Stoke Climsland Parish Hall CIO
Minutes for AGM held on 20[th] July 2022
Present: Martin Howlett, Geoff Giles, Sue Watts, Louise Power, Bonny Lightfoot, Deri Parsons (trustees)
Mark Webb, Sarah Robinson (Prince’s Foundation)
User representatives: 7
Welcome: Geoff Giles welcomed everyone to the meeting. He introduced the Trustees and Sarah and Mark, representing the Prince’s Foundation, who had attended to answer questions about the plans.
Apologies: SJS, Kim Hitch (Prince’s Foundation)
Minutes of the last AGM: It was proposed by Bonny Lightfoot and seconded by Sue Watts that these were accepted. All agreed.
Matters arising: None
Chairman’s Annual Report: Our previously delayed AGM meeting may have been only last October but one has seen change over the past 9 months both within the CIO and Parish Hall Project.
Firstly, we convey our thanks to David Crawley who stood down as both chairman & trustee at the turn of the year for health & personal reasons. David had led the way since day one, now along with fellow original hall saviours – Sue Watts & Brian Lupton (the gang of 3), each still remain a supportive and valuable source of knowledge when called upon.
So stepping up as vice I am pleased to lead our small band of dedicated trustees in managing the day-to-day task of running the hall as well as attempting to move the project forward with the Princes Foundation (PF), all in a volatile environment of raging inflation, fund raising challenges and a limited & somewhat unconfident community wary of post-covid mixing.
To this end may I record thanks to Geoff for his unerring dedication to the cause as Company Secretary, Deri for his wealth of experience in leading the fund raising search with the PF, Louise for her diligence in CIO matters and minute secretary and finally Bonny in support of a dual trustee role, now as SCPC chair in replacement of outgoing chair Nigel Cooper back in May.
To you all a big thank you and in particular to Deri who is standing down as a trustee, leaving us with a constitutional minimum of 4, so any willing supporters who wish to consider taking up a position of trustee please form an orderly queue!.
In presenting my resume and in terms of day-to-day hall management I am pleased to report that regular bookings are slowly returning to pre-pandemic levels. We thank all users present
tonight or otherwise who have stuck with us as well as welcoming new groups such as the established Callington Gospel Choir who continue to practise each Thursday evenings. We always welcome any new and occasional users by still offering a low cost /DIY hall venue.
Moving forward we continue dialogue with the Old School and other facility groups looking to offer collaborative packages for weddings, funerals, celebration parties and shared events. Indeed two most recent examples of sharing facilities across the village / parish have been during the most successful x4 day Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebrations where not only did we host x2 afternoon tea parties for Pop-up café & WI, but provide an essential and much used utility role for the whole community through opening up the hall’s toilet block – a real public convenience!
The second combined event of only last weekend saw the Parish Hall, the Old School and the new Primary School host the inaugural Stoke Climsland Community Climate Fair with a packed programme of displays, interactive workshops and knowledge exchange – another prime example of our community working together. Plus, still to come is the return of the everpopular SC horticultural society – Flower Show – again making use of our open space hall.
Later this evening we will hear from both Sarah Robinson & Mark Webb from the PF, who will each outline the key elements of the revised hall plans and fund-raising programme, post the agreed ‘reset’ process of January. A reminder that the full sketch drawings and dialogue narrative are on the side alcoves and have been on public display since the Jubilee weekend, but tonight is our opportunity to learn more on progress and quiz the PF Team in support.
In accepting the inevitable delay in progressing the overall hall project – a position we also fully acknowledge is not to everyone’s desire, we as the CIO Trustees remain committed to improving our offer to users both in the short and medium term, two initiatives to fund an advanced refurbishment of the kitchen facilities and offers to purchase bespoke modular staging are both welcome additions in the interim.
Finally, and to be explained in detail by Mark Webb in a moment we can announce the planned appointment of a local fund raiser paid position to assist both the PF and ourselves in coordinating the funding challenge ahead, for which we all will need to play our part.
So, as we move into the next phase of the project we look to new offers of support in assisting the general management committee as well as wider community engagement in fund raising for specific items to equip your refreshed Parish Hall – A long journey still to go but one we sincerely thank you all for staying on board.
Book Keepers report:
Income
Covid 19 was still impacting the hall due to prolonged lockdowns and lack of user confidence. Final restrictions were all lifted in July, the net effect was that we only really had one full quarter of trading last month as Summer is typical our low period for hirers.
The gross Income figure for the year stands at 20,380.21 which includes Covid 19 grants from Cornwall
Council (£17431.00).
The adjusted income figure of £2949.21 represents an approximate increase of 72% previous year (£1712.83) which is attributed fully to the closures related to Covid 19. This figure is down almost 50% on Pre-Covid levels.
We continue to be steadily supported by Latino dance and Pop-up Cafe together with our traditional Hirers such as Bridge, Bowls, Gardening Club, Parish Council and WI very much loyally in evidence however our main hirer continues to be SJS Dance Academy (Ballet- Suzanne) although this has now dropped to 2 sessions per week rather than 3. We have attracted two new regular hirers (Callington Choir Sept 2021, Pilates) and appear to have lost the core Village show meetings including the twice Annual Jumble Sale (at Sept 2021) and the Teas.
Next year (2023) will also see the return of the SCATS Panto and attendant rehearsals, these were cancelled due to Covid this year 2021 and 2022.
There continues to be a steady upturn in Private hirers, attracted by our lower rates and easy selfservice approach.
Expenditure
Expenditure at £7,565.21 was mainly due to essential repairs and up by almost 100% on previous year, Most other Expenditure items including utilities have remained largely the same with small fluctuations across the board. Going forward into 2022 this of course will change significantly with increased Fuel Costs coming into play.
The Parish Council kindly continue to cover all BT costs which will is likely to end at the end of 2021.
General
The hall remains a popular, cost-effective venue for all sectors of the community and continues to survive with little aggressive marketing and despite its obvious shortcomings and continuing deterioration whilst the PF Project continues. In 2021 there have been some short term improvements to the hall e.g Floor refinishing to ensure that the venue can still operate.
In the past the income it generates clearly supports itself with a small surplus each year, however this is less likely with increasing costs largely out of our control, so the charging structure may need to be reviewed, this is a matter for the Trustees going forward, as is a marketing plan to ensure the longevity of the hall, regardless of the PF Project.
The 2021 Accounts and associated records have been independently checked and signed off by Andrew Farr, FCCA, Dawe Hawken and Dodd.
Important Note: In late 2016 we applied to the Parish Council for and were granted a one-off payment to fix the roof/chimney of £2,895.00 which has been now reallocated (with PC agreement) to supporting professional fees for the establishment of a legal framework including charitable status and the preparation of a lease. These funds are still in the account, however £900 plus VAT (£1080.00) was paid to CRCC in support of CIO documentation in 2020.
It was proposed by Bonny Lightfoot and seconded by Deri Parsons that the accounts (see attached) were accepted. All agreed.
Election of Trustees: Deri Parsons has stood down as a Trustee. Martin Howlett stated that we would like to thank him for all the support in looking at potential application for grants and all other support offered to the trustees.
It was proposed by Bonny Lightfoot, and seconded by Sue Watts, that the remaining trustees should be re-elected as trustees. All agreed. Martin Howlett stated that if there was anyone else who wished to become trustees, they should contact him. There are various roles which need to be filled, including treasurer, management and promotional roles.
Increase in hire rates: It was noted that the cost energy has increased over the past year. The trustees suggested that the hire rates should be increased as from 1[st] September. Sue Watts noted that it was a bit late to inform user groups as many would not be operating over August and suggested that the increase date should be set for October to allow users groups to adjust their fees. This was agreed.
Welcome to Prince’s Foundation;
Sarah Robinson outlined the proposals, indicated on the plans which were pinned on the noticeboard. These were broken down into phases:-
Phase 1: Repair, insulate and upgrade the fabric of the roof, upgrade the kitchen.
Phase 2: Insulate the walls and redevelop the toilets, upgrade the plumbing and electrics. Phase3: Repaint the building, repair the windows and doors.
This looks to cost about £500K.
Mark Webb stated that his role is to look for funding. Of the 7 for 70 project this is the slowest as the fundraising environment has changed considerably since Covid. The Prince’s Foundation has suffered from the effects of Covid both in dealing with the change in funding as well as loss of income from social events in their properties. It will be difficult to raise the whole amount at one go which is why the work has been broken down into phases as it may be easier to raise smaller amounts. The Prince’s Foundation has agreed to donate £35K to the project and the Duchy of Cornwall has agreed to donate £35K, conditional on handing over the Parish Hall to the CIO. It is suggested that the Fund raising is handed to a professional Fund raiser, Valentine Morby, who has agreed to do the work for a fee. Mark is following up 2 sources for funding, one of which is the National Lottery Heritage Fund, however, this will need to show that heritage activities take place in the Parish Hall. He is very positive about the activities that take place in the Parish Hall. Phase 1 will need about £200K and he is sure that, as we have funds of £70K already, we will be able to raise the remaining amount.
Questions:
Is there an estimated start time for the work? Nothing will happen until there is funding in place. National Lottery will take about 8 – 10 weeks to make a decision so we should know by end of
September. It was pointed out that then it may be dependent on the supply and cost of the building materials. It will take about 8 weeks for builders to advise of costs and we will have to balance the risks with the timeline. Also, we will need to work with users to ensure enough notice is given to arrange alternative venues. It was noted that SCATS are scheduled to do a panto in February/March so we would need to work around them as there is unlikely to be an alternative venue for them. Also, it would be better to schedule work in holidays when there are fewer users. The summer would be best as the loss to the Parish Hall would be lower and hopefully, the builders would have better weather to work in, but we would have to work with when the builders are available. The CIO is going to have to work with user groups and put together a plan of when it would be best to do the work and make sure that the risks are identified. We would also have to work with other facilities in the Parish to support us under the auspices of the Community Facilities Group.
It was queried why there are different committees for each facility rather than one. It was pointed out that there is cooperation at event level, but further integration was being discussed at the Community Facilities Meetings. There followed a discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of the different facilities working together.
What % is put aside for contingencies? Sarah stated that at present there was 10% in place for contingencies and up to 15% for building work, however, she pointed out that the National Lottery have requested a higher % put aside due to the balance of risk. The CIO is intending to have a full structural survey prior to any building work.
Is there a timeline for the work? We do have a timeline, but the timing has slipped and this needs to be looked at again based on the revised plan. This is an ongoing programme.
Can you identify what is meant by “Heritage”? Mark said that some of the Heritage activities in the Parish Hall could include exhibitions about the Parish; Local history research; Oral Histories; Family history research; Inter-generational working together and traditional dancing. It was noted that the WI have a regular session of willow weaving and there is a gardening Club meeting monthly.
How far along is the CIO in owning the building? We have Heads of terms which has gone to the solicitors for checking. When this is completed, we will be able to move forward.
What sort of local funding do we need to raise? You will need to raise about £10,000 for a community of this size.
Will it be possible to add the South Side extension at any time? Sarah pointed out that it is possible, but we need to be aware that this will involve major refurbishment as it would block the light and there will be no services.
Do we have to compromise on the green issues? It is intended not to add the extension, electric car charging or the grey water plans due to the fact they are big ticket items. At present we
cannot double glaze the windows as it is not allowed in listed buildings. The existing building will be insulated, the plumbing will be upgraded, and LED lights will be added with sensor switches to turn them off when the room is not in use. We have included as much as can be done within planning constraints. It is possible that these can be extended. The planning application was submitted in October 2020. If the work is not started within 3 years a new planning application will have to be submitted so green issues may be extended.
There were no more questions.
Martin Howlett thanked the Prince’s foundation for their input and ongoing support. The CIO remains in regular contact with the Prince’s Foundation as well as having local CIO meetings monthly. He thanked everyone for attending.
As there was no further business the meeting was closed at 8.52pm.