## **NEWBIGGIN VILLAGE HALL** Registered Charity 1180409 Trustees Annual Report 1[st] April 2023 – 31st March 2024 Newbiggin, Penrith, Cumbria, CA11 0HT. www.newbigginvh.co.uk ## **Trustees** Dr AJ Rich Chairman Mrs D Cameron Treasurer Mrs H May Secretary Mr G Dugmore Bookings Secretary Mrs J Backshall Mr D Bell Mr J Cameron Mrs A Dugmore Mrs B Hope Mrs H Nixon Mrs J Rich Mr S Veitch Mrs K Whitehead ## **BANKERS** Cumberland Building Society ## **INTRODUCTION** The original village hall was built in 1951 on land donated by Harrison’s Limeworks. In 2010 the Hall was completely rebuilt with the assistance of national and local grants. At this time a quarter acre land behind the Hall was donated to the charity. The charity is the registered owner of the building and the land which are both freehold. It is vested with the Official Custodian. The Hall has its heating and domestic hot water supplied by a ground-source heat pump. Photoelectrical panels on the roof provide energy for the Hall and export surplus to the national grid. ## **APPOINTMENT OF TRUSTEES** The Constitution governs the appointment of trustees and the management of the charity. ## **POLICIES AND PROCEDURES** To assist the management committee in exercising its duty of care to users of the Hall the following policy statements have been adopted: - Health and safety - Safeguarding - Equal Opportunities - Environmental Copies of the policies are provided in the Hall Information for Users folder. ## **HIRING AGREEMENTS** Use of the Hall is subject to a hiring agreement which must be signed by the hirer when booking. The hiring agreement sets out the conditions for hire and identifies the respective responsibilities of each party to the agreement. Included in the hiring package are the standard conditions of use and information about the safe use of the Hall and its equipment and facilities. These documents are available to download from the Village Hall website, so that users can determine in advance if the agreement meets their needs. ## **LICENSES** The Hall has a Premises License. ## **RISK MANAGEMENT** The Hall has a procedure for the assessment and management of risk. This is reviewed and updated annually. The Hall is insured with Ansvar Insurance for buildings and contents, employers liability, public and products liability, and legal assistance and expenses. The policy also covers private users. ## **ASSET MANAGEMENT** - The ground-source heat pump and the photo-voltaic panels are serviced annually. - The fixed electrical installation is inspected by a qualified electrical engineer at five-yearly intervals. - Portable electrical appliances are subject to PAT testing every three years by a competent person. - The LPG pipe-work and the gas cooker are serviced every ten years by a registered CORGI engineer. - The fire alarm and fire-fighting equipment are inspected every six months by Beacon Fire. - Volunteers from the Committee carry out day-to-day repairs, replacements and maintenance. - A register of portable assets is maintained. ## **OBJECTIVES OF THE CHARITY** To manage a village hall for the use of the inhabitants of Newbiggin and the neighborhood for meetings, lectures and classes and for other forms of recreation and leisure time occupation with the object of improving their conditions of life. ## **PRINCIPLE ACTIVITIES IN PURSUIT OF OBJECTIVES** Regular activities take place every day of the week. There is an activity or event most weekends. Bookings are neing made for events in 2023 and 2024. ## **FUNDING STRATEGY** It is intended that the revenue budget is managed on a self-financing basis. The contributions made by users of the Hall, fund-raising events and revenue from electricity generation are set to achieve this. The trustees recognise that the Hall needs to be available for ad-hoc use by local residents for significant family events, and accordingly do not aim to achieve maximum occupancy of the facilities at the Hall. ## **COST CONTAINMENT** Management costs are kept to a minimum by the use of volunteers for day-to-day administration, for the support of the weekly community activities and for the maintenance of the Hall. Volunteers also give their time in organising and running the annual events, maintaining the website and organising marketing and publicity. Where this is not possible, commercial operators are used to ensure that the Hall is maintained as a safe, clean, pleasant environment. To help contain energy costs, as it becomes redundant, lighting in the hall is being replaced with LED fittings. ## **RESERVES** The Hall trustees believe it is prudent to maintain a sum of approximately £10,000 as an unrestricted reserve against the possibility of urgent building maintenance or equipment failure out-with the scope of the insurance policy. ## **2023 – 2024 ACHIEVEMENTS** The annual accounts show a small profit on turnover this year. Income from hirings, activities and events was healthy. This reflects the trustees’ intentions to invest income in the local community and maintenance of the facility. During the year grant applications towards re-roofing the hall were successful and re-roofing completed. Unfortunately the work coincided with a severe weather event and water ingress occurred to the ancillary facilities of the hall. The majority of the remedial work was covered by an insurance claim. However, although damage to the electrical installation was not great, new regulations related to the mixing of low-energy and incandescent lights meant that far more electrical work was necessary; and many undamaged fittings required replacement to comply with the new regulations. It was possible to meet the costs of this additional work out of our own funds. ## **FUTURE PLANS** The new Function Room has proved very successful and the Trustees intend that its useage can be improved by fitting the bar area with with security shutters. This will allow it to be used as an additional meeting or breakout room. It is intended that work will start on this project during the next financial year. The trustees still wish to install EV charging points at the hall and have been identifying suitable partners who will be able to install these at no cost to the hall. This aim will be pursued during the next financial year. Newbiggin Village Hall Charitable Intorporated Organisation Charity Number: 1180409 Company Number: CE015438 Unaudited Accounts for the Year Ended 31 March 2024 Newbiggin Village Hall Contents Page U51ne55 Det6[15 Approval Accountant's fieport Profit 3Trd Loss Account Balance Sheet Notes to the Accounts Newbiggin Village Hall Business Details For the Year to 31 March 2024 Newbiggin Villago Hall became a Charitable Incorporated Organisation on 14 February 2020. The Charity Number 15 1180409 The Trustee5 of the Charity are Dr Alan Rich- Chairman Joy Rich Gordon Dugmore- Booking Secretary Ann Dugmore David Bell Doreen Ca meron - Treasurer john Cameron Helen May- Secretary Simov Veitih Cathy Whitehead Helen Nixon Joanne Backshall Barbara Hope Accountants ASAP Accountancy Services Ltd 11 Devonshire Street Penrith Cumhria CAII 75R Page I Newbiggin Village Hall Accounts Approval Statement For The Year Ended 31 March 2024 l approve these un3udiled accounts which comprise a Profit and Loss Account, Balance 51ieet and related notes. I acknovJledge my responsibility for the accoiints Including the provision of all the information and explan3trioD5 necessary for the coinplÈtion, SignE4 Mrs Doreen Camoron Page 2 Newbiggin Village Hall Accountant's Report For The Year Ended 31 March 2024 In accordance with the engagement letter dated 16 April 2021, we have prepared the accoullts, which comprise the Profit and Loss account, the Balance Sheet 3nd the related notes, from the accountlr)g record5, Informatrion and explanations provided to us. This report is m