Committee Members
| Lynne Tweed | Chair |
| Paula Graham | Booking Secretary |
| Kathryn Seddons | Secretary |
| Howard Graham | Resigned 15 May 2023 |
| 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
Over the last few years, these reports have begun with a reference to the pandemic. Fortunately, we have reached the point where our lives are no longer ruled by COVID 19, although it has not disappeared and we must continue to be careful.
The Village Hall has continued to host events which have enhanced the lives of those living in our community.
In June we celebrated the Platinum Jubilee of our late Queen Elizabeth. The Hall was the focus of the village celebrations, but all played their part in decorating the village and we were all quite festive. The weather affected the Big Lunch but the Beacon Lighting was very well attended and will be remembered for a long time.
We hosted two plays from the Live and Local programme. Forget Me Not, where Rob Gee played all fifteen characters amazingly well and The Swearing Jar where the audience was on the stage!
Two Comedy Nights were well attended, and the audience enjoyed a number of up-and-coming comedians as well as a couple of stalwarts of the comedy circuit.
Joanne Gregory, a psychic, also came on two occasions to a sellout crowd. Joanne spoke to a number of people each time and all were impressed at the quality of her conversations.
Another couple of events were aimed at the children. They enjoyed a Halloween Party and became very sticky decorating their Gingerbread Houses ready for Christmas.
Speaking of which, the Craft Fayre in November gave us a chance for early gift buying and the stall holders were impressed by the venue and the organisation. Thank you Nicky.
December saw a wreath making event as well as community carol singing and the usual New Year’s Eve party. All of which were well attended and added to everyone’s festive spirit.
The Hall continued to host a significant number of groups meeting on a regular basis, and hello to the Bootcamp.
Meet the Neighbours struggled to find a regular chef for their lunches but had a wonderful final event in December. February saw a reimagined version of this group where we meet twice a month for tea, cake, conversation and the chance to play some games or even a jigsaw.
The Committee continued to maintain the high standard of the hall facilities and during the year we saw a new CCTV system fitted, some electrical upgrades. The original front doors were given a new lease of life and now visitors are greeted with a very impressive entrance.
The Hall continues to be a popular venue for individuals to host their own event. In fact there was at least one of these events most weeks in the year. 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 remain in a strong financial position despite the challenges of ever-increasing running costs and the pressure on household finances that inevitably force people to consider how they spend any disposable income that they may have.
That being said, our income from the use of the hall still covers the outlay required to maintain and improve its facilities.
Most of our income (over 25%) still comes from our 10 regular user groups which now includes the new Boot Camp on Thursday evenings.
The hall was used for 40 private hires over the year, of which 19 were from within the village with the other 21 from outside the village. 8 of these hires also had a private bar which provides a further boost to our income.
The Committee ran a total of 36 bars throughout the year made up of a variety of village hall fundraisers, the monthly quiz nights and Meet The Neighbours lunches, and this remains an important element to our fundraising efforts although the purchase of stock is a further expense we have to cover. There were 13 Committee organised events in the year as outlined by the Chair and we have tried to cater for a wide range of tastes based largely on our survey results from 2021.
Grant funding was received from Nottinghamshire County Council’s Local Community Fund (LCF) for a number of safety improvements in the hall most notably the new CCTV system and extra emergency lighting in the toilets. Further funding was available from Bassetlaw District Council to enable us to set up the new Meet The Neighbours drop-in event, and another modest grant from the LCF has been used for our utility bills.
Whilst there is still uncertainty around the rising cost of living it is prudent for us to consider our future financial position and with this in mind we took the view that an increase in the private hire charge was necessary especially for non-residents.
No changes were made to our Financial Reserves Policy which remains at £4,500.00.
Accounts for the year
Opening Balance (as at 1 Apr 2022)
| TSB Running | £280.16 |
| TSB Deposit | £20,000.00 |
| Cash | £1,354.18 |
| TOTAL | £21,634.34 |
Income
| Grant Funding | £3,138.00 |
| Other Income | £23,781.95 |
| £26,919.95 |
Expenses
| Maintenance & Repairs | £5,522.42 |
| Running Costs | £20,227.07 |
| £25,749.49 |
Closing Balance (as at 31 Mar 2023)
| TSB Running | £1,922.14 |
| TSB Deposit | £20,011.61 |
| Cash | £871.05 |
| TOTAL | £22,804.80 |
Net increase of £1,170.46 in the year
Principal source of funds
- Grants
- Fundraising events organised by the Village Hall Committee
- Hire costs from users
- Proceeds from sales at the bar
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.