Events

20th AGM Agenda on 9th September 2026 at 6.00pm & Minutes of previous AGM

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20th Annual General Meeting of Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway Trust

To be held on 9th September 2026 at 6pm

Agenda 

1.      Welcome, Chair
2.      Apologies for Absence
3.      To receive the Minutes of the 19th Annual General Meeting held on 14th October 2025
4.      To receive and consider the Report of the Directors and the Statement of Accounts and the Balance Sheet of the Company for the year ended 31 March 2026
5.      It is proposed that the following longest serving Directors who have completed a three-year term be re-appointed for a further three years:
Chris Hilliard – Drew Marchant – Janet Goodland –
Paul Smith
6.      Presentation from the Chair, Hilary Chipping, on the Trust’s activities over the last year and its current key objectives.
7.      Guest speaker: Michael Nunns, Water Framework Directive Catchment Delivery Manager (Great Ouse), Environment Agency
QUESTIONS
Close of meeting
Refreshments

 

Minutes of the 19th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF
THE BEDFORD & MILTON KEYNES WATERWAY TRUST
HELD at Box End Park   
on 14th October 2025 AT 7.30 PM, Chair: Simon Clewlow

There were 22 members present, and 14 proxy votes had been received. All proxy votes were in favour of all motions or left the decision to the chair of the meeting.

  1. Simon Clewlow welcomed those present.
  2. 3 apologies had been received by the meeting.
  3. The minutes of the 18th Annual General Meeting held on 25th June 2024 were accepted with no votes against.
  4. The Report of the Directors and the Statement of Accounts and the Balance Sheet of the Company for the year ended 31 March 2024 were accepted, with no votes against.
  5. Simon thanked Paul Smith, our Finance Director, for his hard work pulling together all financial reports through the year and Rose Johnston, our independent examiner of accounts.
  6. Those Directors who have completed a three-year term were individually re-appointed for a further three years:
    1. Beryl Bennett: accepted with no votes against.
    2. Simon Clewlow: accepted with no votes against.
    3. James Barbour: accepted with no votes against.
  7. Tom Tagg had been co-opted as a director during the year. The meeting confirmed him as a director with no votes against.
  8. Simon announced that, to concentrate on his new focus as Project Lead for the Waterway Project he was stepping down from his role as the chair of the Trust, and that the board had selected Hilary Chipping to replace him as chair.
  9. Simon gave his review of the Trust activities since the last AGM, covering the several significant achievements.
  10. Hilary presented the Vision and Strategic Objectives from the draft revised Business Plan and set out the next steps as she takes over the chair. Hilary thanked Simon for his significant contribution over the last two years and Trustees presented Simon with a small gift to show their appreciation. She also thanked Members, Trustee and Volunteers for their hard work and support throughout the year.
  11. Gidon Freeman, Senior Vice-President, Government and Regulatory Affairs, NBCUniversal International was the guest speaker. He gave background to the decision to locate the Universal Theme Park and Resort Project in Bedford. Although he was restricted by the planning application process, he entertained the meeting and said that he would be happy to speak again about the Waterway project once the outcome of the planning process was known.
  12. After questions from the floor, the formal business being completed, the meeting was closed at 8:55pm. Those present then socialised over refreshments.

Trust Annual Report 2025-26 can be downloaded here

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