CLAVERING VILLAGE HALL Registered Charity No 301283
Trustees Annual Report for the year ended 31[st] August 2020
Constitution
The Clavering Village Hall, Hill Green, Clavering, Essex CB11 4QS is registered with the Charity Commission (No. 301283) and constituted by a Deed of Trust dated 14th September 1936, as amended by Resolutions of the Annual General Meeting held on 26th September 2007 and 15th October 2008. The Custodian Trustee is Clavering Parish Council.
Administration
The Village Hall is administered in accordance with the Deed of Trust by a Council of Management consisting of a chairman and 4 appointed members as well as additional individuals appointed by the Village organisations who are users of the Hall. The members appointed by these organisations are entitled to co-opt a maximum of seven further members. All members are elected or appointed on an annual basis. Five officers are appointed annually by the Council of Management. None of the members or the officers receives any remuneration. An Annual General Meeting is held not later than three months after the end of the financial year to which all adult Parishioners are invited to attend.
The Council of Management met 4 times during the year to consider all matters pertaining to the Hall.
The Hall’s premises licence granted under the Licensing Act 2003 was renewed in October 2017. Since April 2012, the licence has been administered by the Council of Management, with no Designated Premises Supervisor required. The licensable activities include music and dancing and the sale of alcohol.
Objectives and Activity
The charity is established to provide a venue for social and recreational activity as well as entertainment for the benefit of all the inhabitants of the Parish of Clavering and the immediate vicinity.
In carrying out these objectives, the Council of Management keeps in mind the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit. It aims to provide first class hall facilities at an affordable cost to local organisations and individuals requiring use of the hall.
Achievements
2020 has been an extraordinarily difficult year for all due to the Covid19 pandemic that swept the country and village halls have not been exempt. The hall was closed for almost six months of the year so consequently hall usage (and income) dropped very considerably over the year. However, on a positive note the exterior of the hall was repainted in the autumn of 2019, the heating system was upgraded with a new boiler (with the help of grant funding) and a new hot water boiler was installed. New trustees were recruited and the cleaning has been taken on by a new contractor (Chris Tidy), who is doing an excellent job. So too is Kaye Robson our bookkeeper and Chris Bessant who has kindly taken on general maintenance. It is also pleasing to report that Jayne Hartley is taking on the fenced area of the car park for an outdoor gym, which should be a great use of the space.
The most worrying aspect of the Covid pandemic from the Hall’s point of view is the impact on the village organisations which use the Hall and the mental and physical health of our residents, which is a core principle of our Charitable Activity. The Toddler Group and the Over 60 ’s have been unable to meet and, in the case of Toddler Group, form a committee or provide a trustee, and it is feared it may lead to their permanent loss.
Fund Raising
Although the Covid 19 crisis heavily impacted on Hall revenues, we recorded income from the Art Show held in 2018, another successful Safari Supper in Autumn 2019, the Covid Grant and income from the jointly owned clothing bank and some bookings from the early part of the financial year. In addition to this we recorded income from lets which were outstanding from the previous year which our bookkeeper managed to retrieve. Last year the organisers of the Easter Art show made the decision, after 50 successful years, to cease the exhibition, partly because of the huge commitment and partly due to the lack of sufficient helpers. The Fete was not able to take place in June because of the pandemic. Thus neither of the 2 big fundraising events took place this year.
However, the Trustees consider that the financial reserves held by the Council are sufficient to meet commitments for the forthcoming year despite the dramatic reduction in lettings and fundraising income.
Financial Summary
The Hall’s operating expenses for the year ended 31st August 2020 totaled £21,384 ( 2019 £15,922 ). This includes £4,418 of repairs and maintenance (mostly exterior painting) and £7,718 of plant and machinery (new boiler and water heater). The total income received was £25,431 ( 2019 £19,025 ). Included in this figure is £3,000 which relates to the previous year’s Art show, £2,500 of grant income from the Essex CC Community Initiative Fund for the new boiler and £10,000 grant from Uttlesford DC specifically aimed at helping village halls through this difficult time.
The Lloyds Bank balance as at 1st September 2020 was £13,497 ( 2019 £9,450 )
The Council adopted a Reserves Policy in 2019 which allows for a contingency for unforeseen repairs to the Hall, a reserve for potential loss of fundraising income, two months running costs plus an amount towards future building upgrades. The cash reserve held in the Virgin account as at 13th January 2020 was £28,991.
In December 2019 a new bank account was opened with Lloyds bank (principally because the administration of the Barclays account had become difficult). The signatories to the account are the Chair, Treasurer, Secretary and the bookkeeper. The Barclays account was closed and the balance transferred to the Lloyds account. The Barclays account is mostly operated remotely by the bookkeeper and dual authorisation is in place to maintain security. The Virgin account was updated to remove the previous signatories and add the current Chair and Treasurer as new signatories.
We should pay tribute here to our bookkeeper (Mrs Kaye Robson) for the huge job she has had in untangling the mess that she found the accounts in when she took over her role in October 2019 following the resignation of the two previous treasurers.
Members of the Council of Management
The members of the Council of Management who held office during the year ended 31st August 2020. These are reflective of the members at the start of the financial year.
| Mrs A Balaam - Chairman | Elected Officer |
| Mr J Upton - Vice Chairman | Elected Officer |
| Dr L Sharp - Secretary | Elected Officer |
| Mrs R Smith - Treasurer | Elected Officer |
| Mrs C Baker - Bookings Secretary | Elected Officer |
| Mr M Birkett (non trustee) | Bowls Club |
| - | Cricket Club |
|---|---|
| Dr L Sharp | Cubs/Scouts |
| Mrs J Turner | Horticultural Society |
| Mr R Bailey | Horticultural Society |
| Mr C Swales (non trustee) | Jubilee Field |
| Mrs A Balaam | Mother and Toddler Group |
| Mr R Couchman | Over 60s |
| - | Parochial Church Council |
| - | Parish Council |
| Mrs R Betts | Clavering Players |
| Mr M Smither | Royal British Legion |
| Mr A Welch | Royal British Legion |
| Mrs A Pearce | Co-opted |
| Mr M Starr | Tea Dance/Co-opted |
| Mrs KO’Keefe | Co-opted |
| Mr C Bessant (non trustee) | Co-opted |
The Trustees wish to record their thanks to Mrs Aimee Balaam who has tendered her resignation. She has served as a trustee of the Village Hall Council of Management for 9 years and as Chair for the last 2 years. Thanks are also due to Dr. Lindsay Sharp who is also leaving the Council. She has served as Secretary for many years and the Council of Management is very grateful to them both for their contributions to the Village hall over that time.
The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees Report above.
Signed:
Date:
Full Name:
Chairman:
CLAVERING VILLAGE HALL Registered Charity No 301283
Receipts and Payments Account for year ended 31st August 2020
| 2020 | 2019 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | Total | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| RECEIPTS | ||||
| From Voluntary Sources | ||||
| Grants and Donations | 10000 | 2500 | 12500 | |
| Fundraising: Art Show | 3000 | 3000 | ||
| Fundraising: Safari Supper | 707 | 707 | ||
| 13707 | 2500 | 16207 | ||
| From Trading Activities | ||||
| Lettings | 9044 | 9044 | ||
| Other Income | 180 | 180 | ||
| Total Receipts | 22931 | 2500 | 25431 | 19025 |
| PAYMENTS | ||||
| Charitable Activities | ||||
| Cleaning | 2716 | 2716 | ||
| Consulting | 2140 | 2140 | ||
| General Expenses | 243 | 243 | ||
| Insurance and Licenses | 1202 | 1202 | ||
| Light Power and Heating | 1618 | 1618 | ||
| Repairs and Maintenance | 4418 | 4418 | ||
| Waste Disposal | 670 | 670 | ||
| Water Services | 474 | 474 | ||
| 13481 | 0 | 13481 | ||
| Other Expenditure | ||||
| Fund Raising Events | 113 | 113 | ||
| Subscriptions | 72 | 72 | ||
| 185 | 0 | 185 | ||
| On Assets | ||||
| Refurbishment and equipment | 5218 | 2500 | 7718 | |
| Total Payments | 18884 | 2500 | 21384 | 15922 |
| Net Receipts for the year | 4047 | 0 | 4047 | 3103 |
| Balances at start of year | 38441 | 38441 | 35338 | |
| Balances at end of year | 42488 | 0 | 42488 | 38441 |
CLAVERING VILLAGE HALL Registered Charity No 301283
Statement of Assets and Liabilities at 31st August 2020
| MONETARY ASSETS Deposits and Bank Balances Virgin Savings account Barclays current account Lloyds current account |
2020 2019 £ £ 28991 28991 0 9450 13497 0 42488 38441 |
|---|---|
Debtors
Creditors
Independent examiner fee 144
NON MONETARY ASSETS
Village Hall Fixtures & Fittings Kitchen Equipment Office Equipment Cleaning Materials Stationery
Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Clavering Village Hall (Registered Charity No. 301283)
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Clavering Village Hall (the Trust) for the year ended 31[st] August 2020.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examiner’s statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
-
accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or
-
the accounts do not accord with those records.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
J Stobart FCCA RCCE House, Threshelfords Business Park, Inworth Road, Feering CO5 9SE 28[th] January 2021