Fritwell Village Hall CIO
Chair’s report for the calendar year 2024 – Presented at the AGM 4th March 2025
Welcome to the Fritwell Village Hall CIO AGM.
I would like to start this Chair’s Report by thanking all of those people who have given up time to support the Village Hall over the last 12 months. That includes the Trustees of the Hall, those who have joined one of our subcommittees and the Friends of the Hall who regularly give their time to help. A lot of work has taken place in the last 12 months and it is only possible with the time, dedication and support of all these people. Much of this work goes on behind the scenes but is necessary to ensure that the CIO is not only run effectively but also that trustees carry out their legal responsibilities. To get a full overview of the governance involved you can see all of our policies on the website.
I would also like to thank the Parish Council, Playing Fields Committee, Community Fridge, Church and other village organisations who have been supportive of the work that the Trustees have done over the last year. It has been great to see the village organisations come together and work in collaboration.
The past 12 months have seen the Trustees continue to focus on progressing plans for a new Village Hall. A lot of the focus in 2024 has been on fundraising. Each organisation that has grants available for capital projects like ours requires a lot of information to be provided as part of their application process, so it is a very time consuming process. Initial focus was put into the National Lottery, as they can provide substantial grants. We liaised with our local contact, who forewarned us that our project could be difficult to get funding for, as it was quite high cost, and impacted relatively few people. Sadly, she was proved right when our first application was rejected. However, the National Lottery changed operator (from Camelot the the Allwyn Group) in the autumn of 2024 and, as a result, has updated its fundraising approach. Our intention is to re-apply once their new process is in place, likely around April 2025. In 2024 we also made applications to the Oxfordshire Community Foundation, the Ludlow Trust, the Bernhard Sunley Foundation and The Fore. We have had discussions with he Parish Council on Section 137 monies and are also following up, the the Parish Councils support, on the unallocated Section 106 money that Oxfordshire County Council have accumulated over time. A number of conversations have been had with Cala homes, who built the homes at Stable Gardens, looking for support with either cash or in-kind donations. In-kind donations include building materials such as roof tiles, building blocks, and bathroom furniture.
Alternative sources of funding have also been sought. We have started looking for ‘in kind’ donations, and many local residents have helped to connect us with companies that may be help with this, so thank you to them.
I’d particularly like to thank Gail Barnhill for the huge amount of work she has put into the fundraising strategy and fundraising planning, and to thank all those that have volunteered to help with the fundraising throughout 2024
There have also been a number of local events which have continued to add to our funds. January 2024 saw a very popular Evening with David Bradley where David teamed up with Frets and Strings to entertain with an evening of music. I’d like to thank David and the Frets and Strings musicians for this event. There have also been a number of Live Nights, the very successful Family Fun Day and Flower Show, Frit Clubs organised by Colin Smith and Carl Barber as well as Easter Bingo. Our thanks also went to Laura Greenlay for a fascinating and informative talk on her transatlantic row. She and her co-rowers brought along the actual boat too. Thanks must also go to the village ‘Zumba ladies’ who held an afternoon tea fundraiser, which was very successful. Although not intended as a fundraiser, we ran a Youth Club throughout the summer holidays which was well attended, again, this could not have happened without the involvement of volunteers. Other planned events such as a Rock Choir Concert and Race Night had to be cancelled but will take place in 2025.Many thanks to those that gave of their time and energy to make these events successful.
This also seems like a good point to update on how we are progressing against our target, and I am pleased to announce that we have a total £115,329 – a massive achievement and one that has taken involvement from many trustees, past and present, and members of the community, both supporting events and attending them, as well as making donations. For all of this myself and the trustees very grateful. Many grant funders are impressed by how much the community has pulled together to raise this money.
Throughout 2024 we have seen continued community use of the Hall. Regular hirers such as the Community Fridge, Baby and Toddler Group, Keep Fit group and Table Tennis Club have continued and the ‘Live Nights’ have provided excellent live music and entertainment. The Trustees continue to run a number of events. The Thirsty Thursday Quiz continues to be very successful and I’d like to thank Dave Barnhill for continuing to take on the Quizmaster role on a weekly basis. Cushion Club has continued and the Food Van nights have been well attended. I’d also like to thank Mike and Eva Wheeler for running another successful Christmas Day bar.
2025 has kicked off with a number of well attended events too, but if you can think of events that would interest you or your friends, please let us know, as we want to reach and serve as many residents as possible.
In 2024 we continued with our work to maintain the hall with money spent on an electricity inspection and remedial actions that had to be taken in order to get a satisfactory report, a Fire Risk Assessment and report to bring us in line with new legislation and other minor replacements and repairs. As ever, we continue to monitor the expenses of running the hall and as such were happy to secure a new, free, broadband connection via an Oxfordshire County Council scheme with Gigabit. In future we hope that this new connection will enable new events and services to take place at the hall such as digital learning events. Thank you to Colin Smith for his work on this project.
We welcomed Mick Stiff and James Greenlay as new trustees to replace Keeley Hood and Sarah Penkethman. My thanks go to both. I’d like to finish with a special thank you to Vivienne Harding , a long-standing Trustee who stepped down from her position in December 2024. Vivienne Harding has been an integral part of the VH for many, many years – so many that I’m not even sure how many! She has been instrumental in the Flower Show over its long history, organising the event, the schedule and the judges. Her commitment to the Village Hall has been tireless and it has been very much appreciated.
To conclude I’d again like to extend a final thank you to all involved with the hall, including all the volunteers who help at events, but reserving most thanks for the residents who use the hall and continue to make it an important asset in the community.
Cass Miller Jones
Chair Fritwell Village Hall CIO Trustees
Email: info@fritwellvillagehall.co.uk (general enquiries)
Email: newhallquery@fritwellvillagehall.co.uk (new hall questions)
Website: https://www.fritwellvillagehall.co.uk/
Facebook: Fritwell Village Hall Facebook
To see all the documents* associated with the AGM (for calendar year 2024) held 4th March 2025 go here
*Agenda, Accounts, New Hall Accounts, Independent Examiners (Accounts Audit) Report, FVH Annual Submission to the Charity Commissioners, Minutes of meeting held 2024 & the Chair’s report (this post)
