Annual General Meeting
Monday 23rd March 2026
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 24th March 2025
MINUTES OF MEETING
Present
Vicky Rispin, Hilary Rogers, Jackie Sandy, Andrew Webb, Bill Cullen, Jane Stanbridge,
Fiona Steeds, Alan Charlesworth, Katie Griffin, Charene Winbow, Louise Roberts,
Kathryn Kempster, Mark Strange, Alan Hemingway, Liz Hemingway
Apologies
Mandy Clark, Angelo Sauro, Sue Hope, Sally Roberts, Neil Fozard, Neil Adams
Previous Minutes
The Minutes of the AGM held on 10th June 2024 were signed by Andrew as a true record.
Matters Arising
None
Chairman’s Report
Andrew had distributed his Report in advance of the meeting and summarised the main points;
2024 proved to be a very successful year in terms of bookings and the increase in the variety of activities on offer, plus substantial investment particularly in expanding the solar power system and developing the upstairs meeting room into a bespoke Pilates studio. Kathryn Kempster said how impressed she was with the upgrade of the upstairs room and suggested that this could be applied to other areas of the building. Andrew replied that we are committed to doing this where we can increase the potential for extra income.
Treasurer’s Report
Bill’s report had been circulated. Bill explained that a broader range of revenue sources was now in place and along with a continuous drive for cost reduction and efficiency the hall had made a good operating profit for the year. Alan Hemingway asked about the £20,000 contingency fund. Andrew explained that this was set up in order to mitigate against any unforeseen loss of income. The amount should cover a 3 year period which would give us time to find alternative funding sources. Alan asked why the money was not put into an interest bearing account. Andrew & Bill will look into this going forward. Alan went on to congratulate the Committee on the successful management of the Hall. Andrew mentioned that we have a meeting with the Parish Council next week to discuss long term infrastructure spending, such as the Fire Alarm system, which needs investment but does not yield income. Hilary Rogers asked if the EV Charging facility was up and running. Andrew explained the legislative red tape covering this and said that it would be fully operational very soon.
Election of Officers
Andrew said that Hannah Herod had resigned from the Committee.
This left 5 Committee members up for re-election:
Andrew Webb, Bill Cullen, Jackie Sandy, Fiona Steeds, and Jane Stanbridge.
All 5 were proposed for re-election by Vicky Rispin and seconded by Katie Griffin.
Kathryn Kempster joined the Committee as a new elected officer, proposed by Hilary Rogers and seconded by Jane Stanbridge.
User Body Nominated Trustees
Andrew read out the list of trustees representing each User Body and introduced Mark Strange as the new PTA rep. Neil Adam continues to be Youth Club liaison with the Hall Committee but is not a Trustee. Youth Club are currently looking for a Treasurer and Katie Griffin is going to contact them.
Any Other Business
Charene Winbow asked if Hannah Herod had held a specific post on the Committee which needed to be filled. Andrew replied that Hannah had assisted Jane Stanbridge with social media and publicity. There are two specific roles of the Hall management which are currently vacant and we need to cover going forward.
Katie Griffin asked about the hearing loop which was not set up for the meeting. Andrew apologised for this and said that in future we would ask if it was required at the start of any meeting. There are ongoing issues with the system and we are working with Drama to try and resolve them. Alan Charlesworth suggested a multi-directional microphone might help. Jane Stanbridge suggested we put up a notice with clear instructions on how to use the loop as most people present were unaware of how the system works.
Andrew thanked the Committee for their hard work over the year.
There being no further business the meeting was closed at 8.20pm.
Annual General Meeting
Monday 23rd March 2026
DRAFT MINUTES OF MEETING
Present
Vicky Rispin, Hilary Rogers, Jackie Sandy,
Andrew Webb, Bill Cullen,
Fiona Steeds, Katie Griffin, Charene Winbow, Neil
Fozard, Angelo Sauro, Sue Hope,
Kathryn Kempster, Sally Roberts, Chris Couzens
Short, John Ford, John Latter
Apologies
Jane Stanbridge, Alan Charlesworth
Previous Minutes
The Minutes of the AGM held on 24th
March 2025 were signed by Andrew as a true record.
Matters Arising
At the 2025 AGM Alan Hemingway had suggested that
our contingency funds could be put into an interest-bearing deposit
account. Bill and Andrew have looked
into this and intend to pursue it.
Chairman’s Report
Andrew had distributed his Report in advance
of the meeting and summarised the main points;
2025 proved to be a very successful year with
an increase in regular bookings, particularly for fitness/wellness type
activities. We also had an increase in
private parties and ran some successful fundraising events with FOSM. Bar
revenues and profits increased significantly. We received some generous
donations and benefitted financially from selling excess solar generated
electricity back to the grid. This all helped to cover an overall 23% increase
in the cost of operating the hall relative to 2024, mainly driven by a large
increase in maintenance costs. Andrew
highlighted the fact that the strategic planning which was put in place 5 years
ago has paid dividends in securing the financial stability of the hall and
enabling investment in improving the facilities, along with successful external
grant applications. He thanked all Committee members for their hard work over
the year and also Ange Jones who does a great job in keeping the Hall clean and
tidy, plus everyone who has hired the hall or attended events at the hall.
Andrew invited questions from the floor and
John Ford asked how we calculate Hire Charges in light of increasing
overheads. Andrew explained that 2 years
ago we had implemented price increases and continue to monitor this. However, given the healthy Hall finances at
the moment we do not feel it necessary to increase our charges.
Katie Griffin asked for an explanation of
profits made which Andrew went through in detail.
Treasurer’s Report
Bill’s report had been circulated. Bill
explained how our accounts are split into Operational, Development and
Restricted funds and detailed the year end status of each. He summarised how funds are allocated to each
area and detailed the grant funding received in 2025. Overall our Operational profit
increased by 13% on 2024 and Bill highlighted the key income and expenditure
drivers for this. Bill detailed the projects where we have invested in the Hall
and Recreation Ground this year, highlighting a total investment of £32,000.
Charene commented on the fact that the Drama Group
maintain the stage and sound system which are available for Hall Hirers to
use. Bill replied that he is always
grateful for the support from the Drama group which has been a major
contributor to Hall income and providing events for the whole community. Andrew also thanked them.
Sue Hope thanked Bill and Andrew for their
work and commented on the increase in parking revenue which is probably due to
increased signage. Sue asked for the
accounts to be distributed and Bill replied that this will be done when they
have been audited by Anna O’Brien.
Election of Officers
Fiona said that Jackie
Sandy has resigned from the Committee.
This left 5 Committee members up for re-election:
Andrew Webb, Bill Cullen, Kathryn Kempster,
Fiona Steeds and Jane Stanbridge.
All 5 were proposed for re-election by Vicky
Rispin and seconded by Sally Roberts.
Andrew thanked Jackie for all her work as
Bookings Secretary, particularly for her help in implementing the Hallmaster
system. Jackie has said she will stay on
until a replacement can be found. Andrew
asked for anyone who might be interested (or knows of someone who is) to
contact him as soon as possible.
User Body Nominated Trustees
Charene asked about the list of trustees
representing each User Body which was circulated and updated as necessary.
Any Other Business
Andrew thanked John Ford for generously giving
his time to work on our electrical issues in the Hall.
John Latter thanked the Committee for keeping
the Hall running as a great community asset.
Chris Couzins Short (on behalf of the Village
shop) congratulated the Committee on their successful management of the Hall.
Sue Hope thanked the whole Committee for their
hard work.
There being no further business the meeting
was closed at 8.23pm.