Dodleston Village Foundation Registered Charity No. 510057
Trustees’ Annual Report
1 March 2020 – 28 February 2021
Management Committee
Richard Lloyd Chairman Andrew Bettley Vice Chairman & Treasurer Philippa Brooking Secretary Lynn Mayo Hall Booking Secretary Jon Talbot Hall Manager & Caretaker Andrew Barnett Co-opted Member Stephen Bowden Nicola McSalley-Bateman Vicki Rahill Sue Ramsey Liz Shanklin Co-opted Member Roger Taylor Robin Ward
Sources of advice and support
Lloyds Bank Ltd, Foregate Street, Chester Cheshire West and Chester Council Dodleston and District Parish Council Cheshire Community Action ACRE
Dodleston Village Foundation Annual Report 2020-2021
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Governance
Dodleston Village Hall and Recreational Field are owned and managed by the Dodleston Village Foundation (Registered Charity 510057) which was established in 1979 with the aim of providing and maintaining a Village Hall and Recreational Field for the inhabitants of Dodleston, Lower Kinnerton and Marlston Cum Lache.
The Village Hall, formerly called the Dodleston Men's Institute, was built by the Duke of Westminster Estate in 1896 and subsequently extended a century later.
Appointment of Trustees
The Dodleston Village Foundation Constitution governs the appointment of trustees and the management of the charity.
The committee consists of not more than ten elected members and not fewer than five elected members, and may include up to three co-opted members.
The trustees and officers are elected at the Annual General Meeting held in May and co-opted members are appointed at the same time.
Policies and Procedures
To guide the Management Committee in exercising its duty of care to members and users of the hall, the following policies and procedures have been adopted:
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Fire Safety Risk Assessment
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Health & Safety Policy
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Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults Policy
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Covid-19 Risk Assessment for Safe Operation of the Premises
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Data Protection (GDPR)
These policies and procedures are reviewed regularly and updated to embrace changes in legislation and compliance with safe practice.
Users are asked to provide their own risk assessments for the provision of child and vulnerable adult safety, and currently the identification of potential Covid risks and appropriate control measures too.
Hiring Agreement
Use of the village hall is subject to a Hiring Agreement which must be signed by the hirer when booking.
The complete Terms and Conditions for the hire of the Village Hall are contained in the document Dodleston Village Hall Terms and Conditions (March 2021). This document identifies the respective responsibilities of each party to the Hiring Agreement.
Licences
The village hall has a Premises Licence (not including alcohol) from Cheshire West and Chester Council (05 00748).
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The hall is licensed by the PRS and PPL for both live and recorded music - Licence Identification Number 857056.
Risk Management
Insurance
The village hall is insured with respect to property damage (buildings insurance) by Norris & Fisher (underwritten by Lloyds of London) (£640,000 cover). It is insured with the same company with respect to contents (up to £10,000), public liability (£5,000,000), employers’ liability (£10,000,000) and legal assistance.
The Management Committee recognises that it is under a legal obligation to protect the building, the recreational field and its users through adequate and appropriate insurance.
Building & Maintenance Issues
Gas appliances are tested and serviced by qualified personnel annually.
Portable electrical appliances are tested by a qualified assessor annually.
The mains electrical installation is checked every five years by a qualified electrical engineer.
A Fire Safety Risk Assessment is reviewed and updated regularly as required by law.
Firefighting appliances and equipment are inspected twice each year under contract.
Emergency lighting and the fire alarm system are inspected twice each year under contract.
The lift is inspected twice each year for safety and maintenance by the company which installed the original equipment.
The Recreational Field is inspected annually by RoSPA for safety and compliance with current legislation. The grounds and equipment are inspected weekly for health and safety compliance.
Volunteers from the Committee carry out other regular maintenance checks and tasks as required.
Objectives of the Charity
The Dodleston Village Foundation was set up in 1979 to provide and maintain a Village Hall and Recreational Field for the inhabitants of Dodleston, Lower Kinnerton and Marlston Cum Lache without distinction of sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, nationality, race or political, religious or other opinions.
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The Village Hall is used for meetings, lectures and classes or other forms of recreation and leisure time occupation in the interests of social welfare, with the object of improving the social conditions of the community.
The Trustees consider these objectives to be consistent with Charity Commission guidance on providing for the public benefit and these objectives have been pursued in the activities of the charity this year as far as the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions have allowed.
Principal Activities in Pursuit of Objectives
The charity’s policy is to make the Village Hall as affordable as possible to the local community. This is achieved by many hours of voluntary work, which includes maintaining and developing the hall and field, managing the bookings, and promoting enjoyable and entertaining fund-raising events.
The Village Hall is in use most days of the week for a variety of activities including Dodleston Pre-School Group, Brownies, Guides, Fitness Classes, Dodleston Primary School, Dodleston and District Parish Council, Dodleston Youth Players, Dodleston WI, various Dance Groups, Local History Group, Babies & Toddlers Group, Dodleston Leisure Club, and Badminton Club.
The hall is available for hire for private functions including children’s parties, wedding receptions, funeral teas, village social functions and DVF fund-raising events.
The Recreational Field is a significant asset to the character of Dodleston. It contains a wide variety of play equipment catering for a broad range of ages, along with picnic tables and benches, a basketball court, a small football pitch and an activity course. It is well used both by villagers, and by parents and children from outside the parish.
Funding Strategy
It is the established strategy of the Trustees to manage the revenue budget on a self-financing basis. The contributions and hire fees paid by users of the hall are set to achieve this.
Volunteers’ Effort
Management costs are kept to a minimum through the use of volunteers. On average 20 hours of volunteer time are given each week to cover routine tasks such as bookings management, hedge cutting, and playground maintenance. In addition, trustees give several hours a month for management meetings and up to 50 hours per annum in organising and running fund-raising events.
2020-2021 Achievements
The main achievement of 2020-2021 is to have come through the Covid pandemic – and I hope that I am not being premature in saying so - with a Charity
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that is in excellent shape to resume the normal day to day activities of Dodleston Village Hall and the recreational field.
This is in no small way due to the ability and commitment of our treasurer, Andrew Bettley and the support of Cheshire West and Chester council.
We also managed to help our users, for, when lockdown occurred on March 23[rd] , the decision was immediately made to support our community groups by cancelling all charges for bookings that had been made, but were not able to be fulfilled.
It is especially pleasing that we were able to make the hall available to Dodleston Primary School for the last four weeks of the summer term, which facilitated the school’s re-opening.
While the Hall was under-utilised in this period – the exception was Pre-school reopening in September 2020 - the opposite was true of the Recreational Field which continued to be a wonderful open-air resource for Dodleston.
The committee is constantly striving to improve the facilities in the Village Hall and the Recreational Field, and to make both assets as fully accessible to everyone as the Covid regulations allowed. Indeed, the period when the play equipment had to be closed allowed for timely refurbishment and painting.
The Covid-19 pandemic prevented any projects being undertaken in both the Village Hall and the Recreational Field this year, although grant funding for the replacement of old tungsten light fittings with LED units was received from Chester Community Energy Limited, and this work will be undertaken as soon as it is possible to permit trades to work in the building.
No fund-raising events were possible in the hall during this year, although the 100 Club monthly “prize” draws were accomplished during the on-line video management meetings. The Murder Mystery (March), Comedy Night (October), Easter Egg Bingo (March) and the village Autumn Show (September) were all cancelled.
However, trustee Liz Shanklin organised a Zoom pantomime to replace the Youth Players annual pantomime which resulted in £1,175 in donations.
Reserves Policy
The charity has £54,488.71 in unrestricted cash reserves at the financial year end. This sum is available for unforeseen expenditure in relation to Village Hall and Recreational Field maintenance/repairs or for urgent furniture or equipment replacement.
The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance of the Village Hall and the Recreational Field, and from time to time this responsibility involves major
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works far in excess of cash reserves held. On identifying such major works, fundraising is undertaken with the object of meeting the costs in full without the need to arrange any form of loan.
Future Plans
The Kitchen facilities are now rather dated, and it is planned to renovate and redecorate the Kitchen and Servery in due course.
We are constantly exploring ways of becoming more energy efficient.
There is a need to provide better multi-use facilities, being able to host concurrent events in a secure and optimal environment.
Elements of the recreational field have reached the point that they now need replacing and updating rather than repairing.
Conclusion
As Chairman I am fortunate to have an active committee, who along with other volunteers, find time from their busy schedules to manage the DVF.
Special thanks, as always, to Andrew for his assiduousness in combining the Treasurer’s and Vice Chairman’s role, to our secretary Philippa, to Vicki for taking on the role as Bookings secretary and to Jon for his stewardship of the Hall,
I am also grateful to the financial support of Cheshire West and Chester and to Councillor Mark Williams in particular.
In summary the able stewardship of the DVF has put us in a position to have withstood the effects of the Covid-19 lockdown and we look forward to the resumption of community and social events.
I would like to reiterate my thanks to everyone who has donated that most precious of commodities - their own time – and extend an invitation to those who can find that time to become involved with the DVF.
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Dodleston Village Foundation
Registered Charity No. 510057
Receipts and Payments Account
1 March 2020 – 28 February 2021
| £ | £ | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RECEIPTS(INCOME) | 2020-21 | 2019-20 | ||
| Hire of Village Hall | 4,526.58 | 12,013.54 | ||
| DVF Fund-raisingEvents & Activities | 472.50 | 3,827.23 | ||
| Dodleston Village Day /Summer Festival | 0.00 | 233.40 | ||
| Grants & Awards | 20,923.00 | 994.00 | ||
| Donations,Gifts & Legacies | 1,340.56 | 1,650.00 | ||
| Interest on CCLA Account | 16.37 | 47.55 | ||
| Interest on 32 DayNotice Account(Lloyds Bank) | 11.38 | 17.92 | ||
| 27,290.39 | 18,783.64 | |||
| £ | £ | |||
| PAYMENTS(EXPENDITURE) | 2020-21 | 2019-20 | ||
| Village Hall Maintenance/OperatingExpenses | 11,178.19 | 10,123.60 | ||
| Recreational Field Maintenance/OperatingExpenses | 830.31 | 1,139.17 | ||
| Village Hall/Recreational Field Projects | 0.00 | 0.00 | ||
| Dodleston Village Day /Summer Festival | 0.00 | 7.90 | ||
| General & Other Expenses | 107.76 | 168.47 | ||
| Transfer of Funds to 32 DayNotice Account(Lloyds Bank) | 0.00 | 10,000.00 | ||
| 12,116.26 | 21,439.14 | |||
| SURPLUS /DEFICIT OF RECEIPTS OVER PAYMENTS | 15,174.13 | -2,655.50 | ||
| OpeningFunds(as of first dayof March) | 39,314.58 | 31,970.08 | ||
| Closing Funds(as of last day of February) | 54,488.71 | 39,314.58 | ||
| Represented by: | ||||
| Dodleston Village Foundation No 1 Account(Lloyds Bank) | 36,727.01 | 21,580.63 | ||
| 32 DayNotice Account(Lloyds Bank)14569975LS | 10,029.30 | 10,017.92 | ||
| CCLA Deposit Account(COIF Charities Deposit Fund) | 7,732.40 | 7,716.03 | ||
| 54,488.71 | 39,314.58 |
NOTE: Opening / Closing Cash Funds include CCLA Deposit Account & Lloyds Bank 32 Day Notice Deposit Account
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Dodleston Village Foundation (Registered Charity 510057) 2020-2021 Receipts & Payments Accounts
| £ | £ | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RECEIPTS(INCOME) | 2020-21 | 2019-20 | ||
| Hire of Village Hall | 4,526.58 | 12,013.54 | ||
| DVF Fund-raisingEvents & Activities | 472.50 | 3,827.23 | ||
| Dodleston Village Day /Summer Festival | 0.00 | 233.40 | ||
| Grants & Awards | 20,923.00 | 994.00 | ||
| Donations,Gifts & Legacies | 1,340.56 | 1,650.00 | ||
| Interest on CCLA Account | 16.37 | 47.55 | ||
| Interest on 32 DayNotice Account(Lloyds Bank) | 11.38 | 17.92 | ||
| 27,290.39 | 18,783.64 | |||
| £ | £ | |||
| PAYMENTS(EXPENDITURE) | 2020-21 | 2019-20 | ||
| Village Hall Maintenance/OperatingExpenses | 11,178.19 | 10,123.60 | ||
| Recreational Field Maintenance/OperatingExpenses | 830.31 | 1,139.17 | ||
| Village Hall/Recreational Field Projects | 0.00 | 0.00 | ||
| Dodleston Village Day /Summer Festival | 0.00 | 7.90 | ||
| General & Other Expenses | 107.76 | 168.47 | ||
| Transfer of Funds to 32 DayNotice Account(Lloyds Bank) | 0.00 | 10,000.00 | ||
| 12,116.26 | 21,439.14 | |||
| SURPLUS /DEFICIT OF RECEIPTS OVER PAYMENTS | 15,174.13 | -2,655.50 | ||
| OpeningFunds(as of first dayof March) | 39,314.58 | 31,970.08 | ||
| Closing Funds(as of last day of February) | 54,488.71 | 39,314.58 | ||
| Represented by: | ||||
| Dodleston Village Foundation No 1 Account(Lloyds Bank) | 36,727.01 | 21,580.63 | ||
| 32 DayNotice Account(Lloyds Bank)14569975LS | 10,029.30 | 10,017.92 | ||
| CCLA Deposit Account(COIF Charities Deposit Fund) | 7,732.40 | 7,716.03 | ||
| 54,488.71 | 39,314.58 |
The Dodleston Village Foundation Accounts for 1 March 2020 - 28 February 2021 have been prepared on a Receipts and Payments basis and take no account of either unpaid creditors or any outstanding debts. All DVF cash funds (Lloyds Bank & CCLA) are unrestricted.
Andrew Bettley Treasurer - Dodleston Village Foundation
1[st] March 2021
Dodleston Village Foundation Registered Charity Number 510057
Income & Expenditure Account for the year ended 28th February 2021
Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of the Dodleston Village Foundation
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Dodleston Village Foundation for the year ended 28[th] February 2021.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).
I report in respect of my examination of the accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examiner’s statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
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accounting records were not kept in respect of the Dodleston Village Foundation as required by section 130 of the Act; or
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the accounts do not accord with those records; or
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the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Noel Guilford BA BFP FCA Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales Fourwinds House, Balderton, Chester, CH4 9LF 10[th] May 2021
Dodleston Village Foundation Registered Charity Number 510057
Income & Expenditure Account for the year ended 28th February 2021
| RECEIPTS (INCOME) Hire of Village Hall DVF Fund-raising Events & Activities Dodleston Village Day / Summer Festival Grants & Awards Donations, Gifts & Legacies Interest on CCLA Account Interest on 32 Day Notice Account (Lloyds Bank) PAYMENTS (EXPENDITURE) Village Hall Maintenance / Operating Expenses Recreational Field Maintenance / Operating Expenses Village Hall / Recreational Field Projects Dodleston Village Day / Summer Festival General & Other Expenses SURPLUS OF RECEIPTS OVER PAYMENTS Opening Funds(as of 1stMarch 2020) Closing Funds(as of 28thFebruary 2021) Represented by: Dodleston Village Foundation No 1 Account (Lloyds Bank) 32 Day Notice Account (Lloyds Bank) 14569975LS CCLA Deposit Account (COIF Charities Deposit Fund) |
£ 2020-21 4,526.58 472.50 0.00 20,923.00 1,340.56 16.37 11.38 27,290.39 £ 2020-21 11,178.19 830.31 0.00 0.00 107.76 12,116.26 15,174.13 39,314.58 |
£ 2019-20 12,013.54 3,827.23 233.40 994.00 1,650.00 47.55 17.92 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| 18,783.64 | |||
| £ 2019-20 10,123.60 1,139.17 0.00 7.90 168.47 |
|||
| 11,439.14 | |||
| 7,344.50 | |||
| 31,970.08 | |||
| 54,488.71 | 39,314.58 | ||
| 36,727.01 10,029.30 7,732.40 54,488.71 |
21,580.63 10,017.92 7,716.03 |
||
| 39,314.58 |