Newton on the Moor Jubilee Hall Charity Number: 1193440
## **Table of Contents**
_**2. Structure, governance and management (Section 7.2 of guidance)........3 3. Objectives and activities (Sections 7.3 and 7.7 of guidance)....................4**_ **3.1 Charitable objects.................................................................................................4 3.2 Strategy framing and activities...........................................................................4** _**4. Achievements and Performance (Section 7.4 of guidance).......................6 5. Our plans for future periods.....................................................................17 7. Conclusion and sign off.............................................................................22**_ **7.1 Summary..............................................................................................................22** _**Appendix: Accounts for period 1/4/2025 – 31/3/2026.....................................23**_
Charity 1193440
**1**
## 1. Introduction and Charity Details _**(Section 7.1 of guidance)**_
The trustees of Newton on the Moor Jubilee Hall have great pleasure in presenting our annual report for the year ended 31/3/26, which has been prepared in accordance with Charity Commission Guidance[1] . To assist the reader, we have indicated in our report in brackets where we are making required legal disclosures.
Located in the middle of the village of Newton on the Moor, the village hall is a Grade II 17 - 19th century building comprising the main hall, a reading room, a kitchen, and associated facilities. The property is leased to a charitable organisation “Newton on the Moor Jubilee Hall”, charity number 1193440. This is run for the benefit of the community by unpaid trustees and volunteers.
Our postal address is Jubilee Hall, Newton on the Moor, Morpeth, NE65 9JY. This is our principal office. We can be contacted at notmjubileehall@yahoo.com.
Online, we can be found at: https://northumberlandvillagehalls.org.uk/newton-on-themoor-jubilee-hall and on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/notmvillagehall.
At the time of preparing this report, we had the following trustees: Alison Cowen, David Arkieson, Greg Anderson, Judy Williams, Tim Woodhorn and Alison Gibson.
In this report, we will present a summary of how we are structured and governed, what we have achieved this year, and what we plan to do in future. We are also presenting a review of our finances, in accordance with legal requirements and our desire to operate transparently within our community.
> 1 Charity Commission webpage accessed 25/5/2025
> https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charity-reporting-and-accounting-the-essentialsnovember-2016-cc15d/charity-reporting-and-accounting-the-essentials-november-2016cc15d--2#section4
Charity 1193440
**2**
## _**2.**_ Structure, governance and management _**(Section**_
## _**7.2 of guidance)**_
Newton on the Moor Jubilee Hall is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (“CIO”) registered in 2021. We are governed and managed by our founding constitution, in accordance with the requirements of UK law.
Management decisions are made by the trustees, who meet regularly and publish - the minutes of meetings online at: https://northumberlandvillagehalls.org.uk/newton on-the-moor-jubilee-hall/documents.
As a CIO, we maintain accounting records, and we prepare our accounts on a receipts and payments basis. While no external scrutiny of our accounts is mandated by law, the trustees believe it is good practice for this to be done. Accordingly, the accounts were reviewed by David Cant, a retired ACCA accountant, and no issues were identified. These accounts are included in an Appendix to this report.
Charity 1193440
**3**
## 3. Objectives and activities _**(Sections 7.3 and 7.7 of guidance)**_
## 3.1 Charitable objects
Our objects were defined when we registered as a CIO with the Charity Commission as:
“…to establish and run a village hall and to promote for the benefit of the inhabitants of newton on the moor within the parish of Newton on the Moor and Swarland 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.”
## 3.2 Strategy framing and activities
In the course of last year, we developed a strategy framing to guide us in achieving our objects and in discharging our obligation to deliver public benefit. Over the course of the year, we used this strategy framing to guide our activities, to measure our progress, and to identify the actions we intend to take in financial year 20262027.
## _**Our Vision**_
We aim to be:
- A resource for the community of Newton on the Moor, surrounding areas, and the wider society, where community members can gather for recreation, socialisation, entertainment, and general wellbeing
- A hub for residents to access support in the event of local emergencies
- Here in 100 years’ time to meet the needs of future generations
## _**Our Mission (Our activities)**_
Here is what we will do:
- M1 Provide a safe, well-presented and clean, warm, and welcoming space
- M2 Equip the hall with modern amenities
Charity 1193440
**4**
- M3 Develop and deliver a program of events and activities to meet the needs of the community for socialising and entertainment, and to promote health and well-being
- M4 Be available to rent for community groups at the lowest possible cost
- M5 Marshal and manage resources and funding to maintain the hall, cover its operating costs, and secure its future
- M6 Discharge our responsibilities under the terms of the lease held on the hall
- M7 Anticipate, and plan for, future factors that will impact operations
## _**Our Values**_
These are the principles we will apply as we carry out our mission:
- V1 Openness and accountability: the trustees will disclose how our funds are raised and spent, and publish our meeting minutes.
- V2 Focus on mission: the trustees will apply our efforts and resources to delivering our mission
- V3 Efficient use of resources: the trustees will aim to achieve the highest possible social impact with the available resources
- V4 Being cost efficient: trustees will use volunteer labour where possible to minimise expenditure, and reduce energy usage and costs.
Charity 1193440
**5**
## 4. Achievements and Performance _**(Section 7.4 of guidance)**_
The last financial year has been another busy one, and our focus once again has been on upgrading our facilities, and our charity management and governance.
In our 2025 Trustees’ Annual Report, we identified ten set of actions to support our overall mission and we have summarised our progress on each of these below:
1. Actions needed to achieve Hallmark status
The hall was awarded Level 1 Hallmark status by Community Action Northumberland (‘CAN’) in October 2025. Level 1 recognises that we meet contemporary standards for management and administration of our charity. Shortly thereafter, in January 2026, we were awarded Level 2 Hallmark, indicating that we are compliant with health, safety, security and licencing requirements. The Hallmark programme is nationally recognised, and our awards signal to users of the hall, and to potential funders, that we are trustworthy and well-run.
2. Actions needed to achieve Warmhub status
We were awarded Warmhub status on November 6[th] , 2025 by CAN. This is a recognition of our role in within the local community where people can be assured of finding a safe, warm and friendly environment in which to enjoy refreshments, social activity, information and advice, and the company of other people. The programme is run by CAN, and as part of our application, we undertook an accessibility review. This highlighted issues with signage, lighting, getting through our front door, and our existing chairs. We installed new signage and lighting in the passage to the Reading Room. Front door access and our chairs were addressed by applying for a grant to fund a selection of projects to improve accessibility (see below.)
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Charity 1193440
**----- End of picture text -----**
_**Our main door, decorated for Christmas, showing the new signage**_
**6**
3. Conduct Warmhub energy efficiency review
We conducted an energy efficiency review. This highlighted minor changes, such as the need for energy efficient light bulbs and to install reflectors behind radiators to conserve heat. It also recommended installation of a “smart” heating controller and we have applied for, and been awarded, a grant from the Parish Council to install this. This new system will enable us to run our heating as efficiently as possible.
## 4. Solar Panel feasibility study
Northumberland Community Energy Ltd (“NCEL”) conducted a feasibility study and then prepared and submitted a planning application to install solar panels on the side of the hall roof, and to install batteries for electricity storage. This proposal would reduce our carbon footprint, reduce our electricity bill, and provide some resilience in the event of a power cut at the hall or in the village. Several people objected, and it was rejected on aesthetic grounds by the Council on March 17[th] , 2026.
The trustees reviewed the rejection and re-affirmed their commitment to the project. In addition to the existing arguments, the hall, like all other energy users, has experienced volatility in its energy prices because of world events. It is likely that this volatility will continue for the foreseeable future, and the hall is likely to be changing its energy usage mix in future. Our existing gas boilers which provide hot water and heating will need to replaced soon, as they are 14 years old. Further, we are actively considering removing the radiators in the Reading Room because they have damaged and will continue to damage our rare Georgian panelling. The trustees are considering electrical options to heat this room, which will be underfloor or at a low level in the Reading Room.
The trustees have worked with NCEL to revise and resubmit their proposal, with the solar panels now being on the rear face of the roof, so will not be visible from the road which runs through the village.
Charity 1193440
**7**
5. Update and sign new lease
We worked with the Baker-Cresswell family, who own the hall building, to agree the terms of a new lease. A new lease agreement consistent with contemporary legal framework was prepared by our lawyers, and is awaiting signature by representatives of the family.
6. Repaint hall ceiling
We had the main hall ceiling repainted in May 2025.
Charity 1193440
**8**
7. Refresh toilets, paint entrance and door in Reading Room
We applied for and were awarded funding to repaint the toilets and entrance hall as part of our National Lottery Community Fund grant (see below). The work has been awarded to a local contractor and is scheduled to be carried out in July 2026.
The trustees reviewed the overall condition of the Reading Room (including the door) over the course of the year. In addition to the paintwork on the door, significant condition issues were noted:
- A patch of damp in the outer wall was noticed which had rotted the floorboards and joists in one of the bay windows. The root cause of this was the gravel having been piled up too high on the outer wall when the landscaping outside was done. A decision was made to pull back the gravel, improve underfloor ventilation and repair the floor.
- The rare and historic Georgian panelling the Reading room has warped because of the heat produced by the modern radiators which were installed in 2014. This has caused paint to blister and peel, and the panelling continues to deteriorate.
The trustees have identified solutions to mitigate further damage caused by the radiators, which in the short term will involve installing radiator shelves to direct hot air from the radiators away from the panelling and into the centre of the room. Longer term, the trustees are considering removing the radiators from this room and installing either underfloor heating, or low-level electric heaters. This approach to heating would be more in keeping with the Georgian character of the room, and prevent further damage. This would mean that our electricity usage will increase as we use less gas for heating purposes.
## 8. Evaluate feasibility of becoming a Community Response Hub
We participated in meetings with the Parish Council, who were tasked with producing an overall emergency plan for both our village and Swarland. However, the Parish Councillor who was leading the effort resigned, an interim leader was announced but no further communication from the Parish Council on this topic has been received. We await further communications on the development of the plan.
9. Develop a plan for wildlife at our location
Charity 1193440
**9**
We have begun work on a plan for the street facing frontage of the hall. We have received input from SNAC, and are considering a low-maintenance gravel planting in the courtyard and purchasing new furniture to enhance the amenity of the space for the village. We have been notified that we are to expect a significant legacy from the former trustee, and will use this to fund this project.
Charity 1193440
**10**
10.Develop measurement framework (efficiency & impact) for our CIO
We sought advice from CAN on practices at other halls, and researched relevant academic and sector-specific best practices. This remains an open item, to be completed in 2026-2027. Many grant funders require projects to be able to measure results and demonstrate social impact, so this will be an important capability for us to develop as we look for funding in future.
We have summarised our key achievements for 2025-2026 below against our agreed mission:
## _**1. Space and Amenities Provision**_
We painted the main hall ceiling. We purchased a small projector and screen and made them available to hall users free of charge.
At our 2025 AGM, we received a request from a hall user to consider installing a hearing loop to benefit hearing aid users. Our accessibility review for the Warm Hub award highlighted that our chairs were difficult to rise from for those with mobility issues. Access to our main door is level for wheelchair users, but actually getting through the door was difficult. Comments and feedback from other users confirmed that people in wheelchairs or with mobility issues found our door difficult. We therefore identified the need to upgrade our building and furniture to be consistent with modern building standards and contemporary expectations for accessibility.
We applied for, and were awarded, £7,683 from the National Lottery Community Fund to install a hearing loop and an automatic door opener, to purchase some chairs with arms, and to make good the decoration in the entrance hall and toilets after the installation work was complete. The hearing loop has been installed and linked to our PA system, the door opener has been fitted and tested, the new chairs were custom made to match our existing set, and the redecoration work will take place in July 2026.
Charity 1193440
**11**
We publicised the grant award to raise the profile of the hall, and hosted a visit from our local MP in connection with the grant. This was reported in the Northumberland Gazette. (see
https://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/news/people/newton-on-the-moorjubilee-hall-celebrates-national-lottery-funding-6026241 and - https://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/news/politics/north northumberland-mp-celebrates-funding-boost-at-flm-famous-villagehall-8554566.)
_**David Smith, MP for North Northumberland, meeting trustees and users of the hall**_
## _**2. Events and Activities**_
We held twelve coffee mornings for the community in this financial year, many with seasonal themes. We have continued to publish event details on Facebook, in ‘The Column’ parish newsletter, and via a quarterly email.
_**Trustees and volunteers ready for action before the Christmas coffee morning**_
Charity 1193440
**12**
_**Our coffee mornings average an attendance of 50-55 people from the village, Swarland and further afield, and remain a source of significant**_ . _**financial support for the hall**_
We ran raffles at Christmas and in the spring to generate additional funds, and our plant sale at the April coffee morning was our most successful ever.
We continued to host the Digital Champion at some coffee mornings to support local residents with their IT.
We hosted the carpet bowls club, music groups (Northumbrian pipes, fiddle players, French music), a village book group, acts of religious worship, meetings of the Parish Council and its Planning subgroup, a church tea, community parties and funerals, and community meetings.
In honour of the 80[th] anniversary of the end of World War II, Northumberland Archives gave a talk on plans for the defence of Northumberland in our hall, and we hosted our own history talk about the connections the hall has to the breaking of the Enigma code and the stories of local families during the conflict.
The trustees ran a series of social events for the village including a horticulture talk, a gin tasting, a wine tasting, a cheese tasting, and a willow weaving workshop. Over the winter, we trialled a monthly weekday soup lunch and games event, but these were not well supported.
Charity 1193440
**13**
_**Learning about horticulture….**_
## _**…tasting local gin….**_
_**…and hearing the story of the capture of the Enigma machine**_
Charity 1193440
**14**
## _**3. Community venue**_
We continued to be available to rent at a fee of £15/hour for the whole building, and £12.50/hour for the Reading Room and kitchen. This yielded an income of £3,315 in the financial year ended 31/3/2026, up from £2,404 in 20242025 representing a 37.9% increase.
We only recently transitioned to using an online booking calendar from a paper one, and the current system limits our ability to track historical data to a 12 month rolling period. Over the period 1/6/2025 to 31/5/2026, which is the most recent period we are able to report on, we were in use for 373 hours.
Since compiling our last report, we have attracted new users to the hall, in the form of a village book group, and Age UK who use us as a venue to meet carers in the community. We will continue to promote the hall, and assist users with their publicity and marketing via our growing Facebook following.
## 4. _**Resources and funding**_
We met to review progress against the 2025-2026 business plan. We created a 2026-2027 business plan, and set budgets for next financial year.
We agreed to increase our financial reserves to £12,000 as a provision against future risks, and likely expenditures. Our two gas boilers, which provide hot water and central heating, are 14 years old and will shortly be reaching the end of their useful lives. We have increased our financial reserves to fund their replacement. This reserve is to be held in an interest-bearing account to mitigate the effects of inflation.
The hall is run by a small group of trustees and volunteers, which creates challenges in running events in the case of absences and sickness. It also results in a small number of people shouldering the burden of the administering the CIO. This year, we sought to increase the number of volunteers by advertising for help on Facebook, in ‘The Column’ parish newsletter, and by word of mouth. However, these efforts were largely unsuccessful, meaning that our resource pool remains small, and the challenges of running the hall at its current level of activity remain. The trustees will be looking at options to increase the efficiency of our operations by upgrading our systems and streamlining our processes.
.
Charity 1193440
**15**
Charity 1193440
16
## 5.Our plans for future periods
As a small group of volunteers and trustees, we met to discuss our plans for the next financial year to meet our charitable objects and deliver on our mission. We agreed a short list of priority actions which we plan to carry out before 31/3/2027:
1. Complete new lease
2. Complete accessibility upgrade (National Lottery Community Fund grant)
3. Complete plan for wildlife
4. Measurement framework implementation
5. New curtains throughout hall
6. Install smart HIVE heating management and screen for hall
7. Kitchen extractor vent
8. Solar panels implementation (pending planning approval)
9. Scope, plan and secure funding for a refurbishment of Reading Room and all wooden floors (including main hall)
10. Add radiator shelves to prevent heat escaping
Actions 1-4 are brought forward from last year’s plan. Item 1 brings our lease into compliance with modern legal frameworks. Actions 2 and 3 develop our hall amenities. Action 4 provides a basis for measuring our performance and is a pre-requisite for applying for grants from some funders.
Action 5 firstly addresses a health and safety concern. As a public building, we are legally required to have fire-proof curtains. Our current curtains are not labelled as fire-proof (and their linings ‘melted’ during a 40[o] C wash) so we believe this is urgent priority. Secondly, our current curtains are not sensitive to the needs of people with dementia, as there is no colour contrast with the walls. Thirdly, our Reading Room has functional Georgian shutters to exclude light, and the current curtains are not in keeping with window treatments of the period.
Action 6 will enable us to manage our energy usage remotely, and the addition of a large screen will allow us potentially to host screened events in the main hall. We have applied for and been awarded funding from the Parish Council for this.
Charity 1193440
**17**
Action 7 will allow the extractor hood in the kitchen to be run safely and vent to the outside. This will make it more comfortable to work in the kitchen and support expanded use of our facilities.
Action 8 should help insulate the hall from future energy price shocks, reduce our carbon footprint, and reduce our bills. It also supports a potential transition away from using gas for heating.
Action 9 addresses both the condition issues in the Reading Room and with the main hall floor. It also affords the opportunity to conserve historically significant building fixtures, to remove elements of the Reading Room which are not consistent with the Georgian period (the modern radiators, the nonopening windows and wooden floorboards from the mid 20[th] century) and to complete the restoration of Georgian elements (the fireplace surround). Such a renovation would enhance the appearance of the space, as well its potential for rental as a party venue.
Action 10 is a short-term measure which mitigates the damage being done to the Reading Room panelling by the radiators and helps re-direct warm air away from exterior walls to conserve energy.
Charity 1193440
**18**
## 6. Financial Review _**(Section 7.5 of guidance)**_
In the financial year 1/4/2025 – 30/3/2026, we received £16,288.72 in income, and our expenditure was £11,532.68. Overall, we generated a surplus of £4,756.04. As at 31/3/2026, our assets comprised £24,137.33 in cash. An audited copy of our accounts is presented in the Appendix to this report, and a breakdown of our receipts and payments is presented below, together with a comparison to the previous financial year.
Figure 1: Receipts and Payments with prior year comparison
As a CIO, our financial goal is to cover the costs of our activities, and we are not seeking to make a ‘profit’ as such.
Our largest sources of income were grants and donations £7,933.00, coffee mornings £3,333.62, and hall hire £3,315.00. Whereas last year’s grants and donations included £8,000 for filming at the hall, as expected, this has not been repeated this year. We did, however, receive a grant of £7,683 from the National Lottery Community Fund and this makes up the largest portion of this year’s grants and donations. We did not receive a grant from the Parish Council this year, as we did (for £2000) in the previous year. Pleasingly, our monthly coffee morning receipts have grown by 7.4% to £3,333.62, indicating a good continuing level of support from the local community who attend these. The trustees ran a series of other social events for the first time this year, which increased our events income by 426.2%. Our income from hall hire increased by 37.9%, due to having attracted new users and an increased level of bookings.
Charity 1193440
**19**
Overall expenses decreased by 13.8% this year. Once again, our largest expense was on building maintenance and this year’s figure of £7,619.94 includes the grant money we spent on the hearing loop, the automatic door opener, and new chairs. We also painted the ceiling in the hall, and undertook roof repairs to rectify a water leak. Our gas expenditure has reduced by 75.6% year on year, but this reflects additional and exceptional usage by the film crew in 2025, having built up a credit with our old supplier, and changes in the timing of payments as we transitioned to a new supplier. Our conservation measures for water and electricity have allowed us to contain and reduce our payments for these, even as hall usage has increased this year. Similarly, our supplies expenditure has not increased with our usage. Our insurance payment increased by 17.8% from last year as we were required to pay for a valuation for the hall buildings. However, our Level 1 and 2 Hallmark awards will qualify us for a discount in future years. Our cleaner increased her hourly rate significantly this year, resulting in 21.3% increase in cleaning costs. Trustees confirmed that this current rate is in line with the local market for cleaning services.
As at 31/3/2025, the CIO has no outstanding guarantees and has no debt ( _**Section 4.5 of guidance).**_
The trustees maintain cash reserves for the hall, and have increased to £4,500 the reserve for future projects this year in recognition that our gas boilers will need to be replaced in the short to medium term:
||**£**|**Purpose**|
|---|---|---|
|1. Emergency reserve|1,000|To cover unexpected expenses for|
|||items requiring immediate attention|
|2. Income interruption|5,500|As a safeguard against having to|
|reserve||shutter the hall for a period (such as|
|||we did during Covid). To be used in|
|||the event we have no income but still|
|||need to cover hall costs|
|3. Reserve for future|4,500|To cover capital expenses which may|
|projects||reasonably be expected in next 5|
|||years (new heating system when our|
|||14-year-old boilers fail)|
|4. Operating reserve|1,000|To cover timing diferences in case|
|(Reserve for cash||income is delayed or unpredictable.|
|fuctuations)|||
Charity 1193440
**20**
Total reserves to 12,000 be held
We will be reviewing our reserves on an annual basis to ensure they are appropriate to the emerging risks and our anticipated needs.
Charity 1193440
**21**
## 7. Conclusion and sign off
## 7.1 Summary
Our activities this year have been focussed on upgrading our hall facilities to bring them into compliance with contemporary expectations about what village hall ought to be in 2025. We have sought and received recognition for our achievements in upgrading our governance, and have been recognised with a grant to upgrade our accessibility.
We believe we have made significant progress this year in promoting the hall to increase its usage. We have ambitious plans for enhancing our venue as a place for the community to meet, socialise, and gather for recreation. We are also mindful of our role as stewards of a historical building at the heart of the village. We will, however, need to review what is realistically possible with our current level of trustee and volunteer resources, and seek ways to streamline our operations.
## 7.2 Required legal statement on Public Benefit _**(Section 7.7 of guidance)**_
The trustees also confirm that they have complied with their legal duty with regards to public benefit, as defined by the Charity Commission, in the discharge of their duties.
Signed on 06/07/2026
Alison Gibson, Chair of trustees
Charity 1193440
**22**
Appendix: Accounts for period 1/4/2025 – 31/3/2026
Charity 1193440
**23**