CENTRE OF PENDEEN
Annual report 2022
1. Chairs Report
In the midst of the Pandemic, a small glimmer of light began to emerge in 2021 when, on 26 April, the Centre was able to re- open for mornings only. Efforts were made to get the message out to the community and gradually the news spread and people began to return to buy books, to photocopy and to browse ‘This and That’. To ensure the Centre was a safe and hygienic environment we implemented the standard anti-Covid sanitisation practices.
We were given the go ahead to fully open on 19[th] July 2021. From that point the Centre was ready to restore its full range of offers to the community and gradually many of our former customers returned. By October most clubs and groups who hired our space were back. We lost some; however, hall hire has continued to develop with the addition of new groups.
A new Parent, Baby and Toddler group was started and is gradually beginning to establish itself. The Centre provided space so the community could have easy access to the Cornwall Citizens Advice Bureau and we hope that CAB will be able to carry this on into next year. We became a collection point for food donations and CRCC (Cornwall Rural Community Charity) provided a programme of free IT training sessions, which have proved to be very popular. The Pendeen WI monthly Craft and Produce Fair started in the summer and has continued to provide a great mooching and meeting place for the community with no shortage of stalls and produce to see and purchase. We are delighted that they were able to organise this and bring a ‘buzz’ to the Centre. The community missed the Farmers Market and this monthly event is very welcomed, well attended and supports the use of the Centre as a Community facility. We welcomed Rachel Bevans who started a Singing/Chanting group earlier in the year which will continue in 2022. More recently, we have incorporated two further new groups into our regular schedule of events and they began in February 2022. Having lost Pilates and Yoga after the Lockdowns, we are pleased to welcome Debbie Edwards who will run Fit as a Fiddle and Fiona Flindall, who will run a new Centre of Pendeen Book Club.
We are still able to offer space for people to either use our laptops or occupy a quiet space to use their own, particularly since more people work from home.
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We ran a successful one – off event in November where donated clothes were organised for re-sale at bargain prices. This was popular and people left with bags of good quality clothes. Any leftover clothing was delivered to Charities. Sandra Coak was the organiser behind this event and managed to galvanise significant volunteer support for the preparation and running of the event on the day. Huge thanks go to Sandra for her planning and management of the preparation, bringing this to life and making it such a worthwhile and enjoyable event.
In addition, we were able to support the NHS by accommodating their need for accessible Vaccination Clinics, opening on two Sundays to facilitate easy access for the local community to get their Covid vaccinations.
Our Snooker Club remains popular although we have not restored membership yet to pre Covid levels. Paul Webb gave many years as a Volunteer who oversaw the Snooker Club, did the trouble shooting much of the time out of hours and kept a watchful eye on membership and revenue. Revival following closure was affected by failures in our security system which prevented access to the facility out of hours for longer than we would have hoped. Our security firm came as soon as they were able to fix this and we are now back to full access. We are currently searching for a willing Candidate to represent the Snooker Club on our Management Team, a requirement of our Constitution and essential for a good dialogue to support developments and share information.
In September the Pendeen Community Cemetery Project Committee, chaired by Delia Webb decided to return their project to the jurisdiction of the Lands’ End Community Land Trust who acted as an ‘Umbrella’ organisation when they first formed. The Trustees of the Centre were fully supportive of the move and wished the project and its promoters well for the future. Delia Webb continues as a volunteer for the Centre administering our Social Media sites.
A number of significant changes amongst Trustees altered the management team earlier in the year. Delia Webb resigned as chair in July 2021 along with three other Trustees, John Roberts, Bev Strick and Suzie Lewis. Our thanks go to these people who gave freely of their time and energy. John Roberts has remained with us as a Volunteer and is still very much part of the Centre. This did, however leave us constitutionally bereft. Sue James and John Aldred stepped in and agreed to share the role of Chair. With a concerted effort from those committed to the Centre, we recruited two new Trustees, Carolyn Shipman and Rachel Ewer who were both familiar with the work of the Centre and have different skills to bring.
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In addition, Jane Haslam (Sustainable Pendeen and industrious volunteer) became the Secretary and brings skills to the Management Team that are a great support to our endeavours and Jeremy Spanton continues as Treasurer, keeping us all on our toes with cash handling, reporting and managing the Centre’s finances.
Rachel Ewer, Trustee and Chief Editor of Outreach approached us with a view to relocating. Outreach, who are currently operating out of the Parish Hall, will be moving to the Centre of Pendeen bringing new equipment with them. We have agreed a rental and anticipate that this move will increase footfall into the Centre. We can accommodate them without adverse disruption and it will be good to have them working close by. This coming year will begin with the Management Committee determining the strategy and focus for the Centre so that it proactively fulfils its Charitable Objectives at the same time as dealing with rising costs. This will certainly involve more of a Fundraising effort and further increase Centre activities. Always on the look -out for new volunteers and Trustees to ensure we are able to continue, this will require a committed investment in time.
A big thanks is well deserved by Jane Haslam and Sandra Coak for their committed work to keeping the Sustainable Pendeen interest, creativity and education going. Together, they ensured that events were able to go ahead, organising, planning and making them happen.
We would also like to thank Melanie Richards for her dedication to providing robust training to new volunteers and for keeping the rota going so that we always have cover during opening hours.
As Co – Chairs, we would like to send a personal thank you to all our Volunteers, and our Caretaker Chris Williams; without whom the Centre could not function. We are a small team with a plentiful supply of good will as well as a strong conviction to doing the right things for the right reasons and it makes the work we all put in worthwhile.
Sue James and John Aldred, Co- Chairs
2. Financial Report
General Situation
2021 was an improvement on 2020, but still a challenging year. We were able to open again in April, initially only the reception, for books, printing and this and that. It was also possible to allow snooker to start again. Once again, we were able to receive Cornwall Council Covid grants, to the tune of £16263.79, which was a great help. Chris Williams was still on
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furlough until June. The hall started to take bookings from July, with some of the previous occupants returning, while others decided not to, for various reasons. With new users for the halls, we have been able to restore some of our income.
Income
Total income for the year, including the Council grants, amounted to £27665. Key items included Books accounting for £562, Fundraising days £1089, Hall hire £2018, printing £442, snooker subs £585, snooker meter receipts £334, this and that £1266 and FIT payments £482. Sustainable Pendeen events and sales, including work for and a commission from the Tin Coast Partnership brought in £1765 (offset by costs of £412).
Expenditure
Total expenditure amounted to £24594. Building repairs and maintenance for the year was £7068, due to servicing and repairs to the solar panel inverters (£2048), external decorating, including scaffolding (£3680), fire and PAT safety checks (£401), heating service (£165), internal electrical work on lights and fire exit signs (£230). The cost of the Caretaker was £4419.
During the year it was decided to transfer the Cemetery project back to the Land Trust, so the balance of £6623.57 was sent to them.
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The Future.
We are hopeful that, barring any further spikes in Covid and the need for another lockdown, 2022 will enable the Centre to move forwards. Outreach once relocated to the Centre, will be paying a rent for the use of the meeting room to accommodate their printer and stationary. Sustainable Pendeen events during the year will also bring people into the Centre.
Jeremy Spanton – Treasurer
3. Volunteer Co-ordinators Report
We all felt the challenges of the past year and had to be sure that our volunteers were in a position and comfortable with returning to the Centre, given their own personal circumstances. During the year we were delighted to welcome back two former volunteers, Kim Thomas and Sally Shaw both previously trustees who wished to volunteer on the desk. However, we also lost Jacky Urqhuart who moved away from the area and Ken Patrick has had to step back through ill health. Both of them have given so much time to the Centre and were always willing to cover additional sessions or other tasks as needed. After many years as Snooker Representative and looking after the building and overseeing technical aspects of running the Centre, Paul Webb has withdrawn from his volunteering roles. His skills and the time he has given to the Centre over the years have been essential in providing a safe, pleasant environment for volunteers and the public alike. A reorganisation of roles has seen other volunteers take on increased responsibilities. Sue James took over Room Hire and Bookings and has succeeded in helping establish new groups. Sandra Coak suggested and volunteered to cover regular opening on Saturday mornings. This has been very well received. She has continued with the organisation of the This N That display and supporting the Pendeen Maids. Throughout the year books have continued to be sorted and displayed by Jackie Packer, the Centre locked up safely by John Roberts, sustainability issues such as the ongoing viability of Solar Panels sorted by Jane Haslam and the desk manned by a reliable team of whom many have other responsibilities;
Over the course of the year the Centre has seen about twenty volunteers regularly involved in its running with a number of extra volunteers on call for events as well as the Pendeen Maids who make cards for sale and were
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very helpful in preparing for our Clothing for re-use sale in November. We are always on the lookout for new regular volunteers who would be welcome to the team both on the desk and to support other needs and activities.
My thanks go out to everyone who has contributed to the running of the Centre. Amongst these must be included volunteer Quentin Southern who comes in daily to support the Desk Volunteers in any way he can.
Melanie Richards – Volunteer Co-ordinator
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4. Sustainable Pendeen Report
2021 was a difficult year for holding events because of the ongoing, and often changing, Covid restrictions and regulations.
In 2020, Sustainable Pendeen had been commissioned by the Tin Coast Partnership to hold 5, 3-hour Heat and Energy Clinics at the local Farmers’ Markets. We did manage to hold one clinic before a second lockdown but then in 2021 the Farmers’ Markets closed.
Not to be thwarted, we negotiated with the North Inn and ran the rest of the clinics from the new gazebo, (kindly donated to the Centre from the Tin Coast Partnership), outside the pub on Saturday mornings in May and September. Naked Solar and Kensa Heat Pumps came to give out information and advice and the clinics were very well attended by local people.
In April 2021 the Tin Coast Partnership advertised a limited number of free Electric Vehicle Chargers for local businesses and accommodation providers. They commissioned Sustainable Pendeen to assist them by making site visits to applicants in order to assess site and business suitability. Sandra Coak and Jane Haslam went to see all the applicants and premises, including The Centre of Pendeen, visiting 16 sites in total in mostly wet, gale force conditions and completed reports for the Tin Coast. While Sustainable Pendeen has fulfilled its tasks within this project, the EVCs have not yet been distributed or fitted.
Plans have been started for a series of events aimed at encouraging wildlife into our gardens and community spaces, under the title ‘Go Wild in 2022’, and for a big, one-day Energy Event in July 2022.
Jane Haslam and Sandra Coak
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