Trustees Annual Report 2020-21
The trustees are pleased to present their annual report and balance sheet for the year ended 31[st] March 2021 and confirm they comply with the requirements of the Charities Act 1993, as amended by the Charities Act 2006 and the trust deed and the Charities SORP 2005.
1. Our Object, Vision and Strategy
The primary object of the Trust (as laid out in our constitution) is:
To further or benefit the residents of Thorpe and the surrounding area, without distinction of sex, sexual orientation, race or of political or other opinions by associating together the said residents and the local authorities, voluntary and other organisations in a common effort to advance education and to provide facilities in the interests of social welfare for recreation leisure time with the objective of improving the conditions of life for the residents.
In setting our vision, strategy and objectives and planning our activities, our Trustees gave careful consideration to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit and in particular to its supplementary public benefit guidance on advancing education on fee-charging.
1.1 Our Vision:
The vision that shapes all our activities is: To put Thorpe Village Hall firmly back at the heart of the local community . When the Trust was set up in 2014, we created a strategy to enable us to achieve our vision:
1.2 Our Strategy
We will achieve the vision by utilising and developing our relationships with contacts in the local community and local business to:
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better understand local needs and identify ways that we could provide added benefit to the people of Thorpe and surrounding areas
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source popular events and publicise these locally
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use funds from business use to subsidise community and charity activities
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sympathetically refurbish the hall to make more of its historic features and create a unique venue for all sorts of events.
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ultimately create a popular and sustainable venue which is managed by the community for the community
1.3 Our Objectives:
This is our seventh year of operation and the second year of our new 15 year lease with Runnymede Borough Council. At our meeting in October 2019 (following completion of the new lease), the Trustees agreed the following priorities for next 3 years:
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to work with the local council to carry out remedial works to cure the damp issues in the building
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to look again at costings for a wide range of refurbishments, seek funding and prioritise based on funds
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to review caretaking / cleaning arrangements
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to get more professional – using templates, hirer leaflets, clear processes
However, due to the first COVID lockdown commencing in March 2020, the only plans we made were to:
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keep ourselves apprised of the latest government advice regarding social events and community buildings
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to only open the hall when we could take the necessary precautions to ensure the health and safety of our visitors and volunteers
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to ensure the maintenance and upkeep of the building during COVID restrictions and carry out any urgent repairs
In shaping our objectives for the year and planning our activities, the trustees have considered the Charity Commissions guidance on public benefit.
1.4 Structure Governance and Management
The Trust is led by four Trustees who are responsible for the overall management and of the Trust and ensure that it complies with all necessary policies and Acts. They form part of the Trust’s management team, which consists of another 5 volunteers, including local residents. This group meet at least quarterly, with additional meetings with just the four trustees. All trustees give their time freely and no remuneration or expenses were paid in the year.
2. Achievements and Performance 2020-21
In our 2019-20 annual report we advised that we spent the last few months of that year adapting to the changing situation with COVID.
We recognised our ‘duty of care’ in providing a safe facility for the community to use – and taking extra precautions for high risk groups. As a result, we had:
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Instigated additional cleaning
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Put up notices about precautions / cleanliness and our procedures for closing if cases confirmed, such as deep cleaning etc
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Advised hirers to act responsibly and follow our precautions
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We also decided to cancel our Tea and Talk sessions for over 50s
As the situation escalated, we had planned a trustees’ meeting to decide whether we should temporarily close the hall. This was however taken out of our hands by the government announcement on 24[th] March of the national lockdown. We therefore arranged a deep clean, closed the building and put up signs to advise of our closure.
As a result, the hall remained closed for almost the entirety of 2020-21. When a relaxing of restrictions was announced in August 2020, we planned a phased reopening. We agreed for our regular hirers to return in September, providing they continued to follow COVID guidelines, but decided not to take bookings for any wider events, such as parties etc until January 2021. However further restrictions imposed in November and then December 2020 meant that we again closed the hall and did not reopen until after the end of this financial year.
3. Financial Review
In accordance with our Constitution, the income of the CIO has been applied solely toward the promotion of our primary object and any profits reinvested into furthering our object
Our attached balance sheet shows that we made a profit of £843.50 on the year.
Due to the limited time the hall was open in the year, the income from our hirers was drastically reduced from £12,491.16 to £418.50
The majority of our expenditure did not reduce to the same extent – totalling £9,575.00 (as opposed to £16,608.15 in 2019-20). However, £985.80 of this cost was to purchase window blinds for the meeting room as part a small refurbishment project to make it more attractive for future hirers.
The remainder of our income was due to our Treasurer applying to the local council for the £10,000 grant they made available to organisations who receive a business rates rebate.
Our balance moving forward of £40,337.25 will provide us with financial security in these challenging times and potentially enable us to proceed with the next phase of our refurbishment projects.
4. Future Plans
Due to the ongoing uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic our main priorities are once again to continue to keep ourselves apprised of the latest government advice regarding social events and community buildings; to only open the hall when we could take the necessary precautions to ensure the health and safety of our visitors and volunteers and to ensure ongoing maintenance of the building
Once the situation has stabilised we will look at the possibility of further refurbishment / improvement works such as improving the heating system.
Thorpe Village Hall Surrey Balance Sheet 1st April 2020 - 31st March 2021
Income from 2020-2021 £10,418.50 Expenditure from 2020-2021 £9,575.00 -----------------Profit for 2020-2021 £843.50 Balance carried forward from 2019-2020 £39,493.75 Profit for 2020-2021 £843.50 -----------------Balance to be carried forward to 2021-2022 £40,337.25
Income and Expenditure for 1st April 2020 - 31st March 2021
Income Expenditure
Regular Hirers £418.50 Window Blinds £985.80 Grant £10,000.00 Lease £1,650.00 Gas £1,367.83 Electricity £599.98 Water Rates £743.53 Trade Waste £913.00 Cleaners £400.00 Cleaning Materials £315.98 Building Insurance £572.86 Maintenance £677.85 Alarm Lines £748.37 Security Monitoring £229.80 Premise Licence £70.00 Deposit Returns £300.00
------------------- -----------------£10,418.50 £9,575.00