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The October Autumn Meeting

Posted by on 23 November 2011, 5:40 pm Sticky post

The Autumn Meeting of the Consortium was held on 19th October 2011, at the Haydon Bridge Community Association.

The Minutes of that meeting are now published here; as part of the meeting, various presentations were made and reports on these are also available:

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Portable Appliance Testing

Posted by on 27 October 2011, 5:30 pm Sticky post

The Consortium has now begun offering a new scheme for Portable Appliance Testing. For those interested, here are a few points describing this service; for full details see this description of the scheme, or contact the Secretary.

Why might you need it?
Appliance Testing is a health and safety measure. It is best practice and many insurance companies require it. Members should consider it for these reasons and for the protection of your trustees.

What does the scheme provide?
The Consortium will have for its use two testing machines and two microwave testers. These will be used by a team of volunteer testers to carry out the required testing of portable appliances in those halls that have requested it.

Who can use the service?
The Scheme has been arranged for paid-up members of the Consortium. [ In some cases, the Consortium may allow other charity-based community buildings that are not members of the Consortium to have their portable appliances tested, provided that a volunteer tester is willing to do the work. ]

How do we join the scheme?
If a hall or community building wishes to join this scheme, they should contact the Secretary and request this service. They will then be informed of the next testing period. The Consortium wants to finalise the arrangements for the service and would urge members to confirm their acceptance to the Secretary, Adrian Hinchcliffe, by email to adrian.hinchcliffe@btopenworld.com or by phone (01661 843896).

How much will the service cost?
The charges to members for testing up to 50 appliances will be £26, and 50p for each appliance in excess of 50. [ For non-member community buildings, the charge for such testing will be £36 for the first 50 appliances and 50p for each appliance in excess of 50. ]

When will our appliances be tested?
Community Buildings have been grouped together geographically and each group linked to one or two volunteer testers to reduce the travel time and costs. The volunteers will then arrange to carry out testing for all buildings in that group within a specific time frame (usually one or two months). Where a member requests a testing call out of their geographical sequence, the Coordinator has the discretion to charge the full cost to that member.

How will the scheme be managed?
There will be a Co-ordinator (Denis Peel), who will organise the volunteers, and authorise payments to them. It is proposed that the volunteer testers are paid a mileage rate of 35p for each mile recorded travelling to Community Buildings to do testing. Additionally, testers can claim for the out of pocket expenses such as telephone calls. The Consortium will take out an insurance policy for the scheme, covering Public Liability and Professional Indemnity.

Filed under Advice, Services.
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Installing photovoltaic panels

Posted by on 23 November 2011, 6:08 pm

Introduction (John Carse, Falstone Village Hall)

In early 2011 John Carse installed photovoltaic panels on his own house at Falstone. John is the Secretary of Falstone Village Hall and had attended the Autumn meeting of the Consortium in 2010 when Simon Maddon gave a presentation on photovoltaic panels that his company were installing. John used Simon Madden’s company for his own installation. This short paper is a summary of John’s presentation to the West Northumberland Community Buildings Consortium Autumn Meeting on 19th October 2011. John also said that a case is now being considered for installing photovoltaic panels on the roof of Falstone Village Hall.

Installation of the Panels
17 panels were installed on a south facing roof of the bungalow. The procedure was straight forward and no reinforcement work was necessary. John noted that the panels are constantly improving in their efficiency and those that are available today are more efficient than the ones he bought less than 12 months ago. The panels measure 1m by 1.5m. The roof type may have a bearing on the cost of installation but this point would emerge from discussions with the installer.

The equipment and life expectancy

The panels are guaranteed for 10 years and it is estimated that they will have a life of 40 years. Their efficiency is likely to drop in later years. There is also an ‘inverter’ which is likely to have a life of 15 years and a replacement may be necessary.

Generation of Income
The benefits arise from the following sources:

  • The units (kwh) generated by the panels are used to reduce your own energy consumption and costs.
  • Any surplus of the units generated by the panels that cannot be used in your home, are purchased by the electricity company. The current rate is 3.1p per unit (kwh).
  • Feed In Tariff – For all units generated there is a payment of 43.3p per kwh. This rate is guaranteed by Government once the system is operational and incorporates a link to RPI for inflation.

NOTE: The Government has reduced the rate of the Feed in Tariff rate to about 50% of its value from November 2011.

Investment and rate of return
In John’s case the investment in the panels and system was circa £15,000. Over 40 years he is expecting an income of around £65,000. When discounted this is likely to give an overall return of around 12 percent.

First Year Savings
Going by experience so far John estimates that he will make a saving of £1,905.92 in the first year. This is Buy back + reduction in usage + FIT.

A useful website to look at:  www.yougen.co.uk/renewable-energy/Solar+Electricity/

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Organising and running a bar in a village hall

Posted by on 23 November 2011, 5:57 pm

Introduction (Pat Johnston, Newbrough Town Hall)

This is an account of a talk given to the Autumn Meeting of the West Northumberland Community Buildings Consortium,  held on 19th October 2011.

Newbrough Town Hall has set up a Bar in the Town Hall and are running it for the benefit of Hall Users and as a source of income.

Why Have a Bar?
Two main reasons:

  • Demand for weddings and parties as well as our own fundraising events.
  • Running a Bar is profitable and becomes a source of income for the Hall.

Licensing

  • Talk to your local licensing officer.
  • Go for the maximum licensing periods so not to have any restrictions.
  • The Committee as a body become responsible for the licence.

Setting up

  • Location of the Bar – Newbrough used a separate room which is lockable
  • Equipment needed – till, optics cupboard, refrigerator, bar , glasses.
  • Newbrough do offer draught and can use plastic glasses.

Insurance

  • Need to ensure that your insurance policy covers for a Bar.
  • The value of the stock stored need to be covered.
  • Any cash held on the premises (even overnight) needs to be secure and held in a safe.
  • Cash in transit.

Stock Control

  • Needs careful handling and good judgement.
  • Most drinks have a fairly long shelf life. But watch the ‘Use by’ dates.
  • Keg beer and lager needs care – goes off.
  • Real Ale has a very short life.
  • Open wine bottles go off.
  • Judge the occasion – sometimes need to stock up for parties that consume large amounts.
  • On occasions we have needed someone to go buy more stock.
  • Shorts/Spirits – generally OK.

Staffing

  • Needs care.
  • Small events can use committee/volunteers.
  • Larger events need casual paid staff.
  • Must have a ‘responsible’ person present.
  • Need to operate PAYE.

Legal status for selling alcohol

  • Selling alcohol is not a charitable activity.
  • Set up a Trading Company for the activity, which will gift its profits to the Charity.
  • Beyond de minimis limits, profits may be liable to tax.
  • Maximum turnover £5,000.

Miscellaneous

  • There has been no conflict locally with other publicans.
  • Under 18 – no , use a wrist band system.
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Portable Appliance Testing scheme now underway

Posted by on 27 October 2011, 5:51 pm

Greenhead Village Hall is the first to receive the Consortium’s PAT Testing Service. 54 items have been tested at the Hall and certified safe for use. Mike Wood, the Volunteer Tester for Greenhead Village Hall, said that testing took about three hours due to the number of appliances at the Hall, which are more than most Halls.

All members of the Consortium have been asked whether they wish to have the Consortium’s service, and so far 34 members have signed up with another twelve still to decide. Testing will take place between now and the end of May 2012 with the two sets of testing equipment moving between the Volunteer Testers.

Those Members who are taking the service have been sent a copy of the PAT Testing data base to ensure that the details of their Halls and contacts that are held are correct. Following this, and about one month prior to the period in which testing is due to take place, each Hall will be sent specific instructions on the procedure. There will also be information held on the web site but this will only be accessible to those who are taking the service.

Again we are in a debt of gratitude to the volunteers who have put themselves forward for PAT Testing. They are :

Alan Brewin, Pat Johnston, Denis Peel, Matthew Singleton, Liz Stewart, Michael Stott, Melvyn Whatmough, and Mike Wood.

Filed under News, Services.
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More advice available

Posted by on 11 August 2011, 7:49 pm

ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England) produces 40 information sheets on a wide range of topics about village and community halls. These well-written and very useful sheets can now be made available to all members, thanks to CAN. See the list of sheets available for more details.

As some members have recently queried the risks to Trustees from hiring out equipment, a new guidance document and checklist has been compiled.

We have also developed suggested guidelines for the Trustees of community buildings, to ensure that adequate arrangements are in place for the protection of children and vulnerable adults. In addition, to ensure that nothing gets overlooked in managing community buildings, a version of a document prepared by ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England) has been made available here.

Filed under Advice, Help, News, Services.
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May Spring Meeting 2011

Posted by on 15 June 2011, 4:20 pm

We had two external speakers at the Spring Meeting on Tuesday May 17th; both were talking on subjects that are of significant interest.

The Minutes of this meeting are now available here (as a PDF document), while the speakers reports are available below, and on the Information for Members page.

David Francis, Director, Community Action Northumberland
David talked about the Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), the new status being developed by the Charity Commission. This is a long awaited development that will reduce the liability of trustees.

Garry Jenkins, Director, North Energy Associates.
This presentation follows the other talks that we have had on renewable energy. In Garry Jenkins we have someone who can give us independent advice and give an assessment of each products suitability for Village Halls and Community Buildings.

Filed under Meetings, News.
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Financial survey

Posted by on 1 June 2011, 12:00 pm

The Consortium Management Committee would like to find out more about the finances of Members and their financial position. This will give us a better understanding of Member’s needs and their financial dependencies.

To that end, we have set up a simple survey which you can take here.

Please have a look at this survey,  which asks for the figures from your most recent annual accounts. All information supplied will be treated as confidential, and the results of this survey will only be available to members of the Consortium.

Filed under Advice, Help, Services.
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Some news items!

Posted by on 2 April 2011, 11:52 am

We have two external speakers at the Spring Meeting on Tuesday May 17th; both are talking on subjects that are of significant interest.

David Francis, Director, Community Action Northumberland
David will talk about the new status being developed by the Charity Commission. This is a long awaited development that will reduce the liability of trustees.

Garry Jenkins, Director, North Energy Associates.
This presentation follows on to the other talks that we have had on renewable energy. In Garry Jenkins we have someone who can give us independent advice and give an assessment of each products suitability for Village Halls and Community Buildings.

Also, Adrian Hinchcliffe will talk about the Northumberland Energy Club recently launched by the Consortium. He will talk about how the scheme works and why all Members should join and be encouraging other businesses to join.

It would be really helpful if we had a good turnout of members.

Wark Town Hall at 6.30 pm for a 7 pm start next Tuesday, finishing by 9 pm.

Please send a representative!

The Northumberland Energy Club is a new venture, offering halls, community buildings and businesses the opportunity of joining together with others to obtain discounts. The idea is a simple one, combining the buying power for small businesses and organisations to enable cheaper prices for electricity, gas and telephone to be negotiated. Membership of the Club is free and the savings could be huge, as all the members work towards a common renewal date.

In order to gain a better understanding of the financial situation of our members, the Management Committee has launched a simple survey. All information supplied will be treated as confidential, and the results of this survey will only be available to members of the Consortium.

The image currently featured at the head of each page on this website is in fact a view of Slaley from the south. We would like to offer members the chance of having a picture of their hall take this place; the aim would be to have a different image each month. Please send in your pictures to the administrator, in any suitable digital format; the ideal size is 1200 x 200 pixels, but others can be adapted.

Filed under Meetings, News, Services.
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We need your details!

Posted by on 12 January 2011, 12:00 pm

We would like to improve our records for all members of the Consortium, but so far we have details for only 26 halls or buildings. This is almost half of the total of 56 member organisations.

We have to rely on members to send us this information, and if you have not already done so, would greatly appreciate your assistance in completing these records.

To make this easier, we have provided the following form to enter the basic details. When you submit this, we can then set up a page for your hall or building. Please note that submitting the form only sends the contents to the administrator, who must then check the details and create the new page.

Name of your Hall
Location (village or town name)
Principal contact for this Hall
Email address (if available)
Phone number
Location (postcode or grid reference)
Your website address (if you have one)
Features of your hall (rooms, etc.)
Facilities provided (e.g. kitchen, etc.)
Hire charges
Filed under Help, News.
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