2022-12-31-accounts - Cheddar Village Hall

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

CHEDDAR VILLAGE HALL

Trustees Report for AGM, September 25[th] 2023

Since the last AGM on September 26[th] last year the Hall committee have worked hard to continue to improve the hall for the community. Apart from a host of maintenance issues the main achievement of the past year has been the creation of the south hall enabling simultaneous rentals in the 2 halls now made available. The committee has met on 11 occasions with 1 meeting rendered inquorate in November 2022.

The project to remove the partition between the 2 meeting rooms on the south side of the building began in November 2022 and finished in April 2023. The work was made possible by the availability of grant funding (£20,500) from several sources for which the committee is extremely grateful. Because this project created more community space and permitted more activities to take place the funding was granted. By contrast it is very difficult to obtain funding for any purely maintenance project (eg electrical problems). The committee is therefore keen to use whatever grants can be obtained whilst always being aware of a host of other needs.

We were extremely fortunate to have the services of Darren Pantrey for the south hall project. His range of high level skills, his very obliging and flexible nature (often having to dovetail work with bookings in the hall to prevent disruptive noise) meant that the work proceeded steadily. There were some difficult obstacles to deal with including the fact that the wall was made of stone and not brick or block. At the top of the wall where the roof is supported (there is a roof valley directly above) the wall plate (made of timber) had been affected by water ingress in the past. Had this not been discovered there would have been a serious future problem at this location. Darren was able to protect most of the wall plate and create firm supports for the future stability of the roof. The finish he created has been widely regarded as excellent. There is no doubt that had any other contractor been commissioned to carry out this work then the cost would have been very considerably greater. The committee is indebted also to Patrick Emett who once again gave his wise and experienced advice as the project proceeded. The committee is also very grateful for John Sammut’s advice and help in managing a project with significant structural components. The main source of grant funding came from Sedgemoor District Council. The Council have been very supportive with several projects in recent years (roof, west wall) and Meryl, Richard and Heather attended a reception at Woolavington given in support of many village halls to mark the end of the Council’s existence and the move to the unitary authority of Somerset. The committee is very grateful to Julie Cooper at Sedgemoor for her sustained help over several years.

Prior to the removal of the partition wall it had been agreed with PCC that cupboards would need to be provided for STARR, Messy Church and the Toddler Group. Darren spent the first few weeks building a new cupboard at the east end of the south hall and another adjacent to the door to the main hall. The bar area

previously attached to the partition wall was resited in the north east corner of the south hall and the bar roof component completely removed. Storage for glasses was then created behind the counter. At the same time the CCTV unit was moved into this new position with much help from John Sammut. The CCTV system was operational throughout this work and proved invaluable in identifying a thief during a U3A event in the hall which was successfully reported to the police. The “bar” cannot now strictly be termed a bar as it has no running water available. It is now a useful available counter for serving drinks or food or for display purposes and the refrigerator is retained within it.

During Darren’s time at the hall it was agreed to investigate the old external toilet block. The committee has long recognized the need for more toilet facilities in the hall and Darren has been able to create a working toilet in part of the old block. The urinals have been removed and wash basin installed and storage space created in the remaining area. Volunteers on the committee are to be thanked for improving this “new” toilet.

After further discussion Darren suggested that the area previously used for storing tables and equipment used by hirers could be converted into another toilet. Because access to the drains was not difficult it was agreed to make this change. This area now provides a sizeable new toilet with baby change facility and is a great asset for people hiring the main hall – especially if the south hall is being used at the same time. The committee is once again indebted to Darren’s creative thinking for increasing available internal toilet space by 50% and, with the external one, doubling the previous number. The tables are now stored partly on a trolley and partly in the cupboard adjacent to the front entrance. The trolley helps in distributing tables to different areas but it is essential that it be loaded in the correct way. Instructions are issued to all users together with clear guidance as to the correct stacking of chairs in the hall. The committee is keen to upgrade chairs where possible and has purchased 41 soft cover chairs during the past year.

In November 2021 there was significant vandalism in the hall. This resulted in damage to the floor, particularly in the main Hall. An insurance claim was made and after Darren had completed the work in the south hall a professional firm carefully sanded the floors in both halls and protected them with 4 coats of clear varnish as well as completely resetting the badminton court. The work was completed in May to a very high standard. The committee are aware that the floor needs to be carefully managed and it is no longer possible to allow heavy items to be installed resulting in the removal of the old piano from the main hall. A modern electric replacement has been generously donated by Adrian Targett. All the hall chairs have been checked to see if the ferrules on each leg are in place. Without these the floor can be easily damaged. Appropriate floor cleaning fluids have been purchased following advice from the company responsible for improving the floor.

The huge rise in energy costs has had a profound impact and more needs to be done to persuade users to try hard to conserve energy especially in winter. It was reluctantly decided that there was no alternative but to raise rental charges as a

result so the basic rate for the main hall was changed from £10 per hour (which had existed for many years) to £14 per hour. This was solely because of energy price increase but the committee hope that there may be some slight easing of prices in the future.

Covid demanded that when it was possible to use the hall then good ventilation was essential. This was completely understandable but also meant that keeping the hall warm in winter conditions became both expensive and difficult. Now that the pandemic has eased significantly the committee is keen to stress that the fire door on the SW corner should not be used for constant entry and exit during bookings. The main entrance should be used at all times and there should be no entry to the hall via the fire door. Respecting this will help to keep the hall warm in cold weather and benefit everyone.

Other important maintenance and improvement tasks have been completed. The stage apron has been removed as it had become a dangerous hazard, crockery and curtains have been bought to replace and renew old stock and a curtain has been erected where the meeting rooms partition used to be enabling subdivision of the south hall if required. The pairs of entry swing doors have been eased, a disturbing audio whine affecting presentations in the hall has been eliminated and the 5 year electrical inspection has been carried out with no serious issues identified (several were addressed after the previous inspection).

Fund raising continues to be important. The grants donated for the project to create the south hall were greatly appreciated and there is no doubt that further grant support will be necessary for future plans. Heather Scourse and Meryl Sammut meet regularly and spend hours investigating and applying for grants. Local fund raising efforts are also important and a second dog show was held this year on the Old Vicarage lawn by kind permission of Dawn Hill. The committee continues to try to develop further ways of raising funds recognizing that we are all faced with significant cost increases in every direction. A sustained fund raising source is maintained by the generosity of the Monday Line Dancing sessions led by Heather Scourse, Richard Lovell and others All the income from these sessions is donated to the hall averaging over £100 each week.

The trustees wish to thank the committee for its work during a busy year, ably led by co-chairs Heather Scourse and Meryl Sammut. Penny Hambly joined the committee during the year as replacement for John Morgan. Mark Voice continues to do a lot of work as Treasurer and Adrian Targett has continued as Secretary. Elaine Reynolds, Robin Boyd, Ade Macrow and Andrew Langford have all contributed significantly and the importance of all these voluntary contributions in maintaining a vibrant community hall is not to be underestimated.

The trustees also wish to thank Samm Richards for all her hard work as Booking Secretary. This is an unending job and Samm has again managed bookings sensitively and tactfully and has efficiently distributed all booking forms and notices to hall users. She is a very valued member of the team. She also distributes quarterly

invoices to user groups and liaises with Mark as Treasurer in managing rental income.

The trustees continue to be grateful to all the many volunteers who help to make the hall a vital local venue for the community. Many people attending and participating in events also help considerably especially as the hall doesn’t have a caretaker in post. The hall is a valuable and much loved place in Cheddar.

In mid September 2023 the trustees learned that at their AGM STARR (St Andrew’s Roof Raisers) agreed to cease activity. The trustees greatly regret this decision and wish to pay tribute to the amazing amount of effort made by STARR in both providing consistently high levels of community entertainment and financing significant improvements in the hall over 35 years. Without these efforts and a great deal of voluntary work the hall would be in a much poorer condition. It is important to record formally the gratitude of both the CIO (running the Village Hall) and that of PCC (fully responsible When Church House). STARR’s contribution has been an outstanding example of the huge value of voluntary community activity and effort and is a great loss.

REPORT AGREED BY TRUSTEES

Rev Stuart Burns Mrs Dawn Hill Mr Richard Scourse

September 2023.

CHEDDAR VILLAGE HALL CIO ACCOUNTS FOR THE PERIOD 1 JANUARY 2022 TO 31 DECEMBER 2022

GENERAL FUND

Payments and Receipts for the period ending 31 December 2022

£ osts £ 3301.95 319.00 2 2	£ £ 2100.80 2 2	£ 8110.50 193.71 4980.97 13285.18 8415.50 021
		21700.68
		£ 2100.80 6670.00 021
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 5000.00 500.00	0.00 2500.00 2000.00 2000.00 0.00 170.00

		8770.80
		8770.80
		2021 0.00 17626.69
		17626.69

7 Cliff Street, Cheddar, BS27 3PT

01934 744333 info@atlasacc.co.uk.com

11[th] December 2023

Dear Sirs,

We have independently reviewed the accounting records of the Cheddar Village Hall CIO for the year ended 31 December 2022 and can confirm that the accounts agree with the underlying records. We confirm that the accounting records have been maintained in accordance with the requirements of the Charity Commission.

Atlas Accounting Limited 7 Cliff Street, Cheddar Somerset BS27 3PT

Atlas Accounting Limited. Company Registration No. 11700163 Registered Office: 7 Cliff Street, Cheddar, Somerset, BS27 3PT