BMFA kick backs/discounts for clubs

[Christopher Morris 2]

Posted by Denis Watkins on 28/09/2020 18:12:34:

Posted by Christopher Morris 2 on 28/09/2020 17:49:06:

As they was eligible for some sort of grant with covid & didn't want to upset the apple cart.

Grants are available Christopher, for Struggling Legitimate Businesses to pay rent to their Landlord during lockdown

The Local Councils award these grants

Flying Clubs are not Legitimate Businesses, but some clubs think they might be.

Strange you should say that. My club seems to be a limited company..Maybe this is the reason.
Company House

 

Edited By Christopher Morris 2 on 28/09/2020 19:23:04

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

We're all Limited to the Company we keep.

[Former Member]

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[Christopher Morris 2]

Posted by Barrie Lever on 28/09/2020 19:38:55:

Christopher

Very interesting, I would like to know their reasoning for going as a limited company? I do see some advantages.

B.

Must admit i was surprised with a club that only has a three grand turn over. We are in a very rural area & maybe they are worried about a model plane writing off a tractor? or similar.

[Andy Symons - BMFA]

Posted by Barrie Lever on 28/09/2020 19:38:55:

Christopher

Very interesting, I would like to know their reasoning for going as a limited company? I do see some advantages.

B.

There are a number of reasons, it can be easier to own land and take out long term leases for ltd companies for one.

[PeterF]

Posted by Barrie Lever on 28/09/2020 19:38:55:

Christopher

Very interesting, I would like to know their reasoning for going as a limited company? I do see some advantages.

B.

If you lease your flying field or own your flying field then you either need to be a limited company to be a legal entity to do this or have a couple of your members act as trustees and they hold the lease or own the property on behalf of the club. A simple club is not a legal entity and could not enter into a formal lease or buy land. There are a few limited company model flying clubs, the one I fly at is one.

There were grants available to sports clubs affected by COVID, however, as most model clubs do not charge the equivalent of green fees for each time you fly, they have not lost income due to being closed during lockdown, hence little basis to try for grants.

Edited By PeterF on 28/09/2020 20:39:22

[Andy Symons - BMFA]

A number of clubs were successful in getting the Sport England grants. Also any clubs that are registered for small business rates, even if getting full rate relief automatically received the £10k.

[Former Member]

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[Former Member]

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[alan p]

Perhaps if those criticising what return they get for their fee would be prepared to stand at the front and fight the authorities on their behalf I might be impressed. Do not forget to ignore a single person is easy, ignore 35000 is slightly more difficult. Hearing the moans and groans of the efforts they put in I am surprised Andy Symons bothers.

Persons will have their own opinion of things, we all do but our club has benefited from BMFA membership and Its rewards are there if you look for them. This posting may aggravate some but the thread is getting tiresome.

Regards

Alan p

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

The 400' exemption seems to me to be the visible tip of the iceberg of credibility that the BMFA has built up. It, along with the LMA, SAA and FPVUK seem to have become organisations respected by the CAA which is happy to devolve certain aspects of control and administration to them.

Of course, various individuals will always claim that better ways of doing things could have been adopted - especially when they have the benefit of hindsight - but generally the BMFA have a pretty good record of assisting clubs and individual members and I'm happy that the organisation is looking after my interests far better than I or my club could ever do alone.

It's an old chestnut but if some people have better ideas, why not get involved where they can contribute far more than sniping from the outside?

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

Posted by Steve J on 29/09/2020 10:36:10:

Posted by john stones 1 on 28/09/2020 10:41:41:

They fought our corner during the Drone saga ...

I would say that dealing with the government is a core function of the BMFA, arguably one of their two most important roles.

The 'drone saga' is far from over. Where is the authorisation that will cover us from the end of the year? What is happening with electronic IDs? The BMFA have been saying that negotiations are ongoing all year (they say it again in this month's mag). IMHO the only worthwhile concession that they have obtained in the last couple of years is the 400ft permission. The exemptions that allow association members to register with the CAA through the BMFA and mean that people with BMFA certs don't have to do a trivial online test are pretty worthless.

"It's a core function" Agreed, BMFA is more than just the insurance.

[Gary Manuel]

Posted by Andy Symons - BMFA on 28/09/2020 20:45:04:

A number of clubs were successful in getting the Sport England grants. Also any clubs that are registered for small business rates, even if getting full rate relief automatically received the £10k.

BMFA advising on the eligibility for a very useful grant at a time when membership numbers are down due to Covid. Another useful service provided by the BMFA, though I'm not sure that everyone is listening Andy.

I can confirm that if your club is registered for business rates, you are entitled to a £10k grant. Our club gets 100% business rates rebate thus effectively paying no rates but we still got it, though not automatically. We needed to apply for it via our local council's website. Literally a 10 minute job, filling an on-line form in and the council paid up within a couple of weeks. No questions asked.

[Mike T]

Would I be right in assuming that Clubs which are run as limited companies have legal tenure and full planning permission for their site(s)?

If this is the case then I also assume that this would expose them to the rating system - which the relief granted is intended to counteract?

[Martin_K]

Posted by Gary Manuel on 29/09/2020 18:07:46:

Posted by Andy Symons - BMFA on 28/09/2020 20:45:04:

A number of clubs were successful in getting the Sport England grants. Also any clubs that are registered for small business rates, even if getting full rate relief automatically received the £10k.

BMFA advising on the eligibility for a very useful grant at a time when membership numbers are down due to Covid. Another useful service provided by the BMFA, though I'm not sure that everyone is listening Andy.

I can confirm that if your club is registered for business rates, you are entitled to a £10k grant. Our club gets 100% business rates rebate thus effectively paying no rates but we still got it, though not automatically. We needed to apply for it via our local council's website. Literally a 10 minute job, filling an on-line form in and the council paid up within a couple of weeks. No questions asked.

Many times when reading here I have wondered if I am in the same hobby as some contributors to the forum. This due to the contrast between club sites with facilities such as huts, tables for preparing your 'planes, and even references to parking on-site. The 4 sites I have / do fly at are all public recreation areas with no club fixtures at all, in 3 cases involving a trek carrying your gear.

I smile at 'photos of enormous landing areas and wonder how members of those clubs would cope with the maybe 12 foot wide runways at the one of my 4 sites where a grass 'strip' is cut.

Grants make the disparity stark.

I enjoy what I am doing but hope the BMFA are equally focused on the needs of those flying only for fun on public access sites as for the grandest club running events on private land.

[Former Member]

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[Andy Symons - BMFA]

I enjoy what I am doing but hope the BMFA are equally focused on the needs of those flying only for fun on public access sites as for the grandest club running events on private land.

Indeed they/we are.

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

Posted by Martin_K on 29/09/2020 20:39:11:

Posted by Gary Manuel on 29/09/2020 18:07:46:

Posted by Andy Symons - BMFA on 28/09/2020 20:45:04:

A number of clubs were successful in getting the Sport England grants. Also any clubs that are registered for small business rates, even if getting full rate relief automatically received the £10k.

BMFA advising on the eligibility for a very useful grant at a time when membership numbers are down due to Covid. Another useful service provided by the BMFA, though I'm not sure that everyone is listening Andy.

I can confirm that if your club is registered for business rates, you are entitled to a £10k grant. Our club gets 100% business rates rebate thus effectively paying no rates but we still got it, though not automatically. We needed to apply for it via our local council's website. Literally a 10 minute job, filling an on-line form in and the council paid up within a couple of weeks. No questions asked.

Many times when reading here I have wondered if I am in the same hobby as some contributors to the forum. This due to the contrast between club sites with facilities such as huts, tables for preparing your 'planes, and even references to parking on-site. The 4 sites I have / do fly at are all public recreation areas with no club fixtures at all, in 3 cases involving a trek carrying your gear.

I smile at 'photos of enormous landing areas and wonder how members of those clubs would cope with the maybe 12 foot wide runways at the one of my 4 sites where a grass 'strip' is cut.

Grants make the disparity stark.

I enjoy what I am doing but hope the BMFA are equally focused on the needs of those flying only for fun on public access sites as for the grandest club running events on private land.

No idea what this is meaning ?

Disparity ? Grants didn't provide the facilities most clubs have, they came about through lads/lasses rolling their sleeves up and working at it, often as not using money out their own pockets, took years to achieve what most have, often as not created from some overgrown wilderness, and it's constant work to keep it that way. Clubs will also open their doors to new members.

I would cope just fine with a 12ft strip myself, and like the rest of our club, I fly for fun.

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

Well said John.

I was lucky enough to join a club which bought its own field back in 1982 - members lent money, raised money, took out a mortgage and worked extremely hard to turn rough scrubland into the great field that we can enjoy today. I hope my own small contributions to maintaining and improving the facilities reflect what we owe to those members' efforts to some extent.

Nobody gave us any grants - although I understand that the local council offered us the use of the town centre shopping arcade's top storey car park on Sundays (this was before Sunday trading of course) while the club was "between" rented sites...

The club has benefitted immensely from the far sightedness of those members who persuaded the doubters within the club to make the investment and if there's a club out there that gets the opportunity to buy their own site, I would say give it very serious thought - when I hear tales of clubs paying several thousand pounds a year on rent it makes me feel we're very lucky indeed.

Edited By Martin Harris on 29/09/2020 21:32:14

[Martin_K]

Posted by Doc Marten on 29/09/2020 20:43:33:

I don't know why you choose to go it alone Martin but I don't think it's constructive to knock those that join clubs, pay the fees and benefit from it.

I don't know why you think I am knocking club members. I don't know how you read into my post that I 'go it alone'. I am a member of a club. Three of the four sites I refer to have clubs that operate on them. My club fees are low, reflecting the minimal facilities.

[Martin_K]

Posted by Andy Symons - BMFA on 29/09/2020 20:50:05:

I enjoy what I am doing but hope the BMFA are equally focused on the needs of those flying only for fun on public access sites as for the grandest club running events on private land.

Indeed they/we are.

I am reassured to hear it.

[Martin_K]

Posted by john stones 1 on 29/09/2020 21:10:00:

No idea what this is meaning ?

You have no idea what this is meaning? Simply that there is a world of difference between the ways various members of this forum experience the hobby. I suspect in large part due to geographic variations in availabilty and price of land.

If you wanted clarification you could have asked.

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

Posted by Martin_K on 29/09/2020 21:55:40:

Posted by john stones 1 on 29/09/2020 21:10:00:

No idea what this is meaning ?

You have no idea what this is meaning? Simply that there is a world of difference between the ways various members of this forum experience the hobby. I suspect in large part due to geographic variations in availabilty and price of land.

If you wanted clarification you could have asked.

Could be non geographic, maybe some put effort in and reaped the reward,

[Former Member]

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[Former Member]

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