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Articles of Association

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Articles of Association of the Shrewsbury and Newport Canals Trust

Of all the canals of the Shropshire Union that were abandoned by the 1944 Act only the Shrewsbury & Newport is not either fully open or under very active restoration.

The Trust was formed in October 2000 in the belief that it is not too late to save the Shrewsbury & Newport Canals. Very little of the line of the canals has been built on and no insuperable engineering problems lie in the way of restoration.  To see the minutes of the inaugural meeting please click here.

Aims of the Trust

To protect, conserve and improve the route of the Shrewsbury and Newport canals, and branches, for the benefit of the community and the environment, with the ultimate goal of restoring a continuous navigable waterway linking Norbury Junction to Shrewsbury.

• to convince local authorities, government departments and local organisations of the benefits and feasibility of the proposed restoration
• to convince landowners, local commerce and the general public of the merits of restoration
• to secure the route of the waterway and adequate water supplies
• to develop partnerships with local authorities and other bodies that will facilitate restoration of the canals
• to implement an agreed programme for full restoration of the canal

If you would like to support these aims please become a member.

Background

When a number of canal enthusiasts got together in 1968 to form the Shropshire Union Canal Society their immediate aim was to protect the Shrewsbury & Newport canals, which although legally abandoned for over 20 years were still largely intact, from impending piecemeal sale.  This it was felt would inevitably mean that parts of the canals would be filled in and structures destroyed and that any hope of restoring them to navigation would be gone for ever.

At that time the expansion of the navigable canal network was not a popular concept and in their aim they were unsuccessful.  Their fears appeared to be justified.  The Society moved its prime concern to other parts of the Shropshire Union system, notably the Montgomery Canal, whilst much of route of the canal from Norbury Junction to Shrewsbury was sold off to neighbouring landowners.

Despite the ravages of nature and of man on the canal over the intervening years very little, apart from in Shrewsbury, has been built on the line of the canal.  It is not too late to restore navigation into the heart of Shropshire.  In other parts of the country communities have seen the benefits to be gained from canal restoration, in many cases of canals that have been abandoned for far longer than the Shrewsbury & Newport.  Many have gone through the stage of looking like they were attempting the impossible. But they are now close to achieving that “impossible dream” and with the Shrewsbury & Newport Canals we could be doing the same. This will be a long-term project which will involve major investment but would bring new life, new recreational opportunities and new, environment-friendly business to the countryside, towns and villages between Norbury Junction and Shrewsbury.

To promote restoration The Shrewsbury & Newport Canals Trust was formed in 2000 to which interested parties and individuals can belong in order to demonstrate commitment and work together to ensure that the Shrewsbury & Newport Canals are no longer just a dotted line on a map but a living and vibrant waterway for the 21st Century.

Local Support Groups

The Trust has three local support groups who watch over the Trusts interests in their area, organise fund raising events and arrange work parties.  Beyond the A41 to Norbury Junction the independent Norbury to Newport CIC works closely with the Trust.  Each group has its own contact details and holds their own events and work parties.  For more information on these please go to the Local Support Groups page.

• Newport Support Group, Chair Steve Jones, work parties are 1st Saturday of each month from 1000 until 1600.
• Shrewsbury Support Group, Chair Alan Wilding, work parties are Last Saturday of each month from 1000 until 1600.
• Telford Support Group, Chair Alan Harding, work parties are 3rd Saturday of each month from 1000 until 1600.

Shrewsbury & Newport Canals Trust (SNCT) Privacy Notice

This Privacy Notice was adopted by the SNCT in May 2018 in order to comply with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), in force on 25 May 2018.

Your personal data – what is it?

“Personal data” is any information about a living individual, which allows them to be identified from that data (for example a name, photographs, videos, email address, or address).  Identification can be by the personal data alone or in conjunction with any other personal data.  The processing of personal data is governed by legislation relating to personal data, which applies in the United Kingdom including the General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR) and other local legislation relating to personal data and rights.

This Privacy Notice relates to the Shrewsbury & Newport Canals Trust which is the data controller for any data it holds about members and other identifiable individuals. The person within SNCT who is responsible for managing the Trust’s use of personal data is Brian Nelson whose contact address is: bnelson@sncanal.org.uk.

SNCT may have cause to share data with:

•             Canal & River Trust

•             Inland Waterways Association

•             Community groups

•             Charities

•             Other not for profit entities

•             Contractors

SNCT may process some or all of the following personal data where necessary to perform its tasks

•             Names, titles, photographs;

•             Contact details such as telephone numbers, addresses, and email addresses;

•             Where they are relevant to the activities of SNCT, or where you provide them to us, we may process demographic information such as gender, age, marital status, nationality, education/work histories, academic/professional qualifications, hobbies, family composition;

•             Where you make payments for your membership or other activities we may process financial identifiers such as bank account numbers and various payment/transaction identifiers.

SNCT will comply with data protection law. This says that the personal data we hold about you must be:

•             Used lawfully, fairly and in a transparent way.

•             Collected only for valid purposes that we have clearly explained to you and not used in any way that is incompatible with those purposes.

•             Relevant to the purposes we have told you about and limited only to those purposes.

•             Accurate and kept up to date.

•             Kept only as long as necessary for the purposes we have told you about.

•             Kept and destroyed securely including ensuring that appropriate technical and security measures are in place to protect your personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access and disclosure.

We use your personal data for some or all of the following purposes:

•             To manage your membership of SNCT and your engagement with the Trust across its full range of activities and interests;

•             To contact you by post, email, telephone or using social media;

•             To maintain our own accounts and records;

•             To seek your views, opinions or comments;

•             To notify you of the various activities of SNCT and those of other organisations or individuals which we believe may be of interest to you. These may include information about campaigns, appeals, other new projects or initiatives;

•             To process relevant financial transactions relating to your relationship with SNCT.

What is the legal basis for processing your personal data?

Typically the use of your personal data will require your consent and we will first obtain your consent to that use.

We may also process personal data if it is necessary for the performance of a contract with you, or to take steps to enter into a contract.  An example of this would be processing your data in connection with a financial arrangement you may wish to enter into with SNCT.

Sharing your personal data

SNCT will implement appropriate security measures to protect your personal data and will not normally share this with third parties outside of the organisation without your permission.  However, some personal date may be shared with agents, suppliers or contractors for a specific purpose.    These third parties also have an obligation to put in place appropriate security measures and will be responsible to you directly for the manner in which they process and protect your personal data.

How long do we keep your personal data?

In general, we will endeavour to keep data only for as long as we need it.  This means that we will delete it when it is no longer needed.  In the case of membership records we will retain membership details for up to two years after a membership has lapsed.

Your rights and your personal data 

You have the following rights with respect to your personal data:

The right to access personal data we hold on you

The right to correct and update the personal data we hold on you

The right to have your personal data erased

The right to object to processing of your personal data or to restrict it to certain purposes only

The right to data portability

The right to withdraw your consent to the processing at any time for any processing of data to which consent was obtained

The right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

You can contact the Information Commissioners Office on 0303 123 1113 or via email https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/email/ or at the Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.

Transfer of Data Abroad

Excepting for communications with members who live abroad, SNCT will not normally transfer any personal data to countries or territories outside the European Economic Area (“EEA”).  However, our website is accessible from overseas and so on occasion some personal data, for example in a newsletter, may be accessed from overseas.

Further processing

If we wish to use your personal data for a new purpose, not covered by this Privacy Notice, then we will provide you with a Privacy Notice explaining this new use prior to commencing the processing and setting out the relevant purposes and processing conditions.  Where and whenever necessary, we will seek your prior consent to the new processing.

Changes to this notice

We will keep this Privacy Notice under review and we will place any updates on our website.  This Notice was last updated in May 2018.

Contact Details

If you have any questions about this Privacy Notice or the personal data we hold about you, or wish to exercise your relevant rights, or to make a complaint please write to Brian Nelson bnelson@sncanal.org.uk.