Annual General Meeting
Monday 24th March 2025
AGENDA
Papers available from 7pm for 7.30pm start
Apologies
Previous Minutes
Matters Arising
Chairman’s Report
Treasurer’s Report
Election of Committee Members
Any Other Business
Annual General Meeting
Monday 10th June 2024
MINUTES OF MEETING
Present
Vicky Rispin, Hilary Rogers, Jackie Sandy, Hannah Herod, Neil Fozard, Andrew Webb,
Fiona Steeds, Alan Charlesworth, Sue Hope, Sally Roberts, Kate Bashford, Katie Griffin
Apologies
Mandy Clark, Bill Cullen, Jane Stanbridge, Angelo Sauro
Previous Minutes
The Minutes of the AGM held on 22nd May 2023 were signed by Andrew as a true record.
Matters Arising (from the previous AGM held in 2023)
Katie Griffin had asked whether the Village Hall was actually needed. We continue to attract new users and believe the Hall is a vital community asset.
Hazel Jones had asked if we could make more use of the Rec. We have increased bookings for the Caravan Club but are mindful that too many large events would be disruptive to our neighbours. Other uses are under consideration that would be less busy.
Graham Chamberlain had asked how other Village Halls are funded. It seems that most of them are funded by their Parish Councils. There is an ongoing need for discussions with our own Parish Council on this matter.
Hazel Jones believed that there was a need for a café in the village. However this is not something the Hall Committee can run but we are still open to a proposal from a commercial enterprise.
Chairman’s Report
Andrew had distributed his Report in advance of the meeting and summarised the main points. There were no questions or issues raised. Vicky thanked Andrew and Bill for their hard work this year and Alan added thanks to Angelo who always works extremely hard on our behalf. Andrew pointed out that we may have to consider a paid Caretaker post in the future due to the ever increasing maintenance and operational requirements. Vicky will ask for the report to be printed in the Parish Magazine.
Treasurer’s Report
Bill’s report had been circulated and Andrew presented it in Bill’s absence. Against our initial plans and forecasts at the start of the year, we made a profit of £12,796.89 for the year. This was down to a significant increase in private party bookings aligned with a far more profitable bar operation. Andrew warned that this was exceptional and already we are not seeing this level of bookings in 2024. The increased profits will contribute to our on-going hall development and improvement projects. Sue asked if the accounts were audited. Andrew replied that Anna O’Brien does this for us and, although there is no legal requirement for it, we feel it is good practice.
.
Election of Officers
We have 6 Committee members up for re-election:
Andrew Webb, Bill Cullen, Jackie Sandy, Fiona Steeds, Hannah Herod and Jane Stanbridge. All 6 were proposed for re-election by Vicky Rispin and seconded by Alan Charlesworth.
Any Other Business
Sue thanked Andrew, Bill and Angelo again and Katie remarked that she felt that they were doing a great job in future proofing the Hall.
There being no further business the meeting was closed at 7.55pm.
Hawkesbury
Hospital Hall – Chairman’s Year-End Report 2024
Charity
Number 1176993
The village hall
had a very successful year in 2024 with a significant increase in both the
number and variety of regular activities and services on offer. This led to
increased bookings and enabled a greater choice of activities to be available to
a broader range of the community. Previously, in 2023, we minimised investment spending
and focussed on promoting the hall as a venue for multiple occasions and events
in order to achieve these increased bookings in 2024. Following on from this, the
plan for 2024 was to significantly increase the delivery of projects in our strategic
investment and development plan. This is aimed at improving the hall both
functionally and environmentally to improve the facilities, reduce the carbon
footprint and at the same time continue reducing the costs of operating the
hall.
The
increased activities and services in 2024 resulted in a 15% increase in hiring
income which was critical from a financial perspective as there was a
significant drop off in private event/party bookings relative to the previous
year, with a consequent reduction in bar income and profit. However, there was an
increase in bookings from groups outside the village which helped
significantly. The focus on continuous cost reduction and challenging the
prices for all contracted services remained a priority throughout 2024 resulting
in a 10% reduction in expenditure compared with 2023. However, maintenance
costs on the hall increased by 25% reflecting additional works that are
required as the building ages, but also the ever-increasing demands of
legislative and insurance requirements. For more detail on both the operational
revenue and operational expenditure please see the Treasurer’s 2024 Finance
Statement.
In 2024 we
were able to invest the profit from 2023 and secure additional grants to
continue our strategic investment and development plan. The programme was
dominated by the installation of a 29kW solar panel array, extending our initial
12kW system installed in 2022 to a very substantial 41kW, which we plan to use
in the future to remove our dependency on heating oil. This was accompanied by
additional battery storage capacity and the installation of two 22kW fast Electric
Vehicle chargers. Providing EV charging capacity in a rural location such as
ours has obvious benefits for both residents and visitors. We also installed a
solar module to enable our hot water to be heated from the solar energy we
produce. A further significant investment was the conversion of the upstairs
meeting room to a modern, bespoke Pilates studio in association with a local
Pilates business. The room remains available for other hiring purposes and, as
a consequence of the transformation, we anticipate increased future rental for
business meetings, presentations, AGM’s etc. New signage was installed around
the hall to meet statutory requirements but has also enabled a very large
increase in payments received for use of the carpark by non-hall users. The
investment budget we set for 2024 was substantially underspent, primarily
because a 100% grant was obtained for the solar project from the West of
England Rural Fund. This means we can roll over much of this budget into the
2025/26 investment fund. Further details are documented in the Treasurer’s 2024
Finance Statement.
The playpark
and skatepark are financially managed as a “restricted fund” ensuring all
income and donations are spent only on their improvement, and maintenance. The
hall was extremely grateful for generous donations to this fund in 2024 from
the Tractor Run Group, the Fireworks Group and the Winter Skittles league
enabling new picnic benches to be provided. We also improved the quality of the
statutory annual safety inspection by changing contractors and negotiated a zero
increase to the insurance premium. Note a monthly full safety inspection is also
undertaken by a group of village volunteers who make up our maintenance team for
which the Hall Committee are extremely grateful.
In the
middle of 2021, as we emerged from the Covid lockdowns and enforced closure of
the hall, we initiated a 3-year strategic investment and development plan aimed
at ensuring the hall remains financially viable whilst meeting modern day
expectations. This has been achieved. In 2024, we extended the plan by a
further 3 years with the principal aim of securing the long-term financial
stability of the hall whilst also continuing to further improve existing
facilities and provide additional/new facilities. A major part of the plan will
focus on completing our Environmental objectives with the target of achieving
net zero carbon emissions from the hall and in so-doing further reduce the
operating costs substantially.
Overall, in
2024 the Village Hall Trust has generated an operating profit of close to
nineteen thousand pounds. This is substantially greater than our expectation at
the start of the year. This demonstrates conclusively that our strategic plan, based
on significant investment and development of the hall, along with environmental
improvement and cost reduction investments, plus increased promotional activity,
is proving to be very successful. We can now confidently say that the financial
problems the hall experienced prior to the pandemic are behind us. However, we
cannot be complacent. The building is starting to show its age and, along with increasing
legislative and statutory requirements, the infrastructure will continue to require
money to be spent just to remain operational without any improvements.
I will
finish the report by offering my sincere thanks for the support and effort of
the Hall Committee members and of our other volunteers without whose support
the hall would struggle. I also offer a big thank you to all those regular
faces that continue to support events at the hall throughout the year. Our
village hall remains an entirely stand-alone entity. It is operated as an
Incorporated Charitable Trust and is self-funding – it is not financed or
operated by the Parish Council, nor does it have any major beneficiaries or
donors. All committee members are volunteers who provide their time and effort
free of charge and take on the responsibility of Charity Commission Trustees to
enable the village hall to benefit the residents of Hawkesbury. The village hall
is a community asset, and its continued operation and success will only be
possible through the community’s use and support of it, and the work of its
trustees and volunteers.
Andrew Webb,
Chair of Trustees –
Hawkesbury Hospital Hall Incorporated Charity
Hawkesbury
Hospital Hall - Finance Statement for 2024 accounts
· The finances
are managed within a single bank account. This account includes restricted
funds for the playparks and reserved funds for investment and development as
well as the general operating fund. The
accounting format is fully in
line with the Charity Commission requirements for a Charitable Incorporated
Organisation (CIO) at our level of revenue.
Operational Income
· Operational
income is slightly increased overall by 4% relative to 2023 despite fewer
private event bookings and consequently reduced bar sales/profit.
· Hall hire income
increased by 15% through increase in new regular hirers/activities, conversion
of the upstairs room to a Pilates studio and increased utilisation of the
recreational field and carpark for hiring activities (e.g. caravan club rally, take-away
pizza service etc).
· Hall fund
raising income was reduced as the Committee organised three fundraising events in
the year as opposed to four in 2023.
· Car park
donations increased by 250% (£800) as a result of the new signage and easy
payment methods (text, QR code, more prominent cashbox).
· The increase
in office hire income reflects a late payment from 2023 that was paid in
January 2024, hence three payments in the year not two as scheduled.
· Bar sales were
significantly reduced by 35% due to a large reduction in private event
bookings.
Operational Expenditure
·
Significant
reduction in overall operational expenditure of approximately 10% (excluding
maintenance costs) compared with 2023 through continuous cost reduction focus
and examination and challenge of all contracted services e.g. waste disposal
cost reduced by £800 by optimising the collection schedule.
·
Reduced
costs in 2024 were also due to phasing of some spend, i.e. PPL licence due in December
2024 paid in January 2025, also one heating oil delivery made in late December
2024 but not paid for until January 2025.
·
Bar
purchases and expenses were significantly reduced due to less private event
bookings.
·
Increases
in water charges, insurance premiums and cleaning costs reflected inflationary
increases and additional hall usage.
·
Hall
maintenance costs increased by 25% reflecting additional works that are
required as the building ages and also the purchase of a new industrial
dishwasher for the kitchen.
·
Residual
electricity bill (purchase from the grid after solar use) increased from -£147
in 2023 to +£561 in 2024 due to increase in electricity prices but also a switch
off of the existing solar system during the new “solar 2” installation.
Development & Investment
·
A reserved investment fund of £18,000 was generated
from the overall finances for 2024 to primarily subsidise the new “solar 2”
development at 25% of total cost (£10,000) plus improvements and development to
the hall including the upstairs meeting room, a solar module controller for hot
water supply, new signage, website development etc.(£8,000)
·
We managed to obtain a 100% grant for “solar 2”
therefore not requiring the £10,00 in our reserve. Furthermore, not all improvements
planned in the year were completed due to the amount of time and effort
required for the “solar 2” project plus the upstairs room development.
·
Additionally, a CIL grant of £4,500 to cover the zonal
heating control system that was installed and paid for in 2023 was received in
January 2024 and is included in the 2024 accounts.
·
Because of these elements, we underspent the reserved
investment budget by approx. £17,000 which will now be rolled forward into the
2025 reserved investment fund.
·
The “solar 2” project was undertaken and all costs
consumed in 2024, however the final grant payment of £29,930 was not received from
the funding authority until January 2025. In order to truly reflect this
substantial development in the year we have accrued that final grant payment into
the 2024 finances.
Playparks
restricted fund
·
The playparks’ restricted fund was significantly
boosted by generous donations from the Tractor Run group, The Fireworks Group
and the Winter Skittles League. The fund now stands at approx. £6,000 which is necessary
in the event of any single equipment failure.
·
Fund raising activities that provide the funds for
insurance payments on the playparks was slightly increased from 2023 and
comfortably covered the insurance premium payment.
WJ Cullen – Treasurer, Hawkesbury Hospital Hall
Incorporated Charity