Time to tidy?

Put your gardening gloves on and (weather permitting) your painting clothes too, because it's almost time for the annual spring tidy around the Village Hall.

If you can spare a little time to help on Saturday 26 April from 10am-12.30pm, please contact Lis Ribbans on 682420 or eribbans@yahoo.com. And do bring a friend!

Many thanks in advance.


Village Hall committee

Community shop proposal - update

The Village Hall management committee (Trustees) just want to keep the residents of Ilmington informed . . .

The Trustees of the Village Hall have formally received a proposal for a Community Shop to be incorporated into the Village Hall and will now seek further advice on what has to be done to comply with both our governing document and the Charity Commission's guidance and regulations. This is a complex and far-reaching proposal and the Trustees are obliged to take professional advice. 

At the same time as consulting with the Charity Commission the Trustees will be requesting from the Community Shop committee three pieces of information to include: (1) a comprehensive business plan; (2) three estimates of the cost of the proposed reconfiguring of the Village Hall; and (3) an estimate of the length of time such a reconfiguration will take.

After receiving the advice from the Charity Commission and the necessary information from the Community Shop committee, the Trustees can then do an informed risk assessment and cost/benefit analysis for the Village Hall as a whole, and be more able to make decisions on the way forward in the best interest of all the residents of Ilmington parish.

The Trustees look forward to keeping residents up to date with progress on this important matter. 

 

NB: Ilmington Village Hall is a registered charity administered by the Trustees in compliance with the regulations of the Charity Commission. The Charity Commission has a statutory objective to ensure that trustees comply with their legal obligation in managing the charity. Some decisions that the trustees make are simple; others are complex and far-reaching. Legally, trustees must be able to demonstrate that their decisions are based on sufficient and appropriate evidence. This is particularly the case when the decision has far-reaching consequences. To find out more about the trustees, please click here.

 

Community shop proposal

The hall committee is set to consider a proposal for the extension and reconfiguration of the premises to provide space for a community shop. There will be much to explore and the committee have already consulted with the Village Hall Adviser at the Warwickshire Rural Community council and a solicitor specialising in charity law for guidance on the proper process to be followed and the factors we must consider. 

Meetings are being arranged with the Shop Group to begin the process of consulting with the hall committee, with a meeting already scheduled this week. We will look fairly and carefully at the proposal while remembering that, like all trustees, we have a duty to ensure any decision is in the best interests of the hall charity (see role of trustees, here). In other words, that any changes work for user groups and hirers, and help the hall continue its purpose of serving the parish and its vicinity as a recreational, social and entertainment facility.

We also have to be clear on an alternative use for the proposed additional space should a shop cease to trade in the future, as it would be for the hall committee (who can be personally liable for debts of the charity) to administer and maintain. So we will be exploring both the potential benefits as well as risks.

We also have to decide if land needed for the project is surplus to the hall's requirements. If it is, the hall's governing documents may allow us to recommend a lease, subject to approval by the village and the Charity Commission. We will keep the village updated on these important decisions.

 The Plunkett Foundation, which helps rural communities to set up and run community-owned shops, sets out points that need to be considered when looking at a village hall as potential premises for a store. You can read the Foundation's advice by clicking HERE.

 

Hall marks 80 years with vintage numbers

Ilmington village hall was decorated in style to celebrate its 80th birthday on 1 June 2013 with a Saturday Night Dance and entertainment.   

Toppers Disco from Shipston played everyone's favourite dance music from the 1930s to the present and Mark Currey introduced a cabaret of local talent.  

Teenage singing trio Molly Smith, Harriet Broomfield and Alex Righton, and soloists Jan Seymour, Cecilia Currey and John Sargent all entertained with numbers from the hall's early decades, while the Ilmington Singers under the direction of Julian Harris sang a medley of nostalgic music.  

  

 

 

IMG_0842.jpg

New kitchen - all funds raised!

In 2012/13 the kitchen at Ilmington Village Hall was given a makeover, including an extension and complete refit. Facilities include eye-level oven and grill, island units, double sink, fridge, freezer and plenty of workspace for catering. Funds for the project have been raised through grants, including from the Lottery, as well as from many community events. The committee is pleased to announce that the new kitchen is now paid for and would like to thank everyone who has helped with, attended and otherwise supported fundraising events. Any kitchen funds raised now will be used for additional pieces of kitchen equipment but there is already great feedback from users about the upgraded facilities on offer.