BILLINGTON & LANGHO COMMUNTY ASSOCIATION
REG.CC 510217
AGM HELD 25th SEPTEMBER 2025 8pm Meeting Room
TRUSTEE REPORT Y/E 31/12/2024 BALCA
The Grant request to the Lancashire Environment Fund (LEF) was finally submitted in the early part of 2024. It involved lots of extra work, particularly as we were covering the duties of the Bookings Clerk at that point as well. Maurita Harling and myself had to obtain several quotes per job and arrange the site visits to get the quotes. It was an extremely time-consuming exercise but we were rewarded with acceptance from the LEF which made it all worthwhile!!
The total estimates came to £47,537.00 and the grant offered 80 per cent of the estimates to be paid on production of paid invoices/instalment payment invoices. The Total grant, therefore, was worth £37,230, a major boost for the facility. The work ideally had to be completed within 12 months from July 2024, and I am pleased to say we achieved this with very little disruption to our user groups.
We now have a new Conservatory/quiet room which replaces a tatty lean to shelter; a 9.6kw battery backup for 18 solar panels; a new, safe, revamped, outdoor play area, and a huge new shed to help with our storage problems. We continue to increase our user groups including two valuable dementia groups, plus a tots and mother group who all seem to love the hall. The accounts reflect the income and expenditure of the normal hall activities. The grant expenditure has been kept separately and will be partly shown in our next year’s 2025 accounts when the jobs were finally finished.
We are very low on volunteers, and this is worrying, as we are an ageing committee. It is important the hall users become more involved in keeping the place tidy and clean after each use. They need to send a representative to meetings, also, and be on the What’s App group or however they prefer to report problems. We do not have the turnover to pay a hall manager on the our current fees, but this would be beneficial as the workload is falling more and more on myself and Maurita which is not sustainable. We also need help for our Treasurer. However we are mindful we want the hall to be affordable to the local community.
We took free advice from a Fire Safety expert, and started to have the whole hall electrics re-assessed for an up-to-date Electric Safety Certificate. This was arranged over several months and into 2025 as it had to be done with as little disruption as possible. Stuart Tydesley is a Billington resident who did the work via his company Spot Solutions, and we are grateful for his help in keeping costs down for us as much as practical. The Electrical Report was certified by Red Rose Electrical Services Ltd of Burnley finally on 12/5/25. The Fire Safety expert advised us to wait until the Conservatory was built before doing the new FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT, which we accepted as sensible. (now done however) We need user groups involvement here please.
Our new Bookings Clerk is Tracey Hargreaves and she took over during the summer months of 2024! She is a a valuable asset to the Hall and Maurita was only to pleased to show her the system!! Thank you to anyone who helped out during the year however small, it is appreciated.
Carolyn Topham
Chairman BALCA
On behalf of Trustees.
26/9/2025
BILLI LAN 510 -RECEIPT&& AYMNTs ACCOUNT J_DEQal_DECEMBER 2024 EX Hall Hirings Income Absolute Football Badminton Uniformed Groups Cool Kidz CrocheUNatter Laii kns Hindu Assoc Miscellaneous Jujitsu Music &Welbeing Outdoors for all Parties various Sports Cool Tots Play Tea Tots, Tunes 25,468.75 Bookings Clerk Remuneration 470 Cleaners/ caretaking 1566 cleanin Materials 2904 Elec/ Scottish Power 11660 Gas/Opus 280 General Maintenance 1263.5 Grounds Maintenance 639.5 Hall Floor Maintenance 141 Insurance Building/ EMP Liabiliity 1567 Sundries 2700 4566.95 962.39 5083.23 1455.52 3590.15 845.04 1165.28 768.54 1639.19 7.25,.Total Expenditure _ 337 Grants spent during the year 22Tlo.29 2905.56 Totsi Hall Hirings Grants Awarded 25468.75 55681.85 37230 62698.75 SIGNED:
DE 24 Hall Hirings Income Absolute Football Badminton Uniformed Groups Cool Kidz CrocheUNatter Lancs Hindu Assoc Miscellaneous Jujitsu Music & Welbeing Outdoors for all Parties various Sports Cool Tots Play Tea Tots. Tunes 25.468.75 Bookings Clerk Remuneration 470 Cleanersl caretaking 1566 CleaninE Materials 2904 Elec/ Scottish Power 11660 Gas/Opus 280 General Maintenance 1263.5 Grounds Maintenance 639.5 Hall Floor Maintenance 1410 Insurance Buildinw EMP Liabiliity 1567 Sundries 300 2700 4566.95 962.39 5083.23 1455.52 3590.15 1165.28 768.54 1639.19 2554 410 107.25 Total Expenditure 337 Grants spent duringthe year 22776.29 32905.56 Total Hall Hirings Grants Awarded 25468.75 55681.85 37230 62698.75 SIGNED: