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Announcements
Urgent need for new committee
members
Do you use the Village Hall?
Might you want to do so in the future? Do you think that things
could be done differently or improved? Would you be sorry to
see it close and maybe even demolished?
The Village Hall Trust is
managed by a small committee and with the resignation of the
Chairman and Treasurer as from 31st December 2020,
together with the resignation of Jen Close as booking clerk and
the imminent departure from the village of the secretary,
Catherine Bower, replacements are urgently needed
Why these resignations? Thirty
years ago I was chairman of the Parish Council, Jen was clerk
and Peter had had to take ill-heath retirement from work; so
make a worthwhile contribution to
the village life of West Malvern.
Worcestershire is
now in Tier 3 for coronovirus, and that will restrict
the Village Hall's activity.
Risk assessments have been
carried out and measures put in place so that the Hall is
classed as
Covid 19 Secure Premises.
Additional documentation setting out the procedures and
regulations which have to be followed during this difficult time
are available from the booking officer
- Jen Close @
jenclose2@icloud.com
Unfortunately the monthly
Coffee Mornings
have been suspended
for the time being
__________________________________
WEST
MALVERN VILLAGE HALL TRUST
November 2020
Chairman’s Report on behalf of the Management Committee
As in most spheres of life, this
year has been far from normal as far as the Village Hall is
concerned. Along with every village hall throughout the land, we
had to close our doors in mid-March, and we were unable to
re-open them until the 16th of last month. It was
good to be once again fulfilling our purpose of providing a
venue for a variety of groups within our community – more are
always welcome. Sadly the lockdown returned and we will not be
able to reopen before the first week of December.
During this time the Parish
Council have held their meetings via Zoom. That is something
which is beyond the capabilities of the current Chairman and
Treasurer – hence this virtual AGM via the website. The
Chairman and Treasurer are both happy to respond to any
questions that their reports may raise.
For the time being there are
various regulations and restrictions which have been imposed by
the government with which both we and our users have to comply.
For users these are spelt out in the Hirers Risk Assessment
and in the Additional Conditions of Hire, these will no
doubt change from time to time.
One of the things which we were
legally compelled to do was to provide a one way route through
the Hall, with separate entrance and exit. This has been
achieved by using the fire-door leading onto Danzell Drive as a
temporary exit. Although far from ideal, the alternative of
exiting via the Fisher Hall would be impractical for many users,
due to the steepness of the stairs.
I would especially like to thank
two people without whom it would not have been possible to reach
the point of being able to re-open. They are, our
secretary, Catherine Bower, who has done so much in very
practical ways, from attending virtual meetings, to sourcing and
providing everything from notices to hand-sanitizer. Jen Close,
our booking clerk isn’t even on the committee, but she has
provided an invaluable sounding board about such things as the
best way to rephrase documents and the best way to deal with the
never ending stream of problems, as well as keeping would-be
hirers up to date with what was happening.
Looking back to life before
lockdown:
Committee member Val Webb made
an excellent job of tiling the area of wall behind the new
cooker. The microwave stopped working and was replaced by one
with slightly larger capacity.
Work was carried out to repair
the retaining wall behind the premises.
The annual Vital Spark concert,
held on 18th December was well attended and enjoyed
by all. This was the first time that the concert had not been
conducted by John Williams and although Jackie very ably stepped
into the breach, we missed both him and his annually repeated
jokes. A few months later we were all saddened to hear of
John’s death.
A Christmas Day lunch (suggested
by Natalie Watkins and organised by Catherine) was enjoyed by
about 30 people.
It has not been possible to
recommence the monthly coffee mornings both because of the
present lack of kitchen facilities and also the vulnerability of
most of the regular attenders.
It is good to be able to report
that progress has been able to continue and even expand during
lockdown on the Village Archives, in large measure this has been
due to the enthusiastic involvement of Catrin Meredith.
The decision was taken in
November of last year that the Hall’s financial year should be
changed from 1st September - 31st August
to conform to the calendar year. In order for the adjustment to
be made it was agreed that the current financial year would be
extended to 31st December 2019.
This will be the final report
that I make as chairman of the Village Hall Committee. In
February 2018 Peter and I agreed to serve on the committee for a
short period of time, which we envisaged as being about one
year. At a meeting on 5th November 2018 the then
chairman announced his intention of standing down with immediate
effect. Rob Crawford had been the treasurer for some time, and
had continued in that role although he was no longer on the
committee. Peter, who had previously acted as treasurer, agreed
to take on that role temporarily. I reluctantly agreed to serve
as interim chairman. Peter and I have both come to the decision
that the time has come for us to resign from the committee, with
effect from 31st December 2020. Peter will complete
the preparation of the 2020 accounts but is looking for someone
to take over the 2021 work as of 1st January 2021.
Catherine Bower will also be
leaving the committee early in the New Year as she will be
moving away from West Malvern. This will leave a major gap in
the committee on which she has faithfully served over many years
fulfilling a variety of roles, most recently as secretary.
Valerie Goodbury,
Chairman, West Malvern Village
Hall Management Committee
updated 15.12.2020
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