LANGHAM COMMUNITY COUNCIL

Minutes of a Trustee Meeting
held on 20th Jan 2022 at 7.30pm.

Present
Alan Cadman (Chairman), Maureen Shouksmith (Treasurer), Paul Armstrong (Secretary), Martin Bottwood, Liz Winter, Denise Hobday, Charlotte Parker, Sue Thorpe, Cliff Jones, Sallie West, Bob Schofield, Elizabeth Schofield, Sue Armstrong, James Puxley (latter stages only)

Apologies for Absence
Mark Kleingeld


Minutes of previous Trustee Meeting on 28th Oct 2021
Liz W proposed and Liz S seconded that they be accepted as a true record. All agreed. Alan signed a hard copy.

Matters Arising from Trustee Meeting on 28th Oct 2021
Obtain all signatures for Shop and Pre-School Leases and circulate hard copies to all signatories (PA):
Partially discharged. Signed Pre-School Lease copies have been provided to all signatories. Shop Lease sign-off still awaiting confirmation of mutually acceptable side letter (see agenda item 11).
Share details of Youth Strategy Group Grant Opportunity with Scouts and Youth Karate Group (PA):
Discharged.
Register LCC’s land ownership with the Land Registry (AC):
Ongoing. FJG have been instructed, but not yet chased for a progress update.
Seek professional advice from Highways Essex regarding our Car Park entrance (MB):
Discharged. Some written guidance and suggestions has been provided free of charge by Highways Essex, but without a physical site visit. 5.5m is the minimum acceptable width for a two lane entrance.
Approach Pre-School to discuss potential summer 2022 letting of the Pre-School room (SA):
Discharged. This request can be accommodated, if required (but is now unlikely to be needed, if the LCC Roof Replacement project is deferred at item 7 of this agenda).


Chairman’s Report
The roof replacement project will be discussed at agenda item 7. Alan reported that our annual building insurance policy has been renewed and is publicly displayed in the entrance lobby. Rebuilding costs have soared and our policy cover is now for £5m. Alan will get his guys to do a detailed re-assessment in the summer, which might allow for some reduction, perhaps to £4m, next time round. Cliff asked whether we had cover if the building burned down tomorrow and Alan confirmed yes – the new insurance policy and cover is for £5m at present.
Contractors that we employ will therefore now need public liability cover of £5m. Our electrician already has this level of cover. Our cleaner Mike and odd-jobs man Terry only have £2m cover and do not require £5m cover for any other clients. All agreed that the LCC should re-imburse Mike and Terry for any insurance premium supplement they have to pay to increase their cover from £2m to £5m. Action MS

With respect to our car park insurance cover, the situation remains that Alan is in continued negotiation with professionals regarding potential safety improvements. Apparently some Church car parks have remained in this sort of holding situation with continuing cover in place for more 5 years.

Treasurer’s Report
Bank balances at close of business today were £7,979.61 (current account) and £72,149.66 (deposit account). The current account balance includes the recent receipt of a £3825 CIF grant (see agenda item 10).

Maureen anticipated that once we get back to normal after COVID, a typical monthly operating profit of ~£1k is a reasonable expectation. The reduction in hiring frequency by Cygnet has dented our forward looking profitability expectations. Maureen recommends that we should maintain a minimum operating reserve of £30k (which limits what we can contribute towards the roof replacement project from our own reserves).

Maureen has just sent off the figures for determination of the annual Music License fee, which should be lower than usual due to the reduced usage during the pandemic. Alan’s 10 year alcohol license expires this year; the cost for renewal has not yet been checked.

Liz S queried the rather large “other” item (£8,145.19) in the payments section of the latest P&L figures. Maureen was comfortable that the figure was correct (and included some one-off items such as Hoggarth & Cooke fees and music license fees) but agreed to provide a more detailed breakdown of the figure. Action MS

In the P&L income figures, the £8,880.47 “non commercial non local” figure also seems rather large and Sue agreed to check the breakdown of this figure. Action SA

The £8k COVID restart grant has been quite heavily drawn on for extra operating costs, but there are still some funds available to help subsidise any fledgling new clubs, if any should emerge as we come out the other side of COVID.

Terry’s estimates for repainting the interior walls of the Shop (£1.2k) and Pre-School (£1.5k) have now come in. After some discussion it was agreed to defer a decision on progressing these until the March Trustee meeting.

Marketing Manager’s Report
Sue had circulated a report in advance of this meeting. Sue noted that all COVID rules affecting the hall will be lifted from 26th Jan (apart from general rules regarding self-isolation when individuals are infected or ‘pinged’).
December had seen a rush of bookings, followed by a rush of cancellations as Omicron took hold. Bookings are now on the rise again.

The mens’ urinal has finally been properly fixed, as well as the cracked porcelain sink in the ladies. Two old taps have been replaced with water-saving taps in the single toilets in the entrance lobby. Sue will undertake the annual electrical check next week.

A new mobile seafood supplier has signed up for a regular car park slot and signed the requisite hire contract. The Refill Den will also be visiting the car park every other week from 2nd Feb. They supply packaging-free household provisions.

Discussion & decision: way forward with LCC Roof Replacement
Three tender returns were received on 10th December. Cadmans @ ~ £320k, Rose @ ~£300k, and Gipping @ ~£270k. These were roughly double what was originally anticipated, due in large part to a massive increase in scaffolding costs, alongside some large cost increases in various raw material supplies.

Charlotte asked whether the project can be safely deferred. Alan explained that the worst case scenario would be a strong storm from the ‘wrong direction’ that could potentially rip off the roof. In the meantime, the peg fittings for the roofing slates have largely rusted through, meaning that the poor quality Chinese slates are now being held in place mostly by their own weight rather than the pegs. The slates are not suitable for re-use with new pegs due to their poor condition and fragility.

Liz S hoped that a big local fundraising program could be put in place to help bring forward the replacement date for the roof. In the meantime, Maureen proposed that we needed to defer the project. Liz S seconded this and all agreed that we had no other option at the moment due to lack of funds.

Sue was given the all clear to start hiring out the hall during the summer period this year.

Discussion: how can we stimulate more local use of the LCC?
A number of potential ideas were discussed, but all are dependent on motivated volunteers to bring them to fruition. Liz W noted that the red tape of organising insurance for new clubs could often be a significant deterrent.

Charlotte noted that the recent trial of Thursday morning coffee mornings in the Club Room (three times a month) had tailed off after a promising start and was now being reduced to once a month.

Martin briefed us about the recent enquiry to the Parish Council from a nomadic North Essex cricket club who have asked whether they could adopt Langham as their home base. They would look to include local residents within a range of teams, and provide tutored youth sessions working with the Primary School. Charlotte noted that several Langham children currently go to Boxted to play cricket and might welcome the opportunity to play closer to home in Langham.

Trustee & local club support for Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Event
Charlotte briefed us on the emerging timetable and plans for the village’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations between 2nd and 5th June. These are being developed by a small Jubilee Committee reporting to the Parish Council, who have kindly provided a grant of £3k to underwrite the most significant event costs including fairground rides, marquees, live music etc. Some village clubs and organisations have already volunteered to assist in various ways. Further offers of assistance are always welcome!

Grants Update
Paul reported on the recent success in securing a CIF grant of £3825 to install hearing loop facilities in the Main Hall and Club Room. The grant has already been received, and Sue had contacted Marks Tey Radio (a potential supplier) today to organise a site visit for them to review our needs and update the quote that they had provided about 4 years ago.

Maureen had reviewed a recent new Government grant opportunity (the Omicron Hospitality & Leisure Grant). A grant of £2.2k was a possibility, but our eligibility appears marginal at best, so Maureen recommended that we do not apply. Nobody raised any concerns about this, so we will not apply.

Shop Lease Side Letter Amendment
Paul had circulated a revised side letter which now includes an additional clause stating that any change of the rent shall be subject to a minimum six month notice period. This was a change that had been requested by the Shop. All agreed with this proposed new wording for the side letter, so Paul will now approach Gill Flack to sign the Lease and Side Letter.
Action PA

Any Other Business
There was a lengthy discussion about the current broadband service provision to the LCC and Shop, and the potential opportunity to replace this with a subsidised service provision from County Broadband. Some problems were highlighted: is the County Broadband service actually free to operate (or simply free to install)? Is the County Broadband service a residential or business service? If residential only, this will not provide the necessary security for taking electronic card payments. Further investigation is required by both the LCC and the Shop. Action PA/SA/AC/CP

Dates of next meetings
Next Finance Committee Meeting: Monday 21st February 2021, 7.30pm, Club Room LCC.
Next Trustee Meeting: Thursday 31st March 2022, 7.30pm, Club Room LCC.

There being no further business, Alan thanked everyone for attending and closed the meeting at 9.42pm.
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