Alphamstone Village Hall

Alphamstone Village Hall Trustees Meeting 

30th June 2026 @ 15:00 

Attendees 

  • Kathryn Parsons (Chair) 
  • Lynne Potter 
  • Sue Gardiner 
  • Sue Faull 
  • Simon Johns 

1.  Welcome to Simon   

KP welcomed Simon, who has agreed to become a Trustee but will only come on formally once we have changed to a CIO, probably at the next AGM. 

2. Apologies – None. 

3. Follow up from last meeting 

Nothing to add beyond items due to be covered later in the agenda. 

4. Account balances 

Current account £19,164.33, £2,564.36 in the 35 day account and £3,621.45 in Business Reserve account, giving a total of £25,350.14. This is after payment of Fete share to the Church, but before reclaiming Gift Aid of c. £1,500. Requesting donations has worked well and the current balance is reassuring as we have already paid out £5,000 for the roof, leaving roughly £10,000 to pay, subject to what the builders find.  

5. Donations 

All thank you cards have gone out bar 2 to be posted. Before Gift Aid, donations are currently £6,800, hopefully with Gift Aid on c £5,000 of that total, which would mean a reclaim of £1,500. 

6. Fete & Art Walk 

Fete raised £3,599, so £1,799.50 each for AVH and the Church, a good result considering the hot weather. There had been comment that there could be additional attractions, but KP pointed out that we had used up every resource. The results this year without the dance troupe were similar to 2025, and we should perhaps stick with every other year and not try to fill the ‘gap’ year with another dance group. Facebook and flyers had not produced additional volunteers to help with the Fete. 

KP yet to debrief with Jules, Hall footfall was low, with more attendees we could potentially have cleared another £500 on catering. We ended up with £800 after a lot of work. Possibly hold every other year. Those who did attend gave good feedback. SJ felt it was a good showcase for the artistic community within the village. LP added that it showed the diversity of the village. We could scale back the food offering with attendees unknown or perhaps a rota of helpers. We could also reduce to 1 day, though there is a lot of preparation required for the artists and studios. To be followed up later after feedback from the artists. SF pointed out that the timing was also very close to the Fete, which in her case meant a lot of work in a short period to restock in time. 

7. Roof 

The builders are on the roof and the chimney is down. They battened and felted Debbie’s roof next door and are tiling that. They will then adjust the scaffolding and move on to the VH. Supplies already delivered to the car park. Until the old tiles are removed we will not know the extent of any deterioration in the rafters and possible additional costs, though some remediation has been allowed for in the quote. 

8. Flyer 

Has been done, needs to be delivered around the village. Covers all upcoming events including Birthday Party, Games on the Green and Coffee Morning dates. 

9. Birthday Party 

Picnic outside, hall open for toilets but no catering.  If forecast poor or heatwave, tables will be set up in the hall.  Raffle to raise funds, 3 good prizes already in place. 

10. Games on the Green 

Catering – Pulled pork (Laura has supplies) and cakes nearer the time. KP to provide curried vegetable pasties. Unfortunately the surplus ice creams from the Fete were lost due to a freezer fault. Martin will run bar with Jules. 

11. Safeguarding Document 

We now have an up to date safeguarding document, with KP as named officer. SJ offered to add this to the website as evidence of Compliance, along with any other regulatory documentation. 

12. CIO Paperwork 

LP to read folder, then pass to SJ and then on to SF. 

13. Blinds 

Fete weather required the windows to be covered up as it was too hot in the kitchen even with the gazebo positioned outside, with the sun directly on the food being served. We are looking at 4 blinds to cover the window. SG has obtained a quote from Appeal Shading who she has used before.  There are some technical issues – the large window is too big for a roller blind to fit given the drop. Options are as follows: 

1. Side Chain Manual Roller Blinds side by side, with a 40mm fabric gap between them when in use. Cost £1,680. 

 2. Rollers as a duplex (this looks like 2 blinds but operates as 1). Battery powered with a remote control (rechargeable). Cost £2,028.  

3. Honeycomb Pleated Blind. Given the size this would need to be powered, mains or battery. Cost £2,315. 

Small Window – Side Chain Roller Blind. Cost £503. 

Fire Exit Doors – Fire exit sign needs to be left uncovered. Recommendation is a Roller on the wall above, outside of the reveal. One blind will do and covers a maximum drop of 2800mm. Cost £840. This is not viable as the fire exit doors cannot be covered up, possible alternative is to put an obscure solar shading window film on the glass door panels.  

Other options for consideration were cheaper alternatives such as Blinds2go, KP felt that without a grant it would be hard to justify spending £2,000 on blinds, and that we should obtain additional quotes for cheaper options. KP to look post holiday at potential grants, and we will also have more clarity on the roof costs shortly. It was generally felt after discussion that a professional solution would be best, and that there would be some saving by going with the film option on the exit doors, but that a further professional quote should be obtained for comparison. 

14. Another Trustee 

Still looking for one more Trustee. KP has approached Ed Scobie and will have a follow-up conversation. SJ offered to also have a word with him. 

15. UK Power Network Grant 

KP has obtained a third quote for the 14 solar panels, which turned out to be the best. Looking to get close to £10,000 (the size of the grant available), together with as much battery storage as possible. There will be some additional cost for the housing unit. A transfer switch for extracting the stored power would be very expensive, so we can make use of a socket within the battery pack and an extension lead if power is required during a cut. Being able to offer a warm space in the event of a power cut also assists the grant application. All 3 quotes would provide breakeven power or a small profit for the VH. Power costs were c £900 last year and £1,200 the year before. Batteries would probably need to be housed inside the hall, within the power cupboard. The grant application is in and will be reviewed in July, with a response in August. The available funding is £1.2m, potentially we can apply again for another project next year if funds remain. 

16.  Website 

SJ has taken on and is updating the website. All to review regularly for any missing items and to assist Simon. SJ to see what information is being accessed.  

17. Any Other Business 

Party wall agreement with Debbie is now in place. This allows the roof project to go ahead and access during the works. 

18. Date of Next Meeting 

Thursday 3rd September @ 10:30 

Meeting closed at 16:15