Hale Village Hall (New Forest) Registered Charity Number 1175048 Annual Report for the Year ended 31[st] December 2025
Summary
Once again, we are pleased to report that Hale Village Hall had another good year with plenty of use by the local community and it remains well funded. Our own events continue to be well attended and now include table tennis, film club, pop-up events and our weekly café and library. The Events Committee organised a Christmas Disco, a second Christmas-Wreath Making afternoon followed by a Pop-Up Event to decorate the hall, all were well attended. A very successful live music event was held in March 2025. For 2026, the Events Committee are planning a talk on commoning in the autumn and a curry and quiz evening in September.
During 2025 we made further improvements to the hall which included complete refurbishment of the changing room and showers and adding 27 solar voltaic panels on the roof. The solar installation was completed in February 2026 with the upgrade from a single to a 3 phase electrical supply and the addition of storage batteries and 3 phase inverter. Over the summer all lighting in the village hall was upgraded to LED with most switches changed to movement sensors. In 2025 planning permission and £30,000 grant funding were secured to enable a small extension for a new accessible WC. The former WC will be converted to a storage area for the kitchen.
During the year we received grants and pledges from New Forest District Council, New Forest National Park Authority, Veolia Environmental Trust, the National Lottery, Garfield Weston Foundation and Bernard Sunley Foundation and we are grateful to all of these organisations for their contributions to the ongoing improvements of this vital village amenity. Hale Parish Council has included Hale Village Hall as the emergency hub for the village in its resilience plan.
We ended the year with reserves in the bank that exceed the Trustees’ Policy on reserves when taking into account the risks and issues around the operation of the hall but, as some of these reserves are committed for future projects, we feel the level of funding for the ongoing operation of the hall is appropriate. In the current economic climate the Trustees have taken the decision to make a small increase to hire rates for next year.
Objectives
The objectives of the Village Hall and its Trustees as set out in the Deed of Trust remain unchanged.
Trustees as at 31[st] December 2025 Jacqui Hartas – Chair Julia Nobes – Treasurer Debbie Vine – Secretary Marjaana Batterbury – Hall Manager Mark Nobes – Health and Safety David Keniston – Marketing and Communications Sarah Pook – Safeguarding
Gary Kyle – User Group (Parish Council) Richard Barlow – User Group (Cricket Club) David Mussell – User Group (Horticultural Society)
Sue Adams – Village Gary Adams - Village James Stewart – Village Eric Greenall – Village
Policy Documents
We have policy documents covering all of the key areas of the Hall’s functions, including finance, Health and Safety, bookings, maintenance and safeguarding. We are grateful to Action Hampshire and the Association with Communities in Rural England (ACRE) for the advice and guidance they provided in these matters.
Financial Situation
The Income and Expenditure Statement for the Year Ended 31[st] December 2025 is shown below but in summary:
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Our income excluding grants and donations was £35.3k which is £3.5k higher than the previous year.
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Total income was boosted by the grants mentioned above totalling £51.1k.
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We also received donations in the year of £298 including those through use of Give As You Live.
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Overall taking the grants and donations into consideration there is an in-year surplus of income over expenditures of £10.7k.
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The Trustees have a detailed Reserves Policy which is reviewed and updated annually. The current level of required reserves is £77.2k against actual held reserves of £110.2k but some of the surplus includes amounts committed to projects in the following year including £21.8k of grants received in advance.
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There are no significant liabilities to disclose.
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Parish Magazine income and expenditure is managed by a Sub committee of the Hall but any Magazine surpluses or deficits are ring-fenced from other Hall activities.
Notes
Hale & Woodgreen Community & Parish Magazine income and expenditure is now included within the Hall Accounts. The net deficit of £675 was not included in the 2024 Accounts however, the values for 2024 have been included above for comparison.
Issues
There are no significant issues, complaints or disputes to report.
Appreciation
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The Trustees give their time and effort free of charge or benefit and in turn are grateful to all who support the Hall in terms of hiring the Hall, providing support to the Hall, attending events, running events and sessions, and donations received.
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Thanks are also given to those organisations who have generously given the Hall grants and donations. We are also very grateful to the supporters of the 100 Club.
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Thanks are also given to our examiner of the accounts who generously carries out this task free of charge.
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Additional thanks to all of those who have helped in the garden and to our table tennis, film club, café/library and magazine volunteers.
J Hartas Chair
J Nobes Treasurer
Independent examiner’s report to the Trustees of Hale Village Hall (New Forest) Registered Charity Number 1175048