## **Upwood & The Raveleys Village Hall** ## **Trustees Report to Year ending April 2025** ## **Charity Details** - **Charity Name:** Upwood & The Raveleys Village Hall - **Registration Number:** 1081175 - **Village Hall Address:** High Street, Upwood, Ramsey, Huntingdon, PE26 2QE - **Management Committee: Chairman:** Stephen Howes - **Treasurer:** Stephen Lamb - **Secretary:** Denice Smith - **Bookings:** Bob Child - **Other committee members:** Caroline Blowers, Jason Edwards, Jack Holloway, Doug McLeod, Andrew Perkins, Lynn Perkins - **Trustees:** Doug Mcleod, Geoff Carrington (retiring), Isobelle Howell (retiring), Esther Rowley (Moving to Management Committee) - **Finance Reviewer:** Roger Peckover (Independent Accounts Reviewer) - **Note on Trusteeship:** As of March 2025, the legal (Holding/Custodian) trusteeship of the Hall was vested with the Charity Commission and the Trustees Listed on the Charity Commission register was amended in November 2025 to reflect the structure for 2025/6. (ie removal of Holding Trustees and addition of new Management Trustees) ## **Structure, Governance, and Management** The Village Hall is managed by a Management Committee consisting of a mix of around 10 Trustees and volunteers. There are no paid employees. (Cleaning and maintenance is subcontracted) - **Management Frequency:** The Committee meets four or five times a year for about 1.5 hours. - **Trustee Recruitment:** As per the constitution, the committee aims to be representative of its hiring groups. The organisation actively encourages "new blood" with fresh ideas to join the committee to ensure long-term sustainability. - **Legal Structure:** Following a recommendation from ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England) the property was vested with the Charity Commission in 2025 and day to day management is with the Management Trustees and volunteers (all unpaid). ## **Activities and Objectives** The primary objective is to manage and provide access to the village hall as a valuable, not-forprofit community resource for residents in the local area. ## **Key Objectives for the Year:** - **Utility Infrastructure:** Upgrading energy efficiency through renewable solar energy and improved heating. - **Increase Hall usage:** To return hall usage to pre-pandemic levels - **Accessibility:** Maintaining affordable and consistent hiring rates for local clubs, societies and private hirings. ## **Achievements and Performance** - **Hirings** : The Hall has successfully navigated the post-pandemic recovery, with usage now restored to pre-pandemic levels (approximately 12 bookings per week) - **Solar Project:** Successfully installed solar panels with battery storage and energyefficient "instant" heaters. This project was funded by a 100% grant from the Cambridgeshire County Council’s Communities Fund. It is this grant funding which has caused our turnover this year to be much higher than usual. - **User Experience:** Hirers have reported improved comfort in winter months due to the new heating system. (Especially the Seniors Lunch Club) - **Simplified Billing:** The solar installation allowed the committee to move to a simpler flat charge for electricity, reducing administration and providing billing certainty for users. ## **Financial Review** The financial year 2024–25 was characterized by significant infrastructure investment and rising operational costs. - **Financial Result:** The audited accounts show a net loss of £4,951.97. - **Performance Context:** This loss is attributed to a one-time return of £5,996.24 to the Upwood Performing Arts group to restart activities. Excluding this transfer, the hall would have realized a profit of £1,044.27. - **Cost Pressures:** General running costs (utilities, subcontract labour, insurance) increased by approximately 10%. - **Funding:** While major grants were won for capital projects, the Parish Council did not provide a grant this year due to its own pressures, contributing to a reluctant increase in hiring rates in Autumn 2024 to cover the shortfall. - **Reserves and Future Planning:** The committee is currently collecting data on solar energy production and grid sales to evaluate and refine the all-inclusive charging model over a full four-season cycle. - The accounts show that the Village Hall holds cash reserves for emergency unplanned maintenance given that the hall is over 150 years old. ## **Funds Held as Custodian Trustee** In March 2025, the Hall completed the process of vesting its Custodial trusteeship with the Charity Commission. Consequently, the Hall no longer requires individual custodial trustees who have since stood down. The remaining trustees are all unpaid volunteer Managing Trustees handling the day to day running and upkeep of the hall. ## **Serious Incidents** There have been no Serious Incidents UPWOOD AND THE RAVELEYS VILLAGE HALL STATEMENT OF ANNUAL ACCOUNTS FOR PERIOD Isr MARCH 2024TO 28TH FEBRUARY 2025 INCOME EXPENDITURE Donations and Grants DeposFts One-off Users Art Group History Group Home to Home Parish Council St Peter's Church Quilting Group/Craft n Chat Ramsey U3A Table Tennis Club Upwood Table Tennis Club Ramsey Seniors Lunch Club Book Club Upwood Performing Arts Upwood Ukeleles Oak Activities Miscellaneou5 £ 33.722.14 410.00 634.10 Refunds HDC - Council Tax Anglian Water (WAVE) Cleaning Repairs & Maintenance EON - Electricity Insurance Fund Raising Expenses Consumables PlusNet Internet Sundry Expenses Membership & Misc 44.50 129.54 396.04 1,867.50 33,480.84 3,172.17 1,222.44 18,815.22 165.44 91.80 165.15 227.29 93.88 321.76 204.13 3.947.50 57.85 £ 12,847.48 901.08 736.00 55.40 212.33 277.30 SUB TOTAL £ 54,415.56 TOTAL 59.783.32 Interest (Saver's Account) 415.79 Income Over Expenditure 4.951.97 TOTAL £ 54,831.35 TOTAL 54,831.35 Examined bv- R W Peckover Date: ,"L2tszr Pagelof2 UPWOOD AND THE RAVELEYS VILLAGE HALL BANK BALANCES AS AT 28TH FEBRUARY 2025 Current Account (No 303798681 1,814.00 Business Instant Access Account (No 30543368) £ 33,320.86 Fund Raising Account Petty Cash NIL I hereby certify that the income and expenses accounts and balance sheets for Upwood and the Raveleys Village Hall for the year endirE 28th February 2025 are a true record according to the information provided Signed R W Peckover Date If A- o(202 Page2of2 * 0 88 thp e4 UF 411 41 Tr4 r4 rl In ¢41 W W otoo 4b¢ w w % tw w 8 8 8 W) f*l O wwt41ww4 W 4¢ c w 11 CL c rtl 8go