2022-10-31-accounts - Village Hall (Flitton)

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Flitton & Greenfield Village Hall Management Committee

Chairman’s Report for the year ended 31st October 2022

To say that it has been a busy year would be a serious understatement; as anticipated at the last AGM, people have been catching up on engagements postponed during lockdown as evidenced by the increased income from hires; however, that was only the tip of the ice-berg as it does not reflect the number of enquiries that our booking officer has had to field, significantly more than in previous years. My thanks go to Margaret Lowe for handling the enquiries and bookings and perhaps we should be looking at ways of making her life easier. You will hear more details of the finances from the Treasurer.

The increased enquiries are a result of not just the demand to reschedule postponed events but also the growing reputation of the hall as a desirable venue. Starting with our record as a clean and safe environment as we came out of lockdown, people are impressed by not just the standard of cleanliness but also the facilities whether that be kitchen, bar or projection/sound system; even the size of the car park and the proximity of a play area are factors in the hall’s popularity.

Over and above providing the facilities for third party hires, the committee was also involved in organising community events; apart from the rugby which is becoming a tradition, we had the already traditional Xmas lunch for the seniors (or over 65’s to be precise) and the family films at Xmas and Easter. On a smaller scale, we hosted the I-Tea drop-ins from October 21 through to July 22 which were targeted at the more senior members of the community having to tackle digital technological limitations and loneliness; whilst the numbers could have been greater, the appreciation for those who turned up was incredible and the initiative has been mirrored in other village halls. There were also one-offs such as Karaoke and a rare opportunity to see Chris Cole and the Rockets.

However, the highlight of the year was the Jubilee weekend with a very popular and successful race night on the Friday night which raised funds for Saturday’s Picnic in the Park – the sheer numbers attending the picnic made it a truly memorable event (so much so that no-one remembered to take photos) and the bar had its busiest day and evening ever. My thanks to Carl Lowe for both managing the bar throughout the year and organising the big events but again like the bookings this isn’t sustainable so we need to look at other ways of organising events.

Events and bookings are a measure of success but aren’t achievable without facilities which obviously require regular maintenance and often we can’t dictate the timing, e.g., boiler maintenance and clearing snow. After the previous year’s considerable upheaval of the bar refurbishment, repairs and maintenance returned to “normal” levels, if anything can be described as normal. In addition to the odd-jobs, we had our ups and downs with the cleaning which has usually taken up an inordinate amount of discussion time at meetings; we currently have an arrangement of two cleaners splitting the responsibility between weekdays and weekend – fingers crossed it is working but I don’t want to tempt fate. Thank you to all who have responded to dealing with various tasks as we have a demanding clientele with regular hirers in particular pointing out shortcomings.

Over and above the maintenance that may or may not be obvious (unfortunately when we have a complaint or comment), there is a ridiculous amount of admin and paperwork that very few people are aware of. During the year, we tackled one of the longest overdue admin tasks by signing up regular hirers to new agreements This required significant rewriting as they were last done in 2005.

This was in tandem with updating the general terms and conditions and occasional hire agreements and my thanks to the Treasurer for a detailed final review. Our documentation is currently considered the most comprehensive of all halls in the area but what an effort to get there.

One of the very dubious privileges as chairman is that I am the first port of call for outside agencies, especially when there is a problem which was the case with the Performing Rights Society, with whom we had a long-running dispute over the appropriate level of fees; it got the stage of a County Court Summons with yours truly named as defendant. It took 3 days of my time to resolve a problem that originated several years ago but we are now clean and update with my thanks to the Treasurer in providing an independent perspective.

I wish to express my thanks again to all those who have helped in some shape or form and without whom the hall would not function. I know that we don’t volunteer for the thanks but it is nice to be thanked once in a while. Those thanks should be passed on to our families who certainly haven’t volunteered. The effort involved is rarely appreciated but it works judged on the many favourable comments received.

Last year I set myself the aim of sorting the documentation for hirings which I consider achieved. Going forward, I would suggest three specific challenges:

(a) to implement the suggestions of the fire risk assessment carried out in July in a practical solution;
(b) to encourage volunteers to help and organise community events and/or take a more active role on the management committee; and
(c) to host meetings of small village groups as part of the Warm Space initiative (an extension of the I-Tea drop-ins).

To that end, I am encouraging members of the new committee to take on particular responsibilities; just as we have executive, booking and bar officers, there is a case for people to oversee health & safety, routine maintenance and website/IT. However, this is over and above everyone mucking in for the routine jobs that still need doing by someone.

I submit my report for the year ended 31 October 2022.

Flltton & Greenfield Willage Hall Management Committee 11W4 4.537 1105 6.642 7,467 7.152 25.467 Donati(xB I SKMywth"p l FuThl r•wJ 4,746 &132 10.tKI) 2.152 18 18,812 18 5.478 3.337 Heats"ng. & Water lJ5urance 6.449 2,IM7 743 18.1 767 1231 4.107 1.476 1.597 374 LErtes & Ifdirur Communty Event Costs IkT8a. Xrn85 m8811 3,710 224 17,942 13,178 870 Balance Sheet as at 31 Oct¢)ber 24335 28.tty7 Barday5 Hal Fw BarrAays BarAtlrrt (Cye 201 17,8n 6.473 61.1SS 1,186 61351 3,821 40.241 Cash in laid i[ud Ikds 923 $1.017 40241 810 Bar Stctk Totd Assets Currant liabilities 41.051 6.753 54189 13.t78 870 8t start of year Suwlus injme frw 11519 1.011 13.178 141 870 at erK1 of > 21.746 12.539 1,011 at start of year 41,650 273 41,923 1.6 41, at end of y Total Res•r¥es 41.Q11 8yAmin8d Ihe of tt* Flttlon ¢ed Wil m•n &"gn¢d ZDZS

Flitton & Greenfield Willage Hall Management Committee 31 131 1. tionations Sponsotship. Fund Raisiny Lottery fLN¥Jing l.Tea events 1322 Jutrkn E¥Erts us Ofv Fund Riry Evwts [t irt¢xnp 37 510 455 4.746 7.152 18241 BarTefvrt)lthmtgranLX 5.132 25.467 Pit( fees for otw pk Bank cthip)sai 18 18 Gardening 3.321 nla 1.1&7 163)5 18.156 B8r relurishmert120211 4.107 1.807 917 1,441 Rew[¥ hirer key det#ts Ottas*)nal kllFngs fvbjre IHf8 fees receiv1 1.184 3.422 6.753 4J60