Welcoming you to our AGM and Member Meet-up
We look forward to welcoming you to this year's AGM and Member Meet-up. This takes place on Saturday 22 April at Bridge 5 Mill, Sustainable Living Centre in Manchester.
This year’s event is on Earth Day. We’ll have an exciting line-up of experts discussing our shared aims of leaving the right kind of footprint together. They’ll look at our common experiences, sustainable lending and agitation for change.
The event is open to all Ecology Members and supporters and is your opportunity to meet other Members and the Ecology team including our colleagues and directors.
Your voting pack
We'll send invitation packs to eligible Members with all the information you need to vote in our AGM as well as details of how to join us in Manchester. Non-members are also welcome to attend, subject to space.
Register to attend in person via our dedicated Eventbrite site at ecologyagm2023.eventbrite.co.uk. If you need any help, please contact us on 01535 650770.
If you can't come, you can still email us with a question for our directors and follow the progress of the day using the #EcologyAGM hashtag on Twitter.
We're owned by our members and put their interests first, so if you're a part of Ecology we want to hear what you think.
Our AGM is your opportunity to:
- Meet the Ecology team and share your views on our work
- Hear from our experts discussing our shared aims of leaving the right kind of footprint together. We look at our common experiences, sustainable lending and agitation for change
- Meet other Ecology members in a friendly environment
This year’s AGM and Member Meet-up takes place at Bridge 5 Mill in Manchester. At the event, you can hear from our experts discussing our shared aims of leaving the right kind of footprint together. We look at our common experiences, sustainable lending and agitation for change. There will also be plenty of time to meet other members, Ecology colleagues and directors.
You can find out more and register to attend by visiting our dedicated Eventbrite page at ecologyagm2023.eventbrite.co.uk. If you're unable to register online, please contact us on 01535 650770.
Voting is your chance to shape how your Society is run. Vote in a way that suits you – online, by post, or at our AGM – and the voting process is quick and easy.
As an eligible member, you will have received an AGM voting pack via post or email. The pack also contains our Annual Review and Notice of AGM which includes information relating to AGM resolutions.
Simply visit ecologyagm23.ukemeet.uk to vote online; or scan the QR code on your paper proxy voting form. Alternatively, you can complete the voting form in your AGM voting pack and post it back to us, free of charge.
This year’s voting will be administered by UK Engage, a leading election services provider.
We’ll donate 50p to environmental charity Trees for Cities for every member who votes online (20p for those voting by post). We’ll also donate £1 to if you choose to go paperless and receive future voting packs by email, which helps reduce our paper use.
Please ensure we receive your vote by 5pm on Wednesday 19 April 2023.
By public transport
Bridge 5 Mill is in the Ancoats district just outside Manchester City Centre. The nearest railway station is Manchester Piccadilly Station (22 mins walk or 7 mins by tram).
It is served well by trams. The nearest tram stop to the venue is Holt Town (4 mins walk) which is two stops from Manchester Piccadilly station.
Bus numbers include: 76, 217, 216, 231
By bike
Secure sheltered bicycle parking available on site. Bikes are left at own risk.
Cycle hire is also available, go to beeactive.tfgm.com/cycle-hire/ to download the app.
By car/taxi
Visitors can be dropped off at the front entrance of the Mill. There is very limited road parking available on nearby streets (Branson Street, Piercy Street and Pollard Street).
To plan your journey visit tfgm.com/plan-a-journey/
| 10.15 | Registration and refreshments Meet your fellow members |
| 10.30 | Building societies for beginners Optional session introducing the building society model and the workings of an AGM |
| 11.00 | Annual General Meeting including Ask the Directors |
| 12.30 | Lunch |
| 13.30 | Footprints in the ground – Innovation for positive change Panel discussion on the latest innovations in sustainable building and retrofit Daniel Capstick - Ecology Product Manager, Mortgages, Ecology Building Society Marianne Heaslip - Co-founder and Technical Director, People Powered Retrofit Lynn Sullivan OBE - Chair of the Good Homes Alliance and Interim National Retrofit Hub |
| 14.15 | Footprints on the ground – Sustainable lending in practice Hear from Ecology borrowers who are building a greener future Ele George - Former Ecology self-build borrower and sustainable construction specialist Chris Pyke - Founding member of Five Rivers Cohousing Gisela Renolds - Executive Director, Global link (Lancaster) Ltd |
| 15.00 | Break |
| 15.15 | Our future footprints – Agitating for positive change Hear from leading change-makers on how they are influencing policy and behaviours Colin Baines - Shareholder activist and ethical campaigner Sara Edmonds - Director of Studio seARCH and Co-ordinator at Architects Climate Action Network (ACAN) Rob Harrison - Editor, Ethical Consumer |
| 16.00 | Closing comments Gareth Griffiths - Chief Executive, Ecology Building Society |
| 16.15 | Close |
Colin Baines
Shareholder activist and ethical campaigner
Dan Capstick
Ecology Product Manager, Mortgages
Sara Edmonds
Director of Studio SeARCH and Coordinator at ACAN
Ele George
Former Ecology self-build borrower, engineer and green build leader
Rob Harrison
Editor, Ethical Consumer
Marianne Heaslip
Co-Founder and Technical Director, People Powered Retrofit
Chris Pyke
Founding member of Five Rivers Co-housing
Gisela Renolds
Executive Director, Global Link (Lancaster) Ltd
Lynne Sullivan OBE
Chair of the Good Homes Alliance and Interim National Retrofit Hub
We’d really like to hear from you
If you have any questions about the Society or would like to send a question for our directors in advance, email [email protected].
We’ll answer some of the most frequently asked questions on the day and will post our responses on the website. Where possible, we’ll reply directly to members before the AGM.
Bridge 5 Mill was established and refurbished by a dedicated group of people who had a vision for a centre in Manchester that could be a hub and resource for groups, organisations and individuals working on environmental and social issues.
The original project was called the Manchester Environmental Resource Centre Initiative (MERCi) and was established in 1996 as an independent charity. MERCi found and purchased Bridge 5 Mill and refurbished it with the help of grants from the European Regional Development Fund, a private trust, The National Lottery Community Fund and the Esme Fairburn Trust, and later the Tudor Trust and Comic Relief.
The mill was refurbished using many reclaimed and recycled materials, eco paints, water saving measures and low energy fittings (and no PVC!). It also involved a range of people with different skills and backgrounds, such as New Deal apprentices from the local community, participants of ‘Building on Equality’ – a green construction course for lone parent women – and many volunteers, all of whom were led by professional craftspeople who shared their knowledge and expertise.
If you want to know more about the venue, please go to bridge5mill.org.uk/about
