July (& August) 2023 Newsletter

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

22ND JUNE 2023

 

Trustees report for the period 1st November 2022 till June 22nd 2023

 

After the public meeting held at the end of October 2022 when a new committee of Trustees was formed, I was appointed Chair of our Village Hall.

It hasn’t been a smooth ride, but along with my fellow 12 trustees we now have things on an even keel and, we like to think, running fairly smoothly.

POLICIES

We found that we had a lot of policies that were in need of an update.  After many hours and a lot of hard work by Ron Blyth, the up-to-date versions can now be found on our website and a hard copy in the box file next to the bar in the side room.

FEES

We discovered that fees varied from group to group and varied greatly for local, charitable and regular users.  We have now simplified the tariff and we have made it much fairer. 

Unfortunately, we did have to increase the fees, due largely, to the huge rise in energy prices and I’m sure you will agree, the Hall is a large area to heat.

Everyone seems reasonably happy with the new charges. The fees can be viewed on our website. Thanks to Phil Richardson our Treasurer who has provided sound financial guidance to our hall user groups.

WEBSITE

The old website was very limiting, we now have a new website that is very user-friendly thanks to the tech skills of Mark Truby. The calendar can be easily viewed to check availability, the fees tariff is there along with a monthly newsletter.

BOOKINGS

Last October, we had very little information on who actually booked the Village Hall. We addressed this by meeting or contacting all the hall user groups. Now all bookings can be viewed online and the availability for new users can be seen at a glance.  A list of the bookings are displayed monthly on the notice board in the entrance lobby.

MAINTENANCE

One of our first jobs was to have a new boiler fitted. The old one was forever shutting down, particularly on the coldest days!  We also fitted a hive so that the temperature of the Hall could be controlled remotely by our caretaker.

The taps in the toilets didn’t seem to know when to turn themselves off!  So new push taps were fitted to sinks and also new toilet seats fitted.

A hand rail was attached to the kitchen ‘emergency exit ‘door for easy closure and tiles on the roof were repaired.

The Banks room was being used for storage cupboards for different groups. The cupboards have now been moved to the back of the stage to make a necessary emergency exit via the Banks room. 

The cooker and cooker hood have been professionally cleaned.

New hard-wearing, commercial flooring has been fitted to the Jubilee rooms, making the rooms lighter, brighter and easier to keep clean.  Thanks go to the committee of the WW1 Fund and Parish Council for providing a Grant to pay for this.

Ten more tables have been purchased, thanks to the committee of the WW2 Fund for providing funding, this will make large events in the Hall easier to facilitate.

We have been attending meetings on solar panels and their potential use on village halls.

A huge thank-you goes to Stannington Women’s Institute for cleaning the kitchen cupboards and checking all crockery, glassware and cutlery.

BAR

We no longer manage or stock the bar, instead we get an outside, locally run, company to organise this for any functions needing bar facilities.

Finally

A special thankyou to Sue Thompson our Secretary for among other things, planning, organising and arranging the Trustee meetings which are recorded to a high standard. 

Four trustees have stepped down for various reasons, Tom Goodacre, Karen Carins, Judy Murray and Deborah Court,  thanks go to them all for the work that they have done.

The Trustees of the Village Hall from November 2022 to the present date have worked together to form a good working relationship along with our caretaker and Booking Secretary Richard Tolson, to maintain the Village Hall to the standard we have today. 

Thank you, everyone.

 

Sandra Dickinson