Trustees' Annual Report for the year 1[st] May 2024 – 30[th] April 2025
Fontmell Magna Village Hall (1204403)
Funding
As at the end of the financial year 1[st] May 2024 – 30[th] April 2025, the charity had funds totalling £39,249.85. Last year the funds totalled £42,647.71.
This year we continued to keep the s.106 developer contributions separate from the charity’s invested funds. We currently hold an s.106 maintenance grant for repairs/improvements to the playground equipment which now stands at £11,600.17.
It is the strategy of the Committee, as Trustees, to manage the revenue budget on a selffinancing basis. Once again, the financial contributions made by users of the hall did not cover the running costs this year which is why the grants and donations remain essential.
In 2023 Trustees voted to increase hire fees from September 2023 to £16 an hour with a discounted price of £11.50 an hour to those living in the Parish of Fontmell Magna. From January this year Trustees agreed to charge an additional cost for the use of all the large kitchen appliances, the full sound system and projector. Total Village Hall income for 2024/25 was £15,426.12 an increase of £852.91 on last year’s income. However, the income from hall hire increased from £8,501.71 in 2023/24 to £10,760.22 for (2024/25) an increase of £2,258.51 reflecting increased bookings during this financial year and the benefit of raising hiring fees.
The remainder of the total hall income of £15,426.12 is made up from interest earned on investment accounts, grants, donations and from fundraising events. Our policy of running additional fundraising events will continue during 2025/26 to ensure that the hall is well funded.
The cost of running the Hall was £19,473.58 an increase of £2,689.79 on last year, which reflects the continued increase in caretaking, inspection and maintenance costs. Once again, this increase was not covered by income creating a loss to the Village Hall of £4,047.46 which, once again, will have to be found from the Reserve Funds.
The PV panels generated £1,002.16, a small decrease on last year and the aim of the Committee is to invest in battery storage and additional PV panels later this year if funds allow.
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Cash & Investment Funds
Restricted Funds
| Lloyds TSB Current Account Lloyds TSB Deposit Account Cash in Hand Ecology Building Society COIF Investment Fund COIF Fixed Interest Fund |
£6,921.42 £10.26 £732.21 £9,846.19 £14,246.13 £7,493.64 |
|---|---|
| £39,249.85 |
| Funds less restricted funds Less s106 funds Available funds |
£12,749.49 £0.00 |
£5,200.00 Car Park Fund £3,475.61 FFG £4,745.66 Tennis Court £11,600.17 Play Area Maint. £1,478.92 FCS Warm Hubs £26,500.36 |
|---|---|---|
| £12,749.49 |
| Reserve Funds in case of loss of income | Reserve Funds in case of loss of income | |
|---|---|---|
| Excess Funds | ||
| Reserve 6 months | £7,500.00 | £5,429.49 |
| Reserve 12 months | £15,000.00 | -£2,250.51 |
| Grants received 2020/21 | £17,431.00 DC | |
| Grants received 2021/22 | £3,459.00 DC | |
| Grants received 2022/23 | £3,181.35 DC, FM PC, Misc | |
| Grants received 2023/24 | £892.69 FM PC | |
| Grants received 2024/25 | 2,000.00 FM PC | |
| £26,964.04 |
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As shown in the table above, the current Available Funds stand at £12,749.49. It is our policy to keep in the Reserve Fund enough money to cover at least 6 months of hall maintenance and running costs in case of a loss of income.
The Restricted Fund monies total £26,500.36. This seems a large increase on last year but is due to the s106 money for playground repairs and inspections being moved into the restricted fund for the Play Area where it is safely ringfenced for the future. The remaining funds from the FCS Warm Hub enabled the Coffee Morning with Soup Lunch to go ahead this Winter. The Friendship Garden remains in a good financial position going into next year with fundraising events planned. The tennis court was resurfaced and upgraded this year thanks to s.106 developer contributions and income from hire remains steady.
Dick Stainer, Treasurer
Village Hall
The past year at the Village Hall has been a busy year with fewer visible changes and upgrades.
We have successfully converted the charity to a CIO (Charitable Incorporated Organisation) upon the advice of the Charity Commission. This involved a huge amount of work from Dick and Lisa preparing much of the paperwork before we engaged a solicitor to finalise the paperwork and complete the application. Part of this process involved us registering some of the Village Hall land with the Land Registry for the first time and finding originals of all the charity paperwork. Going forward this now gives better protection to the current and future Trustees and allows the charity to own property and land.
Another mammoth task undertaken this year was passing the high standards required to be accredited with Hallmark 1 and Hallmark 2. The Hallmark Quality Standard is a nationally recognised scheme for assessing the quality of community buildings and village halls. It aims to improve the management and operations of these facilities. It focuses on ensuring the hall complies with relevant laws and regulations including, health and safety, licensing, maintenance and security. We may yet have to do more once we receive further clarity on the implications of Martyn’s Law for our larger events. We are really thankful to Lisa who was amazing, updating ALL our policy and procedures to get us through. We can now proudly display the certificates and logos in the hall and website.
Some of you may have noticed the new bookings calendar on our website. We have purchased some booking software, Hallmaster, which has greatly helped the process of auto-generated invoicing for our Treasurer. Our caretaker and regular users and outside enquiries are all able to see what is happening or available in real-time. We have some fine tuning to do to make it help Siân as well.
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We have also undertaken the refurbishment of the tennis court as part of our committed expenditure with the S106 money. It was closed briefly for surface painting but is now back in play. We hope to see our regular players back and we would be grateful if you could spread the word about our smart new court. We are the only pay and play court in the area. No membership to a club is required to use it.
Andrew has taken on responsibility for overseeing the hall checks and maintenance of the hall and grounds. He is doing a superb job, liaising with Tashy Harris over the playground, and quietly making sure everything is compliant, fixed and working. We have had one significant maintenance expenditure this year, the repair and upgrade of the sewage treatment plant.
Sue Chippington has joined the team this year as an administrator for the Trustees. Her minute taking and organisational skills are fantastic. This has allowed Lisa to give up some of her workload in preparation for her retirement as a Trustee later this year.
After many years of loyal service our fantastic caretaker Pat retired. We can’t thank her enough for all the work she did particularly through the difficult days of COVID. We wish her well in retirement but are truly thankful that Cath Allard has agreed to take over the post. This transition has been seamless.
The Village Hall is trying hard to balance the books. Our costs have risen, like everyone else’s, and we have to be very mindful of our expenditure. We have had more bookings from outside thanks to Siân’s amazing work as our bookings manager however, this is still not enough to cover all our costs. So, to this end, we have had added an extra charge to hirers for use of the full kitchen facilities, crockery and glasses and for the use of the projector and full sound system to help increase the hire income from larger events held at the Village Hall to bridge the gap. The Parish Council are supporting the Village Hall with an annual grant to help pay for the lawn mowing and general maintenance of the outside space. Fundraising still must be a part of this financial income for us to break even. Finally, we’d like to thank everyone who supports the fundraising events and our regular Club events. They are all important to the village hall and our wider inclusive community.
The Village Hall received permission from the village community at the Parish Council EGM to use VH allocated s.106 funds (developer contributions) to purchase the Fontmell Surgery’s car park. The Village Hall was successful in purchasing the car park from the new owners of the The Surgery and completion took place on Friday 13 June 2025. We have applied for planning permission to raise the crown of the oak tree so that larger vehicles can access The Surgery. In due course we will be installing a solar light, white
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parking lines, signs and additional car parking spaces on the grass area in front of the The Surgery.
Rosie-Anne Yates, Chair of Trustees 2025
The Fontmell Friendship Garden
The Fontmell Friendship Garden is entering its second summer in its new location surrounding the village hall. Despite the disappointment in 2023 of the enforced move from the surgery, the new location has proved to be far better.
The garden is accessible to all and the new beds on the patio to the rear of the village hall and to the roadside have really enhanced the village hall building. As bookings manager, I have wonderful feedback about the hall and the garden and it definitely has a positive impact on bookings.
The garden is maintained by a fantastic group of villagers who join in our Friday potter and natter sessions from 11.30-1.00. We are joined during term time by four year 12 Clayesmore senior students and a teacher and can get a lot of work completed as a regular group of eight or nine.
Clayesmore Prep School students also complete Saturday sessions during the year and we continue to plant with St Andrew’s Primary School and the Fontmell Under Fives. Within the community, we planted Spring bulbs around the pub and will continue this initiative this Autumn to increase bulb stock.
Duane sold plants at the shop and we sold plants at cafes. The pop-up cafes continued over the summer of 2024 and continued as coffee mornings and soup lunches in early Spring. Pop up cafes will continue again later in the summer months of 2025.
We continue to be self-funding and had our big fundraiser on May17th where we sold flowers, vegetables, willow, sundries, bric a brac, hand tied bouquets, beauty products in addition to running a café, selling large cakes and being entertained by Clayesmore Music department. We raised a staggering £2103.00 which we have split 50/50 between the garden and the village hall. It represented a huge amount of work from the previous October – but was well worth the work and we will aim to complete another plant sale in 2026 developing more garden themed stalls and food related items.
This is Alfred (local radio) continue to support us enthusiastically with regular interviews and advertising slots.
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Our goals are to continue to provide a peaceful and beautiful environment for people to meet to potter, natter, sit, cut flowers to take home and embrace nature, providing a lovely green space area within the village for all to enjoy.
Thank you so very much to everyone who helps in so many ways – gardening, growing seeds, watering, making cakes, serving in the cafes and so much more. This would not be the success it is without the continued support and help from the village.
Siân Highnam, Sub-Committee Chair – Fontmell Friendship Garden and Bookings Manager 2025
Governance
The Fontmell Magna Village Hall Charity 301129, at the end of its Financial Year 30[th ] April 2025, became a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, Registered Charity Number 1204403. For the purposes of reporting the 2024/25 year and accounts the constitution and purposes of the original Charity (301129) have been used.
Fontmell Magna Village Hall is a charity, originally called the ‘Fontmell Magna Village Hall and Playing Field Charity’, regulated under a Scheme approved by the Charity Commissioners dated 25th June 1987. Under the Scheme, the charity is administered and managed by the Management Committee as charity trustees in accordance with the terms of the Scheme.
Following the completion of the new Village Hall in 1997, the Charity Commissioners approved an Amending Scheme dated 23rd March 1998. This Amending Scheme clarified the name of the charity as ‘Fontmell Magna Village Hall (301129)’ and allowed the trustees to set its own ‘Rules of Procedure’ (as long as these did not conflict with the Scheme). Soon after the trustees agreed such Rules of Procedure. Revised Rules of Procedure were agreed in November 2011.
The land on which the Village Hall stands, as well as most of the grassed area and most of the tennis court is leased (under a Lease dated 25th April 2005) by the Parish Council to the trustees for 99 years from 31st December 2003 in return for an annual rent of £1 (if demanded). The rest of the land, including the car park, overflow car park and under 12’s Play Area, is owned by the Trustees and vested under the Scheme in the Official Custodian for Charities.
Objectives of the Charity
As stated in the 1987 Scheme, the objectives of the charity are:
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“The provision and maintenance of a village hall, recreation ground and facilities ancillary thereto for the use of the inhabitants of the Parish of Fontmell Magna and its immediate vicinity without distinction of political, religious or other opinions, including use for meetings, lectures and classes, and for other forms of recreation and leisure-time occupation, with the object of improving the conditions of the life of the said inhabitants”. Principal activities in pursuit of objectives
The hall is in use most days of the week for a variety of activities including Archive Society, Art Club, Carpet Bowls, Fontmell Friends, Garden Club, Pilates, Tae Kwon-Do, and Yoga. It is also used as a Polling Station. The hall is available for hire for private functions including parties, wedding receptions, village social functions and occasional fund-raising events. One of the storerooms houses the village archives, and the Archive Society holds an Exhibition in the hall every two years.
Appointment of Trustees
The Committee consists of 12 trustees. Five trustees are elected and serve for a maximum of three years (although they may be nominated for re-election). Elections take place at the Annual General Meeting held in July. In addition, there are seven representative members - one representative member is appointed annually by each of the seven organisations that the Committee decide are regular and frequent user groups. The Trustees form the Management Committee of the Village Hall which has the power to co-opt up to three further Trustees on an annual basis. A President may also be appointed each year but is not part of the Committee and is not a Trustee.
Names of Trustees
| Elected Trustees | Representative Trustees |
|---|---|
| Chairman – Rosie-Anne Yates(25/7/18) | Archive Society- Roger Hillman(23/7/14) |
| Deputy Chairman – Andrew Davis (27/9/23) |
Art Club – Peter Mole (2/9/20) |
| Secretary– Lisa Le Druillenec(25/7/18) | Carpet Bowls – Derek Bone(28/7/21) |
| Treasurer - Dick Stainer (1/5/14) | Fontmell Friends – Michael Hobbs (23/7/14) |
| Bookings Manager – Sian Highnam (25/9/19) |
Garden Club – Caroline Rucker (2/3/22) |
| Playground – Natasha Harris(26/7/23) | |
| President – Vacancy | Tennis Court – Louise Murchie (31/10/18) |
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The Trustees held 6 committee meetings: on 25[th] September 2024 (10 trustees), 20[th] November 2024 (11 trustees), 22[nd] January 2025 (7 trustees), 19[th] March 2025 (9 trustees) 14[th ] May 2025 (8 trustees) and 2[nd] July 2025 (10 trustees). The 2025 AGM was held on 23[rd] July 2025.
The role of Treasurer is due for re-election in 2025 and Dick Stainer has confirmed he will continue in his role as Treasurer for a further year as we move over to operating as a CIO for the 2025/2026 accounting year. The role of Honorary Secretary is also up for reelection this July …………. . . We are pleased to welcome …………………… to our coopted team
We have a full quota of Trustees for now but we are still actively seeking an Assistant Treasurer to assist and eventually take over from Dick Stainer so he can move to a nonTrustee position.
Policies and procedures
The Health & Safety Policy and Risk Assessment was reviewed and updated in May 2025.
The formal inspection of the playground will take place in October 2025.
Hiring agreement
Use of the village hall is subject to a hiring agreement (revised in May 2025) which must be signed by the hirer when booking. The hiring agreement sets out the conditions of hire and identifies the respective responsibilities of each party to the agreement.
Licences
The hall has a Premises Licence (including the sale of alcohol) with Dorset Council. The hall is licensed by PPL PRS Ltd for live and recorded music.
Insurance
The Lease dated 25th April 2005 requires the trustees to cover the full cost of reinstating the hall, including site clearance, professional fees and VAT. The trustees also recognise that they are under a legal obligation to protect the building, its users and employees through adequate and appropriate insurance.
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Accordingly, the village hall is insured with respect to property damage (buildings insurance) and contents by Ecclesiastical through the broker Allied Westminster ‘VillageGuard’. The levels of cover are set out in the accounts.
There is also public liability cover of £10,000,000, employers' liability cover of £10,000,000 and trustee indemnity cover of £100,000.
Maintenance checks
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The mains electrical installation is checked every 5 years, it was inspected by E C Electrical Ltd, Shaftesbury in January 2025 and is due for re-testing in January 2030.
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The portable electrical appliances are checked annually. The last inspection was by EC Electrical Ltd in May 2025
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The fire alarm and emergency lighting is tested twice a year and the intruder alarm once a year, by Partnership Alarms. The emergency lighting and fire alarm system are tested once a month by the Deputy Chairman.
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The CCTV is no longer maintained by Secure Alarms, Poole and is now being run as a dummy system. It is due to be replaced and quotes are being sought.
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Firefighting appliances are inspected annually by Partnership Alarms.
Providers
Electricity Provider: Good Energy Caretaker: Cath Allard
Independent Examiner: Roy Foster
Bank: Lloyds plc and Ecology Building Society Tennis court: First Serve / Louise Murchie
Electrics: EC Electrical Ltd
Security Alarm & Fire Alarm: Partnership Alarms
Fire Equipment Check: Partnership Alarms
General Maintenance: Andrew Gordge, Country Carpentry, Nick Elliott
Outdoor equipment/fencing: Playtime by Fawns, Country Carpentry. Nick Elliott Septic Tank: Affordable Drainage
Grass/hedge cutting: Tom Sanger
The Trustees declare that they have approved the trustees' report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity's trustees:
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Fontmell Masna VILLAGE HALL ".= Rosie-Anne Yates Chair of Trustees io
Fontmell Masna VILLAGE HALL ".= FONTMELL MAGNA VILLAGE HALL Curmt Funds 3W2025 Cash & knv8nenl Fund8 Re8tr1th1 Uoyd8 TSB Currenl Account £6.921.42 Uoyds TS8 Dopowi Ac0nt £1026 Gash in hand £73221 E109¥ 8ulkng &KI•ty [940 19 COIF knve&iienl Fund £14246.13 fix•d knro8t Fwyl £7.493 64 £3924985 £5.200.00 Car Park Fund £3,475.61 FFG £4,745.66 Tennis covrl £11,600 17 Play ar•a maiftf•nanc• £1,478.92 FCS Wonn Hub$ £26.500 36 Fun08 le88 reg••cd knnd& Le89 8106 Thd8 £12.749.49 £0 Available lundj t12.749.49 Fl•••r¥• IwMl• kn M•• 01 ol Ex6 lunthj £5249.49 5031 Rog•fW 6 nK)nth¥ ResefW 12 rrrf)nthS £7JCrf),00 Gian re1¥• 20121 Gran18 le1vOd 21 r22 Gfanl8 ioc•ivgd 22rxJ ants recélved 23r24 anty r•cwed 24rL5 £17,431.00 DC £3,459.00 DC £3,18135 DC. FM PC.k•Jc £892.69 FM PC £2 000.00 FM PC £26 964.04 8•Jed 0nb)n pro)•(1 I con41dw IM lo ITW rvport•l th• Cuff•Tri Fund8 ol FMiff*i M&gn• Vlknq• Hml •1 Il J(IID4 ra025
Fontmell Masna VILLAGE HALL ".= Fonlrrnll Il•gna 102420al cornD and Exp•ndfrluT• Ae¢rAnt. ta 501 71 tI07e09> tuou IN?16 7IIJ1W25 Èl 02F.45 £341 T4Y• t tl e97 94 VIW FvfvO• 78al T(•• 4137 74 rs tl OlD35 ES30 Far Yo 4WE tuqu t*t9 11g.DO E13tt11 140 04 r4 FFC 12 /users/dickstsiner/dick's flles/¥lllaEe halllcharity commlsslon/2025 reportslannual report 2025- wip.docx
Charity Name No (if any) FONTMELL MAGNA VILLAGE HALL 1204403 Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For the period Period start date Period end date To from 01/05/2024 30/04/2025
Section A Receipts and payments
| A1 Receipts | Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ 10 760 1 002 691 1 700 2 072 - - - 16 225 - - - 16 225 4 958 1 197 1 298 3 223 103 3 807 682 5 700 - 20 968 - - - 20 968 - 4 743 - - - 4 743 |
Restricted funds to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
Endowment funds to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
Total funds to the nearest £ 10 760 1 002 691 1 700 2 072 - - - 16 225 - - - 16 225 4 958 1 197 1 298 3 223 103 3 807 682 5 700 - 20 968 - - - 20 968 - 4 743 |
Total funds to the nearest £ 10 760 1 002 691 1 700 2 072 - - - 16 225 - - - 16 225 4 958 1 197 1 298 3 223 103 3 807 682 5 700 - 20 968 - - - 20 968 - 4 743 |
Last year to the nearest £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hall hire | 10 760 | - | ||||
| FITpayments | 1 002 | - | ||||
| Investments | 691 | - | ||||
| Other income | 1 700 | - | ||||
| Grants and donations | 2 072 | - | ||||
| - | - | |||||
| - | - | |||||
| - | - | |||||
| Sub total(Gross income for AR) |
16 225 | - | ||||
| A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). |
||||||
| - | ||||||
| - | - | |||||
| Sub total | - | - | ||||
| Total receipts A3 Payments |
||||||
| - | ||||||
| Caretaking | 4 958 | - | ||||
| Insurance | 1 197 | - | ||||
| Service charges | 1 298 | - | ||||
| Electricity | 3 223 | - | ||||
| Water | 103 | - | ||||
| Maintenance | 3 807 | - | ||||
| Internet & software | 682 | - | ||||
| Miscellaneous | 5 700 | - | ||||
| - | - | |||||
| **Sub total ** | 20 968 | - | ||||
| A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table) |
||||||
| - | ||||||
| - | ||||||
| **Sub total ** | - | - | ||||
| Total payments Net of receipts/(payments) A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end Cash funds this year end |
||||||
| - | ||||||
| - 4 743 | - | - | - 4 743 | - | ||
| - | - | - | - | - | ||
| - | - | - | - | - | ||
| - 4 743 | - | - | - 4 743 | - |
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
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Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
| Categories Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use B5 Liabilities B3 Investment assets |
Signature Details Petty cash Lloyds bank account EBS savings account Details Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Investment funds Details Details Details |
Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ 732 - 6 932 - 4 760 5 086 12 424 5 086 Agreement Error Agreement Error Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ - 21 740 - - - - - - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) - - - - - Print Name RICHARD STAINER |
Endowment funds to nearest £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| OK | |||
| Endowment funds to nearest £ |
|||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| Current value (optional) |
|||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| Current value (optional) |
|||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| When due (optional) |
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| Date of approval |
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| RICHARD STAINER | 10/11/2025 | ||
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
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