Mark Rowell said that we had had another successful year in 2025 and he thanked all those attending for their contributions during the year and stressed the need for more volunteers to help keep the hall running smoothly. The committee had met four times in the period since the last AGM: on the same day as the AGM and in September, November and February. There had been some significant problems during the year with the Main Hall heating system which switched itself off more than once in the cold weather. The boiler was losing pressure which caused it to switch off and eventually it failed and needed repair. Industraheat sent an engineer who discovered a leaking valve on a radiator at the back of the Main Hall. A temporary solution was to blank off the radiator and a replacement part was ordered. The new valve was procured without great delay, which was fortunate as this is an old heating system. It was then fitted as soon as a gap in the bookings allowed. We had our annual visit from Chubb to check and reset the fire extinguishers. Two extinguishers had to be replaced during their visit. There was an unfortunate incident during a private event at the hall in early March this year during which the fire alarm was activated. When Mark Rowell responded to a call from Chubb and arrived at the hall he found that the party had a live band on stage and they were using a smoke machine which had activated the alarm. Naked flames and smoke machines are prohibited in the booking conditions. Mark struggled to turn the alarm off and spent a further thirty minutes on the phone to the Chubb call centre which resulted in an emergency call-out for their engineer the following day which was a Sunday. He also noted that the party had a burger van outside the entrance to the Main Hall and the spare chairs and trollies were also outside and blocking a fire exit. The large table from the Large Kitchen had been moved into the Main Hall and left there. Mark was upset at this unnecessary disruption of his Saturday evening. He was also concerned that the event was continuing while the fire alarm was sounding. On this occasion Mark silenced the alarm by taking the sensor unit out of service which took some time. The pre-Christmas event when hall users were invited to the hall for drinks and nibbles as a launch for the hall decorations was a pleasant social event and was considered a success. It would have been good to have a greater attendance and it might help to have longer notice of the event in future invitations. It had been agreed to purchase a similar Christmas tree for the John Rumble Hall as that in the Main Hall, and to hold a repeat event in late November this year. Mark Rowell thanked everyone for their efforts again and said that he would be advertising the need for more volunteers to help run the hall when opportunities arise.
Christine Attwood reported that 2025 was a particularly busy year, with strong levels of hall lettings generating £47,550 in income — a 25% increase on 2024. Our regular hirers generated £37,700 in income, an increase from £30,454 in 2024. In January, we were pleased to welcome Cook Stars, who now hire the John Rumble Hall twice a week. This group provides cooking sessions for young people, and it is encouraging to see our kitchen facilities being used to their full potential. During the summer period we did, however, lose one of our tap classes and an exercise group.
Income from one-off events such as parties and social gatherings totalled £9,850, compared with £6,722 in 2024. This continues to demonstrate our strong reputation as a popular and well regarded venue for community events. This resulted in an approximate split of 80% regular hires and 20% one-off bookings, compared with last year’s ratio of 82% and 18% respectively. Interest earned on our Business Saver account contributed an additional £617.29, reflecting the benefit of the higher interest rates available during the year. At the beginning of 2022, we introduced a deposit system for all one-off hires. Once again, a number of hirers did not request the return of their deposit, resulting in an additional £1,000 being retained within our funds.
Expenditure With regard to expenditure in 2025, our principal costs included the replacement of the external notice board which faces The Street and essential repairs to the roofing of the John Rumble Hall. The car park was relined and a disabled parking space was identified, so we have twenty-eight spaces plus the disabled parking space. Internally, we removed the old vertical access ladder to the stage loft which was described as unsafe in the Quinquennial Inspection Report and replaced it by a
conventional sloping loft ladder.
Significant maintenance work was also required on the fire alarm system. Utility charges totalled £11,999, a notable improvement compared with £14,160 in 2024, particularly given the continued rise in energy prices. This reduction is largely attributable to the new thermostat installed in the Main Hall during 2024, which has helped us manage consumption more efficiently. Our total expenditure for the year amounted to £38,606. After discounting the deposits on future events there was a net surplus of £11,402 for 2025. This year, we added David Brain as an additional authorised signatory, providing us with greater flexibility and resilience in the processing and approval of payments. On 1st December 2025, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) increased its deposit protection limit to £120,000. This means that if one holds deposits or savings with a UK authorised bank, building society, or credit union and the institution were to fail, the FSCS can now compensate up to the new limit of £120,000 per authorised firm. We are in a strong financial position to undertake the necessary works identified in the Quinquennial Inspection Report, and this will form our principal focus for 2026. Lastly, I would like to extend our sincere thanks to John Kennedy, who once again undertook the examination of our accounts for 2025.
FETCHAM VILLAGE HALL
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT
FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31[st] DECEMBER 2025
RECEIPTS
PAYMENTS
| Lettings – Regular Lettings – One Off Donations Interest Deposits |
2025 2024 2025 2024 £37,700.18 £30,453.72 Maintenance £21,252.00 £14,777.49 £9,849.75 £6,722.50 Utilities £11,999.06 £14,159.85 £0.00 £700.00 Administration £93.87 £66.49 £617.29 £654.75 Non Maintenance £3,285.75 £2,924.01 £2,290.00 £1,475.00 Refunds/Unpaid cheques £1,975.00 £1,590.00 £50,457.22 £40,005.97 £38,605.68 £33,517.84 |
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RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT SUMMARY
FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31[st] DECEMBER 2025
| Total Receipts For Year Total Payments For Year Net Receipts Bank Funds Brought Forward Bank Funds Carried Forward Bank Balances Less Deposits for future bookings Plus Payments due from 2025 events Balance at 31stDecember 2025 |
2025 2024 £50,457.22 £40,005.97 £38,605.68 £33,517.84 £11,851.54 £6,488.13 £89,774.15 £83,286.02 £101,625.69 £89,774.15 £101,625.69 £89,774.15 £450.00 £150.00 £6,028.72 £4,685.25 £107,204.41 £94,309.40 |
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CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLANO ANO WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trustees <ETCHfvN V ILLAqg HPILL On accounts for the year ended Charity no (If any) 1188973 Set out on pages R8sponslbllltle$ and basis of report Ag the chanly's trustees, you are responsible for the preparatlon of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 {'Ihe Act"). I report in respecl of my examln81ion of th8 Trust's accounts carried out under secllon 145 of the 2011 Act and In carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under sectlon 145{51{bl of the Act Independent I have completed my examination. I confirm Ihal no material matters have examlner's statemenl come lo my allenlion in connection wilh Ihe 6xaminalion lolher than that disclosed below ') which gives me cause to believ8 that in, any material respect.. the accountlng records wer6 not kept in accordance with seetlon 130 of the Charities Act; or the accounts did not aord with the accounting rècords., or the accounts did nol comply wlh the appllcable requirements concerning the fomi and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'lrue and fair, view which is nol a matter considered as part of an ind8pendenl examination I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection wlth the examlngtion to which attention should be drawn in Ihis report In order to enable a proper understandlng of the aGcounts lo be reached. Slgnod: Datè.. Nam•: Jo4AJ oRM7sTohJ 1<5 Relevant professlonal quallflcatlon(s) or body (If any): Address: /f/ 2/ 201 IER Oct 2018