It is a pleasure to report that over the last year the Village Hall has been well used by the community.

The income from bookings has surpassed the pre lockdown figures.

We have seen the return of our previous users and welcomed many new ones during the year.

We have raised the profile of the Hall online by a combination of a new website and social media.

During the lockdown we were supported by various grants which has helped to keep our finances in good order.

The Committee members have worked well as a team to keep the hall and its facilities in excellent condition and to meet the needs of our users.

Our Village Hall has a developing reputation for one of the best venues in the local area which has resulted in some bookings from the wider community.

We should be proud of the facilities we offer, particularly so in view of the size of our village.

We have supported and will continue to support the Parish Council

sub-committee in their quest to raise funds for a new playground in the village.

The Hall has some developing issues to address of its own, heating and drainage these will require replacement in the near future.

2022-23 was the first year we received no Covid-related government grants, which had distorted previous years but also provided us with sizeable sums of money for necessary investment.  It was also the year we celebrated two national events, the Platinum Jubilee and Coronation.  In addition we had our 5-year electrical inspection and subsequent electrical remedial works.  In the circumstances it was a good year for the Village Hall.

We achieved record Income from non-Social Club users, hosting dancing, two yoga classes, the Community Cafe, Games Night, Aikido and Pilates.  All are still hiring the Hall today.  We also had a number of birthday parties and one-off events, including NHS training courses.  We finally sold the large marquee with half the profits returning to the Pits Trust, and had our best year ever for earnings from the solar panels, due no doubt to the exceedingly hot summer in 2022.

On Expenditure we spent almost £2,800 on electrical works, made a grant of £4,000 to the church for a new roofline, and made some small improvements in the Hall (new tap, doors, highchairs etc.).  We also covered any additional costs from the Jubilee celebrations.  As a result our expenditure exceeded income by just over £7,000.

Despite this we ended the year with healthy reserves in excess of £15,000, some of which may be needed if work is required on the septic tank and/or heating system.  The overall reserves figure is some £9,000 higher than in the last pre-pandemic financial year (2019-20), meaning we are in much better shape than 3 years ago.

Thanks were expressed to Mike for his hard work.

Chair         Adrian  Proposed by Judy     Seconded by Sarah

Treasurer  Mike    Proposed by Sarah    Seconded by Peter

Secretary  Janice  Proposed by Sue       Seconded by Adrian

Andrew stood down due to other commitments. He was thanked for all he has done.

Fiona Cantrill was keen to be a trustee. Proposed by Adrian Seconded by Judy.