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2024-12-31-accounts

Bishop Sutton Village Hall - Chair’s Annual Report

2024 - Year in Review and Strategic Outlook

Introduction

present to you the Chairman’s Annual Report for 2024. This past year has been marked by significant achievements, some challenges and transformative changes which have collectively strengthened our committee’s ambitions, the building, its condition and improvements we have made and positioned us well for continued future development, income and greater use of the village hall facilities. We have a clear vision of the improvements we intend to make to the building to maintain it for future generations.

Financial Performance

revenue (43% based on 12 months) and coupled with the £38,450.00 of grant funding received, a 247% growth in net income. Our strategic improvements and cost reduction initiatives have yielded positive results, contributing to improved income which we have been able to reinvest into the improvements of the building and its facilities. The balance sheet remains strong with a healthy cash flow, allowing us to continue investing in key building improvement initiatives.

[st] December 2023 to 31[st] December 2024) are: -

2024 Income £70,570 Expenditure
£65,842
Income 2023
2024
Regular hiring £16,689
£20,233
One oU hiring £3,356
£6,872
Grants
Quartet Community Grant £2,100 Hive heating system and upgrade to mesh Wi-Fi
WECA Grant £35,350 Solar Panels and battery (£29,750)
Upgrade to LED lighting (£5,638)
National Grid Grant
£3,000
Warm Space (£2k carried over to F/Y 2025)

Strategic Initiatives/Achievements

Throughout the year, we have focused on several strategic improvement initiatives aimed at driving down utility costs and reducing our environmental CO2 footprint and promoting social responsibility.. These initiatives include:

Use of the Facilities/Charges

printed paper invoices, etc. Now we have on-line banking, management of the accounts is more streamlined. Some of you will know, spreadsheets have become a by-word of the way I conduct business and manage finances. This also extends to managing the bookings to enable closer monitoring to maximise the use of the facilities. The figures below for previous years for comparison purposes, are not easily available without trolling old records. With the spreadsheet system now employed, we are able to monitor and gauge the hiring of the facilities and compare their use, year on year hereafter.

The table below sets out the income and hours of use of the hall each month during 2024. Assuming potential use of the hall 12 hours per day, for seven days per week, equates to 84 hours per week or 336 hours per month (based on a four week month). We have used

the potential for greater use. We are currently achieving an average of 38% occupancy.

Month Hours of VH
use during
2024
Income from
hire 2024
% of use
against 336
hrs pm
Jan 129.25 1,917.00
£
38.47%
Feb 134.5 2,020.50
£
40.03%
March 131 1,793.00
£
38.99%
April 121.25 1,627.00
£
36.09%
May 156.25 2,380.75
£
46.50%
June 118.5 1,569.00
£
35.27%
July 84 1,351.00
£
25.00%
Aug 50 672.00
£
14.88%
Sep 103 1,529.00
£
30.65%
Oct 173.75 2,069.50
£
51.71%
Nov 167.25 2,633.75
£
49.78%
Dec 149.75 1,429.00
£
44.57%
1518.5 20,991.50
£
37.66%

We reviewed our charges for all users both regular and ‘one-oU’ hirers. Most regular hire charges were increased by £1.00 per hour (they were typically £12 or £16 previously). The special rate for villagers and outsiders was discontinued and one charge for all users adopted.

Formal charges for storage of items in the premises were implemented with the majority of £0.10 per day, for 12 months payable in advance (£36.50 p.a.).

Charites were recognised at a special rate per hour (many previously failed to inform us they were registered charities when they booked the facilities); the booking form has now been adapted to notify us of any charity status.

A hire charge of £20 has been introduced for the inclusion of use of the stage (separate from booking the main hall) which was often overlooked and taken for granted by those hiring).

from the grid; we have also negotiated new contracts with our gas and electricity supplier which should provide us with annual savings of £3,000 p.a. during 2025, fixed for three years.

We do not anticipate increasing hire fees for users for a number of years as we now have the addition of solar energy (and an income from the National Grid/EDF – eventually), lower energy contracts, etc. We believe the current charges are now appropriate for the

Our commitment to operational excellence is resolute. We have streamlined processes, implemented best practices and used spreadsheets and monitoring to drive eUiciency

and eUectiveness across the spectrum of amenities we provide. These eUorts are resulting in improved service delivery, customer satisfaction and overall performance.

Changes of Trustees/Committee Members/Sta>

Our committee members and trustees are the backbone of our achievements giving all their time voluntarily for the benefit of the community. I am grateful for their wholehearted support over the past year whilst I am still learning the ropes of the responsibility of the role. I am proud of our diverse and dedicated team, whose commitment and hard work have been instrumental in achieving our ambitions.

This year, we have taken on a paid role of an administrator to manage the increasing administration and invoicing tasks associated with the successful running of the village hall. The chairman had been acting as treasurer as well since January 2024 and although the position of treasurer was frequently advertised for a volunteer to come forward to help, none did and the committee decided to alleviate the workload of administrative tasks, we would pay for the role to assist as we become more successful.

It is intended that Holly Gay, who has settled well into the task, will develop this supporting role guided by the committee to also increase our social media profile and improve the hall’s web page gaining followers and developing the web page to eventually enable users to make bookings and payments via the online presence which may drive up more use of the spare capacity the hall can still oUer.

Andrew Tromans the maintenance manager who has been a trustee for the past two years stood down from the role during December. We thank him for his commitment during this time.

The other paid role is that of the cleaner who is engaged on a self-employed basis for 4 hours per week, which can be increased as demands of the use of the facilities require. With a consistent level of conscientiousness, Geraldine takes a pride in her work which is demonstrated by the many compliments received about the cleanliness of the amenities.

Community Engagement

We are genuinely committed to the community we serve and want to develop more opportunities for those living within the village to engage with us to utilise our assets more productively rather than the premises left sitting cold and idle. To this end, this winter, we have obtained a £3,000 grant from the National Grid to provide a ‘Warm Space’ for the elderly and vulnerable people to make use of the vacant facilities of the lounge to have a natter, play games, socialise and receive refreshments such as soup, sausage rolls, sandwiches, pizzas, etc, free of charge, served to them by volunteers from the village. I would like to pay my grateful thanks to the supervisors who cheerfully provide this service for the benefit of others; Geraldine, Carol and Shep.

The downside to this initiative was within it starting at the beginning of December, the 12year old gas boiler broke down and became irreparable over the coldest part of the year and Christmas. The visitors stayed warm with fan heaters we bought with the grant so we were able to continue to provide the warm space service.

We are looking to expand our community engagement eUorts through various initiatives, including the creation of the training facility in the Taylor Room. We are yet to have a booking for this wonderful space and would encourage you all to promote it through your contacts.

During December 2023 we came to an arrangement with the Department of Justice H M Prison and Probation Service to engage with those serving their punishment by carrying our community work. The village hall hosts these sessions with up to 8 community payback workers with one or two supervisors each week. In conjunction with the parish council who own the recreation ground and car park, these individuals are tasked with cleaning up the area and making it a ‘cared-for’ environment. The Recreation Ground is much improved, with the weeds removed from paths and the grass edges much sharper. A marked diUerence can be seen from this regular management.

Sadly, more graUiti has been sprayed onto the side wall of the hall, which is how the initiative started with the community payback team, to remove the graUiti on that same wall in 2023!

We have located many of the previous paper records for this hall and the previous building including notes from committee meetings. These are now all housed in one place in the Taylor Room and it is our intention to sort the records out to make them available to those with an interest in the history of Bishop Sutton. Colin and Sue Emmett have started studying these records to inform us of the significant occurrences which may be of interest over the past 100 years!

We are considering marking of some of the milestones with a social event to be held at the hall, inviting those still with us who have contributed to the life of this building as volunteers on the committee to get the hall built, to be the guests of honour. We can discuss this later.

Our objective is to continue to make a positive impact and contribute to the well-being of our communities.

Future Outlook

Our focus will be to provide sustainable unparalleled facilities for users of the building and to encourage greater use by the community for this to become the ‘go-to’ hub for all villagers. We will endeavour to build on our funds and attempt to leverage grants, when available for capital works for the continued improvement of our wonderful asset, the Bishop Sutton Village Hall.

Although some of the below will be covered in next years’ annual report, it is important to mention some of the expenditure already made this year, early in 2025 or intended to be spent to improve and maintain the building.

Conclusion

Finally I would like to express my gratitude to our trustees, committee members and those providing a paid service to manage the village hall and to the users who avail themselves of our amenities, for their unwavering support and trust. Together, we have continued to develop the services we oUer and intend to continue to strive to improve these facilities. I am confident we have a strong foundation of funds and a maintained building and are well-positioned for continued success in the years to come.

Thank you.

Derek Maltby Chair of the Committee

BISHOP SUTTON VILLAGE HALL

INCOME AND EXPENDITURE

% Diff DIFF ON
PREV YEAR
2024
(13-month
year)
N.B. These accounts are for 13 months to bring the
financial year into line
2023
OPERATING INCOME
21.24 3,544
£
20,233
£
Regular Hiring 16,689
£
104.77 3,516
£
6,872
£
One off Hiring 3,356
£
100.00 3,900
£
3,900
£
Deposits -
£
54.68 10,960
£
31,005
£
TOTAL INCOME FROM HIRES 20,045
£
GRANTS
2,100
£
2,100
£
Quartet Community Grant -
£
35,350
£
35,350
£
WECA Grant -
£
1,000
£
1,000
£
National Grid Grant* -
£
38,450
£
38,450
£
TOTAL INCOME FROM GRANTS -
£
OPERATING EXPENDITURE
49.92 948
£
2,847
£
Caretaker/Cleaner 1,899
£
448
£
448
£
Administrator -
£
63.00 1,672
£
4,326
£
Gas 2,654
£
58.10 1,135
£
3,089
£
Electricity 1,954
£
153.07 753
£
1,245
£
Water/Sewerage 492
£
4.38 53
£
1,253
£
Insurance 1,200
£
-14.77 (62)
£
355
£
Cleaningmaterials 417
£
-93.25 (175)
£
13
£
Administration 188
£
-100.00 (57)
£
-
£
Parish magazine 57
£
14.54 56
£
441
£
Performing rights 385
£
0.00 -
£
70
£
Alcohol Licence 70
£
-57.53 (2,323)
£
1,714
£
Maintenance 4,037
£
-21.62 (48)
£
174
£
Boiler maintenance 222
£
636.74 137
£
158
£
Internet/web page 22
£
-100.00 (96)
£
-
£
Telephone/Broadband 96
£
1,004
£
1,004
£
WarmSpace expenditure -
£
160
£
160
£
Christmas tree for village-contribution -
£
178.65 1,188
£
1,853
£
Miscellaneous 665
£
2,636
£
Deposits Returned -
£
51.74 7,429
£
21,786
£
TOTAL OPERATING EXPENDITURE 14,358
£
62.09 3,532
£
9,219
£
NET OPERATING PROFIT 5,688
£
REFURBISHMENT & IMPROVEMENTS
620
£
Hot water urn
617
£
Hall Wi-Fi Mesh
1,416
£
Hive central heating controls
5,638
£
Electrical improvements
29,750
£
Solar Panels
1,973
£
CCTVUpgrade
4,042
£
Refurbishment of hall floor -
£
-
£
Hall floor/carpet cleaning 1,272
£
3363.48 42,783
£
44,055
£
TOTAL 1,272
£
-18.16 (802)
£
3,614
£
NET RECEIPTS AFTER EXPENDITURE
4,416
£
OTHER RECEIPTS PAYMENTS
62.73 276
£
716
£
Donations 440
£
120.04 217
£
398
£
Bank interest (Capitalsavings acct) 181
£
79.43 493
£
1,114
£
NET OTHER RECEIPTS/PAYMENTS 621
£
-6.13 (309)
£
4,728
£
TOTAL INCOME AFTER EXPENDITURE
5,037
£
25.77 5,081
£
24,798
£
Balance b/f fromprevious year 19,717
£
-6.52 (330)
£
4,728
£
Total Net Receipts Payments 5,058
£
19.18 4,751
£
29,525
£
CLOSING BALANCE 31st December
24,775
£
-56.96 (1,672)
£
1,263
£
Business Current Account 2,935
£
33.73 7,375
£
29,238
£
Business Reserve Account 21,863
£
23.00 5,703
£
30,501
£
TOTAL
24,798
£

BS VH Finance 23-24

Update: 18/03/2025

Bishop Sutton Village Hall - Chair’s Annual Report

2024 - Year in Review and Strategic Outlook

Introduction

present to you the Chairman’s Annual Report for 2024. This past year has been marked by significant achievements, some challenges and transformative changes which have collectively strengthened our committee’s ambitions, the building, its condition and improvements we have made and positioned us well for continued future development, income and greater use of the village hall facilities. We have a clear vision of the improvements we intend to make to the building to maintain it for future generations.

Financial Performance

revenue (43% based on 12 months) and coupled with the £38,450.00 of grant funding received, a 247% growth in net income. Our strategic improvements and cost reduction initiatives have yielded positive results, contributing to improved income which we have been able to reinvest into the improvements of the building and its facilities. The balance sheet remains strong with a healthy cash flow, allowing us to continue investing in key building improvement initiatives.

[st] December 2023 to 31[st] December 2024) are: -

2024 Income £70,570 Expenditure
£65,842
Income 2023
2024
Regular hiring £16,689
£20,233
One oU hiring £3,356
£6,872
Grants
Quartet Community Grant £2,100 Hive heating system and upgrade to mesh Wi-Fi
WECA Grant £35,350 Solar Panels and battery (£29,750)
Upgrade to LED lighting (£5,638)
National Grid Grant
£3,000
Warm Space (£2k carried over to F/Y 2025)

Strategic Initiatives/Achievements

Throughout the year, we have focused on several strategic improvement initiatives aimed at driving down utility costs and reducing our environmental CO2 footprint and promoting social responsibility.. These initiatives include:

Use of the Facilities/Charges

printed paper invoices, etc. Now we have on-line banking, management of the accounts is more streamlined. Some of you will know, spreadsheets have become a by-word of the way I conduct business and manage finances. This also extends to managing the bookings to enable closer monitoring to maximise the use of the facilities. The figures below for previous years for comparison purposes, are not easily available without trolling old records. With the spreadsheet system now employed, we are able to monitor and gauge the hiring of the facilities and compare their use, year on year hereafter.

The table below sets out the income and hours of use of the hall each month during 2024. Assuming potential use of the hall 12 hours per day, for seven days per week, equates to 84 hours per week or 336 hours per month (based on a four week month). We have used

the potential for greater use. We are currently achieving an average of 38% occupancy.

Month Hours of VH
use during
2024
Income from
hire 2024
% of use
against 336
hrs pm
Jan 129.25 1,917.00
£
38.47%
Feb 134.5 2,020.50
£
40.03%
March 131 1,793.00
£
38.99%
April 121.25 1,627.00
£
36.09%
May 156.25 2,380.75
£
46.50%
June 118.5 1,569.00
£
35.27%
July 84 1,351.00
£
25.00%
Aug 50 672.00
£
14.88%
Sep 103 1,529.00
£
30.65%
Oct 173.75 2,069.50
£
51.71%
Nov 167.25 2,633.75
£
49.78%
Dec 149.75 1,429.00
£
44.57%
1518.5 20,991.50
£
37.66%

We reviewed our charges for all users both regular and ‘one-oU’ hirers. Most regular hire charges were increased by £1.00 per hour (they were typically £12 or £16 previously). The special rate for villagers and outsiders was discontinued and one charge for all users adopted.

Formal charges for storage of items in the premises were implemented with the majority of £0.10 per day, for 12 months payable in advance (£36.50 p.a.).

Charites were recognised at a special rate per hour (many previously failed to inform us they were registered charities when they booked the facilities); the booking form has now been adapted to notify us of any charity status.

A hire charge of £20 has been introduced for the inclusion of use of the stage (separate from booking the main hall) which was often overlooked and taken for granted by those hiring).

from the grid; we have also negotiated new contracts with our gas and electricity supplier which should provide us with annual savings of £3,000 p.a. during 2025, fixed for three years.

We do not anticipate increasing hire fees for users for a number of years as we now have the addition of solar energy (and an income from the National Grid/EDF – eventually), lower energy contracts, etc. We believe the current charges are now appropriate for the

Our commitment to operational excellence is resolute. We have streamlined processes, implemented best practices and used spreadsheets and monitoring to drive eUiciency

and eUectiveness across the spectrum of amenities we provide. These eUorts are resulting in improved service delivery, customer satisfaction and overall performance.

Changes of Trustees/Committee Members/Sta>

Our committee members and trustees are the backbone of our achievements giving all their time voluntarily for the benefit of the community. I am grateful for their wholehearted support over the past year whilst I am still learning the ropes of the responsibility of the role. I am proud of our diverse and dedicated team, whose commitment and hard work have been instrumental in achieving our ambitions.

This year, we have taken on a paid role of an administrator to manage the increasing administration and invoicing tasks associated with the successful running of the village hall. The chairman had been acting as treasurer as well since January 2024 and although the position of treasurer was frequently advertised for a volunteer to come forward to help, none did and the committee decided to alleviate the workload of administrative tasks, we would pay for the role to assist as we become more successful.

It is intended that Holly Gay, who has settled well into the task, will develop this supporting role guided by the committee to also increase our social media profile and improve the hall’s web page gaining followers and developing the web page to eventually enable users to make bookings and payments via the online presence which may drive up more use of the spare capacity the hall can still oUer.

Andrew Tromans the maintenance manager who has been a trustee for the past two years stood down from the role during December. We thank him for his commitment during this time.

The other paid role is that of the cleaner who is engaged on a self-employed basis for 4 hours per week, which can be increased as demands of the use of the facilities require. With a consistent level of conscientiousness, Geraldine takes a pride in her work which is demonstrated by the many compliments received about the cleanliness of the amenities.

Community Engagement

We are genuinely committed to the community we serve and want to develop more opportunities for those living within the village to engage with us to utilise our assets more productively rather than the premises left sitting cold and idle. To this end, this winter, we have obtained a £3,000 grant from the National Grid to provide a ‘Warm Space’ for the elderly and vulnerable people to make use of the vacant facilities of the lounge to have a natter, play games, socialise and receive refreshments such as soup, sausage rolls, sandwiches, pizzas, etc, free of charge, served to them by volunteers from the village. I would like to pay my grateful thanks to the supervisors who cheerfully provide this service for the benefit of others; Geraldine, Carol and Shep.

The downside to this initiative was within it starting at the beginning of December, the 12year old gas boiler broke down and became irreparable over the coldest part of the year and Christmas. The visitors stayed warm with fan heaters we bought with the grant so we were able to continue to provide the warm space service.

We are looking to expand our community engagement eUorts through various initiatives, including the creation of the training facility in the Taylor Room. We are yet to have a booking for this wonderful space and would encourage you all to promote it through your contacts.

During December 2023 we came to an arrangement with the Department of Justice H M Prison and Probation Service to engage with those serving their punishment by carrying our community work. The village hall hosts these sessions with up to 8 community payback workers with one or two supervisors each week. In conjunction with the parish council who own the recreation ground and car park, these individuals are tasked with cleaning up the area and making it a ‘cared-for’ environment. The Recreation Ground is much improved, with the weeds removed from paths and the grass edges much sharper. A marked diUerence can be seen from this regular management.

Sadly, more graUiti has been sprayed onto the side wall of the hall, which is how the initiative started with the community payback team, to remove the graUiti on that same wall in 2023!

We have located many of the previous paper records for this hall and the previous building including notes from committee meetings. These are now all housed in one place in the Taylor Room and it is our intention to sort the records out to make them available to those with an interest in the history of Bishop Sutton. Colin and Sue Emmett have started studying these records to inform us of the significant occurrences which may be of interest over the past 100 years!

We are considering marking of some of the milestones with a social event to be held at the hall, inviting those still with us who have contributed to the life of this building as volunteers on the committee to get the hall built, to be the guests of honour. We can discuss this later.

Our objective is to continue to make a positive impact and contribute to the well-being of our communities.

Future Outlook

Our focus will be to provide sustainable unparalleled facilities for users of the building and to encourage greater use by the community for this to become the ‘go-to’ hub for all villagers. We will endeavour to build on our funds and attempt to leverage grants, when available for capital works for the continued improvement of our wonderful asset, the Bishop Sutton Village Hall.

Although some of the below will be covered in next years’ annual report, it is important to mention some of the expenditure already made this year, early in 2025 or intended to be spent to improve and maintain the building.

Conclusion

Finally I would like to express my gratitude to our trustees, committee members and those providing a paid service to manage the village hall and to the users who avail themselves of our amenities, for their unwavering support and trust. Together, we have continued to develop the services we oUer and intend to continue to strive to improve these facilities. I am confident we have a strong foundation of funds and a maintained building and are well-positioned for continued success in the years to come.

Thank you.

Derek Maltby Chair of the Committee