OVT Blog #1

The Oxshott Village Trust (OVT) Blog #1                                                   

[Def: a regularly updated web article that provides insight into a certain topic or organisation.]

 

Who are the OVT? A charity that was founded after WW2 for the benefit of the Oxshott residents. Some of you will have seen the memorial tablet in St Andrew’s Church commemorating the Canadian soldiers stationed in Oxshott during the Second World War, and who started off the Fund by leaving money before they went home to Canada. 

The OVT owns the Village centre consisting of the two Halls and the surgery used by the Oxshott Medical Practice (OMP), all residing on Crown Estate land off Holtwood Road.  Currently the OVT is managed by a committee of 10 volunteers – 3 trustees & 7 committee members.

 

More information including the new Blog can be found on: https://theoxshottvillagetrust.org.uk

 

The Trust’s focus today is to build a new surgery that will provide a modern medical facility catering for the ever-increasing Oxshott population, currently the number of patients is standing at 8,500. A building capable of providing not just an NHS practice but also ancillary medical services which will enhance the well-being of the Oxshott community.

 

The new surgery needs to comply with the strict rules & regulations applicable to all medical buildings – consulting room size, flow of the waiting room and the facilities required for both patients, nurses, doctors, ancillary & admin personnel. 

 

Working with the OMP and an architect we have agreed a design that has been put forward to Elmbridge for pre-planning – this has been passed. The new building will be constructed alongside the existing surgery so there will be no disruption to the existing medical services. Once the new surgery is built, the OMP will simply move from existing to new.

 

An important step on the journey to create the new surgery, is to convert the OVT charity to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) still a charity and accountable to the Charity Commission. The new CIO will be governed by a new constitution that has been the subject of a recent consultation with residents. Apart from being a more modern style of charity, the CIO will enable us to reclaim VAT  thus saving some £600,000 on build costs.

 

The proposed new constitution was available to residents for review during February and culminated in an Extraordinary Meeting held in the large Hall on March 18th, 2024. The meeting was well attended with over 100 residents in the Hall. After much debate, the unanimously agreed constitution is now ready to be sent to the Charity Commission for their approval and registration.

 

The Oxshott Village Trust CIO is for the benefit of Oxshott residents and the meeting agreed that all Oxshott residents over the age of 18 years will become an automatic member of the Trust. The agreed map defining the Oxshott area is shown below.

 

There are many steps still to progress: including appointing an architect, obtaining full planning permission & negotiating with the NHS for on-going rental for the new surgery.

 

As to the funds required - the OVT has carefully managed their income and investments to ensure that we have a healthy fund to put into this development. We have negotiated with the Crown Estate for a new 99-year lease at no lease premium and the Crown Estate will also fund a generous 50% of the building costs. 

 

There will be a requirement for further funds which we will look to raise locally. The medical practice is a vital pillar in the Oxshott community and we will be looking for all the support we can garner from you!

 

Please do visit our website for more information: https://theoxshottvillagetrust.org.uk

And if you have any queries, please email us on info@theoxshottvillagetrust.org.uk