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← Creech St Michael Village Hall

2025-03-31-accounts

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Creech St Michael Village Hall

Chair and Management Commitee Annual Report 2024/2025

The Management Committee consists of Elected and Representative Trustees. The principal offices of Chair and Secretary and Treasurer are normally held by Elected Trustees. Co-opted members may also be elected after each AGM. Present committee comprises:

Iris Chown - President

Jan King - Chair

Margaret Gover - Secretary

Liz Sweeting - Treasurer

Barbara Williams - Representative Creech St Michael Parish Council Peter Brown

Annabelle Peters

Gaynor Underhill

Martin Peet

Lara Bowden

Alan Prime – representative from Short Mat Bowls

Douglas Jones

Our objective is to maintain the Hall on a self-financing basis. Our letting revenue normally covers overheads and general expenses. Our designated reserve fund of £29,378.84 is held against unforeseen major expenditure which may occur during a year, and cannot be funded from normal running costs. This cannot be used without the authorisation of the Trustees. Any such use requires a full action plan for recovery. This now increases on an annual basis of 5% plus interest

2 Management costs have always been free by using the time and | commitment of a dedicated team of volunteers. Without this dedication this Hall would not run as efficiently as it does.

Most of our charges have remained the same during the last year. And although we said we would be increasing our hiring costs we have managed to maintain without increasing them. We will be reviewing at the end of the year as our electrical cost have increase dramatically over the last 6 months.

The financial statement has been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies and comply with the Charity's governing document, the Charities Act 2011 and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities published on 16[th ] July 2014.

Financially it has been a good year. Our income was £40,956.22 Expenditure 37,833.52

With a surplus for the year of £3122.70 And a deposit of £8000 into our project fund.

I am sure if you have any questions Liz will be happy to answer them.

The volume of hires has increased for this financial year, and the hall is being used more and more as the years go by. Mondays are now our busiest days; Fridays are still the quietest. We totalled 799 bookings for the year. Averaging 16 per week

This last year has been an interesting one as after years and years of negotiations with the many councils the area has had, we have now been granted a 50-year lease on the land at the back of the Hall

2 previously known as Caray Grove Play Park. At a committee meeting | the committee renamed the park Creech St Michael Village Hall Garden. Work has already started and will be ongoing over the next 18 months or so. We have had many planning meetings and have come up with a final plan with raised beds and a memory wall. We have had generous donations which has offset some of the costs. Our thanks go to the Parish Council, Party in the Park Committee and Community News. The PC and PIP have paid for the block paving, and the Community News has donated money for seating which we will purchase once the garden has more formation. Plans are in place to increase the outside lighting and cameras to secure the area, and this will be happening during our annual shut down for maintenance and repairs.

The kitchen has just had another inspection by an Environmental Health Officer and we have been awarded a level 5 food hygiene certificate. She was very impressed with the number of breakfasts we can produce in an hour and a half.

The Hall has always had steady use. And with a building nearing its 40[th] Birthday the amount of ongoing maintenance increases year on year. Over the last few years this has weighed heavily on my shoulders. Juggling hirer callouts, repairs, or being available and waiting for contractors to call can take up a vast amount of time. The committee have discussed at length the possibility of having a paid member of staff who could manage the site, contractors, cleaners and caretakers and ensure the Hall is always ready for the next hirer to enjoy. This has taken a while for us to arrange as we have been cautious, ensuring we have the finance to cover the cost. And as you are aware Rebecca took up the post earlier this year.

The need for Volunteers is an ongoing one, not just for the Hall but also in the community, and again we are looking for more hands to

2 make our work lighter. At our meetings which are usually short? And | are bimonthly. We try to keep them light, friendly. We deal with all the issues which are brought to our attention and need resolving.

As I mentioned earlier, our volume of hires has increased, to remain viable we have to look to the future. Many of the newer Village or Community Halls have far better facilities than ours, and although, as one of our hirers said recently, “we are the cleanest and tidiest Hall in the area” Having facilities that meet current standards is something we need to address. For that reason, we are looking at extending the Village Hall to the side and back with a wraparound design. Tripling the kitchen, increasing the toilet facilities, creating a bar! And adding additional storage. None of this is set in stone. The committee have agreed to investigate the idea and check if it’s feasible. The benefits are huge, and could secure the hall’s future. And I hope you will all support the idea.

Some may think managing a Village Hall is a bit boring, I can assure you its not! It varied and interesting. With different reasons for parties and functions we get the opportunity of ensuring functions are held in a clean warm tidy hall which has all the facilities to make the occasion enjoyable. But sometimes something a little different crops up and on one of those occasions we had to deal with an insistent naked man who was sure the art club really needed to draw him. It took over two hours and two policemen to persuade him otherwise.

After two years as Booking Coordinator, Lin has decided to hand over the post but we are very pleased to say she is remaining on the committee. Rebecca is now including the role within her job description. Thank you Lin your help and time has benefitted the Hall over the last two years and we are very grateful you took on the role when you did. Iris has something for you to show our appreciation.

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All our remaining Committee are happy to stand for another year, but if anyone would like to join us, please make your selves known

We are breaking new ground having a paid organiser. The benefits are making the hall management so much easier for the commitee I hope we don’t wear out Rebecca! as so far, the improvements are vast. This committee is amazing, and I would just like to thank everyone of them for their help and support over the last year, when you have a good team, finding solutions to problems is so much easier. Thank you.

All that leaves is for us all to enjoy the cream tea, and thank you everyone for attending.

Jan King

Chair

CAF BANK

BALANCE FROM STATEMENT 51 8730.61

STATEMENT MONTH PAYMENTS RECEIPTS BALANCE
52 Apr-24 2602.77 3487.5 9615.34
53 May-24 1197.32 1236 9654.02
54 Jun-24 3023.25 3545.82 10176.59
55 Jul-24 1468.09 2882.15 11590.65
56 Aug-24 599.83 165 11 155.82
57 Aug-24 6571.33 1639 6223.49
58 Sep-24 1604.54 2743.39 7362.34
59 Oct-24 1143.15 2570.75 8789.94
60 Nov-24 2359.93 4338.25 10768.26
61 Dec-24 2559.83 4682.31 12890.74
62 Jan-25 1643.74 7217.85 18464.85
63 Feb-25 9697.88 3318.5 12085.47
64 Mar-25 3411.86 3129.7 11803.31

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S (IE) REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF CREECH ST MICHAEL VILLAGE HALL

  1. I report on the accounts of the Creech St Michael Village Hall (CSM VH) for the year ending 31[st] March 2025.

  2. Respective responsibilities of the CSM VH trustees and the Independent Examiner:

  3. a) The trustees of the CSM VH are responsible for the preparations of the accounts. They consider that an audit is note required for the 2024/25 Financial Year

    • (under Section 43(2) of the Charities Act 1993 (the 1993 Act) and that a independent examination is appropriate.

  4. It is the independent examiners responsibility to:

  5. a) Examine the accounts (under Section 43(a) of the 1993 Act.

  6. b) To follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commission in the 1993 Act.

  7. c) To state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

  8. Basis of the independent examiners report:

  9. a) My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission.

  10. b) The examination included an inspection of the accounting records kept by CSM VH and a comparison of the accounts and supporting documentation presented with these records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and the seeking of explanations from CSM VH trustees for the same.

  11. c) I have consulted the CSM VH Financial Control Policy for evidence of procedural compliance by trustees and officers of CSM VH in the operation and administration of the accounts.

  12. d) The Inspection did not provide all of the evidence that would be required for an audit, and consequently no opinion is expressed as to the commercial viability of the VH.

  13. Independent Examiners qualified statement.

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Mike Palmer

Riparian

Bull Street

Creech St Michael

Taunton

TA3 5PW

5[th] May 2025

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