2020-09-30-accounts - Threlkeld Village Hall Trust

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Threlkeld Village Hall Trust Annual Report

Chair’s Report

Welcome to you all. At the last AGM when we were all seated in the Village Hall and had the pleasure of Rosie Cumella talking to us about the work of the Calvert Trust, we could not have imagined how 2020 would turn out. At that meeting I thanked individual committee members for the work they had done during the year, we are all volunteers and I am sure that for some of them it feels like at least a part-time job. You might have thought that this year, the year of COVID 19, or should I say the first year of COVID 19, will have been a bit of a rest year for them. but that has not been the case.

Steven Oldfield, our secretary, ably supported by John Knifton and fellow committee members, took the opportunity to do a number of maintenance jobs in the hall and organised some external painting. Graham Anderson made weekly checks on the hall and tested the fire alarm when it was closed. Neil Beresford skilfully completed the negotiations with the district council for us to take over the Public Toilets in the hall car park.

We have held more meetings than usual, all by skype or zoom, our last face to face meeting was last year’s AGM. So Joe Davies has had more minutes to write and he has made sure we are meeting all our insurance requirements when the hall has been closed.

David Evans, our treasurer, will talk about our finances shortly. He has kept us all informed of the impact of the hall being closed on our income and expenditure and has ensured that we received the grants we have been entitled to. David also led the work on making the hall a safe place for people to use during the short period that it was open.

We have been very pleased that we have been able to support the Coffee Shop during the weeks they have been able to operate. Providing them with the extra space in the hall has meant they have been able to offer more customers a safe environment. The regular flow of customers and feedback on Face book is testament to what a wonderful job they have been doing in welcoming people back and making them feel safe.

Keeping the hall clean has been an essential priority over the past nine months and I want to thank our cleaning team: Steph Malik, Sue Plant and Navi Bostock. They have had to be very flexible throughout the pandemic being ready to work when we have been able to be open

but also having down periods when the Hall and Coffee Shop have been closed. It has been very reassuring knowing that their high cleaning standards are being maintained. And of course the Coffee Shop staff have taken on extra cleaning responsibility ensuring that the toilets are clean throughout the day. I also want to mention Sylvia Tuer who has been involved with the Village Hall probably longer than anyone else and in more recent years has continued to clean the hall at the weekend and after events. Sylvia has had to shield during the pandemic so was unable to come into the Hall. I want to thank Sylvia for her support of the Hall over many years and to say when it is safe for her to do so we will welcome her back.

When we were able to open the Hall in September, October, November and December it was lovely to be able to welcome back the line dancing and circle dancing groups and yoga and keep fit classes as well as the Brownies. We look forward to them and our other groups and classes returning later in 2021. We are also eagerly awaiting the return of the regular music events organised by the TAA.

This year I also want to thank an external organisation: ACT (Action with Communities in Cumbria) who with ACRE (Action with Communities on Rural England) have provided regular updates and guidance on what the various Covid 19 restrictions have meant for village halls. Steven Oldfield and I have attended a number of their zoom seminars which have been extremely helpful as the government guidance has at times been confusing and open to different interpretation.

What does 2021 hold – well after this year no one will try and predict the future. I am definitely not going to. But we do have some exciting things on the horizon. Chris Smith a new committee member has taken on the task of revitalising our website so keep an eye on the website over the next few months. Neil is leading a project group working on transforming the public toilets into an additional preparation area for the Coffee Shop and much needed extra storage capacity for the Coffee shop and Village Hall activities. We will need financial support to do this so if you know of any funding bodies who give grants for community buildings please let Neil or David know.

I want to finish by reassuring you all that the Village Hall will re-open and will be ‘the venue’ for classes, groups, weddings, parties and music events in the future as it has been in the past. We look forward to welcoming everyone back. Thank you.

Secretary’s Report.

This Secretary’s Report relates to the work of the V.H. Trust Management Committee since the date of the last A.G.M, up to the present time.

The Committee during 2019 comprised Graham Anderson, Joe Davis and myself, elected at the A.G.M., Jo Alberti, Christine Renouf and David Evans were co-opted by the Committee and Moira Suringar, Tina Morland and Dot. Benson, appointed by the TAA, TYP and PC respectively. In March, 2019 Jo resigned from the Committee due to her re-location to Keswick and at the end of last year Dot stood down for personal reasons, no replacement has yet been identified by the P.C.. Jo was replaced as Chair by Christine, Graham Anderson continued as Vice Chair, Joe Davis continued as minutes secretary and myself as Secretary. In addition Neil Beresford – Treasurer and Barbara Lowesmith – monitoring officer/TAA chair have attended meetings but without voting rights. Neil resigned as Treasurer a couple of months ago, having carried out those duties since long before the new hall, he has agreed to stay on as a Trustee and David is now the treasurer. We now routinely have an item on the Agenda to cover any coffee shop matters that may be of relevance to the sole share holder, the Village Hall, and in consequence a member of the coffee shop board, usually Adam Bazire, has also attended our meetings. We have managed on average 78% attendance over 5 x two monthly meetings, which is one percentage point down on last year.

Continuous efforts are made to attract new people onto the Management Board, we are ‘technically’ up to strength but would always welcome more assistance or interest.

At the regular meetings we discussed all the usual matters plus taking over the public toilets building and the constant interest in the plans for the field out front, which we desire for car parking purposes. For those who are not clear on how the Village Hall, the TAA and the Coffee Shop work together, basically the TAA are a completely separate organisation run by

their own management, Chaired by Barbara Lowesmith. They organise most of the nonprivate events that go on in the hall, they raise appreciable monies, most of which comes to the Village Hall. The Coffee Shop is, again, a separate organisation run by their own management, their Chair being Adam Bazire. They are non profit making, they pay rent to the village hall and also make an appreciable donation to the Village Hall every year. Both organisations are free to make contributions to other outside organisations. With money provided by the TAA and the Coffee Shop, plus the not insignificant money raised by the hiring out of the hall the Village Hall management look to pay all the bills, keep the building and contents up to scratch and, so far, make contributions to the running of the Youth Club, the Brownies and the Rainbows. We are aware that the roof of the main hall will need replacing sometime and we are also looking to purchase new stage lights for the main hall, which won’t be cheap. We have raised the hiring rate for the hall for the first time since the new hall opened but I have had no complaints or withdrawal of use as a result.

We need to thank Steph. Malik and Sylvia Tuer who take care of the cleaning of the hall and prepare the hall for upcoming events. Sylvia and I look after the ‘meeting and greeting’ of hall hirers. The Committee are very grateful to Steph and Sylvia for carrying out their present roles. Whilst on the subject of appreciation for help given, Helen O’Brien still keeps our web-site in good order and John Knifton has saved the Village Hall hundreds of pounds and also provided work of an exceptional standard carrying out maintenance and installation work of all kinds. We are very grateful to these two, as well as to those too numerous to individually name for providing other types of assistance such as setting up and taking down for events in the hall, the clearing up, washing up etc. after events. The putting out of the Christmas decorations and the attendance on the occasional day when we have a general spring clean.

In the last financial year the hall has hosted campers, brides and grooms and people throwing parties for all sorts of reasons. We have acted as a staging post for long distance walkers and runners, The TAA has hired the hall for music events, films, talks, drama, comedy, ceilidhs and a craft fayre, plus keep fit classes and TAA meetings. The TYP, that’s the Threlkeld Young People, report that the Youth Club, the Brownies and the Rainbows are all going strong. This is an area the trustees are particularly pleased with. Professional leaders are employed with the youth group but all three activities also rely upon voluntary

help. Again, anyone feeling they have something to offer would be most welcome. In addition to those activities, regularly held in the hall are meetings by Threlkeld Housing, the Women’s Group, the Cumbria Commoners, the Parish Council, friends of Blencathra and Friends of Threlkeld Quarry, the Herdwick Sheep Farmers, the National Parks and the Cumbria Rivers Trust, events by the school, the Blencathra Foxhounds, St. Mary’s Church, indoor bowls, circle dancing, Yoga, Pilates, keep fit, various art groups, independent drama productions and independent musical performers to name just about all of them. To sum up the hall hire, during the last calendar year we had 524 hirings of the main hall and coffee shop area, not counting the actual coffee shop day to day work, as against 512 last year, however the total hours is down from 1668 to 1533 This means the hall is hired out on average for 29 hours per week.

I believe a tremendous amount of good will has been created around the village hall by the activities carried on here. Much work is done, time given voluntarily by a relatively small group of people, however, there is no closed shop. Anyone is invited to get involved, there is enough work to go round and if anyone feels they have something to offer please make yourself known to any of the people already involved.

You may realise my report is very similar to the one I made last year, I think this is an indication that everything is stable and going well.

Treasurer’s Report to Threlkeld Village Hall Trustees

Year ending 30th September 2020

Summary

A surplus of £17,145 for the year
Available Funds at the Year End stand at £78,899
Covid closures reduced hall income significantly
Strong sales from the Coffee Shop outside of lockdown meant licence fee income was unaffected
Covid related donations and grants, notably from Eden Council, led to a 19% increase in surplus
This puts us in a good position to move forward with the extension project

Accounts

Despite the Covid pandemic the Trust has recorded a 19% increase in surplus compared to the previous year at £17,145. Non coffee shop rental income has seen a significant drop of 40%. Fortunately the Coffee Shop was able to trade strongly when allowed to open and thus has been able to continue paying rental income. The other major source of income has been grants from Eden Council and donations from the TAA and individuals.

Notable aspects of the accounts are:

The Coffee Shop were concerned about cash flow during lock down so delayed their donation to the hall. Seventeen thousand pounds was received in December 2020 from trading in the year to 31[st] March 2020.
Grants provided by Eden Council have been the main reason for our improved surplus this year. In due course this money will go towards the extension project thus supporting local businesses and people.
The kind donation from the TAA reflects the successful events carried out before the effects of the pandemic.
Hall hire income has been reduced because the hall was only open for just under half the year due to Covid.
The rates refund is an overlooked payment from when the Hall was effectively out on 100% rates rebate about three year years ago.
Cleaning costs are reduced overall due to the closures but when reopened were slightly increased due to the extra requirements of Covid.
Electricity costs have risen by 6.6% despite a big drop in usage during lockdown. The unit cost is unchanged but a change in meter reading date during the year has resulted in us paying for 12.5 months’ worth of electricity in the financial year 2019-20. In addition, the electricity usage when the Coffee Shop was trading strongly was about 20% above normal.
New stage lights have been installed at the request of the TAA and paid for through their donation. These significantly reduces the heat felt by performers.
The extension project has started work and has spent about £2,000 so far on legal fees for the property transfer and architect’s fees for the initial design work.
No grants were issued this year due to most local groups having very little activity.

Available Funds

At the end of September 2020 the Trust held available cash funds of £78,899, after allowing for a VAT refund of £822 and the CIC licence fee which were paid in October and November.

Accounts Examination

The accounts have been submitted to an accountant for review and have been found to be an accurate record.

David Evans

20[th] July 2021

OVERALL INCOME AND EXPENDITURE

TVHT
Profit And Loss Account
For theyear ended 30 September 2020

		2020	2019	Change	%

Income	Bank Interest	£0	£1	(£1)
	Coffee ShopLicence	£11,047	£10,780	£267	2.5
	Donations Received - CIC	£0	£5,000	(£5,000)	(100.0)
	Donations Received - Misc	£13,084	£92	£12,992	14,121.7
	Donations Received - TAA	£3,660	£3,000	£660	22.0
	FITS	£275	£478	(£203)	(42.5)
	Hall Hire	£7,205	£12,151	(£4,946)	(40.7)
	Rates Refund	£289	£0	£289
	RHI	£2,505	£2,547	(£42)	(1.6)
		£38,065	£34,049	£4,016	11.8

Expenses	Advertising	£0	(£40)	£40	100.0
	Caretaking& Cleaning	(£3,009)	(£4,320)	£1,311	30.3
	CleaningMaterials	(£695)	(£841)	£146	17.4
	Electricity	(£5,166)	(£4,848)	(£318)	(6.6)
	Equipment & Fittings Projects	(£925)	(£582)	(£343)	(58.9)
	Equipment & Fittings Replacements	(£2,155)	(£71)	(£2,084)	(2,935.2)
	Extension Project 2020	(£2,026)	£0	(£2,026)
	Grant	£0	(£1,550)	£1,550	100.0
	Insurance	(£1,197)	(£1,194)	(£3)	(0.3)
	IT Software,Licences,Support	(£513)	(£431)	(£82)	(19.0)
	Items for Sale	£0	(£333)	£333	100.0
	Maintenance Repairs Renewals	(£3,112)	(£2,659)	(£453)	(17.0)
	Misc	(£84)	£0	(£84)
	Office Expenses	(£206)	(£101)	(£105)	(104.0)
	Phone & Broad Band	(£425)	(£500)	£75	15.0
	Professional Fees	(£140)	(£55)	(£85)	(154.5)
	Subs & Licences	(£180)	(£723)	£543	75.1
	Trust Expenses	£0	(£69)	£69	100.0
	Water & Waste	(£1,087)	(£1,347)	£260	19.3
		(£20,920)	(£19,664)	(£1,256)	(6.4)

Net surplus		£17,145	£14,385	£2,760	19.2

Available Funds(30 Sep2019)	£61,754	Cash at bank 30 Sep2020	£72,538
Surplus 2019-20	£17,145	Creditors(VAT due etc.)
		Debtors	£6,361
Available Funds(30 Sep2020)	£78,899	Available Fund(30 Sep2020)	£78,899

Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examinerfs Report Report to the trusteesl members of Threlkeld Village Hall Trust On accounts for the year ended 30th September 2020 Charity no (if any) 231380 Set out on page I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts ofthe above charity I'the Trust.) for the year ended 30 109 12020. Responsibilities and basis of report As the Ghanty's trustees. you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Ad 2011 {°the Act"). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145{51{b) of the Ad. Independent I have completed my examination. I confimi that no material matters have examiner's statement come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act., or the accounts did not accord with the accounting records", or the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements conceming the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports} Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a Irue and fair, view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached Slgned: Date: 23rd Sep. 2021 Name: Kim Shaw Relevant professional qualification{s) or body lif any): CIMA qualified Address: 12 Merlin Gardens Fareham Hants IER Oct 2018

Section B Disclosure Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern {see CC32. Independent examination of charity accounts.. directions and guidaTr for examiners). Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose. IER Oct 2018