STATEMENT BY THE DIRECTORS OF THE MMOC ON THE COVID-19/CORONA VIRUS PANDEMIC

Discuss anything Morris Minor related.
Forum rules
By using this site, you agree to our rules. Please see: Terms of Use
Locked
Admin
Webmaster
Webmaster
Posts: 425
Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2001 12:00 am
MMOC Member: Yes

STATEMENT BY THE DIRECTORS OF THE MMOC ON THE COVID-19/CORONA VIRUS PANDEMIC

Post by Admin »

In the light of the rapid and evolving outbreak of the Covid-19/Corona virus in the UK and across Europe, the Directors of the MMOC want to clarify and confirm the position of the club in relation to a number of planned activities scheduled for the spring and early summer of 2020 to ensure we all follow the UK government guidelines. Please read the following statement carefully.

MMOC Branch Liaison Meeting - 5th April 2020.

To follow the Government advice to safeguard the health and welfare of our membership and to avoid unnecessary social interaction and travel the event will be postponed. We are in discussion with the event venue and, if the situation improves sufficiently, we hope to be able to hold this meeting later in the year. If not, we will look at alternative ways to ensure the views of the branches are heard. Sue Akrill will contact all branches and speakers to confirm that the event has been postponed.

MOT-UK – North Wales – 4th to 11th July 2020
The MOT-UK event, located in North Wales area and scheduled for 4th – 11th July has been cancelled by the organisers.

Minors on Tour (MOT) – France - 23rd to 30th May
MOT 2020 is currently scheduled between 23rd and 30th May in Saumur in the Loire Valley. France is currently in a 15 day lockdown; cross-border movements within the Schengen area, the UK, Iceland, Switzerland, Norway and Liechtenstein are restricted to essential travel until 16th April, and the UK government currently advises British nationals against all but essential international travel.

The UK government has also recommended 12 week self-isolation regime for those citizens over 70 and/or with underlying health issues. As a result of this, it is looking increasingly unlikely that the MOT 2020 event can take place this year. Our most recent information suggests that a meeting between EuroCamp and other accommodation providers and ABTA (Association of British Travel Agents) is taking place this Friday which will decide whether their 2020 season across Europe, will go ahead.

This decision will clearly impact upon MOT 2020 and, if they opt to cancel the 2020 season, will impact on all camp sites in Europe that use EuroCamp units. In view of the imminence of this meeting, we intend to await the outcome and, once this is known, to issue further guidance early next week.

Members who have already booked onto MOT 2020, and who face earlier deadlines for payments and who feel unable to wait until early next week to find out if MOT 2020 is going ahead as planned, are free to act to protect their own interests and need not be bound by the position taken by the MMOC outlined in the text above.

Please check the MOT website regularly at http://minorsontour.mmoc.org.uk for the latest updates.

National Rally 27th & 28th June 2020
The National Rally falls inside the 12 week self-isolation period recommended by the government for those over 70 and/or with underlying health risks. We are in detailed discussions with Kelmarsh Hall about the National Rally but as things currently stand, the event will not take place. Our discussions are investigating the logistics of simply moving the event to next year and what costs this is likely to incur, both in cancelled reservations for 2020 and any additional fees for 2021.

The National Rally is our largest annual expense and we are mindful that we are spending members’ money in staging this showpiece event. As soon as we have concluded these
discussions, we will issue a further statement about arrangements and plans for the National Rally and, if we can, any plans to expand another event later in the year for things like the AGM.

Annual General Meeting 2020
Revised arrangements for the AGM, which formed part of the 2020 National Rally, will be communicated to members in due course.

Branch and Club Activity
Considering the most recent government information and MMOC branch activity at a local level, it is the view of the Directors of the MMOC that all branches should also follow the current and future government advice and take their own measures to locally reduce the spread of this virus. It is our view that all branches should strongly consider postponing or cancelling their local monthly branch meetings, rallies and events until the national picture becomes clearer.

This is an unprecedented crisis and requires co-ordinated action by agencies and organisations at national, county and local levels across the UK. The Directors of the MMOC strongly urge branch committees to adopt a sensible, proactive and definitive stance and to play their part in tackling the Covid-19 virus. The Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC), of which the MMOC is a member, has issued its own guidance to clubs. This guidance can be found at the link below:
https://www.fbhvc.co.uk/news/article/coronavirus

In conclusion, our overriding intention is to focus on keeping everyone safe. Many of our club members are in the highly vulnerable age group likely to be at the highest risk of infection. We fully accept that there will be significant disruptions and changes to the way our members will need to live their lives over the next few months as we weather this national health crisis.

We want to ensure that members can spend the maximum amount of time caring for their family and loved ones at this difficult time. We hope and trust that all members will recognise that these measures, though extreme, are taken to do our part to safeguard the welfare of our members. The MMOC will survive this unprecedented national emergency and we hope that all members will support the Directors, Committee and staff and the importance we are placing on
keeping everyone safe.

The Directors and Committee are working extremely hard to safeguard the interests of our members in a challenging and rapidly changing environment. We are acting on the best advice we have access to at the time. Our guidance may change as the national guidance changes. We are keeping the situation under continual daily review and we expect to issue
further guidance as the situation evolves.

Ends.
Andrew Stone Chairman
Ray Newell Secretary
Bruce Kelsey Director of Development
Mike Dean
MMOC Webmaster
Image
Locked