King George V Hall, West Dean SP5 1JQ (charity no 305590)
Chairman’s report AGM 16th March 2026
The purpose of the Village Hall
Last year I summarised the history of the hall and it’s purpose for ‘the physIcal and mental training and recreation and social, moral and intellectual development for the benefit of the parish of West Dean’ as per our constitution set in 1946. We are a charity and the committee are all trustees.
Hall activities during 2025
Social
The hall has continued to put on a variety of social events for local people. These included pop up pubs around the Rugby 6 Nations in the Spring, a Burns Night, 2 music quizzes, a cheese-tasting evening, the annual Sunflower competition, the Beacon and Bangers night, Christmas wreath making and of course the Christmas Cracker. This year we held a Christmas Party mainly for children and their families, the night before the Cracker which was a successful alternative to the afternoon party. The pantomime is always such a key part of Christmas in the village and we’re grateful to the producers and actors for their entertaining efforts.
Charity
We also host events to raise money for charity including the Remembrance Day Curry lunch for the Poppy Appeal, various raffles this year for the Stars appeal and for Kidney research. The Pony Express used the hall and raised money for kidney research and Headway. The hall has hosted the safari supper for the church’s fundraising and the Fete uses the facilities and equipment over the Fete weekend.
Others
The hall hosts a regular lunch for the over 60s supported by the Evelyn Thistlethwaite charity. There has been a weekly toddlers group (Busy Bees) and the Church uses the hall for breakfast churches. The parish council hold their meetings here and there have been pilates classes and a regular children’s theatre class on a Saturday morning. The local business hub has met at the hall and there are regular cream teas over the summer. National and local elections are held here too. Sadly the only current regular hall booking is for the children’s theatre group.
Private hire
The hall is available for hire to private individuals for meetings, parties, family celebrations and other events.
Net zero project
As you know we have been benefiting from our solar panels since May last year and thanks to the power wall battery we are using very little grid electricity now, indeed we are often exporting to the grid. The committee’s decision to switch off the heating jacket on the generator has significantly reduced our energy consumption too. The lighting is now all low energy and we will research more sustainable heating systems in due course.
Hall Maintenance
We have become aware of some major issues with damp (particular on the front wall and in the storage room). Brian Livesey kindly provided some valuable advice and we have started some remedial action including work on the gutters, drains and ventilation. The big job to come is to remove and replace the damp plasterwork in the hall before any redecoration can commence, and add a damp proof membrane to the floor in the storeroom which will make it more fit for purpose. We are hoping to get grant assistance with this.
The lighting has all been replaced with LED and we have some new smoke alarms. The garden has benefited from some regular expert attention. The heating system is showing its age and has needed remedial work to replace defective thermostatically controlled valves. The wet winter in the village resulted in the shed flooding and other damp issues including a jammed front door!
Emergency Refuge
The village hall is part of West Dean’s Emergency Plan and has a team of volunteers (VH committee, parish counsellors and others) who can open up the hall if required. The solar panels and battery backup means that there’s no immediate requirement to fire up the generator though it is still there as a backup if there’s a prolonged power cut. We haven’t had to test this for real yet but, depending on how much electricity is used, the battery should last for several hours.
Support for King George’s Hall
We are very grateful for the continuing support of villagers in particular the Friends of the Hall. This includes providing advice, cooking, running the bar, organising events, washing up etc etc. We are grateful too for the annual financial contribution from the Fete Committee which significantly helps with our running costs as well as for specific projects. We are also very grateful for those unofficial friends of the committee who help out on a regular basis (Chris Lucas, Brian Kemp, Chris Woodward and Nigel Musto in particular).
Finances
Our finances are in reasonable shape helped by our fundraising and the reduction in our utility bills. We received a large grant from SSEN of £19k which was used for installation of our solar panels. Our reserve fund stands at £24,800 and is based on one years expenses together with a sum to cover emergency building works. (See separate treasurers report).
We have some big expenses to come this year relating to the damp issue and need to be prepared for the further costs required to maintain this building.
We have 3 bank accounts all with Lloyds: a current account, an instant access account and 95 day notice account (currently 2.63% interest)
The Committee
We are very lucky to welcome 3 new committee members / Trustees:
Nicola Musto Rob McKay Barbara McKay
The other committee are:
Christina Kemp, Chairman Helen Woodward, Secretary Peter Coupe, Treasurer Lucy Allen, Deputy Chairman Tamara Lucas, Bookings, car park and hall monitor Derek Howland, Church representative and Advertising David Allen, Event organiser, barman
Chris Mundy, Social Club representative and advisor on buildings maintenance John Camilleri, Parish Council representative and Net Zero Team Leader Christopher Wilde, barman
Plans for 2026
We plan to continue with regular social events at the hall and welcome ideas from villagers for events that would to appeal to a broad range of people.
We welcome interest from villagers considering joining the committee, in particular those with an interest in running events.
We will develop a plan for renovations, repairs and improvements of the building to keep it suitable for the future. These may include remedial work for damp issues, flood resilience, better lighting for the outside steps, redecoration, updating furnishings and equipment and considering alternatives for the heating system.
Christina Kemp Chairman, King George’s Hall March 2026
2025 Year End Treasurer Report
King George V Hall
2025 Income has exceeded outgoings by £4,331. Worth no�ng that by contrast, 2026 year to date (Jan-Feb) outgoings came to £6,953 with income of only £ 799.83. Main contributors were maintenance ac�vi�es and insurance.
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Account 2024 YE figures 2025 YE figures
Current £13,184.69 £14,972
Instant access £558
Cash £487 £1,633
Deposit £24,000 £24,840 95 day no�ce
£37,672 £42,003 £4,331
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** End of year count came up higher at £1,633 than that transac�on log at £1,565
*** Reserve fund held separately for unplanned major works
Main income & outgoings from the current account
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Category Sum of Credit Sum of Debit
Bar Income 4818.41
Bar stock 2315.84
Carparking 2172.16
Charity 100
Cleaning 1299.91
Event Income 3677.27
Food for event 153.41
Friends dona�on 175
Gardening 247.5
Hall Hire 2436.5
Income 2859.15 West Dean Fete & Parish Council…
Maintenance 3644.03
Other 299.16 3511.56 Insurance, lawn mower, fire cabinet
Supplies Event 1308.31
U�li�es 28.5 1752.93
Grand Total 16466.15 14333.49
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For clarity this excludes the ‘internal transfer’ category which covers the balance being brought forward to 2025 account ledger, the SSE solar grant which was received and transferred to a separate instant access account and the stars appeal charity cash collec�on which was added to cash ledger plus an addi�onal £80 donated on SumUp.
| Date | Payee/Payer | Description | Credit | Debit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01/01/2025 | Balance | |||
| 16/12/2025 | Stars appeal | Charitycash collection & £80 on SumUp | 345 | |
| 03/02/2025 | SSEgrant | Transfer to higher instant access | 19495 | |
| 27/01/2025 | SSEgrant | Solar Project | 19495 |
A posi�ve development is that electricity costs are now much lower than previously following the installa�on of the solar panels & ba�ery plus stopping the hea�ng of the generator. Costs Jan – Sept 2025 were £947 compared to the remainder of the year being only £103 through the winter months.
maintenance. For Jan-Feb 2026 maintenance outgoings £4,472 compared to £3644 for the whole of 2025.
The commi�ee has discussed the desire for the accounts for 2024 & 2025 to be independently audited.
Peter Coupe
16/03/26
Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of King George V Hall (KGVH) (Charity No 305590)
In accordance with section 144 of the Charities Act (2011), the Trustees consider that for the financial years ending 31[st] December 2023 and 31[st] December 2024, although an audit is not required, to comply with best practice, an independent examination is needed.
Accordingly, for the accounting years 2023 and 2024, William Seabrooke was appointed to examine and report on the accounts for KGVH. (The accounts comprise the Receipts and Payments account, the Statement of Assets and Liabilities, and related notes.)
Following the procedures laid down by the Charity Commission under section 145(5b) of the Charities Act, the responsibility of the examiner shall be to examine the prepared accounts and state whether any particular matters require comment.
The examination was undertaken in accordance with the General Directions stipulated by the Charity Commission. It includes:
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1) a review of the accounting records kept by the Charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records.
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2) consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning such matters.
Because the procedures do not require all the evidence that would be required in an audit, no opinion is given as to whether or not the accounts present a “true and fair view” and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
Independent examiner's statement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention, which might give me cause to believe that the requirements to keep proper records of income and expenditure and to prepare accounts that accord with those records, have not been met. On the basis of the information provided to me I conclude that the financial position of KGVH is satisfactory.
William Seabrooke BSc, PhD, FRICS 1 West Dean, Salisbury SP5 1JF