But while LI president Neil Williamson has refuted claims of a cover-up of the body’s mammoth financial problems, he has admitted that accountability has been opaque.

“There is an element of legitimate criticism,” he acknowledged. “There has been relatively little reporting on management and financial matters to members. Given the events of the past nine months, this state of affairs may seem archaic and inadequate, but there has never been any attempt to hide anything from anyone.”

Williamson was responding to allegations of “reckless spending” from Spanish LI member Gabino Carballo, who has set out a review of the LI’s accounts over the past five years.

Carballo said the body set “unrealistic” budgets, in which expenditure exceeded income, and he criticised the LI for “reckless spending and mismanagement”.

“I, other trustees and senior staff have not been abusing our positions by improperly profiting from charitable funds and the allegation we have attempted to systematically mislead or conceal the true state of affairs is completely groundless,” added Williamson.

One of the major bugbears for critics of the LI has been the rent cost of the organisation’s base in central London – £90,000 a year before a proposed doubling from the landlord earlier this year.

Landscape Institute North West member Penny Beckett said: “The LI should never have gone to Great Portland Street in the first place. The rent was always far too high for a small institute such as ours.”

Writtle College landscape architecture lecturer Tim Waterman said he represented a silent majority that believed the issues had been blurred.

“I am hoping the latest EGM will see an end to the rift and that what is needed most is for the membership to pull together.”

-The EGM will take place on 15 July at 6.30pm. It will be held in the Council Chamber, Congress House, 28 Great Russell Street, London.