Phone: 07741 284132
Email: LanghamCC@gmail.com
LANGHAM COMMUNITY COUNCIL
Minutes of a Finance Committee Meeting
held on 7th October 2019 at 7.30pm at Alan’s house

Present Alan Cadman, Liz Winter, Maureen Shouksmith, Liz Schofield, Sue Armstrong.

Apologies Martin Bottwood

Matters Arising from Finance meeting 2nd September 2019

Grant applications
Enovert has offered us £15,000 which has been accepted. This has been registered with Entrust and we await receipt of the formal agreement for signature by Alan and Liz W. The Parish Council were approached to repay the 10% refundable to Enovert on our behalf. Their initial response was that they would consider this if we would waive hire charges to them for 12 months. The Finance Committee were disappointed with this response but agreed to waive charges for a year for their regular 10 monthly hires (a total of £350). The secretary would confirm the figures to the PC. EW
Unfortunately, the CIF grant application has not progressed so smoothly. We should have been informed by letter sent by 4th October of the result. However, on contacting Louise Gambardella of ACRE today, Liz W was informed that “due to unforeseen circumstances” the Panel had not met and was now due to meet on 25th October. Louise apologised that Liz had not been informed of this. It was agreed that she should write to Louise asking for written confirmation that our application (lodged on 12th August) would definitely be put before this Panel and asking for the new date on which the result would be known. EW

Shop electricity charges
New rates for Shop electricity had been agreed by Alan and Andrew: Low rate 10.02p, High rate 16.03p, inclusive of 5% VAT. Low rate usage remains at an estimated 750 units.
Acoustic curtain
Despite following several leads, Sue has not yet managed to source replacement soundproofing material. Liz S suggested contacting the maker of the previous curtain.

NS&I Bonds
No money had yet been transferred into our account from accrued interest, nor were the monthly interest payments yet being received. Liz W would write to the Parish Clerk. EW

Car park drainage
During the torrential rain at the weekend, the car park had not been flooded. However, the road outside had been totally submerged near the bus stop and beyond. There seemed little point in clearing our drains in the present circumstances.
It was pointed out, in connection with the building works opposite and the laying of a new electric cable, that some workmen were parking in our car park and using our corridor toilet because the doors were unlocked. Vans and mini-diggers are parking alongside the field hedge for the cabling work and piling their soil on the barriered-off area just inside the gate for removal. Plant was damaging the kerbs and this damage would have to be repaired at the end of the construction period.

Solar panels
Liz had reminded Dean Hill of this outstanding matter but had not yet received a reply.

Replacement heating and hot water systems
John Barran had promised his report to Alan by last Friday but it had not been received.
The hall boiler had been refilled and seemed to be working well at the moment. In fact the rooms seemed to be warmer than usual and Sue had turned down the thermostat slightly.

It was hoped to use w/b 28th October (half term) to fit a new hot water system in the Pre-School. However, there was no final consensus on which method to use. Alan was asked to contact Ian Phillips urgently to discuss exactly what we needed and what Ian was proposing. The Pre-School are in breach of their regulations without hot water. AC

Treasurer’s Report
Maureen had circulated full and simple profit and loss accounts for August and had managed to prepare the cumulative figures for September, which she brought with her. At close of business today the current account stood at £5,595.98. There had been a loss this month because maintenance and repairs had been high. This would show more clearly on the simple P&L account.
Maureen was concerned about the extent of outgoings in the maintenance plan. The Shop has agreed to pay an extra £10 per month rental, bringing it to £50 from October.
A report from the Pre-School was fairly non-committal about their finances, although they are clearly working very hard still to raise numbers and keep overheads to a minimum. The Committee would like to support them but felt at present that our own level of outgoings is such that we need to be cautious.

Marketing Manager’s Report
Sue had circulated her reports which showed just how busy she had been. Her manual for Singletons/Cygnet had been well received.
Andrew Craig and Sue are unavailable to run the Vintage Car bar on 17th October. Sue will ask James Puxley. Liz thought Bob might help. Maureen, Bob and Liz W will do the Toy Fair café on 1st December.
The blinds are up and looking very smart in the kitchen. The new dishwasher is very efficient. Purchase of a commercial microwave oven was authorised as the current one failed its PAT test. The main oven had been serviced and works well but the two circular hotplates are cracked and should not be used. Lambrothers have failed to source replacements owing to the cooker’s age, so we may need to purchase a new oven. Lam have suggested one at £1,479 + vat.
Hires are good for next year, although parties may be down. The Vespa club want to hire for a weekend in March. Sue suggested raising the hirer’s deposit to £100 after the building was left in a dirty state by Saturday night’s hirer, including about 20 full rubbish bags left in the boot room.
The trim around the hall floor has been painted brown by Terry and looks good. He also painted the wall below the stage and hatch, while Cheryl painted below the bar today. The trampoline has been taken away and not returned.

A Christmas Carol
Anthony Roberts from Colchester Arts Centre offered by e-mail to give a free recital of “A Christmas Carol” to raise funds for local organisations. Liz W and Gill Flack had booked him for 7 pm on Saturday 30th November in a bid to raise funds for the Hall, Shop and Pre-School. Tickets are on sale from Liz and the Shop at £5 and posters are going up locally.
Gill was organising refreshments with the Shop, Cliff Jones and Sue Trimnell had agreed to run a bar and the Pre-School were running a raffle. Jutta had offered her help and any help would be welcome on the day.

Any Other Business
Disabled Ramp
Liz W had looked at prices of folding telescopic ramps similar to Mark’s. At “theramppeople.co.uk” there were ramps 7ft,8ft,10ft long at £186, £204, £270. It was felt the shorter one would probably be sufficient to get up the step into the main hall double doors. Liz would check the length of Mark’s. EW

Value of hall for insurance purposes
Alan confirmed that from 1st December he has increased the value on the insurance renewal by £150,000 to account for the new air-conditioning systems.

Date of next meeting
The date of the next Finance Committee meeting will be Monday 11th November at 7.30 pm at Alan’s house.
There is a full Trustee meeting on 24th October in the main hall at 7.30 pm.

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 10.00 pm.
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Langham Community Centre, School Rd, Langham, Colchester CO4 5PA
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LanghamCC@gmail.com
About Us
The Langham Community Centre was opened in June 1988 and has been serving local village residents and other commercial hirers ever since.

We are based at the heart of Langham Village, with easy access from the A12.
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