Yelling Village

1.         Procedure of the meeting

1.1        The Secretary, Linda Newbold, read the Minutes of the previous AGM held on 21 May 2010, which had been published on the village website (www.yellingvillage.co.uk).

1.2        Matters arising from previous minutes

2          Chairman’s report

2.1        The Chairman, Colin Griffith, delivered his annual report as set out below.

I’m pleased to be able to start off by reporting that we have had another successful year in which we have maintained a healthy financial position, despite many pressures on our funds.  At the same time we managed to deliver a great range of events and facilities for the benefit of our village and local community.  This is entirely due to the hard work and commitment of those who keep the Village Hall running and in good shape week in, week out throughout the year.  In particular I wish to thank, amongst others, Penny Bint for her excellent management of the finances and Jemma Dell for managing the bookings.  They have both worked exceptionally hard on a purely voluntary basis making sure that the Village Hall is both accessible and well presented to all users.  The Events Committee too have all played a very active part in providing the village with a good range of social activities – people from outside the village often remark that ‘there is a lot going on in Yelling’.  And I’d like to say to all those who have attended the events, please keep coming in the future and bring your friends.

The Village Hall is not just a building it is the very centre of our village social life.    It’s a place where special events are held that bring the whole village community together.  It’s a place where families can hold parties.  It’s a place where clubs and special interest groups can meet on a regular basis.  It’s a place where formal village business and voting is conducted.  And it’s place where people can drop in for a drink and a chat.  As well as our current users, there is still scope for even more regular or occasional users and all are welcome. If you know of any group that is looking for a place to meet why not point them in the direction of the Village Hall.  Hiring the hall is very reasonable and there is a good range of facilities on offer. The Social Club too is always open to new members.

We do however need to keep the building in good order. As well as keeping on top of the usual repair and maintenance issues we aim to make improvements where these can be afforded.  We listen to the feedback from our user groups and have plans going forward to do some work on the kitchen and improve the efficiency of the heating system.  Keeping the place clean and tidy, both inside and out, is the responsibility of the whole community, not just those of us on the committee.  The more attractive the hall is to those who are looking to hire it, the more income we generate – this money can then be used to make the place even better for our village.   We always welcome volunteers, even on an occasional basis.

My thanks again to everyone who has been involved this year and we look forward to an exciting year ahead.

3          Treasurers report

3.1        The Treasurer, Penny Bint, presented her audited accounts for the financial year, 12 months ended 31 January 2011.

3.2        The Village Hall had another good year from a financial point of view, ending with a surplus of £2,453 (compared with £2,109 in 2010). 

3.3        Income overall was down £357 at £11,543 (£11,900 in 2010).  This comes from the following:

·         The Social Club contributed £3,970, a drop of £2,183 on the previous year (£6,153). Their monthly rent was reduced during the year from £417 to £317 (ongoing)  to reflect their reduced income;  

·         A major effort was made again this financial year to generate income from hiring out the Village Hall. This has been managed successfully by Jemma and the brought in £1,947 an increase of  £232 on the previous year (£1,715). Income from hiring is now four times what it was in 2008;

·         Donations from other sources were £479 compared with £320 in 2010;

·         Grant - £1,500 was received from Hunts DC towards the cost of the replacing the railings.  The original grant application was approved in April 2009 but work took until March 2010 to complete so the costs fell within the financial year 2010/11;

·         Fund raising – income fell to £1,625 from £2,087. This reflects the increased cost of staging events, particularly the Barn Dance which is a major undertaking.  The Events Committee organised a number of other events, including a very successful St George’s Night and Bonfire Night Party.  Other smaller scale events such as a car treasure hunt were organised by individuals from within the village;

3.4        Expenditure was also down by £700 at £9,091 (£9,791 for 2010).  Key points to note are as follows:

• Oil – the cost overall for the year rose to £1,130 from £996 in 2010.  This reflected the higher cost of fuel rather increased consumption;
• Insurance – it was necessary to make a claim in June when the oil tank was damaged during a suspect break-in.  The oil tank was replaced and there was a £200 excess to pay.  Our insurers (Allied Insurers) have since increased the excess to £500.

3.5        Looking forward, the Management Committee have agreed that in order to increase the income from hiring the hall we need to improve the facilities in the kitchen, upgrade the heating, and redecorate the main hall.  Quotations to carry out the work are currently being considered.

4          Matters arising and questions

4.1        Insurance – the Committee were asked if they should consider an alternative insurance provider when renewing their policy.  Their response was that the cost of insurance in general was rising.  They had explored taking out insurance with NFU but given our claims history there was no financial gain in changing from Allied Insurers.

4.2        The Committee were asked about their overall profit/loss for the year once income in the form of the grant of £1,500 from Hunts DC had been discounted. The response was that the grant was counter-balanced by expenditure on maintenance which would not have taken place had the grant not been available. They also commented that the loss of income from the Social Club was a concern but careful management of costs and the increase in income from hiring had resulted in a small increase in profit for the year (£2,453 compared with £2,109 in 2010).

4.3        The Committee picked up a comment from the previous AGM about the increasing the cost of hiring the hall.  They reported that the rate for regular users had been kept lower than for private hiring – this was consistent with practice elsewhere.

4.4        The accounts were approved by those present.

5          Election of members to the Village Hall Committee

The existing members of the Committee stood down, as was customary. Jemma Dell was put forward for membership on a regular basis.  Charles proposed the re-election of all members, which was unanimously carried.  The following were re-elected en bloc for 2010/11:

Colin Griffiths (Chair)

Penny Bint (Treasurer)

Linda Newbold (Secretary and WI representative)

Vacancy (PCC)

Mick Revell (Social Club)

Phil Jackson

David Bint (Vice-chair, and Chair of Events Committee)

Tracy Zwetsloot

Denis Hamilton-Rimmer

Jemma Dell (Diary manager and events co-ordinator)

Ian Newbold - Auditor