## **Report of the Executive Committee for 2022 presented to the Hythe & Dibden Community Association at its Annual General Meeting Wednesday 17th May 2023**
As we are currently without a Chairman - who customarily composes this report, it was down to other members of the Executive Committee, with assistance from the Community Centre’s Office Manager, to produce our account of what has occurred during this past Committee year.
This has given us the opportunity to reassess the structure of how we report. In the past we’ve merged our own Committee actions with those of the Community Centre we run without highlighting that the Community Association is more than just the Community Centre. This has led us to forget the wider aspects of our founding premise as enshrined in our constitution. This is a trend I hope the next committee will begin to readdress. But for now we’ll simply try to distinguish between Community Centre and Committee Association when reporting.
Since our last A.G.M in June 2022, The Executive have continued with our monthly Committee meetings and have also welcomed the General Committee to participate when extra experience was required. These joint meetings have, beyond the routine matters, primarily revolved around an observation by the Arts Council that there is a “deficit” of opportunities in the Waterside area for “the Arts” and that if sustainable opportunities could be found then the Arts Council would consider funding all or part of this. This is great news for organisations such as ours that include groups of artists, crafters and makers.
Related to this, the Community Centre hosted a round table discussion on the subject with other venues. This included: The H&D Parish Hall, the Hythe Pier Heritage Trust, The Forest Forge Theatre Company, The H&D Community Association and representatives from the Arts Council and H&D Parish Council. It might be noted that seeing as the Parish Hall is run by the Parish Council that they had an extra seat at the table. It might also be noted that seeing as the table, seat and room was provided by the Community Centre that we, the Community Association also had an extra, if silent, voice.
With both roundtable discussion and General Committee meetings – there’s a lot of talk but news is scant and slow in forming, so there is no actual progress bar the agreement to “look into” possibilities and to talk with our artistic members about what they might consider is missing from the Waterside area.
The rest of the Executive Committee’s work has been with the long term running of the Community Centre so it can continue to provide, on the associations behalf, the service it does.
## **Direct services: Our Community Centre:**
In as far as things can now be considered “normal” the Community Centre has continued to re-open its facilities to our Membership, Associated and Commercial hirers. A few of the smaller groups have not returned, in part, due to the age of their members and the reduction of interest within their group – this trend had started before covid and is felt nationwide. Two
notable groups that folded for good after more than twenty years with us was the Waterside Bridge Group and our ladies group: H.Y.A.D.S. Both will be sorely missed.
The Commercial hirers have mostly returned as before.
## **Centre Usage:**
In the year since our last A.G.M there have been 1082 bookings, an increase from the 969 bookings during the previous 21-22 year which equates to around an extra 373 hours of bookings (see appendix). The majority of the extra bookings was in Room C.
## **Usage across our groups (Beyond normal hirings):**
**The Waterside Art Group** returned for their Art Exhibition in August 2022 and covered two full Saturdays, although with a more compact showcase of their skills.
This was the only Membership Group to make use of the facilities outside of their normal hirings.
## **Across other users:**
**The Hythe Art Group** (aka Witt Art) had their Art Exhibition also in August and displayed the progress that the group have made.
As part of the “Rock the Pier” event in July, the “ **Hythe Shed** ” hosted a model Railway Exhibition with us. It was quite well attended and we sold a few second hand books and served tea and coffee when needed.
## **Indirect Services: Via renting the Community Centre.**
**Jack & Jill’s.** In the last year the Pre-School have returned to using the main entrance for access instead of the Hall 2 fire door that had been used to keep the two businesses separate as part of our Covid response. This “normalisation” was a relief when the cold weather returned and the normal buffer of the main building reduced heat loss in the Pre-School. Their intake felt a little on the low side and that has been explained as a result of a lower birth rate during 2019 and 2020. This is a trend that is expected to take a few years to bounce back.
**Hythe Voluntary Car Group** , continue to use our office as their headquarters between 9 and 11am each day and provide an invaluable facility for members of the community; primarily for visits to health related venues but also for the more mundane such as shopping and the hairdressers etc.
**The Age Concern Chiropody Service** continues to provide within the Community Centre a very well patronised and needed service within the community.
**Inhealth Intelligence** , an NHS service provider, continues to provide within the Centre an Eye Screening Service for people with Diabetes. This is very well utilised and provides a facility for our community without them having to travel outside of the Waterside.
**hArt (Hampshire Art for Recreation and Therapy),** offer activities to support mental health, wellbeing and wider social issues in people of all ages and abilities.
Occasional hirings also include the **Hampshire Youth Offenders team** and an antismoking organisation called **Smoke Free Hampshire.**
**Financial Report Year 2022 Incoming:**
When we compare 2022 to the last year of normal trading (2019), we have begun gaining ground. The total income for the Association in 2022 was £38629 compared to £36066 in 2019, this does not reflect price increases in that period. Rents from hiring the Community Centre’s rooms out were £33200 compared to £31697.
Membership numbers have continued to rise with 175 members in 2022 compared to 124 in 2021 and returning to the last “normal” level of 285 in 2019. At last years’ AGM it was decided to increase membership fees to £5 per annum. The increase should have been charged from the start of this year (2023), but will now be implemented for 2024.
The kitchen, while not being fully open and being serviced from the office had a net income of £634 – a rise of 3 times the previous year. Book sales are also recovering, with receipts of £90.
The Association also received an additional Support Grant from New Forest District Council of £4000.
## **Outgoing:**
The utility service expenditure was up by only £223 over 2021’s amount. This has mainly been due to the negotiations that our Chairman, Graham Parkes, had with our energy broker “Every Aspect” to obtain the best fixed price deals for gas just before the major increases started. This deal will last for 3 years, ending in 2025. A similar deal was made for electricity which started in May 2023 and will last until 2026.
The costs for maintenance were substantially higher at £11783 against £3550 in 2021. The reason for this was that the centre’s 2 boilers plus pipework and pressure cylinders had to be repaired or replaced during this time. The cost of a new boiler system would have been in excess of £22K. The decision was made to see if we could have one or both of them repaired. We were lucky enough to find an enthusiastic plumber who was up for the challenge and briefly both boilers were operational. Alas one of the boilers couldn’t cope and needed to be turned off again. The Association had a final repair bill of £8082 and a comfortably warm Community Centre.
Overall Income, including the NFDC Support Grant amounted to £38629 compared with £43334 last year whilst Expenditure amounted to £48864 compared to £39138 last year. The year-end differential was a loss of £10235 compared to a surplus of £4191 last year. Total differential was £14426 which is accounted for by the cost of the boiler repair, increase in wages and the lesser grants received in 2022.
A copy of the accounts is available to all members in the Office.
## **The Future**
At the time of this report the future is somewhat uncertain. As reported earlier, our commercial bookings have recovered to a large degree but membership groups having fewer numbers, have been slower to recover. This is of greater concern for the Association which is made up of and run by members than the Community Centre itself.
We still need to market the Centre more, in order to increase our hirings and revenues, but in addition we need to explore new ventures and identify other uses which would still be in keeping with the ethos of the Association while not being in conflict with our planning category.
One insurmountable problem is that there is a surplus of venues in the area which has arisen since we erected the new Centre. Most of the new venues have been created within the local authority or ecclesiastical environment which protect them from incurring costs that an independently run building such as our centre does. For example: refuse – churches get their waste taken away free whereas businesses, like ours, must pay.
As for other streams of income: The “Inn Centre” Café area has, as of Easter 2023, been re-opened for tea, coffee and biscuits though not yet for other snacks. Our groups need to be reminded that it is available.
Our web site continues to make prospective hirers aware of what the Community Centre has to offer. Hopefully in the future, there’ll be a page or two that Membership and Associated Groups, if they wish, can make use of to promote themselves – as they can the Community Centre’s noticeboards.
We, in common with all commercial businesses and private consumers are still being strongly affected by the increase in gas and electricity prices, although as previously stated, all attempts are being made to mitigate this. Due to the boiler breakdown for most of 2022, the costs combined were actually slightly lower than 2021 but we still have to monitor usage carefully and minimise waste.
The basic maintenance on the Community Centre buildings continues at a significantly low level and most of our costs have been incurred through the Associations’ legal requirement to ensure that the emergency systems and services such as the fire and burglar systems are regularly tested and maintained. This also applies to portable appliances and the lift though those are more visible and less forgettable on a day to day basis.
This “low level” can not last forever as the original part of the building is over 50 years old and the new Community Centre was opened 20 years ago. We can therefore expect significant increases in our maintenance costs in the next few years.
It has always been the hope of the Executive Committee, since we had the Community Centre rebuilt, that, in spite of not being able to maximise our revenues through the provision of a new all-purpose hall to replace the old one, we would be in a position to move into a surplus financial state year on year. The last few years have not made that hope an easy one to keep but despite this we continue to believe in the future and hope to move forward, maybe with new ideas, but still continuing to meet the needs of the community.
We would like to commend this report to you for your adoption.
. Chairman
## **HYTHE AND DIBDEN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION**
## **Income and expenditure account**
**for the year ended 31 December 2022**
|**Income**
**Expenditure**
Wages, salaries and other staff costs
Travelling expenses
Rent, rates, power and insurance costs
Maintenance and renewals of property and equipment
Telephone, stationery and other office costs
Bank,credit card and other finance charges
Accountancy, legal and other professional fees
Depreciation and loss/(profit) on asset disposal
Other expenses
**Expenditure excess**|**2022**
**2021**
**£**
**£**
38629
43334
23266
21786
0
0
11446
11223
11783
3550
2215
2227
154
17
300
0
40
0
0
48864
39143
-10235
4191|
|---|---|
## **HYTHE AND DIBDEN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION**
## **Balance Sheet at 31st December 2022**
|**Notes**
**2022**
**£**
**Fixed assets**
Buildings and equipment
**1**
15,356
**Current assets**
Debtors
5846
Bank balance - HSBC
21,164
Till Floats
100
Petty Cash
127
27,237
**Current liabilities**
Creditors
685
**Net current assets**
26,552
**Net assets**
41,908
**General Fund**
Balance at start of period
52,142
Excess of Expenditure over Income/(Income over Expenditure)
-10,235
41,907|**2021**
**£**|**2021**
**£**|
|---|---|---|
||15,356
781
38104
100
48
39,033||
||2247||
||||
|||36,786|
||||
|||52,142|
|||47,951
4,191|
|||52,142|
The accounts were approved by the Trustees of the Hythe and Dibden Community Association on:
Date: 17/05/2023
Chairman C White
## **HYTHE AND DIBDEN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2022**
|**1 Income and Expenditure Account**
**Income**
Rents receivable
Membership
Books
Donation
NFDC Grant
Business Support Grant
Job Retention Scheme
Sundries
Kitchen:
Less: Expenditure
Interest receivable
**Expenditure**
**Wages,salaries and other staff costs**
Wages Office manager
Cleaners
Wardens fees
**Travel and Subsistence**
Travel and subsistence
**Rent, water, power and insurance costs**
Ground rents
Water and sewerage
Electricity
Gas
Insurance
TV Licence
**Maintenance and renewals of property and equipment**
Building maintenance & safety
Less: charges for PAT testing
Kitchen equipment
Cleaning materials
Less; charged to J&J
Garden maintenance
**Telephone, stationery and other office costs**
Telephone:
Less: income
Internet
Office consumables
Copier costs
Less: income|**2022**
**2021**
**£**
**£**
33200
20973
700
496
90
13
6
60
4000
12000
9581
37996
43123
786
250
-152
-39
634
211
38629
43334
8640
8160
14590
13626
36
0
23266
21786
0
0
2220
2220
687
565
4390
2843
393
2215
3596
3222
159
158
11446
11223
11766
3586
-9
-12
11757
3574
0
0
160
52
-133
-76
26
-24
0
0
11783
3550
1472
1512
0
0
1472
1512
86
86
62
119
678
678
-84
-168
594
510
2215
2227|
|---|---|
|**Advertising**
Advertising
**Bank, credit card and other finance charges**
**Accountancy, legal and other professional fees**
Accountants fees
**Depreciation and loss/(profit) on asset disposals**
Depreciation
**Other expenses**
Social and Christmas decorations
Sundry expenses|0
154
0
0
48864|0|
|---|---|---|
|||17
300
40|
|||0|
|||0|
|||0|
|||39143|
## **HYTHE AND DIBDEN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION**
## **Notes to the Accounts**
## **for the year ended 31 December 2022**
## **1 Buildings and office equipment**
|**Cost**
At 1 January 2022
Less: Grant
Additions
Disposals
At 31 December 2022
**Depreciation**
At 1 January 2022
Charge for Year
On disposals
At 31 December 2022
**Net book value**
At 31 December 2022
At 31 December 2021|**New**
**building**
**£**
533279
-517923
-
15356
-
-
-
-
15356
15356|**Building &**
**office**
**equipment**
**£**
33440
-
33440
33440
-
-
33440
0
0|**Total**
**£**
566,719
-517,923
0
-|
|---|---|---|---|
||||48796|
||||33,440
0
-|
||||33440|
|||||
||||15356|
||||15356|
Inde
endent examiner5 re
ort to the trustees on the unaudited accounts (prepared by the
Treasure) for Hythe and Dibden CommunityAssociation for the year ended 31 December
2022.
Respective responslbllities of trustees and examiner
The Charit¢s trustees consider that an audit is not required for the year
I have been asked to..
Examine the accounts prepared by The Treasure under sertion 145 of the Charities
Act, the Charities Commission (under section 14S151 Ibll of the Charities Act, and
To state whether particular matters have come to my attention
Basls of independent examinerfs statement
My examination was carried out in accordance with the general directions given by the
Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by
the charity and 2 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 trustees concerning any such matter. The procedures undertaken do not provide
all the evidence that WOLtld be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as
to whether the accounts present a "true and fairf, view and the report is limited to those
matters set out in the statement below.
Independent examinerfs statement
In connection with my examination. no matter has come to my attention
l. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in, any material respect, the
requirements..
To keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act, and
To prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the
accounting requirements of the Charities Act have not been met or
2. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper
understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Chantel Hiatt MAAT
30 Arnwood Avenue
Dibden Purlieu
Southampton