Over 100 City supporters and Bath residents attended a packed Randall's at Twerton Park Monday night to hear presentations from the Society's community ownership action group and share their thoughts and concerns on community ownership.

After an introduction from Martin Powell, the Society chair, Ken Loach outlined the basic principles of community ownership before Shane Morgan, the Society's Board rep, made an impassioned speech setting out the state the club is in and how community ownership has the potential to secure a viable Bath City FC for future generations.

Pete Sellwood, chair of Bath City Community Sports Foundation, described the positive impact on both the community and the club that could arise from community ownership. William Heath, a local businessman who was involved in the Bell Inn buyout and is a member of the action group, spoke about the Bell's experiences and the positive climate for community ownership and social enterprises both in Bath and in the UK. 

Oliver Holtaway, the Society's secretary, outlined some of the possible paths to community ownership in terms of legal structures and business models, including a possible community share offer, Finally, Kat Byles, a local PR expert and trustee of the Foundation, explained how a community ownership bid would be marketed.

A Q&A session followed, in which searching questions about the target figure, timeframe and future playing budget were raised. Overall, the mood was constructive and positive.

A full report will be available soon on bathcitycommunity.org.

The draw for December's 100 Club took place at the Society Committee's Jan 15 meeting. The winners were Colin Frayling and Dave Clerk - congratulations! For info on how to join the 100 Club, click here.