## **Preston Village Hall CIO Annual Report April 2020 – October 2021** ## **Objects** The objects of the CIO are to establish and run a village hall and to promote for the benefit of the inhabitants of the Parish of Preston Kent and its neighbourhood (“area of benefit”) without distinction of sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, nationality, race or political, religious or other opinions the provision of facilities for recreation or other leisure time occupation of individuals who have need of such facilities by reason of their youth, age, infirmity or disablement, financial hardship or social and economic circumstances or for the public at large in the interests of social welfare and with the object of improving the conditions of life of the said inhabitants. Preston Village Hall CIO was set up in April 2019 as a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO). The aims and objects of the new organisation continue as before but the purpose has been to limit the financial liability of the trustees. This was important to achieve if the charity is to proceed with its plans to build a new village hall to meet the needs of our community. The current hall is no longer fit for purpose, and the facilities it provides do not meet the basic legislated requirements for basic health and safety and access for all. Title to the land and building has been transferred to the CIO. ## **Trustees and Management Committee** **Jill Matthews** was re-elected as Chairman of the Trustees. **Trevor Allison** was elected as Vice-Chairman. Trevor has since left the village in December 2020 and resigned from his role. **Karen Wright** has continued in the role of Treasurer. **Kath Marsden** has continued to act as the keyholder and booking secretary for the hall. **Diane Johnson** and **Pam Donaldson** continue to serve as trustees; they are the longest serving members of the Committee and have a wealth of experience on which we continue to draw. **Colin Cross** and **Alwyn Pigeon** joined the committee as trustees in the previous year. **Susan Marsden Garrett** was co-opted onto the Committee in December and replaces Trevor. **Mona Hodgetts** acts as secretary. **Jen Cross** helps us with management of the website. **Air Marshal Christopher Nickols CB CBE DL** agreed to become the Patron to the Preston Village Hall CIO last year. We would like to recruit more trustees from the wider “area of benefit” i.e. Stourmouth and the surrounding hamlets and more trustees representing users of the facilities. Other residents of Preston and Elmstone, who would like to become a trustee should contact Mona in the first instance. ## **How we have achieved our objectives** This has been a difficult year for the charity to meet its objectives. The hall was closed effectively from the end of March 2020 until June 2021 due to the COVID pandemic. Special signage was purchased relating to social distancing, wearing masks, COVID hygiene etc and displayed. Hand sanitisers were purchased and installed by doors. The upholstered chairs were put away and the plastic chairs are now used. The curtains were removed from the pavilion windows and have been cleaned. A one way system has been introduced so the main entrance is now through the pavilion door and the exit is via the toilets and lobby. A battery -operated fogger was purchased, but this has not been very successful as the nozzle blocks very easily. ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England) has produced guidance on how to make village halls as safe as possible. Additional conditions of hire have been drawn up and are given to hirers. As the restrictions started to lift in the summer of 2020, the trustees hoped to be able to reopen the hall in September 2020. It was agreed to suggest a maximum of 20 people at any time and to monitor the situation closely. However, the Trustees reconsidered the opening for health and safety reasons and the hall was then closed until May 2021. The charity followed the Government's Roadmap out of COVID 19 Lockdown with first the controlled exercise classes returning. ## **Hire of the Hall** Since the re-opening of the hall, bookings for using the hall's facilities have increased and the hall is used every weekday for at least one activity and weekends are often booked for children's parties and other social events. Regular commercial users include several yoga classes, a tai chi class, , a children's dance lesson and a fortnightly model racing car club from outside the village. Village Clubs and Societies include bookings by the indoor short mat bowls club is back to one night a week; there are currently no league matches,. The table tennis club meets every every Friday. Monthly meetings are held by the Parish Council, the WI, and the Gardeners' Club. Social fund-raising events for the hall have included a successful Bingo evening with a bangers and beans supper, the monthly Saturday coffee morning has been reconfigured as a BIG Breakfast and is proving to be very popular and provides a welcome opportunity for villagers to meet and chat in a convivial atmosphere. The annual plant sale was successful. This year we are holding the Christmas Fair on a Friday afternoon and early evening to try an attract more custom and to create a traditional community atmosphere. We hope to hold outdoor stalls and games to attract a wider audience. Indoors will be a variety of craft stalls. So far there has been quite a lot of interest, particularly for the indoor stalls. Stall holders will also be asked to donate a raffle prize. ## **Hire of the Recreation Ground.** The recreation ground is managed by the village hall on behalf of the Parish Council. There is a contractual arrangement between the Parish Council and KCC relating to the mowing. More recently, the Parish Council have taken over the payment of invoices from the contractors, who manage the maintenance of the field. Payments received which relate to the hire of the pitches, will be passed to the Parish Council to contribute towards the maintenance of the field. The Trustees agreed that, while the clubs were establishing themselves, an initial flat fee for hiring the ground of £30 per match would be charged. The toilets and hall facilities would be charged at the normal hourly rate. These charges would be reviewed regularly. The Preston & Elmstone Cricket Club was re-established over the summer of 2020. With financial support from the parish council, the wicket has been reseeded and is regularly maintained to a high standard by G& W Groundcare and by the volunteer greenkeeper, Dave Putnam. Metered water is provided through the village hall. Preston Village Hall have enabled the cricket club to keep some of their equipment in the shed at the back of the hall in the enclosed former pre-school area. Some large equipment is stored on the field (the roller and two sight screens.). The cricket club were able to host 2 home matches in the 2021 season. Their other matches were cancelled due to bad weather. They are also hiring the hall so that they can provide toilet facilities and catering services for spectators. The Half Moon and Seven Stars sponsors a football team who were interested in hiring the football pitch for their home games. The parish council funded the replacement of the goals with new rounded frames and with new nets. The football club has held (? ) home games. Another Junior Football Club started to use the ground in April 2021. This operates like an afterschool club and brings its own equipment. ## **HMRC** We have registered with HMRC as a charity eligible for “Gift Aid”. This will enable us to benefit from a further 25%, equivalent to the basic rate of tax, on any donations from donors who pay income tax. We must ensure that all donors are aware of this and ask them to complete a standard form of authorisation. ## **Grants** Government grants relating to loss of income due to COVID Lockdown and Re-opening of the hall were applied for and received via Dover District Council. A grant of £354.46 was received from Dover District Council this year to purchase an industrial dishwasher (total cost £1241) which has proved to be a great time saver at the catering events. The projector and screen purchased last year has proved to be useful for visiting speakers and the embryo film club was beginning to prove popular before lockdown. ## **Donations** In July, Ellie Matthews raised over £3000 for the charity by taking part and completing a Cross Channel Swim in a team of 5 swimmers. In October 2020, we received a substantial donation of £38,513.82 from The Oak Foundation which has been ring-fenced in a Benefactors’ Account earning a small amount of interest. ## **Fund raising** We signed up to Dover District Council’s Lotto in October. For every £1 purchased, the hall will receive 50p and a further 10p will go to a deserving cause. The flyer has been circulated throughout the Grange via Whatsapp and an announcement has been posted onto the Village Society’s Facebook page. In the first month (three weeks to be precise), there have been 3 x 3[rd] prize winners and a receipt of £24 to the charity. ## **Maintenance** Heavy rain continues to cause problems within the hall, particularly where the pavilion joins onto the main building. The principle leaks have been sorted by renewing the guttering along the roofline but there are still some issues. The ongoing problem with the car-park puddle (or perhaps better described as a lake) continues to occur with heavy rain, but eventually drains over time. Ed and Charles regularly clear out the pipes with the rods. The external lights have been replaced with more modern PIR lamps and these are proving effective. The security system around the hall has been updated with new cameras. Motion only sensors record movement around the hall which is stored for approximately a month. ## **The New Village Hall Project** At the moment, the project has been put on hold. Since Brexit and partially due to the COVID pandemic, the cost of materials has risen significantly. A recent quantity surveyor estimates puts the building costs in the region of £1,452,000 for the proposed Phase 1 (484m2), a further £516,000 for the changing rooms ( as Phase 2). Phase 1 and the ground works for Phase 2 done together are estimated at £1,529,000. These figures do not include professional fees or works to the car park. Effectively, we are looking for £2,000,000. It is unlikely in the current climate that the Big Lottery will support substantial capital projects. Applications for several smaller grants supporting community social amenities may be more successful and we intend to follow this path in the coming year. Jill Matthews 13 October 2021 PRESTON WITH ELMSTONE VILLAGE HALL INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT ST FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021 Villa e Hall Fund Balance BIF - Lloyds Cash in Hand 8/F Interest Received Hire Charges DDC Grant Income Oak Foundation Donation Other Income & Donations 4438.94 27.04 1.52 601.83 21148.18 385LKI.(K) 2877.75 Cleaning & Repair Costs Wa8es and Honorariums Water and Light & Heat Insurance Security Camera Costs New Dishwasher Fundraising Event and Other Sundry Expenses Trf to Renovation Fund Trf to Recreation Fund 8alance CIF - Lloyds Cash in Hand CIF 1428.56 748.00 1967.29 888.18 320.IXI 1241.70 196.00 2839.08 89.99 .57849.42 27.04 Renovatlon Fund Balance BIF - Lloyds Interest Received Stourmouth Donation Trf from Village Hall Fund 42013.98 11.08 459.35 2839.08 Website Renewal Fee Balance CIF - Lloyds 19.34 45304.15 Recreatlon Fund Balance BIF - Lloyds Trf from Village Hall Fund .01 89.99 Balance C/F- Uoyds 90. SUMMARY Total Balances BIF Excess of Income over Expenditure for the Year 46479.97 Total Bank Balances CIF 103243.57 Cash in Hand CIF 27.04 56790.64 I have prepared the above Incomeand ExpenditureAccountand certifythat it is in accordance with the books and records maintained by the Treasurer and explanations granted to me. G M Heathfield - Elgars Honorary Auditor K Wright Honorary Treasurer 25th June 2021 *lncluded in the Village Hall Fund account is a rin8-fenced amount of £432.01 held on behalf of the Cricket Club