2024-12-31-accounts

FLACKWELL HEATH COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION

Straight Bit, Flackwell Heath, Buckinghamshire, HP10 9LS

Registered Charity No 1044870

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES – 2024

The Trustees have pleasure in submitting their Trustees Annual Report, the Chairman’s Report from the AGM held on 14[th] May 2024, the minutes of said AGM and the audited financial statement for the Association for the year ended 31[st] December 2024

Increases in general running costs (cleaning, gardening, security services) have been easily balanced by increases in all areas of income. In conjunction with a reduction in major renovation costs this led to a surplus of £8,809 in the end of year accounts. As in previous years we have covered any major repair work (replacement windows in the toilet block) through successful grant applications. It is therefore expected that the charity finances will remain stable in the coming year.

The FHCA committee have continued to maintain the Flackwell Heath Community Centre, and the adjoining Day Centre to a high standard.

Trustees

The Trustees at the end of the year were: Chris Cramer and Chris Thomas.

We are grateful to all those who have supported the Association and encouraged us in our efforts to improve the facilities for the community of the village of Flackwell Heath.

Approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by:

Electronically signed by: Christine Cramer Reason: I am the author of this document Date: 02-Oct-2025 10:54:00 GMT+1

Chris Cramer Chairman

TAR 2024

Final Audit Report

2025-10-02

Created: 2025-10-02 By: Christine Cramer ([e-mail]) Status: Signed Transaction ID: CBJCHBCAABAA-qCOhnOLsE6SqNQss1Hu0A1qBYGWDtFt Documents: TAR 2024.pdf (1 page)

"TAR 2024" History

Document created by Christine Cramer ([e-mail])

Documents: TAR 2024.pdf

2025-10-02 - 9:51:13 AM GMT

Christine Cramer ([e-mail]) authenticated with Adobe Acrobat Sign. 2025-10-02 - 9:53:59 AM GMT

Document e-signed by Christine Cramer ([e-mail])

Documents: TAR 2024.pdf

Signing reason: I am the author of this document Signature Date: 2025-10-02 - 9:54:00 AM GMT - Time Source: server

Agreement completed.

2025-10-02 - 9:54:00 AM GMT

FLACKWELL HEATH COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION Registered Charity No. 1044870

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING HELD IN THE SARNEY ROOM ON WEDNESDAY, 14TH MAY 2025

PRESENT

Elected Officers & Trustees: Chris Cramer (Chairman), Chris Thomas (Secretary).

Committee Members: Bill Austin (CCTV), Alison Barker (FHCA Web Page), Frank Hynes (Facilities Manager), Susan Lawes

Affiliate Representatives: Brenda Aldridge (WI), Barbara Dickinson (Evening WI), Mary Heffernan (Table Tennis), David Young (Heathlands Badminton)

Village Residents & Other Associations: A Bowyer, Sue & John Crowden, Sue Finley, Anna Hayward (arrived 8.15pm) (Anna’s Dance Fitness), Pauline Howland (Repair Cafe), R. Hunt, Peter Lawes, Linda MacMillan, Pam Mannering (FHRA), Isobel Middleton (Nancie Ross Age Concern Day Centre), Tim Oltmann-Reeve (Hatha Yoga), Alex Sanmogan (Medley School of Dance), Carole Telfer, Joyce Wiles, (Grapevine)

WELCOME

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and stated how grateful the committee were for their support.

• 1.0 APOLOGIES Apologies were received from: Sue Arkle (pilates), Della Ashton (Badminton D), Jeff & Alison Harvey (Paperback Library), Alison & Nigel Peach, Kate Phipps, Sarah Taylor, Barbara Thompson, Lynne Wallis, Luca Webb (Parish Council Representative)

• 2.0 MINUTES OF LAST MEETING The minutes of the last Annual General Meeting held on the 8th May 2024 were agreed as a true record and were adopted.

Proposed: Barbara Dickson, Seconded: Frank Hynes

3.0 CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

• 3.1 The Chairman then gave a brief summary of her report.

• 3.1.1 Since we last met in 2024, the committee has kept up with the general maintenance and completed all the major tasks outlined at our AGM and many more besides. This has ensured that the hall continues to serve its key purpose, that of a central meeting place available to all villagers who wish to make use of the facilities.

3.2 Bookings:

• 3.2.1 Sarah Taylor has covered the management of our regular bookers and associated invoicing extremely efficiently for which we thank her. Chris Thomas has continued to manage the one-off bookings, again, with great efficiency and patience as party bookers can generate a considerable amount of back-and-forth correspondence to get dates/times/requirements finalised. Between them they are keeping things going extremely well but would, I am sure, be delighted to have any offers of help.

• 3.2.2 As a reminder for regular groups invoices are raised three times a year and generated from the calendar dates booked.

• 3.2.3 Thanks to the team of Natalie Caldwell, Chris Thomas, Frank Hynes, Susan Lawes who assist me in de-alarming the centre on Saturday and Sunday mornings and Bank Holidays, then checking all is shipshape before setting the alarm again after the last activity. This all helps to keep running costs down as we do not need to use RFA (the security firm who secure the premises Monday to Friday nights), unless we have a very late booking, at weekends. Ad hoc bookings have remained as popular as ever, with at least one party or other local event most weekends. We still have a few available slots during the week but most weekdays are quite full.

• 3.2.4 If you look at the centre calendar on the website you will see the many activities that take place in the course of a week.

• 3.2.5 Almost all our hirers leave the centre clean and tidy and we have very few complaints.

3.3 Social Activities/Fund-Raising:

• 3.3.1 As in previous years we have joined forces with the Flackwell Heath Residents Association in the following events (Just as a reminder, we do not commit any centre funds to the FHRA, all income from bookings goes towards the upkeep of the Community Centre and Day Centre):

• 3.3.2 September: Quiz Night, very well attended and a highly successful event from both a social and financial aspect. Craig Lewis and his helpers produced another excellent set of questions and, with the scores being totalled electronically there could be no arguments! It is always a close-run thing and everyone enjoyed the quiz and supper.

• 3.3.3 December: We made the centre available for the annual Christmas village event, with plenty of stalls along The Common. Various group and entertainers performed on the stage and the carol signing and tree lighting went ahead as usual. Father Christmas was in residence in The Day Centre and had a steady stream of young visitors.

• 3.3.4 The Paperback and Jigsaw library continues to increase in popularity with visitors coming from, not only the village itself, but also from further afield, for which we thank Alison and Jeff Harvey and their team of helpers. The numbers attending, and the donations of books and jigsaws have increased month on month. A few new helpers have stepped forward, but I know that Alison and Jeff would always welcome more people to support them, even if only for a few times a year. The helpers enjoyed a Christmas lunch together at The Cherry Trees in December and were thanked for their efforts. FHCA donated towards

3.4 Future Events:

In the coming year we have the following events scheduled: September 20[th] : Quiz Night with FHRA

November 9[th] Remembrance Sunday – refreshments provided by the Scout group after the service in the centre

November 29[th] : Christmas event – street fair, tree lighting, Father Christmas etc.

If anyone would like to suggest and/or hold an event in the centre to bring the people of the village together we would love to hear your ideas.

3.5 The Grapevine:

• 3.5.1 The village magazine continues to provide a good source of information for forthcoming village events and other local news. The team of helpers under Joyce Wiles guidance are keeping everything running smoothly and they never seem short of copy. Thank you to Joyce and her team, to the Peaches for managing the distribution and for all the road reps who perform the house-to-house deliveries. I should probably also thank Craig Lewis and Malcolm Wiles who seem to find time to provide articles and great photographs for each issue.

• 3.5.2 In June, we provided an afternoon tea ‘party’ for the full team by way of a thank you for those who deliver the Grapevine around the village. Craig Lewis again ran a quiz – all answers could have been found in recent Grapevines which made for a fun afternoon and the WI kindly provided cakes.

3.6 Maintenance:

• 3.6.1 Frank Hynes has continued to manage all maintenance and improvements to the centre structure and facilities, and also to manage the annual safety inspections and regular carpet cleaning etc. He contributes so much to the centre (and Day Centre) week in, week out that I can’t thank him enough. Paul Sutherland has continued to provide a great deal of help with the general maintenance, assisting with many repairs which has been greatly appreciated and I know Frank really appreciates his support.

• 3.6.2 In 2024 we began to time the heating each week depending on activity in the Centre. Our estimate is that it has reduced gas usage by about 10%. There is not much more we can do to reduce electricity usage by any significant amount. All three utilities (gas, electricity and water) are on long term fixed contracts with gas and electricity now on smart meters.

• 3.6.3 My thanks also to Bill Austin who supervises the CCTV and ensures it runs efficiently. He has written a comprehensive list of instructions in order that some of the other committee members might understand it.

• 3.6.4 Major refurbishment accomplished 2024-2025:

New windows and openers in toilet block, paid for by way of a lottery fund grant

New LED lights in kitchen and on stage, also paid for by way of the same lottery fund grant New soakaway to fix drainage issue

Replace cladding above high-level windows to fix persistent leaks Electrical system check and certification Day Centre and Centre Gas safety check and certification Day Centre and Centre PAT test appliances in Centre

Fire extinguishers check and service in Centre Various minor repairs, blocked toilets, light fittings etc

3.6.5 Plans for 2025:

Replacement of two fire doors – a substantial task but will lead to energy savings as the current doors have gaps. Lottery grant has been applied for.

All curtains in the main hall. New and more cheerful fire proofed ones would be good but very costly.

The Sarney Room carpet is nearing life end. Replacement with carpet tiles would cost £1,500 to £2,500 depending on quality.

The kitchen window insulation has broken down, a replacement panel would be about £500.00

3.7 Website:

Our website - flackwellheathcommunitycentre.org.uk – has been kept up to date throughout the year. Thank you to Alison Barker for her assistance in maintaining the front end of the website and to Malcolm Wiles for keeping an eye on the back end and security. Booking and general information enquiries are made directly from the site and back copies of The Grapevine continue to be uploaded for reference.

3.8 Gardens:

Our gardeners, Kieran Upwood (cutting grass and hedging) and Katrina Scott (volunteer - flower beds), have kept the centre surroundings neat and tidy.

3.9 Mast Installation Update:

Fortunately, we have heard nothing further

3.10 General:

• 3.10.1 At the risk of annually repeating myself, the main roof is approaching 50 years old and will be expensive to replace. To that end we have built up reserves which we hope will cover the costs plus the loss of revenues during replacement work. The Day Centre roof is in reasonably good shape but at 30 years old, and with at least a dozen piercings for roof lights, ventilators, etc., it will be very costly to repair or replace.

• 3.10.2 I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank my committee for all their hard work and support throughout the past year, without which the Community Centre, and by association the Day Centre, simply could not function. Special thanks to Lynne Wallis who has managed the financial aspects of the centre and produced the end of year reports for both 2023 and 2024 with great efficiency. Lynne is stepping down and we are fortunate to have had an offer to take over the Treasurer role from Kate Phipps. Kate has a background in bookkeeping and we are very pleased to have her join our team.

• Thanks also to Video Express for continuing to be our key holders and A1 Taxis as a back up place to return keys.

• 3.10.3 Although we have coped incredibly well throughout the year, despite being a relatively small team, by working together efficiently and share tasks as evenly as possible, there are occasions when we do become overstretched. We would therefore be delighted to welcome new committee members and charity trustees. Hence the time you would be committing to does not need to be much and can be tailored to match your skill sets and preferences. Even one hour a month can be put to good use!

• 3.10.4 It would be great to have a new person come forward to take over from me, in my role as chairman to ensure fresh ideas are put on the table. However, should that not be forthcoming I am prepared to continue for one more year should the assembled audience and fellow committee members wish me to do so. If anyone feels they might feel more confident joining as a co-chair or ‘understudy’ in the first instance feel free to come and have a chat.

• 3.11 The Chairman’s report was accepted. Proposed by Isobel Middleton and seconded by Brenda Aldridge.

• 4.0 TREASURER’S REPORT

• 4.1 Audited accounts for 2023 were circulated. These were prepared by Lynne Wallis and examined by Caroline Collins.

• 4.2 Cleaning costs have risen due to the basic wage rate.

• 4.3 Costs of repairs are down as most of the larger projects have been undertaken. We have also been fortunate to receive small grants this year.

• 4.4 The difference in the water bill was mentioned and Frank explained that during 2022 we had overpaid and were using credit.

• 4.5 The Chairman thanked Lynne for all her work on providing these accounts.

• 4.6 There were no further questions. Proposed by Joyce Wiles and seconded by Pam Mannering.

• ’

• 5.0 ELECTION OF OFFICERS

• 5.1 The officers were happy to stand for re-election:Chris Cramer, Chairman Chris Thomas, Secretary

Kate Phipps was approved as Treasurer and welcomed to the committee.

Sarah Taylor will continue as Bookings Manager with Chris Thomas continuing to concentrate on the one-off bookings.

Frank Hynes as Facilities Manager.

Susan Lawes and Alison Barker were happy to remain on the Management Team.

• 5.2 It was proposed that the willing officers be elected and this was unanimously agreed.

• 6.0 ELECTION OF AN INDEPENDENT EXAMINER FOR THE COMING YEAR

• Carolyn Collins was willing to continue as Independent Examiner for another year for which we thank her.

7.0 ANY OTHER BUSINESS

• 7.1 Chris said that the current constitution was signed in January 1995 when the Centre was being established. Consequently, it does need updating to reflect that the Centre is up and running and the main amendment will be to our rules for membership in accordance with the latest guidelines from the Charity Commission. When the final draft is completed, we propose to agree the changes with members at a Management Committee Meeting.

There being no further business to discuss, Chris thanked everyone for their attendance and closed the meeting at 8.30 pm. All were invited to partake in the refreshments.

Chris Thomas, Secretary

Registered Charity No. 1044870

http://flackwellheathcommunitycentre.org.uk

FLACKWELL HEATH COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION

Chairman’s Report 2024-2025

Since we last met in 2024, the committee has kept up with the general maintenance and completed all the major tasks outlined at our AGM and many more besides. This has ensured that the hall continues to serve its key purpose, that of a central meeting place available to all villagers who wish to make use of its facilities.

Bookings:

Sarah Taylor has covered the management of our regular bookers and associated invoicing extremely efficiently for which we thank her. Chris Thomas has continued to manage the oneoff bookings, again, with great efficiency and patience as party bookers can generate a considerable amount of back-and-forth correspondence to get dates/times/requirements finalised. Between them they are keeping things going extremely well but would, I am sure, be delighted to have any offers of help.

As a reminder for regular groups invoices are raised three times a year and generated from the calendar dates booked.

Thanks to the team of Natalie Caldwell, Chris Thomas, Frank Hynes, Susan Lawes who assist me in de-alarming the centre on Saturday and Sunday mornings and Bank Holidays, then checking all is shipshape before setting the alarm again after the last activity. This all helps to keep running costs down as we do not need to use RFA (the security firm who secure the premises Monday to Friday nights), unless we have a very late booking, at weekends.

Ad hoc bookings have remained as popular as ever, with at least one party or other local event most weekends. We still have a few available slots during the week but most weekdays are quite full.

If you look at the centre calendar on the website you will see the many activities that take place in the course of a week.

Almost all our hirers leave the centre clean and tidy and we have very few complaints.

Social Activities/Fund-Raising:

As in previous years we have joined forces with the Flackwell Heath Residents Association in the following events (Just as a reminder, we do not commit any centre funds to the FHRA, all income from bookings goes towards the upkeep of the Community Centre and Day Centre):

• September: Quiz Night, very well attended and a highly successful event from both a social and financial aspect. Craig Lewis and his helpers produced another excellent set of questions and, with the scores being totaled electronically there could be no arguments! It’s always a close-run thing and everyone enjoyed the quiz and supper.

• • December: We made the centre available for the annual Christmas village event, with plenty of stalls along The Common. Various group and entertainers performed on the stage and the carol signing and tree lighting went ahead as usual. Father Christmas was in residence in The Day Centre and had a steady stream of young visitors.

The Paperback and Jigsaw library continues to increase in popularity with visitors coming from, not only the village itself, but also from further afield, for which we thank Alison and Jeff Harvey and their team of helpers. The numbers attending, and the donations of books and jigsaws have increased month on month. A few new helpers have stepped forward, but I know that Alison and Jeff would always welcome more people to support them, even if only for a few times a year. The helpers enjoyed a Christmas lunch together at The Cherry Trees in December and were thanked for their efforts.

FHCA: Managing the Community Centre and providing The Grapevine newsletter for the villagers of Flackwell Heath

Future Events:

In the coming year we have the following events scheduled:

• September 20[th] : Quiz Night with FHRA

• November 9[th] Remembrance Sunday – refreshments provided by the Scout group after the service in the centre

• November 29[th] : Christmas event – street fair, tree lighting, Father Christmas etc.

If anyone would like to suggest and/or hold an event in the centre to bring the people of the village together we would love to hear your ideas.

The Grapevine:

The village magazine continues to provide a good source of information for forthcoming village events and other local news. The team of helpers under Joyce Wiles guidance are keeping everything running smoothly and they never seem short of copy. Thank you to Joyce and her team, to the Peaches for managing the distribution and for all the road reps who perform the house-to-house deliveries. I should probably also thank Craig Lewis and Malcolm Wiles who seem to find time to provide articles and great photographs for each issue.

We provided an afternoon tea ‘party’ for the full team by way of a thank you for those who deliver the Grapevine around the village. Craig Lewis again ran a quiz – all answers could have been found in recent Grapevines which made for a fun afternoon and the WI kindly provided cakes.

Maintenance :

Frank Hynes has continued to manage all maintenance and improvements to the centre structure and facilities, and also to manage the annual safety inspections and regular carpet cleaning etc. He contributes so much to the centre (and Day Centre) week in, week out that I can’t thank him enough. Paul Sutherland has continued to provide a great deal of help with the general maintenance, assisting with many repairs which has been greatly appreciated and I know Frank really appreciates his support.

In 2024 we began to time the heating each week depending on activity in the Centre. Our estimate is that it has reduced gas usage by about 10%. There is not much more we can do to reduce electricity usage by any significant amount. All three utilities (gas, electricity and water) are on long term fixed contracts with gas and electricity now on smart meters..

Major refurbishment accomplished 2024-2025:

New windows and openers in toilet block, paid for by way of a lottery fund grant New LED lights in kitchen and on stage, also paid for by way of the same lottery fund grant New soakaway to fix drainage issue

Replace cladding above high-level windows to fix persistent leaks Electrical system check and certification Day Centre and Centre Gas safety check and certification Day Centre and Centre PAT test appliances in Centre Fire extinguishers check and service in Centre Various minor repairs, blocked toilets, light fittings etc

Plans for 2025:

• Replacement of two fire doors – a substantial task but will lead to energy savings as the current doors have gaps. Lottery grant has been applied for.

• All curtains in the main hall. New and more cheerful fire proofed ones would be good but very costly.

• The Sarney Room carpet is nearing life end. Replacement with carpet tiles would cost £1,500 to £2,500 depending on quality.

• The kitchen window insulation has broken down, a replacement panel would be about £500.00

Website :

Our website - flackwellheathcommunitycentre.org.uk – has been kept up to date throughout the year. Thank you to Alison Baker for her assistance in maintaining the front end of the website and to Malcolm Wiles for keeping an eye on the back end and security. Booking and general information enquiries are made directly from the site and back copies of The Grapevine continue to be uploaded for reference.

Gardens:

Our gardeners, Kieran Upwood (cutting grass and hedging) and Katrina Scott (flower beds), have kept the centre surroundings neat and tidy.

Mast Installation Update:

Fortunately, we have heard nothing further

General:

At the risk of annually repeating myself, the main roof is approaching 50 years old and will be expensive to replace. To that end we have built up reserves which we hope will cover the costs plus the loss of revenues during replacement work. The Day Centre roof is in reasonably good shape but at 30 years old, and with at least a dozen piercings for roof lights, ventilators, etc., it will be very costly to repair or replace.

I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank my committee for all their hard work and support throughout the past year, without which the Community Centre, and by association the Day Centre, simply could not function. Special thanks to Lynne Wallis who has managed the financial aspects of the centre and produced the end of year reports for both 2023 and 2024 with great efficiency. Lynne is stepping down and we are fortunate to have had an offer to take over the Treasurer role from Kate Phipps. Kate has a background in bookkeeping and we are very pleased to have her join our team.

Thanks also to Video Express for continuing to be our key holders and A1 Taxis as a back up place to return keys.

Although we have coped incredibly well throughout the year, despite being a relatively small team, by working together efficiently and share tasks as evenly as possible, there are occasions when we do become overstretched. We would therefore be delighted to welcome new committee members and charity trustees. Hence the time you would be committing to does not need to be much and can be tailored to match your skill sets and preferences. Even one hour a month can be put to good use!

It would be great to have a new person come forward to take over from me, in my role as chairman to ensure fresh ideas are put on the table. However, should that not be forthcoming I am prepared to continue for one more year should the assembled audience and fellow committee members wish me to do so. If anyone feels they might feel more confident joining as a co-chair or ‘understudy’ in the first instance feel free to come and have a chat.

Chris Cramer Chairman FHCA 14 May 2025

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