LANGHAM COMMUNITY COUNCIL MINUTES OF THE TRUSTEE COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON 7TH JULY 2025

Present:
Alix Mason, Alan Cadman, Cath Hine, Pete Freeman, Rob Clark, Charlotte Parker, Bob Schofield, Shannon Barnes, Liz Schofield, Denise Hobday, Virginia Mary Moss, Jules Constable, & Dawn McGlone

Apologies: 
David Druitt, Raynor Sumner , Martin Bottwood & Stuart Rudge

Approval of previous minutes: 
The minutes were approved and signed by Alix.

Matters Arising:
The bank mandates have been completed and will be sent off to the bank in due course.

Treasurers Report:
There are quite a few unpaid invoices which total around £2,500. Pete had made contact with one of the hirers (NHS) who said the invoice had been paid but it was not showing up on the account as such. He will be looking further at other invoices. He commented that in future when paying by cheque an invoice number should be quoted on the reverse of the cheque. He asked that this is something that should take priority when readjusting the payment system for hiring. A copy of the profit and loss report was given to everyone on the night. No questions were raised.

Progress & updates on ongoing projects:
Alix introduced our new Business Manager and Bookings Clerk, Jules Constable and Dawn McGlone respectively.  Jules read a short introduction about herself which was appreciated by the committee. Both ladies have been given a temporary letter of employment to be reviewed in 3 months with a contract. This 3 months will gives us (and the ladies) an opportunity to get an idea of how many hours are needed to do the jobs and the financial repercussions. It was recognised that at the beginning everything will take longer until the dust has settled and things are running smoothly.
Alix had received an email from the RCCE following enquiries she had been making with them. Various things were suggested and clarified and they have advised that hiring rates should be kept simple. Alix is doing some investigation work with other halls. Pete had looked into the rates charged by other community centres and stated that none of them are as complicated as ours. Any information will be passed to Jules who can then share with Dawn and Cheryl as required.
Jules, Dawn and Cheryl will be undertaking various meetings (with the help of Sue Armstrong when required) to enable them to sort and move forward. Jules requested that Pete could join a meeting with them at some point which he agreed to.
Approval has been given for the annual maintenance to take place during the school holidays when the centre is quieter. Jules will action this.
There is a five yearly inspection required (quinquennial). Which when googling the meaning, refers to churches. Alan has the name of a company (Future Electric) which had been used before and he will be seeing them to ask if they are still happy to do it. Raynor (co-opted at AGM 2024) has offered to liaise with Jules to ensure that the quinquennial happens smoothly.
Charlotte suggested that we speak with David Druitt as he has had experience with dealing with this for Langham Church.
Alix said she thought a church quinquennial will have different emphasis. Alan had never involved anyone else to help in the past as he’d dealt with it himself but felt he was now out of date. This needs to be done by December.
Cheryl's contract is up for renewal. This needs to be done this month. Martin, Pete and Alan will look into it before Alan leaves for his holiday. The contract needs to be changed from Caretaker to Premises Manager.

Review of new initiatives: 
It was recognised that bookings have not returned to pre Covid levels and the importance of marketing going forward. Alix has arranged to meet with the team
at Marks Tey community hall whose setup is similar to ours to see if they have any useful tips or advice. Dawn asked if anyone ran a facebook page which could be used for marketing. Sue or Paul Armstrong are probably to best people to approach for information regarding this. Langham Locals and Langham Community sites were also suggested together with the Langham Newsletter.

Any Other Business: 
Denise commented that the oven in the kitchen had mouldy burgers and sausages left inside when the scouts had their BBQ. She also asked if there could be cutlery supplied although she agreed that sharp knives should not be supplied. There are also only small plates. Alix asked if hirers would be aware of this and it was suggested that it probably wasn’t mentioned on the booking form. The oven was checked during the meeting and it was found to be empty but not very clean. It was suggested that Mike (the cleaner) should have checked the oven but it is unclear exactly what is expected of him for the two hours he has at the
centre. In theory it is the hirer's job to ensure everything is left as they find it and it is Cheryl's job to ensure the centre is ready for the next hirers. Denise also mentioned that the floor is often found to be sticky. Alix suggested that as he has a team of 6 people, we could increase Mike's hours and ask him to do an extra 2 hours per week equalling 2hrs Monday and 2hrs Thursday.
Charlotte asked whether we could consider employing a cleaner to come in daily as another option. Liz suggested that we should speak with Cheryl to find out what her role is. Cath quoted from her job description which read “ensure building is clean, ready for hirers including outside areas where necessary” “inspect after hires to ensure left in an acceptable condition and instigate any corrective action”. Cheryl had told Alix that she does it a lot of the time but
there are times when the previous hirer has left it in less than a satisfactory condition and there’s only so many hours in the day that Cheryl is able to be here. Hence the reason the Business Manager and Bookings Clerk have been employed to alleviate Cheryl of some of the work she has undertaken since Emma left.
A maintenance schedule was drawn up by the previous committee and Emma. This needs to be actioned by Jules. Jules asked if she needed approval to go ahead with arranging the cleaning of the oven and it was suggested that £100 would be a budget. The rest of the annual maintenance clean has been quoted for.
It was agreed that we look into supplying cutlery and plates and a budget planned. Denise requested some plastic cups but it was not agreed to. Rob suggested an audit of kitchen utensils etc. Alan said that storage could be a problem. There are cupboards rented out in the kitchen to Langham Ladies for which they pay a fee.
It was suggested that a well worded note/letter be sent to the local clubs who use the facilities (and do not leave a deposit) as a reminder that the centre should be left in an acceptable condition. Rob commented that it could offend some clubs but it was agreed that hopefully, they would see it not as an accusation but a collective responsibility.
The RCCE suggested that because of our finances we need to have an independent examiner (not an audit as our income is less than £1,000,000). The person we have used in the past has now retired and we need to replace him. Martin Bottwood had already put a name forward that the Parish Council use and we would have to pay along the lines of £300 per year. Jules could advertise on the website and on the village advertising boards.
The preschool and shop leases are coming up for renewal. Alan, Pete and Martin are looking into comparisons and to date have had meetings with the treasurers involved.. The leases have to be organised and signed by January 2026. We also need to employ a new Solicitor as the previous one has left the practice. Three suggestions were made: Fisher Jones Greenwood, Thomson Smith & Puxon and John Fowler. It was considered that John Fowler may be cheaper
and Jules offered to find someone from the conveyancing team to contact.
The preschool have asked to have their normal open day. It was questioned if they have public liability insurance and evidence of it. Jules was meeting with Cheryl and will ask the details. Raynor has kindly taken on the role as spokesperson for the Preschool as they currently have no representation. She will not be able to vote but should they wish to have a Trustee representative they can always do that in the future.
Liz asked if the Junior School and The Oaks could have a representative trustee. Alix said that our Constitution may have to be changed if we were to have more trustees, but that it's not impossible. This may be something to look into in the future.
Jules suggested a leaflet drop could be a good idea asking for suggestions and opinions from the villagers. Again this is something to look into in the future.
Jules, Cheryl and Dawn to organise new phone for Jules. Dawn to have the spare.

Date of next meeting: Thursday 23rd October at 7.30pm