2023-03-31-accounts - Bramley Village Hall

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

Charity Number: 301765

Bramley Village Hall

Bringing People Together

Bramley Village Hall Trustees: Annual Report for 2022-2023

Summary: The operating environment remains challenging with inflationary pressures impacting our finances; some retrenchment has been necessary and costs have been reduced wherever possible. The installation of solar panels and a battery storage system has helped with energy costs. Some refurbishment work still needs to be achieved and we hope that grant aid will fund two key projects later in 2023. Footfall rates have increased, helped by new users and a small increase in hirings by private users for parties; we continue to have sufficient capacity to cope with demand. A recruitment drive has been successful and the body of Trustees is now up to strength.

Objectives

The objectives of the Village Hall and its Trustees, as set out in the Deed of Trust, remain unchanged.

The Trustees Committee

Gareth Jones – Chairman Richard Beale – Treasurer Jo Whatley – Secretary

Mike Hall - Maintenance

Jane Matthews – Health and Safety and the link with our Caretaker Jenny Begent Tony Walton Max Fullerton

Mike Welsh

Keith Oborn - Trustee nominated by the Parish Council

Mrs Sarah Hodnett resigned as a Trustee in July 2022, since when we have recruited three additional Trustees to the Committee: Mike Hall, Max Fullerton and Mike Welsh.

Mrs Catriona Hayward continues to be employed as our Business and Events Coordinator. The Trustees are very grateful to Mrs Hayward for her continued efforts to support existing Hall users and in winning new business.

Mrs Emelia Rutt continues as our Caretaker, and we wish to place on record our appreciation of her continued commitment and support to the Village Hall.

Policy Documents

We have policy documents covering all of the key areas of the Hall’s functions, including finance, Health and Safety, bookings, maintenance and safeguarding; these were updated in March 2023. We have a Business Plan which is updated annually and a Strategy Document for the 5 Year period, 2020-2025. All of these documents have been published on our website.

Key developments

The past year has been dominated by a return to ‘business as usual’ with an increase in footfall by both regular users and for one-off event hirings. Although we have a small number of new users, we continue to retain sufficient capacity and flexibility across our suite of rooms to meet the requirements of most hirers. Maintenance issues have taken up much time and effort, chiefly dealing with wear and tear from hirings and occasional minor accidental damages.

Inflationary pressures, especially the rise in energy costs (see below) necessitated an increase in hiring charges. The charges for one-off hirers increased by 10% in October 2022 but we held off a similar rate of increase for regular users until 1 April 2023.

Our major project in the past year was the installation of a solar panel system on the front, flat roof at the Hall. This was successfully completed at the end of July and our electricity is now supplied mainly by our own system. We have also installed a new battery storage system which will enable us to store electricity from our solar panels for use during the dark hours. The control system enables a smooth management across the system and the ability to switch over to mains supply when the battery runs low, and equally to recharge using cheap electricity during off-peak periods. This project was supported financially by National Grid’s Community Grants Programme and Hampshire County Council’s Parish and Town Council Investment Fund, and was as much about us being more sustainable, being ‘greener,’ as it was about saving money. While we need to see how the system performs over the full year, the evidence suggests that on a bright sunny day, the Hall can operate to a high degree of self-sufficiency for electricity, including running off the battery system overnight.

Forward Look

The Village Hall Trustees have initiated work on two projects for the year ahead. The first, for which the contract has already been tendered is for the refurbishment of the floor in the main hall and committee room. This is a messy job requiring the sanding down, waxing and resealing of the floor surface and will necessitate the closure of those two rooms for a two-week period starting on 24 July. The other project is the replacement of the units in the main kitchen, installation of a new sink and addition of a dishwasher to ensure that we keep our crockery clean. This project will follow on from the work on the flooring in the main hall. The latter project is likely to be expensive and at the time of writing we are applying for grants to underpin our investment in the new amenities. Other works include periodic paint updates to the walls and doors to deal with scuffs and other marks; we are grateful to Mrs Emilia Rutt for her efforts to repaint some of the busiest areas.

Externally, work has been completed to replace the stock fence to the rear of the Hall and to clear brambles from the ditch it borders. Removal of dead trees and some shrubbery was necessary, with more work to be undertaken in the next few months, and the Trustees will then examine ways in which the green spaces around the Hall can be rewilded; this is as much about supporting the Village’s green agenda as it is about reducing our garden maintenance costs.

During 2021 and early 2022 we had several meetings with representative of Wates Developments concerning their plans for land to the rear of the Village Hall. As

Trustees for the Hall, we could neither support or oppose their proposals for the land but made clear our concerns about the impact any development might have on shared infrastructure, especially drainage, and on traffic flows on The Street. We stepped back from further contact while the planning application was underway but we anticipate renewed engagement now that the application has been approved.

Financial situation

Our year-end figures have yet to be audited but Income from hirings during 2022-23 amounted to £52,878, an increase of nearly £10,000 compared to the previous year. (Income from regular users increased by £4,900 while fees from one off hirers went up by around 70%.)
Expenditure in 2022-23 was £50,302. This sum is slightly higher than the expenditure for the previous year, by about £500. We anticipated that costs would have been higher given increases in maintenance costs, cleaning costs and energy costs; however, while we spent £1,200 more on gas supplies our electricity costs remained static as a consequence of the availability of solar energy.
In addition, we currently hold a reserve of £17,000, some of which may need to be expended on the cost of refurbishing the floor in the main hall and on the replacement of cabinets and equipment in the main kitchen.
Pending audit, we reached year end with income exceeding expenditure by £2,524.

The Year Ahead

We will remain focussed on our running costs and will continue to seek ways of reducing the impact of price increases across the board: energy costs (especially gas) and maintenance costs will be priorities. Completion of the two refurbishment projects during the course of the year will underpin our operations over the next five to six years; these are significant investments but we are mindful of the steady toll minor damages and accidents can have on the fabric of the building and on our maintenance costs. The ‘Bramley Village Hall’ sign in car park will be replaced with a slightly larger, more visible sign in the next few months.

We hope to resume our ‘Kick Start’ scheme as part of our strategy to encourage use of our facilities, offering partners in the community the space to develop ideas, to experiment and trial events or new groups without worrying about room hire costs, while we accept a degree of risk in the loss of potential hiring income while a new group gets established.

The Trustees remain committed to supporting the Charity Commission’s desire to encourage people under the age of 25 to become more involved in the governance of charities, large and small. We remain keen to recruit at least one Young Trustee and seek additional volunteers to support the work of the Trustees and to eventually join the Committee.

Issues

There are no significant issues, complaints or disputes to report.

Gareth Jones

Chairman

Bramley Village Hall Trust

07471 897810

3 May 2023

yrw3tstVdfth1o23 202V Ewit Refl¥¥frn 8w¥rrst(e& DEan £124J82AO £ 8.(tsXCO nbrtsNreC¢ OtFrGr4Thts £ 4OJ9 lrterex E 44.829.13 177 IE432 Cc¢diMttY54¥ry £ ¢M04 £ L9W91 £ L650 £ ¥3a751 £ lrAl £ W336 299 2.uom £ LFAb8AS IVrdr Fire £ LOSIM Hill Alalnlenlr £ U199 rttak•r £ 1ts94-03 £ 9ts62.63 439.19 1,$6&94 3&25 1.71& Wwter ethtity strtiry $3 E 136%31 82fv72 PAer•lT LEgal &Atthit• SdarP4nels £ IN4. E L401(6 I,N¢J>J 6rorrtT0LftIAF¢l¢5 37.IZ Slilers surlu51Eth £ 14.0S2.6B (ashF Rectydlknl £ 29.020A2 £ 16.95Q&TI £ 14.OE268 sh b1tlstdrch stytemEntsofAss•ts Indu?1 ts8ClOlEtA¢¢Ymt8Is9SS6I ts0CIOyMtArwt813È556411 £ X6X¥A73 £ 17.162 É 9.9W6 ÈtpgDnkltlmntA<t•Jrt46922CW E W71A2 79AO JUthrde•a Z3