The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 October 2024.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charitable company's governing document, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019).
Executive summary
On Mondays to Fridays, the hall was used for 17 regular facilities encompassing social, exercise, music, and children’s groups. There was 77% occupancy over the weekend days. These figures demonstrate that Penkhull Village Hall is in great demand as a community facility and is meeting its constitutional objectives.
Penkhull Village Hall Community Trust employs two part time staff, so relying almost exclusively on dedicated volunteers for the daily operation and maintenance of the village hall. The trustees, all volunteers, are part of that team and manage the legal and administration work, fundraising and strategy for the future.
During the year volunteers continued to repair and maintain the fabric of the building, saving significant labour costs for the Trust.
The trustees have dealt with significant financial pressures this year. The energy costs almost tripled from £7K in 22-23 to £17K in 23-24. Luckily, repair costs fell from £28K to £18K. The hall made a surplus of £18K only because of a one-off donation of £21K.
Having maintained hire prices since 2016 the trustees had no option but to increase the regular and one-off hire charges in January 2024.
The heavy and widespread use of the building demonstrates its place as an essential facility supporting the community of Penkhull and its environs.
Legal status of the Trust
Penkhull Village Hall Community Trust is registered with both the Charity Commission (no.1176200) and Companies House (no.10410213).
Penkhull Village Hall Community Trust owns Penkhull Village Hall on behalf of the community of Penkhull. Under the overage agreement reached with the Duchy of Lancaster in 2020, should the trustees at any point sell the building and land outside of community use, a third of the profits must be transferred to the Duchy.
The trustees of Penkhull Village Hall Community Trust are extremely grateful to the Duchy of Lancaster, without whom our community would not be in the position it is today to create a centre with a future.
Location of the village hall
Trent Valley Road Penkhull Stoke on Trent Staffordshire ST4 5JB
| @ villagehallpenkhull@gmail.com penkhullwebsite@gmail.com
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Use of the village hall
There is a real sense of community in Penkhull and its strapline - a village within a city - is both indicative of how the area is viewed by its residents and evocative of its village-like lifestyle.
Given its amenities and its location in the centre of Penkhull, the village hall is a natural centre for community activity. Since the creation of The Penkhull Mysteries in 2005, arts and performance groups and activities have blossomed. Most have centred on the village hall.
As an old school, Penkhull Village Hall has three rooms available to hire, one of which is a small meeting room. Because of internal noise pollution the two adjacent main rooms can only be used simultaneously if the activities are complementary, and careful scheduling has achieved this on three evenings a week during the period of this report. Simultaneous multi-use of the building is not normally possible at weekends owing to the nature of the activities.
It is important to maximise the use of the building to achieve the highest possible revenue and to make the most efficient use of the heating. The gas central heating system is not zoned, so to heat one room the whole building must be heated.
Mondays to Fridays, the hall is mainly used for regular activities that encompass social, sporting/exercise, music, and children’s groups. The full weekly schedule is in Appendix i
It is the hall’s policy to protect Saturdays and Sundays for ad hoc events, so the community has good access to the facility for events like parties for residents of all ages, concerts, dances, fundraising events, national celebrations and more. During the year there were 86 individual weekend events. Of the parties booked, 23 were Penkhull residents and 36 were from outside the village but within the City, mostly from our next-door areas. See further details about ad-hoc hire in Appendix ii.
The police post, now well-established, has continued to bring the expected benefits to both the hall and the village. Police officers and PCSOs on the Penkhull and surrounding patches have made extensive use of the room provided. The facility negates the need to return to their station during a shift and means officers spend more time on the patch and have somewhere warm, dry and welcoming to spend their breaks. Because officers use the hall at random times of the day and evening low level anti-social behaviour around the building has all but disappeared, which is a major bonus.
Without doubt Penkhull Village Hall is the hub of the village community. It is the place to go to find out what is going on and to make individual voices heard, the place to go to learn new skills, the place to go for celebrations and the place to go to ‘give something back’.
Running the village hall
Trustees and other volunteers were involved in making sure the hall provides the best possible environment and customer service. Volunteers assist the business manager in the day to day running of the hall and in supporting hirers and it is solely volunteers who run the weekly community cafe.
All the activity is supported by volunteers running the administration to ensure the hall complies with legal requirements, and sound financial management ensures the trustees have accurate financial information on which to make both operational and strategic decisions.
Buildings
Penkhull Village Hall started life as a church school over 170 years ago. It closed as a primary school in the 1970s when other schools opened in Penkhull. It was then used during the day as an annexe by St Peter’s secondary school for a period and since 1994 has been used wholly as a village hall for use by the local community. It is part of the Penkhull conservation area.
Because it was built as a school the village hall benefits from several different sized rooms and a stage. One of the downsides is that as many rooms as possible need to be used concurrently to maximise revenue and minimise waste of utilities. As there is no soundproofing this can be difficult to achieve because not all activities are compatible.
Maintaining the village hall
Penkhull Village Hall is an old, failing building. It requires constant care and maintenance, and we are fortunate to count among the voluntary improvement team, people with a wide range of skills from essential DIY to the electrical and plumbing trades. We received a major boost in May 2023 when 10 volunteers joined the existing improvement team for the Big Help Out. Between them, in one day, they repaired, cleaned, installed, painted, weeded and tidied to spruce up the main hireable rooms of the building. Six of the 10 have become regular members of the maintenance team and one has joined as a trustee.
During this financial year, the trustees spent £17923 on repairing, maintaining and updating the fabric and facilities of the building. This has included £9410 insulating the false ceilings and £2970 replacing further electrical wiring and electrical inspection to achieve a satisfactory electrical installation condition report.
Penkhull Village Hall finances are managed monthly through the year by trustee and treasurer, Charles Pantin. The annual accounts are prepared by Geens Chartered Accountants, Graphic House, City Rd, Stoke-on-Trent ST4 2PH
Commentary on the financial year
Penkhull Village Hall has gone from a deficit of £1,185 in 22/23 to a surplus of £17,126 in 23/24. The improvement is not the cause for celebration it might at first appear to be:
Income increased by £13,557 but funds were boosted by a one-off donation of £21K without which, income would have been lower than last year, which shows how important donations are for meeting our commitments
Total expenditure was slightly lower than last year but the main reason for that was reduced spending on repairs and maintenance (down from £28K to £18K). However, the full effect of gas and electricity price increases came into effect following the end of the previous fixed price contracts, increasing utility bills from £7K (11% of expenditure) to £17K (28% of expenditure).
Trustees have explored grant possibilities to replace the heating system with a modern and more efficient gas boiler, modern radiators and zoned heating, however, we cannot meet funders’ requirements so are looking at ways of making improvements to the heating system using our own financial resources possibly boosted by local fundraising. Trustees have also embarked on a programme of insulating the false ceilings in a bid to reduce heating requirements through the year.
Having previously indicated a likely price rise to regular users, trustees did raise their hourly rate from £15 to £17. All activity leaders have been able to meet the small increase. At trustees’ request, most groups ran a fundraising activity during the year to help meet the increasing costs of running the hall and helping to keep hirers’ prices low.
Income from weekend hire was around £1.5K down on the previous year despite the number of days booked for events being broadly similar. This is likely to be due to the changing balance of daytime and evening bookings. Most daytime events are children’s parties, to which the hall is very well suited, but the value of those tend to be around the £60 mark as opposed to a Saturday evening that starts at £150. It’s hard to know quite why evening bookings continue to decrease. Some enquiries fall through because we can’t accommodate the numbers requested, we don’t provide a bar or catering and the hall must be closed by 11.30pm, but there is no doubt we received fewer enquiries for evening parties.
Planning for the future of Penkhull Village Hall
Penkhull Village Hall is an old, failing building with myriad problems, many of them costly, which is why the Trust was formed. As a charity the Trust can apply for major grants and support to make the major changes that are necessary for a community centre fit for our children and our children’s children. The volunteers have a great range of skills that make it possible to keep the hall repaired and maintained but much of this is cosmetic.
Since its inception the Trust has been working on a long-term plan of major rejuvenation of the hall as the current building has a limited life. Whilst the Trust has received significant and welcome support from its architects, plans have not proceeded at the rate intended. This means trustees are now faced with having to do major work on the hall to keep it going until a sustainable solution can be put in place.
It is the people involved, staff and volunteers, who make it all possible. The small, dedicated group of volunteers are getting older, and trustees are exploring ways of bringing in new volunteers to keep it going, along with new trustees who will take it to the next stage.
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
Paid Staff |
Sue Birch, Business Manager |
| Sarah Welch, Cleaner |
|
|
Improvement Team | Mike Allen |
| Hazel Allen |
| Sue Birch |
| John Buttery |
| Alex Green |
| Sue Hallam |
| Sue Pantin |
| John Stokes |
| Ann Willis |
| Mike Willis |
| Kevin Cox |
| Ray Dodd |
| Barbara Shenton |
| Christine Williams |
| Graham Fletcher |
| Julie Fletcher |
| Dean Richardson |
Appendix i
Regular users of Penkhull Village Hall 1st November 2023 to 31st October 2024
(weekly unless otherwise stated)
Day | Group | Approx numbers | Aim |
Monday | Baby Ballet
Kids Club
Clay Chorus
Wood turners club (monthly) | 10- 15
10-20
25-30
30 | The preschool dance syllabus has been carefully designed to ensure each child is taught the principles of ballet and tap at the right developmental level while boosting confidence, and of course having lots of fun.
Educational, arts and social development for children age 6-13
Adult singing group led by professional musicians, learning songs with harmony and performing at various events through the year
Woodturning class and meetings with external speakers/trainers, often via zoom to class and with some members attending via zoom |
Tuesday | Dance Fitness Class
Seated Samba
Slimming World
Rainbows and Brownies
| 10
16
30 - 50
35
| Dance fitness class to music
Seated exercise class for people with limited mobility and strength
Group and leader support to lose weight through a specialist programme, with education about food, nutrition, exercise and healthy living
Opportunity for girls aged five to seven and seven to 10 to learn about themselves, their community and their world. |
Wednesday | Tai Chi
Brazilian Dance Fitness x 2
Yoga
| 12-20
10 – 15
10
| Tai chi for adults
Adult fitness classes based on Brazilian dance style
Yoga for adults |
Thursday | Community Cafe
Wood turners club (twice per month)
Domesday Morris
So-Sew WI (monthly). Penkhull’s own WI
Jujitsu | 60 - 100
30
20 +
40
20 - 25 | Opportunity for people of all ages to meet in relaxed surroundings. Aimed to get isolated people out of their homes and back into the community, meeting old friends and making new ones. A natural place to advertise and sell tickets for community events, encouraging people to spend more time in community settings
Workshop for wood turners of all abilities to work on lathes and other equipment, learning from each other
Training for Morris dancing over the autumn and winter months. Domesday Morris is Penkhull’s home-grown border Morris side that performs locally, nationally and internationally
An opportunity for women of all ages to meet new people, learn new skills and be inspired in many different areas
Training for all ages in the art and skill of jujitsu with opportunities to enter exams and develop through the grades |
Friday | Hatha Bliss Yoga
| 10
| Training for all ages in the art of Hatha Yoga, learning key yoga postures, breathing techniques, meditation, physical flexibility and balance. |
The village hall is the hub for the annual events that take place. These are the Penkhull Wassail (January), Penkhull Festival of Music and Art (September) and Christmas Fayre with Lights Switch-on (November/December). These events form part of the village calendar with significant numbers of local residents being involved. They also draw in people from further afield and help put Penkhull on the map. Without the village hall most of these events would not be possible.
A past favourite, the Penkhull Mysteries (July) were not held again this year, however, the organisers are hopeful of returning in some form next year.
The Thursday community cafe continues to thrive. It grew quickly from its start in 2014 and now regularly seats more than 70 people during its most popular two hour slot when lunches are served. Many people have been coming since the beginning, and ten years on new people still find their way there, meeting old friends and making new ones. Some of the new friendship groups now go out together beyond the cafe, adding to their social life and minimising the loneliness that was a feature for some. The trustees have approached local social prescribers and now a small number of new people come regularly either alone or with their carers to be part of the companionable environment. Although the majority of customers are older, retired, people, the cafe does attract some young mums with pre-school children and working adults who take advantage of shifts and days off to come and join in.
The trustees with other volunteers run the community cafe every week except during the Christmas period. Its reliability and happy atmosphere are much valued in the village
Appendix ii
Ad hoc use of Penkhull Village Hall
It is the hall’s policy to protect Saturdays and Sundays for ad hoc events so the community has good access to the facility for events such as parties, workshops, concerts and fundraising activities.
During the year there was 77% occupancy over the weekend days when the hall was open (98 days, closed only for: Christmas and New Year, two days when volunteers were not available, two days for maintenance work and 4 days owing to a catastrophic cold water tank burst that closed the hall for two weeks). On 15 of the days there was more than one event during the day.
Weekend events included 43 daytime parties, the vast majority of which were children’s birthday parties, ten Saturday evening parties, a Christening and a Confirmation Celebration event, five allotment meetings, five fayres, seven learning/rehearsal sessions, six Soundbath sessions, one indoor Penkhull Mysteries Titchy Theatre event, a memorial event, a two-day beer and music festival, three First Aid courses (two of them for young people) and a fundraising lunch provided by a Prue Leith trained chef.
Of the events booked 38 were Penkhull residents and 39 were from outside the village but within the city. Many of the bookings have been repeats or a direct result of word-of-mouth where customers have been delighted with the quality of both the facility and the customer service.
Meeting demand
During the year we had to turn away 198 enquiries for weekend events as we were already booked. A further 16 enquiries were turned down because they didn’t meet our policies and 8 because the hall was closed. We had 12 enquiries to run regular activities that we couldn’t fit in to our schedule.
These figures demonstrate very clearly that Penkhull Village Hall continues to be in great demand as a community facility and is meeting its constitutional objectives.
The trustees report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Penkhull Village Hall Community Trust (the charitable company) for the year ended 31 October 2024.
Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the charitable company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the charitable company’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act 2011.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
accounting records were not kept in respect of the charitable company as required by section 386 of the Companies Act 2006.
the financial statements do not accord with those records; or
the financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 other than any requirement that the financial statements give a true and fair view, which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
the financial statements have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their financial statements in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Penkhull Village Hall Community Trust is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Penkhull Village Hall, 11 Trent Valley Road, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST4 5JB.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charitable company's governing document, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) and the Charities SORP "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019). The charitable company is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The charitable company has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charitable company. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, modified to include the revaluation of freehold properties and certain financial instruments at fair value. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charitable company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.
Designated funds comprise funds which have been set aside at the discretion of the trustees for specific purposes. The purposes and uses of the designated funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors or grantors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charitable company has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges are allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.
At each reporting end date, the charitable company reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charitable company’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charitable company is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
In the application of the charitable company’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
These are unrestricted funds which are material to the charitable company's activities.
The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
The fixed assets fund has been set up to assist in identifying those funds which are not free funds, and it represents the net book value of fixed assets, less any directly associated borrowings.
During the year the charitable company entered into the following transactions with related parties:
Donations received without conditions from related parties total £6,235 (2023 £16,100)