## **THE VILLAGE HALLS CONSORTIUM Director Trustees Annual Report YEAR ENDED 31[st] DECEMBER 2024** The Village Halls Consortium is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (1172429). Aims: To promote and improve the effectiveness of Village Hall and Community Organisations in Teesdale and the surrounding area by the provision of advice, information, training and support, with a view to improving the efficiency and management of their resources. ## **MEMBERS OF THE BOARD AND PROFESSIONAL ADVISERS** |**Registered charity name:**The Village Halls Consortium|**Registered charity name:**The Village Halls Consortium| |---|---| |**Charity number:**|1172429| |**Registered office:**|**Registered office:**Mickleton Village Hall, Mickleton, Barnard Castle, Co Durham| ||DL12 0JY| |**Website:**|www.thevillagehalls.co.uk| |**Telephone:**07809314248|07809314248| |**Trustees:**David Hutchinson|David Hutchinson| |Michael Bettison|Michael Bettison| |David Bailey|David Bailey| **Administration Officer:** Sophie Stanwix villagehallsconsort@hotmail.co.uk ## **Independent Examiner for accounts:** Jayne Holmes **Bankers:** National Westminster Plc **The Trustees** , of (The) Village Halls Consortium for the purposes of company law, have pleasure in presenting their report and the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31st December 2024. 1 ## **Chairman’s Report 2025** The Village Halls Consortium (TVHC) continues to offer regular information and guidance to our member community buildings, including advice on request. Following feedback at our AGM, we took on board what members said about our grant fund and agreed to change it from 2 grants of £250 per year to 1 grant of £500 starting from 1 January 2025. TVHC supported a total of 8 projects throughout 2024 to improve buildings and facilities. Members who have paid their annual membership fee can apply for 50% matched funding up to £500 once per year. Applications made in retrospect of a project being completed will not be considered. The former TVHC website was dated and lacked functionality, so we decided to build a new website that was launched in February 2025. It looks as good on mobile as on desktop and we have received great feedback. I want to thank Sophie and Joe for all their hard work in putting together such a brilliant website. Mickleton Village Hall continues to find the ‘Hall Booking Online’ system very beneficial, making it easy for users to check availability and request bookings. TVHC continues to be part-funded from annual memberships of £50, and the remainder is from our investment portfolio managed by Brewin Dolphin. The opening portfolio value was £157,259.74. After £8000 was withdrawn for running costs towards TVHC over the year, the closing balance was £164,885 on 31 December 2024. I want to take this opportunity to thank Jeff Ball, our Portfolio Manager, and his team for keeping us informed throughout fluctuations in the market and for all their hard work. As TVHC’s turnover is below the Charity Commission’s threshold requiring professional auditing, the Committee agreed to ask an independent examiner to check our accounts. I must thank Jayne Holmes who has kindly done the accounts this year. In 2024, none of the directors claimed any expenses. We continue to look for new trustees to join TVHC. If you are interested, please contact me or Sophie, and we would be delighted to welcome you. We usually meet in the evenings. David Hutchinson **Chairman** 2 ## **Structure, Governance and Management** - The Consortium was formed in 1995. - On 3[rd] January 2003 we became a registered charity (1095212). - On 27[th] October 2006 the Consortium was incorporated under the Companies Act 1985 as a private company limited by guarantee (company number: 5980201) and we were issued with a new charity number (1116933). - This decision was taken to limit the personal liability of the Trustees and give the Consortium a legal identity which positively affected our approach to risk and our ability to take advantage of the wider opportunities facing us. - In June 2011, the title of the Consortium was changed from ‘Teesdale Village Halls Consortium’ to ‘The Village Halls Consortium’. The reason for this was to expand our support to community buildings located outside the geographical area of Teesdale. The change of title was registered with the Charity Commission and Companies House. - On 5[th] April 2017 we became a Charitable Incorporated Organisation with a new charity number (1172429) and our status with Companies House was dissolved on 28.11.17. The Village Halls Consortium (TVHC) is composed of volunteer trustees from the management committees of community buildings who are members and representatives from interested partner organisations. Each community building pays an annual subscription fee of £50 due January/February to be a TVHC member. Membership entitles members to: - An individual website page on www.thevillagehalls.co.uk - Access to a grant fund of up to £250 towards capital or revenue projects per year - Event listings and marketing support - 1:1 advice and support when required - Regular information, advice and guidance updates - General advice and guidance on relevant and up to date information - General meetings for TVHC members when relevant - Support with hall redevelopments - Training opportunities 3 ## **Members of The Village Halls Consortium 1st January – 31st December 2024 28 community buildings** Barningham Village Hall Boldron Village Hall Bowes and Gilmonby Parish Hall Butterknowle Village Hall Carlbeck Community Centre Cockfield Lipscomb Hall Copley Village Hall Cotherstone Village Hall Dalton and Gayles Village Hall Eggleston Village Hall Gainford Village Hall Hamsterley Village Hall Hutton Magna Village Hall Ingleton Village Hall Marwood Social Centre Mickleton Village Hall Newbiggin Village Hall Newsham Village Hall Ovington Village Hall Romaldkirk Reading Rooms Scarth Hall School Aycliffe Community Centre St Mary’s Parish Hall Stainton and Streatlam Village Hall Toft Hill and Etherley Community Centre West Auckland Memorial Hall Whorlton Village Hall Winston Village Hall 4 ## **Related Parties** The Trustees are involved with various other local charities and businesses. Any transactions with these organisations are on an arm’s length basis. ## **Partnership Working and Representation** TVHC has a good relationship with the Teesdale Mercury and Durham County Council. ## **Details of Wider Networks** TVHC is involved with several networks which are listed below: - Durham Community Action - Teesdale Day Clubs - Teesdale Action Partnership (TAP) - ACRE - Action for Communities in Rural England ## **Risk Management** We have reviewed all major risks facing the charity in the future and have implemented controls where necessary to ensure: - We meet our charitable objectives - We have sufficient reserves to cover financial liabilities - We have sufficient policies and insurance to cover all possible liabilities ## **The Role of The Village Halls Consortium** The aim of TVHC as set out in our Memorandum of Association is: “To promote and improve the effectiveness of Village Hall and Community Organisations in Teesdale and the surrounding area by the provision of advice, information, training and support, with a view to improving the efficiency and management of their resources.” ## **Objectives** TVHC has four objectives which we are constantly striving to achieve through our work and various projects that we deliver: 1. To support provision of improved and more accessible facilities and services at local community buildings to meet community needs. 2. To encourage participation in capacity building training opportunities. 3. To develop effective communication between the members and other local organisations which are interested in community development. 4. To improve the long-term viability of the community buildings as rural assets for the benefit of all residents. We set specific key targets to achieve these objectives which are discussed at monthly 5 director’s meetings and reviewed annually. The Trustees have paid due regard to the Charity Commission’s on public benefit in deciding upon the activities that TVHC should undertake. We have also outlined key features within our CIO Constitution document with relevant guidance. ## **Activities, Achievements and Performance** ## **TVHC Website** The website provides key information about our member community buildings including contact details, facilities, hire rates, events and images. ## **Information, Advice and Guidance** Regular information is shared via email when necessary. Our contact database is expanding to include services to the community as well as lists of roles and contact details for each member community building in line with GDPR. ## **TVHC Grant Scheme** Our grant scheme provides an opportunity for each member community building to access a maximum £250 grant annually, for either capital or revenue projects, costing £500 or more. The grant application form was reviewed, and members are required to provide an up to date copy of their constitution for new applications. In 2024, **8 projects** benefited from our grant scheme. |**Community**
**building**|**Application**
**month**|**Project outline**|**Total project**
**cost**|**Grant amount**
**received**| |---|---|---|---|---| |St Mary’s|Sept 2023|Chair refurbishment|£2800|£250| |West Auckland|Sept 2023|New chairs|£509.81|£250| |Cotherstone|May 2024|Slate roof vents|£2075.50|£250| |Hamsterley|May 2024|Fence replacement|£748|£250| |Winston|Aug 2024|Blind replacement|£195|£97.50| |Barningham|Aug 2024|New equipment|£307.56|£153.78| |Romaldkirk|Aug 2024|Kitchen renovation|£3700|£250| |Dalton and Gayles|Oct 2024|New water boiler|£503.98|£250| |**Total**|||**£10,839.85**|**£1,751.28**| 6 ## **Thank you to the following organisations for their support in 2024** Jayne Holmes for auditing the accounts Charity Commission Durham County Council Durham Community Action Joe Hutchinson (Website Design) Mickleton Village Hall North East Ambulance Service Teesdale Action Partnership Teesdale Day Clubs Teesdale Mercury ## **Financial Review** Our opening portfolio value was £157,259.74 and the closing value was £164,885 on 31 December 2024. This figure includes us withdrawing £8000 to pay for the running costs of The Village Halls Consortium. ## **Exit Strategy Costs** The exit costs remain at £2000. This is reviewed regularly. ## **Investment Policy** We tend to adopt a low-risk approach to investment, and we feel that our investment procedures mirror this. Funds required to be available in the short-term are invested in short-term easy access deposits. Funds set aside to provide income to subsidise our running costs and small grants scheme are placed in a low-risk investment portfolio with Brewin Dolphin investment managers. 7 Accounts - CIO Charity Number 1172429 1￿ JarNWy to 31" Decom￿ 2024 Expenses Sa18ry Grants HMRC Insuranc8 Webstte AGM hsrti Income £5940.￿ Brewn Dolphin £1751283 Subscxiptitins £1123.98. Easy FurKIra￿I￿j £356.28 1 D Hulchinson £217.15 / £42.1xi / £8000.00 0 £1800.00 £37.09 £100.000 Total £9430.69 / Totsl Income £9937.09 1 Current account openiThJ batan 1.1.24 Br8wFn Dolphin portfdio al 31.12.23 £1245.&8 / Current ac*¥)unt dosing balan 31.12.24 Brwn DdFthin FxwtrolH) at 31.12.24 £1751.96 £15T,259.74 £164.885.00 201klzs- 1* Jami*y to 31" D•c•rn￿ 2023 Expenses Grants Insurance Salary Income SubscripiKins Easy FuTrJraisi £1477.92 £252.11 £11(M).00 £143.09 £133.CKI £1￿.fj3 Websile Laptop Totsl •xponws £1229.13 Current aco)unt dosing balaTr 31.12.23 £154.048 Brewin Dolth"n pormio at 31.1223 £1245.56 OP8ning balanc 1.1.23 Brewin Ckniplin )thlio at 31.1222 £157,259.74 291ql4 . ## **Management Director Trustee Responsibilities for the Financial Statements** Charity Commission rules require the directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the financial activities of The Village Halls Consortium (TVHC) during the year and of its financial position at the end of the year. In preparing those financial statements, the directors are required to: - i. select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently. - ii. make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent. - iii. state whether applicable accounting standards and statements of recommended practices have been followed, subject to any departures disclosed and explained in the financial statement. - iv. prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that TVHC will continue to operate. The directors are also responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of TVHC and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 1993. They are responsible for safeguarding the assets of TVHC and hence for taking steps for preventing and detection of fraud and other irregularities. Signed on behalf of the directors ## _D Hutchinson_ ## **David Hutchinson** Chairman The Trustees thank everyone who has contributed in any way to the work of The Village Halls Consortium during 2024. This report is compiled from information given by user groups, partners and members of The Village Halls Consortium. The report is produced, assembled and printed on behalf of The Village Halls Consortium. 9