Underriver Village Association
(Registered Charity No 302831)
Minutes of the
78th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Held at The Village Hall on Wednesday 30th November 2022
Present: Miles Hayward (Chairman), Robert Talbot (Secretary), Ruth Bligh, Mike Clyne, Jennifer Fair, Belinda Goodwin, Omar Mullick, Philip Payne, Vicky Phillips, Angela Ridge, Edward Rook & 26 other Members of the UVA.
The Chairman welcomed everyone, particularly those who new to the village. He thanked those who work on behalf of our community, Sevenoaks District Council Representative Julia Thornton, our Underriver Representatives on Seal Parish Council Tim Martin & Lorna Talbot and our vicar Rev Serena Willoughby.
He then requested a moment of pause for those that are no longer with us but remain in our thoughts, Robin Watson who made a huge contribution to the village life.
1. Apologies for Absence
Apologies were received from committee member Mary Owlett & various members of the UVA, including, Richard & Elizabeth Shirtcliff, Sue Tawney & Christopher & Judy Hurrion.
- Minutes of Meeting – 26th January 2022
With the approval of those present, the minutes were taken as read. The motion was proposed by John Clemence, seconded by Louise Hayward and carried unanimously.
3. Chairman’s Report: This year feels like we are slowing returning to some sense of normality with the pandemic hopefully behind us for good.
One very challenging situation for some new members to our community was the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the displacement of millions of Ukrainian citizens. Underriver is one of many villages that have welcomed families with open arms and on behalf of the uva committee I would like to extend our welcome to you all and thank the generosity of the families that have provide a safe environment during these difficult times.
There are so many people in our community that have done some incredibly generous acts of kindness and I am sure you will join me in applauding all of those who once again have shown acts of support and care. (clap)
We have once again enjoyed some village events and despite a few being cancelled or postponed there is always a huge amount of work that goes on behind the scenes. I would like to thank the UVA committee members for their hard work throughout the year.
Hall hiring has improved this year and Elizabeth Shirtcliff has once again managed the hall bookings diligently and with great efficiency. Thank you, Elizabeth.
Thank you, Mark Salmon for the Christmas lights and Seal Parish Council, for providing flower tub outside on the barrier, grant towards Platinum Jubilee & works on Recreation Ground & wood. Mary Owlett for maintaining the two flower tubs by the front door & Martin & Fidelity Weston for replacing the flagpole (hopefully by Christmas). Thank you to our members who make donations or give time to help with the maintenance of the hall.
And finally, but most importantly a massive thank you to our villagers, who make this community so special. THANK YOU.
So, looking at the events of the last financial year.
Back in Q4 2021:
We had a very popular Village Fireworks and Halloween show as well as the Christmas dinner at a new venue of St. Julians. We were able to make donations to the RBL and MIND.
Other events included a talk from Iain Dale and Sir Michael Fallon and the return of an evening with Simon and Garfunkel both hugely popular events. A special thank you to Mike Clyne for his hard work in organising these and the funds they raised.
Thanks to Fiona Mullick for organising the Christmas dinner and everyone who helped on the firework night.
A big thank you to Lucy Weston who delivers the Christmas post each year, in 2021 it raised £550 which was split between the UVA and the PCC.
And in 2022:
We had a very busy year!
We enjoyed a return to the hall for the Underriver Quiz with huge thanks to Mike Clyne which raised £800. Mike has passed the baton on for 2023 and we are very grateful for his excellent quiz mastery. These proceeds as with all our 2021/2022 fund raising went towards this year’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
The Golf gods were shining for this yeas Underriver Golf Day as the first tee off coincided with brilliant sunshine. Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to Colin Goodwin for organising a terrific day. A surplus of £284 was made.
Then of course in June we had the 4-day Platinum Jubilee celebrations which included a firework display, lighting of the beacon, cricket match, hog roast, 2nd wind band, classical concert, church service, flower displays and a huge street party! There are too many people to mention who made this all happen; you know who you are…so thank you! Thank you to Seal Parish council and the National lottery for their generous grants.
Looking ahead we have the Christmas market in the hall on Sunday 4th December, Christmas dinner at St Julian’s on 9th December and the Children’s party on 10th December. In 2023 we have the Quiz on 4th March, a cheese and wine evening in April and the Golf Day in May. We are hoping to organise something for the Kings coronation in May. We also have an exciting project starting in January which is a new kitchen, so we look forward to an official opening once it is completed. Thankyou to Belinda for leading this project.”
- Treasurers Report
MH commented “Before Robert presents the Treasurer report I would like to give some background to the changes we have made regarding the management of the bookkeeping and accounts. Those changes that we highlighted on our last report have been working very well and whilst there have been some additional costs, the governance and streamlining of the accounts has been tremendous.
We are still looking for an internal Treasurer but with a much reduced onerous on their time, someone to work alongside Juliet. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Juliet Townsend and Carla Schaeffer for their help”.
RT read through the report: “I would like to provide you with a summary of the main points of the financial report.
As can be seen from the accounts, an operating surplus of £7,831 for the year ending 30th September 2022 compares with a loss of £661 in 2021.
Income
Our income from Hall hire was higher than the previous year at £13,170 vs £4,159. A significant amount of that came from the Larkins production, over £9,000.
We are fortunate to still have regular bookings from the PCC, Horticultural Society, Pilates, Second Wind and the ladies choir. Thank you for your continued support.
Subscriptions have remained consistent with £880 being received in 2022 vs £860 in 2021.
The funds that we had deposited with Cambridge and Counties will start to see an improvement from the increase in interest rates which is now 2.60% for a 90 day notice.
Expenditure
The committee continues to make improvements to the premises. This year our overall expenditure was £10,193 against £6,053 in 2021. Maintenance works were mostly made up of the new floor in the main hall and the green room as well as the new storage. We were reimbursed for some this by Larkins production due to the damage they created.
Overall expenditure incurred includes the following:
Heating and lighting have effectively doubled from the previous year (£3,300 vs £1,536) Hall cleaning at £1,304. Insurance £832
Long Term Reserves
The committee has agreed that there will be a transfer of £5,000 into the long-term repairs reserve. This increases it to £59,263 for 2022/2023. The Kitchen refurbishment was planned for 2023 but we will now be doing a complete renewal with a projected cost of £20,000. We have received some very generous donations and grants totally about £7,500 so we will use the uva funds for the remaining.
I would like to thank Carla Schaeffer for again reviewing the accounts and providing us with her support and advice.
Thank you. I am happy to answer any questions”.
The approval of the Accounts was proposed by Colin Goodwin and seconded by Edward Rook and the motion was carried unanimously.
5. Election of UVA Committee
The Chairman thanked the committee for re standing. Therefore, it was proposed that Trustee members Phillip Payne (PCC), Angela Ridge (Hort Soc) & Edward Rook (Cricket Club) all be nominated for next year. Independent members who were standing for election & re-election were: Ruth Bligh, Mike Clyne, Jennifer Fair, Belinda Goodwin, Miles Hayward, Omar Mullick, Mary Owlett, Vicky Phillips & Robert Talbot. The motion was proposed by Serena Willoughby and seconded by Andy Bligh and carried unanimously.
6. Village Organisations:
St. Margaret’s PCC – Philip Payne welcomed that things had got back to normal! It had been a busy
year with regular church events plus The Platinum Jubilee weekend, John Clemence’s concerts & The
Canterbury Trails. St Margaret’s & St Lawrence have now been joined for five years & continuing
To develop activities together. Big thanks to Jennifer Fair, John Clemence, Maxine Clarke & Serena for
all their efforts & enthusiasm.
A number of works are being progressed currently, including the refurbishment of the church organ,
repair work to the lead on some of the windows & the creation of a space at the rear of the hall.
Horticultural Society – Angela Ridge reported that both shows went well this year, plus the Plant Sale.
The appeal for new committee members had been particularly successful wit four new members joining the committee.
She encouraged more people to enter the two shows next year.
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Cricket Club – Edward Rook reported that the promotion to League 3 last season had been a step too far & the results this season (P17, W4, L12) had resulted in a move back to League 4.
The Platinum Jubilee Cricket Day had been very enjoyable & a great success, he thanked Vicky Phillips & her team for managing this event on behalf of the UVA.
A new position of Chairman had been created & filled by Sean Ashfield.
They had recently held their AGM & Annual Quiz Night & had planned a golf day for next September.
- AOB
- John Clemence flagged the appeal earlier in the year to provide support for the people of Ukraine. It had raised just over £25,000.
The meeting closed at 20.45 hours.
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