The Brownsword Hall
The Poundbury Village Hall Trust Chairman’s Report 2023/24
( Photograph by Neil Crick)
The Brownsword Hall is managed by the PVHT (Poundbury Village Hall Trust) Registered Charity: 1086679
Location: Pummery Square Poundbury Dorchester DT1 3GW
Enquiries and Booking Information: Tel: 07468 109515 Email:brownswordhall@gmail.com Visit our Website: www.brownswordhall.org.uk
Before anything else, can I ask you to remember Peter Bryant who died in early May. He was hugely involved in how this Hall was built and how the village hall trust was established in the early days. He was always interested and I doubt if he missed an AGM. We shall ever be grateful for his involvement.
To my report. I am happy to say that the Poundbury Village Hall Trust and the Brownsword Hall are still flourishing. We have had a good year with hiring occupancy remaining high, although recently our regular user numbers have fallen off partly due to individual leaders' illnesses but also a growing lack of participants in some of the classes and activities (Parents & Toddlers, Ballet Be Fit) .Sadly Poundbury Ladies, one of the longest standing users, have had to close unable to find volunteer organisers. However, we have some new ‘regulars’ to replace them - for example Slimming World has a long session every Tuesday evening.
The good Pentecostal Church has extended its hire almost to teatime on Sundays. An exciting new activity of Children’s Mini Athletics on Saturday mornings using the Hall throughout the year is also anticipated in September through the winter. The innovation to boost our financial position, to try and keep Wednesday morning and afternoon bookings for lengthier business hirings, has only had limited success but we will stick with the project hoping that the word will spread.
Our two new trustees, Paul and Lesley Clark, who are all warmly welcomed into the trust. Lesley is also the Chair of the Poundbury Conversation (PRA) which could be mutually useful. We still could do with some more trustees for the future especially for marketing purposes.
Our faithful caretaker (Chris Platt) has reached his retirement age and has asked to step back from his full-time role to work weekdays only, but we are most fortunate to have found another caretaker (Michael Trafford ) who will cover the weekends. Wendy, our Bookings Officer, continues most diligently although she is now living 40 miles away in Mere, Wiltshire! Thank goodness for the Internet and we now have WiFi in the Hall.
We hosted the Dorset Village Hall Association’s AGM on 11[th] May when representatives of 16 or so other Village Halls came to Poundbury to see the Brownsword and to debate each other’s problems, successes, and failures. It was an interesting day’s discussion. A talk on the benefits of becoming a Charitable Incorporated Organisation was made but did not make much impact for the PVHT.
A view of the current WISH LIST.
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WiFi connectivity is to do with the BT changeover to a GSM package – very technical.
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The kitchen cabinets are looking a bit tired for their age - 24 years. We are looking to update.
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The roof and water drains are matters of husbandry.
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We are talking with the Lift Consultancy over the re-juvenation actions.
Overall a good year for the Brownsword Hall and Trust. ]
John Pearson
Chairman of the Poundbury Village Hall Trust
Brownsword Hall Charity and Poundbury Village Hall Trust Financial Report Income & Expenditure for the 12 Months ended 31st March 2024
| Income BHC Lettings: Commercial 3,270.00 Total Income: 3,270.00 Expediture Hall Costs 258.60 VAT liability 388.57 Total Expediture 647.17 Surplus/Deficit 2,622.83 Balances as at 31st March 2023 Current Account BHC 3,449.80 Plus Income 3,270.00 Less Expenditure -647.17 Less Surplus/deficit 2,622.83 6,072.63 Bank Balance as of 31st March 2024 Current Account BHC 6,461.20 Creditors (VAT return) -388.57 Balances as at 31st March 2024 6,072.63 Balance Sheet |
Income PVHT Lettings: Private/Charity 33,379.35 Car Park 150.00 Bank Interest 199.74 Breakages Deposits 200.00 Total Income: 33,929.09 Expediture Utilities 8,017.53 Caretaking, Bookings Officer & Cleaning 19,716.88 Telephones & Wifi 1,035.90 Maintenance 6,106.18 Licences & MANCO 435.00 Insurance 2,428.14 Advertising/Other 160.00 Total Expediture 37,899.63 Surplus/Deficit -3,970.54 Bank Balances as at 31st March 2023 Current Account PVHT 6,983.08 Deposit Acount PVHT 22,495.75 St James Wealth Management Valuation as at 31 March 2023 £38,248.00 30,000.00 59,478.83 Plus Income 33,929.09 Less Expenditure -37,899.63 Less Surplus/deficit -3,970.54 55,508.29 Bank Balance as of 31st March 2024 Current Account 8,812.80 Savings Account 16,695.49 St James Wealth Management Valuation as at 14 April 2024 £42,000.00 30,000.00 55,508.29 Balances as at 31st March 2024 55,508.29 Balance Sheet |
|---|---|
Total checked by Edwards & Keeeping 16-05-2024
PVHT / BHC Treasurers Report
Financial Year April 2023 – March 2024
Income Analysis
The Financial Year ending March 2024 we have had a good spread of users and although the number of hiring was slightly lower than the previous financial year however the income was higher.
The Bookings Analysis at Appendix 2 shows the split between Regular Hirers and Private/Charity and Business Bookings.
| Business | Private/ Charity |
Regular Hires |
2023 – 24 Total |
22-23 Total |
21-22 Total |
20-21 Total |
19-20 Total |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 18 £3,270 |
71 £8,098 |
397 £24,065 |
486 £36,649 |
561 £29,275 |
400 £20,350 |
113 £1,747 |
533 £28,535 |
Summary of Use - Hall usage during the reporting period:
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Regular Hirers - Professionals: £15k was generated from our Regular Professionals, who use the Hall to hold classes for members of the public, charging attendees with the aim of making a profit. Line Dancing, Pilates, Zumba/Keep Fit have used the Hall for many years, Balletfit couldn’t generate enough clients and cancelled however the new Slimming World class on Tuesday evenings has been very successful.
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Regular Hirers - Non-Professionals: The remainder of the Regular User category has 2 main subgroups, weekly users and monthly/quarterly users. The largest weekly users of the Hall are still the Pentacostal Church and Camera Club with long-standing community groups such as Pot Luck Supper and Wineknow use the hall monthly/quarterly. Sadly, Parents and Toddlers and Poundbury Ladies have stopped meeting in the Hall as they don’t have enough volunteers to keep the clubs running.
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Private & Charity: Most private hires are a mixture of private adult/children’s parties and funeral wakes.
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Business: Dorset County Hospital have booked the Hall throughout the year for Antenatal Classes, which has boosted the business income.
Financial Position – Notes on the Financial Report
Hall Maintenance has been carried out and some wish-list items completed in this period:-
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Undercroft decoration around Main Door £1400
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Hall Floor resurfacing £1850
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Remainder of costs are routine/annual charges eg Boiler servicing, electrical repairs
Safety & Security £1,195 cost are for compulsory checks such as Life inspection and repairs, Fire Alarms and Extinguishers, Intruder Alarm checks.
BT/Telecon costs increased due to Wifi charges in addition to the Lift phone and Bookings Officer mobile phone.
Rising Utility costs had the largest impact on the Hall’s expenses and continues to be a concern (as they are for all households) fixed rate ran until January 2024, and has been fixed at a much reduced rate for 12months. Electricity smart meter will be installed in Qtr2.
Combined PVHT and BHC Management Accounts Extract: April 2023 – March 2024
| Income | Notes | PVHT & BHC 2023-2024 PVHT & BHC 2022-2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Hall Hire | 36,649 29,275 |
|
| Other Income | Car parking, Bank Interest, Breakage Deposits |
550 6,453 |
| Total Income | 36,999 35,728 |
|
| Expenses | ||
| Hall Services | Bookings Officer, Caretaker, Cleaning | 19,716 17,996.43 |
| Utilities | _Electric, Gas, Water, Telephone, Wifi _ | 8,017 7,373.69 |
| Overheads | Insurance, Licences, Manco | 2,863 3,180.95 |
| Maintenance | Safety & Security, Undercroft redecoration, floor resurfacing |
6,106 11,565.06 |
| VAT | VAT liability | -388 -227 |
| Total Expenses |
38,545 39,888 |
|
| Surplus/Deficit | -1546 -4159 |
Hire Charges
In line with inflation and increases in energy costs, like many other businesses the Trustees decided to increase the Hire Charges in January 2024.
| **2024 HireCharge ** | |
|---|---|
| Regular Users | £18 /hr(increase from £17) |
| Private/Charity | £20 /hr(increased from £19) |
| Business | £50 /hr +VAT(increased from £40) |
| Children’s Parties | £84/ 4 hr session(increased from £80) |
| Adult Daytime Parties | £126 /4hrs session(increased from £120) |
| Adult EveningParties | £210 /4hr session(increased from £200) |
Changes to the Accounts Structure
Following discussions with the BHC Chairman and Directors we have engaged with Edwards and Keeping regarding the structure of the two trading accounts BHC and PVHT and will be implementing changes in the next few months to de-register for VAT and use the PVHT for all hiring income and expenditure.
Appointment of an Inspector
We propose Edwards and Keeping to inspect our accounts next year.
Summary
The Hall bookings have fully recovered from the impact of Covid-19 and the Hall is currently operating at its highest rate of use for ten years. Most sessions are booked and the Hall is in use seven days a week.
Debbie Fitton Treasurer June 2024