## **Shropham Village Hall** 

## **Annual Trustees Report** 

**1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025** 

**Registered Charity No:** 304062 **Registered Charity Name:** Shropham Recreation Ground and Village Hall **Address** : Rocklands Road, Shropham, Norfolk. NR171DU **Trustees** : See Annex A 

## **Public Benefit Statement** 

The Charity exists to improve the conditions of life within the local community: 

1. Provide a Village Hall for the use of the inhabitants for the Parish of Shropham, in the County of Norfolk, without distinction of political, religious, or other opinions including use for public & private events, meetings, lectures, and classes. 

2. Ensure the availability of the Hall, its grounds, associated facilities, and equipment in a safe, serviceable, and attractive condition for users. 

3. Working with users and user groups to host a wide variety of activities – including use for events, meetings, lectures, and classes, and for other forms of recreation and leisure time occupation with the object of improving the conditions of life for the said inhabitants. 

4. The Management Committee confirm they have complied with the duty in Part 1, Chapter 1, Section 4 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on the ‘public benefit requirement’. 

## **Summary of Activities** 

2024/25  has  brought  pleasing  results  for  the  Village  Hall,  despite  the  ongoing  cost-of-living squeeze driving rises in utilities and other regular invoices, there has been a positive return of private hire bookings received, this has been bolstered by the ongoing support of our regular hirers (Dance Inspiration, Shropham Short-Mat Bowls Club & Pilates classes).  Their collective support has allowed the Village Hall to maintain a lower hire cost to the public. 

Thanks, must be placed on record to my team of Officers and Committee volunteers whose stewardship and unwavering support kept the Hall operating at the high standard we strive to maintain. With their support, we have been able carry out minor repairs and improvements where required to keep the hall in good order. 

Morley Youth FC have continued to utilise the sports pitches, and Rocklands Youth FC are utilising the facilities throughout the summer months for Training, the Village Hall has adjusted the parking facility to maintain access to the field via both East and West gates with additional maintenance work completed improving the over-flow parking in the field. 



We continue to dip our toes into additional fund-raising events this year, hosting 4 fantastic ‘Big Fat Quiz’ events and our now annual ‘Christmas Craft Fayre’, seats for the Quiz and stalls for the Christmas Fayre both very quickly sold out, demonstrating their popularity. I would like to publicly thank all volunteers involved in making these events a success as they not only bring some welcome funds to the Hall but provide a community opportunity to the local populace. 

The Committee welcomes new ideas for future Events, Development and Betterment of the Village Hall and its collective facilities. 

## **Future Activity Plans** 

Plans are well underway to expand upon Morley Youth FC’s long-term exclusivity lease by making Shropham the home of their Girls Football Teams, Kicking off their tenure on Saturday mornings from September 25.  This will see an initial 2-3 matches between 0900 & 1300 as the program kicks into life. 

The Bookings team are always on the lookout to fill any white space in the diary with regular users, as such, we welcome Rosie’s Mixed Ability Hatha Yoga Class which started in April 25. 

We continue to welcome new residents to the Village and both Hall and Sayers Bar Committees have had new members to their respective committees , that said, there is always room for more… 

## **Future Maintenance Plans** 

Subject to comment at the Annual General Meeting and endorsement by the Management Committee, the following are proposed as specific actions for 2024/25: 

1. Replacement of the flooring within the bar communal areas. 

2. To redecorate the Main Hall and waiting lobby walls. 

3. To complete a plumbing over hall of the bathrooms, replacing any ineffective facilities. 

4. To conduct pressure cleaning of and repairs to equipment and seating in the Play-park area. 

5. To renovate the front of house patio and smoking area. 

6. To continue with minor repairs and improvements as and when required. 

## **Financial Overview (Reporting Period 1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025)** 

The Charity prepares accounts on the receipts and payments basis. The policy is to maintain a minimum cash reserve equivalent to a minimum of 2 Years operating cost. In addition, a separate maintenance fund may also be accrued for specific purposes such as to replace time limited equipment or invest for the betterment of the Hall. Full details are contained within the halls Financial Management Policy. 

Audited accounts for the year ending 31 March 2025 are at Annex B 

Despite the ongoing pressures of the Nationwide cost-of-living increases, there has been an upturn in private events bookings, couple this with a steady income from regular hires through the year, leaves the Village Hall accounts in a healthy position. 

At the end of the year, we had a total of £59,140.29 in the bank with an additional £8,340.50 in a separate account allocated as a maintenance fund. Total cash assets for the Village stands at £67,480.79. 



## **Governance and Management** 

In accordance with the Charity’s constitution, the Charity is managed by a Management Committee of behalf of the board of Trustees (Shropham Parish Council) confirmed at an open meeting of villagers each year – the Shropham Village Hall Annual General Meeting – or otherwise as may be co-opted between these meetings by a majority of Committee Members. 

The number of Committee Members at any time is as agreed by the Trustees who may vary the provision of the constitution by majority; the principle being that Management Committee comprise three (or more by agreement) Office holders together with nominees from the Village Hall’s main user groups. The Trustees for 2023/24 are identified at Annex A in accordance with Charity Commission requirements. 

The Management Committee have collective responsibility for management of the charity and decide together on all commitments. Decisions are made by the Committee at meetings of the Committee which comprises the Officers, Committee Members and any specific advisors, experts or other volunteers as may be invited by the Committee from time to time to assist the Committee in the management of the Charity. 

The Committee have put in place a set of processes and procedures for operating and managing the Village Hall and its facilities. These are available to users on a bespoke area of the Shropham Village Hall website, accessible to all. The Committee follow a process for the review of safety risks and regular safety and maintenance inspections. 

The responsibilities of the Officers of the Charity were: 

- **Chairperson** – Leading meetings, external relationships & funding and managing Hall maintenance. 

- **Secretary** – Arranging and recording meetings, managing correspondence and liaison with Sayer’s Bar Committee. 

- **Treasurer** – maintaining Hall accounts and monetary assets, managing creditors and debtors. 

The Village Hall has an excellent and supportive committee who are as follows. 

**Chair** : Brian Slinn **Secretary** : Jeni Slinn **Treasurer** : Ed Howe 

Along with Committee members; Andy Barnes, Alyson Brett, Angela Cooper, Nigel Cooper, Joanne French, Louise Tingley and Simon Tingley. 

I would like to thank the above people for their support and the time and effort that they have put into their respective roles. 

On behalf of the Trustees. 

Brian Slinn, Chair of the Management Committee Date 28[th] April 2025 



## **Annex A - Appointment of Trustees** 

In accordance with the Charity’s Constitution, a Management Committee to operate on behalf of the Village Hall Trustees (Shropham Parish Council) are appointed by means of an open meeting of Villagers each year – the Village Hall Annual General Meeting – or otherwise may be co-opted between these meetings by a majority of Committee Members. The number of Committee Members at any time is as agreed by the Committee who may vary the provision of the Constitution by majority; the principle being that Management Committee comprise Three (or more by agreement) Office holders together with nominees from the village’s main user groups. 

## **Trustees** 

The following Parish Council Members were Trustees of the Charity during 2024/25: 

|**Parish Council Chair:**|David Napier|
|---|---|
|**Parish Council Deputy:**|Andy Thornton|
|**Parish Council Clerk:**|Jo Blackman|
|**Councillors:**|Cliff Allen|
||Leslie Brown|
||Peter Bush|
||Wayne Linge|
||Robert Wylie|



## **Management Committee** 

|Chair|Brian Slinn|
|---|---|
|Secretary|Jeni Slinn|
|Treasurer|Ed Howe|
|Committee Members|Andy Barnes|
||Alyson Brett (Resigned March 25)|
||Angela Cooper (Joined July 24)|
||Nigel Cooper (Joined July 24)|
||Joanne French (Joined December 24)|
||Louise Tingley|
||Simon Tingley|



## **User Groups** 

Representation is sought / welcomed from the following key (non-commercial) user groups: 

- Sayer’s Bar 

- Morley Youth Football Club 

- Shropham Short Mat Bowls Club 

- Shropham Pool & Darts Teams 

- Shropham Cribbage Team 



## **Annex B - Income and Expenditure Account** 

Shropham Village Hall - Registered Charity No. 304062 

The Charity’s reporting period is 1 April to 31 March annually. 

The Charity prepares accounts on the receipt and payment basis. The policy on reserves is to maintain a minimum cash reserve equivalent to a minimum of 2 years’ operating costs. A maintenance fund is also established to fund the replacement of time limited equipment and structural items. The Charity holds no funds as custodian trustee on behalf of others. 

The audited accounts for the year to the 31 March 2025 are presented below: 

## **Community Account – 90806803 Summary of Activity** 

|||||**Year to**|**Year to**|**Year to**|**Year to**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||**31/03/25**|**31/03/24**|**31/03/23**|**31/03/22**|
|||||||||
|||||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|**INCOME**|Hire of Hall|||21,152.75|17,234.25|15,657.00|14,842.35|
||Hire of feld|||2,635.00|2,980.00|660.00|0.00|
||Fund raising|||853.00|660.00|637.00|0.00|
||Donatons &grants|||54.00|230.00|0.00|0.00|
||Rent from Sayers Bar *|||6,000.00|6,000.00|5,683.34|2,292.00|
||Bowls Club contributon|||482.85|490.33|601.63|~|
||Events|||667.14|434.00|1,995.00|-39.37|
||F.I.T Payments|||792.23|574.71|762.72|~|
||||**Total**|**32,636.97**|**28,603.29**|**25,996.69**|**17,094.98**|
|||||||||
|**EXPENDITURE**|Repairs & Maintenance**|||5,612.29|5,720.50|2,192.02|3,460.31|
||Purchases|||1,945.74|4,429.58|6,809.22|~|
||Utlites & Insurance|||8,745.69|12,229.23|4,561.18|3,114.99|
||Grounds maintenance|||2,193.20|1,901.59|1,015.72|1,215.27|
||Rates & Licenses|||286.40|481.45|560.44|~|
||Events expenses|||97.47|256.96|1,151.02|~|
||Otherproperty|||0.00|0.00|0.00|296.56|
||Other|||90.00|90.00|0.00|0.00|
||||**Total**|**18,970.79**|**25,109.31**|**16,289.60**|**8,087.13**|
|||||||||
|**SURPLUS IN YEAR**||||**13,666.18**|**3,493.98**|**9,707.09**|**9,007.85**|
|||||||||
|**BANK DETAILS**|CommunityAcc No: 90806803|At start ofyear||45,474.11|41,980.13|32,273.04|23,265.19|
|||Surplus||13,666.18|3,493.98|9,707.09|9,007.85|
|||End ofyear balance||**59,140.29**|**45,474.11**|**41,980.13**|**32,273.04**|



*Includes monthly £50 contribution to maintenance fund for year to 31/03/24 

**Includes combined Hall / Bar monthly £100 standing Order payments to maintenance fund for year 2023/24. 

**Maintenance Account – 13555453 Summary of Activity** 



|||||**Year to**|**Year to**|**Year to**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||**31/03/25**|**31/03/24**|**31/03/23**|
||||||||
|||||**£**|**£**|**£**|
|**INCOME**|Contributons from SVHMC and<br>Sayers Bar|||1,200.00|1,200.00|1,200.00|
||Football refreshments|||0.00|626.10|1,145.00|
||Interest|||112.28|77.51|12.05|
||Other|||0.00|77.54|10.00|
||||**Total**|**1,312.28**|**1,981.15**|**2,367.05**|
||||||||
||||||||
|**EXPENDITURE**|Maintenance/Repairs|||219.78|0.00|3,031.01|
||Purchases|||0.00|0.00|1,000.00|
||||**Total**|**219.78**|**0.00**|**4,031.01**|
||||||||
|**SURPLUS IN YEAR**||||**1,092.50**|**1,981.15**|**-1,663.96**|
||||||||
|**BANK DETAILS**|Maintenance Acc No: 13555453|At start ofyear||7,248.00|5,266.85|6,930.81|
|||Surplus||1,092.50|1,981.15|-1,663.96|
|||End ofyear balance||**8,340.50**|**7,248.00**|**5,266.85**|



Liquid assets were broadly in line with the trustee’s policy of maintaining a minimum of 2 years of operating costs plus a maintenance fund for capital equipment replacement and repairs relating to time limited structural items. 



# **Annex C – Independent examiners Report to the Trustees of Shropham Village Hall Management Committee for the Year Ended 31 March 2025**