of the Committee.
21. The Committee may from time to time
appoint from among their members such sub-committees as deemed necessary or expedient and may
delegate to them such powers and duties the Committee may determine. Such sub-committees will periodically
report their proceedings to the Committee and will conduct their business in
accordance with the directions of the Committee.
22. The
Committee may from time to time
make, repeal, and amend all Bylaws that
do not impact on these rules, as it thinks expedient for the internal management and wellbeing
of the Club. All Bylaws made by the Committee under this rule shall be binding upon members
until repealed by the Committee or set aside by a resolution of an A.G.M. of
the Club.
23. The
Committee shall have power to spend such sums as it considers appropriate in
connection with the purchase of stock fish or the acquisition of fisheries by
licence, lease purchase or any other manner and the management of Club Waters
and the purchase of essential equipment.
24. The
Committee shall be empowered to borrow for the purpose of the Club by way of
loans from its bankers such sums as it considers appropriate under its powers
in rule 23.
The trustees shall at the discretion of the Committee make dispositions
of the Club’s property or by part thereof and enter into such agreements in
relation thereto as the Committee may deem proper for giving security for such
loans and interest thereon.
25 Five
(5) members of the Committee shall form a quorum except as follows: under Rules
23 and 24, where the amount to be expended and/or borrowed shall exceed
£5000, the quorum shall be (10) members of the Committee, and such motions
shall only be passed on two-thirds majority.
COMMITTEE POWERS OF
DISCIPLINARY ACTION
26.
The Committee has the power to either
suspend or to ultimately expel
any member who offends against the rules or Bylaws of the Club or whose conduct is, in the opinion of the Committee,
contrary to the interests of
the Club or injurious to its reputation and render them
unfit for membership of the Club. Before any such member is expelled the
Hon. General Secretary shall give him 7 days written notice to attend a meeting
of the Committee which notice shall contain particulars of the complaints made
against them. No
member shall be expelled without first having the opportunity of appearing before
the Committee and answering the complaints made against them or unless at least two-thirds
of the Committee then present vote in favour of their expulsion.
27. A suspended member shall, if they so desire, be heard in answer to the complaint. At
the discretion of the Committee a reasonable adjournment shall be granted to
enable them to
prepare their answer. At the
adjourned hearing, the suspended member shall be subject to a
majority vote and the decision of the Committee shall be final and conclusive.
28.
Any person shall, on being expelled
from the Club by the Committee, forfeit all right to and claim upon the
Club and its property and funds.
TRUSTEES
OF THE CLUB
29.
There shall be four (4) Trustees of the Club who shall be ex officio members of
the Committee. The first Trustees shall be appointed by the Committee and the
property of the Club (other than cash which shall be under the control of the
Treasurer) shall be vested in them to be dealt with by them as the Committee
shall from time to time be directed by resolution, (of which an entry in the
Minute Book shall be conclusive evidence). The Trustees shall be indemnified
against risk and expense out of Club property. The Trustees shall hold office
until death or resignation or until removed from office by a resolution of the
Committee who may for any reason which may seem sufficient to a majority of
them present and voting at any meeting, remove any Trustee or any Trustees from
the office of Trustee. If by reason of such death, resignation or removal it
shall appear necessary to the Committee that a new Trustee or Trustees be
appointed or if the Committee shall deem it expedient to appoint an additional
Trustee or additional Trustees the Committee shall by resolution nominate the
person or persons to be appointed the new Trustee or Trustees. For the purpose
of giving effect to such nomination the President is hereby nominated as the
person to appoint new Trustees of the Club within the meaning of Section 36 of
the Trustees Act 1925 and he shall by deed duly appoint the person or persons
so nominated by the Committee as the new Trustee or Trustees of the Club and
provisions of the Trustees Act 1925 shall apply to any such appointment. Any
statement of fact in any such deed of appointment shall be in favour of a
person dealing bona fide and for value with the Club or the Committee be
conclusive evidence of the fact so stated.
GENERAL
MEETING - CONVENING AND CONDUCT
30.
The Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held in March or April each
year upon a date and at a time to be fixed by the Committee for the following
purposes:
(a) To receive from the Committee a report,
balance sheet and statement of accounts for the preceding financial year, and
an estimate of the receipts and expenditure for the current financial year.
(b) To
fill the vacancies in the Committee and to elect auditors for the ensuing year.
(c)
To decide on any resolution which
may be fully submitted at the meeting as herein after provided under Rule 31.
31.
Any full member wishing to propose any resolution at the A.G.M shall give
notice in writing to the Hon.
General Secretary by 31st January before the date of such a meeting. Any such
resolution must be seconded by another full member. Any proposals from the
floor to amend the detail of a resolution will only be accepted at the
discretion of the Chairman.
32.
The Committee may at any time for any special purpose call an Extra Ordinary
General Meeting, and they shall also do
so upon the request in writing of five
per cent of the Voting members stating the purpose for which the meeting is
required.
33. Fourteen days at least before the
A.G.M. or any Extra Ordinary General Meeting, a notice of such meeting and of the
business to be transacted shall be
provided to every ordinary member, and
no other business other than that which notice has been given shall be considered at
such meeting. The report, balance sheet, statement of accounts and estimate shall be made available at the A.G.M.
34. At all A.G.Ms and E.G.Ms of the
Club the Chairman, or in his absence a member selected by the Committee, shall
preside. Every ordinary member present shall be entitled to one vote upon every
motion, and in the case of equal votes
for & against, the Chairman
will have a second or casting vote. Voting shall be by a show of current
membership card. The Committee shall be empowered, if it thinks fit, to make
regulations to enable members
unable to be present to vote by written proxy.
35. The
quorum at all General Meetings shall not be less than twenty-five (25) ordinary
members.
FINANCIAL
YEAR
36. The
financial year of the Club shall end on the 31st day of December in any year,
to which day the accounts of the Club shall be balanced.
AUDITORS
37. At the Annual General Meeting independent auditors shall be
elected to serve for the ensuing year. The auditors shall audit the accounts of
the Club not less than fourteen days before the A.G.M. The Committee has the power to appoint a replacement auditor
should the post become vacant.
PAYMENTS TO
MEMBERS FOR SERVICE RENDERED
38. No
member shall, except for professional
services at the request of the Committee, receive any profit, salary, or
emoluments from the funds or transactions of the Club.
CHANGE OF
ADDRESS
39.
Every member of the Club must notify a
change of address to the Membership Secretary.
All notices posted to the last notified address shall be
considered as having been duly given on the day following the date of posting.
INTERPRETATION,
AMENDMENT AND ADDITION TO THESE RULES
40.
The Committee shall be the sole authority for the interpretation of these rules
and of any Bylaws and regulations made there under. The decision of the
Committee upon any question of interpretation or upon any matter affecting the
Club and not provided for by these rules or by the Bylaws and regulations made
there under, shall be final and binding on the members.
41.
These rules may be added to, repealed or amended by resolution at any Annual or
Extra Ordinary General Meetings, provided that no such resolution shall be
deemed to have been passed unless it be carried by a majority of at least ten
(10) of the voting members attending.
DISSOLUTION
OF THE CLUB
42. If at any General Meeting a
resolution for the dissolution of the Club shall be passed by a majority of the
members present and such resolution shall at an Extra Ordinary General
Meeting held not less than one month
thereafter at which not less than half the members shall be present be confirmed by a resolution passed by a
majority of two-thirds of the members voting thereon, the Committee shall thereupon, or at such
future date as shall be specified in such resolution proceed to realise the property of the Club
and after the discharge of all liabilities shall divide the same equally among all full members and thereafter the Club shall be dissolved.
CLUB
LIABILITY
43.
Neither the Club or any officer thereof shall be liable to any member or guest
of a member for any loss of or damage to any property occurring from whatsoever
cause, in or about the Club Headquarters or on any organised Club event; nor
for any injury sustained by a member or guest in or about the Club Headquarters
or on any organised Club event; the same applying to any Club water.
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GENERAL BYLAWS ------
1. Any person fishing on a Club fishery must be
in possession of the current Environment
Agency rod
licence, which permits a maximum of two or three rods to be used by members at
any one time. Note: two rods allowed unless governed by fishery rules allowing
one rod only or an additional rod for night ticket holders only as specified on
the Barleylands and Laundry venue pages. Associate
and Junior members may use one rod only.
2. All
enclosed waters will be closed from 1st
April until 30th April inclusive.
All RIVERS
will be closed from 15th March until
15th June inclusive.
3. Keep nets shall be of a minimum
depth of six feet with a main ring diameter not less than eighteen inches and
shall be of knotless material. The use of keepnets where normally allowed can
be withdrawn by the Club’s Committee in times of endemic viral fish diseases.
This will be notified by signage at each water.
4. Under no circumstances shall specimen fish
from the Club waters be retained in keep nets of whatsoever size but must be
returned to the water as quickly as possible after weighing and/or
photographing. By specimen fish it is meant bream over 5lbs, carp over 8lbs,
tench over 5lbs, roach and rudd over 2lbs.
5. All members shall at all times honour the
Country Code, all gates to be closed, all crops to be avoided, all wildlife to
be undisturbed, other people’s property respected and trees undamaged.
6. You must only fish from properly constructed swims where
provided and must not damage bankside vegetation
7. The use of handheld or head mounted
torches with dry cell batteries are allowed on club fisheries. Wet cell
batteries e.g. car batteries are not allowed.
8. Any person found fishing on a Club water with
litter in or around their swim will be held
responsible
for that litter. Any person not removing such litter will be reported to the
Committee and may in any event be asked to leave the fishery.
9. All types of portable radio, compact disc,
tape cassette players (except those used with headphones) & all televisions
are barred from all Club fisheries and on all Club events. All noise to be kept
to a minimum on, around or approaching any Club fishery. For example, please
keep volumes down in cars while waiting for fisheries to open.
10. No firearms, catapults, etc. shall be permitted
on Club waters except for recognised bait propellants.
11. Except where indicated in the Club handbook,
all cars must be parked in the official car park where one is provided and all gates
to fisheries to be locked after entry and exit. Under no circumstances may cars
be parked on roads adjacent to fisheries.
12. Groundbait may be used in moderation on all
Club waters where the Riparian Owners do not object.
13. All members are expected to act as bailiffs and
challenge politely every person on Club
fisheries not
known to them. When a member challenges another person, he shall first produce
his own membership card and then request to see the other person’s membership
card. Any member challenged by another member, or an official bailiff shall
produce his membership card and if requested by a bailiff also his Environment
Agency rod licence.
14. Any signs of misconduct, or pollution must be
reported to the Fishery Officer and/or General Secretary immediately.
15. Any member called upon for assistance by an official
bailiff shall render, if capable, same immediately.
16. Unless by prior permission of the Committee no
person other than a Club member, no matter what the age or relationship, if any, to the
member shall be allowed on any Club fishery, whether they fish or not.
Non-members may drop off or pick up Club members from the car parks if required
but must leave immediately. A member who cannot produce a valid membership
certificate will be deemed a “non-member”.
17. No member shall introduce any fish of any
species whatsoever into any Club water nor may fish be moved from one fishery
to another or from one water within a fishery to another except under Committee
instructions.
18. All fish must be returned to the Club water
from which they were caught or taken, unless written permission to remove, keep
or cull fish has been given by the Management Committee.
19. No unauthorised fires to be lit on any Club
fishery. Proper cooking appliances are allowed but must be constantly
monitored. For the sake of safety, no barbecues are allowed.
20. No swimming on
or at any Club fishery.
21. Sweetcorn, luncheon meat or any other form of
canned bait must not be taken to the waterside in the container in which it was
purchased e.g., tin can, glass etc.
22. No prebaiting is
allowed prior to a fishing session on any Club water.
23. No bait of any variety is to be deposited in
the water or on the banks after a fishing session. Please take surplus bait
away.
24. All members are required to fish their
designated swim i.e., not too close to the next designated swim and not over halfway
towards the opposite bank.
25. No member shall fish deliberately in any reed
bed/lilies or towards spawning fish on any Club water.
26. No member is to be allowed on any Club fishery
during an official closed period except at the discretion of the Management
Committee.
27. No camping
(recognised angling shelters, bivouacs, brolly tents are allowed).
28.a. No boats
or watercraft of any kind or size allowed on Club waters without consent of the Committee.
b. No aerial remote-controlled device (e.g., drone) is to be used on
Club waters.
29. No unprepared particle
baits to be used as loose feed or bait on any Club fishery.
30. The use of
peanuts as a bait or loose feed is banned on all Club fisheries.
31. Unless prior permission is granted by the
Committee all new waters (not in handbook) acquired by the Club are CLOSED
until an official announcement is made.
32. Anglers can
only occupy and/or fish from one swim.
33. Only BARBLESS
OR MICRO-BARB hooks to be used on Club stillwaters.
34. No angler should leave their swim unattended for more
than three hours in any twenty-
four-hour
period.
35. An unhooking mat is to be always
used whenever a fish of any size is to be placed on
the ground.
ADDITIONAL RULES RELATING TO INDIVIDUAL
FISHERIES ARE TO BE FOUND ON: -
a)
ONLINE HANDBOOK
b) THE NOTICE BOARDS DISPLAYED AT EACH FISHERY
ANY INFRINGEMENTS OF THE BYLAWS OF THE
CLUB SHALL BE DEALT WITH
BY THE COMMITTEE AS LAID DOWN
UNDER RULES 26 AND 27.
Classes of Membership
ORDINARY A person between 18 and state retirement
age.
SENIOR CITIZEN A person of State Retirement age.
DISABLED A person who is in receipt of a disability
benefit may join at the Senior Citizen rate. Proof of the current benefit
must be sent in every year e.g., photocopy of CURRENT letter from the
Benefits Agency, etc. Blue parking badges are not accepted.
INTERMEDIATE This class of membership is open to those
aged between 15 and their 18th birthday or to the age of 22 years with
documented proof of continuous full-time education.
ASSOCIATE A person who is the spouse or partner of an
existing member (1 rod only)
JUNIOR This class of membership is open to those
aged between 5 and their 15th birthday. Juniors can only join with an Ordinary,
Intermediate or Senior Citizen member and it is a strict Club rule that juniors
must be closely accompanied by the senior member responsible for them when
on Club waters. Juniors and adults must therefore fish at the same or
closely adjacent swim.
NON-FISHING A person having attained the age of 18 and
only allows entry to club waters
PLEASE NOTE No other person, including children under
5 years old, is allowed on Club waters.
BDAC issues Guest tickets on its three freehold waters
(Southminster, Straits Mill & Asheldham) and our rented waters at Thoby
Wood, Hicks Farm, Field & Swan and Shalford. Email bdacmembers@gmail.com or telephone the Helpline for details.
LICENCES Every member of 12 years and over must carry
an Environment Agency licence if they wish to fish.
The EA licence allows the use of two rods, although some
club waters only allow one rod. No member may use more than two rods on any
club water but 3 rods may be used by night fishing permit holders only, from 1st
November until 31st March in any season, subject to holding the
correct EA licence for three rods.
GATE COMBINATIONS will appear on the back of your ID
card to allow access.
CLOSE SEASON Club waters are not accessible during our
Close Season, which is 15th March to 15th June inclusive on rivers
and the month of April on stillwaters. We do undertake working parties on our
stillwaters during March and April. Adult members will be supervised during
work in the morning, then be allowed a few hours fishing in the afternoon, at
the discretion of that water's Fishery Officer.
NIGHT FISHING
New members will be allowed to night fish our waters
at Southminster, Asheldham and Bicknacre as part of their basic membership. New
members will only be permitted to enter and fish our two large carp waters as
follows:-
Barleylands, between 6 a.m. and 6 pm
Laundry Lake between 6am and 9pm.
Night fishing permits for these two venues will
become available to purchase when members renew their renewal in
their second year of membership.
FISHERS GREEN
Cards for the Consortium waters can be purchased on the on-line
application for £15 per member. For details of the waters see the online
Handbook or their website fishersgreencon.co.uk
BAIT BOAT USE:
B/lands &/Or Laundry Lake Only
An additional permit/fee will be required by any member to use a Bait
Boat at Barleylands or Laundry Lake.