Crockham Hill September 2023 Newsletter - Flipbook - Page 20
became COVID allowed early on and the Taekwando classes in the hall have
become very popular. Previous regular hirers have also been able to return
- bridge, U3A, WI as well as children’s parties and weddings.
The hall is no longer a
young building with low
maintenance costs but
grant aid is still available
for replacement projects
if you look hard enough.
The need to replace the
main fire doors with
those that can be used as
regular openings for
ventilation purposes was
achieved at nil cost thanks to a Kent County Council grant.
The hall’s reserves. Our reserves were all used when the builders of the
hall extension went bust. The latest accounts show reserves approaching
£90,000, partly from fundraising, however we have some imminently large
items of expenditure. Car Park repairs and resurfacing at £20,000, tree
surgery £4,000, window replacements £10,000 plus many others yet to be
priced. We also must be mindful of the risks of monetary dependency on a
small number of non-village hirers and where possible retain reserves
relevant to this risk.
Prospects. The figures hide a concerning trend of reduction in the number
of hirings from within the village. Out of last year’s income less than 3%
could be called village generated.
Given that village hirers generally receive a hiring rate reduction of
substance, and that the rest of our income comes from hirers prepared to
pay non discounted rates, the answer as to why cannot be cost based. The
return of CHIPS to the hall will improve the local percentage, but not offset
the trend. However, there will be a monthly Community drop in coffee
morning in the Harris room, open to all and starting on the 14th of June
funded by a COVID recovery grant. We hope this will generate ongoing
hiring income and prove to be a sustainable venture. (See also separate
article in the ‘events’ section of this Village Newsletter).
Reasons why. It seems obvious that the era of local societies and local
regular meeting groups has ended, both were numerous when the
decision to build the hall was made. Where they do exist mergers of the
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