Statement from the Council of Management – 1st November 2009

The Council of Management of the Swanage Railway Trust is pleased to announce that at its meeting on Saturday 31st October, Steve Doughty was elected as Chairman of the Trust and Liz Sellen as Deputy Chairman. Following the recent election the other serving Trust Council members are: Steve Barker, David Budd, Doug Chick, Graham Cope, Andrew Moore (Treasurer), Linda Moore, Clive Morris, Frank Roberts, Peter Sills, Mike Stollery, Bill Trite, Andy Vincent, Mike Whitwam and Mark Woolley (Secretary).

The Trust Council is very grateful to Mike Whitwam for his significant contribution during his time as Chairman - particularly in respect of Project Wareham and the success of the charter trains between London and Swanage this year. We are delighted to confirm that his valuable work in this important area will continue.

A review of the Board of Directors of the Trust's subsidiary, the Swanage Railway Company Ltd, has also been carried out. The Council is conscious of the fact that with the Swanage Railway now having a consolidated annual income of over £2 million the policy of the SRT Chairman also being Company Chairman was too onerous for one person and has led to a lack of focus between the very different functions of the Trust Council and the Company Board. As a result the Council is pleased to confirm that with immediate effect Peter Sills is appointed Chairman of the Swanage Railway Company. It is now Trust policy that the Chairman of the Council of Management should at all times be a director of the Company and as a result, Steve Doughty now rejoins the SRC Board. Steps have also been taken to further strengthen the Board with the appointment of Liz Sellen as a director. The Board is therefore now comprised as follows:

Peter Sills*, Geoff Carter, Steve Doughty*, Andrew Moore*, Liz Sellen*, Phil Thrower and Mike Whitwam*

In order to ensure a common sense of purpose, it remains Trust policy that at all times over 50% of the Company directors should also be members of the Council of Management (names indicated with an asterisk*).

The Council of Management is conscious that divisions within the management of the Railway have overshadowed achievements in recent months and is committed to ensuring that the new Council and Board structure will serve all the Railway's members and volunteers effectively in the coming months. As part of this we are committed to improving our communication methods at all levels. The Trust Council is also keen to enhance understanding of the organisational structure and the roles and responsibilities of both the Council and Company Board.

We are extremely grateful for the dedication and hard work contributed by everyone during what has been a record breaking year for the Railway.

Please refer any questions regarding the revised structure outlined above to any member of the Council of Management.

Mark Woolley

Secretary

The Swanage Railway Trust

1st November 2009