These 10 acres of land were generously bequeathed to the village by the Elmhirsts and the Dartington Hall Trust in 1962. The land is now managed by the Dartington Recreation Association (DRA), a charity run by local volunteers, under a lease that next comes up for renewal in 2118!
Dartington Recreation Association is a registered charity (Charity number 1168817) run by volunteers. New members and helpers are always welcome. Please contact us if you would like to get involved.
Roles
The DRA has approximately 10 trustees. We have the typical charity roles: Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary, plus representatives from neighbouring organisations including Dartington Primary School, The Wave, Bidwell Brook School, and Lifeworks, as well as representatives from the clubs who use the facilities.
Trustees stand down at each Annual General Meeting (AGM), and new trustees are nominated. Meetings are open to the public; if you would like to attend, please subscribe to the mailing list.
A trustee application form is available for anyone interested in becoming a trustee. These forms are circulated to trustees in the lead-up to the AGM. A good way to start is by volunteering.
Volunteers
A pool of volunteers keep the DRA going. We need help with both ad-hoc events and day-to-day activities. Many volunteers are former trustees or are on the path to becoming trustees. If you are interested, please subscribe to the mailing list and let us know your areas of interest.
Working Groups
Currently we have several key working groups, composed of individuals who report to the trustees but also operate with autonomy:
- Pool Group: working towards the revival of the Dartington swimming pool
- Building Group: improving the existing building and scoping out the next phase of development
- Operations Group: responsible for the day-to-day management of the organisation and facilities
Key documents
- DRA vision
- Constitution (Current 2022)
- Handbook and rules (Current 2023)
- Lease from landlord Dartington Hall Trust
- Lease Annex 1 - Plan of Site
- Lease Annex 2 - Schedule of Condition
Trustee Meeting minutes
- September 2024 - AGM (minutes coming soon)
- June 2024
- March 2024
- January 2024
- September 2023 - AGM
- May 2023
If you are already a volunteer or trustee you can find Meadow Chat over here.