UNDERRIVER VILLAGE ASSOCIATION
Registered Charity Number: 302831
Minutes of a meeting held on Wednesday 30th October 2024 at The Village Hall at 19.45 hours.
Present: Miles Hayward (MH), Robert Talbot (RT), Ruth Bligh (RB), Belinda Goodwin (BG), Angela Ridge (AR), Mike Clyne (MC), Edward Rook (ER).
Apologies: Mary Owlett (MO), Vicky Hall (VH), Phillip Payne (PP). Omar Mullick (OM).
The Chairman welcomed Angus MacDonald who was considering putting himself forward to join the committee.
1. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON 25th September 2024.
- The minutes were approved & duly signed by the Chairman.
- MATTERS ARISING
Newcomers to the Village: Fiona Mullick had delivered welcome pack to Anna White & her family who have moved into The White House. AR reported that new families had moved into Cruickshank, Aysgarth & Hawthorn Cottage. Action - RT to make up Welcome Packs & AR to deliver.
Hall Bookings Update: Generally, enquiries are quiet at present, but they usually are at this time of year. Pruce family have booked the hall all day on 14th Dec for wedding reception & Encore Theatre School have provisionally booked 18th to 20th Dec.
.Gigaclear Update: MC updated the progress with the planned “Digital Inclusion” sessions being organised with Sevenoaks District Council, this is ongoing. Mike has now found contacts at SDC & KCC & is progressing. Action MC
Donation of Sylvia Ball Paintings: RT reported that he had communicated last weekend the loan proposal details, one person has responded so far. In addition two people have flagged that they would be interested in buying a painting. It was agreed that we would give it more time & put the paintings out on show at the AGM & then decide. Action RT.
AGM 27th Nov – Format:
- FINANCE
- Bank balances: Current - £10,382, Event - £3292, Deposit – £58187.
- MH talked through the draft accounts for FY ending 30th Sep 2024. A surplus of £6245 was driven by increased revenues in hall hire, events & membership subs. The accounts are currently being audited by Carla Schaeffer & will be circulated to the membership prior to the AGM.
VILLAGE HALL/GREEN
Maintenance works completed: Same format as previous years, RT to circulate agenda by 13th Nov. Refreshments: Sausage Rolls – 20 each RB & RT, Mince Pies - 20 each JF & VH (tbc), Mulled Wine – MH/RT.
Maintenance works that have been agreed & planned:
- AR has spoken to Plantet Plants. They will deliver and plant the Liquid Amber which is approx. 3m high at the end of October for £305. This includes the stakes and full cost. Action AR to chase up..
-Removal of 2 small trees & cut back to Deane Hse fence – Quote £660 inc VAT from RWE. Committee agreed and signed off. Action RT to chase up, plus ask them to trim dead branches from cherry tree.
- Repair to Post and rail: We had received quotes for this to be repaired & SPC were happy to fund cost. RT talked through a different option as the hedge behind is now almost complete other than a 2m section. We have ordered hawthorn whips to fill this gap which will be planted shortly & the first 4 bays of fence that are broken will be removed completely. Once the gap in the hedge has filled in the remaining 4 bays of fence will be removed. Once completed, we could consider erecting a hand rail along the edge of the disabled access path & request that SPC fund this. This was agreed. Action - RT to progress.
-VH had flagged that the kitchen had been left dirty prior to Wine Tasting event with food left in the oven & the dishwasher was dirty. ES had checked the kitchen after hiring prior & it had been left clean, so we were unsure who the culprit was. RT reported that the code for the key safe had now been changed & he would ask Anne to check the inside of cookers & dishwasher when she cleaned going forwards. BG highlighted the hot water heater needed a new filter & the dishwasher should be serviced. MH volunteered to sort the filter & BG agreed to get the dishwasher serviced.
Maintenance works discussed/signed off:
- Hearing Loop: MC reported that he & BG had been in touch with 2 companies to discuss the installation of a hearing loop & an integrated audio system for the hall. They proposed Hi Kent as they were significantly cheaper at £3265 for the same spec. This was agreed & we would now pursue a grant to help cover cost. Action MC.
-MH is also looking into replacing wooden handrails with a resin one that will provide better grip in wet weather. Action MH progressing.
- U.V.A. SOCIAL OCCASIONS
-Wine Tasting Evening (VH) – Feedback
VH had reported that the second event had been a different format to the first & had proved to be very enjoyable & a great success with 54 tickets sold & a surplus of circa £450 being achieved. Huge thanks must be given to Bruno, Xanthe, Zoe and Frazer for their effort, enthusiasm and energy in helping it run so smoothly in preparation and on the night. MH thanked VH and her team for all their hard work.
-Ian Dale Talk (MC) – 20th October
MC reported that the talk had been well attended & that Ian Dale had been very pleased with the book sales generated. MC confirmed that £480 had been raised for UVA funds. This event attracts a significant number of people from outside the village, so in addition to be a good fund raiser it show cases the village hall to potential future hirers. MH thanked MC for organising this event.
MC was working on ideas for similar events in the future. He also talked through the benefits of using Stripe over Eventbrite for online ticket sales.
-Christmas Dinner (Sophie Honnywill) - 6th Dec
Sophie had reported that the event had sold out & after a discussion with St Julians all the 72 people that had applied for tickets could be accommodated. The committee will need to organise the raffle on the night & attendees will be asked to contribute prizes. Sophie had requested that “Porchlight” based in Canterbury be included in charities receiving monies from the raffle, this was agreed.
Sophie will not be there on the night so RT will draw up a jobs list for the committee that can be agreed at the next meeting. Action RT.
-Christmas Children’s Party (Ella Williams & Neridah Jarrett) – 7th Dec – Budget of £175 has been agreed. The event is currently being advertised & the initial response has been good.
- Christmas Post
Sandra & Christophe Patricot have kindly volunteered to take this on this year & it is currently being communicated to the village.
Quiz night – 1st March (RT) – Frank Desmond. We will start selling tickets from 1st Jan. Action RT
- UFEST 25 – 21st June (MH): This will be our summer event next year. MH reported that he had received great support already both from performers & people wanting to join the organising committee. AM added his name to the organising committee. MH was currently exploring food & drink options. Action MH to progress.
ASSOCIATION & CLUB REPORTS
Hort. Soc: AGM on 07/11 from 19:00 – Sausages and Jacket potato. AR also reported that Angela Forsyth had volunteered to look after the flower tubs outside the hall going forwards.
P.C.C: Organ recital at St Margarets church on 16/11/25 from 17:00 – email John Clemence. Anastasia’s Café is being well supported, next one is on 16th Nov. Christmas Fair is on 1st Dec.
Cricket Club: Enjoyable season but mixed results – 13 matches with 5 wins resulting in moving down to League 6. Their Golf Day at Wildernesse was very enjoyable & well supported & their annual Quiz Night takes place on 16th November.
Wildlife Update: The buzzards were discussed once again & AM flagged they were Honey Buzzards.
AOB
- MC raised the proposal again for removing the stage in the hall to create more floor space, he felt that if this was to be progressed we would need to get feedback from the membership before progressing. However before this it was agreed the committee would need to look at a cost / benefit analysis to see if it was financially worthwhile.
NEXT MEETINGS.
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NEXT THREE MEETING DATES |
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DATE |
TIME |
VENUE |
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27-Nov-24 |
7.00pm |
Village Hall |
|
29-Jan-25 |
7.45pm |
Village Hall |
|
26-Feb-25 |
7.45pm |
Village Hall |
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