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Minutes of the Parish Hall & Grounds Committee held in the Parish Hall on Tuesday 29th November 2011, at 7.15pm.
Present: Cllrs. Lockwood (Chair), Mrs. P. Cardwell, R. McGann, Mrs. C. McGann, Mrs. J. E. Bryant, R. McWilliam, Mrs. H. Baxter, D. Kilby, P. Singer, Mrs. L. Harley & the Rev’d A. Lord (part meeting).
Clerk: Mrs. A.K. Mitchell. _________________________________
45/11.To receive apologies for absence. Cllr. Mrs. Harley proposed that apologies be accepted from Cllr. Rigby (illness). Seconded by Cllr. Mrs. Bryant. All in favour.
46/11. Declaration of Members’ interests. None.
47/11. To discuss future plans for community buildings in the village with the Rev’d Andy Lord. The Rev’d Lord thanked Members for the invite. He advised that the Church has pursued a number of projects such as the cottage. In respect of that the church explored the financial aspects & the costs became too great with the additional works required. Unfortunately the rules on funding with WREN have now changed. As a consequence, this threw up questions regarding the church hall, cottage etc from re-decorating to re-building. There are still of course the usual ongoing costs with heating & caretaking etc.
He commented that Trowell has two buildings with similar issues & so it seemed appropriate to consult with the parish council before moving forward. He would like to know where things are at with the parish council as some decisions will be needed in the New Year by the church, but he is thinking in light of the longer term. He added that anything on a large scale would need community support & so he is interested to hear any thoughts the parish council might have.
Cllr. Lockwood advised that the council is at the very beginning of considering replacing the current parish hall. A fund has been established & it was the previous membership’s intention to seriously consider replacing this building sometime in the future although no discussions have taken place as to what the council would like to see in its place. He acknowledged that if the church can secure the necessary funding it would have to move more quickly than the council but he agreed that consultation/co-operation is a vital part of both projects.
Cllr. Mrs. Bryant commented that in considering the usage of any community facility it will need to be taken into account that outsiders book the hall for events too in addition to local residents.
Cllr. Lockwood added that it is essential that the parish hall is a secular building. He added that activities have to be within the law & in line with the hire agreement.
Rev’d Lord commented that there are issues within Church buildings.
Cllr. Mrs. Harley advised that in considering a new hall, it should consider two storey’s with different rooms for different functions. She added that she is not sure how this would work in a joint initiative with another organisation such as the church.
Rev’d Lord commented that the two groups just need to co-ordinate& not compete.
Cllr. Mrs Cardwell commented that this cannot be a unique situation & it must have happened elsewhere & so advice could be sought from other locations.
It was agreed that both facilities are very well used & so capacity needs to be maintained.
Cllr. Lockwood thanked Rev’d Lord for attending & for his input into the meeting.
48/11 To note the minutes of previous meeting. Cllr. Mrs. Cardwell moved acceptance of the minutes of the previous meeting held on 27th September 2011, as a true record. Seconded by Cllr. Mrs. Bryant. All in favour.
49/11. Matters arising from the minutes.
49.1/11.Emergency Lighting – recharge batteries. It was noted that there was an issue with the lock on the distribution cupboard. It was also noted that AMP have carried out a number of repairs since the last meeting.
50/11. Financial position to date. Cllr. McWilliam moved acceptance of the statement. Seconded by Cllr. Singer. All in favour.
51/11 Caretaking Issues. Members were asked to note the content of two further feedback forms received from regular hirers. The Clerk advised that she will be visiting the warehouse tomorrow to re-stock with various caretaking materials. It was agreed to contact the Relief Caretaker about covering the caretaker’s post-operative leave. Cllr. Mrs. Harley suggested obtaining quotes for a new cooker with an extractor fan & hood. She added the possibility of swapping the two smaller cookers for one larger range cooker.
It was noted that there are still areas for improvement in the cleaning of the toilets etc.
52/11. Play Park Report. It was noted that the new under fives equipment has been installed.
Members then discussed the issue of replacing trees in the play park which had been removed to facilitate the installation of the solar panels. It was agreed that bearing in mind the practicalities it would appear to defeat the object to replace them.
It was therefore agreed not to pursue the matter of replacing the trees, particularly as the properties adjacent to the parish hall have no windows overlooking the site.
53/11.Fire Safety Regulations – progress report. The Clerk has commenced work on the new documentation & will report back to the January committee meeting.
54/11. Parish Hall Inventory Report. It was noted that a copy of the latest report had been distributed to Members that evening. 55/11.Revised Parish Hall Conditions of Hire – Progress Report. It was noted that there was nothing further to report on this matter at this time.
56/11. Benchmarks for managing your Community Hall. The Clerk has commenced work on the new documentation & will report back to the January committee meeting.
57/11. Land Registry. The Clerk is continuing to progress this matter.
58/11. Parish Hall Floor. It was noted that the work is due to commence on 12th December.
59/11. Proposed replacement of Parish Hall. It was noted that this matter had been addressed earlier on the agenda.
60/11. Future Energy Procurement Arrangements. It was noted that the council is awaiting receipt of the first post solar panel electricity bill to be able to quantify the effect of the installation.
61/11. To review future Wedding bookings etc. Cllr. Lockwood proposed that in future a £100 bond be taken on any such booking. Seconded by Cllr. Mrs. Cardwell. All in favour.
It was agreed that it is the preparation of hot food that causes the major problems. Cllr. Lockwood commented that he would be the last one to stop any bookings but added that the problems need to be alleviated – he therefore suggested a premium on the hire charge. Cllr. McWilliam advised that hirers of the church hall have to pay an additional charge for use of the cooking facilities.
Cllr. Lockwood therefore proposed that one-off hirers be charged a £50 premium on the booking fee if they wish to prepare hot food. Seconded by Cllr. Mrs. McGann. All in favour.
It was noted that the hire agreement will have to be amended accordingly.
62/11.Christmas Decorations. It was agreed that the Clerk & Cllr. Mrs. McGann will conduct an audit & arrange for any decorations to be replaced as necessary in the New Year. 63/11. Misc. items of repair, maint. etc. Replacement h/w cylinder -£1,005.00 Electrical repairs – £120.00 Electrical repairs – £617.00 Boiler service – £147.50
64/11. To consider applications for hire. Cllr. Mrs. Harley moved acceptance of applications with “bar” permission where requested. Seconded by Cllr. Mrs. Cardwell. All in favour.
65/11. Clerk’s Report. The Clerk had nothing further to report at this time.
66/11. Date of next meeting – Tuesday 31st January 2012. The meeting closed at approximately 8.48pm.
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