Bowes and Bounds Connected
A Community Network for Bowes Park and Bounds Green
BPCA - Its demise?
Can anyone tell me what is happening to the BPCA ( Bowes Park CommunityAssociation) which has done such sterling work over the past 25 years? There were suggestions that it should lose the Charitable Status but revert to its original status of being an association which has an overview of the whole area and highlights projects that need attention and a bit of TLC. This appeared to have been rejected and there ws a small meeting when it seems the Committee were going to resign and close the whole venture down. I have contacted them to try and find out what will happen to the following but to no avail
The Community Gardens - leased to BPCA from Haringey
The Gym - not sure of its status
Public Liability Insurance - which covers , amongst other things the Community Choir and no doubt other offshoots of the BPCA
What will happen to the funds that have been collected. Will they be ring fenced for the benefit of the whole community?
And I am sure there are other questions that need answers that I know nothing about,
The huge advantage of the BPCA was that it was not involved in commercial operations. They provided a forum for discussions such as traffic flow through the area long before the latest changes. They provided forums and insurance for the walking group, and the art group and the folk group and the Community Choir for many years. They allowed Finsbury Gardens Fins Fest to be conceived and run by volunteers for many years as a non profit making good afternoon out for local children who were not going to get a summer holliday.
I am not sure if people realise that the BPCA appears to be being closed down with little public discussion as far as can see. Or is it not? The lack of information from the Committee is extraordinary. Perhaps it has served its time. But looking at the huge range of things it co-ordinated (it fills an A4 page) over the years including the resurrection of Myddleton Road with the cooperation of Haringey and Heritage England, so many ago. Some of its other achievements were. The cladding of land that became the Community Gardens, the Community Gym, saving Shaftesbury Hall from being turned into flats, successfully securing a Lottery Grant to refurbish Finsbury Gardens, securing funding to refurbish the original railings around the Gardens. Stopping the old Police Station from demolition and an IKEA type building being built in its place to house all the police cars of Haringey. And there is much, much more.
Do people care? If so are they prepared to give a little time to keep it going? Perhaps in a new form?
But most of all would someone on the committee tell all members what is being proposed because most of the people I talk to have absolutely no idea what is happening.
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Comment by Emma Killick on Sunday -
Dear Kate – I appreciate why you posted this plea for help and clarification.
However, I know that community groups continue in Bowes Park and Bounds Green, and the demise of the BPCA as a registered charity will have nothing to do with success of other community groups in the area. You – and other residents – are absolutely free to formulate any group you like to help look after the community and the public spaces. I hope you realise that there are many people who care about our neighbourhood and will be taking over responsibility for the areas you are concerned about, as well as being forward-thinking about making our small corner of London even better than it already is.
As the Chair of the BPCA for the past seven years (and as a Trustee and Committee member), I believe I need to address the rest of your post to a public forum so no one is in any doubt about my and the Committee’s commitment to the BPCA and our response to your concerns. I have communicated with you about all the points in this post multiple times. I have taken my role seriously and definitely do not take the decision lightly to be involved in the winding up and closure of the Bowes Park Community Association as a company and registered charity. I would prefer it continue as a charity, but there are requirements to continue with charity status, and unfortunately, they cannot be met.
Here are the relevant points:
- As a Company and Charity we are required to have an Annual General Meeting (AGM) (the “small meeting” I think to which you refer), which was held on 19 March 2025.
- We posted notices in the notice boards in three public locations about the AGM more than one month before the meeting; it was circulated on various social media platforms one month prior to the meeting; we sent an email to more than 1,000 subscribers about the meeting one month before; we sent a subsequent email to a smaller group of current members at the time (approximately 200 people) about the AGM (a subset of the subscribers).
- We received 9 responses to all of the above.
- At the AGM we discussed what was necessary for the BPCA to continue in its current form as a Charity and Company; the deadline to meet the requirements was May 19.
- After the AGM I sent the draft minutes to all attendees and told them to forward to anyone they thought would want to receive them. I also asked for edits. I received no responses.
- As explained at the AGM, and to you multiple times in written form, the Charity status requires three Trustees at all times (per the Articles of Association). We now have one trustee.
- We also explained that in addition to the basic Trustee requirement, we needed a new Treasurer, and five new Committee members.
- No one has said they would act as a Trustee, Treasurer, or Committee member.
- Without three Trustees, the BPCA is in violation of the Articles of Association and its charitable requirements.
The specific questions in your post have been answered on 11 April 2025 in an email to you. You are welcome to share that email (which I said to you at the time) and any member or resident is welcome to email me with questions at info@bowespark.org.uk.
None of the above belies the incredible achievement of the BPCA (and you and I working together separately to achieve Heritage Status for the Civic Center so it wasn’t torn down). You have mentioned many, but also, since 2020, we were instrumental in coordinating contact in every street in our neighbourhood when Covid-19 restrictions were coming into force, helped many residents, and established the Bounds Green Food Bank. These accomplishments will always remain, even if the BPCA no longer exists in its current form. There are so many caring, qualified, dedicated local residents who are continuing to take up the challenges we constantly face, even if not through the BPCA.
Emma
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