2023-12-31-accounts - Long Ditton Village Hall

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VILLAGE HALL
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Long Ditton Village Hall Trust

Charity Registration Number: 242801

ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED

31ST DECEMBER 2023

INDEX

Charity Information	1
Report ofthe Board ofTrustees	2-3
Chariman's Report	4-6
Report ofthe Donations Committee	7
Report ofthe Maintenance Committee	8
Report ofthe Bookings Administrator	9
Statement ofRevenues and Expenditure and Assets and Reserves	10
IndependentExaminer'sReport	17

Long Ditton Village Hall Trust Year ended 31st December 2023 Charity Information

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Long Ditton Village Hall Trust is a registered charity that provides and maintains the buildings entrusted to it under conveyances dated 15th February 1888 (Parish Room & Workman's Club) and 28th December 1906 (Parish Hall).

The stated objective in the Trust Deed is "...the provision and maintenance of a village hall for the use of the inhabitants of Long Ditton and the neighborhood thereof (the area of benefit) without distinction of political, raligisus oF 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 life for the said inhabitants."

Registered Office	2 Ewell Road
	Long Ditton
	Surrey KT6 5LE
Governing Body	The Trust is governed bythe Deed ofTrust (amended July 1996) which is
	administered bya Board of8 Trustees who are appointed fora term offive
	years butmay be re-appointed for a furtherterm, plusan Ex-Officio Trustee
	being the incumbent priest-in-charge ofSt Mary Long Ditton Church of
	England. :
	The Trust contractsthe services ofa professional cleaning company and a
	bookings managerto supplementthe administrative activities ofthe Trustees.
	AWorks Committee and a Donations Committee, consisting ofa mix of
	trustees and co-opted residents ofthe community, exist to assistthe
	Charity in meeting its objectives.
Board ofTrustees	Dr Garth Glentworth OBE (Chairman )
	Deirdre Cole ( Secretary + Donations Committee+Works Committee)
	Barry Hitchens ( Treasurer +Works Committee )
	Lorraine Black (Works Committee appointed 25th April 2018 )
	Terry Bourton (Works Committee )
	Cllr. Nick Darby
	Aileen Widdowson (Donations Committee)
	HeatherWhythe ( Designated safety officer)
	Rev. Dr Kuhan Satkunanayagam (Ex-officio FirstTrustee)
Co-Opted	Clir. Liz Launo (Donations Committee)
Bankers	National Westminster Bank Plc.
	Victoria Road
	Surbiton KT6 4JY
Bookings Manager	MicheleAveson
Cleaning Agent/Caretaker	M&S Partnership
Trust Deed Commitment	St Mary Church ofEngland has rent free use ofthe buildings for
	ecclesiastical and othercharitable purposesona limited basis.
Independent Examiner	Peter Drysdale F.C.C.A.
	57 Effingham Road
	LongDitton

Page 1.

_ Long Ditton Village Hall Trust Year ended 31st December 2023 Report of the Board of Trustees

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Trust Objectives

In line with the overall objectives of the Trust, in 2023 the Trustees continued to explore ways of making the halls available to the community while maintaining the fabric of the halls and not causing disruption to the near neighbors. ~

The Trustees also made small grants to local organizations that support community activities in the Long Ditton areas and provide benefits to the community in line with the Charity's trust deed.

Revenues

Total revenue of £107,732 for the year was £6,363 more than in 2022 (£101.369)

There are now4 halls available for use by the community with the closure of The Ditton's Football & Social Club that had occupied one of the halls for over 60 years. This hall, which we are calling The Club Room in remembrance of that Club, requires significant refurbishment to meet the standards of the other three ‘ halls. In the meantime it is being used by a limited number of groups. Until further work is done, usage of the hall will remain lower than the other three halls. Revenues from the two main halls have increased substantially due to continued demand. They are close to capacity so the upgrade of the Club Room is desperately needed to meet this demand.

The Surrey County Council has granted us £50,000 ( 2022 - £ 56,612 ) This grant was to install disability toilets and hall access ramps and to upgrade the lighting in The Club Room as the first stage in improving that hall.

Expenditure

Total expenditure of £111,578 during the year was £16,636 more than in 2022 (£128,214).

The Trustees inspect the property annually to identify major improvements and repairs needed to be undertaken, schedule a time for their completion and entrust the Works Committee with the responsibility for obtaining quotes ( at least 3 for major works ) and for commissioning the work. The annual budget of income and expenditure is approved after this inspection by incorporating the estimated cost of the agreed major works into the budgeted expenditure.

The program of major improvements in the year cost £55,794 (2022 : £93,824). The major items were installing disability toilets and access ramps plus upgrading lighting in The club Room.

The program of general repairs in the year cost £4,119 ( 2022 : £2,615)

Cleaning and gardening costs in 2023 were up significantly to £18,030 ( 2022 : £11,645 ). The cleaning hourly rates increased 15% during the year and The Club Room required extra cleaning while work was being done on it. Gardening contractors raised their rates by 25% in the year also.

Annual service contracts (Fire protection equipment, boilers, piano tuning etc.) cost £1,102 almost the same as 2022 - £1,020.

Utility costs, of which gas (heating) is the major part, were £16,825 ( 2022 : £10,169). Our long term ( 3 years) contracts for gas and electricity were renewed during the year at market rates that were close to 200% above the original rates. We renewed for just 12 months in the hope that rates will come down in the future.

Page 2.

Long Ditton Village Hall Trust Year ended 31st December 2023 Report of the Board of Trustees (continued)

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Expenditure (continued)

In 2023, 7 grants were made totaling £8,398. Applications are approved at Trustee meetings based on submissions made to the Donations Committee by Local bodies in need. In 2022, two grants were made totaling £1,149. |

Administration costs of £5,200 (2022 : £5,840) represent mainly the Booking Manager's costs.

To ensure tight control over cash reserves, a second set of bank statements are sent by the bank to the Ex-officio Trustee and all expenditure in excess of £1,000 requires two signatories.

Committees

The Board of Trustees meets 4 to 6 times a year to oversee the running of the Trust and set policies and guidelines for decision making by the Bookings Manager and the two committees that were established in 2007 to better run the activities of the Trust.

The Donations Committee consists of D Cole (trustee), Clir.Liz Laino (co-opted), A Widdowson (trustee) and Rev'd Dr K Sakunanayagam (ex-officio First trustee). The Committee is directed ny the Board of Trustees to identify worthy recipients of the Trust's annually budgeted "donations fund" in fine with the parameters set by the Board and the objectives of the Trust.

The Maintenance Committee consists of D Cole (trustee),T Bourton ( trustee), B Hitchens (trustee) and L Black ( trustee).

The Committee is directed by the Board of Trustees to take responsibility for completing the schedule of work identified by the Trust each year within the budget set by the Board for such work and to identify and respond to minor ad-hoc repair requirements of the halls during the year.

Reserves Policy

Overall, in 2023 the Trust spent £3,846 more than its income ( 2022 : £ 26,845 more) resulting in a reduction in reserves to £33,911 at the year end.

The trustees believe that to maintain a reserve of approximately £30,000 is prudent given the age of the building.

Risk Assessment

The Trustees maintain an ongoing assessment of the major risks confronting the Trust that might restrict its ability to meet its objectives.

An imminent risk facing the Trust is to secure grants to help fund the refurbishment of The Club Room. Approaches are being made to entities that support facilities providing community services to allow The Club Room to be used to its potential.

For and on behalf of the Trustees.

Barry Hitchens

Hon. Treasurer

Date :

Page 3.

Chairman’s Report 2023

2023 was the first year that could be said to be an almost complete return to pre- COVID normality. But one caution here: events move on and normality is never the same for very long.

User Groups and LDVH Halls

By the end of 2023 , classes and group meetings were back up in numbers to the levels of 2019, though the mix is different. For - example: | do not remember Taekwando pre —pandemic, though it now books the largest number of hours and is our busiest set of classes. The Lower and Upper Halls are full at peak times and we are turning away users unless they can meet at off —peak times .The Wallis Room was built in 2016 to cater for the different needs of smaller groups and is becoming more used again, but almost by definition is unlikely ever to be completely full.

What we now call the Club Room-the fourth and oldest part of the LDVH complex -has a different history. It was rented out to the Long Ditton Football and Social Club for about forty years until 2021, when LDFSC went bankrupt because of the closures during COVID and consequent lack of revenue. Over the years it had been open effectively as a pub, but latterly in a very run-down state due to lack of investment. On its return to the management of the main Hall, the decision was to modernise it so that it again became a part of the opportunities offered by the other halls .The extra space could certainly be utilised.

Maintenance and Modernisation

A complex as old in parts and as heavily used as LDVH creates a constant demand for maintenance. It has similarities with what used to be called “The Forth Bridge Syndrome- you no sooner finish at one end when you have to start again at the other’. Problems range from

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leaking toilets and leaking flat roofs to replacing fluorescent light tubes and broken chairs. Cleaning is major challenge in spaces that are so intensively used every day .Our Hall Trustees who are all volunteers take responsibility for organising maintenance in different areas and | need to thank them for their efficiency in keeping everything going and dealing with the (polite) complaints of users.

Concurrently we now have a programme of replacement and modernisation. These involve much larger tasks than maintenance. The two most recent have been replacing the roof over the Lower Hall and —one which is ongoing-and has already been mentioned in this Report-modernising the Club Room. The roof was relatively straightforward —apart from weather disruption and Covid among the roofers- and was completed in 2022. The Club Room is much more complex: new toilets , new kitchen ;new ceiling and lighting; new floor, new heating system —boiler and radiators; general redecoration and replacement of chairs and tables.

While LDVH can and cover running costs and most maintenance from fees in spite of these being kept low as a service to the community, we have to fund raise for the bigger replacement and modernisation projects. We have been comparatively successful: Platinum Village Halls’ Improvement Fund; Community Infrastructure Levy (both for the roof replacement): and most recently The Your Fund Surrey Small Grants Scheme. The £50000 we received from the YFS in September allowed us to complete Phase 1 of the Club Room Modernisation Project in 2023 involving new toilets and a new ceiling and lighting system. Much more is needed and 2024will involve a further application for a substantial grant, initially to the National Lottery Community Fund.

It has to be mentioned that grant applications have to respond to the requirements of the different funding agencies and are normally quite complicated and time consuming. Competition is intense and

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growing .Again completion of applications depends on the voluntary work of our Trustees for which we are very grateful.

Other Developments

A small range of issues have come to the fore during the year, involving the Chairman and other Trustees.

Specifically:

e Switching the Hall’s account to electronic , internet banking. e Making a major contribution to the costs of the Community defence case in the Public Enquiry about building on parts of the Green Belt- Stokes Field and One Tree Hill.
e Reviewing and improving The Hall Safeguarding Policy and appointing aLDVH Safeguarding Officer.
e Over two cases of breaking and entry and small scale vandalism, liaising with the Police with the objective of future deterrence.

Dr Garth Glentworth,OBE

Chairman of Trustees

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e ©a DONATIONS COMMITTEE REPORT FOR 2023 March £500 The Long Ditton Youth Project :

Towards the cost of an activity of their choice for the members of the Youth Club. It will be something like First Aid or Self-Defence.

£915 The Dittons Scout Group To purchase kit needed for day and night hikes including their first D of E Gold Challenge. It will pay for 5 Trangia store sets, 10 survival bags, 10 OS maps and cases and 10 compasses.

£748.97 The Sugden Allotment Association To purchase a barbecue, an all-weather marquee and a bench. They are hoping that these things will enable them to invite members of the wider community, particularly nursery schools, to events. They would not otherwise be able to afford to do this as subscriptions have been kept low since many members are on low incomes.

April £900 The 15‘ Long Ditton Guides To purchase a large tent needed forGuide camps. The unit has grown since LDVHT bought the first tent in 2017. The chairman was invited to present the cheque at a Guide meeting; a photo in local publications generated publicity for both the Guides and the Hall.

A special meeting of the trustees agreed the following by a majority vote: £4,000 The HWLD Green Belt Campaign Towards the cost of representation by a specialist barrister at the public enquiry held at the Village Hall. Local opinion is overwhelmingly in favour of having a local space declared a Village Green, thus protecting it from development on a permanent basis. : June £1,076.70p St Mary’s PCC To upgrade the AV system in the Community Hall. The equipment was originally funded by LDVHT and due to its age could no longer be used with confidence. It is not for exclusive use by the Church but is used by a wide range of community groups including a film and afternoon tea for the elderly.

December

£257.18 The Long Ditton Lights Up evening Expenses to run the mulled wine/mince pie stall on behalf of LDVHT. The annual tree lighting event was well attended and raised a total of £1800 for local charities.

£8397.85 TOTAL

Members of the donations committee

The Rev'd Dr Kuhan Satkunanayagam Ex officio trustee Mrs Aileen Widdowson Trustee Mrs Deirdre Cole Trustee Councillor Liz Laino Long Ditton council

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LONG DITTON
VILLAGE HALL
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REPORT OF MAINTENANCE COMMITTEE 2023

MAJOR PROJECTS ( £55,794 ).

With the support of a grant from Surrey County Council of £50,000, the trustees were able to install a disability access to the Club Room( £ 2,460), a disability toilet in the Club Room ( £ 43,688 ) and improve the ceiling lighting in the Club Room ( £ 9,646 ).These three improvements to the Club Room are the first stage of a three stage program to bring the Club Room up to the standard of the other three halls in the complex.

We hope to complete stage two in 2024( replace the floor for around £20,000, replace the heating system for around £15,000 and install a modern kitchen for around £ 15,000 ). However, we will not be able to achieve this without further grants.

Applying for such grants is a major priority for the trustees.

GENERAL REPAIRS ( £ 4,119)

The halls were broken into twice during the yearand minor vandalism was experienced during these events. The resultant repairs and improving security ( upgrading locks/keys etc ) cost in excess of £2,000.

Replacing lighting with LED as the non-LED lighting fails cost approximately £ 1,000.

General repairs, replacing broken items and maintaining the general fabric of the halls cost a further £1,000 in the year — not a major cost compared to prior years.

Find us: Long Ditton Village Hall, 2 Ewell Road, Long Ditton, Surrey KT6 5LE Web: longdittonvillagehall.co.uk Contact us: T: 07804 057589 E ldvht@hotmail.co.uk Registered charity: 242801

Admin Report Year 2023

Jan-Mar

2023 started smoothly. All classes have come.back and a small increase in children’s parties. We get numerous interests for Baby Showers and family gatherings. | have allowed a couple to be held in halls which have been run successful, they were in the day and all adults, but small gatherings with little or no alcoholinvolved. Plenty of enquiries that do not result in long term hirers, mainly do to them being new businesses and not attracting the clients.

Apr-Jun

Surrey County Council held a large public enquiry in April. This was about a highly contentious local issue. It involved displacing all the daytime occupants from our largest hall for a week, finding alternativities where possible.

A new group started this quarter to encourage young teenage girls to sport. They started very strong and continue to grow.

Jul-Sep

We have new children’s holiday group started, this is local council funded, for familiesthat need childcare support in the school holidays.

The slow time of the year. Most business and children’s group stop for the summer, which gives us chance to close for a deep clean and maintenance.

Oct-Dec

This quarter saw the start if some work in the Club room — new toilet facilities including an assessable toilet. This caused disruption to the users. Where possible we moved them out into the other halls, unfortunately due to one user having to use another premises, she decided to stay with that facility.

Again, lots of enquiries with the promise of 4 new users starting next year.

Good increase in children’s parties this quarter.

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Long Ditton Village Hall Trust	Long Ditton Village Hall Trust			cA
Charity RegistrationNumber: 242801 é StatementofRevenues and Expenditure fortheyearended 31stDecember2023
Revenues	£		2023 £	£	2022 £
Hire of Hallfees Grants Covid 19 support Donations	a		Sf,732 50,000 0		44,663 56,612 65
Investment Income			0		29
Total Revenues			107,732		101,369
Expenditure
DirectCharitable Expenditure
Hall Major Refurbishments	55,794			93,824
Cleaning and Gardening	18,030			11,645
Hall Repairs and Maintenance	4,119			2,615
Service Contracts (Boiler, Fire Alarm, Fire Protection)	1,102			1,020
Utilties (Electricity, Gas, Water&Waste)	16,825			10,169
Insurance	2,110			1,952	~*
Grants to others	8,398		106,379	1,149	122,374
C rt Expenditure
Administration	5,150			5,790
Independent Examiner's Fee		50	5,200	50	5,840
Total Expenditure			111,578)		128,214
Net / Surplus ofReveues to Expenditure in the Year			-3,846		-26,845
Statement ofAssets and Reserves as at31stDecember2020
			2023		2022
Liquid Assets	£		£	£	£
Bank and Cash Balances
NatWest CurrentAccount			35,561		39,377
Less Deposits forkeys ( refundable)			-1,650		-1,620
NetAssets			33,911		37,757]
Represented by Reserves
Balance at beginning ofyear	37	5T		64,602
Net Surplus/(Deficit) ofReveues over Expenditure in theYear	-3,846			-26,845
Balance at end ofyear			33,911		37,757)
Permanent Endowment
Land and Buildings Insured Value			1,990,249		1,777,088
Other Fixed Assets
Tables,Chairs,Equipment,PianoetcInsuredValue			22,425		20,764

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ToThe Trustees of Long Ditton Village Hall

| report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31 December 2023

As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

| 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, | have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

The charity’s gross income did not exceed £250,000 and soa full audit is not required

| have completed my examination.

| confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which would give me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

¢ the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act;

e the accounts did not accord with the accounting records;

e the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning 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 ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

| 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.

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Peter Drysdale (FCCA Rtd)

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