Winterslow Village Hall
Annual General Meeting of CIO Charity No: 1183009 –
Chairman’s Report on Year ending December 2024
Introduction:
This is my second year as Chairman at the Hall and I’m delighted to report that the hall continues to provide the venue for numerous activities, which makes our community so vibrant.
Unfortunately, the cost-of-living crisis during the year pushed up energy prices and the cost of replacing everyday items needed to keep the hall functioning. As our hire charges remained unchanged for 4 years, the cashflow forecast we completed showed we needed to increase income. Even though our solar panels on the roof offset some of the energy increases, we reluctantly had to increase our hire charges from 1[st] September for new bookings and regular users from 1[st] October.
Representatives from Durrington & Idmiston Village Halls both requested a visit to us, to find out how we managed to be such a successful enterprise. We were happy to exchange information with them and recommend our successes and procedures. These meetings really gave us a warm feeling that we seemed to be getting things right!
During the year Winterslow signed up to Wiltshire Councils’ “Emergency Hub” program to become a place of safety and a community place to go, to help one another in an emergency. We in collaboration with the Parish Council are setting up contingency plans, in case the “hub” is needed.
The Executive Committee:
The Hall could not operate successfully without the amazing volunteers who make up our Executive committee. A huge thank you to my support team, Clive Broadley, Mike Morgan-Jones, Mike Taylor, Marisa Hardy, Richard Henderson, Alan Eadle, Jim McGillivray, Richard Smith, Corinne & Rick Liken and our Treasurer, Steve Durrans. All of whom play key roles in maintaining the required administration and maintenance, and who freely provide the energy necessary to run this busy community asset.
Mike Taylor has done a brilliant job supporting the Executive committee by leading the project team. I would like to thank him for his support as without his experience and expertise, our completed toilet refurbishment wouldn’t have happened so successfully.
The running repair work and improvements undertaken by Alan Eadle are greatly appreciated, saving the Hall considerable amounts of money. Apologies to Alan’s wife, but she does see him occasionally.
Key events during the year:
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The events team had a busy year: -
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The year started with our annual Burns Night event, on 27[th] January. A sit down 2 course meal followed by dancing proved to be very successful. The event raised £1,664 of which £200 was donated to the scouts, for their help with serving around 120 meals. A big thank you to Corinne for stepping in for the “caller” who unfortunately fell ill just before the event.
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Entertainment included a Whitney Houston Tribute concert in March. This was a successful event with a packed hall enjoying the performance and raising funds for the toilet refurbishments.
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Two Games nights took place during the year, with multiple straight forward simple practical games to try out, concluding with a general knowledge quiz. A surprisingly enjoyable event, raising additional funds to help keep the hall functioning.
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Mid-September turned the venue into a Rock & Roll Hall of fame, with everyone dancing to many golden rock & roll oldies. Another hugely enjoyable trip down memory lane.
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The annual Christmas Craft Fayre was again a well-attended event, with Pre-school providing catering. Thanks to Val for organizing this regular event, which going forward will be run by the hall’s own Event team.
Very well done and thank you to everyone who helped with these events and raise funds for the Village Hall.
Other happenings:
Remembrance Day : WI once again put up their amazing poppy display net created by the ladies’ hard work, over many months.
Christmas : The outside of the hall was decorated with fairy lights and a Christmas tree in the foyer, enhancing the experience of visiting the hall over the festive period.
The Air Ambulance clothes bank has been very popular and well used by villagers. We have had to keep asking for the charity to empty the bank, because it’s over-flowing again.
The Winterslow Drama Group have continued to delight audiences with their performances throughout the year and the Christmas Panto, is a must see.
Truffles coffee shop continues to be a focal point in the village, for weekday morning social meetings and catch ups. Thank you to the wonderful volunteer ladies that provide this facility, raising money for local charities.
The village continues to enjoy “fast food” outlets with regular visits to the car park from Fish & chips, Pizza and Kebab vans.
Our website has been upgraded to make it more user friendly, including setting up an online payment system for event tickets.
Finances:
Our finances will be covered fully in the Treasurer’s report and presentation of the Year-end accounts.
Our finances are stable and balances in the bank accounts are healthy. We are self-funding and able to cover our day-to-day running expenses from hire fees and events. Our reserves took a massive hit with the cost of the toilet refurbishment in the spring, but the results were well worth it.
We are very grateful for donations from the Parish Council, Women’s Institute and the Short Mat Bowls Club, as well as several other individuals’ donations. Thank you.
Projects, Maintenance, and compliance:
Projects:
The hall is now 32 years old and starting to look tired and worn out in places, so thoughts turned to how we can improve the hall and make it suitable for the next 30 years.
A project team was put in place to consider the following exciting ambitions:
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Refurbishment of the toilets.
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Refurbishment of the Main Hall to include insulation and paneling the ceiling, new LED lighting, plastering the walls with the installation of acoustic panels, and refurbishment of the floor.
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Installing a large patio door arrangement giving access to the rear lawn.
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Extending the Meeting Room to incorporate the covered patio, installing two unisex toilets, an office, and a storeroom along the East elevation; re-establishing the covered patio to access the rear lawn.
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Refurbishing the kitchen.
Our ability to proceed will depend on finding the necessary funding. However, the toilets were completed in June and financed by our reserves. The new facilities have generated many positive comments.
The installation of 4-meter-wide double-glazed patio doors is currently in progress and is scheduled to be completed by late June, if all goes to plan. A big thank you to the Parish Council for supporting this improvement.
Most of the ideas follow previous idea-sharing with the Representatives and regular hall users, but have taken some time to develop, to ensure the right decisions are made to take the hall forward.
The hall was approached by a company interested in installing electric car charging points in our car park, for which we would get an annual income. After months of investigation into their offer and possible siting of the charging points, we were about to accept their proposal when the company withdrew their offer. Economic conditions and the low take-up of electric cars meant their offer to us, became unviable.
The long-awaited installation of the standby generator arrived in June and now provides power to the hall, during power cuts. This proved to be a bonus, allowing the Christmas pantomime production to take place during a prolonged power cut in December.
Maintenance:
General maintenance work has been undertaken during the year, mostly for plumbing and electrical issues.
Fencing has been replaced along the Western boundary.
The car park now benefits from a row of posts and ropes along the walkway to safeguard pedestrians and has improved the positioning of visitors parking.
The car park soak-away drains have been examined and excess mud cleared out. Heavy rain was causing temporary flooding with stones and mud washed into the drains from Middleton Road and the field on the western boundary.
Compliance: Compliance and Regulation requirements are reviewed at each monthly Executive Committee meeting.
In conclusion:
Thank you to all the following for your hard work, time, and energy:
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The Tennis sub-committee have continued to manage the Tennis Court and membership. The success of this is important to the Hall as their funds make a substantial contribution to the Hall’s running costs, not to mention the benefit of tennis and exercise to the community.
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The Winterslow Cinema team, Chris & Bob Loach, stood down from running the cinema during the year. Thanks for their support over the years and to Jude Smith for taking over with her support team. The monthly film nights bring pleasure to many who may not otherwise go to the cinema.
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Village Hall Events sub-committee, Bella Thomas, Corinne Liken, Marisa Hardy, Pat Ford, Gaynor Banks and Helen James, who organize and run entertainment events that contribute to our funds.
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Len Curtiss and David Tullis continue to prune and maintain the Queen’s 90[th] birthday Rose Garden. This continues to bring colour to brighten the day.
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Finally thank you, to Adrian Geary , for all his caretaking activities and his “meet and greets”. Our Caretaker is an important ambassador for the Hall.
Finally, the Hall thrives due to the devotion of those of you who organise the clubs, groups, activities, and events without which the village wouldn’t be such a great place to live. The energy generated by all of you and your activities makes the community a wonderful place.
Thank you all for the experience and for your support.
Andy
Andy Banks - Chairman
Winterslow Village Hall (Charity No 1183009) Accounts for the year ended 31st December 2024 Income and expenditure
page 1 of 2
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2023 INCOME 2024 2023 EXPENDITURE 2024
£ £ Hire of Village Hall and Facilities £ £ £ £ £
Village organisations
- 1 Art - 9,582 Caretaker & Cleaning 9,262 1
488 2 Badminton 704 2,780 Insurance & Licenses 3,130 2
1,840 3 Bowls 1,856
634 4 Brownies 656 Maintenance & Repairs
- 5 Church - 7,064 VH General Repairs /maintenenance 4,911 3
138 6 Craft 224 416 Fire Maintenance/Alarms 2,021 4
1,396 7 Drama Groups 1,902 1,220 Gardening 1,917 5
165 8 Friendship 66 1,155 Consumables 3,111 6
52 9 Glorious cycling 26
- 10 Horticultural Society - Utilities
606 11 JuJitsu 663 476 Water 866 7
1,217 12 Line Dancing 1,126 815 Sewerage/Bins 899 8
- 13 Para Bellum Fitness - 8,247 Electricity 6,523 9
542 14 PCC/councils 652 747 Telephone/Broadband Costs 746 10
443 15 Pilates 457 9,034
6,340 16 Pre-school/P&T 5,552
- 17 Reading - Other Expenditure
160 18 Slinky Pizza 280 10 Rent - 11
202 19 FOWS 46 2,149 Moviola 2,209 12
- 20 Table Tennis - 300 Website 440 13
2,523 21 Truffles coffee shop 2,735 627 Misc Expenditure 1,025 14
515 22 Whist Club 524 720 Honararia 820 15
604 23 Women’s Institute 1,278 90 Refunds on Hires 133 16
3,300 24 Tennis sub-committee 2,000 2,462 Events 1,343 17
5,122 25 Moviola 3,296 5,970
9,343 26 Parties 1,671
- 36 Fundraiser 4,743
1,749 27 Other village organisations 2,664
28 Other Activities 2,994
37,376 Total Hire Income 36,114 38,858 Total Running Costs 39,356
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Winterslow Village Hall (Charity No 1183009) Accounts for the year ended 31st December 2024 Income and expenditure (continued) page 2 of 2
Other Income Equipment purchased/improvements
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Electricity Over Charge credit
7,500 29 Grant Winterslow PC 20,708 3,548 Architect 475 18
5,000 30 Grant Wilts Council 1,500 - Toilet_Refurbishment 49,166 19
1,443 31 Solar Panels Income 1,025 - New Generator 22,315 20
553 32 Table Tennis Donation -
150 33 Fireworks Donation -
500 34 Projector Grant -
- 35 Donations - Other 12,050
426 Interest Earned 425
15,572 Total Other Income 35,708 42,406 Total Expenditure 111,312
10,542 Excess of Income over Expenditure - 39,490
52,948 Total Income 71,822 52,948 71,822
Balance Sheet as at 31st Dec 2024
Bank Accounts
Current Assets and Liabilities 2023 2024
2023 2024 £ £
£ £ Funds held by Village Hall £ £
10,899 Bank Savings Account 20,107 55,632 Opening Balance as at 1st January 2024 66,174
22,115 Bank Account 6,577
33,160 High Interest Account
- Cash in hand -
66,174 26,684
Funds held by Tennis Club
0 Bank Account 10,542 Excess of Income over Expenditure - 39,490
0 Cash in hand 0
0 Less Liabilities 0
66,174 26,684 66,174 Closing Balance as at 31st Dec 2024 26,684
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I certify that the Income and Expenditure Account and Balance sheet above are true and correct and accord with all records relating thereto.
Signed……………..…………..………………………(Independent Examiner) Date : 9 May 25 Mrs Amy Baker (Management Accountant)
Independent examiner’s report to the Trustees of Winterslow Village Hall
I report to the Trustees on my examination of the accounts of Winterslow Village Hall CIO Charity number 1183009 for the year ended 31st December 2024.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity trustees of the Trust you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘The Act’).
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examiner’s statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
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accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or
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the accounts do not accord with those records; or
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the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view' which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Signed:
Mrs Amy Baker (Management Accountant)
Date 9[th] May 2025