Ramsden Bellhouse Village Hall AGM
Sunday, 26th January 2025 3pm

Chairman's Report

The Chairman, Jamie Ward, welcomed everyone to the meeting and summarised the year’s events.

This year has been very positive, with two successful events organised by the hall — St George’s Day Breakfast and the Christmas Bazaar. Jamie thanked all the people that helped, planned and participated to make these events a success.

There have also been many changes as part of the overall refurbishment and updating of the hall.  The online booking system is now fully complete and is operating very successfully, thanks to Carol.  The transition to online banking is also complete which has greatly improved control over the finances and removed the need for cash and cheque payments.  A card reader has also been used at the Bazaar to take payments.

Jamie thanked Barbara Stanton who has resigned from the committee after serving as website administrator for 13 years, giving us her time and experience and always supporting the events.  It is hoped that Barbara will still be an integral part of the team for future events.  Barbara was presented with a bouquet of flowers.

Jamie thanked Leigh Woodward, who organised the Social Dance classes at the hall.  She has now stepped away from this as a section and resigned from the Committee.  Leigh has helped out this year to support the Treasurer and played a part in preparing the accounts for the Charity Commission and the audit.  Leigh organised the Christmas Tree Lighting event this year as well as supporting other events.  Leigh was presented with a bouquet of flowers.

Jamie also expressed his thanks to Ann Wellborne, who unfortunately could not be present at the AGM.  She has supported the Village Hall on the Committee but also with the Social Secretary role. She has very successfully organised several events such as the long-standing St George’s Day Breakfast and the Christmas Bazaar.

The plans for the coming year are to continue decorating the hall internally as well as some improvements externally.  We are looking to improve our lighting externally, car park facility and replace fascia boards.  There will also be some new additions as there have been this year, such as
a fridge and internal party lighting.

Jamie thanked the Committee for continuing to give up their free time to make the Village Hall the success it is, especially to Melvin Simpson as Vice Chairman and Carol Wraight for stepping into several roles when needed.

Treasurer’s Report

Carol Wraight introduced herself and explained that the person replacing the previous Treasurer had to resign so she and Leigh had taken on the role.  Carol thanked Leigh for her contribution, and her work in providing the financial documentation to the Charity Commission.  Leigh is unable to continue in the role so Carol will remain treasurer for the time being.

The priorities in the last year have been to maintain the hall, increase usage and fundraising efforts. There has been a significant increase in the money received from hall rentals and £3,636.50 was raised for the Village Hall itself, through hall events or charity fundraising events by the hall sections. There was an increase in the hourly charges which boosted the income.  The receipts totalled £33,146.  The expenses have also increased this year, to £27,444, due to maintenance and repairs and increased utility bills.

In summary, the net surplus of receipts for the year is positive at £5,701, up on last year due to all the items mentioned above. We managed to save some money to continue updating the hall and providing our users with the best facilities possible.

Key points for the financial outlook for 2025

• Key anticipated expenses:  £20k Old Hall refurbishment, £850 heating control,  £3k Church Road     entrance, new lighting, signage and painting.

Carol thanked everyone who has helped out through the year, from the villagers who helped her to cut back the hedge in the summer, to all the volunteers at the hall events.  If any of you would like to help out, then let someone in the Committee know.  It’s a great opportunity to get involved in your local community.

Bookings Secretary’s Report

Carol gave us a report. The Hall has had 989 bookings in the last year, an increase on the previous year.  There has been a welcome increase in the number of bookings for the whole hall or the Old and new Hall together.

Ramsden Bellhouse Dog Training Club, Horticulture, Scouts, Cubs, Tea and Toddlers and Ramsden Bowls all continue as sections.  We have a new regular user, the Salsa club, as well as several Badminton groups, various Table Tennis clubs, Yoga, Boxer Dogs, Sanguine Bowls and Pilates.  There have been a variety of one-off events such as a wedding, a graduation party, auctioneer/valuer, flower arranging, birthday parties, Halloween party, poem reading, Christmas tree light up event, Christmas Bazaar, St. George’s Day Breakfast, a rental for a Christmas Day Dinner Party on Christmas Day and a 50th Birthday held in the hall on Christmas Eve plus many more.

The increase in bookings is partly due to the new booking system which is now fully working with last financial year being our first full year.  This also provides an invoicing system and a monitoring system for all our numbers and attendance.  We have also purchased new equipment and utilised existing equipment to rent out to our users.  This included waste removal from parties, cleaning, back drop, kitchen usage, garden usage amongst various others.

This year has shown a successful increase in the usage of the Hall and we look forward to continuing to serve the community by providing a versatile and welcoming space.  We are confident that with the recommended changes and ongoing support from the community, we can ensure even greater success in the coming year.  We thank all our users, volunteers, and committee members who have contributed to the smooth running of the village hall this year.

Facilities Management

Melvin Simpson presented a summary of the work that has been undertaken this year.  Firstly, he acknowledged all the routine tasks that take place such as maintaining supplies, gardening, fire certificates among others.

The dishwasher has been replaced by one that we have leased.  There have been many repairs and refurbishments such as toilet seats replaced, doors painted etc.  The long-standing flooding in the car park seems to have been resolved with a new drain manifold.  All cupboards have been checked for contents and ownership established.  The Committee Room has been completely revamped and emptied of items where possible to make it a more welcoming space.  The lobby to the New Hall has also been redecorated with improved lighting, and unnecessary items removed.

The main storeroom has been much improved – large cabinets reduced from 5 to 3 to free up space, reorganised to better support both halls, improved safety.  Space has been made for the Table Tennis tables so there is no need to store them in the Committee Room.  Chairs are now more accessible to the New Hall.

Some of these are small changes but make a big difference for users.

A tidy up of the outside area has been carried out too with Mother and Toddler group old toys disposed of, some given away to a preschool that is starting up elsewhere.  Boards etc between sheds have been disposed of.

In terms of hall management, there has been much progress in running the hall in a more professional way.  For example, there is a shared online drive being used for online documentation management. A Village Hall email address is being used for all correspondence, with multiple user access.  There is a new post box, so all mail is now sent to the hall.  A filing cabinet in the Committee Room is used for Village Hall documentation.  Heating control has been proactively managed to save on gas costs. Work is underway to develop an all-new website. A new Asset Register, Operating Guidelines and Fire System log have been produced.  CCTV policy and Risk Assessment in progress.  Updated conditions of hire.

Improvements to equipment and facilities include a digital display in the lobby which aids communication with users, advertising and can be used by event bookings.  A new compact PA system is available for hire.  There is a new notice board opposite the shop.  The dog bin has been moved.  A half container is providing additional secure storage for the sit on lawnmower.  New Hall party lighting, supporting Salsa and parties, will be available shortly.

Future activities planned comprise: both hall floors need refurbishment, quotes required, needs scheduling.  Decoration of the Old Hall and upgrading of the radiators.  Old Hall rotting fascia board to be replaced by plastic.  Heating control system modifications to allow thermostatic control of both halls.  Reduction of hedges height and width, ditch clean up, rubbish removal from rear of sheds. Extend size of rear car park through shrub and tree cut back.  Decorate Old Hall entrance lobby. Additional lighting along drive to rear car park.

Election of Officers and Members of the Committee

Village Hall Charity for 2025 Selection

Five charities had been nominated and a vote among the Committee narrowed this down to two charities, Spotlight and Basildon Minds.  Unfortunately, Basildon Minds did not have a representative at the meeting — Jamie outlined their work.

A representative from Spotlight was at the meeting and told us about their work, fundraising for the radiotherapy unit at Southend Hospital which serves all of the Mid and South Essex area. They have funded equipment for Surface Guided Radiotherapy which will improve the experience of patients undergoing radiotherapy by detecting if they have moved position and exactly where the radiotherapy is to be applied.  This removes the need for patients to have tattoos, makes the radiotherapy for patients with head cancers less claustrophobic and means that the treatment will be more effective as it is always directed to the correct area.

Further funding will be used to make the department more pleasant for everyone, for example having images on the ceiling of the radiotherapy room to improve the patient experience.  A vote confirmed Spotlight as the charity for the year.

A member of the public suggested that Aspire cafe, staffed by students at Castledon School, is considered next year.  The usual process is that the charities are nominated by the sections and Committee members and the nomination must be a charity.

Any Other Business

The Aspire Café which used to be called Poppies was recommended.  The issue of people driving on the grass and causing ruts was discussed – it is planned that the old rotten wooden posts will be replaced by posts with lighting.  There has been one incident where a hall user did not know how to turn the heating on.

Rusi Hodivala thanked the committee for all their hard work over the year.

The meeting closed at 3.35pm and was followed by cheese and wine – thanks to Pauline Greenan and Melanie Ward for arranging this.