## COLNEY HEATH VILLAGE HALL 

Location : 83 High Street, Colney Heath, Herts AL4 0NS 

## www.colneyheathvillagehall.com 


## DOCUMENT CONTROL 

Date Revision Prepared by 27 April 2022 Issue for approval at AGM John Clemow 

Approved At AGM 3[rd] May 2022 

## **ANNUAL REPORT** 

This report if for the financial accounting period April 2021 to March 2022 

By a Deed of Transfer dated 31[st] March 2020 Colney Heath Village Hall, a Charitable Incorporated Organisation charity number 1182267, accepted the transfer of the hall from the original charity (number 312357) established in 1936. 

## **Trustees** 

John Clemow, Pam Fox, Iris Green, Mike Redfern, Gerry Savage, and Graeme Shaw. The trustees form the management committee. Eddie Walsh retired as trustee on 28 February 2022. 

## **1. CHARITABLE PURPOSES** 

The “Objects” in our Constitution are “The provision and maintenance of a village hall for the use of the inhabitants of the Parish of Colney Heath and the surrounding neighbourhoods without distinction of political, religious or other opinions, including use for: 

(a) Meetings, lectures and classes, and 

(b) Other forms of recreation and leisure-time occupation, with the object of improving the conditions of life for the inhabitants.” 

The Trustees confirm it has taken the commission’s public benefit guidance into account when making any decision it is relevant to meet its purposes. 

## **2. STRUCTURE AND MANAGEMENT** 

The Hall is managed by the Trustees in accordance with the charity’s Constitution. The Trustees did not delegate powers in the reporting period. Trustees fulfil the functions of Secretary, bookings, and marketing (John Clemow), treasurer (Pam Fox), and facilities management (Mike Redfern). Lorraine Davies, part-time employee, provides housekeeping services. There is no standing Chair, the chair is elected at each management meeting. 

The trustees express their gratitude to Eddie Walsh for his long service, his dedication to the best interests of the charity, and tireless practical work on the facilities, frequently with bargains he found on eBay. He will be missed, but perhaps not his penchant for perching on the top of a tall ladder clearing gutters and replacing light fittings. 

John Clemow, Pam Fox, and Graeme Shaw are the signatories on the charity’s bank account. 

The charity has written policies for the following matters 

Governance Protection 1. General Meetings 7. Safeguarding 2. Officers 8. Risk management 3. Finance Committee 9. Data Protection Conduct Financial 4. Trustee’s interests 10. Reserves 5. Expenses 11. Budget 6. Complaints 12. Expenditure 13. Fraud prevention 14. Paying employees 

1 

Colney Heath Village Hall, a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, Charity number 1182267 registered in England & Wales Public and correspondence address 54 Bullens Green Lane, Colney Heath, Herts AL4 0QS 



## COLNEY HEATH VILLAGE HALL 

Location : 83 High Street, Colney Heath, Herts AL4 0NS 

## www.colneyheathvillagehall.com 


## **3. REVIEW OF YEAR** 

Step 2 in the UKG’s Road Map out of Lockdown started at the beginning of this reporting year on 12 April 2021. All legal restrictions were removed in July 2021. 

The bookings calendar shows the gradual return to pre-Covid levels of utilization in the main hall. From April to July (Q1) the pre-school booked weekdays as normal. Weekday evenings saw two regulars return. In June weekends were booked by regular users. The weekdays during summer holidays were booked by an after-school hirer. From September (Q3) weekdays and 4 weekday evenings each week were booked as well as the weekends. From January 2022 activity was almost back to pre-Covid levels for Q4. 

The Hall is the official local polling station for statutory elections and provides shelter in the event of an emergency being declared in the locality. Neither function occurred in the reporting period. 

## **4. ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE** 

## **4.1 Marketing** 

a. website 

Started in December 2017 our website has created an online presence for people searching for a Hall both on Google and referring websites. This has been maintained and has provided a good platform for enquiries that have continued to increase during the year. 

## b. bookings 

In Q4 January to March 2022 the only available sessions in the main hall were alternate Mondays during the day and the evenings on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. This is equivalent to the preCovid period.  However, bookings in the Studio have not yet caught up with pre-Covid levels. 

## c. pricing 

The Trustees have maintained the pricing policy i.e. regular user hire rates to cover the operational costs of the Hall (the “breakeven cost”). Based on the budget for 2022-23 no increase in rates for current regular hirers is proposed; these rates have not been increased since July 2019. Our budget takes into account the 300% increase in gas and 100% in electricity energy costs. 

The charity continues to provide a subsidized rate for the Old Friends Club to support this group in the community. 

Casual hire rates are benchmarked against other Halls on a “best value” basis with a rate structure to encourage social and community use the Hall. 

## **4.2 Facilities management** 

a. Assurance 

To the best of our knowledge and belief, insurance cover within all legal boundaries for all foreseeable eventualities was placed. 

All licenses are up to date as are all tests and checks of building systems. 

## b. Covid-19 Secure Facility 

With guidance from ACRE and CDA Herts the requirements to establish and maintain a “Covid-19 Secure Facility” were implemented. No reports of infection acquired in the hall have been received and compliance by hirers has been carefully monitored and shown to be good. When the legal restrictions were removed the hall ceased to be designated as Covid-19 secure but some precautionary measures continue to be applied, in particular a reduction in numbers well below that permitted by our Premises license. 

2 

Colney Heath Village Hall, a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, Charity number 1182267 registered in England & Wales Public and correspondence address 54 Bullens Green Lane, Colney Heath, Herts AL4 0QS 



## COLNEY HEATH VILLAGE HALL 

Location : 83 High Street, Colney Heath, Herts AL4 0NS 

## www.colneyheathvillagehall.com 


c. Garden, and soft and hard surface external areas Trustees and volunteers have maintained the Bill Franklin Garden and other external areas. 

## d. Housekeeping 

Our housekeeper has continued to do an excellent job in keeping the Hall in an exemplary condition and we had no complaints from users. 

e. Building maintenance and major repairs The external doors to the rear and car park side have been replaced, an excellent job by local craftsman, Harry Shipp Carpentry during the Q4 half term. Harry also attended to several minor repairs. The leakage in the female WC’s required attention with access panels being added. 

f. Improvements 

Lighting of the main hall, the stage, the Studio and the storeroom has been upgraded with LED technology designed and installed by CES St Albans Ltd. The project was led by Peter Gough, a resident in the village. The dimming function provides variable lighting levels to suit the wide variety of activities in the main hall and Studio, and the multi-coloured “party” uplighting enhances the ambiance in the main hall. A grant from the Low Carbon Workplaces was awarded for one third of the cost (expected to be received in 2022/23). 

The office walls have been painted by Graeme Hall, another local, who also touched up the ceiling in the Studio. 

SRS, introduced by CDA Herts, assessed the acoustics in the Studio and recommend acoustic absorption panels which they installed. This treatment performs very well and sound in the Studio is clear and comfortable. 


Main hall general lighting 


Main Hall “party” lighting 


Studio lighting and acoustic panels 

g. Partner trade agreements 

Agreements are being put in place with contractors for maintenance tasks and small improvement projects to our facilities on a “no compete / open book” basis. The terms of the agreement includes our standard conditions for contractors, insurances etc. 

Tasks and projects will be defined with the partner obtaining the benefit of their advice, who will then provide an estimate itemizing the costs of materials and labour hours and rates. If agreed to be reasonable, they will be instructed by a Works Order. We can competitively tender the work if we feel our partner’s estimate is not sensible. 

This approach is being trialled and will be reviewed in 2023. Partnering agreements have been made with CES St Albans for electrical works, and H.Shipp Carpentry. This approach has been discussed with Graeme Hall for painting and decorating, as has a General Handyman agreement. We need to find a plumber (or two!). 

h. Issues to resolve More car parking is needed to prevent problems with the neighbours especially when we have large functions. 

3 

Colney Heath Village Hall, a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, Charity number 1182267 registered in England & Wales Public and correspondence address 54 Bullens Green Lane, Colney Heath, Herts AL4 0QS 



## COLNEY HEATH VILLAGE HALL 

Location : 83 High Street, Colney Heath, Herts AL4 0NS 

## www.colneyheathvillagehall.com 


## 4.3 **Colney Heath Parish Council issues** 

The Parish Council withdrew their legal claim against the former trustees in September 2021. Regrettably the Parish Council had refused to mediate. The charity had to incur substantial monies on legal fees to defend the case on behalf of the former trustees. 

The Parish Council initially resisted a s25 notice issued under the Landlord and Tenant Act for the charity to recover the office space that the Parish Council had previously occupied. The Parish Council then proposed to enter into a lease offering £2,000 per annum rent before withdrawing their offer and surrendered the space. This protracted process also cost the charity substantial legal fees. 

## **5. FINANCIAL REVIEW** 

The Accounts for the period ended March 2022 have been independently examination and signed off by David Gutteridge. Analysis of the detail of the accounts shows : 

||**Current**|Previous||
|---|---|---|---|
||**year**|year||
||**2021/22 £**|2020/21 £|comment|
|Income from bookings|17,835|9,489|improvement in lettings in 2021/22|
|Operating Expenditure (OPEX)|(10,834)|(8,892)|Excludes cost of defibrillator in 2021/22|
|Operating surplus|7,101|692||
|Maintenance within OPEX|(657)|(926)||
|Capital expenditure from reserves|(16,017)|0|LED Lighting[1], acoustics, external doors,|
|Exceptional expenditure|(11,886)|(3,713)|Net cost of disputes with CH Parish Council|
|Exceptional expenditure|0|(1,803)|Legal fees for conversion to CIO|
|Exceptional Income|10,667|20,241|Covid-19 support grants from SAC&DC|
||||[1] grant contribution of £3,040 for LED lighting|
||||expected in 2022/23|



As of 31[st] March 2022 the funds held by the charity funds totaled £50,291 (previous year £58,956). 

The reserve fund and balance for improvements and contingencies is as follows Total funds £50,291 Base reserve fund 2018 £15,000 Added to Reserves £20,000 Balance remaining £15,291 

For major maintenance, improvements and contingencies 

## **6. OUTLOOK FOR 2022/23** 

The trustees plan a number of major maintenance and improvement projects in the year 2022-23. These will be gradually implemented as we keep in view the progression of Covid-19 infections in the community and the achievement of our budget for lettings income. The Trustees remain cautious in view of potential restrictions being imposed again. 

With Anne and Eddie having retired, recruiting new trustees will be a priority for this year. 


John Clemow, Secretary 

4 

Colney Heath Village Hall, a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, Charity number 1182267 registered in England & Wales Public and correspondence address 54 Bullens Green Lane, Colney Heath, Herts AL4 0QS 



COLNEY HEATH VILLAGE HALL
V•WW.C(4neyheathvtlWl.(x)m
ISSUE
Issue I
OPENING BALANCE
29.747
29,696
29.fM)O
21.154
29.137
NSI ￿¢(￿11
Told
13,532
43.279
58,696
50,291
120,000)
1,800
28.491
PrWSi￿ (Nore 11
F(w rele￿ce
2019rd020
15.
3.6
19.543
INCOME
lar Lets
15.646
Let8
1,144
9.487
otal Lettin
17,935
ReluTrwLle De
DeFJ)SitS
14.87
12,77
HPC Gian(k￿ ￿1
47
ReftJTh1 M InS￿￿e
DA Granlfor Ok1 Frwjts
HCC Defljrillaior Grarn
EON Inwron￿ CAyNpld
IOD
1.195
75
OTAL INCOME
20.740
gM87
20.735
Intere51 (Nat￿￿
Interest
107
97
137
TAL INCOME
n¢ludl
Interest
20,847
20,872
EXPENDITURE
Operational costs
Hou8kee
Remuieration
Uliithes
,47
.079
,179
,661
397
1173
370
Gas&
1.769
(911
c￿[￿11 Tax
16651
Ckanin
teanin
CovKI.Ig reLgtsLI nems
Gener& mwrnerwrxe
DecLYate Lobtxe5
Raimvatrr S
New Wil
11741
1187
1926
[256
19
Faalities
657)
stem re
16.¢J951
I s
step tc
Insurance
135
11.2&3
91
Semces
li.1￿)
1,3251
91
1180
1221
etsite
RS lor LIcer￿e
te2
Miscellaneous
154

For ￿feren
EXPENDITURE
Putthty
CDA membersl
Contin￿d)
170
Note 2
BankArXx￿nt Fees
B￿kIng refunds
CDA Grant for Okl FrErMts
Defit￿lL7t0[
1591
11
Note 3
11.20
OTAL OPERATING COSTS
16,953
8,892
,041
PERATING SURPLUS
8,831
SPECIAL ITEMS
CIO Conversity)
or5 ICHPC Office)
HP Office.. Termination Ctxn
11.W3
(3.713
9.416
1,8501
(3,719
3.099
8,DOO
2.667
CPIPC M
L ￿ Clam against InsuratKe
SADC CororEavirus GTani
SADC Coronavints Grant
SADC Cor(wwvirus Grarn
io.too
8.145
2.096
SURPLUS
EFEC
3.708
15N17
7,612
CAPITAL
(Me off cosWm¢0￿ in y
Kitchen 8Th1 Comrrm
R(xJm refurtythrr
ARMAC Grant." Jtit¢hen atKI COrr￿j￿ Rojm
Pro Spe￿ (r rayk)r
Tlyrd P
Contrityjithi
CHVHI
28.74
28.747
3.195)
Cornmun
Rear8Tr1 yde d￿)r thrt)tshrT
5,19
19,4831
11,33fj1
16,017
Studio accou5DCS
Capital balance
4824
CLOSING BALANCE
43,279
,000}
$8,696
{16.000
50,291
20.000
1,800
28,491
Provision
Note I
Prowgon INrAe 4
31279
NOtsI
IAJI(tstK)n h&s bEen for 5 years)
19120 foures reprwi 2 year5 LYJ5ts fLYlhese iierrLS
Note 2
Note 3
Note 4
A tot& of £1.￿ rettsinaNe are l*bJ a 31" March
l. the undersigned. in accordance wilh the wishes of the members, elected as
Honorary Auditor to the Colney Heath Village Hall CIO. have e￿rnined the
re¢ord$ and accounts and find them to be a true and accurate record as
presented by thg Treasurer.
Mr D Gutterldgo
Cetnw F*aih VINage Hdl, athrrt&le in)rF￿r*I oroansatth. Clwity nurrt)er 1182267 regs¢w&l ￿ ENJhnd &Wths Re01*e￿d *Jdre5s $4

COLNEY HEATH VILLAGE HALL
mean
Balance held in account 202012021
Income 202112022
otaj
29,696.32
37.271.00
66,967.32
Less ex
nses
olal balance in bank 3191 March 2022
45.813.1
21,IX15
Balance held in account 202012021
Income 202112022
otal balance in bank 31" Mar¢h 2022
29,lJ)O.00
137.03
29,137.03
Bdance held in CAF Account 31" March 2022
Balan￿ held in CAF Savings Accouni 31° March 2022
21,154.15
29,137.03
otal balance in bank 3111 March 2022
50,291.18
I, the undersigned, in accordance with the wishes of the membeTS, elected as
Honorary Auditor to the Colney Heath Village Hall CIO, have examined the
records and accounts and find them to be a trt￿ and accurate r￿Ord as
presented by the Treasurer.
Signed ...
Mr D. Gutteridge

COLNEY HEATH VILLAGE HALL
V•WW.C(4neyheathvtlWl.(x)m
ISSUE
Issue I
OPENING BALANCE
29.747
29,696
29.fM)O
21.154
29.137
NSI ￿¢(￿11
Told
13,532
43.279
58,696
50,291
120,000)
1,800
28.491
PrWSi￿ (Nore 11
F(w rele￿ce
2019rd020
15.
3.6
19.543
INCOME
lar Lets
15.646
Let8
1,144
9.487
otal Lettin
17,935
ReluTrwLle De
DeFJ)SitS
14.87
12,77
HPC Gian(k￿ ￿1
47
ReftJTh1 M InS￿￿e
DA Granlfor Ok1 Frwjts
HCC Defljrillaior Grarn
EON Inwron￿ CAyNpld
IOD
1.195
75
OTAL INCOME
20.740
gM87
20.735
Intere51 (Nat￿￿
Interest
107
97
137
TAL INCOME
n¢ludl
Interest
20,847
20,872
EXPENDITURE
Operational costs
Hou8kee
Remuieration
Uliithes
,47
.079
,179
,661
397
1173
370
Gas&
1.769
(911
c￿[￿11 Tax
16651
Ckanin
teanin
CovKI.Ig reLgtsLI nems
Gener& mwrnerwrxe
DecLYate Lobtxe5
Raimvatrr S
New Wil
11741
1187
1926
[256
19
Faalities
657)
stem re
16.¢J951
I s
step tc
Insurance
135
11.2&3
91
Semces
li.1￿)
1,3251
91
1180
1221
etsite
RS lor LIcer￿e
te2
Miscellaneous
154

For ￿feren
EXPENDITURE
Putthty
CDA membersl
Contin￿d)
170
Note 2
BankArXx￿nt Fees
B￿kIng refunds
CDA Grant for Okl FrErMts
Defit￿lL7t0[
1591
11
Note 3
11.20
OTAL OPERATING COSTS
16,953
8,892
,041
PERATING SURPLUS
8,831
SPECIAL ITEMS
CIO Conversity)
or5 ICHPC Office)
HP Office.. Termination Ctxn
11.W3
(3.713
9.416
1,8501
(3,719
3.099
8,DOO
2.667
CPIPC M
L ￿ Clam against InsuratKe
SADC CororEavirus GTani
SADC Coronavints Grant
SADC Cor(wwvirus Grarn
io.too
8.145
2.096
SURPLUS
EFEC
3.708
15N17
7,612
CAPITAL
(Me off cosWm¢0￿ in y
Kitchen 8Th1 Comrrm
R(xJm refurtythrr
ARMAC Grant." Jtit¢hen atKI COrr￿j￿ Rojm
Pro Spe￿ (r rayk)r
Tlyrd P
Contrityjithi
CHVHI
28.74
28.747
3.195)
Cornmun
Rear8Tr1 yde d￿)r thrt)tshrT
5,19
19,4831
11,33fj1
16,017
Studio accou5DCS
Capital balance
4824
CLOSING BALANCE
43,279
,000}
$8,696
{16.000
50,291
20.000
1,800
28,491
Provision
Note I
Prowgon INrAe 4
31279
NOtsI
IAJI(tstK)n h&s bEen for 5 years)
19120 foures reprwi 2 year5 LYJ5ts fLYlhese iierrLS
Note 2
Note 3
Note 4
A tot& of £1.￿ rettsinaNe are l*bJ a 31" March
l. the undersigned. in accordance wilh the wishes of the members, elected as
Honorary Auditor to the Colney Heath Village Hall CIO. have e￿rnined the
re¢ord$ and accounts and find them to be a true and accurate record as
presented by thg Treasurer.
Mr D Gutterldgo
Cetnw F*aih VINage Hdl, athrrt&le in)rF￿r*I oroansatth. Clwity nurrt)er 1182267 regs¢w&l ￿ ENJhnd &Wths Re01*e￿d *Jdre5s $4

COLNEY HEATH VILLAGE HALL
mean
Balance held in account 202012021
Income 202112022
otaj
29,696.32
37.271.00
66,967.32
Less ex
nses
olal balance in bank 3191 March 2022
45.813.1
21,IX15
Balance held in account 202012021
Income 202112022
otal balance in bank 31" Mar¢h 2022
29,lJ)O.00
137.03
29,137.03
Bdance held in CAF Account 31" March 2022
Balan￿ held in CAF Savings Accouni 31° March 2022
21,154.15
29,137.03
otal balance in bank 3111 March 2022
50,291.18
I, the undersigned, in accordance with the wishes of the membeTS, elected as
Honorary Auditor to the Colney Heath Village Hall CIO, have examined the
records and accounts and find them to be a trt￿ and accurate r￿Ord as
presented by the Treasurer.
Signed ...
Mr D. Gutteridge