Westbury-on-Trym Village Hall
Annual Report - 2024/2025
Registered Charity Number 202781
Report and Accounts 30 June 2025
The report of the Trustees for the year ended 30 June 2025
Introduction
The duly elected Trustees of the hall also serve as the Village Hall Management Committee (VHMC) and are composed solely of volunteers who manage and look after the maintenance and running of the hall to enable the safe use for all hirers and to keep the hall available for the whole community.
The Board of Trustees present their annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 June 2025 and are satisfied with the performance of the charity during the year and the position at 30 June 2025. We also consider that the charity is in a strong position to continue its activities during the coming year, and that the charity's assets are adequate to fulfill its obligations.
Review of progress and achievements
During this annual report period the hall was closed for two months in July and August which I believe is unprecedented in order to complete much needed repairs. The project was very costly and our funds have been greatly depleted, we are currently working hard to restore our finances. The project of works involved; removal of asbestos guttering and replacing with new, together with new downpipes, restoration of stone works, repaired and repointing of chimney stacks, high level roof repairs, new windows in all upstairs rooms. Due to the size of the works and complexity, and to comply with building regulations and as we are a grade two listed building we employed a building company to plan and oversee the project. They employed a site manager as we had multiple workmen on site including scaffolders, he ensured that H & S requirements were followed and he controlled access to the site. The hall was actually a building site for two months and even I had to ask for access as entry was strictly controlled.
Our regular hirers were very patient with the extended closure, and they all returned to the hall afterwards. The scaffolding was still up days before the Village Show in September but we managed to get parts of it taken down to allow safe access for the public. We are now completely asbestos free at the hall and as we now have new rainwater gutters and downpipes, together with all the stone repairs carried out, let us hope that the hall will last for many decades to come.
The hall continues to be busy with regular hirers, weddings and parties and I would like to especially thank all the volunteers that have given up their time to help behind the bar on weekends.
Detailed reports on various areas of running the Village Hall are in Appendices 1 and 2
Name, registered office and constitution of the charity
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The full name of the charity is Westbury-on-Trym Village Hall.
The legal registration details are: Date of formation 16 February 1962
The Principal Office is Eastfield Road, Westbury-on-Trym, BS9 4AG Charity Registration Number 202781 The telephone number is 0117 962 3399
A summary of the objectives of the charity as set out in its governing document.
The objective of the Charity is to provide and maintain a village hall for the use of the inhabitants of Westbury-on-Trym and surrounds for recreational and leisure purposes.
Public benefit that is provided by the charity
The VHMC aims to provide first class Hall facilities at an affordable cost to the local community and the charity depends largely on the continuing help of local volunteers.
The Hall is available for hire by any individual or organization in accordance with the standard hiring agreement and scale of charges adopted for the year. It is intended that the scale of charges be sufficient together with the associated bar profit to generate enough income to meet all expenditure incurred in providing and improving the Hall and maintain a reserve of accumulated funds which will enable them to properly maintain and operate the Hall. This reserve will also provide resources to meet exceptional costs and/or running expenses should unforeseen circumstances arise to interrupt normal fund raising activities. The Trustees intend that the reserve will be at least £30,000 and will not in normal circumstances exceed £150,000. Improvements are also funded by events arranged by supporters of the Hall, and from income, donations, dividends and interest.
Structure, Governance and Management
Nature of the Governing Document and constitution of the charity
The Charity's governing document was signed and sealed on 8th October 1981. It covers the administration of the charity, outlines its charitable objectives, deals with the appointment, procedures and obligations of the committee of management and the conduct of meetings.
Financial Review
Availability and adequacy of assets of each of the funds
The Board of Trustees is satisfied that the charity's assets in each fund are available and adequate to fulfill its obligations in respect of each fund.
Transactions and Financial position – See appendix 1 (Accounts Report - separate document)
The members of the Board of Trustees of the Charity during the year ended 30 June 2025 were:
Graham Plummer (chair) Henry Deval
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Hilary Long Jane Plummer
The Trustees are all members of the charity.
Any new nominations for Trustees - Names to be given at the AGM meeting.
The members of the Board of Trustees of the Charity at the date the report and accounts were approved were:
Graham Plummer (chair) Henry Deval Hilary Long Jane Plummer
Independent Examiner - to be appointed by the Trustees.
Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities
Charities registered in England and Wales that are not companies are allowed under section 42 (3) of the Charities Act 1993 to prepare receipts and payments accounts provided the charity’s gross income is not over £250,000 for financial years ending on or after 1 April 2009. For financial years ending prior to 1 April 2009, this gross income threshold for receipts and payments accounting was lower at £100,000. Receipts and payments accounts are expected to show a ‘true and fair view’ of the charity's financial activities and state of affairs as is required with accounts prepared on the accruals basis.
All current accounting standards are fulfilled in the presentation of these accounts.
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receipts and payments accounts should be prepared in a consistent way from year to year; and
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if valuations are provided in the statement of assets and liabilities, they should be relevant, reliable and understandable.
The Trustees are responsible for maintaining adequate accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and which are sufficient to show and explain the charity's transactions and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with regulations made under the Charities Act. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The Trustees are also responsible for the contents of the Trustees' report and the responsibility of the independent examiner in relation to the Trustees' report is limited to examining the report and ensuring that, on the face of the report, there are no inconsistencies with the figures disclosed in the financial statements.
This report was approved by the Board of Trustees on 9[th] October 2025.
G. F. Plummer Chairman
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Appendix 1 - Accounts Report - See separate document
Appendix 2 - Committee Reports
1 Booking Secretary: General/Regular – Jane Plummer
I took over the bookings in March 2025, the bookings were affected during this reporting year due to an extended closure for building works from 7 July 2024 to 31 August 2024. The regular hirers now total 15; they include ALHA, Brownies, Baby ballet, Badminton ( 4 groups), Bristol Show Choir, Embroidery, Karate, Raleigh club, SUSWOT, Tutor group, WI, WOTSOC AGM and Zumba. Two long- standing bookings have finished- Tai Chi and Bridge and a new writing class booking also finished this year due to a lack of numbers. WOTSOC now hold their regular meetings in the library to support the Library group but they still have their AGM or any larger meetings at the hall. A ladies dance class has just started on Monday nights 7.45 to 9.15pm. We receive many enquiries from individuals, clubs and fitness type classes but we are unable to accommodate them as we are fully booked in the evenings especially early evening which is the popular time after work or school.
Booking details 2023/2024 in brackets Parties 31 (24) Concerts 3 (2) Miscellaneous 5 (5)
2 Booking Secretary: Weddings – Graham Plummer
I would like to report that all weddings held at the hall have been very successful and we continue to receive very good feedback and compliments to the Hall from our hirers and their guests. Weddings are not only very popular but together with their bar revenue provide the main source of income for the Hall.
The maximum number of wedding receptions agreed by the committee are about 12 per calendar year. This is to ensure that the hall is also made available to hire for other events including community events. I also try to keep to only two per month and two in consecutive weeks as they do require a lot of volunteer work which we are struggling for. There were only 7 wedding receptions held in our financial year ending 30/06/25, with also just 8 the year before, which is partly due to the hall being closed for 6 weeks last year and for 2 months this year in July and August 2024. We only have 7 confirmed bookings so far for 2026 but to help increase these numbers I have introduced a new celebration package for just the Saturday afternoon and evening and which has proved popular for some weddings and also other special events. We do however already have one wedding booked in for 2027. The Hall continues to enjoy a good working relationship with local businesses who regularly provide catering, decorating and music services for the hirers. I am very grateful for the support of all of our bar volunteers, especially those who have covered wedding bars in the daytime in addition to their normal evening bar duties.
3 Bar Manager - Graham Plummer
Bar takings and profits are £731 more than last year, despite the hall being closed for July and August and it still remains a good source of income for the hall. The actual total bar income for the year was £16,789 (including corkage of £3,257). There were a total of 18 bars during the financial year, which was 4 less than the previous year of 22, which includes 1 less wedding.
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I would like to say a big thank you to all our bar volunteers who give up their valuable time, mainly on a Saturday in the day or in the evening, in order to help behind the bar, and to say that without their help we would not be able to host as many bookings with bars, which creates a high level of income for the hall.
I am constantly trying to increase the number of bar volunteers as we currently only have about 12 regular volunteers, hopefully this can be improved on over the next year.
4 Buildings and Maintenance Manager – Patrick Thorpe
Since the last AGM only general maintenance such as boiler servicing, fire alarm/security alarms and fire extinguishers has been carried out. There are outstanding works carried over from last year’s major works’ programme that need additional funds before they can be undertaken.
The list of works consists of the replacement of the ground floor windows in the Committee room, main entrance lobby and the male and female toilets. The costs for these works from 2024 pricing amounts to £11,160.
The external stonework at low level from the Southwest corner of the main hall to the boiler house and from the boiler house to the boundary wall adjacent to the main entrance, still needs to be re-pointed and minor areas of stone replacement. The cost for this work at 2024 pricing is £1,800.
In the main hall we still have the problem of the wall between the double fire exit doors and the kitchen door absorbing water that has damaged the plaster and the stone to the old fireplace. This situation is becoming more acute as time goes on and needs further investigation by an expert in damp control. The price obtained in 2024 was £6,000.
The fire escape doors adjacent to the bar in the main hall need to be replaced as they have been damaged and need new secure locking bolts fitted. The 2024 price for this work was £4,800.
The side entrance door, that is used by most people using the hall, needs to be replaced as the bottom rail is rotten and the lock needs replacing along with the intruder alarm devices. The 2024 price for this work was £3,000.
Both the double doors and the side entrance doors are subject to a planning application that stipulates the quality and method of construction of the replacement doors.
The main electrical panel situated in the cupboard under the stairs is now obsolete. We are not able to replace the MCB’s (miniature circuit breakers) should one fail. The MCB’s installed in the panel were last manufactured in 2003. The replacement cost as of 2024 was £9,600.
In an effort to increase the air temperature in the main hall we investigated installing high level destratification fans to bring the warm air from high level to floor level. The 2024 price for this work was £7,200.
It should be noted that to install the destratification fans we would need to replace the main electrical panel at the same time.
The VHMC are currently evaluating the list of remaining works with regards to finance and urgency and will be preparing a plan of action for 2026.
5 Garden – Jane Plummer
I took over the responsibility of the gardens last year and was delighted to receive immediate help from Carole and Patrick Thorpe and my husband of course Graham! We had to restore the front garden as many trees and shrubs were removed to allow the scaffolding to be put up for the major project of works. Carole and myself planted new shrubs, bulbs, winter and summer bedding. Graham and Patrick focussed on the lawn mowing and watering which was very arduous this year with the prolonged drought. We have trimmed all of the hedges and I removed a very old pyracantha in the front garden which was growing over our neighbours lane and removed all dead leaves from the Cordyline which makes the whole area look much improved.
We are still working our way around the garden and need to focus on the side garden next year as a lot of shrubs were also cut back to allow scaffolding. There were a lot of climbing plants, ivy and brambles in the front behind the noticeboard which were damaging the stonework. These have been removed and
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there is a lot of work to do in this area which is difficult as there are still a lot of saplings and a new drainage system under the surface which is making planting difficult.
The horse chestnut tree has suffered greatly this year with the dry weather and is in distress, we are in the process of having it surveyed for damage and to ensure that it is safe. As we are a grade two listed building and the horse chestnut tree is as old, or older, than the hall any tree works have to go through planning permission which takes time. It was very strange this year to be sweeping up leaves in the summer during weddings and parties and our poor tree hardly produced any conkers this year, we hope that it manages to recover or that we can apply some remedial action as it is so iconic.
6 Events – Graham Plummer
The annual Village Show was held in September this year and is covered below.
7 Village Show – Carole Thorpe
Oral report to be given by Alexia Gardiner, as Ex Chairman of the Village Show.
We are very grateful for the continued generous support of the Village Show and would like to thank Carole and all the village show committee together with all the volunteers involved in making this such a great event, year after year.
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Westbury-on-Trym Village Hall
Audited Accounts
30 June 2025
Charity Number: 202781
Westbury-on-Trym Village Hall Contents
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Income and expenditure account | 1 |
| Balance sheet | 2 |
| Notes to the accounts | 3 - 5 |
Westbury-on-Trym Village Hall Income and Expenditure Account for the year ended 30 June 2025
| Income Cost of income Gross income Other business income Expenses Premises expenses Repairs and renewals of property and equipment Telephone, stationery and other office costs Advertising and website costs Accountancy, legal and other professional fees Depreciation and loss/(profit) on sale/valuation Other business expenses Deficit |
2025 £ 58,445 5,862 52,583 2,569 17,189 193,504 1,348 100 3,860 829 837 217,667 (162,515) |
2024 £ 58,175 6,511 51,664 6,574 16,992 47,963 1,163 500 4,362 (4,892) 859 66,947 (8,709) |
|---|---|---|
1
Westbury-on-Trym Village Hall Balance Sheet as at 30 June 2025
| Notes Fixed assets Equipment and machinery 3 Other fixed assets 4 Current assets Bar stock COIF balance Bank balances Cash in hand Other current assets and prepayments Current liabilities Other liabilities and accruals Net current assets Net assets Funds of the charity Balance at start of period Net deficit |
2,405 5,564 8,089 216 4,286 20,560 12,740 |
2025 £ 2,261 5,535 7,796 7,820 15,616 178,131 (162,515) 15,616 |
2,373 85,178 11,900 316 5,263 105,030 8,066 |
2024 £ 3,014 78,153 81,167 96,964 178,131 186,840 (8,709) 178,131 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Graham Plummer ( Chairman )
Dated:
2
Westbury-on-Trym Village Hall Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 30 June 2025
1 Accounting basis
The trustees present the annual report together with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 30 June 2025.
2 Income and expenditure account analysis
| Income Public hire of hall Bar income Corkage Village show Donations Cost of income Bar supplies Event expenses Other business income Interest receivable COIF dividends Premises expenses Rates and water Gas and electric Waste Cleaning Security Repairs and renewals of property and equipment Repairs and maintenance Telephone, stationery and other office costs Telephone and internet Printing, postage and stationery Equipment expensed Advertising and website costs Advertising and PR |
2025 £ 39,017 12,094 3,571 1,800 1,963 58,445 5,591 271 5,862 1,543 1,026 2,569 770 6,265 2,404 6,606 1,144 17,189 193,504 835 265 248 1,348 100 |
2024 £ 36,710 15,534 3,278 1,300 1,353 58,175 6,235 276 6,511 4,473 2,101 6,574 796 7,011 2,420 5,453 1,312 16,992 47,963 664 261 238 1,163 500 |
|---|---|---|
3
Westbury-on-Trym Village Hall Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 30 June 2025
| Accountancy, legal and other professional fees Accountants fees Other legal and professional Insurance Depreciation and loss/(profit) on sale/valuation Depreciation (Surplus)/deficit on COIF values Other business expenses Flower fund Licence fees Sundry expenses |
600 - 3,260 3,860 753 76 829 340 180 317 837 |
600 648 3,114 4,362 1,004 (5,896) (4,892) 340 180 339 859 |
|---|---|---|
4
Westbury-on-Trym Village Hall Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 30 June 2025
3 Equipment and machinery
| Cost At 1 July 2024 At 30 June 2025 Depreciation At 1 July 2024 Charge for the year At 30 June 2025 Net book value At 30 June 2025 At 30 June 2024 4 Other fixed assets Investments |
2025 £ 5,535 |
Equipment £ 70,242 70,242 67,228 753 67,981 2,261 3,014 2024 £ 78,153 |
|---|---|---|
5
CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trusteesl members of On accounts for the year ended 30 J LJtrJU IDI.r Charity no lif any) 101781 Set out on pages I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts oflhe above charity I'the Trust.) for the year ended Responsibilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation basis of report of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Act.). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act ar)d in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145{5)(bl of the Act. I have Gornpleted my examination. I confimi that no material matters have come to my attention {other than that disclosed below ") in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect.. accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or the accounts do not accord with the accounting records Independent examiner's ststement I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply. 171112oiC Signed: Date: Name: Relevant professional qualification{s) or body (If any}: Address: FILS-, FLg>iQ, ¥ AIL)A Silicf LJLSII L)? Y-l>-a-YL iISiiL ssI.33 IER October 2018