## Sharnbrook Village Hall – 2025 Trading Year ## 21st April 2026 ## AGM: Chair of Trustees report Welcome to the 34rd AGM of Sharnbrook Village Hall Management Committee and thank you for attending. This report covers the period 1st January to 31st December 2025. 2025 has been another year of delivering an outstanding facility for use of the residents of Sharnbrook. The collective focus of the Trustees and affiliated personnel running the hall is to always put our customers first to ensure a safe, hospitable facility that offers convenience and excellent value for money. In 2025 the Hall was used for nearly 1,300 hours of activity time by over 20 different user groups, illustrating its importance to the village. ## Change from Charitable Trust (CT) to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) As reported at the last meeting the committee continued the transition to a CIO and this work was completed in the first quarter of 2025, using a solicitor with expertise in Charity Law. Consequently, we no longer refer to ‘Committee members’, rather ‘Trustees’ of Sharnbrook Village Hall and these changes run through the following report: ## The Team Bernadette Walsh-Mason our previous Chair of Trustees has relocated to the North West & resigned her role in mid-2025. Thanks to a proactive recruitment campaign carried out by the team in Q1 2025, we have attracted the following new trustees: Richard Boyles – Chair of Trustees Steve McKechnie – Secretary Neil Westbrook – Trustee Helen Packman Trustee These new faces join, Alison Bland (Treasurer) Samantha Lock (previous Secretary) David Eyre and Linda Stander as Trustees. We are also very fortunate to have Sheila Eyre and Venessa Bolton helping us as representatives of the Hall user group. Lucy Seamarks – the external face of the village hall, completes the team in the essential role of booking coordinator. I would also like to acknowledge the ‘behind the scenes’ contribution of both our Caretaker – Christine Williams who provides essential early morning monitoring & cleaning, and Tony Bland who is frequently volunteered for jobs and is a fantastic supporter of the Hall. 1 I would like to formally register our thanks & best wishes to Bernadette and also to Samantha for their excellent stewardship of the outgoing roles of Chair & Secretary respectively. Sam is not getting off too lightly though as she remains a hard-working & experienced Trustee I would also like to say how impressed I have been by the contribution of the whole team of our volunteers who work single mindedly & tirelessly to ensure the Village Hall experience, lives up to & hopefully exceeds expectations. ## Stewardship of the Hall The primary area of focus in 2025 has been the protection of the sprung floor, which is the beating heart of the hall. We were not happy that certain user groups were respecting our facility as we would wish and therefore selected ‘high impact’ activities no longer takes place at the hall. The refurbishment of the floor has been budgeted as a 2026 spend to repair the damage done. We have installed a booking specific heating control methodology to pre-heat the hall to prearranged temperature, to increase hirer convenience and manage our energy usage. Significant time & attention (lead by David Eyre) has been spent with our chosen supplier PJH to quieten the heating system and this work has rolled into the current reporting year. David also routinely gives up his time to ensure that electronic PAT testing and fire alarm checks are carried out by chosen external suppliers on a routine & pre-arranged basis. We have realigned our CCTV capability to provide visibility inside the entrance vestibule, which was previously not covered. As a precautionary measure we have had an Asbestos survey carried out. The report reassured us that no Asbestos is present in the hall. We have invested in new and additional signage for the main & disabled toilets. A new external sign has been erected to make the location of the hall entrance much clearer Finally, a special mention goes to Sheila Eyre for marshalling the team during deep cleaning sessions, which are done voluntarily at weekends. ## Embracing Technology I would like to recognise the particular contribution of Alison (& Tony) Bland in the introduction of the Hallmaster system of on-line booking/hirer and heating interface. This innovation has proved to be a most valuable tool for the smooth running the Hall but has not been without some teething problems. 2 Additionally, Samantha Lock has been leading the project to digitize the VH paper archives. This work has largely been completed and now gives Trustees easy access to historic data from their desktop. ## Changes to Terms and Conditions We have updated our T&Cs in relation to Children’s parties requiring a bouncy castle after consultation with our insurers. ## North Bedfordshire Village Hall Network This initiative continues to flourish with 26 village halls now involved, continuing to provide valuable information sharing and mutual aid. ## Summary The Trustees & supporters continue to rise to new challenges with hard work and ingenuity, providing a valuable amenity to the village, of which we can all be proud. Richard Boyles Chair, Sharnbrook Village Hall Trustees 3 ## **SHARNBROOK VILLAGE HALL Statement of Accounts for the period 5th March 2025 to 31st December 2025 Charity No. 1206809** |**OPERATING RECEIPTS**
Hall Lettings
Interest Received
Total
**Operating Profit**
**MAJOR RECEIPTS**
Grants Received
Donations Received
Total|£
**2025**
16,584
183
16,767
**2,596**
1,500
-
1,500
**(961)**
34,380
(961)
33,419|**OPERATING PAYMENTS**
Cleaner
Cleaning Materials
Bookings Coordinator
Repairs and Maintenance
Utilities
Broadband
Insurance
Advertising/Hallmaster
Music Licence
Rates
Total
**MAJOR PAYMENTS**
Building Repairs/Refurb'ment
Furnishings & Fixtures
Kitchen Equipment
Other equipment
Legal Fees (CIO)
Total|£
**2025**
3,620
409
2,750
1,971
3,243
182
959
620
-
417| |---|---|---|---| ||||14,171
-
3,095
-
77
1,885| ||||5,057| |**Overall Loss**|**(961)**||| |\
Cash Balance b/f
**Loss for year**
Closing Cash Balance||||