Milborne St Andrew Village Hall Annual Report
January 2022 to December 2022
Governance President
Eric Crichton
Trustees and User Group representatives
Sarah Ryan - Chair Ian Karley – Deputy Chair; special responsibility for internal maintenance advice and the Players representative Ed Frost - Treasurer
Linda Wright – Secretary, Women’s Institute representative, church representative Sandie Sach – manages the bar and supplies.
Gren Elphinstone Davis - special responsibility for grounds maintenance; Deputy Treasurer Linsey O’Neill Richard Hawker Dave Andrews (Wednesday Club) Kas Park (now resigned) Barbara Rawlings (resigned July 2022)
Non-trustees including additional user group representatives
Alison Riddle - Booking secretary Amy Stevens – Parish Council representative Paul Tasker - Ladybirds Playgroup Chair
Structure and Governance
The Committee
The organisation aims to adhere to the recommendations of the Charity Commission.
The Village Hall is governed by a committee consisting of trustees and user group representatives; some of the latter are not trustees and have no voting rights. Trustees are voted onto the
committee at the annual general meeting; new applicants have an informal interview prior to election or post-election. Most trustees also represent a group who are frequent hall users. However, some committee members choose not to be trustees but wish to attend to represent their user group. Those who do not wish
~~to be trustees can be invited to attend mee~~ tings but have no voting rights and may be asked to leave if business topics are not relevant to their User Group. There are nominated members who have a dedicated management role, including the chairperson, secretary and treasurer. Other members have allocated responsibilities such as booking secretary (see list of members).
The Meetings
The meetings are held on a monthly basis, usually on the third Wednesday of the month. The meetings are informal but structured. An agenda is circulated in advance of the meetings to all relevant members. Matters on the agenda are discussed, including the finance statement and reports from the treasurer; votes are taken when actions are required. Only Trustees are allowed to vote; nontrustees may be asked to leave the meeting if matters are confidential or irrelevant to their user group. Notes are kept of the meetings and are published on the village website once agreed and signed off.
An Extra Ordinary Meeting may be called if necessary. Email 'conversations' are used and if necessary, agreement of actions required is confirmed using this medium.
Administration
The committee aims to ensure that the users of the hall and surrounding grounds are kept safe and risks are managed. There are annual inspections of all aspects that are recommended by the Health and Safety Executive, including general risk assessments, fire assessments, electrical and building features. A portfolio of policies has been created to address important issues such as safeguarding, risk avoidance and those related to management - for example, a code of conduct, complaints procedures, etc.
In 2022 the Charity Commission accepted our application to become a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO).
Objectives
The object of the CIO is the provision and maintenance of a village hall for the use of the inhabitants of the parish of Milborne St Andrew without distinction of political, religious or other opinions, including use for meetings, lectures and classes, and for other forms of recreation and leisure time occupation, with the object of improving the conditions of life for the said inhabitants.
Achievements of Objectives
The hall is once again being hired on a regular basis by groups established in the village, such as the Women's Institute, Garden Club, Ladybirds Playgroup, Yoga group, Players, etc., and for regular and one-off meetings like the Parish Council. The hall is also hired by individuals and by groups for one-off functions e.g. child and adult parties, presentations, etc. There are regular social functions such as film shows, Artsreach presentations, amateur play productions and the village pantomimes. It is great to have things more or less back to how they were before the pandemic.
Milborne St Andrew Village Hall of 6 Annual Report 2022
Page 2
~~In 2022 we did a lot, much of it thanks to th~~ e tireless work of our treasurer in seeking and obtaining grants and overseeing the work that was enabled by them. These included the installing of new windows and doors, and working towards the installation of solar panels in the roof which will make quite a bit of money for us, as well as being better for the environment. We were also successful in obtaining a grant to extend the car park, which will include opportunities for future installation of EV charging points.
The committee is a hard-working one, with people regularly putting in hours on jobs like checking and stocking the bar, and it is often members who are doing the regular maintenance which the building and grounds need – new blinds and curtains were sourced, bought and put up; a new urn for the kitchen and the gents’ has new urinals. Ceiling tiles, toilet doors, gutters and the flat roof are just four things that needed attention. With the Players we have bought new stage lights. The loft and the storage sheds have been gone through and a lot of stuff cleared, making much-needed storage space available. The car park is now well-lit in the evenings, thanks to lights bought and put up.
Two committee members started organising a monthly Community Café, which has proved tremendously successful, both as an event which regularly brings a lot of the community together and as a regular source of income (they did it for charity for the first 5 months and then continued doing it to raise funds for the Hall).
Policies
These are available on the village website; they are updated regularly
-
Anti-Social Action
-
Code of Conduct for Committee Members
-
Compliments and Complaints
-
General Data Protection Regulations
-
Disciplinary
-
Equal Opportunities
-
Health and Safety
-
Risk Assessment
-
Safeguarding
-
Whistle Blowing
Summary of Achievements 2022
-
New doors and windows, blinds and curtains have continued what was started in 2021 with the refurbishment of the kitchen and the floor treatment, so that the hall looks much better and more inviting
-
Monthly Community Cafe
-
continued general maintenance, both internal and in the grounds
Future Plans and Targets for the year ending 2023
To ensure the building remains in good order
To continue to promote the use of the hall by hirers to ensure viability of the facilities.
Milborne St Andrew Village Hall of 6 Annual Report 2022
Page 3
To complete the extension to the car park To build a Pétanque Court To look at getting more play equipment for older children
Milborne St Andrew Village Hall of 6 Annual Report 2022
Page 4
Financial Review 2022 and Budget for 2023
2022 showed Covid 19 restrictions reduced and then removed and we were able to almost return to “business as usual”. Our rental income for the year was still down at £14,500 as compared to around £18,000 in previous “normal” years but massively up from the £7,000 in 2020 and £5,000 in 2021. Once again, we were helped out by a small “Covid (omicron)” grant, this time of £2,670, from the government/Dorset Council. Income from the bar and Community Café made a significant contribution of in excess of £1,000. The Parish Council continued to provide support in the form of grass cutting and Playpark inspection services.
As planned, we installed new double glazing and a new front door using our own funds and, with a successful grant application to the National Lottery for £10,000, were able to also install a new back door and new patio doors. As well as being a significant improvement in the building’s thermal insulation, the new doors and windows have really smartened up the appearance of the Hall. New blinds and curtains were also purchased and the Gents toilet was refurbished with new urinals.
We started the year with an extremely healthy bank balance of £28,000 and, after spending on glazing, doors, curtains, blinds and urinals, ended with a comfortable balance of almost £15,000.
Building work on the new Huntley Down development in the village was completed this year releasing S106 infrastructure funds to the parish. We successfully bid for funds to extend the Car Park and to install a Solar PV system. Contracts have been signed and the S106 funds promised will fully fund both projects in 2023.
We ended the year on a note of uncertainty. The Ladybirds Playgroup announced their intention to relocate from the Village Hall to a new dedicated location at our Primary School some time in 2023. This will result in a massive loss of income for the Hall of more than £10,000 per year. Maintaining the Hall as a venue for our community clubs and societies is a priority and will demand significant innovation.
Our Hall is an attractive building in a superb geographical position and with increased availability we should be able to attract new community and corporate users. Appropriate Car Parking and provision of EV charging facilities will help to make this an achievable goal as will the provision of enhanced presentation facilities and other equipment for users of the Hall. Our Solar PV installation will make a significant contribution to reducing costs as well as generating new income. None the less the future presents a financial challenge.
The Statement of Assets below covers the 12-month period 01/Jan/2022 to 31/Dec/2022. The Trustees are grateful to Elizabeth Humphrey for preparing the Statement.
Edwin Frost (Treasurer) March 2023.
Milborne St Andrew Village Hall of 6 Annual Report 2022
Page 5
82*%8-1839 8¥ 1ry3alS1 •8881-. 888 Milborne St Andrew Village Hall of6 Annual Report 2022 Page 6