Committee Members
| Lynne Tweed | Chair |
| Paula Graham | Booking Secretary |
| Kathryn Seddons | Secretary |
| Howard Graham | |
| Brian Seddons | Treasurer |
| Louise Ashmore | |
| Nicky Sorsby |
Sutton cum Lound Village Hall is a charity run for the benefit of the residents of Sutton cum Lound.
It is governed by a constitution and run by a committee of between 7 and 11 residents. This year we have been lucky to have a consistent team working together in the Committee.
All adult residents of the village are eligible to serve on the committee and are formally elected at the Annual General Meeting. The officers are also elected at this point.
Why and what we do
The object of the charity is to make sure that the Village Hall continues to be an asset to improve the life and wellbeing for the residents of Sutton cum Lound and its neighbourhood. The Hall can be used for meetings, lectures and classes and other forms of recreation and leisure time occupation.
During normal times, the Hall certainly is used every week and on many days during the week. Activities range from holding weekly or monthly meetings to special events organised by individuals or by the Village Hall Committee.
Summary of main achievements this year – Chair’s report
Getting Back To Normal?
2021 started as 2020 finished with another lockdown, although the restrictions didn’t seem quite so bad. Or were we just more used to it all
The rest of the Winter and Spring passed quietly at the Hall. Much of the required maintenance and improvements had taken place and so the Committee mostly held a watching brief during this time. However, the stage was stabilised and re-carpeted and new gates were fitted to match the new fencing.
We also had visits from the food vans giving an alternative to home cooking.
We engaged experts to produce for us a repeat Fire Risk Assessment which gave a positive report. This is available on request.
After Easter restrictions were lifted once again and some groups returned to the Hall, including, we are pleased to report, the Post Office. I’m sure the community were pleased to see the return of such a valuable service.
September saw most groups return although the April Club decided that they would disband. We wish them all well and the Committee would like to extend their thanks to Carole Head for running and coordinating this well attended and much-loved club.
The Autumn saw the hall being used for private hires once more and much enjoyment was had by those attending parties and other events.
The committee try to cater for all age groups and this year were able to offer children’s activities to celebrate Halloween, Christmas and Easter. The children, and their parents, responded positively and behaved impeccably. We expect these activities to become a regular feature on the calendar.
The Sunday night quiz returned but this time on a monthly basis, organised by the Committee. We send our thanks to all attendees and particularly the brave souls who create and ask the questions. Remember the Quiz Master is always right!
Comedy Night was a huge hit. Pie and peas, three great comics and Spikey Mike as compère meant that the next one in May was sold out very quickly. We look forward to an equally humorous evening but who will end up sitting at the front?
Christmas 2021 was without major restrictions and the Committee celebrated by buying a new set of decorations including outside lights as well as internal wreaths and tree decorations. Many compliments were given, and all users were pleased at how welcoming the hall was. Many villagers had experience of these at the return of the famous New Year’s Eve party. A good time was had by all, with much merriment, dancing and a supper. Another welcome sign that we were all heading in the right direction.
As part of our ongoing commitment to help other registered charities, the hall hosted a Mental Health First Aid training course in March. All the attendees were workers or volunteers for local registered charities and the trainer offered their services with no charge. I am pleased to say that the Chair of the Committee attended and is now a qualified Mental Health First Aider.
The Committee would like to extend their thanks to all users of the hall and will continue to offer a variety of activities and events to enhance the lives of all those living in Sutton cum Lound.
Finance
We started the year with another healthy balance mainly due to the previous year’s grant funding and the lack of opportunity to spend any of it. We had however already begun a series of improvements to the hall which represented a significant amount of expenditure early in the year and these works were undertaken whilst the hall remained virtually unused.
Despite this quiet start to the year, the regular users started to return in May and by September we had a full calendar once again. In fact, income from both Private Hire and Regular Users has now returned to pre-COVID levels – what hasn’t returned to pre-COVID levels however is the cost of basic items like heating and lighting, and these increases will inevitably have to be passed onto our users at some point.
The ever-rising costs of labour and materials also mean that any work we intend to undertake in the future is going to come at a higher cost, but the Committee remain committed to using our reserves to ensure the hall stays in good shape for all current and future users.
The committee must acknowledge the Restart Grant Scheme from Bassetlaw District Council paid in April 2021, but this would prove to be the only Government backed funding available to us for the rest of the year.
That being said, other funding did come from Sutton Parish Council in support of the village hall taking on responsibility for maintaining the outdoor play equipment and from food distributors Blakemore and our local District Councillor who together covered the cost of Meet the Neighbours hall hire.
The purchase of a card payment machine meant we could satisfy not only the requirements for contactless payments during the COVID restrictions but also an apparent demand for card payments that we didn’t know existed as it gets plenty of use, especially during busy bars.
Thankfully we have seen a very positive year and a return to more normal village hall activities.
Accounts for the year
Opening Balance (as at 1 Apr 2021)
TSB Running £168.89
TSB Deposit £23,105.63
Cash £93.26
TOTAL £23,367.78
Income
Grant Funding £11,767.00
Other Income £18,340.43
£30,107.43
Expenses
Maintenance & Repairs £12,177.08
Running Costs £19,663.79
£31,840.87
Closing Balance (as at 31 Mar 2022)
TSB Running £280.16
TSB Deposit £20,000.00
Cash £1,354.18
TOTAL £21,634.34
Principal source of funds
- Grants
- Hire costs from users
- Proceeds from sales at the bar
- Fundraising events and activities
How expenditure has supported the key objectives
- Maintenance and improvements to the building and surrounding area
Other information
Thanks to all those volunteers who give up their time to make sure the Hall is available to all. It is expected that they will be treated with respect at all times.