Cullompton John Tallack Youth and Community Centre Meadow Lane Cullompton, EX15 ILL info@johntallackcentre.org.uk
The John Tallack
Youth and Community Centre
Charity Number: 1164465
Chair of Trustees’ Report 2023
Reflecting on the year that has passed since I was elected Chair of Trustees at our last AGM, it is clear that this has been another very positive year for the John Tallack Centre! Following on from the dedicated hard work of our previous Chair, Martin Smith, the Trustees have continued to work together tirelessly to maintain smooth running of the centre, further develop the building for centre users, and continue the centre’s active role within the Cullompton community:
A number of key milestones and achievements are worth noting:
-
Return of Youth Work at the John Tallack Centre: Working together with Involve Mid Devon, Cullompton Town Council, Cullompton Youth Forum, and Space Youth Services, forming ‘Cullompton Youth Development Partnership’, the trustees were extremely pleased to welcome youth work back to the John Tallack centre this summer. As ‘holders’ of the project, Involve Mid Devon now employ two youth workers for Cullompton, Sophia Roper as Senior Community Youth worker, and myself, George Munn, as Youth Support Worker. Following popular ‘Engagement Sessions’ over the Summer, youth club sessions started officially at the start of September this year and were extremely well received by the majority of young people. The team have experienced some initial issues due to ongoing damage to the building and serious anti-social behaviour in the immediate surrounding area, but are working closely with our neighbours and the Police to resolve this as soon as possible. We look forward to reopening sessions to a more welcome reception in November.
-
A new face for the John Tallack Centre Trust: The trust is now proudly represented by a smart new logo, with new signage outside the building and frosted sign written front doors. The logo is also now being used on letterheads, stationery, and email signatures.
-
An extremely popular ‘Festival of Youth’ event in April: Sue organised an excellent ‘Festival of Youth’ event at the centre, coinciding with Cullompton’s Spring Fest celebrations. Games, an outdoor bouncy assault course, free burgers and hotdogs, and festival headliners ‘A Drop in the Ocean’ brought families and young people to the centre from across Cullompton and really put the JTC back on the community’s map!
-
Website, Booking System, and Email: Thanks to the help of Ray Ursell, the centre’s website is now up and running and functioning well, with further updates coming soon. A user Booking System has been developed, so that centre hirers will be able to book sessions themselves, simplifying the workload of Sue our Treasurer and making booking more streamlined for users. The JTC also has a new email system, with trustees each having their own professional JTC email address.
-
Policies and Health and Safety: Trustees have been working hard to update and create new policies and procedures, with all necessary Safeguarding, Health and Safety, and Data Protection policies now in place. The trust has an updated Risk Assessment, Emergency Evacuation Procedure, Site Floor Plan, and emergency signage, and all infrastructure is now in place to ensure the trust is compliant with all relevant responsibilities.
-
A streamlined, more formal hiring process: A new process for bookings is now in place, streamlining the process, formalising hire arrangements, and ensuring that all hirers are aware of associated responsibilities and expectations. When making a booking, each hirer is now expected to complete a formal ‘Hire Agreement’, agree to the Trust’s ‘Terms and Conditions of General Hire’, and complete a mandatory health and safety ‘Hire Induction’ with one of the Trustees. Centre Hirers are now clearly responsible for providing their own policies, risk assessments, and safe operating procedures, in line with standard practice for other community halls and venues. This better protects the Trust against accusations or loss in the unfortunate event of damage, accidents, or injury.
The centre continues to support a number of local groups and organisations through the hire of our Main Hall, office spaces, and building:
-
Action for Children continue to hire half of the Main Office for their satellite Cullompton team, and often use the main hall for family sessions, parenting classes, and training.
-
Involve Voluntary Action In Mid Devon now hire the second half of the Main Office as a base for their youth workers and use the building two nights a week for youth sessions.
-
Moo Music Cullompton and Tiverton continue to hire the hall once a week for their music and movement sessions for young children.
-
Activ8 youth theatre hired the centre weekly for their rehearsals, and look forward to returning this coming Spring.
-
Bel Canto community choir continue to hire the centre weekly for their choir practice.
-
Mid Devon Councillors Lloyd Knight and Sue Robinson now hire the centre for their monthly ‘Cullompton Padbrook’ ward councillor surgery, and Mid Devon Liberal Democrats now hire the hall for team meetings.
-
The centre is also being used increasingly regularly for private birthday parties and events , and for community activities , including Cullompton History Group’s extremely popular series of talks on Roman Cullompton.
-
Bookings currently look set to reduce in 2024, and trustees are actively looking to welcome new hirers.
Meanwhile, following on from major refurbishments over the last few years, the Trust has continued to improve the centre’s facilities. Specifically, this has included:
-
A new phone line has been installed, following many years of complications with the previous connection.
-
New WIFI is now available to all centre hirers.
-
A new projector, screen, and speaker system have been installed in the Main Hall, for centre users to make use of.
-
The light switches for the main hall and toilets were relocated into the kitchen, for easier access.
-
What was the ‘Trustee’s Office/Small Office’ has now been transformed into a ‘Chair Store’ freeing up valuable space in the ‘Sound Room’ for use during youth sessions.
-
Thanks to work of Ray Ursell, trustees and centre users now have access to 3 JTC PCs and a JTC laptop.
-
Further cooking equipment and crockery has been purchased for use in the Kitchen.
-
Our hirers, Action for Children, have sorted through their items stored in the outdoor storage container , ready to vacate the container in time for their next hire period.
-
General maintenance of the building has included: repair of cracked electrical sockets , repair of the faulty automatic flush cistern in the toilets, repair of damaged guttering and outdoor lighting , repair of damaged soffits , and newly installed emergency lighting .
As a Trust we continue to search for additional trustees and/or volunteers who might be able to lend a hand and support the smooth running of the centre. We are also particularly keen to welcome new hirers of the building, and are actively advertising the centre’s newly restored facilities in the local community and online.
Overall, thanks to the commitment of our very small team of dedicated trustees, and the ongoing support of the local community, the centre has continued to grow from strength to strength. The Trust is running in an increasingly professional and streamlined manner, youth work is finally returning to the building after a great deal of effort from all involved, and the centre is becoming ever more well known and well utilised within the local community. I am very much looking forward to seeing how the centre continues to develop in the year ahead!
With my thanks as ever to fellow Trustees, Sue Robinson and Judy Morris,
George Munn
Chair of Trustees 12[th] October 2023
----- Start of picture text -----
Cullompton John Tallack Charity Number
Youth and Community Centre 1164465
Receipts and payments accounts CC16a
For the period Period start date Period end date
To
from 01.01.2023 31.12.2023
Section A Receipts and payments
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment
Total funds Last year
funds funds funds
to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £
A1 Receipts
Rental Received 7,033 - - 7,033 12,580
Sales Made - - - - 220
Donations Received 1,750 - - 1,750 1,976
Grants Received 7,785 - - 7,785 400
- - - - -
- - - - -
- - - - -
- - - - -
Sub total (Gross income for
16,568 - - 16,568 15,176
AR)
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
- - - -
- - - - -
Sub total - - - - -
Total receipts 16,568 - - 16,568 15,176
A3 Payments
Youth Centre Running Costs 20,474 - - 20,474 14,939
Youth Centre Improvements - - - - 5,460
Equipment Purchased 7,243 - - 7,243 4,430
Grant Delivery Costs 729 - - 729 -
Grants / Donations Made 3,745 - - 3,745 -
- - - - -
- - - - -
- - - - -
- - - - -
Sub total [ 32,192 ] - - 32,192 24,829
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
- - - -
- - - -
Sub total [ - ] - - - -
Total payments 32,192 - - 32,192 24,829
Net of receipts/(payments) - 15,624 - - - 15,624 - 9,653
A5 Transfers between funds - - - - -
A6 Cash funds last year end 22,570 - - 22,570 32,223
Cash funds this year end 6,946 - - 6,946 22,570
----- End of picture text -----
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
29/10/2024
1
| Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at | Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at | the end of the period | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Categories Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use B5 Liabilities B3 Investment assets |
Signature Details Details Bank Details Details Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Details |
Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ 6,946 - - - - - 6,946 - OK OK Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) - - - - - Print Name |
Endowment funds to nearest £ - - - |
| - | |||
| OK | |||
| Endowment funds to nearest £ - - - - - - Current value (optional) - - - - - Current value (optional) - - - - - - - - - When due (optional) Date of approval |
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
29/10/2024
2