## **Friends of Honley Library AGM – 7th November 2022** 

## **Board of Trustees’ Report** 


This is the year when, after almost five years of negotiation, we can report that the transfer of Honley Library building is now completed. 

This means that the building and surrounding land is now owned by Holme Valley Parish Council with the granting of a 25-year lease to Friends of Honley Library. There is also a hosting agreement between the Parish Council and Kirklees Council which protects the use of the building as a library and community space. 

It is important to stress that the service provided by Kirklees Libraries will continue as currently provided. This will be supported by the Friends and as you will see from the Management Committee a great deal of progress has been made post-Covid. 

We are indeed fortunate to have an excellent working relationship with the Kirklees Library Service staff and our stated aim is to continue to build on this relationship to provide a first class service to the residents of the Holme Valley. 

There is a final document which is an agreement that the building could be used for a Polling Station should the need arise. 

During the negotiation with Kirklees Council the support we have received from Holme Valley Parish Council has been exceptional and we look forward to a harmonious landlord and tenant relationship. We could not have progressed this transfer without the professional and financial support they have given. 

We are now in a position to move forward with some much-needed repairs and maintenance. As mentioned in my 2021 report, a priority is to provide better lighting and heating controls to the building. Alongside this, following an independent fire risk assessment, we will be upgrading the system. This is a priority. Much of the initial work will be to ensure the building is secure, safe and watertight. 

We have received a grant of £2,800 from _One Community_ to do the lighting and heating controls. Moving forward, we hope that, subject to the Parish Council’s approval, we may be able to extend the building to provide better storage, a servery, toilet facilities, and a space to hold small meetings. This will be subject to our success in raising external funding and we already have a small team of volunteers working on this. 

This year we have seen the development of a new web site, the preparation/revision of policies and procedures, the training of a dedicated core of committed volunteers and the development of the Community Hub to widen our support to the local community. We are continuing to work with other local organisations who do so much to support Honley and district. 

The events for children have been well attended and the introduction of Babies into Books has been a runaway success. Adult events held post-covid have been well attended and this is a key area for further development. 

None of this would have been possible without the enormous amount of time, energy and expertise of our Management Committee, our Board of Trustees and all of our volunteers. This year we have built up our team of volunteers but must continue to do so if we are to expand 



the services we provide. We are fortunate to have a new trustee join us. Geoff Winterbottom not only acts as secretary to the Board of trustees but is currently leading on the revision of our Business Plan. 

Our aims and objectives are stated in our CIO constitution and are **to work in partnership locally to continue to provide a flexible community hub at Honley Library, offering services and providing events that meet the current and future needs of the community.** 

We continue to work together to ensure that the community hub will complement our primary role to support, inform and educate in a warm, welcoming building accessible to all local groups. 

In the coming year we hope to focus on digital inclusion to support those who may never have acquired IT skills. Facilities and space for a Homework club is a further priority. 

Finally, it is impossible for me to individually thank all those who have supported us on this long road.  Thankfully our building is now secured for the future as a resource for Honley and the surrounding area. To continue to develop we, more than ever, need your support. 

## **Jenny Lockwood** 

**Chair of Trustees** 

**October 2022** 



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