Potton Hall for All - Registered Charity No: 1158751
Trustees Annual Report for the year ended 31[st] December 2024.
The Charity was registered on 2[nd] October 2014 as a CIO and this is our report for the 12 month period ended 31[st] December 2024. The Trustees confirm that this complies with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 and our Constitution.
Our Aims
Our aim is to build and run a self financing multi-functional community Hall for the people of Potton and surrounding villages.
Our Objectives
To identify sources of funding which will enable us to build the hall and to work with other local bodies, both statutory and voluntary to leverage this.
To ensure the building is suitable for the use by the local community.
Review of Activities and Achievements
During 2024 we have achieved major success. Construction of the hall began in April 2024. We hoped that the construction would be complete by the end of this year. Now in December, the construction is almost complete, although we ran into some unexpected delays, the major one being delays in connecting electricity to the site. We now expect completion to be early next year (2025) then to need a further few weeks to finish the fit out. This means that we will be able to take bookings at the end of the first quarter of 2025.
We are working closely with the builder, Watson and Cox Ltd, to ensure the building fulfils its purpose and to monitor the progress of the build.
We are determining what additional work will need to be done to make the hall a really great place to hire and finding funding for that.
We are also working on agreeing the Governance structures and running plans with our partner in this venture, Potton Town Council.
We have run a number of successful events which enhance community engagement in the project and raise funds towards it. These included a New Year’s Eve party with live band, a Treasure Hunt, a Games evening and a Murder Mystery Night run with Potton Playhouse and Potton Scout Group. We also provided teas at the Community Orchard Apple Day and participated in Potton Show, the biennial Party on Potton weekend, and the Seasonal Markets and Christmas Lights Switch on organised by Potton Town Council.
The Friends of Potton Hall for All group has been active in these events.
Further funding applications are being prepared to pay for parts of the build and to enhance it after completion.
We are working closely with Potton Town Council and Central Bedfordshire Council who are offering support for the project.
The Trustees
We have 5 Trustees who are very active in the local community, one of whom is nominated by Potton Town Council. They are supported by a number of smaller support committees. The Trustees have taken the commission’s public benefit guidance into account when making any decision to which it is relevant.
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