Simplifying pricing for new members

Every year at our AGM we put issues to our members to the vote. These are either ‘tidying up’ issues (as we need member agreement to change our rules) or more fundamental questions. We plan to ask members at this AGM to SUPPORT a change to our rules to allow us to simplify our membership pricing.

Currently, our membership runs Jan to Jan. So if someone joins mid way through the year we pro-rata their membership fee to reduce it if they join after July 1st. Every year is causes confusion for new members, and sometimes leads to heated emails and tension when we come to renewals. It’s also really complex to run. So we want to make it simpler, and simply have a price for a 12 month year, whenever you join. If you join in January, your renewal comes in Jan the following year. If you join in August, you have membership until the same time next year.

To do this we need to change our Rules. We will be putting this to a vote in September, and hope you support us!

For those who want to see the detail, we are proposing amending the Rules as follows (this is the proposed version - you can see the current rules here). We have simply deleted the words which tie us to a pro-rata, Jan to Jan system.

9. MEMBERSHIP PRICES

a.     Joining fees and subscriptions are payable upon joining the club.

b.    The price of membership subscription is set by the Board, who should ensure that they take adequate account of members’ views in making pricing decisions, ensuring that prices are set so as to maximise inclusion, and to improve the health, safety and cycling experience of our members.