## **OSWESTRY MEMORIAL HALL** ## Annual General Meeting – 27/4/2026 ## **Attendees:** Vivien Byrne, David Kynaston, Maddy Moore, Svitlana Shtakun, Paul Newman, Lucie Byrne, ## **MINUTES** |||**MINUTES**| |---|---|---| |**Item**|**Agenda**
**heading**|**Notes**| ||Introduction|Chair Vivien Byrne welcomed everyone to the meeting. There was acknowledgement that
post-covid, the Trustees had struggled with maintaining robust governance and leadership
of the Memorial Hall. A combination of factors, including ill-health, reduced capacity
through age and family illness, resignations and other issues had resulted in minimal
Trustee presence or activity, and at one point recently, only the Chair of Trustees remained
in post. However, during the past 2 years, Paul Newman had stepped into an Acting Hall
manager position, and he and a dedicated support team had filled many of the
governance gaps. During this time the team had brought a range of new community
projects and groups to the hall, recovered its financial performance, and re-established
the hall as an important and valued community venue.
Significant recent developments warranted Vivien to convene this extraordinary Annual
General Meeting, as we set about a plan to recruit additional Trustees and re-launch a
Management Committee of hall users and stakeholders.| |1|Welcome new
Trustees|Vivien welcomed Maddy Moore and David Kynaston as 2 new Trustees. David has been
supporting the hall’s financial reporting for 5 years, and Maddy has been supporting
events and promotional work at the hall for 2 years. Vivien had asked both to join as
Trustees in the short term, to help her build a stronger Trustee group and re-establish the
Management Committee.| |2|Trustee
Resignation|Vivien confirmed that former Trustee Erica Moss had resigned from her position. Erica had
served the hall as Trustee for many years, and offered great support to a variety of hall
managers and fellow trustees; whilst also providing considerable support to the
community as a whole. Erica’s considerable contribution to the hall, and town in general,
is noted and very much appreciated.
To complete the administrative tasks, Vivien asked Paul to remove Erica from the Charity
Commission register of trustees and from the bank signatory list. (Action 1 - Paul)| |3|Interim
Governance|Roles for Vivien, Maddy and David were discussed, along with the roles of key support,
staff and volunteers. A summary of responsibilities is attached in App 1.
It was confirmed by Paul that Maddy and David have been registered as Trustees and as
bank signatories.| |4|Review 2024-
2025 Accounts|Accounts for 2024-2025 had been prepared in February by Svitlana, and reviewed and
compiled by David. Vivien approved theses accounts, and copies were shared with
Trustees.
The accounts showed income of c£72.9k in the year to 30thJune 2025, comprising:
Lettings/hire: £55.5k
Grants: £ 5.7k
Donations: £ 6.2k
Flat rent: £ 5.5k
Costs were £66.3 k, providinga surplus of £6.6k.(Accounts see App| ## **OSWESTRY MEMORIAL HALL** ## Annual General Meeting – 27/4/2026 |||Annual General Meeting – 27/4/2026| |---|---|---| |||It was agreed that these accounts and this annual review can be uploaded to the charity
commission website (Action 2 – Paul)| |5|Plans for next
AGM|In returning to a more robust governance of the charity, it was agreed that the next AGM
should take place as soon as the 2025-2026 accounts were prepared (target end of July for
the accounts). The absence of a Management Committee of hall users was a notable
weakness of the charity and hall governance. Re-establishing this committee is a key
priority,
It was agreed that a Management Committee should be established by End of June, and
participate in the next AGM (see agenda item 8).
The intention will be to elect additional Trustees at the next AGM (the Scheme of
Governance suggests a minimum of 4). All parties are keen to be compliant with the
Scheme and if possible, recruit additional Trustees from the broad community of hall
users.| |6|Online Banking|Paul advised that the Natwest bank had a specific account with facilities (Bankline for
Communities – See App 2) that would allow multiple signatories to approve online
financial transactions (and therefore remove the dependency on paper cheques). It was
agreed that this be investigated and implemented at the first opportunity (Action 3 – Paul)| |7|2025-2026
Accounts|Svitlana and David agreed to aim for final accounts to be prepared by end of July 2026
(Action 4- Svitlana and David). It was agreed that the hall should utilise an online accounts
system (Eg Xero, Sage or Quickbooks) to reduce reliance on spreadsheets. David will pull
together a meeting to review options, with the aim of implementing a system prior to, and
for use in, the 2026-27 financial year, starting July 1st.(Action 5 – David)| |8|Re-establishing
Management
Committee|In line with the Hall’s Scheme of governance, it was agreed that a list of regular hall users
should be contacted with view to inviting them to become part of the re-established
Management Committee. It was agreed that this Committee would:
•
be made up of key users of the hall (see App 3)
•
include invites to both Shropshire Council and Oswestry Town Council (as
specified in the hall’s scheme of governance.
•
Assemble on (in all likelihood) a quarterly basis, to consider and provide
input/support on key strategic and operational matters
•
Include attendance of at least 2 current Trustees, and be chaired by the Hall
Manager.
Paul would send appropriate invites in order to convene the new Management Committee
before the end of June, and in doing so, facilitate Management Committee representation
at the next AGM (Action 6 – Paul).| |9|AOB|(a) Trustees agreed to sign a Standing order increasing the salary of Simon Davies, the
Hall Caretaker, in recognition of the recent rise in National living wage, and Simon’s
expanded responsibilities.
(b) It was agreed that Vivien would sign a batch of cheques for Svitlana. Svitlana
proposed that second signatures would be requested on a weekly basis from either
Maddy or David, with copies of invoice and completed cheques being presented to
either for signature. Svitlana’s continued diligence and care in managing supplier
payments was appreciated and noted.| ## **OSWESTRY MEMORIAL HALL** ## Annual General Meeting – 27/4/2026 ## **AGREED ACTIONS** ||**Action**|**Owner**|**Target date**| |---|---|---|---| |**1**|to remove Erica Moss from the Charity
Commission register of trustees and from the
bank signatory list.|Paul|1stMay 2026| |**2**|2024-2025 accounts and Apr 2026
AGM/Annual Review to be uploaded to the
charity commission website|Paul|30thApril 2026| |**3**|Online banking facilities that support multiple
signatories (eg Bankline for Communities) to
be investigated and implemented at the first
opportunity|Paul|End May 2026| |**4**|Prepare 2025-2026 final accounts (1stJuly
2025 – 30thJune 2026)|Svitlana &
David|31stJuly 2026| |**5**|Arrange kick-off meeting to review options for
accounting system (eg Xero, Sage, etc) to
replace spreadsheets (for system to be used
throughout 26-27 financial year)|David|Mid May 2026| |**6**|Invitations to be sent to key hall users (+
Oswestry and Shropshire Councils) to join a
new Management Committee (steering
group) at the hall.|Paul|Mid May 2026| ## **OSWESTRY MEMORIAL HALL** Annual General Meeting – 27/4/2026 ## **APPENDIX 1** ## **CURRENT RESPONSIBILITIES** ## **TRUSTEES:** **----- Start of picture text -----**
||| |---|---| |Trustee: Vivien Byrne|Chair, overseeing governance responsibilities and| |compliance| |Trustee: Madeline Moore|Communications and creativity| |Trustee: David Kynaston|Financial governance and compliance| **----- End of picture text -----**
## **MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE:** TBA To be re-instated after a period of absence ## **MANAGEMENT & OPERATIONS** **----- Start of picture text -----**
||| |---|---| |Acting Hall Manager: Paul Newman|Managing day-to-day operations and| |(Be a Better Fish)|resources| |Supported by:| |Svitlana Shtakun|Bookkeeping and hospitality| |Maddy Moore|Website and social media| |Caretaker: Simon Davies|Hall preparation, security and cleaning| **----- End of picture text -----**
## **OSWESTRY MEMORIAL HALL** Annual General Meeting – 27/4/2026 ## **APPENDIX 2** ## **OSWESTRY MEMORIAL HALL** Annual General Meeting – 27/4/2026 ## **APPENDIX 3** ## **Proposed Management Committee invitees** (use hall multiple times each month): |U3a|Oddfellows|Bridge Club| |---|---|---| |Well Church|CountryMarkets|OswestryBID| |Soma Space|With Love From|OswestrySpiritualist| |Cygnet Art|Youngat Art|Drama Forge| |Dance HQ|Trebletones|Tom Barnes Vocal Acad.| |Stuart Thomas|Ruth Clarke|Ukrainian Community| |SBC|Crafternoon/Sketch club|Boogie with Benny| |Design & Shine|Teens with Tots|Shropshire Council *| |OswestryTown Council *||| (* specified in constitution) Proposed format and purpose: To meet quarterly as a steering group to support Trustees and Management, providing: - Feedback on events, hall operations and Trustee plans - Input and review of plans for upcoming quarter - Ideas and suggestions for improvements and developments - Offers of support, resources, fundraising opportunities to help ensure sustainability of the hall Proposed to be chaired by Hall Manager, with minimum of 2 Trustees present **OSWESTRY MEMORIAL HALL** Annual General Meeting – 27/4/2026 ## **APPENDIX 4** **Accounts Financial year July 1[st] 2024** **To** **June 30[th] 2025** **OSWESTRY MEMORIAL HALL** Annual General Meeting – 27/4/2026 **OSWESTRY MEMORIAL HALL** Annual General Meeting – 27/4/2026 ## **OSWESTRY MEMORIAL HALL** ## Annual General Meeting – 27/4/2026 **OSWESTRY MEMORIAL HALL** Annual General Meeting – 27/4/2026