2021-02-28-accounts

Leigh and Bransford Memorial Hall and Recreation Ground Sherridge Road, Leigh Sinton, Malvern, WR13 5DE

Leigh and Bransford Memorial Hall Committee of Trustees

Chair’s Summary Report to the AGM, 17 May 2021

INTRODUCTION – MARCH 2020 – FEBRUARY 2021 : THE YEAR OF THE PANDEMIC

As our 2020-21 financial year was about to begin on 1[st] March 2020, the trustees were busily preparing for a year of celebration – planning a number of free community events throughout the coming year to mark the centenary of the building of the Leigh and Bransford Memorial Hall – which opened its doors for the first time in January 1920.

Little did we know on March 1[st] , however, that the rapid and exponential rise in infection rates caused by a new and hitherto unknown strain of the coronavirus, subsequently named covid-19, would call such an abrupt halt to all our plans. Not just for our year of celebrations but for most of our potential hirers throughout the whole year.

On 16[th] March, 2020 the whole country was put on high alert and then, a week later on Monday, 23[rd] March put into full lockdown. This marked the start of an extended period of enforced closure, followed by a series of severe restrictions when we were allowed to open and then by two further periods of enforced lockdown – all of which effectively cancelled our entire centenary year of celebrations and hires.

But of course it wasn’t just the celebrations that were cancelled, our annual calendar of bookings (the regular hires of the Hall – from where we derive most of our income) was also almost completely wiped out.

In a typical year the Hall hosts up to 20 wedding celebrations and many more family and community gatherings, not to mention all the regular groups, clubs, societies and other organisations that hold their events in our heritage community building. Needless to say, over the period to the end of February 2021 the three lockdowns coupled with a raft of social distancing and other restrictive measures designed to protect the country’s population from the

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spread of the virus (especially in public spaces), meant that for the vast majority of the year the Hall remained closed – resulting in the wholesale cancellation or postponement of scheduled events already booked in. More detail of the financial impact is set out in the FINANCIAL SUMMARY section below.

The pandemic also changed the way the trustees met, communicated and discharged their responsibilities throughout the year. The first and last, shortened, regular face-to-face Board of Trustees’ meeting during the year took place on Tuesday, 17[th] March. All subsequent bi-monthly meetings were held by email, with a brief exception in July when the Trustees met for just one hour to discuss their reopening plans. This remote (virtual) process helped to ensure proper governance and management of the charity’s assets would continue throughout the entire period.

From the very beginning our strategic approach was to make sure that our website was kept up-to-date with timely information about the status of the Hall; how the trustees were managing the situation and how we were preparing to reopen when permitted by law. We also immediately contacted (by email and/or phone) all our hirers who had events booked in post March 23rd, to advise them of their options. Furthermore, we took the early decision that no hirer would lose out financially whether they chose to cancel or postpone their bookings. Full refunds would be given or free postponements and rebookings.

We also dealt with questions and enquiries throughout the year via our website, email account and social media page and published a monthly information article in the free local Newsletter ‘The Sphere’ – published online via our Parish Council website. Thus using modern technology helped us to ensure effective two-way communications could continue throughout the whole period. But, of course, like for all other businesses, this came at a financial cost; however these costs were far outweighed by the benefits of our early adoption of this multifaceted communications strategy. We have had many messages of thanks and support for the ways in which we tried to minimise the stress and anxieties for those in our community who had booked in advance and, in many cases, paid in full for their event.

2020-21 will certainly be a year to remember, but not in the way any of us expected.

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FINANCIAL SUMMARY

(i) The impact of covid-19 on bookings and revenue

Financial year (FY) 2020-21 was indeed a most extraordinary year. We began the year with a relatively healthy cash balance to carry forward of £23,300.00 (rounded).

We have for many years now operated within a financial policy that reserves (holds back) a set amount of our opening cash balance (i.e. the amount of total funds available on 1[st] March – the first day of our financial year) as ‘restricted funds’. This comprises an assumed amount (based on a rolling average of previous years’ outgoings) calculated to cover annual operating costs added to a second identified amount that relates to income already received in advance for hires yet to take place.

Data from previous years indicates that in a typical year we could expect to incur about £12,000 of operating costs (overheads) and, at any given date, be holding approximately a rolling £6,500.00 in our account relating to hires paid for in advance but yet to take place. At the start of the 2020-21 financial year we had, as usual, therefore identified c£18,500 of ‘restricted’ funds within our total carry forward opening balance and, as in previous years, agreed to keep this as a minimum balance throughout the year. This policy was designed to protect the financial viability of the charity for a full twelve months in the event of a major incident or other catastrophe limiting our ability to generate revenue income. A sum of c£18,500 in reserve means that, even without access to a revenue stream, the trustees would have sufficient funds at their disposal to sustain the charity for at least twelve months while they put in place a strategic rescue plan to ensure the charity continued to have the status of a going concern. This financial prudence is also supported by ‘loss of income’ insurance – but, as would become clear quite early on, this aspect of our insurance policy was subject to certain exclusions that would not protect the trustees from all exposure to loss of income (see also page 4 below).

Our reserves policy was, up until the current year, largely untested – great in theory, but still untested in a ‘real-life’ situation. Seen in this context, at the start of FY 2020-21, almost 80% of our opening balance comprised restricted

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funds, leaving us with £4,800 of working capital going forward. In a typical year this would have given us a good start as we could normally expect to add at least £20,000 to that amount through hire income and other fundraising activity – and more depending on our success in relevant one-off grant applications for specific projects.

As history now shows, however, three weeks into March 2020, the whole country was put under strict lockdown measures and even when that period ended, two further lockdown periods followed over the remaining twelve months. In all, the Hall was fully closed for 19 weeks (just over a third of the year). When the hall was able to reopen its doors, continuing restrictions on social gatherings meant that very few (and much scaled down) events could legitimately take place, resulting in mass cancellations and postponements of scheduled bookings.

By way of comparison, the previous year’s accounts (FY 2019-20) show that the gross revenue for the hire of the building was £22,830.00 (rounded). Ground rent, fund-raising and other grants added a further £15,300 (rounded). This brought our total gross income for the previous year to £38,100 (rounded).

In the whole of 2020-21 gross building hire revenue fell by 71% to

£6,600.00 (rounded). Over the year we refunded hirers to the tune of £7,000 (rounded) by way of cancellations due to covid-19 – actually turning our muchreduced annual hire income of £6,600 into a net loss of £400. This starkly illustrates the impact of covid-19 on our main revenue stream – not only did we lose (compared to a typical year) about £16,230 in hire income, we also refunded a total of £7,000. In total therefore we calculate that covid-19 cost the charity £23,230.00 in lost income.

This loss would have been compounded further were it not for a number of our hirers choosing to reschedule their weddings and other family hires rather than seek a full refund. Our records show that by rescheduling their hires rather than cancelling this saved the Hall from making a further round of refunds to the value of c£5,000.00. Had those refunds been claimed this would have increased lost income for the year to over £28,000.00.

When it became clear that our income would be severely impacted by the escalating pandemic, the Treasurer contacted our Insurers to lodge a claim for business interruption, only to be advised that, under the terms of our policy, we

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were not covered for loss of income under the specified disease definition, as the disease in question (covid-19) was not specified in that list, nor was it related to any specified diseases on that list. Furthermore, were the disease to be made notifiable (which it later was), there would still be no cover unless the definition was amended – and we were advised that there were no plans for the insurers to extend cover to include this. In short, there would be no possibility of claiming for business interruption compensation under the terms of our policy. At renewal, we shall seek further advice on this issue before confirming our instructions with our brokers.

(ii) Government Financial Support During the Year

But it was not all bad news.

The hall is a charitable business classified as part of the ‘leisure industry’ and, as such, was eligible to apply for certain packages (grants) of financial support. In all, the trustees received 4 grants during the financial year[1] which helped to cover the significant losses incurred not only due to enforced periods of closure but also, when finally allowed to reopen, the strict restrictions placed on the type of event allowed to take place and the numbers of people allowed to attend those events. Additional costs were also incurred due to the necessary and essential emphasis being placed on public safety and the responsibility placed on trustees to provide hirers and their guests with a clean and as covid-safe an environment as possible. This condition was met through the purchase of essential items of equipment and consumables such as hand sanitisers and dispensers, masks, designated waste-disposal zones and systems, clear signage and effective cleaning materials, etc etc.

The financial support received over the year in the form of 4 grants totalled £18,507.21 and were received as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
Date of payment Amount Cumulative Amount
05.05.20 £10,000.00 £10,000.00
18.11.20 £1,334.00 £11,334.00
13.01.21 £934.00 £12,268.00
20.01.21 £6,239.21 £18,507.21
----- End of picture text -----

1 The hall also received a further two grants in March and April 2021 (which fell into our next 2021-22 financial year), of £2,096.00 and £8,000 respectively – bringing the total grant funding received between May 2020 and April 2021 to £28,603.21

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As the third national lockdown was set to continue beyond the end of our financial year we were advised by our local authority (responsible for administering the grants) that the Hall would be eligible for a fifth payment in March 2021 of £2,096.00 to cover the period from February 16 to March 31. Details of this and of a further ‘Restart grant” payment of £8,000.00 paid to us in April 2021 will be detailed in next year’s Annual Report.

The cumulative amount of £18,507.21 received during the year therefore in grant payments offset almost 80% of the Hall’s estimated lost income during the year.

(iii) Going Concern and Income Diversity

The above report shows the extreme financial vulnerability of small, regulated charities when major events outside of its control severely impact the charity’s ability to generate sufficient income – thereby potentially threatening its viability to remain a going concern. That is why having a diversified financial income model was introduced some years’ ago by the trustees and remains an essential part of the their Financial Strategy today.

Our current financial well-being during the last year of Covid-19 restrictions is partly due to the fact that we have developed a more diverse income stream over the past few years – so we no longer have to rely solely on hire income. Although hires are obviously still our primary source of income we now get a proportional, but regular amount of annual income from:

• annual ground rent payments (Playgroup and Scouts)

• fundraising activities (such as the Friends of Leigh and Bransford Memorial Hall ‘lottery’ scheme)

• successful grant applications

• Renewable Heat Initiative (RHI) payments

• work previously paid for undertaken by contractors now being provided free of charge by trustee volunteers*

• website advertising and

• the occasional bequest

During the last year, income derived from these sources (excluding hire income and the £18,507.21 in government grants) totalled £11,620 (rounded). We were

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also very fortunate to have the benefit of saving expenditure on certain routine tasks and processes throughout the year as fewer hires meant less wear and tear.

• An example of this is that while in the past we have contracted locally to have the playing field cut an agreed number of times during the growing season, one of our trustees, Alan Lewis, now undertakes that task without payment, which effectively saves us at least £1,000.00 in a typical year. In fact, all of our trustees undertake various voluntary roles, duties and responsibilities – which save us from additional expenditure where we would otherwise have to buy in those essential skills.

Our balance sheet also shows that with the hall being closed for over a third of the year and, when open, operating at much less than its usual capacity, our operating expenses were down by 18%, from £11,835.00 in 2019/20 to just £9,705.00 in 2020/21.

It is true that 2020-21 was an exceptional year in very many ways, and we wouldn’t expect to receive the same amount of additional income in a typical year, but the point remains that maintaining a more diverse income stream is financially prudent and will, in future, help us to press ahead with our ambitions for improving the building and its amenities.

To end this section of the Annual Report, despite the difficult operating environment throughout the year, we can report that our total income improved marginally by 3% compared to the previous year (up by £1,150.00). Expenditure was down on the previous year – not just our operating expenses (down by 18%) but also our extraordinary expenses were down by 66% or £30,890. In all, the balance of income over expenditure during the year was a reported surplus of £23,341.98.

Finally, as recorded at the start of this section, our opening cash balance (cash in hand) on 1 March 2020 was £23,300 (rounded). A year later, on 28 February, 2021 it had increased by £19,300.00 to £42,600.00 (rounded).

THE YEAR IN HIGHLIGHTS: CHANGES, IMPROVEMENTS AND OTHER EVENTS

What follows is a high-level summary taken from the Chair’s bi-monthly reports to Trustees.

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QUARTER ONE : MARCH – MAY 2020 Bequest from the late Norman Kimber

At the very start of the financial year the trustees received a letter from the executors of the estate of the late Norman Kimber, who was a former Chair of Trustees back in the 1980’s and 1990’s. The letter informed us that he had left the sum of £10,000 to the trustees for them to use in any way that they felt appropriate to bring about improvements, changes or much needed maintenance to the Hall and/or its grounds. This was a most welcome and totally unexpected financial windfall that, although we didn’t know it then, could not have come at a more appropriate time – as we were just a few short weeks away from a national lockdown when the Hall would be closed for significant periods with the consequential severe loss of hire income.

The Hall archives show that in 1987, a legacy of £11,500 (which is equivalent to about £28,000 today) was left to the Hall by Albert Jones (a local farmer). This provided the initial financial stimulus for Norman’s vision to modernise and extend the original Hall building – which by then was around 67 years’ old – culminating in the construction of a second, larger hall with stage. He wanted to ensure that the Hall’s facilities were improved for the benefit of our community well into the future – which he has so obviously succeeded in doing because here we are, still thriving, over 30 years’ later.

The new hall opened in September 1994, complete with its own entrance doors, stage and dedicated set of toilets. We have replaced the windows since then with double glazed units and refurbished the original wooden floor and, of course, decorated a few times, but the space is essentially still exactly as Norman would have recognised.

(See also the section entitled Tree Planting in Quarter Four, on page 14 below).

Centenary Events – all cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions

In early March we were fully engaged in planning a series of free community events to celebrate the Hall’s centenary. The trustees had first communicated this via a Community Christmas Card that was delivered three months’ earlier to every household in the Parish.

The first event planned at the Hall was AFTERNOON TEA – community residents were being invited to drop in at any time between 2pm and 5pm on Sunday, 5[th] April.

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However, as March wore on it became increasingly apparent that not only would we have to cancel this event, but we would also have to put the remaining planned events on hold until the situation regarding the length of time the impending restrictions on public gatherings would remain in place. Then the news of a full national lockdown starting on March 23 changed things again and trustees decided that all the planned events should be cancelled rather than just postponed. With hindsight that was the right decision since, although we didn’t know it at the time, the country would be subject to two more lockdown periods and severe restrictions on public gatherings both indoors and outdoors over the year.

Lease Renewals

The start of each financial year also marks the start of a new ground lease year for the Villages Playgroup and 1[st] Leigh Scouts , as both organisations have their buildings on Hall land. The trustees have formal, 25-year lease

agreements in place with them both but charge only a modest (by commercial standards) annual amount, recognising the important contributions both organisations make to the life of our community.

While the lease for Villages Playgroup has now been in operation for a few years, this year marked the start of the renegotiated and renewed 25-year lease for 1[st] Leigh Scouts. This also coincided with a new build that the Scouts were undergoing to completely upgrade and extend their existing buildings. Both leases continue to operate effectively and the income they generate helps support the upkeep of the grounds and the heritage building.

Corona virus Planning and Actions

As trustees we quickly recognised that collectively, we had at least two clear

responsibilities during the escalating corona virus outbreak, namely:

• to take all reasonable steps to maintain a clean, safe and hygienic environment and to close the Hall and cancel bookings if we had sufficient reason to believe that keeping it open (outwith lockdown periods) posed a significant risk to the health and well-being of those using it, and

• to implement a clear, written and defensible policy about refunds in the event that hirers choose to cancel their bookings because of the corona virus outbreak

With regard to the first responsibility, we discussed our cleaning regime , how best to communicate with our regular hirers about their responsibilities after each hire and the diligence with which we must check the building after

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occasional hires. We were also clear about the circumstances in which we might take the collective decision to close the building, how that message would be communicated and how and why we subsequently make the decision to reopen.

To that end we clearly displayed custom-made Notices about the corona virus and Covid-19 throughout the building in order to send a clear message to those using the hall about protecting themselves and others during the pandemic. We also followed the updated guidance issued by the Cabinet Office on gov.uk and took advice from ACRE[2] .

Our main communication channels throughout the year for our actual and potential hirers were the website www.leighandbransfordhall.co.uk , email and summary written updates in the monthly Community Newsletter, The Sphere Parish Magazine.[3]

Importantly we published three online documents on our website that all hirers had to acknowledge reading and being bound by when making future bookings. They were:

1. Four Part Reopening Plan

2. Additional Covid-19 related Terms and Conditions

3. Risk Assessment Form for Hirers

4. End of Hire Checklist

It was reassuring to see that these actions, together with the subsequent

frequent website updates enabled us to manage a constantly changing and often confusing situation effectively throughout the year with no breaches reported.

Small Grant Application

Plans to purchase 4 new tables were already in place before the pandemic struck and in early March a small grant application had been prepared and sent for consideration to the Parish Council for just under £600.00. The application was successful and the tables were purchased and delivered before the lockdown was brought into force.

End of Quarter One Cash Balance

At the end of the first quarter, cash held at the bank totalled £29,565.60.

2 Action with Communities in Rural England is a registered charity which represents thirtyeight member groups who make up England's largest rural network. The charity claims to engage 52,000 grassroots organisations in 11,000 rural communities.

3 The Sphere Parish Magazine is distributed both in hard copy and online at - - - http://www.leighandbransford.org.uk/the sphere parish magazine/

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QUARTER TWO : JUNE – AUGUST 2020 Finalising Preparations to Reopen the Hall after the First Lockdown ends

Our virtual meeting in July was dedicated to discussing and agreeing the detail of the process we needed to follow and the procedures that needed to be in place before the Hall could be reopened to the community. Once again, we relied heavily on the latest government guidelines and advice from ACRE. We also applied to the local authority for our own QR code so that people using the hall post-lockdown could check-in using the NHS app on their phones. A paper-based ‘register’ was also in use, but it was made clear in our additional Covid-19 T&Cs that the safe keeping of this personal information of the hirer’s guests was their responsibility. As trustees we were aware of the requirements of GDPR.

The Hall reopened on 1[st] August and a few bookings were placed in line with the sorts of hire activities that were legitimately allowed to go ahead. Before any individual could proceed with their on-line hire booking, however, they had to read the updated information on the website to ensure and then confirm that their hire was indeed permitted under the latest restrictions and regulations. There were no breaches and the small number of hires that went ahead were all properly managed and the end of hire clean up operations (using the end-of-hire checklist) thoroughly carried out. In addition our Hall cleaner made regular visits to ensure the building was cleaned through and regular visits were also made by our volunteer Caretaker during both the lockdown months and afterwards to check that the building was safe and secure.

There is very little else to report during the second quarter as the building was closed for all of June and July.

End of Quarter Two Cash Balance

At the end of the second quarter, cash held at the bank totalled £39,041.38. QUARTER THREE : SEPTEMBER – NOVEMBER 2020 Remedial Electrical work

The summer months had passed and in September we began to see infection

rates rising once more across the country – so it soon became clear that further restrictions could well be put in place limiting further the Hall’s scope to increase the types of events that could legitimately take place in the building.

In quarter three the trustees considered upgrading the heating and hot water system in the so-called Small Hall toilets. The current heating system was installed many years’ ago and comprised a number of electrical cylinder

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heaters, mounted on the skirting boards, which had no adjustable thermostatic controls or guards. They were either on full or off. Not only were they, by today’s standards, very inefficient and costly to run, but they were unguarded and could prove to be a potential hazard if they came into contact with an individual’s foot or lower leg – although the amount of heat they generated was very low – although very expensive in terms of energy consumed to produce!!.

The hot water feeding the wash-hand basins in the Small Hall toilets was controlled by manual switches which were often missed by hirers, who would then complain of having to wash their hands in cold water – or, if they did switch them on at the start of their hire, more often than not forgot to switch them off at the end – resulting in more wasteful consumption of energy.

One of our trustees did some research and proposed replacing the cylinder heaters with low-consumption new thermostatically controlled, electric panel heaters (to provide background heat) and automatic timed switches to control the hot water supply in the toilets. After recouping the initial costs it was estimated that, at current rates, this would save up to £200 in energy costs in a full year.

The proposal was agreed and the installation took place in September.

Urgent Roof Repairs

The month of August was very wet and we had experienced a number of leaks appearing in the lobby area adjacent to the Small Hall. These were investigated revealing that the source was located somewhere within the flat roof area, which was now in need of urgent repair. There was also evidence of a further potential problem located somewhere along the pitched roof area over the Entrance Lobby. Whilst the leaks had only recently become apparent, investigations carried out by the local roofing company suggested that the flat roof had, in fact, been leaking for some time and it was therefore likely that some of the wooden bearers would be starting to rot and may also be in need of replacement. In the event the problem became more serious than was first thought as the original roof, which now clearly needed serious attention, had been badly and incorrectly fitted about 25 years’ ago when first installed, so repairing it would not be a quite such a straightforward task. To make matters worse, asbestos was also found to be present in the fabric of the original roof, so this had to be safely removed incurring additional cost. A suspected second leak was also investigated and that investigation revealed further remedial work was needed

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to the roof area above the kitchen. As the weather worsened, gale force winds one night ripped away part of the tarpaulin used to make the building temporarily watertight, resulting in further internal water damage and to the ceilings and walls in the kitchen and small hall lobby. Although the initial work commenced in quarter 3, the remedial work carried on through quarter 4 and was finally signed off at the start of quarter one of our new 2021-22 financial year. Because of the complications, costs came in at over £5,000.00, but happily the building is now watertight once more.

A Second National Lockdown

On Thursday, 5[th] November England went into a second lockdown. As the Hall is classed as a non-essential business it closed immediately and a new notice was posted on our website landing page to that effect.

We did, however, keep the online booking facility open for people to provisionally advance book the hall(s) on the proviso that if the lockdown – or continuing restrictions on public gatherings after the current period of lockdown ended – then the booking would have to be cancelled and refunded or

postponed and rescheduled. In the event, apart from a few short weeks in December, the Hall remained closed for the remainder of our financial year.

End of Quarter Three Cash Balance

At the end of the third quarter, cash held at the bank totalled £49,911.67.

QUARTER FOUR : DECEMBER 2020 – FEBRUARY 2021 - Long standing Trustee Resignation (Retirement)

During the year one of our longest serving trustees, Malcolm Scott, decided that after 25 years of serving as a Hall Trustee it was time for him to retire. It was sobering to reflect – in this, the Hall’s centenary year – that he had served the Hall and the community so steadfastly for a full quarter of its history.

Malcolm could always be relied upon to contribute interesting and wellconsidered ideas – ideas that were designed to keep the hall relevant, well maintained and attractive to hirers. Not only that, he was always prepared to undertake more than what some might consider to be a fair share of the work and to go that extra mile to bring those ideas, once agreed, to fruition.

As well as a trustee, Malcolm served for many of those years as Secretary to the Committee. Through his determined efforts he was responsible for many of our successful grant applications – certainly over the past 8 years – when his bidwriting skills secured for the trustees many thousands of pounds with which to

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finance much needed physical improvements to the building and grounds, including of course the lion’s share of £30,000 raised to fund the recently installed sustainable air-source heating system.

Looking back, Malcolm’s fund-raising successes have helped to finance the following list of improvements since 2014:

• completely replace both sets of toilets

• refurbish the kitchen

• renew the external fascia boards and guttering

• restore the original wooden floors in both halls

• replace some of the rotten windows and external doors

• install a brand new sustainable air-source heating system

In total, these projects alone cost in excess of £65,000 to complete. So the scale of his fund-raising achievement is clear for all to see. But he leaves an even more important and enduring financial legacy to the Hall – the annual income we can expect to receive for the next 20 years through the Renewable Heat Incentive – RHI – for which we qualified following the installation of the air-source heating system. Because of his diligence and foresight in completing the relevant documentation, the trustees can reasonably expect to receive, cumulatively, thousands of pounds over the period which will help to offset our energy consumption. Indeed, we have a great deal to thank him for.

Tree Planting

With Malcolm Scott’s retirement and Norman Kimber’s bequest coming closely together, the Trustees got to thinking about ways in which former trustees, who had played a significant role in the past, might be remembered and honoured through some kind of ‘living memorial’ within the grounds. The idea to plant trees in their honour was the idea most favoured – furthermore it was agreed to purchase and plant three Malus (crab apple) trees on this occasion, with a third tree to honour the contribution of another former Chair of Trustees, the late Paul Etheridge.

Ornamental Malus (or crab apple) trees were considered to be the most fitting species for this first planting as they provide blossom in the spring, beautiful colours throughout the seasons of spring, summer and particularly the autumn and then provide fruit in the form of crab apples to feed the birds during the

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winter months. The malus is truly a ‘sustainable’ tree for all seasons, planted to honour the work of 3 individuals who worked tirelessly to ensure the continued viability and sustainability of the Memorial Hall down the years of their service. Finalising Preparations to Reopen the Hall after the First Lockdown

ends

Right at the end of our financial year, on February 22[nd] , the government published its four-step road map to cautiously ease lockdown restrictions across England and “provide a route back to a more normal way of life”. And so the trustees then went ahead and agreed the ways in which we would respond to this road map by way of a phased reopening process. However, as the Hall would remain closed for the remainder of our 2020-21 financial year – and actually remained closed until Monday, April 12[th] 2021 – this will be covered in next year’s Annual Report.

End of Quarter Four Cash Balance

At the end of the fourth and final quarter, cash held at the bank totalled £42,642.78.

CONCLUSION

In the conclusion to my previous (2019) report I noted that during that year the trustees had engaged in a positive exercise to more clearly identify the roles and responsibilities of the individual Board members. This work had become more pressing over the past couple of years due in no small part to the increase in the number of hires. We therefore agreed the need to ensure that as issues were encountered or jobs identified between our bi-monthly meetings, there was a process and a clear line of sight to the volunteers (individuals) who had agreed to take responsibility for that particular area of need. So far the new system has been working well.

Indeed, this new system continued to serve the Board well throughout this past year of major disruption caused by the advancing pandemic. Severe restrictions imposed on public meetings and most other face-to-face meetings, meant that with just two brief exceptions, there were no face-to-face Board Meetings throughout the year. However, having previously identified and agreed a range of key roles and responsibilities amongst our number, it became so much easier to organise actions on specific matters simply by emailing and phoning the

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relevant individuals as issues in need of attention were discovered – like the leaking roof and routine meter readings and safety and heating checks.

As chair I continue to be grateful for the continued support, commitment and thoughtful debate of our trustees who generously give their time, ideas and expertise so willingly to govern, manage and constantly improve the Hall as a community meeting space – keeping it safe and viable for future generations.

We all look forward to emerging from this dreadful world-wide pandemic in 202122 and hope, whatever our ‘new normal’ may turn out to be, that our community will continue to hold dear the best of its enduring community values, community habits, community spirits and community traditions.

Jon Gamble, Chair of Trustees May 2021

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CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALE5 Independent examlner's report on the accounts SECtion A Independent Examiner s Report A¢port to the 1rust￿ members of On GryJrrt3for the 28" FÉbnJary2021 Charity no lil any) 523163 I rewxtto Ihe tnL#ees (m my trNArnnation ot the a¢c¢untsef thè aL chaiity llhe for ihe year 2W0212tr21. Hespon$ibiliti23 and tr Charity Ihe Tr￿. ￿ are r8gowL4e lorlhe preparation basis c4 rewl of the a¢c(wJnts in acrAxdwe ith th& Ihe fvriti8s Aci 2011 fthe Acri. I re¥a ¢Y myexaminalK)n of Ihe T￿￿$s¢¢(W￿l15 Ixrried out Underw￿￿ 145 2011 Act arKI ¢arryino my èxamination. I have lolod IhÈ awlKxble tTectk￿$gtyen ty th8 Chartty Commission urth 8(tiDtI 14951{b} ol the Aci. Independent I have ¢c¥Th)leled ffly ey2mination. l Ccth that rm) material matters hwe exaMIW$ staternent ie my atten1￿ l(therlh9n thaidsdosed beknw'l in connecb)n *ilh Ihe exarnination g￿e$ m& Cause to bel￿e that in. any material Aci With thepxaminalN)n lowh￿h atternitr) sFthd b8 dravm In order to erwbl8 8 prg)er underslarKling ol the a￿jftts to bp reached. Signed.. 14° Novernber 2021 lo￿ Ruar FCCA qualfficaiionlsl or bo(ty lil any).. PearTree Coll￿. Yarrytym Road, Affrick. wor￿ WR6 SEX IEP Oetober 2018

Section B Disclosure G￿n￿ete rf the r￿ets to hwhlvjht ￿￿tter5 ot con￿￿ Isee CCY2, Give here briet detsfils ol any Items that the exAminer WIS￿10 discltr&e. IER October 2018