| Date | Monday 12th January 2026 | |
| Present | Stella, Damian, Nick, Claire, Toni, Bill, Jess & Alex | |
| Apologies | Maggie | |
| Next meet | Next meeting: Monday 9th February 7:30pm – Village Hall | |
| Item | Details | Actions |
| All actions | New actions:Painting booked in 19th and 20th Feb for the main hall. Claire Contacted EDDC to follow up about food hygiene inspection once the Kitchen is finished.Stella to continue chasing the Charities commission about the change to our Governance – in Springtime Formal thank you to be sent to Carla for her amazing support and getting rid of the old kitchen waste for free. Claire sending a card and wine. Old actions: Damian to give Alex permission to negotiate with Eon. | N/A Claire Stella Alex/Damian |
| Committee members and governance | Devon Communities Together Meeting: Next meeting in Awliscombe on 20th January. Alex will be attending. Claire gave feedback of thanks to the Volunteers of DCT. Discussed recruiting more Committee Members to help with fundraising events. Claire to put it in the Gazette and Alex to post on Facebook calling for new Committee Members. Policies: Stella has redrafted DCT policies – Stella to run through the Health and Safety Policy with the committee and to run through the financial policies with Damian. | Alex Claire/Alex All |
| Finance | Damian: Circulated this month’s report.Damian raised that we need to predict our fundraising target ahead of the year end to aim for break even. Hoping for reduced energy payments to help as it has cost a lot less than last winter (£300 a month down to £100) but it is still close to the line. Damian raised that Community Kitchen is no longer funded by our anonymous benefactor and it only just covered the hall hire cost. The subject of Community Kitchen was discussed as we no longer have the grant or the benefactor. All agreed that it is integral for the hall. All agreed as a motion that we will not be charging Community Kitchen for hall hire and making a commitment as a Committee to raise more money to cover the cost of CK. The Annual Returns have been submitted with Geraldine Coates. Awaiting notification that Geraldine has actioned this. Income/Expenditure, started the year at £5,571.27. Set to complete at circa £5,634. We do need fundraising to keep on track for break even.It was discussed that Alex and Toni will be advertising the hall aggressively once the works are complete and it looks beautiful and finished. To conclude, huge thanks to Damian for his financial management and projections, ideas and concerns raised and for his regular and appreciated hard work as our trusted Treasurer. Redwood account is on its was to be shut down and moved to an online-friendly provider. The Committee took a vote on which provider to move to and unanimously decided to proceed with Virgin Money as our new bank for our savings.Insurance has been sorted out – thank you Damian. Full notes on Finance attached below. | Damian |
| Grants | Alex: To meet with EDDC to report back on the grant application | Alex |
| Maintenance | Fire Assessment: Completed in December and done. Jess as Secretary has the hard copies. Fire extinguishers have been serviced by Chubb Cleaning. Some complaints received about the level of cleanliness despite more time being requested from current cleaning arrangements. Agreed to explore other options. Jim? Claire raised the gutter at the back and was overspilling when it wasn’t raining heavily. The rear skylight needs to be cleaned. – Russell has a telescopic cleanerA couple of posts have rotted on the rear fence and need replacing. We require smaller grills on the outdoor vents. Claire to purchase. Discussed the plaster work on the wall by the stage – going to get 2 more quotes but keen to cover it for the March wedding booking. To be discussed in February. Need a hole boxing in in the ceiling of the kitchen. Jess to ask Mike to do it on an hourly rate. | Claire Claire |
| Bookings | The committee acknowledged with deep sadness the passing of local ex hall committee member Doris and the contribution she made to the running of the hall and local village life. All agreed should the family wish to use the hall for her wake we would be delighted to offer the hall FOC. We need to make sure that hirers clean up after themselves, perhaps we can make up a checklist that they run through but we could reserve the right to get a professional cleaner if a booking left the hall in a poor state.Stella to liaise with Gary Advertising for the Hall needs to restart to boost our bookings once the Hall is picture ready and get more details for wedding vendors (catering/florists/entertainment) to be able to put together. Discussed putting a launch article in the midweek herald. Jess/Toni/Alex to launch Instagram and create a longer term marketing strategy. We have sadly lost our regular booking of Marjorie Madge as she has now retired – and thank her for her years of custom. We do have a new regular booking that will replace the income we’ve lost. Stella requested that all bookings please come directly through her to keep things simple. | Stella Jess/Toni/Alex All |
| Future events | Burns night 24th Jan: Caller is booked for Burns night. Nick has been organising. Toni to make a poster. Nick to provide details of the event to Toni. Last year we charged £8 per head. |We agree to charge £10 this time. BYOB. Alex, Claire, Bill, Nick will be on hand to help.Coffee and Cake on the 31st Jan – Gary and AlexTalks in Feb– Orchids by Nicky Wakeley (6th Feb) and Environmental (Vicky) (27th Feb). Nick to coordinate. Toni to prepare postersKitchen launch party: Evening Drinks on Friday 20th February, to invite the village and all the contractors to celebrate our new kitchen. Toni to make a poster/invitation please. Easter Bingo 28th March 2026 – Commitments made by Toni, Alex, Claire, Jess, Nick to be present/on the door. Potential future events:SkittlesAutumn talks: Hardy wine talk / gardening talk / glass/– Maggie asking Nic. / Father’s Day 21st June 2026Flower and Produce Show 1st August 2026Gittisham Fete 5th Sept 2026Bill suggested a Gardeners Question Time. Toni/Alex to look at targeting local gardening groups for the feb talks. Maybe make personalised invitations. Also investigate Honiton U3A Last year we agreed the church could have 3 days free for the flower show and harvest festival – majority agreed to do the same again. Discussed getting a full bar licence instead of the short term ones we currently do to appeal to more potential customers. | NickToni Gary/AlexNick All Toni |
| AOB | None |
MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE
| Long term maintenance list, for progression when funds allow. Rough hierarchy order. |
| Sewerage and drainage pipe replacement |
| Air to air heat pump |
| Re-fit audio visual capabilities |
| Rewiring of cabling, particularly in the loft |
| Extractor fans in kitchen |
| (Rising) damp in southern elevation |
| Internal repaint including / especially ceiling |
| Boxing in the boiler/electrics in the kitchen – Bill |
| Bin Store |
| Sound Deadening Clouds/equipment to make it less echo-ey. |
| Stage Curtains and for the other end of the hall to sound deaden |
| Gittisham Parish Hall Accounts – 1st April 2025 to 31 March 2026 | Gittisham Parish Hall Accounts – 1st April 2025 to 31 March 2026 | |||||||||||
| INCOME | 11th January 2026 | EXPENDITURE | 11th January 2026 | |||||||||
| 2024/25 | 80.5% of 2025/26 | 2025/26 | 2024/25 | 80.5% of 2025/26 | 2025/26 | |||||||
| Balance b/fwd | £5,571.27 | Insurance | £723.73 | £582.60 | £959.73 | |||||||
| Non-domestic rates | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | |||||||||
| Hire of Hall | £5,828.56 | £4,691.99 | £4,361.06 | Cleaning/grass cutting | £1,901.59 | £1,530.78 | £832.15 | |||||
| Social Events | £5,782.76 | £4,655.12 | £6,607.10 | Maintenance/Equipment | £45,022.20 | £40,745.09 | £23,855.90 | |||||
| Interest | £0.00 | £0.00 | Water/Gas/Electric | £3,039.75 | £2,447.00 | £1,689.19 | ||||||
| Miscellaneous | £43,476.90 | £34,998.90 | £33,768.00 | Miscellaneous(inc. bank charges) | £2,457.59 | £1,978.36 | £5,151.18 | |||||
| £55,088.22 | £44,346.02 | £44,736.16 | £53,144.86 | £47,283.83 | £32,488.15 | |||||||
| Balance | £17,819.28 | |||||||||||
| Total | £50,307.43 | £50,307.43 | ||||||||||
| Reserves | ||||||||||||
| Redwood Deposit A/C TBC (awaiting access) | £15,169.20 | £10,185.00 transferred | ||||||||||
| Amount to be confirmed, including annual interest payment and date | ||||||||||||
| Cash Float £90.30 (previously £990.30) | £4,257.05 |