Bradford & Cookbury Community Minutes:
Bradford and Cookbury Village Hall - Annual Report for 2007
By the chairman of the village hall management committee.
The village hall has further progressed over the last year with a continuing satisfactory level of bookings from regular clubs and other users. This level of support has led to a very stable financial situation with income from lettings more than covering our running expenses, but there can be no room for complacency as running costs are increasing as the building and equipment gets older, therefore we have a subcommittee to keep an eye on finance and to review the letting charges on a regular basis. The treasurer is to be congratulated on the comprehensive and detailed presentation of income and expenditure.
All the regular activities within the hall are continuing and it is good to see that two volunteers have started up an art group and a gardening club.
The hall has only been involved with one fund raising event since the last report and that was the joint community lunch when over 150 people sat down to what was voted the best ever four course lunch put on in the hall. The suggestion and organisation of fund raising events do tend to fall specifically on the committee and it is a challenge to come up with new ideas.
A major part of committee time is devoted to keeping the building and grounds in good order and in line with changing legislation. The committee do note all comments made about the premises and keep an on going list. Many of the tasks are undertaken by the committee and other volunteers to keep costs down.
Improvements this year include.....
Painting of the kitchen and meeting room
Erection of a fire assembly sign in the car park
A purpose made case for short matt bowls trophies in the foyer.
Possible future improvements include the fixing of finger protectors to some doors in the hall .
Since late last year a new local volunteer has taken responsibility for the general cleanliness of the building and also she is willing to monitor usage even over weekends so that, on arrival, hirers can be pleased with the overall condition of the premises. It is fortunate that we now have this very satisfactory arrangement.
The hall finances the bimonthly publication of the village newsletter. The editor is to be congratulated on its continuing development and it has become policy to give feedback on previous events so that people are aware that support given is meaningful.
The village website (www.bradfordandcookburyvillagehall.co.uk.) is up and running thanks to a young local volunteer IT graduate. The site will continue to be developed and all feedback incorporated, if feasible. During the coming year it is hoped that local business people will use it for advertising.
Thanks to the parish council for funding durable signing to the village hall. Liaison with the parish council is beneficial and the council now have the opportunity to use part of the village website. The recent parish plan does include feedback on aspects of the village hall. Any issues arising will be discussed in forthcoming meetings and comment included in minutes.
The new village hall is moving towards its tenth birthday in 2010 and it is hoped that people will be forthcoming in suggesting and organising some celebration events.
*It is with great regret that the management committee has received the resignation of one of its trustees, Mr Ray Radford OBE. The contribution that Ray made to the millennium hall project was outstanding and the pride that the village has in this new hall is a testament to his expertise and tireless efforts.
Finally, as chairman, I would like to thank all members of the committee and other volunteers for their continued support and hard work throughout the year. The hall is currently in a very good position and with a good committee will continue to go from strength to strength in the future.
Lottery funded Registered charity No:279546
Trustees: S. Oke (Chairman) P.Jones (Secretary) C.Hawking (Treasurer) R.Radford C.Reed R.Smale
*Fortunately, Mr Radford was asked at the AGM to reconsider his resignation so that he could be part of planning the 10th anniversary.
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