Hartington Village Hall AGM 16th October 2023: Chair’s Report

I trust that this report usefully summarises key points over the past year to members of the community. A full 2023/4 finance paper will follow along with a draft budget plan 2024/5, but it is important at this point in time that decisions about our Hall are made against a clear understanding of what is affordable.     

  • Toilet refurbishments: A grant for £13,683 from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (Community Resilience Fund) was used to totally refurbish the existing three toilet/ washroom areas that were built around 40 years ago. The refurbishment consisting of stripping out all sanitary ware and flooring. A partition wall was removed in the Ladies. Male, female and disabled toilet/washroom areas were then refurbished with new sanitary ware, walls were panelled, new Polysafe flooring installed and hygienic warm air hand driers added. Volunteers then painted all three areas.

As a result the facilities are more hygienic, easier to maintain and simply more attractive and fit for purpose. The disabled toilet area has been refitted to comply with current government standards and represents a significantly better facility. This room also includes a baby changing facility.

Subsequent to the completion of the work in January 2024 we have also replaced the lighting (Graham Smith) in the areas with LED strip lights which are more cost effective, brighter as well as further enhancing the environment of the toilet/washroom areas. The total cost was £18,378.

Our lottery profit of £4160 from 2023/4 was used as seed monies to attract the grant.

 

  • Trustees and Management Group Membership: We have seven trustees in total, supported by a Management Group of a further 8. There has been no change in membership over the year. Should further members of the community wish to join in either capacity then please let us know. The Village Hall is owned by the community and entirely run by volunteers.

I’m delighted to say that Support Staffordshire, to whom we are affiliated, has recognised John Grosvenor, David Graham and Kath Williamson for their voluntary efforts over 2024 and preceding years.

 

  • Cleaning and general maintenance: we are so grateful to our volunteers who clean and carry out routine maintenance such as weeding, fitting insulation, fixing lights, painting ( Jo B has been a star this year!), and  fitting new roof tiles over the entrance. Of particular note is the creation of a recessed display area by Malcolm W in the main hall and addition of a large retractable screen in the Upper Bakehouse by Dave B. The number of bookings for the Hall has increased so if anyone wishes to join our cleaning teams (currently five teams so c10 weekly cleans over the year) then please let Liz Broomhead or Kath Williamson know. It’s not too time consuming and for big events a number of us ‘muck in’.

 

 

  • 2022/23 external audit: During 2022/3 the audit revealed:

 

 

2022/3

2021/2

2020/1

2019/20

2018/19

2017/8

Income from hire

£12,503

  £8,257

   £2,341

  £4,489

   £8,315

  £7,167

Donations

£1451

  £1,226

         £45

       £145

       £193

  £2,845

Fund raising incl grants

£18,202

£13,545

 £36,746

£25,393

 £13,307

  £1,325

Gift Aid

£638

 

 

 

 

 

TOTAL

£32,793

£23,027

£39,562

 £30,130

 £21,816

 £11,338

EXPENDITURE

£40,573

£29,292

£51,660

   £7,994

    £8,710

   £6,242

BALANCE on YEAR

-£7,780

 -£6,265

-£12,098

+£22,136

+£13,106

 +£5,096

 

 

NB:  Funds held at the year end on 31/08/2023 were £13,844.

No issues of concern were identified by the external audit, and indeed that has been. the case since the current Treasurer assumed the role. Our thanks go to Kate Craven as Treasurer.

 

  • Current financial situation:

 

As of 31st August 2024 (end of financial year) our finances stood at:

  • Nat West bank account  £20,670
  • Nationwide Business Savings Account      £410.
  • Preliminary analysis suggests an increase over 2023/4 of £6,826. However three funds are ringfenced : an NHS grant has £272 remaining, a National Lottery grant of £1800 is to part pay for the new fire exit doors, and we hold £827 for Arts based initiatives. These total £2,899.
  • A full analysis will be circulated prior to the AGM. All Accounts and Minutes are published on our website hartingtonvillagehall.co.uk
  • In summary our hire income can normally cover routine operational costs but property improvements and routine maintenance will need to be reliant on our lottery and grants.
  • The decision was made in March 2023 to raise our hire charges to £14ph for local use and £20ph for external hire. The Bakehouse charge is now £9ph for local use and £10ph for external use. Weekend wedding receptions are now £650. The driving force for the increases was a x4 increase in electricity costs and a sustained increase in heating costs. In March 2024 the decision was to hold our hire fees from September 2024 at the existing rates. A new electricity contract is significantly lower in cost but other costs have increased with insurance from the Autumn 2024 likely to be considerably higher than previously.

 

 

  • Maintenance issues:

 

The maintenance issues identified in the 2020/1 AGM report have seen the following progress:

  • Replacing the heating system/oil storage tank/asbestos removal (DONE Autumn 2021)
  • Kitchen/bar area (COMPLETED JUNE 2023)
  • Ensuring the electrical system is efficient, functional and compliant (5 YEAR INSTALLATION SURVEY DONE JUNE ’22)
  • Masonry of the Bakehouse – pointing/reducing damp (SW GABLE DONE AUTUMN 2022)
  • Insulation of roof voids over Bakehouse and toilets (DONE 2021)
  • Painting and decorating on a regular cycle (ONGOING)
  • Replacing rear doors or at least ensuring no water runs in (REPAIR DONE MARCH 2023 and replacement scheduled for Autumn 2024.)
  • Maintenance of outside areas- front and back (ONGOING)
  • Maintenance of Staffs Blue roof tiles. (DAMAGED TILES REPLACED AUGUST 2022)
  • Clearing of valley plus gutters. (DONE ANNUALLY) 
  • Install nappy/baby changing facility (DONE 2021) 
  • Smart meter installed (Oct 2022 and working from April 2023).
  • Lift and replace badminton court lines (COMPLETED SEPT 2023)
  • Replace blown window panes in kitchen (JULY 2023)
  • Replace the green carpet in Lower Bakehouse/entrance ( COMPLETED Jan 2024)
  • Replace ‘blown’ window panes in Main Hall and replace rotted wooden frames (Scheduled 17/10/2024)
  • Monitor damp in Lower Bakehouse/Boiler room (work done on gable wall helping)
  • Carpet the Upper Bakehouse (Scheduled Autumn 2024) plus add blinds.
  • Replace fluorescent tube lights in toilet corridor and entrance. (COMPLETED Spring 2024)
  • Re lay drain above the Bakehouse plus use sandbags to prevent flooding of Bakehouse ( COMPLETED Autumn 2023)
  • Replace 20+ year old smoke alarms and add security features (to be done Autumn/Winter 2024)

 

              We also need to:

  • Rationalise storage areas (ongoing)
  • Screen the oil storage tank + waste bin
  • Repoint masonry wall west facing and north facing gable wall of Bakehouse

The rear fire doors are now suffering badly as a result of the weather, with gaps between boards plus swelling of wood creating concerns. After looking at various options and securing prices plus seeking advice on materials we have asked a local joiner to build new wooden doors. We have secured a National Lottery grant of £1800 towards the cost.

Another priority is to rationalise our stock of historical documents and artefacts. The plan is to replace the book library in the Lower Bakehouse, introduced during Covid times, with the historical materials. A grant from Alstonefield Leaden Boot will part fund display cabinets. The materials will be more accessible to the community. This work will also make the Upper Bakehouse a less cluttered meeting and teaching area.

  • Lottery update: the 2020/21 our small society lottery raised £2850 in income towards the replacement heating costs. The 2021/2 lottery raised £4110 and the 2022/23 lottery raised £3,900 with both lottery incomes being devoted to the kitchen refurbishment, monies that were then matched by grants from The Bingham Trust (£5K) and Foundation Derbyshire/Freemasons (£2K). The 2023/24 lottery income of £4160 was designated to go to the refurbishment of the toilets. The continued support for the Hall from our community has been most heartening and we are grateful to David Graham for running the initiative.

 

  • Centenary Celebrations 2025

In 1925 the site where the Village Hall now stands was purchased by Victor Perry and he built the Hall a few years later. In 1944 the Village Hall came into community ownership. We plan to celebrate the centenary of the purchase of the site and have established a small core team of volunteers to work on the plans to celebrate the occasion (see separate report).

 

  • Energy scenario:

The EDF business contract from April 2023 – April 2024 was a x4 increase so we faced an almost £2,000 increase in electricity costs.

In respect of oil costs, we enter the Autumn  with c500 litres in storage, enough through until mid December. We are part of a bulk buying scheme and have been typically paying 65p/litre.

Month

Heating energy hours per month (  =2022/23)

September 2023

  14

October 2023

  79       ( 39)

November 2023

 147    (131)

December 2023

 223    (133)   

January 2024

 279    (221 )    

February 2024

 155    (114 )

March 2024

 166    (140)  

April 2024

  110    ( 58)     

May 2024

    30    ( 30)       

June 2024

    25     (  4 )    

July 2024

    16      ( 1 )       

August 2024

      4       ( 0 )     

                                                          Total

    1248 hours          (871 hours in 11 months 2022/3)

 

Evidence of a rather cooler past 12 months!

 

Keith Quine

 

Chair of Trustees

Hartington Village Hall

 

22/09/2024