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12 July, 2021

Community groups to potentially unify

At a meeting held Saturday 3 July , representatives from a range of Clifton community organisations came together to discuss the possibility of establishing one organisation to better further their individual and collective interests.


The atmosphere was inquisitive and constructive at last Saturday’s meeting to discuss the future of Clifton’s community organisations.

The organisation is set to be known as Advance Clifton Inc.

The meeting was organised by the Clifton Progress Association and included participants from the Clifton & Districts Chamber of Commerce & Industry,  Clifton Megafauna Group, Clifton Historical Society and the Building and Development Committee of Clifton Community Health Services.

Maureen Mitchell from the Progress Association said the purpose of the meeting was to give representatives from the various participating groups an opportunity to find out more information about how Advance Clifton would work.

“We were looking at joining together into a united front instead of each group going on their own,” she said.

Mrs Mitchell said that from hers and her organisation’s perspective the meeting was a success.

“We had some questions going into the meeting and most of them were answered.

“There is just a couple of things we want to clarify,” she said.

President of the Clifton & Districts Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Amanda Beatson said the purpose of the meeting was to answer questions regarding a possible amalgamation of community groups with common objectives. 

“The concept of forming a new group was identified as a priority in the Clifton Tourism Development Plan, recently produced by the Tilma Group,” she said.  

Ms Beatson said during the meeting, a variety of questions and answers was presented regarding membership structure, governance, finance and volunteers and how this might look under several different models proposed.

“Discussion at the meeting was productive in that everyone had the chance to clarify the information regarding the concept and different models,” she said. 

“Pros and cons of each model will now be discussed among individual associations before a decision is made regarding the best way for groups to work together for the benefit of our community.”

The various models proposed provide the organisations with differing levels of autonomy within Advance Clifton.

The models include operating as a sole entity, as an umbrella entity or as a mixed model.

Each model has its own benefits and drawbacks in regard to grants, operational costs, insurance and communication with governments.

Mrs Mitchell said the next step is to work out a time-frame and which model to adopt.   


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