The Village Halls Committee held their AGM on June 16^th.  I reported on a number of developments over the last 12 months. Here are the highlights

Redecoration of the Village Hall and Youth Centre inside and out.
Last summer we completed the redecoration of the Halls both inside and out. Many people have commented on what an improvement this has been, although inevitably with so many users it is already starting to look a bit scuffed in places! The work was undertaken over many months with a combination of Offenders, a professional decorator for some of the trickier work, and volunteer assistance from members of the Management Committee. Many thanks to everyone who helped.

Youth Centre Lavatories
This work is now complete. You may recall what a disgrace the toilet block was. There was damp, and the whole area needed smartening up. We also felt we needed a disabled toilet as the Youth Centre was used by groups with disabled members.

The area is now damp free, clean, has new facilities, including a disabled block and has new flooring. The Committee is extremely grateful to the Billmeir Trust, Elstead Parish Council, and Surrey County Council for their financial support. 

Installation of security cameras
We now have 24/7 CCTV cameras installed, as well as security lighting. Anyone now interested in breaking into the Halls will do so on camera!! 

Boarding of Loft area in the Youth Centre
The Committee carries out an annual Health and Safety check. This check identified a safety issue in the Youth Centre loft, due to lack of adequate boarding, as well as a fire risk from the sheer volume of inflammable stuff up there. A working party of Village Hall and Scout Committee members hired a skip which was filled in record time and the loft then boarded. It is now clean, spacious and safe.

Caretaking
We now had a number of caretaking and cleaning arrangements over the last year, but have now settled on a regular caretaker.  Jane Lewer started in April this year and all the Committee wish her well in her new role. 

Drains
Heavy rains over the winter resulted in problems with the drains, and we called in the services of a company of drainage specialists. They undertook a thorough examination of all of the drains and came up with a list of remedial work. We have undertaken the work which was most critical.

Fund Raising
Our find raising over the last year continues to play a major role in the work we do for the Halls. We ran a Bridge evening in September which raised over £1000. The Film club continues to be successful and to be a valuable service to the Village. No film has ever made a loss, although inevitably we don't always get full houses. However over the last year each film has had an average audience of just under 80. We need around 50 to break even.


John Manches, our Treasurer presented the annual accounts.
These showed a healthy year of Hiring with both halls used most days, and in many cases several times a day. Although we keep a small financial reserve in case of emergency, virtually all of our rental income as well as our fund raising, is used to run and maintain the Halls and to keep our Hiring charges as low as possible

Have a great summer, and Carry on Hiring