## **Galhampton Village Hall and Playing Field CIO Chairman’s Report for the period May 2022 – May 2023**
## **Thursday 21 September 2023**
This is my third report as Chairman of Galhampton Village Hall. During my tenure I have seen the Hall come out of a Pandemic, the great storm of 2022 where the village lost power for several days and the recent biblical floods of 2023. During all these events the Village Hall has remained central to village life.
The Pandemic allowed us the opportunity to revisit our Terms and Conditions and this in turn gave us the time to implement some restructuring. As a result, Galhampton Village Hall finds itself in an extremely healthy financial position with monies set aside for the future upkeep along with a minimum of three years running costs held in reserve.
Our most significant change has been the decision to move from a Charitable trust to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation or CIO. As a trust we were not legally permitted to hold legal title to land, so a recognised workaround was for four trustees of the committee to have the deeds in their names with an appointed custodian. In our case that custodian was of course the Parish Council. As a CIO we will be recognised as an incorporated body under law.
This will allow us to:
Directly hold the titles of the Hall and playing field without the need to use the PC as a custodian.
To enter into contracts in our own right.
Reduce the personal liabilities of the trustees.
Having completed the installation of new playing field equipment late in 2022 the Hall moved its focus to storage and our own self-sufficiency. We purchased a container which could be stored on site and this installation was completed with much planning advice and support from the late councillor Mike Lewis. We have also purchased several new items such as Generators, Gazebos, Lighting etc, all of which will allow us to hold many outdoor events without the need to beg, borrow or hire. It is, however, our intention to allow other Halls in the area and locals the opportunity to hire these at greatly reduced costs compared to local hire companies. To date we have generated £144 additional revenue for the Hall.
Since the pandemic we have seen a resurgence in Hall hirings, not only for village events but also several private hirings for parties, weddings and corporate events. These bookings along with our strong financial position have allowed us to freeze some planned price increases for the foreseeable future.
The committee have tried several new event ideas. The introduction of the Gentleman’s Breakfast Club has been well received, but not everything can be successful. Unfortunately, due to the poor English weather we had to cancel the planned summer music festival and we had planned to hold a beer festival at the end of September, but the Maths did not add up and we were not willing to risk a loss of several thousand-pound. We are in negotiations with several mobile catering
companies to come to the village a few evenings a year to sell takeaway style food such as pizza or fish and chips.
Now we are a CIO we don’t have to be purely focussed on the Hall. Therefore, the committee have been working closely with Highways and Crestmoor to Install Village signs on the A359, they are also planning to clean and where appropriate replace the speed signs and the marking of the bus stop. All this is in a hope of trying to improve awareness to traffic along the A359 as it passes the village.
The storms of 2022 and 2023 have made us consider the requirement for a “Disaster relief plan”. A low-key document which will have best practice ideas to ensure we not only protect the Hall but support any residents affected. As part of this plan, we have also recently invested in a flood defensive package.
Unfortunately, twice this year there has been a call to use the village defibrillator which is located at the church. Fortunately, on both occasions its use was not required. However, it did highlight that due to the linear layout of the village it may be prudent for a second device. Therefore, the committee will be funding the purchase of a second defibrillator which will be held here at the Hall.
The committee consists of 11 volunteers, but we are always looking for new people to come forward either as a full committee member or just to help as an associate member.
I would now like to take a few minutes to speak about each committee member.
Judy The exact date Judy joined the committee is lost in the mists of time, but it was in the early 90’s and she is currently one of the longest serving member having also spent a period as Chair. Judy is somewhat of an Oracle on all matters regarding the Hall. Her depth of knowledge on the building and its systems is invaluable and my job as Chair would certainly be harder without her alongside me. Judy also resides on the Finance sub-committee.
Ruth has lived in the Village 37 years and has been on the Committee for a lot of that time, she sits on the fund-raising sub-committee and assists in the kitchen at various events. Ruth is renowned for organising the village Christmas raffle. This is a monumental event which not only takes up a substantial period of her year but also most of her spare rooms. This event only costs the Hall about £32 but generates on average £1200 profit.
Fiona joined the committee in 1990, 33 years’ service to the village and in that time has only taken 1 year off. She maintains the bookings ensuring the Hall is open on time. Fiona liaises with those individuals interested in hiring the Hall, shows them round and ensures their requirements are met. Worthy of note are the recent wedding breakfast held in the Hall. These were a resounding success and would not have gone so well if it wasn’t for Fionas dedication and tenacity, her dedication was shown when she was seen getting rid of the cows that broke through the fence and gate crashed the party. Fiona is also the committee secretary managing both the agenda and minutes. She also sits on the fund-raising subcommittee and is regularly found in the kitchen,
After 46 years living in the village Sue moved a short distance away to Sparkford. However, she still chose to support Galhampton and last year joined the fund-raising sub-committee, she helps at the luncheon club as well as in the kitchen at the
various events. Sue did an amazing job organising the recent music festival which was only beaten by the weather.
Kerry’s family have resided in the village for over 64 years and Kerry was born and raised here. Whilst Kerry herself now lives locally, like Sue her allegiance remains with Galhampton, and she stepped forward to join the committee last year. Kerry has her own busy family life but still gives as much time as she can siting on the fundraising sub-committee and helping organise events.
Jenny joined the committee shortly after joining the village in 2016. She was pivotable in introducing several hugely successful fund-raising events such as the village calendar, burns night and of course how could I not mention the luncheon club. Jenny is at home in the kitchen and along with other members of the kitchen team should be commended for our 5-star rating from Somerset Health department. Jenny also resides on the fund-raising sub-committee. However, she doesn’t just spend her time in the Hall cooking, she also spends time with the stitching group where everyone is welcome to come along and have a cuppa.
Paul joined the committee when we still had the old hall. He is our lead caretaker leads our Maintenance sub-committee assisted by Brian and until recently Pete Sweetlove. Paul is responsible for making sure the hall is open in a clean and tidy condition when needed. He also maintains the equipment, ensuring such things as the fire extinguishers and electrical items are inspected and serviced IAW Government guidelines. Paul also runs our newly formed Hire shop. He organises our film nights and at events you will find him running the Bar. He also maintains the playing field, meeting with the inspectors to ensure the equipment is safe to be used by the youngsters of the village.
Along with the Hall, Paul produces the Welcome to Galhampton booklet for those people new to the village and delivers medication to those residents unable to get out and about.
Brian has been on the committee since February 2021. He assists with the maintenance, Caretaking and is our head gardener. Brian can be seen here most days cleaning inside and out, and our Hall would be a lesser place without him. He also supports table tennis, but his passion is with the short mat bowls team.
Pete has served on and off the committee since 1984, during this same period he was heavily involved in Party in the Park. It was of course this festival that generated the funds (£95K) for us to be able to have this wonderful facility. Once the hall was up and running, he switched to such projects as developing our new website and took on the role as committee Treasurer. He is renowned for being the MC at most village events and sits on the finance sub-committee and handles our annual licensing, insurances, charity agreements etc. Outside of the hall Pete handles the Excalibur magazine and runs the village email group.
Drew Joined the committee in September 2022 as apprentice Treasurer to Pete and given his background he agreed to manage out IT. Since then, he has built a new invoicing system, implemented online ticket purchases, invested in a second card reader, maintains our website so we no longer must outsource the work to contractors and worked closely with Pete dealing with our on-line banking system and as of July 23 he took full control as Hall treasurer. Drew is also a passionate chef and achieved level 2 food safety and hygiene for catering. This allows him to be head chef for the Gentleman’s Breakfast.
I must also mention those individuals that don’t reside on the committee but do still assist. Namely Dan and Ally Bradshaw who run our 200 club and Pete Sweetlove. Pete has assisted the caretaking team for many years and regularly helps with the cleaning, opening and closing of an evening. Unfortunately, Pete’s health has taken a decline and he can no longer assist. I would like to personally thank him for everything he has done over the years and wish him a speedy recovery.
So, what can you expect for next year. Firstly, we intend to plant a tree to celebrate the crowning of King Charles III. One of his favourite trees is the Indian Horse Chestnut Tree, but we must decide on an appropriate spot in the village. One thought has been to plant it in the location of the recently felled Willow near the Church, but we do of course welcome any alternative suggestions.
We are undertaking a landscaping programme in the garden. This will commence in October with an expansion to our current patio area. We are also planning to continue to build on our current success with the aim of the Hall being run totally selfsufficient. However, we could be considered victims of our own success. With the Hall becomes busier throughout the day, means that the committee members must dedicate more time in ensuring the Hall is prepared and cleaned. Therefore, due to the amounts of money held in reserve we will be looking at reducing our fund-raising commitments to a minimum. That said any villager is welcome to organise an event. If this is the case, you will receive the full support of the committee to help make it successful.
The money held in reserve is your money so, we will also be looking at distributing to all residents a survey, the aim of which is to identify what type of activities/events you would wish to be laid on.
Unfortunately, none of us are getting any younger and the majority of members have been serving the community for a considerable number of years. We therefore need some help on a day-to-day basis to help with maintain the facility. This can be in the form of full committee members or associate committee members willing to give a couple of hours a week in assisting with the likes of opening, cleaning, closing etc.
I would like to finish by thanking the both the committee members and residents of Galhampton for their continued support. A village is just a group of houses but it is the people that make it a community.
That concludes my report for this year so will now happily take any questions.
|**1 **
**2 **
**3 **
**4 **
**5 **|**Glht Vill Hll At**|**2022/23**||**2021/22**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**aampon age a ccouns**
**2022-23**|**Net**
**Amount**
**£**
**8,417**
(11,763)||**Net**
**Amount**
**£**
**4,534**
(10,924)|
||**Hall hire inc clubs**
**Running Costs**||||
||**Surplus/(Deficit) on hall hire**|**(3,346)**||**(6,390)**|
||**Fund Raising**
**Grants, Donations & Asset Sale:**
Covid-19
Parish grants
Donations
Asset sale
Interest received
Community Fund
Total
**Exceptional Items**|**8,075**||**6,128**|
|||0
1,648
10,317
0
1,404
0||11,917
1,613
87
1,700
200
1,300|
|||**13,369**
(83,348)||**16,817**
(1,988)|
||**Surplus/(Deficit) for Year**|**(65,250)**||**14,567**|
||Funds opening balance|151,897||137,330|
||Funds closing balance|**86,647**||**151,897**|
||Bank & deposit accounts
Cash
Bar stock
Total
Restricted funds in above
_check_||||
|||86,201
358
88||151,722
0
175|
|||**86,647**
1,300
_0.00_
_0.00_||**151,897**|
|||||8,298
_0.00_
_0.00_|
Signed as accurate by Tony Saffer, independent examiner
I have examined the annual accounts for charity 277622 for the 2022/23 year and found them to be an accurate representation.
Tony Saffer