2025-12-31-accounts

Little Thetford Village Hall Registered Charity 1055086

Little Thetford Village Hall 2025 Annual Report

“A fantastic example of a well-managed and thriving community building”

Little Thetford Village Hall, The Wyches, Little Thetford, Ely, CB6 3HG https://www.littlethetfordvillagehall.org.uk

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Little Thetford Village Hall Registered Charity 1055086

INDEX

Governance

1	Governing Document and Objectives	3
2	Trustees	3
3	Volunteers	4
Management and Compliance
4	Licences	4
5	ACRE and Hallmark	4
6	Policies, Procedures, and Health & Safety	5
Finance
7	Income	6
8	Expenditure	7
Utilities and Sustainability
9	Electricity	7
10	Water	8
11	Internet	9
Infrastructure
12	Facilities and Maintenance	9
Core Operation of the Hall
13	Hiring Administration	9
14	Private Hirings	9
15	Commercial Hirings	9
Hall Events
16	Monday Hub	10
17	Cinema Presentations	11
18	Food Vans	11
19	Other Events and Collaborations	11
Strategic Development
20	Village Hall Extension	12
Concluding Remarks
21	Acknowledgements	12
22	The Future	13
23	Summary	13

Little Thetford Village Hall, The Wyches, Little Thetford, Ely, CB6 3HG https://www.littlethetfordvillagehall.org.uk [e-mail]

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Little Thetford Village Hall Registered Charity 1055086

Governance

1. Governing Document and Objectives

Little Thetford Village Hall is governed by a Trust Deed incorporated within a conveyance of land dated 1 December 1953, under which the property was transferred to trustees to be held in perpetuity for charitable purposes. The deed established the Village Hall as a charitable trust and set out the framework for its management by a Committee of Management acting as charity trustees on behalf of the community.

The Trust Deed defines the charity’s purpose as providing and maintaining a village hall for the use of the inhabitants of Little Thetford and the surrounding neighbourhood (the “area of benefit”), without distinction of sex, political, religious or other opinions. The hall is to be used for meetings, lectures, classes, recreation, and other leisure-time and community activities, with the overall aim of improving the conditions of life for local residents and supporting community cohesion.

The trustees are satisfied that the Village Hall’s activities throughout the year have been carried out in furtherance of these charitable purposes, and that the hall continues to serve as an accessible and valued community facility. In exercising their duties, the trustees have had due regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit and are confident that the charity’s work provides clear and ongoing benefit to the inhabitants of Little Thetford and the wider area.

2. Trustees

Under the provisions of the Trust Deed, the Village Hall is administered by a Committee of Management whose members act as charity trustees. The Committee comprises a combination of up to seven elected trustees, chosen annually by residents at the Annual General Meeting, and up to two representative trustees from each village organisation named in the governing document. This structure is intended to ensure that the hall is managed both democratically by the community and with input from established local organisations. Provision exists for the Committee of Management to co-opt a further two members throughout the year.

Over time, two of the organisations named in the Trust Deed – the Baptist Chapel and the Women’s Institute – have ceased to operate within the village and are therefore no longer able to nominate representatives. As a result, only those named organisations that remain active locally – the Parish Council (PC) and Parochial Church Council (PCC) – are now invited to nominate representative trustees. The remaining trustees are elected from among local residents at the Annual General Meeting or co-opted where appropriate. This arrangement maintains continuity of governance while remaining consistent with the intent of the Trust Deed to reflect the interests of the wider community.

The total number of trustees currently permitted to serve on the Committee of Management is, therefore, thirteen.

The PC was unable to provide any representatives to serve on the Management Committee in 2025. The two PC vacancies available remained unfilled throughout the year.

The PCC nominated Richard Church, who kindly continued his service from 2024, filling one of the two PCC vacancies.

We were very sorry to lose Jenny Staines from the Committee, who resigned as our longstanding secretary at the 2025 AGM. It is difficult to overstate Jenny’s contribution to the Village Hall Committee, and her departure was keenly felt by the team.

Little Thetford Village Hall, The Wyches, Little Thetford, Ely, CB6 3HG https://www.littlethetfordvillagehall.org.uk

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The other six trustees who served throughout 2024 remained on the Committee throughout 2025 and, at the meeting following the AGM, were assigned to the offices, roles, and responsibilities listed in Table 1.

1. Little Thetford Village Hall Trustees 2025.

Name	Role/Responsibility
PhilipHadley	Chair and Health & SafetyOfficer
Peter Mortimer	Vice Chair
Lisa Hadley	Treasurer
Graham James	Facilities Manager(formerlyknown as Caretaker)
Richard Church	Trustee and SafeguardingLead
Pam James	Trustee and Grants/FundraisingLead

Pam James is unable to attend trustee meetings in person, but continues to provide valuable support, most notably in driving the Village Hall’s fundraising efforts.

Our Facilities Manager, Graham James, was awarded Neighbour of the Year in the Ely Hero Awards in September 2025. As the main driving force behind many of the hall’s initiatives, notably the Monday Hub and the cinema presentations, this recognition of Graham’s valuable contribution is well deserved!

3. Volunteers

With six trustees to manage the hall’s significant and growing portfolio of activity, the hall is incredibly grateful to the support provided by volunteers from the local community. Primarily, volunteers support the running of events, such as the Monday Hub, but will also occasionally help in other ways including cleaning, tidying, and carrying out low-risk maintenance tasks.

The trustees continue to seek supporters from the local community, especially those who may be able to join the Management Committee as trustees.

Management and Compliance

4. Licences

The hall holds a Premises Licence authorising it to carry out certain regulated activities. The Monday Hub has a 5  Food Hygiene Rating and is registered as a food business with East Cambridgeshire District Council. The hall is licensed by Phonographic Performance Limited/Performing Right Society (PRS PPL Ltd) to allow the performance of live and recorded music. Additionally, the hall’s tenant, Little Thetford Sports & Social Club, holds a licence for the sale of alcohol.

The licensing of other regulated activities in the hall, such as waste disposal, is the responsibility of our regular service providers. These include East Cambridgeshire District Council for regular waste and recycling collections, Simply Washrooms for collection and disposal of sanitary waste, and Kershaw Contracting Services Ltd (KCS) for the management of any asbestos waste.

5. ACRE and Hallmark

Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE) is a national charity that supports rural communities across England, particularly through village halls, community buildings and local voluntary organisations. LTVH is proud to have a close and enduring relationship with ACRE, and our contributions to their activities are recognised as much as theirs are to ours.

The Hallmark scheme is ACRE’s nationally recognised quality standard for village halls and community buildings. An assessment under Hallmark constitutes a formal objective validation that the hall is properly managed and governed.

Little Thetford Village Hall, The Wyches, Little Thetford, Ely, CB6 3HG https://www.littlethetfordvillagehall.org.uk

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LTVH retained the Hallmark 1 award in September 2025 in convincing style, evidenced in a glowing endorsement from Lisa Chambers, ACRE’s Community Development Officer: “ Congratulations to the management committee, your hall stands out as a fantastic example of a well-managed and thriving community building. ” The hall also continues to hold Hallmark 2 accreditation, for which reassessment is not yet due.

Levels 1 and 2 focus on the tactical aspects of Village Hall management: management, administration, and operational effectiveness. Level 3 considers the broader strategic role that village halls play in the local community. The trustees aspire to seek accreditation to the Level 3 award in the coming year, which would recognise LTVH as being the high-performing sustainable community asset that it is.

6. Policies and Procedures, including Health & Safety Management

Throughout 2025, and guided by LTVH’s Document Control Policy, work continued to refine and optimise the hall’s procedures, which included aligning the format and style of these documents. This growing library of documents includes both publicly available references, accessible from the website, and internal documents.

The controlled document inventory – the Document Master Record – has proven fully effective in helping trustees manage document reviews and versioning. For each controlled document, the version number, revision status, and review date is visible at a glance, along with many other details including creation date, author, approvers, document location, and other notes.

Each trustee meeting features a section dedicated specifically to document review. This helps the management team maintain control over its most important guidance documents. The hall’s conscientious management of documents was highly commended during its latest Hallmark review.

The health and safety management system has continued to evolve throughout the year. Although the Village Hall is not strictly an employer in legal terms, it still applies the principles and requirements of health and safety legislation to protect volunteers, hirers, and visitors. The hall’s commitment, responsibilities, and arrangements for protecting people from harm are embodied in the LTVH Health & Safety Policy.

Each trustee meeting has a dedicated Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) agenda item to maintain focus on this important aspect. Additionally, the June 2025 meeting featured a more comprehensive EHS Management Review. This is a formal leadership-level evaluation of EHS performance, risks, compliance, and objectives, conducted to ensure that risk management controls remain effective, and to set priorities for continuing improvement.

The key operational risks or safety considerations faced by the Village Hall and its users include those shown in Table 2. Each of these is described in a management document that outlines the risk management principles applied. There is an aspiration in the coming year to convert these documents into formal policies aligned with the hall’s standard format.

Little Thetford Village Hall, The Wyches, Little Thetford, Ely, CB6 3HG https://www.littlethetfordvillagehall.org.uk [e-mail]

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Little Thetford Village Hall Registered Charity 1055086

Table 2. Key operational risks and safety considerations.

Asbestos	Lone Working
Contractors	Manual Handling
Electricity	Public Health,Safety,Welfare
EmergencyResponse and First Aid	Work Equipment
Fire	Workingat Height
Hazardous Materials	Workplace Transport
Legionella

During 2025, significant improvements were made to the health and safety profile of the hall, not least with the installation of a state-of-the-art fire alarm system. The system, which is configured as an L2 type installation, comprises wireless smoke/heat detectors, wireless wall sounders, wireless visual alarm devices, and wireless call points. This complements the work previously carried out to install fireresistant doors within the building and to upgrade the building’s fire exit doors. All these improvements have been grant-funded.

Little Thetford Village Hall was built during the period when asbestos was widely used in construction. Although asbestos was not widespread within the building, several discrete asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) had been identified in risk assessments. The higher-risk ACMs were removed professionally. By the end of 2025, there were no ACMs remaining that present anything greater than a very low risk, these being stable and managed in accordance with regulatory guidance.

Contractor management is another area that has seen important attention. At the trustees’ discretion, contractors undertaking any particularly hazardous work, such as electrical work or asbestos removal, may now be requested to provide risk assessments and method statements (RAMS) for review. Along with proof of insurance cover, not only do the RAMS give trustees confidence in the health and safety management of the work, but they also present an opportunity to confirm the agreed scope of the work and extent of liability.

Finance

7. Income

Although the number of individual hiring sessions booked by commercial hirers increased by 15% in 2025, overall lettings income fell by 7% compared with the previous year, declining from £11,768 in 2024 to £10,956 in 2025. This apparent contradiction is explained by two changes in the hiring profile during the year. Firstly, the hall lost two regular commercial hirers, one of whom had previously booked the hall for extended periods. Secondly, there were two fewer private bookings than in 2024.

Income from hall hire depends not only on the number of sessions held but also on the duration of those bookings and the fees charged. The hall operates a tiered fee structure based on whether the hirer is a village resident and whether the booking is, or is likely to become, a regular arrangement. These factors together mean that the relationship between the number of sessions held and the income generated is not always directly proportional.

Our relationship with Little Thetford Sports and Social Club continued healthily throughout the year, with the SSC’s rent constituting another important source of income.

Grant income included monies (i) from ACRE for training, development, and community events, (ii) from Cambridgeshire County Council for hall redecoration, and (iii) from East Cambridgeshire District Council to help fund other important building improvement work. Other small grants contributed helpfully to the running of some of the hall’s events throughout the year.

Little Thetford Village Hall, The Wyches, Little Thetford, Ely, CB6 3HG https://www.littlethetfordvillagehall.org.uk

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Event income raised over £5000 during 2025 with the Monday Hub contributing 60% of this from a combination of ACRE funding and donations from attendees. Details of the hall’s events can be found later in this document.

The hall benefited from over £1,100 of miscellaneous income, a significant proportion of which was pitch fees from the food vans that visit the village.

8. Expenditure

Throughout 2025, the hall was continuing to spend grant money that had been awarded in 2024. This is why the total expenditure for the year (£79,409.57) appears to exceed the hall’s annual income (£34,538.65) significantly. The grant balance carried forward from 2024 to 2025 had been £41,918.15.

Utility costs for electricity, water, and internet totalled £8,813.25 during the year, with electricity accounting for the majority of this expenditure. Electricity costs in 2025 were 6.9% lower than in 2024; however, this reduction was attributable to a fall in electricity prices rather than to any decrease in the hall’s energy consumption. A more detailed discussion of electricity use is provided later in this report.

Maintenance and cleaning work cost the hall £11,293.99 with administrative activities costing a further £5,228.29. Whilst there will always be some repairs required in a 70-year-old village hall, built to the standards and practices of the period, the trustees hope that 2026 will see somewhat less need for maintenance expense, with so many improvements having been made over the previous few years.

Within the accounts, the line ‘Project Expenditure’ relates to work on the building extension and electrification project in the hall, aspects of which continued to demand management into 2025.

A relatively small line of miscellaneous expenditure includes accountant’s fees, food van licence, and a charitable donation to the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal.

The trustees are guided in their financial management of the hall by reference to policies including the Budget and Financial Risk Assessment Policy, Finance Policy, and Reserves Policy.

By the end of 2025, the budget set at the beginning of the year was found to have overestimated total spend by less than 2% (of an actual spend of £22,209). This speaks both to the accuracy of forecasting and the conscientiousness with which the hall’s finances were managed throughout the year. Note that this figure relates to operational spend only. Project expenditure is accounted for separately. Positively, the hall again maintained the required level of financial reserves throughout the year.

The hall’s accounts have been independently verified by Simplex Solutions Ltd., who commented on ‘ an excellently kept set of accounts .’

Utilities and Sustainability

9. Electricity

It is difficult to estimate the amount of electricity generated by the hall’s photovoltaic panels in 2025 as the recording system failed to record data from May to June, an issue that did not become apparent at the time. However, even without counting the summer months, the solar panels generated 5.69 MWh. This represents over 25% of the hall’s consumption over the same period (approximately 22.1 MWh).

Referring to 2024’s data, which did include the summer months’ generation, the solar panels generated 10.69 MWh, which is approximately 36% of the hall’s consumption that year. It would not be

Little Thetford Village Hall, The Wyches, Little Thetford, Ely, CB6 3HG https://www.littlethetfordvillagehall.org.uk

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unreasonable then to estimate that the total contribution that solar power made to the hall’s energy profile in 2025 would be somewhere between 25% and 36%.

Energy generated during a moderately bright day is often easily enough to meet the baseline demand of the empty building, which is predominantly the refrigeration needs of the Sports and Social Club Bar. Energy generated above this baseline requirement is then used to charge a lithium-ion battery. When the battery reaches 100%, any additional surplus power is then exported to the grid, but the hall does not make any money on that export.

The battery contributes to meeting the demand of the hall when occupation rises, most typically in the early evening. Battery drain is highest in particularly warm or particularly cold weather when the air conditioning units are then used to either cool or warm the building.

Considering only electricity purchased from the grid, the hall consumed 23,095 kWh during 2025. This is almost identical to the 23,072 kWh consumed in 2024, representing an increase of less than 0.1%. In financial terms, however, the hall saw a more meaningful benefit, with the cost of this electricity being 6.9% lower than in 2024, as noted earlier in the Finances section.

To put the hall’s energy use in perspective, its electricity consumption in 2025 was equivalent to the annual consumption of approximately 9 average homes. In collaboration with the Sports and Social Club, the hall is taking measures to reduce energy consumption.

It has not been possible to make an accurate comparison of energy consumption before and after solar panel installation as the fuel previously used to heat the space was oil. Electricity from the grid would not have been used in analytically significant quantities. Nonetheless, the data representing solar generation cannot be misinterpreted – PV contributes positively to the hall’s energy requirements.

During work to remove asbestos residues from the building, it was necessary to remove contaminated fibre insulation from the roof space. This was replaced with new insulation to a modern standard, reducing thermal losses from the hall in cold weather and reducing solar gain in hot weather. This further enhances the building’s energy efficiency.

An ambition of the trustees for the future is to understand in more detail the characteristics of electricity generation and use in an effort to optimise further the energy efficiency of the building. Because the battery is often quickly charged to 100% in bright sunlight, with any additional electricity being fed back to the grid for little more than pennies, additional energy storage may one day be warranted to optimise the full benefits of this renewable energy source.

10. Water

Until the final quarter of 2025, the hall’s water consumption was tracking about a third lower than it had in 2024 (an average of 510 L/day in 2025 against an average of 750 L/day in 2024). This difference cannot be explained fully by changes in occupancy.

Nor can this reduction be explained by the use of Village Hall water to irrigate Bert’s Garden, an activity that represents another significant demand. The summer of 2024 followed broadly typical temperature and rainfall patterns, whereas summer 2025 was hotter, drier, and sunnier than average, conditions that would ordinarily require more frequent watering. Despite this, water consumption decreased rather than increased. Whatever the underlying cause, the reduction is welcomed for its positive implications for both sustainability and cost.

Little Thetford Village Hall, The Wyches, Little Thetford, Ely, CB6 3HG https://www.littlethetfordvillagehall.org.uk

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The investigation of an anomaly in water usage at the end of 2025 revealed a faulty Cistermiser™ unit in one of the gents’ toilets in the building. Unfortunately, this resulted in an excess use of approximately 600 L/day for some months, with an associated increase in sewerage as well as supply costs. Thankfully, this problem has now been repaired, but the additional charges will have more or less doubled water and sewerage costs for three months.

11. Internet

The hall retained BT as its internet provider throughout 2025 but upgraded its service to full-fibre broadband. This increase in connection speed improves the hall’s digital profile and opens up additional opportunities for hirers, both commercial and private.

Infrastructure

12. Facilities and Maintenance

The trustees continued to invest significant effort in maintaining the fabric of the building through 2025. Not only does this work enhance the attractiveness and usability of the hall, but it also contributes to improving its health, safety, and environmental profile too. Two important improvements (fire protections and asbestos removal) have already been discussed in the health and safety section above.

There are too many other maintenance tasks to describe in full detail, but some of the most important among them include making repairs to a leaky kitchen roof, repairs to some of the brickwork at the front of the building, resolution of various electrical issues, and redecoration of some of the internal areas, including a full repainting of the kitchen. The kitchen was decorated by OCS under the Match My Project initiative coordinated by Cambridgeshire County Council. The hall provided the paint and OCS provided the labour, making for a very cost-effective collaboration.

Core Operation of the Hall

13. Hiring Administration

Hiring activities at the hall are currently covered by four policies, but there is a process underway to consolidate and streamline the documents, simplifying the language within and reducing the bureaucratic burden. So far, three documents have been condensed into two, but the fourth remains in draft form. This is the Hire Agreement, which is arguably the most important document of the set.

14. Private Hirings

Over the year, the hall was the venue of choice for 65 private hirers. Events included wedding receptions, christenings, vow renewals, birthday parties (especially children’s), wakes, and retirement parties. In comparison, there were 67 private hire sessions in 2024.

Whilst the number of unique hiring sessions can tell us something about the utilisation of the hall, it does not give the fullest picture of hall use. To understand hall occupation in full detail, we would have to review the length of each booking in hours, a calculation that has not been performed.

15. Commercial Hirings

We have a loyal group of regular hirers, as shown in Table 3, whose patronage is very much appreciated.

Table 3. Regular hirers throughout 2025.

ElyGuild of Woodturners	Little Thetford Parish Council
Pilates bySarah Bryony	Children’s Karate Class(Adrenaline Martial Arts)
LivingSport(Forever Active)	Qigong& Tai Chi bySeeger Health

Little Thetford Village Hall, The Wyches, Little Thetford, Ely, CB6 3HG https://www.littlethetfordvillagehall.org.uk

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The number of individual sessions booked by commercial hirers increased from 59 in 2024 to 68 in 2025. Despite this net increase in the number of sessions booked, the hall still suffered a decrease in hiring revenue between 2024 and 2025.

Two regular hirers left between 2024 and 2025, one of which would book the hall for extended periods through the year. As noted above, a full analysis would need the length of each booking to be taken into account; that analysis has not been performed although this presents an opportunity for the future.

The trustees are actively seeking to engage with new hiring prospects and there is optimism that more hirers will be attracted to the hall in the coming year to take advantage of the facilities that the hall has to offer.

Hall Events

16. Monday Hub

It is interesting to chart the evolution of what is unarguably LTVH’s flagship event. The Monday Hub, as it is now most commonly known, began life as the Friendship Club. It later became one of the network of Warm Hubs established in response to the rapid rise in energy prices during the cost-of-living crisis in 2021-2022. As with many other Warm Hubs, LTVH’s community gathering has evolved into a broader Social Hub, which is sometimes known as ‘Coffee, Cake, and Conversation’.

The hall receives funding from ACRE for each Monday Hub run, and attendees also kindly donate to help supplement the event. It is a firm fixture in the village calendar at which attendance has continued to rise month on month. Throughout 2025, there were 1,625 visits to the venue, facilitated by over 550 hours of volunteers’ time. Light refreshments are always offered, but the hall occasionally provides a modest meal for a small charge.

In addition to being a social hub – with the offer of coffee, cake, and conversation – the Monday event regularly welcomes visitors who are able to provide helpful advice and information. Examples include monthly visits from our ACRE Village Agent and Sanctuary Housing Officer to offer support to residents.

We have welcomed also a representative from Barclays Bank, the CEO of ACRE, a representative from New Life on the Old West, and a representative from East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network. These visitors bring local information and practical advice relating to money and finances, local services, energy, efficiency, and utilities.

With health and wellbeing in mind, the Hub has been the focus for a vaccine drop-in clinic for flu, COVID and respiratory illness, and for visits from Healthwatch and social prescribers. There have been 6 visits from Living Sport who provided various games and equipment for our use, including cornhole, Connect 4, archery and hopscotch.

Little Acorns Pre-School took over the Hub on Monday 11 August, representing a valuable opportunity for them to raise much needed funds.

Other visitors bring light entertainment to the group. For example, The Isle Singers visited on 8 December 2025 to entertain customers at the Hub’s Christmas celebration, kindly sponsored by Cadent via ACRE.

The Hub is exceptionally well regarded in East Cambridgeshire both by our charity partner ACRE, and by the local governmental administrations. Indeed, it has welcomed visits from other village halls, community halls, and parish councils keen to see how we do things in Little Thetford. Our funders like

Little Thetford Village Hall, The Wyches, Little Thetford, Ely, CB6 3HG https://www.littlethetfordvillagehall.org.uk

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to drop in too, including community teams from Cambridgeshire County Council, East Cambridgeshire District Council and the Combined Authority to see how usefully their money is being spent.

We have previously been visited by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, the Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, and from Charlotte Cane MP.

17. Cinema Presentations

Our relationships with National Theatre Live (NT Live!) and Creative Arts East (CAE) continued throughout 2025, allowing us to bring a wide selection of movie presentations to the hall.

Over the year we welcomed visitors to see 14 features. Attendees joined us from both within the village and from surrounding areas. The eclectic mix of movies and live-to-screen titles are shown in Table 4.

Table 4. Cinema presentations at LTVH throughout 2025.

Date	Title	Partner
Friday3 January	42nd Street	CAE
Friday7 March	The Importance of Being Earnest	NT Live!
Saturday12 April	Les Miserables: The Staged Concert Live!(40th Anniversary)	CAE
Friday2 May	Dr Strangelove	NT Live!
Saturday10 May	Jesus Christ Superstar Live!	CAE
Saturday7 June	Billy Elliot The Musical Live(20th Anniversary)	CAE
Friday1 August	A Streetcar Named Desire	NT Live!
Saturday13 September	A Night with Janis Joplin The Musical	CAE
Friday26 September	Inter Alia	NT Live!
Saturday18 October	Bonnie & Clyde The Musical	CAE
Saturday1 November	Hocus Pocus	CAE
Saturday1 November	A Nightmare on Elm Street	CAE
Friday14 November	Mrs Warren’s Profession	NT Live!
Saturday6 December	The Nutcracker	NT Live!

18. Food Vans

With thanks to our Treasurer, the hall has continued to arrange visits from food vans, bringing quality, variety, and convenience to the local community. Throughout 2025, the hall welcomed 8 different food vans making a total of 16 visits. Feedback from the village has been positive, and a comprehensive program is in place for 2026.

19. Other Events and Collaborations

In an effort to bring new opportunities to the village, and with a keen eye on fulfilling its charitable objectives, the hall has organised and run other community events.

The hall’s audio and lighting equipment mean that it is attractive as a live music venue. On Friday 28 March, we hosted a visit from jazz musicians Ian Millar and Dominic Spencer.

With the 80[th] Anniversary of VE Day falling in 2025, the hall hosted a very successful lunch on Monday 5[th] May. It was splendid to see the hall so patriotically decorated and many people attended this special Bank Holiday event, which was kindly supported by Ely Lunch Club with ECDC and ACRE sponsorship.

On Friday 12 December, the hall hosted an event featuring the local historian and Blue Badge Guide Nora Gardner. Nora presented a talk entitled ‘Christmas Through the Ages’.

Little Thetford Village Hall, The Wyches, Little Thetford, Ely, CB6 3HG https://www.littlethetfordvillagehall.org.uk [e-mail]

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LTVH is proud to have partnered with other village organisations to bring other events to the hall. Examples include the Little Thetford Acorns ‘Takeover’ of the Monday Hub, and the hall’s collaboration with Little Thetford Feast to bring the children’s Christmas Party to the village.

Even when the hall does not share in the organisation of events, it is proud to play supporting role in village life by offering a venue where other community organisations such as the Sports & Social Club, the Feast, and St George’s Church can hold their events.

Strategic Development

20. Village Hall Extension

The building of an extension to be occupied by The Little T Shop and Café is the largest project ever to be considered by LTVH.

Following a competitive process, the trustees selected Gary Johns, a local award-winning architect, to support our proposed development. The design of the proposed building evolved throughout the year, with the trustees and the architect taking care to listen closely to the views of all stakeholders. A public meeting in April gave residents an opportunity to see the plans as they existed at the time, hear about the progress of the project, and put questions to the trustees and architect. The opinions expressed were carefully considered and have since informed the development of the design.

The application for planning permission was submitted on 16 December 2025. The trustees are delighted with the level of support shown for the project, from the local community, our hirers, Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority, Cambridgeshire County Council, East Cambridgeshire District Council, Little Thetford Parish Council, as well as other charitable organisations. The shop/café extension is widely regarded as a development that will deliver significant benefits to the village, its residents, and the wider local area. The trustees are now focused on securing grant funding for the build itself, an endeavour that it was not possible to begin in earnest until planning had been granted.

The Little Thetford Community Benefit Society, who will operate the shop and café, hold their own annual general meeting and publish their own annual report.

Concluding Remarks

21. Acknowledgements

In addition to the Management Committee and team of willing volunteers, LTVH is grateful to the wide range of organisations listed in Table 5 for their support, be that financial, practical, intellectual, or combinations thereof.

Table 5. Fellow organisations to whom LTVH is grateful for support.

Cambridgeshire ACRE	Swift BuildingCompanyLtd
East Cambridgeshire District Council	St George’s Church Little Thetford
Cambridgeshire CountyCouncil	New Life on the Old West
ElyLunch Club	East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network
Paul Sycamore	The Isle Singers
SA Events Ltd	Kershaw ContractingServices(KCS)Ltd
Barclays Bank PLC	Resolve Home Energy
CD Clowe Electrical Services Ltd	LivingSport
Little Thetford Sports and Social Club	OCS
ElyPropertyServices Ltd	Cadent

Little Thetford Village Hall, The Wyches, Little Thetford, Ely, CB6 3HG https://www.littlethetfordvillagehall.org.uk

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22. The Future

Plans for the future are, of course, dominated by the Village Hall extension and subsequent occupation by the Shop and Café – the Little T Shop – run by the Little Thetford Community Benefit Society.

Work will continue to enhance the existing premises with the trustees having more plans to update and upgrade the fixtures, fittings, and equipment in the venue. In tandem with this, there is interest in making changes that will improve the carbon footprint of the hall and enhance its sustainability.

As we progress through 2026, the trustees continue to work vigorously to advertise and promote the hall’s unique attributes in the hope of securing yet more hirers and associated income, all of which will be invested back into the facility.

With a number of exciting opportunities being explored, it is hoped that the hall will see yet more visitors, especially from arts organisations such as theatre groups who would perhaps benefit most valuably from the hall’s facilities: its stage, lighting, and audio potential.

The hall’s activities are advertised in the village newsletter, on the Village Hall notice board, and on social media, most notably Facebook. The trustees are keen to expand the reach of these communications in the coming year, encompassing other social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and X. Other communication methods and media will also be explored.

In addition to being responsible stewards of the building itself, the trustees are keen also to develop themselves, taking advantage of further training and development opportunities to equip them to manage the hall most effectively.

23. Summary

Little Thetford Village Hall is widely regarded as an exemplary community facility that is objectively more than just a venue for local events.

The hall’s evolution, which has continued apace throughout 2025, is unarguably impressive. The trustees hope that more people can be persuaded to join them and be part of this success story.

I am sincerely grateful to my fellow trustees who have willingly contributed their knowledge, skill, experience, but above all immense amounts of their valuable time. The contributions of other volunteers and collaborators is also recognised with gratitude.

The trustees offer this account of the charity’s activities and finances for the past year.

Signed on behalf of the trustees,

Philip Hadley, Chair of Little Thetford Village Hall 08 March 2026

Little Thetford Village Hall, The Wyches, Little Thetford, Ely, CB6 3HG https://www.littlethetfordvillagehall.org.uk

[e-mail]

13

Little Thetford Village Hall Income and Expenditure Account For the Year Ending 31 December 2025

Income

Lettings 10,956.00 £ Grants 10,014.40 £ Sports and Social Club 7,247.62 £ Misc Income 1,127.00 £ Ticket and Shows Income 2,095.95 £ Monday Hub 3,010.00 £ Savings account interest 87.68 £ TOTAL INCOME Electricity 6,872.13 £ Booking Officer 2,700.00 £ Maintenance 8,347.99 £ Cleaning 2,946.00 £ Water 1,017.15 £ Subscriptions 486.60 £ Insurance 785.99 £ Internet 923.97 £ Website 264.00 £ Misc Expenses 664.19 £ Sports and Social Club Expenditure 180.00 £ Ticket and Shows Expenses 1,101.70 £ Monday Hub Expenditure 254.64 £ Grants Expenditure 44,875.26 £ Project Expenditure 7,989.95 £ TOTAL EXPENSES Surplus/(Deficit for the year Balance brought forward Main A/c Balance bought forward Savings Balance Bought forward Grants Prepayments - Lettings for 2025 Creditor - owed to shop from Grant Balance carried forward ard comprises Lloyds Bank Lloyds Savings account Lloyds Grant account Prepayments - Lettings for 2025 Creditor - owed to shop from Grant	34,538.65 £	44,870.92 -£ 4,715.30 £ As at 31st Dec 2024 11,934.36 £ As at 31st Dec 2024 41,918.15 £ As at 31st Dec 2024 1,346.00 -£ As at 31st Dec 2024 150.00 -£ As at 31st Dec 2024 12,200.89 £ 2,820.06 £ As at 31st Dec 2025 8,990.40 £ As at 31st Dec 2025 1,453.43 £ As at 31st Dec 2025 1,063.00 -£ As at 31st Dec 2025 - £ As at 31st Dec 2025 12,200.89 £
	79,409.57 £

Expenses

Balance carried forward comprises

Simplex Solutions

33 Hoylake Drive Farcet Peterborough PE7 3BD

– Report for Little Thetford Village Hall 13/02/2026

Charity Number - 1055086

As requested, we have fully examined your accounts for the period 1[st] January 2025 – 31st December 2025.

We are satisfied that all the transactions on the bank accounts have been accounted for in the income and expenditure report supplied to us and your accounts balance.

Please find our notes for the accounts on the following page.

From the paperwork you have provided we believe you can confidently submit the accounts to the Charity Commission.

Yvette Smart

Cheryl Aves

Simplex Solutions

[e-mail]

Cheryl Aves: 07843485016

Yvette Smart: 07415 092229

Little Thetford Village Hall – Notes for the Accounts

1. We can see that the £150 owing to the shop from the Parish Council grant has now been paid to the shop and is no longer part of the balance carried forward.

2. We have not seen copies of income invoices.

3. We have not had sight of any BT invoices or the Local Giving subscription, however neither of these would cause us any concern.

Prepayments for 2026:

Living Sports Cambridge - £108.00 C Cranwell - £175.00 Little Thetford PA - £324.00 Argent - £138.00 Brown M.D - £318.00

Total: £1063.00

[e-mail]

Cheryl Aves: 07843485016

Yvette Smart: 07415 092229