SPS has offered three levels of membership for the last two years – bronze, silver and gold.

Gold membership is valid for life and, like with most organisations that offer it, is designed to produce a high initial membership return for the Society in its formative years, when it needs a larger amount of income than in the long-term. Life membership does, however, reduce future annual income.

The numerous delays in closing of Swindon Panel, while frustrating in a number of ways, has a silver lining of having allowed us to sufficient time to reach a comfortable financial position, not least due to an excellent take-up of gold memberships (maybe it should be a ‘gold lining’…).

To avoid over-burdening the Society in the future, we have decided to close life membership to new entrants. The last date on which we will accept new gold membership will be the date of the AGM, Saturday 27 June.

Existing bronze and silver members will be able to upgrade to gold membership at their renewal if they wish, until the end of 2015. Existing bronze or silver members whose membership is not due for renewal before the end of 2015 may upgrade before the end of 2015 with a pro-rata reduction for gold membership based on the length of their silver or bronze membership left to run. (We are aware that there are possibly some annual members who had other plans in mind to upgrade in the future and we are happy to discuss individual cases of existing members (raised early) if required.)