Hawkhurst Community Trust 2018 Minutes of Annual General Meeting held on 4th November 2021
Trustees Present
Joss Brushfield, Harvey Cobbold, Tina Cobbold, Eddie Coombs, Janet Coombs, Ruth McChesney (Chair), Jacqueline Schalburg, Sally Thomson and David Veale
Residents Present
Jill Barnes, Clare Escombe, David Lloyd-Owen, Carol Miles, Martin Taylor-Smith
1. Welcome
Ruth McChesney, Chair of Hawkhurst Community Trust (HCT 2018), welcomed everyone to the AGM. She explained that the meeting would cover the Trust’s activities over the past twelve months, the annual accounts and the election of Trustees. A short audio-visual presentation of the Trust’s work would then be shown. She invited those attending to join trustees at the end of the meeting for coffee and a chat.
2. Apologies for absence
These were received from Julia Newman and Anita Stevens.
3. Minutes of the previous meeting
The Minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting held virtually on 17[th] November 2020 were approved.
4. Presentation of the Annual Report 2020/2021 – Ruth McChesney
As Chair, I am honoured to work with a great bunch of people; the Trustees of HCT 2018. The Trustees are a strong team who always look out for each other, come up with interesting ideas for what to do next, and generously give of their experience, knowledge and time to help make Hawkhurst a better place to live in. I give my thanks to: David Veale (our Vice-Chair and Secretary); Harvey Cobbold (our Treasurer); Sally Thomson, Jacqueline Schalburg, Joss Brushfield, Janet Coombs, Eddie Coombs and Tina Cobbold.
Some of our Trustees have full time or part time jobs and family responsibilities in addition to other charitable work and everyone has faced difficult times over the past year. Despite these challenges, each Trustee has contributed wholeheartedly to the work of the Trust. Over the year we have also benefitted from the support of some great local volunteers who have helped out at events.
In July Anita Stevens finished her three-year term as a Nominated Trustee and owing to the pressure of her very busy “day job” she has now stood down from the Trust. Anita’s expertise in children’s play (amongst her other talents) has proved invaluable, and we are delighted that we will still see her as a volunteer at some of our events.
The Trustees have recently been discussing the role of HCT 2018 and can best sum it up as follows:
-
We organise community events
-
We promote the new community centre
-
Our aim is to make Hawkhurst feel a better place to live in
Over the past year we have organised or participated in six community events, some on quite a large scale. Our communications team has met regularly on Zoom or in
1
Hawkhurst Community Trust 2018 Minutes of Annual General Meeting held on 4th November 2021
person to plan our events programme. We put on two different types of events: free events (mostly for children) and fund-raising events.
Last Christmas we put together little goody bags for children to be handed out at the village’s Christmas event. Easter saw a fun and socially distanced event for local children: a nature scavenger hunt with Easter eggs as prizes.
In June, HCT 2018 ran the tea and cake stall at the village’s traditional summer fete. The next day we presented a new event for the village: the inaugural Hawkhurst 10k and 5k Run, starting from The Moor. This event was organised with the help of our professional race partners, NiceWork, and was a huge team effort also involving many volunteers to help with marshalling. The day started with a short race around the Moor for children, with prizes and medals for all. The main run was very well attended, with runners from as far away as London . We couldn’t have done an event on this scale without receiving some marvellous sponsorship from local businesses: Peter Buswell, Nortrade, the Eight Bells, Biddenden Vineyards and Tesco.
In early August we again organised the Hawkhurst Playday for local children. Playday is a national celebration of children’s right to play, and a campaign that highlights the importance of play in children’s lives. Our wonderful main sponsor for Playday was the Thomas Iddenden Trust, who also supported us in 2019; we also received help and donations from a wide range of local organisations and businesses.
Early September saw our second Makers @ The Moor makers’ and crafters’ fair. Over 40 stalls from local producers enticed people into the fair, showcasing a range of crafts and products.
Several Trustees have also spent a significant amount of time working with the Parish Council on a range of matters concerning the proposed new Community and Sports Centre. Two Trustees joined the fundraising sub-group which drew up a strategy and investigated possible sources of funds. Experience in children’s play and the results of a survey aimed at Hawkhurst families and children are helping to shape the new children’s playground at the KGV. Financial expertise and business experience has been fed into the business plan for the new Centre. We continue to provide experienced advice on the all-important aspect of communications and liaison with the village.
The Community Fridge, which sits under the umbrella of the Trust, is making a real difference to people in Hawkhurst. The Fridge is well into its second year of operation. Ellen Neville and her team of wonderful volunteers work tirelessly with a range of local suppliers to keep the fridge stocked with all kinds of produce, often seasonal. A key aim of the fridge is to reduce waste through redistributing food. It’s been exciting to see all this community effort reported widely, in the Mail on Sunday and The Times of Tunbridge Wells.
And that completes the roundup of our busy past year. We look forward to our next year of working to help make Hawkhurst a better place to live in.
2
Hawkhurst Community Trust 2018 Minutes of Annual General Meeting held on 4th November 2021
5. Treasurer’s Report for the year October 2020 to September 2021
Harvey Cobbold (HCT 2018 Treasurer) gave a summary of the annual accounts for the financial year 1[st] October 2020 to 30[th] September 2021. A summary of the accounts is set out at the end of these minutes and can also be found on the Trust’s website.
6. Election of Elected Trustees
There are two kinds of Trustees in the Trust, a) Nominated (who serve for 3-year terms) and b) Elected (who serve for 1-year terms). The Chair was pleased to report that the seven current Elected Trustees were willing to stand for re-election. Their names, proposers and seconders are as follows:
| Trustee | Proposer | Seconder |
|---|---|---|
| Joss Brushfield | Tina Cobbold | Harvey Cobbold |
| Harvey Cobbold | Matthew Usher | Jack Brown |
| Tina Cobbold | Matthew Usher | Jack Brown |
| Janet Coombs | Jacqueline Schalburg | Ruth McChesney |
| Eddie Coombs | Ruth McChesney | Jacqueline Schalburg |
| Jacqueline Schalburg | Joss Brushfield | Sally Thomson |
| Sally Thomson | David Veale | Janet Coombs |
Those present approved the list unanimously and consequently the Trustees named were re-elected for another year.
7. Any other business
The Chair confirmed that there had not been any notifications of any other business. She asked if there were any questions .
Mr. Taylor-Smith said he would like to say a few words. He thanked Ruth McChesney and wanted to give an update about the proposed new Community and Sports Centre. Mr. Taylor-Smith said he was the Chair of the Parish Council’s Community and Sports Centre Committee. A planning application for the new centre had been submitted and was currently going through a verification process. Initial feedback about the application was expected around the new year but could be sooner. An immediate priority was improved drainage for the football pitches on the KGV where tenders were already out for the work; 15 junior clubs played on the pitches. A project plan was being worked up for a new children’s play area. Work on this would start later next year with completion targeted for 2023. Detailed costings for the new centre were being done with a proposed start on the hall in two years plus time. The hall was likely to be built in two phases. Possible sources of funding were from new developments and wealthy benefactors. The Football Association also had grants towards costs of the improved football pitches. HCT 2018 have been good at fundraising and inputting into the initial phases of planning for the new centre.
There were no more comments from those attending.
8. Closing remarks
RM thanked those attending and said that concluded the 2021 AGM of HCT 2018.
3
Hawkhurst Community Trust 2018 Minutes of Annual General Meeting held on 4th November 2021
| Hawkhurst CommunityTrust Accounts 2020-21 | Hawkhurst CommunityTrust Accounts 2020-21 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Financialyear 1st Oct 20 to 30th Sept 21) | |||||
| StartingBalance | £4,128.13 | ||||
| Total Income | £5,484.70 | ||||
| Total Expenditure | -£3,989.39 | ||||
| Final Balance | £5,623.44 | ||||
| Annual Surplus | £1,495.31 | ||||
| Events Income and Expenditure | Income | Expenditure | Total | ||
| Easter EggHunt | £42.50 | -£56.99 | -£14.49 | ||
| Hawkhurst Fete | £498.75 | -£22.45 | £476.30 | ||
| 5k/10k Run | £3,006.00 | -£2,510.25 | £495.75 | ||
| PlayDay | £566.55 | -£533.01 | £33.54 | ||
| Makers@the Moor | £1,181.73 | -£478.05 | £703.68 | ||
| £5,295.53 | -£3,600.75 | £1,694.78 | |||
| General Income and Expenditure | £189.17 | -£388.64 | -£199.47 | ||
| of which major costs | |||||
| Annual Public LiabilityInsurance | -£131.04 | ||||
| Membershipof Action In the Communityin Rural Kent | -£52.00 | ||||
| Website domain charges | -£148.00 | ||||
| major revenue | |||||
| Donation from RotaryClub | £140.00 | ||||
| CommunityFridge Accounts | |||||
| StartingBalance | £421.44 | S | |||
| Total Income | £1,274.01 | T | |||
| Total Expenditure | £1,020.72 | T | |||
| Final Balance | £674.73 | ||||
| Annual Surplus | £253.29 | ||||
| Income comprise donations from thepublic and organisations | |||||
| the most significant being£250 from Waitrose | |||||
| ~~4~~ Primaryexpenditure was for operatingcosts,trainingandpublicity |