Lenham Community Centre.
Annual General Meeting, Chairmans Report.
Monday 3rd April 2023.
This evening I would like to welcome you all to the 19th Annual General Meeting of Lenham Community Centre.
This year we received the resignation of Mrs Jenny Lloyd, I thank her for the support she has given both the Community Centre and the Village over many years. During the last year as we have been able to operate with minimal cofig19 restrictions the organizations have returned some with increased numbers.
I understand that because of the pandemic elderly people across the country are reluctant to leave their homes and so this has impacted bookings, I acknowledge the efforts of all groups that have encouraged all our residents to come back and enjoy the safe environment the Community Centre is able to provide.
During the last year, Carole Higgins has become our full-time secretary and administrator and with Lynn Humphreys acting as backup for holidays and any sickness.
The ballet school has just performed their first show in three years this was well supported and filled the hall for the complete weekend we should acknowledge the work that Vivien & Erica put in to make the Ballet School a success.
Mothers & Toddlers are now enjoying good numbers and I thank Dave Kip who has volunteered to help the organization.
The film club are having a successful season and the numbers continue to grow, In February we were sorry to hear of the death of Jim Myers who was a founding member of the Club.
The Community Centre was delighted to host the Honywood & Douglas Charity celebrations to commemorate 400 years of providing homes for local people. Maidstone Borough Council, Kent County Council, and Kent Association of Parish Councils have continued to use the centre for their meetings, which brings in well-needed funds.
LENARA who runs the line dancing, short mat bowls, Zumba and pétanque provide activities for a range of interests in our community and I thank the Lenara committee for their support.
During the year the gardening club held a successful autumn show in spite of a very dry summer which resulted in a reduced number of produce on show.
This is just a few of the clubs and societies that use the centre and as trustees, we thank all of the organizations for supporting the Community Centre.
During the year we received notice that the Lenham Medical centre had applied for planning permission to extend the building, without any provision for increased car parking. The Community Centre objected to the expansion without addressing the problem of car parking in and around Groom Way.
As part of the planning application, we have suggested the area of land we own at the east end of the car park could be utilised to provide additional parking for 25 to 30 cars. The owners of the Medical Centre have refused this offer.
The trustees are still examining the proposal to upgrade our heating control system we now have an estimate for this work of £7500. We are applying for a grant from Maidstone Prosperity Fund. This could result in a saving of 30% - 50%.of our energy use. The Committee are also hoping to take advantage of the offer to upgrade our telephone line to a digital connection, this will enable us to monitor both the fire alarm and intruder alarms locally just using one phone line instead of the 2 that we currently use this would result in a saving of £150.00 a month.
We are awaiting an estimate to update the access alarms.
During the Year we have upgraded the range cooker which has been appreciated by the users of the Kitchen
I thank Nathan Beale for keeping the centre clean and tidy, Also, Nigel our caretaker has continues to be a great help to the day-to-day running of the centre and Ian our treasurer for his efforts in ensuring that the Community Centre’s finances remain sound for the foreseeable future.
I thank Carole for the work she has done to administer the smooth running of the Community Centre. And to Lynn for joining us.
I also thank Julia Allen who has supported me as Vice-Chairman and will take charge in January & February next Year.
As next year we will be celebrating our 20[th] anniversary and during the year we should consider a special event to acknowledge the success of the last 20 years, unfortunately, I will be in New Zealand on the 12th of February next year.
I am sure I have not acknowledged all the help and support that many people have given us to make sure that the community centre will continue to support all the groups and societies as well as the residents of Lenham. I will close by saying thank you all for the work and support you have given to the success of Lenham Community Centre during 2022
Thank You.
Nick Osborne, Chairman.
Tjl J• VJ• TA