LINKINHORNE PARISH HALL TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT      2025 - 26 CHARITY NAME      LINKINHORNE PARISH HALL Also known as Linkinhorne Parish Hall at Upton Cross 

Charity registration Number   1177853 

Management Committee (Trustees) 

Mrs Christine Ewings (Chair), Mr Richard Blackwell, (Vice Chair), Mrs C Brunsden (Secretary), Mr Alan Williams (Treasurer) Trustees -  Mrs R Carthew, Mrs C Palfrey,  Miss Melissa Thomas. 

Co-opted members Mrs. Patricia Blake 

Hannah Rothwell is no longer part of the Committee due to family commitments. 

The Past Year 

Introduction: 

Linkinhorne Parish Hall is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) with the objective of ‘The provision and maintenance of a village hall for the use of the inhabitants of the Parish of Linkinhorne without distinction of political, religious or other opinions, including use for meetings, lectures and classes, and other forms of recreation and leisure-time occupation, with the object of improving the conditions of life for the inhabitants.’ 

During July 2025 a substantial amount of water damage affecting the underfloor timbers was discovered.  It has subsequently been confirmed that this stretches across the entire site, other than under the storage area at the rear of the property as this has a concrete base. 

This has resulted in an ongoing insurance investigation and claim that has still not come to any conclusions at the time of writing in March 2026. The hall has remained closed since July. 

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Management: 

Whilst we have a commitment to ensure no further damage happens to the hall, the main management focus has been on liaising with the various insurance companies, surveyors, contractors and loss adjustors who are determining the outcome of our outstanding claim. 

The Chair has ensured a narrative has been kept up with the local community and has mostly done this through the Parish magazine and on social media. 

There have been limited committee meetings as we have gone months without any additional information, but the Trustees and Committee members are in constant touch via a WhatsApp group. 

Maintenance 

During the year this committee has overseen routine maintenance of fire extinguishers, the fire and intruder alarm systems and the door entry system. 

These are still essential items to ensure the ongoing security of the hall. 

Finance: 

The Treasurer's report can be seen alongside this on the Charity Commissions website. 

We do not have any income whatsoever at present.  There are still various essential outgoings which we have cut to a minimum.  These include, utilities, insurance, annual payments for electrical and fire extinguisher services.  We also need internet access to enable the defibrillator to be on the NHS monitoring system.  We are very grateful to a parish resident who paid the annual maintenance charge on the defibrillator for us. 

Media and Events: 

There were a few coffee mornings, quizzes etc in the first part of the year. We did manage to host the annual Horticulture Show one week prior to the enforced shut down. This meant the very successful art and craft show had to be cancelled at the very last minute. 

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The micro library has been allowed to remain open for 2 hours on a Thursday afternoon. The trustees are very grateful for the continued support from Patricia Blake for her management role. Without this concession the hall would be deemed unoccupied and every single item in the hall would need to be removed. 

We had our first digital horse racing evening in February and this was well attended and great fun. 

A very successful lucky number draw was held over the Christmas period with the help of the Caradon Inn selling the tickets. 

There is no denying this has been, and still is, an extremely stressful year.  We still don't know our fate or the scale of repair or rebuild required at the hall.  It has been difficult to even consider fund raising until we know the settlement figure from our claim, and the value of the shortfall needed for the repairs. 

Christine Ewings Chair 

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