AGM Mar 25 - Hawkesbury Upton Village Hall - Hire for Weddings, Parties, Stage for Live music

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CIO Trustees > 2025 Minutes
 
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.
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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
 
 
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