ASTON-BY-STONE VILLAGE HALL TRUSTEES’ REPORT
Charity No: 1183768
YEAR ENDED 31[ST] JANUARY 2025
Reserves Policy
2025 will see an increase in reserves to £31,973.86. Reserves are required to meet the normal running costs of the Village Hall for one year (approximately £15,000) as well as any unexpected maintenance costs. In addition reserves will be used to fund future improvements to facilities.
Hire Fees
Hire fee’s for 25/26 will remain at £14 for regular hirers and £20 for casual hirers with a minimum 3 hour hire requirement for casual hires.
Profit & Loss Accounts
Thank you to Jenny Johnston (AVH Treasurer and Trustee) for preparing and presenting our profit & loss accounts.
Independent Examiner
Thank you to Neil Owen for examination and preparation of a report on the accounts.
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Report from the Chair (ES)
Aston-by-Stone Village Hall has had a great year!
We have established a stable committee of volunteers who have a comprehensive understanding of our halls unique operational circumstances. Focussing on establishing systems, really familiarising ourselves with what needs to be done when offering a public space for hire and actively maintaining our Village Hall has allowed us to streamline our committee activity. We are grateful to Jennifer who has joined us a Charity Secretary. It really is a team effort, together we have successfully kept our hall running and well maintained for another year.
The majority of our funds to maintain the hall come directly from hiring to groups, organisations and people hosting family celebrations. Our hall is busy, we have many regular hirers, it is not unusual to have 5 groups use the hall in one day and generally the hall will be in use for almost every day of any month. We have a range of activities offered and it’s really great that our hall is such a well-used community space. Our finances are stable and we have sufficient money in our reserve to cover emergencies, actively maintain and keep our hall to a high standard.
We’ve held a couple of coffee morning fundraising events this year with one celebrating Village Halls Week and all the work that volunteers do. Our village hall community came together with local residents to enjoy coffee and cake. Before Christmas we held a successful wreath making workshop. On the occasions when we put on events, they raise valuable funds and they are really enjoyable! �
This year has been our best yet for representation from groups. From attending committee meetings, supporting casual hirer check in and outs, putting out the bins and contributing to fundraising, our regular user groups are actively contributing to our Village Hall community.
A successful National Lottery community fund bid has provided £15, 950.00 to improve our courtyard area. This bid has enabled us to replace uneven paving slabs with a level tarmac surface, to install a secure perimeter fence and fit an access gate between the courtyard and the rear car park. Also included were funds to incorporate raised beds and planting, along with some new seating to make the area a pleasant and useable space. We will need to consider how the courtyard might be used and made accessible to hirers, we will re-visit our hiring agreement so that expectations about its use are clear and think carefully about how groups might be involved in taking care of the area in the longer term. This will be our 2025 priority and we will plan a grand opening of the Aston Village Hall Courtyard area when the area is looking its best.
I’d like to thank the committee for all their commitment and hard work, they really do go above and beyond to keep our hall open and running smoothly. We also have a small and committed group of people who actively support running the hall by facilitating casual check in’s, supporting events and helping us to maintain our fabulous building. Our defibrillator guardians do monthly checks and make sure the defibrillator is in good working order, a kind donation has provided us with a piano for users to play and enjoy. We have a team of people actively contributing, doing their bit to look after our Village Hall and their efforts are very much appreciated. Thank you all!
Emma Snowden, Chair of AVH Management Committee and Trustee 24[th] March 2025
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