Guilden Sutton Community Association Registered Charity Number 120175 Chair Re ort-villa e Hall AGM 2024 In my experience, a Chairman's Report, well-meaning though it might be, is usually the most grindingly boring of all the obligatory constitutional fixtures with its self-satisfied repetitious speeches, hard chairs, and defiantly polite applause. Well......you've been warned! As a new Executive Committee, we spent some time in agreeing where we are now, what we want to achieve in the next three years, what our focus should be and how we might work together. We are all absolutely clear that we want to be a "can do" organisation. Thanks to Sarah Jessop who continues to facilitate our thinking. Every community has a wealth of different experiences within it. It's a myriad of voluntary organisations, statutory services, local groups and people who deliver. We've spent some time identifying these people, trying to help see the connections, building on strength and taking a holistic view. In theory, that should make all our efforts more effective. One of the things that really underpins how we work together is a sense of common purpose. We've shared leadership and responsibility and we've taken time to communicate and involve each other. From the start, we put some things in place aimed at ensuring some decisions would be long lasting. Most obvious of these is the new CIO Constitution which was approved in 2023. We expect to complete the process by merging the new charity with the old charity in the next month or so. We all know that sometimes, there's a tendency to over think a problem, to delay a decision, to put things off and to over consult without any end product. Replacing the Village Hall roof is a good example. For some years, trustees have deliberated over replacing a leaking roof. We now have buckets under the eaves trying to catch rainwater, not always successfully. In the last 12 months, we've twice repaired the Community Room ceiling because of water damage. At this point, I'd like to thank Peter Evans and Brian Lewin who have both spent much time scrabbling around on their knees in the eves trying to identify sources of leaks, and emptying buckets! This summer, the roof will be replaced, and solar panels added. We are grateful to Cheshire Community Action for facilitating a grant towards the cost of the solar panels and adding insulation. Matthew Peacock has led this major project, and we're very grateful for his leadership and expertise.1t Unsurprisingly, in our first year, we have focused on other key major Village Hall maintenance issues. New heaters have been installed in the Hall and water heaters in the kitchen and Marigold Room. You may have noticed a raft of other minor improvements including the more organised appearance of the foyer with the renovated Wall Hanging and refurbished Bowls Box. Thanks to Vivian Downing, Brian Lewin and other people Matthew Peacock, the Hall is now looking much more cared for and loved. We've also made improvements to the car park and land surrounding the Village Hall Including: A new 5 mph car park and children warning signage, New grounds maintenance contract to make sure the carpark is weed free. New Grit Box for Hall Users New Salusand storage cabinet, jointly with the Parish Council, for community use. Community events such as The Village quiz have returned, and The Happening at the Hall show-cased hall user activities. Look out for the Art Exhibition and Pop-up café in the Village th th Hall to be held on 15 and 16 June. Primary school children will also exhibit their own work. We have had continuing demand for hiring of the Village Hall for life events like birthdays, family celebrations. This has been in parallel with our portfolio of regular Hall Users. We welcomed the formation of two new community groups this year, The Village Choir and Ukelele group thanks to Sarah Jessop. We thank all our hirers for their continued support. I'd like to thank our Booking secretary Stephanie Pinder whose efforts ensure the hall is a successful community asset. The Marigold Magazine, our website and Facebook pages, are edited and maintained by Brian Lewin. He keeps our growing membership informed about forthcoming events as well as contact details of the various user groups and much more. We'd also like to extend a special thanks to Evelyn Batterham who has maintained our day to day Village Hall accounts over so many years. The Community Association supports the Village Fete and Christmas lights events, both of which were hugely successful in their own right. On behalf of the Community Association, I would like to place on record our thanks and appreciation to the committees and other volunteers that give up so much of their time to help make these showpiece events such a success. I'd like to thank all the Executive Committee members for their great efforts this year. A special thanks to Sarah Connolly who has carried out a marvellous job as treasurer in producing our accounts and helping with the financial transition from the old charity to the CIO. Also a huge thankyou to Peter Evans who is the beating heart of the Village Hall. He does so much unseen work attending to heating, lighting and maintenance issues. So, 2023124 was a year of major change for the Community Association. As Chair, I've made mistakes and, as Derek knows, feedbacklcomplaints go with the job. At times I've blundered about like a bull on sawdust with the picadors galloping around me sticking in their horrid barbs. It's a steep learning cuprfe. It's worth saying that the CIO frees up the Community Association to be more ambitious and look beyond the Village Hall in responding to community needs. Issues such as wellbeing and environmental sustainability are on our agenda. Finally, we want to listen and involve people in what we do and how we do it. We'd like more and more volunteers to help and support the Community Association with their enthusiasm and expertise at our various events and activities. If you feel you can or want to help, then please contact any trustee. You don't have to be a Trustee. I remember my father saying to me: In twenty years, time you'll be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than the things you did do. Maybe you are thinking, What if we can't? I say to you, What if we don't? Thank you for listening. Robin Norrie ## **GUILDEN SUTTON COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION CIO** ## **Registered Charity number 1201751** ## **BALANCE SHEET AT 31 DECEMBER 2023** **----- Start of picture text -----**
At
31/12/2023
Note £ £
Fixed Assets 3
Cost 133,777
Less grant received (4,000)
Depreciation (121,222)
Net Book Value 8,555
Current Assets
Bank & Cash
Natwest Current 10,757
Natwest Savings 38,322
Santander Current 7,760
Santander Savings 70,881
Fete Account 7,175
Cash 74
134,969
Debtors 3,377
3,377
Current Liabilities
Creditors 72
Provision for fete activities 7,175
7,247
Net assets 139,654
Reserves
Brought Forward at 01/01/2023
Cash transferred from Association in period to 31 May
2023 46,350
Association reserves at 31 May 2023 introduced to CIO 107,566
Surplus/(Deficit) for period (14,262)
139,654
**----- End of picture text -----**
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