Baxter Hall AGM 2023
It has been another busy year for the hall and it’s Trustees. The hall goes from strength to strength, with over 20 events in the past year among them Quiz nights, Craft Fair, Big Breakfasts, Devonairs, Hummingbirds, Torrington Silver Band, and of course the Coronation celebrations and many others. On the 21[st] August our constituency MP Sir Geoffrey Cox held a drop in surgery at the hall a number of issues were raised.
We have continued to improve the hall facilities, new heating controls, and of course the extension to the bar which has made it easier to operate and also improved access for the customers.
The new ceiling decorations are a delight and have the effect of lowering the ceiling. My thanks to Barbara and Carol for all their hard work in making the decorations. Sadly Megan resigned as a Trustee for personal reasons, she will be sorely missed, all the Trustees join with me to say thanks, for all her hard work and the fun that she brought to our meetings.
Ann Luxton also resigned as a Trustee in September and I know you also join with me in thanking her for her hard work and wise council. Not only this time around but the times before, I cannot imagine how many years in total. In March Les and Rachel joined as trustees and they hit the ground running getting involved with many activities and events. In July Hollie also joined as a trustee welcome Hollie.
Les has taken on the role of Deputy Treasurer which is a great support to Mike. He brings a wealth of business experience to this role.
The small groups continue to use the hall, art, craft, sewing and the Ladies Social Club.
Sadly the shop Baxter’s which had been a welcomed addition to the village amenities, closed on the 26[th] August. There was not enough support to sustain either the shop or cafe. We wish Fiona well in her next endeavour.
Club 78 has gone from strength to strength and is a firm fixture in the diary of villagers.
To my fellow Trustees a heartfelt thanks for all their hard work in keeping the hall functioning and providing fun events for the Village. Also for their unstinting support of me as Chairman. They are an amazing group of people and it is a privilege to have them as colleagues and friends. Last but not least a thanks to all the Villagers of Petrockstowe for your support, help and friendliness. Our village is truly special.
Baxter Hall AGM 2023 Treasurer’s Report
As at the end of the financial year, 31[st] March 2023, the accounts stood as follows:
The current account: £ 11,405.20 The reserve account: £ 25,090.18 Petty Cash: £ 441.89 Bar Float: £ 500.00 Total: £ 37,437.27
These are outwardly impressive sums. In February, I transferred just over £16,000 from the current account to the reserve account to take advantage of rising interest rates. This is reflected in the figures. The interest for the year was £52.64 as opposed to 0.87p for the whole of 2021/22. Much of the reserve account is ring fenced for emergencies and for building maintenance. The remainder, whilst forming a working capital, must be conserved as much as possible to ensure that the trustees can meet the inevitable increases in the hall running costs that are always there to haunt us.
Income:
There are only three reliable income streams for the Hall. They are from the hire of the hall by clubs or individuals; running events and profits from the bar, the last two being run volunteers willing to give up their time to provide a service to the village.
The total net income for the last financial year, (22/23) year was £14,207.89. In 2021/22, the figure was £12,853.76, an increase of just over £1300. However the 21/22 figure includes over £10,000 of Covid grants, whilst, (apart from a grant of a few hundred pounds to celebrate Her late Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee), all the income for this financial year is a product of the hard work of the volunteers.
The increased use of the hall shows in the income from hire fees, up from £951 in 21/22 to £3903 in 22/23. Additionally there have been more social events since we emerged from the Covid lockdowns, and in July 2022 we began to run Club 78. This has both generated income and provided an important village social hub. It’s important to note the hard work done by the crew running the bar as well as all the back room work such as ordering and collecting bar stock.
Expenditure:
This year, (2022/23) our expenditure, (not counting the cost of re-stocking the bar and paying for entertainment), came to £11474.82.
Some £4000 of this expenditure was generated by major works including painting the outside of the hall, extending the bar and fixing yet another leak in the roof. Remove that from the £11474.82 and one can see that the routine costs of utilities, general administration and routine maintenance remains close to £7500.
What has increased significantly is the cost of electricity which has doubled in unit cost and daily standing charge. Additionally there have been significant increases in the cost of insurance cover and licensing.
All in all the hall finances are in a healthy state and we are in a position to cover unforseen emergency costs.
Once again I would like to end by thanking the chairman and all my fellow trustees for their help and support over the last year.
M.Munro Hon Treasurer. 5[th] October 2023.