TANT AGM 2020

Unfortunately due to the COVID-19 crisis we have cancelled our AGM planned for the 17th May.

  • Free entry, free parking, nibbles & refreshments and a free prize draw.
  • Lots of time for Q&A’s from you on the day, and we will have quiet rooms for you to talk privately if needed.

TANT are very grateful for your donations and we would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you for your support over the last year. Can we help you? Call: 0845 463 3563 or email: [email protected]

Chair’s Chat

For TANT 2019 was a year of considerable highs and lows. We were party to genuine and positive progress in the ongoing issue of long lease tenants with huge effort and input being made by our specialist long lease team. Sadly during the course of 2019 our committee was depleted by the unexpected loss of two of our committee members, Karen Burrell and Nick Massey, who both lost ongoing battles with cancer. Their contribution to our work was highly valued and they are sorely missed but Nick’s wife Karen stays on the committee and continues Nick’s legacy.

2019 also saw the departure of Cristina George from the TANT committee. After many years of volunteering, not only as a TANT committee member but also as a member of the National Trust Council, Cristina decided that it was time to explore new challenges and resigned from TANT at our 2019 AGM, we wish her and her family well for the future. Late in 2019 we welcomed two new committee members, Kel Walker and Phil Bradby, both of whom bring experience and enthusiasm to their roles and we look forward to their contribution to our ongoing projects during the upcoming year.

Moving onto 2020 TANT has many varied projects to work on for the benefit of our tenant members. We will continue our tireless work to assist our long lease tenants to secure their homes and ensure the longevity of the investments that they have made in. Good progress has been made but there is still work to do and we are pleased to report that the National Trust is now working closely with us to secure a fair and equitable outcome. For more details please see our website or contact Mike Dennys at [email protected].

We will also be working hard on our Protecting Rural Communities initiative as we are deeply concerned at the erosion of rural communities resulting in an increase in holiday and second homes. It is crucial that action is taken on high rents, low permanent residency, lack of amenities and facilities and vanishing transport links as all of these issues are destroying traditional rural communities and will continue to do so if not checked. We will be working closely not only with the National Trust but also with outside stakeholders such as ACRE and the Rural Coalition to try and stem the tide of destruction and promote and support policies that prioritise the health and wellbeing of our precious rural communities before they are lost forever.

We will also be carrying on our work on the abolition of Section 21 eviction notices that we started in 2019. There have been positive moves by the Government to go ahead with the removal of this Dickensian piece of legislation but, whilst we welcome the proposal, we wish to see this benefit extended to current tenancies and therefore we will continue our work to campaign for the change to be retrospective, again working with external stakeholders such as Generation Rent where appropriate.

All in all we have a busy year ahead of us and look forward to assisting our tenant members wherever we can. If you feel you can contribute to TANT’s work in any way then please get in touch, we would love to hear from you and if you are able to attend our AGM in Broadclyst, Devon on Sunday May 17th then we look forward to meeting you.

TANT Co-Chairs Jo & Andrew