LITTLE THETFORD VILLAGE HALL
Registered Charity ~~N~~ umber ~~1~~ 055086
Report for the Trustees
for the year ended 31 st December 2023
Address (Chair)
‘Merryville’ 11 Main Street, Little Thetford CB6 3HA
Website https://www.littlethetfordvillagehall.org.uk/
Governing Document and Objectives
Little Thetford Village Hall’s governing Document is a Trust Deed contained within a conveyance dated 1[st] December 1952. The deed established the Village Hall as a Charitable Trust.
The objectives set out in the Trust Deed are to provide a village hall for the use of the inhabitants of Little Thetford and the neighbourhood (hereinafter called the area of benefit) without distinction of sex or of religious or other opinions and for use for meetings lectures and classes and of other forms of recreation at leisure-time occupation with the object of improving the conditions of life for the said inhabitants.
The trustees consider that the main activities of Little Thetford Village Hall are in accordance with the objectives and that they are of public benefit. The Trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charities Commission on public benefit.
Trustees
The Trust Deed sets out the manner of appointing Trustees who also constitute the Management Committee of the Village Hall. Some are representative of the Parish Council and the Parochial Church Council. Most are elected each year at the Annual General Meeting. The Management Committee has the power to co-opt further trustees. During this period there have been several changes to the trustees on the Little Thetford Village Hall Committee.
Of particular note was the sudden death of Robert Henderson after a short illness. He was the Vice Chair of the Committee. He led the work on the insurance claim for subsidence in the external storage areas. He brought a wealth of experience to the group and is sorely missed.
The Parish Council have two reserved places within the Trust Deed. During the year Dan Peacock and Olibhe Collins-Neat had initially filled these positions but resigned for personal reasons. Unfortunately, the Parish Council have been unable to nominate replacements, but we remain hopeful that these will be filled in the coming months.
We have been fortunate that Peter Mortimer agreed to be co-opted as a trustee during the year and his contributions are already adding value.
Pam James is currently unable to attend Trustee meetings, but we hope that she will be able to attend when her health permits. In the meantime, we are grateful to her for the work that she has done in securing grant assistance.
As at December 2023 there are 7 trustees as follows:
| Richard Church | Chair |
|---|---|
| Peter Mortimer | Vice Chair |
| Jennifer Staines | Secretary |
| Lisa Hadley | Treasurer |
|---|---|
| Graham James | Caretaker |
| Pam James | Fundraising |
| Annie Foulser | Assistant Caretaker |
The trustees are supported at various events by volunteers from within the community. We are continually seeking additional people to join as trustees to allow us to extend our range of activities.
Sources of advice and support
Bank: Lloyds Bank, Ely.
Cambridgeshire ACRE East Cambridgeshire District Council; Little Thetford Parish Council Cambridgeshire County Council Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority
Policies and Procedures
The trustees were able to renew their Hallmark 1 accreditation with ACRE and are indebted to the work of Olibhe Collins-Neat in managing this process. The trustees are now actively working towards Hallmark 2. This external accreditation allows the trustees to demonstrate that our operations, policies and procedures are efficient, effective and comply with the relevant legislation.
To guide the Trustees in exercising their duty of care to members and users of the hall, the following policy statements have been adopted: Health & Safety
Fire Safety
Safeguarding
Finance & reserves
Data Protection
WiFi
Equal Opportunities
Lone Working
Complaints
Copies of these policies are included in the Trustees’ Welcome pack and are made available to hall users on request.
The trustees have also commissioned external expertise to produce a
comprehensive Risk Assessment, incorporating specific commentary on Asbestos and Legionnaires Disease, alongside a revised Fire Risk Assessment. Both documents have made a few recommendations to take account of changes in legislation and these are being managed under a maintenance protocol.
Hiring Agreement
Use of the village hall is subject to a Hiring Agreement which must be signed by the hirer when booking. The hiring agreement sets out the conditions of hire and identifies the respective responsibilities of each party to the agreement. Various changes have been made to the agreement during the year to take account of changing conditions.
Licences
The hall holds a Premises Licence, a 5* environmental health accreditation and is registered as a food business with East Cambs District Council.
A license to sell alcohol within the whole building is held by the Sports Social Club. The hall is licensed by the Performing Right Society for live and recorded music.
The hall has a contract to dispose of hazardous sanitary waste with an external provider.
Village Hall Activities
During the period under review the hall was hired on 194 occasions for occasional lettings such as birthday parties and family gatherings. The trustees were pleased to make the hall available to the Feast Committee on the Platinum Jubilee weekend. The Yard sale was another cooperative venture with the Village Hall hosting Annie’s famous bacon butties and a range of stalls. The trustees ~~w~~ orking again with the Feast committee brought free defib training sessions to the hall. The Village Hall also contributed mince pies to the light up the Christmas tree event.
There has been a steady increase in longer term bookings and the hall is now regularly used for Tai Chi, Pilates, Yoga, chair-based exercise, and NHS Diabetes Prevention programmes. The trustees have also brought two different groups to the village hall for Parents, Babies and Toddlers with Monkey Music and Sing and Sign. We are grateful to our bookings officer Richard Stewart for the diligence and care he has shown to our hirers.
Additionally, our volunteer caretaker, Graham James has developed partnerships with Creative Arts East and the National Theatre to bring a range of activities to the village. The Trustees have been able to heavily subsidise some of these events through Grants obtained from ACRE, East Cambs District Council and the National Energy Authority.
The trustees have sought to bring activities suitable for all age groups and have included: A Magic show and workshop
A Sashiko Stitch workshop demonstrating Japanese needlework.
Tales from the Fens – a talk on Fenland Folklore
Rebel Queen – a one-man show on the Boudicca story
The Warm Hub Christmas Event including a quiz, a live singer, a buffet lunch and beverage.
Alongside these ‘live performances’ the trustees have shown five films. One very successful screening was for a black and white classic film, Roman Holiday. Three films were aimed at our younger audience with Puss in Boots, Super Mario Brothers and Matilda the Musical. Additionally, the trustees worked with Creative Arts East to bring a new venture of ‘Dance Along at the movies with Mary Poppins’ combining dance and a film screening.
Our partnership with National Theatre has enabled us to bring screenings of theatrical productions through NTLive! We are one of the few Village Halls selected for this activity and
have been able to bring to the village highly respected screenings of shows such as Fleabag, Dear England and Jack Absolute Flies Again. We take the year-long programme and some villagers have seen excellent acting portraying high drama, comedy and musicals in our Cabaret setting devised by Graham and Pam James.
Finally, we must acknowledge our most successful venture of the Monday Warm / Community Hub which provides Coffee, Cake and Conversation with soup and a roll at lunchtime. This has been recognised as one of the two most successful ventures across the whole of East Cambridgeshire. We are very grateful for the grant funding provided to us by the Combined ~Authority and ECDC , alongside the support of ACRE. in addition to the socialisation and friendship this has provided, the venture has also provided a catalyst to access additional funding, support and expertise on a range of subjects.
The Village Hall were delighted to be awarded a licence to have food vans come to the village of Little Thetford.
This has been a great success in bringing people together in the summer months as many sat outside to enjoy their food in company but also to bring something different to the village.
We continued to bring in food trucks through the winter months and will be very happy to continue with this venture through 2024
Village Hall Maintenance
This year has seen considerable activity to both maintain and improve the facilities which the Hall can offer the village. The principal change which has taken place to significantly reduce our carbon footprint has been the completion of the electrification project. The move to renewable electricity has involved thirty-two panels being fitted to the roof of the Hall. The solar energy has been stored in batteries which in turn power the new air conditioning units in the Hall.
Our premises are now served by a three-phase power supply which, when the final wiring is complete, will enable us to draw more power to every part of the site. We are grateful that the disruption to entry and exit from the village was kept to a minimum as the new cable was laid.
As part of the modernisation programme, the trustees have put in place a new projector and audio / visual system in the main hall, as well as renewing the heating / air conditioning units in the Sports Social Club. Additionally, to ensure a safe working environment during the work and for the future, part of the loft space has been boarded and a ladder installed to provide easy access.
Using a Grant from the National Lottery the trustees have replaced the chairs in the hall. These are much more comfortable and come with a 10-year warranty.
Unfortunately, a further trip hazard was identified near the entrance to the social club which has now been completely re-laid with new paving to give a safer surface. This was probably because of the tree removal referred to in last year’s report.
We are currently awaiting the outcome of a funding bid to upgrade the male toilets, replace the fire doors to the main hall and renew the stage curtaining.
All this work has been made possible because of the indefatigable work of Graham and Pam James who have been so successful in attracting the grants which have made these improvements possible.
Shop and Café development.
Little Thetford Community Enterprises Ltd was registered by the Financial Conduct Authority as a Community Benefit Society at the end of May last year. The Management Committee comprises Richard Church, Sue Merrell, Hilary Johns, Sue Wallis, Christine Howard, Jenny Staines, Bob Rain and Sheila Church.
The shop and cafe will be run by the CBS and will enjoy long term occupancy of the new premises to be developed as an extension to the village hall. The CBS is in the process of opening a bank account and developing our business plan and community shares prospectus. A copy of these will be available to every resident in the village later in the year and a meeting held to hear your views.
The trustees offer this account of the charity’s activities and finances in the past year.
Signed on behalf of the Trustees
Richard Church
Date:
Little Thetford Village Hall Income and Expenditure Account For the Year Ending 31 December 2023
Income
| Lettings | £ | 11,832.50 £ |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants | £ | 104,630.00 £ |
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| Sports and Social Club | £ | 7,206.67 £ |
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| Misc Income | £ | 1,922.17 £ |
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| Ticket and Shows Income | £ | 1,817.26 £ |
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| Savings account interest | £ | 120.10 £ |
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| Refund from UK Power Network | £ | 3,632.40 £ |
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| TOTAL INCOME | £ | 131,161.10 £ |
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| Oil | £ | 1,410.67 £ |
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| Electricity | £ | 4,675.58 £ |
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| Booking Officer | £ | 2,385.00 £ |
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| Maintenance | £ | 5,600.88 £ |
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| Cleaning | £ | 2,877.20 £ |
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| Water | £ | 1,092.80 £ |
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| Subscriptions | £ | 620.00 £ |
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| Insurance | £ | - £ |
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| Internet | £ | 848.88 £ |
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| Misc Expenses | £ | 2,367.38 £ |
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| Ticket and Shows Expenses | £ | 1,109.03 £ |
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| Grants Expenditure | £ | 81,754.57 £ |
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| UK Power Network | £ | 10,855.20 £ |
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| TOTAL EXPENSES | £ | 115,597.19 £ |
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| Surplus/(Deficit for the year | £ | 15,563.91 £ |
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| Balance brought forward Main A/c | £ | 6,206.51 £ |
As at 31st Dec 2022 | ||||
| Balance bought forward Savings | £ | 13,659.46 £ |
As at 31st Dec 2022 | ||||
| Balance carried forward | £ | 35,429.88 £ |
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| Balance carried forward comprises | |||||||
| Lloyds Bank | £ | 7,899.12 £ |
As at 31st Dec 2023 | ||||
| Lloyds Savings account | £ | 13,779.56 £ |
As at 31st Dec 2023 | ||||
| Lloyds Grant account | £ | 14,181.20 £ |
As at 31st Dec 2023 | ||||
| Prepayments - Lettings for 2024 | -£ | 280.00 -£ |
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| Creditor - owed to shop from Grant | -£ | 150.00 -£ |
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| £ | 35,429.88 £ |
Expenses
Balance carried forward comprises
Independent examiner's report on the accounts
Section A Independent Examiner’s Report
| Report to the trustees/ members of |
Charity Name Little Thetford Village Hall |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| On accounts for the year | 31/12/2023 | Charity no | 1055086 | |
| ended | (if any) | |||
| Set out on pages | 1-2 | |||
| (remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets) | (remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets) |
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/12/2023.
Responsibilities and As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the basis of report accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
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Independent
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examiner's statement I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination (other than that disclosed below *) which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
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the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
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the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
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the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
- Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply.
Signed: Yvette Smart Date: 21/02/2024 Name: Yvette Smart – Simplex Solutions Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any): Address: 33 Hoylake Drive, Farcet, Peterborough, PE7 3BD
1
Oct 2018
IER
Section B Disclosure
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).
Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .
Nothing to report.
2
Oct 2018
IER