THE annual meeting for thousands of National Trust tenants is being held this year on the edge of Exmoor, in West Somerset.

The trust’s tenants across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland are represented at national level by the Tenants Association of the National Trust (TANT), which is chaired by West Somerset resident Peter Bate.

It was founded in the early part of this century and is run entirely by volunteers who provide advice, mediate solutions in landlord/tenant discussions, contribute to National Trust housing policies, and input to the Government’s Leasehold Reform Bill currently before Parliament.

Previous annual meetings have been staged all over the country from Fountains Abbey, in Northumberland, to Dudmaston, in Shropshire, Slindon, in West Sussex, and Kingston Lacey, in Dorset.

This year, it is being held in Allerford and Selworthy Community Hall, in Allerford, near Minehead, on Sunday, October 15, starting at 11 am. 

The occasion will feature guest speakers from the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England and the National Trust.

All National Trust tenants are welcome, with free entry and a buffet lunch, and any tenants needing help to reach the event should call 07711 554658.

Anybody who wants to raise any questions or put themselves forward to stand for election to TANT’s committee should do so via the website here.