Rawson Hall
Management Committee Annual Report 2008
The Management Committee met six times
during the year, to receive reports from sub-committees and
to monitor the management of the Hall and the financial
position and to deal with matters arising from the proposed
construction of a new hall on Batchelor’s Field. The
membership of the Management Committee and the various sub
committees is annexed to this Report.
The Rawson Hall, The Street, Bolney, West
Sussex, RH17 5PG is a Registered Charity (No 305173),
originally regulated by a Scheme made by the Secretary of
State for Education and Science on 8th October 1964 under
Section 18 of the Charities Act 1960, as amended by a Scheme
made by the Charity Commissioners on 5th May 1995. Acting
under powers given by the Charities Act 1993 the Charity
Commissioners made orders that with effect from the
16th October 2007, the name of the Charity was changed to
“The Rawson Hall” Charity No 305173). The membership of the
Committee and the representatives of the various Groups
using the Hall remained unchanged. The property belonging to
the Charity is held on its behalf by the Official Custodian
for Charities (Holding Trustee).
The object of the Charity is the
provision and maintenance of a village hall for use by the
inhabitants of Bolney and the neighbourhood. The aim is to
provide first class facilities at an affordable cost for
social, recreational and educational purposes, in particular
for those activities arranged by village organisations, and
to encourage new ventures of value to the community.
Responsibility for the control and
management of the Hall resides with the Management Committee
(Charity Trustees) which, at the end of the year comprised
twelve members.
Details of the composition of the
Committee during the period 1st January 2008 to 31st March
2009 are given at Annex A.
The Management Committee remains a
subscribing member of Action in Rural Sussex, which provides
invaluable advice on statutory and regulatory matters
affecting village halls, together with general information
on the support available to village hall committees. The
Management Committee is also a member of the Mid Sussex
(South) Council for Voluntary Service and an Associate
Member of the National Village Halls Forum.
A Premises Licence is held authorising
the provision of certain forms of regulated entertainment
(plays, music, dance) but this Licence does not include
permission to sell alcohol for which an event organiser must
obtain consent from Mid Sussex District Council.
During the year essential maintenance has
been carried out on the Hall to insure that it is reasonably
comfortable for users and meets Health & Safety
requirements.
Hall usage has remained at a high level
by both village groups and private individuals. The front
room of the cottage has been hired out to WSCC for use as
their Bolney Office for their Family and Children’s Centre ,
the back room used for the twice weekly doctor’s surgery.
The Management Committee considers that
the reserves amounting to £6493, approximately 50% of annual
rentals, are sufficient to cover any unbudgeted expenditure.
New Hall Report
2008 proved to be an even more difficult year than the
previous one. The prospects of seeing work on the New Hall
started in the summer were dashed by the dramatic downturn
in the economy.
Toward the end of 2007, invitations were sent to 10 contractors
to submit their expression of interest to build the new hall
and buy the existing site, of which 5 were interviewed.
From which a short list of 3 was selected whose bids were
judged balanced commercial offers.
The initial cost projections from the contractors indicated
that escalating construction costs and development
uncertainty was pushing the overall project cost beyond what
we could afford. Subsequent meetings with our architect and
the contractors resulted in cost savings that brought the
cost down to an achievable level. Chalvington Barns Ltd,
Hailsham were selected as our preferred contractor with whom
further cost reductions were negotiated resulting in
acceptable sums both a New Build cost and the valuation of
the existing site. ‘Heads of Terms’ were agreed and the
Sale Agreement prepared.
A necessary condition of the proposed sale required the
contractor to finance that part of the new build costs
covered by the proceeds from the subsequent development of
the existing site. The effect of the impending credit
crunch put this arrangement in doubt. Alternative ways of
providing this finance were investigated but the accelerated
deterioration in the economy made this a loosing battle and
within a couple of months the site value also fell
exacerbating the funding problem. Finally shortly before
the end of the year the uncertainty as to when the new hall
and thus the Bolney Family and Children’s Centre would be
available resulted in WSCC withdrawing the £165,000 balance
of their grant.
The failure to get the project ‘off the ground’ was made the
sadder by our winning £100,000 of grants for providing
sustainable energy equipment as the energy source in place
of fossil fuels. Although this would have produced a net
funding gain it was insufficient to save the project as a
whole and consequently these grants have had to be
surrendered.
The New Hall project now has to wait for new opportunities for
both grants and the value of the existing site to put
together a new business plan. The detailed design, planning
consents and legal agreements remain valid and paid for.
The degree to which they can be re-activated will depend on
the timing and circumstances of the anticipated economic
recovery.
This enforced delay necessitates that we undertake whatever
work is needed on the Existing Hall to keep going in the
short term.
The Statement of Financial Activities is
annexed as Appendix B. This Statement of Accounts has been
approved by the Independent Examiner.
ANNEX A
RAWSON INSTITUTE
MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
1ST JANUARY
2008 – 30TH APRIL 2009
Elected
Members
Bolney
Football Club Mr R J Blake
Bolney
Village Society Mr C D Tonkinson
Bolney
Women’s Institute Mrs D A M Gardner
Bolney
Youth Club Mrs H F Mullany
Bolney
Horticultural Soc. Mrs A J Barlow
Bolney
Cricket Club Mr J K Craven-Griffiths
Bolney
Parochial Church Council Mr Martin Wood
Bolney
Under Fives Mrs Denise Ball
