Chairperson’s Annual Trustees and Annual General Meetng Report Held 2:00 pm Saturday 29th November 2025
Good afternoon, everyone and welcome to the Annual Trustees and Annual General Meeting of Bilton Community Centre.
For those of you who do not know me, my name is Jane Blackburn and I have been Chair of the Committee since September 2022.
Well, what have we done since the last Annual General Meeting.
Big Breakfast remains a very popular event, and for those of you who do attend, the system of paying each month for the following month does seem to be working. If a person cancels by the Wednesday previous to the Big Breakfast Saturday, we can calculate how much food we need to buy, so that there is no waste. If cancellation is received prior to the food being bought, then the person cancelling can carry their ticket over for the following month, only, no longer, meaning that neither they nor the Community Centre lose out. Many people now arrive quite early and often stay on, after their breakfast, to chat. We do apologise if there is a wait for breakfast, as, if many people arrive together there is sometimes a slight backlog in cooking. I think everyone accepts that everything is cooked freshly, to order, and just enjoys socialising while they wait.
A big ‘Thank You’ to all the Big Breakfast Team, Sheila, Linda, Brenda, Wendy, Jill, Helen, Greta, Julie, Dianne and Christine.
I always say breakfast is the most difficult meal to cook, trying to get all the components ready for the same time is hard enough for a few people, never mind catering sometimes for almost 60 people. The team work extremely hard to ensure everyone gets a piping hot, freshly cooked breakfast, made with good quality ingredients.
Our Poppy display has been much admired for the last three years. We have incorporated more white and purple poppies this year, for Peace and in respect of the animals lost. Some members of the Committee have, once again, spent some very pleasant Tuesday afternoons, not only attaching the poppies to the netting, but, more importantly, putting the world to rights. I think, once again, we will maybe need to work harder on that one!
We intend to add more to our display for next year, so please look out for emails from me, asking for help attaching more poppies to netting so that we can increase the display for next year.
We held our Christmas Raffle Draw, last year, on Saturday 14[th] December, which was an enjoyable, well attended event. This, together with the 100 Club is a very worthwhile fundraiser for the Community Centre.
Just a reminder, our Christmas Draw this year will be on Saturday 13[th] December. As always, raffle tickets are on sale now, and will be up until the draw takes place. Thank you to all the groups who donate prizes and buy raffle tickets. It is very much appreciated. We invite you and the members of your groups to the Christmas Draw, where refreshments will be served.
We held another successful Quiz on Friday 22nd November last year. A huge ‘thank you’ to the Quizmaster, Jean Moat for providing us with such interesting questions, causing a lot of whispering and head scratching. Thank you to everyone who participated to make this a very enjoyable, and profitable evening for the Community Centre.
We held our next Quiz on Friday 21[st] March. Greta was the Quizmaster and gave some very thought provoking questions. Once again, a very successful evening.
The Committee have decided not, at this moment in time, to increase the charge for the hire of the Community Centre. We are aware that the cost of living is rising and we need to keep groups which, if we had risen the fees, would have meant both a loss to them, from a social aspect, and to the Community Centre. We need to do as much as we can to encourage groups to our Community Centre.
Also, just to mention that the Committee Members do not receive any financial reward for being on the Committee.
April also saw the first draw of our 100 Club for 2025. We actually have 114 members, so it was decided that, instead of two prizes, 1[st] of £25.00 and 2[nd] of £15.00, we would add a 3[rd] prize of £5.00. The 100 Club is a very successful contribution to our fundraising for the Community Centre.
We will remind you all to renew your membership for 2026, early in the New Year. The £1 per month it costs each member, means such a lot to the finances of the Community Centre.
We held a very successful Craft Fair on 26[th] April and at that event, we held a Tombola stall, which proved to be very popular, again raising funds for the Centre.
Saturday 19[th] July was the date of our Open Day. This was an extremely well attended and enjoyable event, which raised a wonderful £623.50 for the Centre funds. We had stalls which included tombola, bric-a-brac, cake stall, clothing, jigsaws and a raffle for a cake. We also had a visit from the Mayor, Cllr. Chris Aldred, our MP, Tom Gordon and Bilton Grange and New Park Councillor Monika Slater.
We are extremely grateful to Councillor Slater for the £2000 Locality Grant which she allocated to us for a replacement central heating boiler, which was fitted at the end of April.
The Coconut Workshop Singers entertained the visitor. It was a lovely afternoon and very fulfilling for the Committee to see so many people, tapping their feet to the music and
enjoying the excellent entertainment. Once again, a huge ‘Thank You’ to the Coconut Workshop Singers. All donations made to the singers were in aid of Bilton Library, so, thanks to them two charities in Bilton benefited.
As you can see, the Centre has been decorated in time for all your Christmas Parties. Hopefully you approve of the, which are new this year, and have been kindly donated by Gill Clarkson, who is a member of the Committee. We feel that they give a festive feel to December.
We have also entered a Christmas Tree in the St John’s Church, Bilton, Christmas Tree Festival. We would like to thank Helen White’s son for making an amazing wooden tree, which we can keep and use again, hopefully for many years to come. The theme of our tree, this year, is Bilton’s WW2 Fallen. I would also like to thank Bilton Historical Society for supplying us with the names, which we have attached to poppies and put on the tree. We feel that is a tribute and acknowledgement of the sacrifice which came from local people. We hope you will visit the Church and see the display of Christmas Trees and vote for your favourite.
I would also like to thank the all Committee and Volunteers for all their help and support over the past year, they are the true stars of this Centre.
Linda keeps the Centre in the immaculate condition that you always find it in. She makes sure that the Centre is spotless and that everything is in good condition.
Larrie, out Caretaker, sets out the furniture to each User Groups requirements and looks out for any jobs that require maintenance. He, along with Chris, saves the Centre a lot of money by doing all the maintenance jobs they can, and that is really very much appreciated. Larrie, also makes sure that the Centre is left clean and tidy for the next User Groups, after each meeting.
A big ‘thank you’ also to our two relief caretakers, both called Alan, who do an amazing job for us, standing in when Larrie is away on holiday.
Chris and Greta are always on hand to help with anything asked of them and give a lot of time and effort in ensuring that the Centre runs smoothly. Chris is our Bookings Secretary and has had the difficult task of making sure all the bookings are on the calendar for the correct dates and, sometimes the unenviable task of telling would be User Groups that we are unable to accept any more regular bookings.
I am pleased, not as pleased as Chris though, to announce that, as of January, Gill Clarkson will take on the role of Bookings Secretary, leaving Chris to concentrate on the maintenance of the building.
Greta has recently handed over the reins as Secretary to Helen Sephton, to take the notes of all our meetings. Thank you to them both for covering this very important job.
Jo Farragher our Treasurer has stood down, and Greta has taken on the role of Joint Treasurer together with Justine Pattison, who we welcome back.
Val, is our Vice Chairperson and she is also responsible for carrying out the weekly testing of our Defibrillator, to ensure it is in tip top condition, in the hope that no-one will ever need to use it.
Helen White, Helen Sephton, Sheila, Linda, Brenda put a lot of hard work into the gardens. We do pay a gardener to do a lot of the main, heavy work, but the work the Committee put in does save us a great deal of money.
As you can see, we do take care to keep the building, both inside and out, and the gardens, in as good condition as we can.
Without the support of all the User Groups, this Community Centre would not be the welcoming place it is. I would like to thank you all for your support.
Well, they are some of the things that happen a year in the life of a Community Centre. If any of you have any news, views or ideas of how we can improve what we do, please let us know. We are always on the look out for ways to satisfy our User Groups and ensure that they are happy with what we provide.
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Sheet1
BILTON COMMUNITY CENTRE
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Income and Expenditure Account for the Year Ended 31 August 2025
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Year|Ended|2024|
|INCOME|:|
|Facilities|Use|(Less|Refunds)|£16,057.50|£13,570:50|
|North|Yorhire|County|Council|Grant|£2,250.00|
|100|Club|(Net|Income)|£747.00|£1,412.00|
|Open|Days|&|Fairs|£1,009.20|£1,243.92|
|Big|Breakfast|£2,163.00|£2,109.00|
|Quizes|and|Events|£624.85|£405.00|
|Donations|£1,085.20|£1,100.00|
|Miscellaneous|Funds|
|Refunds|£106.96|
|Interest|£381.46|£94.01|
|Books|Sold|£278.00|£177.45|
|Christmas|Raffle|£1,182.00|£985.20|
|TOTAL|INCOME|for the YEAR|£25,778.21|£21,204.04|
|EXPENDITURE|:|
|Big|Breakfast|Costs|£1,696.51|£1,606.12|
|Event|Expenses|£973.46|
|insurance|£804.74|£1,347.91|
|Rates|£529.26|voxel dectaye)|
|Water|£351.84|£212.64|
|Electricity & Gas|£2,350u5|£2,219.93|
|Caretaker|£4,760.00|£4,844.00|
|Cleaning|£4,340.75|£3,998.37|
|Repairs|-|General|£652.40|£1,976.14|
|Repairs|-|Major|Items|£4,541.93|
|Gardening|Expenses|£2,639.79|£1,797.47|
|Stationery &|Miscellaneous|Expenses|EZTUAA|£95.63|
|Bank and|other|Charges|£97.50|£150.25|
|Music|Licence|£481.97|
|TOTAL EXPENDITURE for|the YEAR|£23,509.96|£19,533.47|
|SURPLUS|/ -DEFICIT for the YEAR|£2,268.25|£1,670.57|
|FUND|BALANCES|:|
|Brought|forward|at|1|September|2024|
|CAF|Bank|£11,851.74|£10,255.42|
|Virgin|Money|£8,135.13|£8,060.88|
|£19,986.87|£18,316.30|
|Carried|forward|at|31|August|2025|
|CAF|Bank|£13,726.40|£11,851.74|
|Virgin|Money|/ Shawbrook|Bank|£8,488.72|ES TSS|
|Petty|Cash|£40.00|
|MOVEMENT|£22,255.12|£19,986.87|
|in FUNDS|in|Year|£2,268.25|£1|670/57|
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Sheet1
BILTON COMMUNITY CENTRE
Income and Expenditure Account for the Year Ended 31 August 2025
independent Examiner's Report :
i have examined the annexed Income and Expenditure Account and the records kept by the Treasurer and can confirm that, in my opinion, they correctly reflect the income and Expenditure of the Bilton Community Cenire for the Year Ended 31 August 2025
senna AY ANON...Pe
(Richard Aaveoman)
13" November 2025
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