2025-09-30-accounts - The Abbots Ripton Village Hall Trust

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The Abbots Ripton Village Hall Trust Annual Report

Charity Name

The Abbots Ripton Village Hall Trust.

Registration Number

Charity registration number: 802543

Address

AbbotsRiptonVillageHall
TheGreen
AbbotsRipton
Huntingdon
PE282PF

Trustees

Position	Name
Chairman	Mr. Paul Kirkwood
Treasurer	Mrs. Susan King
Secretary	Mr. Alan Scothern
Trustee	Mrs. Scarlett Mitcheson
Trustee	Mrs. Susan Kirkwood
Trustee	Mr. John Kelly
Trustee	Mrs. Hannah Carter
Trustee	Mrs. Victoria Wilson
Trustee	Mr. Nick Sims

Structure

Activities and Objectives

Objective

The objective for the Abbots Ripton Village Hall Trust is to continue to maintain and upkeep the village hall so that it may be used by “the inhabitants of the Parish of Abbots Ripton including Wennington in the Country of Cambridge without distinction of political religious or other opinions including use of meetings lectures and classes and for other forms of recreation and leisure time occupation with the object of improving the conditions of life for the said inhabitants.”

Activities

The Trust meets this objective through activities such as:

Hiring the hall for weddings, children’s parties and local business gatherings.
Using the large field in the hall grounds to host larger events such as classic car shows, FlyBall and Artisan Food Markets.

The income from these events is used to keep the hall in excellent condition and provide the local residents with a subsidised hire rate. The Trust also uses the income to host events for the local community, mainly:

An Easter Egg hunt and afternoon tea on Good Friday.
A Harvest Supper for the village in late September.
A Christmas Quiz in late November/early December.

Trustee Recruitment

The Trust holds an Annual General Meeting to elect new trustees to the Abbots Ripton Village Hall Committee.

From the Schedule Deed:

All inhabitants of the area of benefit of eighteen years of age and upwards shall be entitled to attend and vote at the annual general meeting.
Public notice of every annual general meering shall be given in the area of benefit at least fourteen days before the day hereof by affixing a notice to some conspicuous part of the Premises or other conspicuous place in the area of benefit and by such other means as the conveners think fit.
The persons who are present at the annual general meeting shall, before any other business is transacted, appoint a chairman of the meeting. The chairman of subsequent annual general meetings shall be the chairman for the time being of the Committee. In his absence, the vice chairman (if any) shall take the chair but if neither is present the persons present shall before any other business is transacted appoint a chairman of the meeting. In case of equality of votes the chairman of the meeting shall have a second or casting vote.
Once the chairman has been elected, inhabitants can propose trustees to fill the secretary, treasurer and booking secretary positions on the Committee.

Achievements and Performance

Abbots Ripton is a very pictureseque village in Cambridgeshire with a village shop, thatched cottages, a very popular pub and outstanding countryside in all directions.

The Abbots Ripton Village Hall has the benefit of a large adjoining field, big enough to accommodate 100s of cars, stalls and caravans depending on what events are taking place there.

The combination of village coupled with the facilities in the hall itself - stage, bar area, well equipped kitchen, air conditioning and WiFi - mean that it is an incredibly popular venue for weddings. Over the last few years, it has been let out almost every weekend between April and early September. More recently, we have been able to host very successful Artisan Food Markets and Classic Car Shows on the wedding-free weekends. These events have allowed the Committee to build up a sizable cash surplus over of £40,000 which will be used to refurbish the kitchen, bar, toilets over the coming years.

Public Benefit

The Trust operates the hall for the public benefit rather than for private profit. Any income generated through hall hire, events or fundraising is reinvested into maintaining, improving and developing the facility so that it continues to serve current and future generations of the community.

The public benefit is demonstrated through activities such as:

Providing a venue for local clubs and societies.
Hosting community meetings and parish events.
Supporting youth organisations.
Enabling exercise, wellbeing and educational activities.
Providing facilities for family and community celebrations.
Offering an inclusive meeting place that helps reduce rural isolation.
Preserving an important community asset for future generations.

Financial Review

As of 31st July 2026, The Abbots Village Hall Trust has £42,338.96 in cash. The charity is not in debt.

In the financial year ending 30th September 2025, the trust received £33,828.42 from wedding hires, children’s parties, small business gatherings, FlyBall and other events.

It paid out £34,175.81 in expenses, rent, insurance, utilities and maintenance.

There are no funds held by custodian trustees.