Loraine Victory Hall
Manager’s/Interim Chairman’s Report 2023/24 AGM 17[th] June 2024
Loraine Victory Hall celebrated its Centenary in March. Marked by a celebration attended by supporters of the hall over the years and with special Guest the High Sheriff of Suffolk Mark Pendlington, which was a great honour. The hall is our village War Memorial of the First World War and an important part of our community.
Currently usage is good with regular groups using the hall on weekday evenings and Sunday mornings, with special events on weekends. Some corporate bookings also during daytime, which is an area we wish to improve. Fridays are our least booked day/evening which may need some thought into how to promote the hall or use it on these days.
Feedback is excellent from users, and we get a lot of repeat bookings and bookings from those who attended as guests.
The website and Facebook have brought in more hirers from outside the village and corporate bookings which is excellent, as a result advance bookings are essential as we do turn away several enquiries as fully booked.
Income is good from hire, but we do keep our fees affordable and competitive to ensure the hall is accessible for all the community and to support local clubs etc. However, expenses have been high due to increased rates of utilities. There are no payments outstanding, and hirers are paying as invoiced.
The grant donated by Bramford Parish Council enables us to keep our rates low, enabling clubs to survive and in turn supporting residents and reducing isolation, for which we are extremely grateful. The grant also provides funds for general maintenance and upkeep of the hall and green space, which is also used by the other community buildings nearby.
This year the hall has worked hard to reduce our expenses and carbon footprint, and we are currently working through our Decarbonation Plan. This includes:
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Air source heating installed (Kindly funded by BPC, with thanks)
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Gas supply removed. (savings on high unit costs, daily service charges, maintenance and servicing)
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Lights replaced with LED.
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PIR installed lights for low use areas.
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Battery Storage (kindly part funded by District Councillor Caston, with thanks) which should reduce electricity usage from the grid significantly.
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Additional solar PV install which will reduce electricity usage by approx. 50% (Via Port One planning condition, unknown eta)
Our future projects will be to improve insulation in the building which currently is poor, as seen in our survey. Also we wish to install estate fencing on the car park boundary of the green space to ensure a safer environment for users, with improved steps to the kitchen door.
Grant applications and quotes are the next step, with cavity wall insulation being our priority.
The hall is run by volunteers whom form the Management Committee, we thank them all for their time given and representing the various groups in the community.
We welcome our new Chairman Henry Waters who took on the role in March.
We send our thanks to Maggie Dakin in her role as Secretary. We are grateful to Maggie for all her 6 years’ service as Secretary, Maggie intends to stay on as a Committee Member.
Diana Wolton is also retiring from the Committee. She has been an active Committee Member over the past 24 years and we pass on our thanks for all her dedication and time at the hall.
Caroline Wolton
Chairman’s Report
As I have only been Chairperson since 26[th] March 2024 and there have been no committee meetings, there is not much I can report on.
Chairing a Registered Charity like the Loraine Victory Hall is completely new ground to me so there is quite a lot for me to take in on the various rules and regulations governing charities. It is only when I got involved in the grant process for the table tennis tables that I became aware of the insurance requirements and policy documents that need to be in place for the village hall to run on a daily basis.
However, from what I have seen and what little I have been involved with so far, I think the hall has excellent facilities and has made some very prudent investments in terms of improving the building and controlling maintenance and running costs.
I have to say a big thank you to Caroline Wolton for the way the village hall is being managed on a daily basis and to Kirsty Schartau for keeping the finances in good order.
My only claim to a contribution is the purchase of two new table tennis tables on behalf of the village hall, at no cost as they have been funded by Table Tennis England and Active Suffolk Fit Village Project.
Henry Waters
Loraine Victory Hall, Bramford
Statement of Afairs, Receipts and Payments for Year Ending 31st May 2024
| Receipts | 2023/2024 | 2022/2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Hall Hire | 23,785.00 | 18,187.64 |
| Donatons | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Feed in Tarif | 580.74 | 436.83 |
| Grants Received | 18,350.00 | 9,160.94 |
| Bank Interest | 56.54 | 15.05 |
| Share Dividends | 703.12 | 700.42 |
| Share Re-evaluaton | 282.76 | 280.48 |
| Total Receipts | 43,758.16 | 28,781.36 |
| Payments | 2023/2024 | 2022/2023 |
| Managers & CleaningFees | 8350.00 | 1980.00 |
| Deposit Returned | 2,060.00 | 1,480.00 |
| Building / Fixture / Fitngs Expenses |
2,920.35 | 10,270.63 |
| Administraton/Licenses | 463.47 | 244.20 |
| Utlites | 3,886.18 | 3,341.29 |
| Broadband | 409.20 | 397.93 |
| Gifs | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Managers Telephone | 0.00 | 30.00 |
| PropertyInsurance | 1,225.69 | 1,156.72 |
| Total Payments | 19,314.89 | 18,900.77 |
| Total Loss/ Proft | 24,443.27 | 9,880.59 |
Statement of Assets & Liabilites
| Balances at 31/05/2024 | Balances at 31/05/2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Lloyds Current Account | 97,021.84 | 72,995.11 |
| Lloyds Deposit Account | 4,948.71 | 4,892.17 |
| Cash | 360.00 | 0.00 |
| COIF Shares | 25,655.53 | 24,278.09 |
| COIF Ethical Shares | 9,913.04 | 9,307.09 |
| Unpresented Cheques | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Total Net Assets | 137,899.12 | 111,472.46 |
The above statement represents fairly the financial position of the charity at 31/05/24 and reflects the receipts and payments together with the investments and assets.
Kirsty Schartau (Treasurer)………………………………………………………………………….1[st] June 2024
Independent Examiners Report of the Accounts Report to the Management CommTttee Itru5tees)of Loraine Ifictory Hall Trust- Bramford On the accounts for the Financial Yearjune 2023- May 2024 As the independent examiner. it is my responslbillty to: Examine the accounts (under section 43131 lal of the act Follow the procedures laid down in the general directions given by the Charity Commissioners (under section 43 {7) {b) of the act State if any matter5 come to my attention Basis of Independent Examiners Ststemert My examination was carried out in accordance with the general directions given by the Charity commissioners and examination include5 a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from the management committee concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in a full audit and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the accounts. Independent Examiners Statement My examination of the accounts requires comment on both the accounting and more importantly the attention to preparation detail. Therefore. in my option 11 I believe that in any material the requirements to keep the accounting records and prepare accounts have been met. On examination the accounts do not warrant a fijrther and full audit. 21 Spreadsheets are reconciled to bank statements and booking form show a clear paperwork trail for audit purposes. 31 All bank transactions reconciled to hall bookings In conclusion: I consider the Treasurers report is a true record of the LVH accounts for 2023 12024 Signed Date Loz¥ Julie Ponton 7 The Street. Stonham Aspal. SuffiAK IP14 6AG