Plawsworth and Kimblesworth Community Centre and Recreation Ground (Charity No: 1174075) (https://www.nettlesworthcommunitycentre.co.uk)
Annual General Meeting, July 13[th] 2021
Trustees’ Annual Report
The charity, which began as a CIO on 1[st] January 2018, has the following aims:
The objects of the CIO are to run a Community Building and to promote, for the benefit of the inhabitants of Kimblesworth and Plawsworth Parish and Sacriston parish (“area of benefit”) without distinction of sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, nationality, race or political, religious or other opinions, the provision of facilities for recreation or other leisure time occupation of individuals who have need of such facilities by reason of their youth, age, infirmity or disablement, financial hardship or social and economic circumstances or for the public at large in the interests of social welfare and with the object of improving the conditions of life of the said inhabitants.
This report covers the period from July 2020 to July 2021.
The current trustees are:
John Barclay (Chair); Lorraine Gillhespy (Treasurer); George Kendall (Vice-Chair); Lisa Walker (Bookings Secretary); Lillian Walker; Heather Liddle; Peter Beard (Buildings Officer); Diana Barclay (Minutes Secretary)
There has been no change in trustees during this past year.
Our constitution allows a minimum of 6 and maximum of 12 Trustees
The Management Committee of the Centre consists of the Trustees and meets every month. Membership is open to any member of the community, on completion of an application form.
For much of this past year the Centre has been more or less closed, due to the pandemic and associated lockdowns. Fortunately, we have been in receipt of Government business grants to help cover our maintenance and other costs, so we have been able to keep afloat financially.
However, one major activity has continued right through this period. The Food for Thought project has involved our volunteers buying food, and cooking and distributing hot lunches around Kimblesworth, Nettlesworth, Sacriston, Witton Gilbert, and Edmondsley. For many months this involved 110 hot meals each Tuesday and Thursday. This has now reduced to cooking 20-30 meals on Thursdays (with Changing Lives cooking on Tuesdays, while our volunteers distribute on both days). We acknowledge here all those involved in this project, including Lisa Walker, Lillian Walker, Ray Mickle, Peter Beard, Diana Barclay, John Barclay, and Heather Liddle. At each point we have collaborated closely with the Sacriston Youth Project and other partners in Sacriston. The Food for Thought project continues to store the goods for care packages in our Conference Room.
We began to re-open cautiously in the spring this year, using a full Covid Risk Assessment and following Government guidelines. At first only children’s activities could begin, and now a few others. One of our users recently reported a positive Covid test two days after taking a class here: she notified all users, and we have strictly followed the guidelines on wiping, notifying, testing, etc.
After the long break, some former user-groups have not yet started, while some have begun, and some new ones have started to use our facilities. Current users include: Tumbletots; Music Bugs; Sacriston Youth Project; Little Stars; Clog Dancers; Dog Training; Slimming World; Sugarcraft; Durham Music Theatre; the Parish Council; and Ballroom Dancing. Some birthday parties are starting from July (Government rules permitting). We are very grateful to Lisa Walker for her excellent work as Bookings Secretary.
After the resignation of the former cleaner/caretaker, we have employed a new cleaner, Kaily Stephenson, on a 10-hour a week contract, from January 2021.
The lease on the land on which our building sits is up for renewal in November this year. The Lambton Estates have finally begun to negotiate on a new lease, with Durham County Council acting in these negotiations on our behalf. We are grateful to Kevan Jones, MP for his interventions in this matter and to Vicky Prendergast of the DCC for her advice and support. We do not know yet how long the new lease will last nor what the rent will be.
Once the new lease is in place, we aim to undertake some fairly extensive refurbishment of the building, which will include at least: wiring, heating, lighting, accessibility issues, and the toilets. This will require obtaining a number of grants, and we will be working further with the DCC on this.
John Barclay (Chair of Trustees)
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