Chairman’s Report:
First of all, I want to acknowledge the extraordinary effort and dedication of the Memorial Hall Committee members in continuing and completing the renovation of the Hall. It’s beautiful, it has increased functionality, it is cheaper to run and it is much admired. Eileen says she is basking in the admiration of potential hirers who visit the Hall for the first time, and word of mouth about how lovely it is now is increasing bookings, and thus beginning to restore our pre-pandemic levels of income. I particularly want to mention the contributions of Helen Bosley, Andrew Dack and Tor Millard, - Helen and Andrew have continued to work on the building project and Tor has updated our website and is improving our systems. Eileen Bridges has as usual done a great job of running the bookings that glue it all together.
The great thing for us this past year has been our ability to reopen the Hall fully, with its new kitchen and Meeting Room. We were able to use the Hall even before that happened, to join in celebrations for the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, and begin again at last to host Applause events. I would like to thank Mike Fitzgerald and Geoff Smith for the enormous amount of work that they have done to create the Hall’s entertainment systems and install the Hearing Loop. Mike has continued to run Applause events, to the great benefit of the village, and we are thrilled that they have gone so well – the children’s show on 7[th] January had 80 people in the audience, and the performances last year did really well. Please see the leaflets available today for details of forthcoming entertainment.
We are also delighted to see the return of CAMEO and its new Winter Warmer lunches. The Youth Club is back, as are the Young Farmers; regular clubs and classes are coming back. Our party bookings have risen and one-off hires for lunches, training or meetings are also returning. Our ability to provide broadband has made us more attractive and given regular users such as the Parish Council a valuable ability to get online. Those of you whose mobile phones have Wi-fi calling enabled can now make calls more easily here.
We held our opening event in November, sadly postponed due to the death of Her Majesty the Queen. A very good turnout of people heard speeches from Helen Grant MP, myself and the Deputy Lieutenant. We are particularly grateful to the History Society for providing a really interesting display on the Hall’s history, and I think naming the Meeting Room after the 64 Frittenden residents who served in the Second World War went down well with the community.
I was watching a history lecture the other day which was riffing on the concept of “the end of history”. This is the idea that you can fix
a nation or a system, and then it’s done – it’s sorted, and the future is just more of the same, running on tracks like a tram.
Of course, that’s never what actually happens! The Committee has spent the last two and a half years managing and funding this massive and multifarious renovation project, and we all look forward to the day when it’s “done” and all we have to do is run the hall week on week for the community. However, there are always snags and glitches, or things that haven’t worked as planned, and we are happy to receive feedback from people who use the Hall on what they are finding works or doesn’t work.
We have found that a lot of things that people bring up are things we are already trying to fix, but which are taking much longer than expected. A lot of small things which seems simple to correct are dependent on waiting for contractors, and with the current situation in the country it is hard to make this happen. For example, a small thing like a replacement door fitting might be tied to a visit by the contractor to fix something bigger, which might in turn depend on awaiting a part, and so the small thing doesn’t get fixed until all those other ducks are in a row. We have had technological glitches with the heating and the new projector which have had to await the availability of the electrician, but as he is also coming to fix new lights, we have to wait for the lights to arrive. Etc etc. I crave your understanding on these matters, and welcome problems being brought to our attention at the earliest opportunity.
Our next step is to build the deck behind the Hall. We may need to fundraise further for this, as although we have some reserves left, we need to complete it as soon as we can so that we can improve fire safety and raise the capacity of the Hall, which is currently limited to 110 people until we can create better egress at the back. Our front door also needs attention as it is not as wheelchair friendly as it needs to be. We have ambitions to improve the car park, but I think it is fair to say that we need to get a new head of steam to deal with that. Part of the reason for waiting on that side of things was the projected Community Shop, and now that this has sadly had to be abandoned, and we would like to mark our appreciation for all the work that went into that project.
We were very sorry to receive the resignations this year of Nick Bull and Diane Campos from the committee, and hope to recruit new members from the organisations they represented. In the meantime I would like to congratulate the current Committee on a year of great achievement, thank them for being such a great group to work with, and look forward to a year of activity, improvement and working together. Thanks too to our volunteers who have helped with practical and administrative matters, especially Mike Ashbee, Gordon Bridges and Philip Bosley. We would like to thank everyone
who has contributed towards the Hall’s fundraising work, and to thank you all, the residents of Frittenden, for your continuing support and interest in the Hall, a vital, and now renewed, asset to the community.
Rosalind Riley, Chairman
Treasurer’s Report:
The first point to make about these accounts is that we actually have some money left, around £16000. And although the main building contract is finished the accounts up to 30 September do not reflect all the transactions associated with it. Since 30 September we have received the last instalment (£2700) of the £25000 KCC grant, £3600 from the low carbon fund, LoCASE, and we are still due £4900 from the Lottery. There will also be a final retention payment to the builders due six months after completion, so next March, of £3700.
£211422 is recorded in this year’s accounts for renovation work and together with previous years’ expenditure brings the total spent on the whole building project to £336352. Adding to this the stage and AV equipment (£13728) brings us to £350080. But projects like this are never “finished” and we have to look at a stage 3 which is the provision of decking outside. There are also small refinements and changes we are still putting into place so next year’s accounts will still feature “renovation” as an item.
The income and expenditure are again split to show the separate streams of building work and on-going Hall activities. This year we have a third element – the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations which enabled us to apply for a grant from the Arts Council and funded the extensive audio visual equipment installation and dismountable stage already mentioned. The surplus of £417 has been designated for use in promoting future Applause events and is shown as a restricted fund in the balances.
What these accounts do not show, but will do from next year, is the value of the fixed assets we now own. Saying that our enterprise is worth £16000 is understating the value. The combined value of the building, AV equipment and kitchen equipment is £320479. These assets will be shown from next year as part of the balances to reflect the full value of the enterprise. Depreciation will be charged on a straight-line basis over 50 years for the building, 20 years for the kitchen equipment and 10 years for the performance equipment.
Looking to the current financial year the Hall is now fully reopened and generating hire income with new groups and individuals making bookings. But there is pressure on our expenditure with hugely increased energy costs, as well as the upgrades we are continuing to make. It is too early to say how much the higher electricity prices will be offset by the low energy heating and lighting and new insulation.
Finally, a big thank you to Patrick McGinley for once again undertaking the audit
Helen Bosley, Treasurer
FRITTENDEN MEMORIAL HALL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
Income and Expenditure Account for year ended 30 September 2022
| 2020-2021 | 2021- | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | |||
| INCOME | |||
| Renovation project | |||
| Grants: | |||
| - | National Lottery | 93100 | |
| - | Defra/ACRE | 31699 | |
| 9857 | KCC Village Hall Improvement Grant | 12379 | |
| - | Garfeld Weston Foundation |
15000 | |
| - | Bernard Sunley | 10000 | |
| 1500 | Whitehead Monckton Charitable Foundation | - | |
| 6500 | Kent Community Foundation |
- | |
| Donations: | |||
| - | Frittenden Hardship Fund |
3201 | |
| 1000 | Frittenden Tent Team |
- | |
| 450 | Private donations | 320 | |
| Fund raising | events: | ||
| - | Fun Run (FMH share) |
582 | |
| - | Quiz night | 520 | |
| 250 | Virtual dog show | - | |
| 116 | Plant sale | - | |
| -------- | --------- | ||
| 19673 | 166801 | ||
| Hall activities | |||
| 18193 | Retail, Leisure, and Hospitality Covid Grants | 5334 | |
| - | Donations | 1022 | |
| 1142 | Lettings | 2243 | |
| 170 | Hire/sale of furniture |
541 | |
| 367 | Prize draw | 567 | |
| 30 | Amazon Smile | 43 | |
| 718 | Bank interest | 200 | |
| --------- | ---------- | ||
| 20771 | 9950 | ||
| Platinum Jubilee | |||
| Grants: | |||
| Arts Council | 9700 | ||
| Donations: | |||
| Private donations | 5000 | ||
| Frittenden Parish Council |
500 | ||
| Frittenden Tent Team |
558 | ||
| Frittenden Historical Society |
354 | ||
| Proft on events: | |||
| Applause | (1181) | ||
| Supper dance | 100 | ||
| ---------- | ---------- | ||
| 15032 | |||
| 40444 | Total income from all sources | ||
| 191783 |
EXPENDITURE
| Renovation project | ||
|---|---|---|
| 115608 | Stage 1 building | 3289 |
| - | Stage 2 building and refurbishment | 201560 |
| 3289 | Administration and insurance | 6573 |
| --------- | ||
| 211422 | ||
| Hall activities | ||
| 1188 | Insurance | 1320 |
| 26 | Water | 78 |
| 293 | Electricity | 812 |
| 162 | Licences and memberships | 277 |
| 585 | Cleaning | 677 |
| 319 | Maintenance | 2853 |
| 270 | Miscellaneous expenses | 394 |
| --------- | --------- | |
| 122060 | ||
| 6411 | ||
| Platinum Jubilee | ||
| Stage | 4998 | |
| Projector, screen and accessories | 2801 | |
| Sound, lighting and accessories | 5928 | |
| Publicity | 396 | |
| Miscellaneous expenses | 489 | |
| ------- | ||
| 14615 | ||
| 122060 | Total all expenditure | |
| 232448 | ||
| (81616) | Surplus/(defcit) for the year | |
| (40664) | ||
| ====== | ||
| Balance sheet as at 30 September | 2022 | |
| Balance brought forward | 56541 | |
| Add surplus/(defcit) for year | (40664) | |
| ----------- | ||
| 15877 | ||
| Represented by: | ||
| Current account | 12172 | |
| NS&I investment account | 117 | |
| Co-operative Bank deposit account | 3808 | |
| Restricted fund: Platinum Jubilee | 417 | |
| Cash | 48 | |
| Debtors /prepayments |
180 | |
| Less creditors | (865) | |
| ----------- | ||
| 15877 |
=======
Helen Bosley, Treasurer
17 November 2022
I have examined these rec<& forthe 11(1 Iiior21 to 30109r22 in line with the Charity CoMmi10n for England & Waks Guidance for Indepdent Examination of Charity AUnts Ref CC32. Signed: F,L M'o4 Date: Patrick McGinl¢y BA {Hons) CGMA ACMA Helfor¢ Sand Lanc Frittenden K¢nl IN172BA