Trustee’s report 2024
This year has seen a lot of change for the WERFA. With the national rise in energy costs the Committee made a difficult decision to increase the hall hire rates for all hall users, sadly this meant that ‘Stay and Play’ ceased to hire the hall in April. At the request of TDC the Chair C. Hack met with the dance school to draw up a hall hire agreement. The agreement would specify terms and notice periods of any changes for both parties. In September and November some trees were reduced in height for safety reasons and two fallen trees were removed. Repairs have been made to potholes on the access roads, this work is still ongoing due to poor weather conditions and incorrect material usage specified by the contractor. Repairs to the mower were undertaken. The committee is very grateful to the volunteers who maintain and mow the park.
We continue to follow guidance on Safety Regulations and have replaced fire extinguishers; had electrical items tested and the tennis courts and playground valued for insurance purposes.
In 2023 -24 we had 467 members in 267 households resulting in a subscription income of £3,392. The committee is very grateful to the membership sectary and all the beat officers for their continued hard work around this.
During the summer we embarked on a WERFA re-fresh, with a spring clean of the pavilion along with repairing and replacing some of the blinds. The committee room has received a new floor. A new coat of paint has been applied to the committee room and the entrance lobby. We also had more efficient lighting fitted to help reduce our carbon footprint and make some energy savings. This year we hope to re-coup the money for the lighting with a grant from the council.
Also during the summer, we opened the pavilion on a Wednesday afternoon for tea, homemade cakes and an opportunity for members young and old to access the pavilion and get to know the community. This felt like a successful event with many positive comments from attendees.
In September we adjusted our energy supplier and raised the cleaner’s rate of pay. In February this year the cleaner decided she could no longer work for the WERFA at the times required. We are actively seeking an alternative cleaner, it is currently done by a volunteer from the committee. Coordination of hall bookings has been taken over by a new volunteer and arrangements have been made to ensure bookings will not overlap.
In October C. Hack made the decision to step down as Chair and instead took on the role of Treasurer. C. Hack put me forward as interim chair which was then voted on and agreed by the committee. I was asked to continue contract negotiations with ‘TDC’ and re-visit the work on the access roads around the WERFA, both of which I took on.
In the November and December meetings, the committee agreed to a final amended contract with ‘TDC’. I met with TDC to discuss in detail the contract and suggested they review the document and seek impartial advice. For reasons unknown this contract was never signed.
A review by committee members of our insurance policies for the Pavilion revealed they were no longer fit for purpose. During this review, it came to light that we did not hold a record of Public Liability documents for any commercial hall hirer and these were duly requested. Public Liability documents were provided in December and January, some delays were encountered due to an incorrect business address and incomplete policies. I would like to thank the trustees who worked hard to mediate with the regular hall hirers over the Christmas holidays to help enable commercial hall users to continue with minimal disruption.
In February we saw some much-needed repairs and replacements of the outside lights and the timer switch so that we could reduce electricity costs and light disruption to homes backing onto the park, whilst improving the safety of hall users. In February ‘TDC’ made the decision to leave the pavilion to set up a designated dance school in Teddington. As a contract had never been signed, they were not required to give formal notice of termination. Unfortunately, our other tap and fitness teacher also decided to leave due to the committee re-aligning her hall hire fees. She was unhappy that the committee needed to raise the hire fee to make it economically viable for the WERFA, this was still at a rate less than half of any hall in in the area.
The WERFA working party continues to meet on the 1[st] Sunday of each month. This is a great way to get involved with the maintenance of the park and very sociable, especially as we move towards the summer months. We also host a WERFA Wombles where youngsters can get involved in litter collection and helping to protect this precious green space and again, I thank all the volunteers who help to maintain the park, the Pavilion building and the monthly newsletter as well as all the volunteers that help out on an ad hoc basis.
We now have a thriving Art Club on a Tuesday evening, Yoga on a Wednesday which is so successful classes are fully booked. Beginners Tap classes are being run on a Wednesday and Two classes of Pilates on Friday.
Following an open event organised by the Social Club we are hopeful that more hall hirers will come forward to offer a diverse range of activities for members and the community. We are also excited by the many upcoming social events being organised by the Social Club.
The committee would like to thank the trustees who have or are, stepping down this year following many years of hard work and dedication to help the WERFA continue. P. Dale; S. Longland; D. Johnson and C. Hack stepping down as Chair now Treasurer. As a show of our appreciation, we have a few small gifts to hand out… Thanks again.
WOODLANDS ESTATE RESIDENT FREEHOLDERS' ASSOCIATION Registered Charity Number 267423
Income & Expenditure
| INCOME Fundraising & Subscriptions Membership paid online Membership paid by cash/cheque WERFA News advertising Gift Aid Total Fundraising & Subscriptions Hall Income Stay & Play Private Hires The Dance Company Art Club Total Hall Income Other Income Donations & Grants Interest on Deposits Other Income - PPL/PRS Refund Total Other Income |
Mar'23-Feb'24 £2,302.00 £1,090.00 £602.00 £1,253.25 £5,247.25 £180.00 £2,140.00 £14,701.20 £2,100.00 £19,121.20 £150.00 £110.07 £608.18 £868.25 |
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Total Income
£25,236.70
Sheet 1/3
WOODLANDS ESTATE RESIDENT FREEHOLDERS' ASSOCIATION Registered Charity Number 267423
Income & Expenditure
| EXPENDITURE Grounds Maintenance Mower Petrol Tractor Mower Maintenance Grounds Maintenance - Other Total Grounds Maintenance Hall Expenses Cleaning Costs Cleaning materials Electricity (Heating & Lighting) General Maintenance Redecorations Insurance PPL/PRS Music licence Auditor Water and Sewer Replacement lights Total Hall Expenses Other Expenses Postage Paper,Printing,Stationery Other Expenses - Other Total Other Expenses Social Club Sports Courts & Playground Total Expenses Excess of Income over Expenditure Excess of Expenditure over Income |
Mar'23- Feb'24 £55.32 £84.70 £2,220.00 £2,360.02 £1,500.00 £285.66 £4,074.70 £2,257.04 £1,471.70 £2,143.34 £1,214.59 £150.00 £61.99 £1,876.80 £15,035.82 £38.89 £23.48 £1,817.25 £1,879.62 £0.00 £7,370.40 £26,645.86 £1,409.16 |
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Sheet 2/3
Registered Charity Number 267423
| BALANCE Balance brought forward Income Expenditure Unreconciled credit Represented by: Cash & Bank Deposits & Current Assets: National Savings Cash in hand NatWest Bank account Allocated as follows: General funds Sports courts Building Fund |
As of 29/02/24 £41,066.22 £25,236.70 £66,302.92 -£26,645.86 £39,657.06 -£30.05 error £39,627.01 £14,337.14 £0.00 £25,289.87 £39,627.01 £26,587.36 £3,039.65 £10,000.00 £39,627.01 |
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Sheet 3/3
B A Turnage Quill & Brush. Financial Officer, 21 Lonng Road, Isleworth TNT 6QE attentron of WERFA Tru8tees For the year ended 29 February 2024 From the inforn)ation Suppl to me. I have examined the bcwjks and bank accounts of WERFA and the annual statement Is in agreement with them. No matter has come to my notice that gives cause for Concem. Your8 sirtcerely B A Trge Beverl8y Tumage hotrnail.com