HARTPURY VILLAGE HALL ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2021-22
REPORT FROM THE CHAIR
For the second year in succession the year was heavily impacted by the direct and indirect consequences of the COVID pandemic. At the start of the year we were still in lockdown with only the pop-up post office in operation, but following the step-by-step relaxation of the various restrictions most of our regular users were able to resume their activities and the private bookings also began to resume. Indeed it was soon evident that there was a considerable pent-up demand for children’s parties in particular. At the time of writing the only regular user-group which has not been able to re-start after COVID is the Youth Club, but we are hopeful that this too will soon be able to return under new leadership. We have continued to benefit from the support of the Gloucestershire Rural Community Council who, along with the national network organisation ACRE, have provided invaluable advice and guidance regarding COVID security and related matters.
From a financial point of view the year went well. Hire income exceeded its pre-pandemic level, as a result of which we have been able to allocate some of our additional COVID grant funding toward improvement projects as well as various “restart” activities for the benefit of the wider community, including a summer barbecue and the upcoming jubilee celebration. We are however very conscious of darker inflationary clouds on the horizon, in particular with regard to electricity costs. We decided to increase our hire charges by an average of approximately 10% with effect from 1 April 2022, the first such increase since 2018, but this will by no means compensate for the cost increases which are coming quickly down the tracks towards us and we will doubtless need to look again at our hire charges in the coming year. In terms of energy costs, our ability to reduce usage has been somewhat constrained by our efforts to encourage hall users to ensure good ventilation, but we will nevertheless need to consider any options which may be available.
We have continued to invest in our facilities. During the year we installed a new fence alongside the play area in order to address a longstanding concern about the safety of the old fence, in addition to which we upgraded the sound system in the main hall and installed a big screen in the meeting room. At the end of the year we introduced a new bookings and invoicing system using the Hallmaster software, and we will soon be commissioning a
new keypad entry system to obviate the need for one-off hirers to collect a key in-person prior to accessing the hall. We also need to continue spending to maintain the existing facilities in good order, and in that context we unfortunately had to remove the “brise soleil” or solar shading installation to the rear of the hall, which was in a poor and increasingly dangerous condition; we don’t plan to replace it directly but we are considering some alternative options for providing additional shading.
As Chair of Hartpury Village Hall for the past few years I have been very fortunate to have been supported by a strong group of trustees, including Greg Jones as our long-standing Treasurer and Esme Jones as our Bookings Secretary (and previously Secretary) for a considerable number of years. They have both contributed hugely to the development and growth of the village hall into the successful and valuable community asset which it has become. They generously warned us in good time of their intention to stand down, and I am delighted that Deborah Siddle and Sue Knox have agreed to take on the roles of Treasurer and Bookings Secretary respectively, to replace Greg and Esme. I would also like to express my thanks and appreciation to Alastair and Helen McGhee, who have managed the bar most capably, profitably and cheerfully since 2013. Going forward, Sue Knox will co-ordinate bar arrangements with the support of a wider team of volunteers. The bar provides an important secondary income stream for the charity as well as enhancing our overall offer for parties and events, and we are hopeful that we will be able to retain these benefits while sharing the workload over a larger group of supporters.
I would also like to thank all the volunteers who have helped the Village Hall in many other ways, including the marquee team, the 100+ club volunteers and everyone involved with keeping the grounds tidy and attractive. We are also grateful to the W.I. for providing generous financial support toward a major upgrade of our kitchenware. Thanks also to Margaret and Richard Evans for keeping the facilities clean and tidy and maintaining the hall’s well-earned reputation in this regard, even at times when the weekend parties have followed each other in quick succession. Finally I would like to thanks Liz Thompson for standing in at short notice to act as independent examiner to the accounts, and to Peter Antill who had agreed to do so but who was unfortunately unavailable due to health reasons.
Ken Jollans, April 2022
HONORARY TREASURER’S REPORT
As allowed by Charity Commission rules our accounts are prepared on a simple receipts and expenditure basis . They have been independently examined by Elizabeth Thompson in accordance with Charity Commission guidance and she has found no reason to object to the accounts as included in this report. The figures are presented on the same basis as previously with those for last year included for comparison.
As in the past, the Bar stock (no cash is now held) and 100 Club working funds have been held separately to the main accounts but “brought in” to the main accounts at the end of each financial year to allow a total picture of the hall finances. The figures are largely self explanatory but it is worth highlighting some items.
With the essentially full re-opening of the hall, the income from hiring the hall returned to the levels we came to expect prior to the restrictions which limited our hire income last year to £605. Apart from the return of our previous regular hirers and some new exercise and activity groups a major source of income has been from private parties - many from well outside the local community.
Our routine running costs have, of course, returned to a the “normal” level of about £10.5k which is comfortably below the income from hire of the hall and allows for expenditure on major repairs and improvements as well as accumulating funds for replacement, when necessary, of worn out assets . In addition, we have been fortunate to have received further Government grants, paid by FoDDC, of just over £10.7k which has allowed us to fund a number of major repairs and improvements without significantly running down our reserve funds.
We continue to receive useful support from the “100” Club, from the hire of marquees and also the operation of the bar although this source of income has not yet returned to the levels achieved before last year.
In line with our Depreciation Policy we have calculated depreciation of our assets of just over £9.8k which means that our total funds only just cover the £69.3k which is nominally earmarked to replace time expired equipment.
Overall, I believe our financial position, following the recovery from last year, remains generally satisfactory although we are conscious of increased costs in the pipeline, especially for energy, which may not be covered by the recent slight increase in hire charges.
Greg Jones, April 2022
100+ CLUB REPORT AND ACCOUNTS
The 100+ Club had another successful year. The number of members remained at 132, yielding a total income of £1,320. We distributed 28 prizes amounting to £580 in total. During the year we decided to close our account with HSBC as a result of the imposition of bank charges including, but not limited to, a monthly standing charge of £5. The club’s banking has now been transferred to the village hall’s account with Santander. As a result the club’s accounts no longer show a contingency, which meant that the total donation of £835 to Hartpury Village Hall was larger than it would otherwise have been.
The continuing COVID restrictions meant that we again weren’t always able to carry out the draws in public, but we expect to be able to revert to doing so on a regular basis during 2022.
Thanks to Beverley, Caroline, Lynda, Sheila and Trish for helping to make this another successful year for the 100+ club. We will be out and about again in September and October collecting subscriptions and hopefully recruiting more new members. We will again be offering members the opportunity to pay by bank transfer, direct into the Village Hall account.
The annual financial summary for the 100+ club is shown below.
Sandra Jollans, April 2022
| OPENING BALANCE | £525 | |
|---|---|---|
| INCOME: | SUBSCRIPTIONS (132 members) | £1,320 |
| EXPENDITURE: | MONTHLY PRIZES (11 x £30) | -£330 |
| SEPTEMBER BIG DRAW | -£250 | |
| BANK CHARGES | -£5 | |
| TRANSFER TO VILLAGE HALL | -£1,110 | |
| CLOSING BALANCE | CASH PRIZES APRIL-AUGUST | £150 |
COMMITTEE MEMBERS 2021-22
| Chair: | Ken Jollans (Elected) |
|---|---|
| Secretary | Terry Flemons (Elected) |
| Treasurer | Greg Jones (Elected) |
| Bookings Secretary | Esme Jones (Methodist Church) |
| Other Elected Members | Victor Smith, Sheila Trail |
| Other Representative Members | Pauline Drury (Parochial Church Council) |
| Sylvia Gibbs (Line Dancing) | |
| Susan Gregory (Health Walks) | |
| Susan Knox (Hartpury Drama Group) | |
| Alastair McGhee (Parish Council) | |
| Lynda Page (W.I.) | |
| Deborah Siddle (Friends of Hartpury School) | |
| Other Co-Opted Members | Dave Zeal, Angela Adey |
HARTPURY VILLAGE HALL Accounts for Year ending 315t March 2022 INCOME 202012021 202 50 202112022 745.00 700.00 31500 565.00 300.00 300.00 340 00 270.50 280 00 855.00 438 00 284.00 461.00 5.159.CK) 187.50 360.00 2,910.00 244.50 1679.50 16,394.00 10.843.96 921.51 735.00 2.000.00 749.77 -187.40 Hire of Hall." Alexandèr Tèchnique Balrninton Balance CLasses Bowls Drama Group Election Fitness Class ealth Waks Leadon Choir Line Dancing Miscellaneous lird deposiis on keys) Parish Council Pilat8S Private Parties Producè Markèt Supastrikers Weddin9$ 50.00 60 (X) 247.50 9000 5000 .00 40.50 465.00 Yoga 605.50 23,715.50 -70.69 815.00 100.00 Donations & Granls contr1ttiOn from Bar Transfer from'100" Club Marquee hire •oncerts & Theatre perforrnances Village BBQ Sale of surplus items Investment Income 221 se 25 388 87 4.68 31491.5 EXPENDITURE Work Hall & Grounds- Cleaning - Gardening & M8inlen8nce 2,347.88 2.511.02 2 873.60 5,384.62 7,226.90 873 71 212 91 1,168.99 2,284 52 237.48 98.32 1748545 3,904.02 26,110.58 11500 790 1,148.68 1,896.62 228 68 13955 34 334.09 Additions & Imwovèments to Hall & Groun#s LInces. Subscriptions, Fees, Taxes & Gifts other Expenses In5ur8nce Electrioty Telecom Water SURPLUSIDEFICIT -8 945.22 14 006.07 MONETARY ASSETS (See note bélow) NS Inve5tmentAIc Santander Savings Accounts Cash In Hand Bank Current Account 100 Club Working Account Cash Fk)at & SttKk for B8r 28,239 68 18.834 07 237 40 10.139.34 525.00 1005.72 5898121 28,242 50 18,835 93 275 14 23,966.71 425 00 12420 72 987 28 [IIL'. (hf Ini111ei hcld Jn the acc(JWliS ihe full0n£ sums sl[leI]I- txmiarkcd Iii %UIii LlSJ.44 15 heid Eor the l-outh Club. I'lii [111..11 IdiprLLkittdl of Lfj)JI13 lor replacemellt (>f hall equJpmettt- txCttJ% ihc Ziwlablc ffloae! Iield G H Jones, Treassjrer, 0910412022 Elizabeth Thompson, Indepèndent Examlner, 104122