The Minehead Community Defib Group was formed on 7th May 2021 using a Charity Commission small charity constitution. At the time it was not expected the group would exceed an income of more than £5,000 a year. Since then, the group have been extremely successful and at it’s AGM in May 2022, the group determined that it should apply for registered charity status.

The group came about as a result of Richard and Diane Newton raising money in 2020 for a defibrillator for the harbour area in Minehead. Such was the generosity of the community of Minehead together with that of friends and family from across the country and world, enough money was raised to provide a second defibrillator at The Jubilee Café on the seafront.

Donations kept coming in and public interest increased, to progress the project in an open and transparent way, Richard and Diane brought together a committee of like-minded people and created a non-incorporated interest group using a small charity constitution template from the charity commission website. The Minehead Community Defib Group was formed in May 2021 with two charitable aims, one around the provision and maintenance of a network of public access defibrillators and the other around educating members of the public on how to use them and how to use basic life support skills. This group is managed by a committee of trustees.

The group has, to date, placed 16 lifesaving 24/7 public access defibrillators into the community, they support all of these and a further 3 public access defibrillators they have ‘adopted’ and have trained 194 members of the community in basic life support skills and how to use a public access defibrillator.

The trustees agreed a new governing document in May 2022 based on the Charity Commission Trust Deed in readiness for a formal application to the charity commission to become a registered charity, in December 2022 we became a registered charity, reg number 1201454.

Richard Newton
Chairperson
Minehead Community Defib Group