**PALGRAVE & DISTRICT COMMUNITY CENTRE** **Charity No. 269132** ## **PDCC Chair’s Report 2024** Another year has passed by in the blink of an eye, and it’s time to review our performance once again. ## **Governance** We have recorded no changes to our governance arrangements over the year. Work has been carried out to ensure the requirements of the Fire Risk Assessment and the Playground Inspection Report were met or exceeded. Last years AGM was held in February 2024 and the minutes are available. The meeting was attended by 19 Members and the Officer posts were filled with the exception of the Vice Chair. There is currently one position vacant. ## **Personnel** There has been one change to the PDCC Trustee Committee. During 2024 a request as received from the Parish Council to appoint a Representative. This was accepted by the PDCC Trustee Committee. It was agreed that having this role would strengthen the link between the two organisations, particularly where they overlap. Unfortunately, the person concerned has had to resign for personal reasons and this position is now vacant. It hasn’t ceased to amaze me the effort the Trustees put into making sure the Centre runs smoothly and that events are enjoyed by everybody who attends. I am grateful to them all, and hope that everybody is appreciative of their dedicated hard work. ## **Bookings and Events** The Community Centre continues to build on the successes of previous years. The membership total, has once again, decreased. Our problem is that we are not attracting new members, whilst existing ones move on and leave. We are conscious of this and currently working on trying to improve matters. Please remember that if anybody does join now they will pay £5 per person until the end of the membership year. We had an increase in the number of hirers (regular and private) over last year and this steady growth has helped increase our income during the year. As will be seen shortly, we have spent time looking at ways to improve the standard of the premises to make it a safer environment for visitors and enhance the user experience. The Community centre is a venue for; - Fitness classes, - Dance and drama, - Carpet bowls, - Cribbage, - Musicians, - Art/history and photography - The Friendship Club. - Palgrave Parish Council meetings - Private tuition - Alternative learning - Bereavement support - Palgrave Church coffee mornings - Palgrave school use - Baby development The playing field has been used for; - Palgrave school, - dog walking and other leisure users. - outdoor playground - u13’s football ??? In June 2024 Palgrave's second Mini Music Festival was held at the Community Centre playing field. The musical contributions were arranged by the band, Red Heart on behalf of the PDCC. and Heidi Marie, Painting The Silence and Curtis Cronin performed. Again, the event was very well received, but unfortunately Red Heart have disbanded and we have been unable to get replacements to arrange and contribute to the Festival. Regrettably we will not be able to stage the Music Festival this year. We will, however, be having a fete with live music. Improvements to the carpark and the toilets have worked to the benefit of both hirers and event attendees. Enquiries and bookings for the hire of the hall are very healthy and demand is often outstripping supply. We remain mindful of the fact that this is a community centre and it is there for the benefit of the community. The income from the hirers is essential to the ongoing upkeep of the premises, but we will continue to look at ways to offer facilities to the wider community. Attendance at the Cinema evenings has improved during the year, and they now run at a reduced loss. Open Gardens proved very popular during the year and was our most profitable event. Similarly, the Garage Sale proved very popular during the year. Open Gardens takes place every other year, and therefore will not occur this year. The Garage Sale takes place in May. 2 The Quiz and Bingo nights continued to prove popular and we have several scheduled in for this year. ## **The Community Centre** The Community Centre was predominantly built in the 1980’s and, as mentioned in previous years, absorbs a significant amount of the expenditure. I stated last year we would be focussing on life preserving repairs and improvements. During the year, the electrical cabinet was replaced and blinds installed over the fire doors to replace the curtains. The car park was resurfaced during the year, and although we received a grant we still had to make a significant contribution. We have received positive feedback on this and it has improved entry, exit and parking for cars, and helped with visitors safety. We are aware that the driveway is showing signs of wear and we are working with the contractor to review this. We also approved work to the playground to improve safety. This took place and has been paid for in the current year. We are also looking at further work including safety surfaces. A remote assessment of the sums insured took place for insurance purposes and these have been increased to ensure we are adequately protected Operationally the Centre generates a profit. Although we had high capital expenditure this year we were able to make small profit. As in previous years, the bar has made a generous donation to the Community Centre and this is a welcome source of income. The bar is open for all members on a Friday night, and it would be good if more people were aware of it and attended. This year our objectives will be the same as last in terms of improving visitor safety and comfort. We have a grant approved for CCTV on the outside of the building. This was in response to incidents that have happened recently and will help safeguard visitors and the Centre. We are in the process of applying for further grants which will update the Centre for users, including; additional lighting around the building and the car park bollards, replacement kitchen cabinets and appliances, improving the surfaces around various items of play equipment, improving the lounge / bar area, and extending the patio at the back of the building and pathways around the building. Whilst we do not expect to win all of these grants and we may have to compromise in some areas, we believe that doing just some of the changes will benefit the user experience. 3 ## **The Field and Play Area** The annual cost of maintaining the field is high, and it is there for the benefit of the community and is enjoyed by many. We also hire it out for groups. Unfortunately we have experienced a couple of incidents involving dogs off leads, and have now had to implement the rule that dogs should be kept on leads when being walked on the field. ## **Thanks** Last year I listed the names of people that I wished to thank for their efforts in keeping the Centre and its Community offerings running smoothly. During the course of the year, I realised that I had missed a lot of people, who quietly work behind the scenes ensuring everything runs smoothly. So this year, I have resisted including names, and have listed the various groups of people who do so much work in their own time to support the PDCC. In no particular order; - the contribution made over the year by the Trustees. Behind the scenes numerous meetings, conversations and decisions are taking place that are not always noticed by others in the community. - The Centre Coordinator who provides ongoing facilitation of the day to day events. - Volunteers who carry out general building maintenance which saves the Centre costs that they would otherwise have to pay to outside contractors. - The Officers who diligently perform their duties to ensure good governance is maintained. - The volunteers who administer and collect membership subscriptions. - All the volunteers who help with the catering at our events, whether it is baking preparing, serving, clearing up, or generally providing a helping hand. - The volunteers who contribute, collate, edit and distribute the Palgrave Star. - The volunteers who serve behind the bar at events and on Fridays. - The volunteers who help in maintaining and updating the social media and website. - The volunteers who help promote, organise and present our regular events such as film, quiz and bingo nights. - Those who help set up the hall for events, assist in running them and clear away afterwards. - The regular and private hirers who help make the Centre a viable concern. - And last but by no means least – those who attend the events. ## **Financial Review** The Treasurers Report details the financial position, and this report has commented on the highlights and areas of concern. We believe we are in a good position to be optimistic about the coming year. 4 ## **Conclusion** There is little that I need to alter to last years conclusion. The Community Centre continues to provide services to the local community that are being utilised. Demand for the centre continues to grow and the events are well attended. There is no room for complacency however, and the Trustees continue to look for ways to maintain and improve the current position. The Trustees are aware that the repairs and improvements to the Centre are consuming our funds and that the need to adhere to new regulations will continue. We are actively working on ways to improve the facility and seek funding for these changes. 5 Palgrave & District Community Centre Income and Expenditure Account 2023124 year ended 30th September 2024 22123 INCOME 23124 f 1.185.00 Membership subs £1.395.IX) Bar Donation5 Others Grants received l Donations Rent Icommunity Club Barl Hire of faciltties (Hall, Lounge and Playing Field) Advertising Income Sales (recycled glass) Ftr payments {turbine} Mid Suffolk Recycling Refunds Income from events Fetelopen gardens Music festival alks and exhibitrons Coffee mornings Other Events £4.3C(J.(xJ £3.065.00 £1,008.00 £13,739.00 £775.00 £15.222.25 £l.W8. £17.396. £977.IN) £519.88 £7,896.63 £134.30 £1.107.52 £6,374.00 £527.00 £1.457.00 £428.00 £3,854.25 £1.745.02 £io.IN) £1,109.IM) £2,604. £658.00 £758.00 Donations from associated clubs Palgrave cinema Crib Carpet bowls 1-Stars £1,214.(X) £417.(Kl £719.(K) £1,305.53 £756.(Xl £1.312.CQ £0. £60.00 Interest received (Deposit accounts) Sundries £0. Totsl Income £62 652.38 Palgrave & District Community Centre Income and Expenditure Account 2023124 year ended 30th September 2024 22123 £261.00 £30.00 £5,780.00 £716.LKI £1,496.00 £3,916.00 Expenditure dmin and office expenses Professional fees laccountancyl Payroll Licence fees Insurance Printing Palgrdve Stsr Printing other Light and Heat Elertricity WiFi Water charges Waste disposal Caretaking and Cleaning Building repairs and rnaintenance Hall Equipment Playing Field urbine Repairs & Maintenance Play Equipment Mini Music Festival Palgrave Cinema Misc expenses lincl. Refunds) 23124 £419.09 £1,738.81 £6,360.Iy) £174.40 £1,869.70 £4,309.(X) £513.40 £4.402.34 £336.94 £130.(M) £407.39 £239.84 £29,064.80 £1,908.35 £2,235.55 £867.60 £O.(K) £o.(x) £1.148.40 £4,197.84 £2,400.00 £304.00 £420.00 £337.00 £318.00 £29,992.00 £1.043.00 £2,4[￿).00 £840.(X) £715.00 £312.00 £1,357.00 £795.fJ) £53 432.1￿? otsl Expenditure £60 323.45 PALGRAVE & DISTRIcf COMMU￿￿ CENfRE COME AND EXPENDTfuRE ACCO￿. 1ST (rnBER 2023-2￿ SEtrrEMBER 2024 2022r23 CASH ￿4LANCFs 202312024 54238 Ttrtal cash funds blfwd as of octo￿ I" Income E62.652.38 ExpendLtll￿ £60,323.45 (21,048) Movemen( in cash resources Deposit account intere Event Float (previously called Petty Cash) 33,191.03 2,328.93 126.50 150.00 33,191 Cash funds crfwd at 30* SeNem￿r 35.796.46 ANALYSIS OF CASH FUNDS 22,870 Tteasuter s Lirnt ac(Y)u 10,070 Deposit account (Reserve) Event Float (Petty cash) 25.198.96 10,197.50 33.191 TOTAL FUNDS 35.796.46 These accounts wete prepared on a receipt and payments b&sis by the T[e￿U[￿ aThJ independently examined by Janet Thorne . D&: IP Febnwy 2025 Notesto income and expendlture 1. The Income and Expenditure reports are prepared on the basis of monies paid and received duringthe year. Therefore. not all entries have been incurred during the financialyear. Some larger sums (but not all) incurred in previous years are included in the notes. Expenses 2. Misc. Exp. Expenditure includes- a. £276 Catering for Music Festival b. 2120 Bike rack c. £256 Cateringforopen Gardens d. £193 Easter Bingo prizes etc. £195 Building sum insured assessmentfor insurance f. £140 Man in Hat expenses. g. £1.161Total 3. No payment was made to PPL and PRSforthe music licences as we were in credit f rom previous years (See note 11) 4. Printing includes a payment of£216 for Open Garden banners which are re- usable. 5. Water charges have reduced from last year due to the account being in credit. 6. Licence fees forthe cinema are included underthe Cinema heading and total £1,148.40 7. Professional Fees include £420for a fire risk assessment. £519.57 forfire and security improvements / maintenance. £495.61 was posted underthis heading for grass cutting that should be aLlocated to"Playing field". Income 8. The bar donation includes a figure of £2.300 from the previous Year 9. The Grants Income includes a £15.000 paymentfrom Mid Suffolk Council forthe car park. 10.The Hirers Income incLudes refundable deposits. Misc. Exp. and Refunds lin Expenditure) includes £2,1%forthe refunds. 11. Refunds include £856 for previous years overpayments forthe PPL and PRS music licence fee.