HARMSWORTH MEMORIAL TRUST

Minutes of the meeting held on Monday21st November 2016

Memorial Hall, Benenden

Present / Cllrs Barker, Cruse, Davies, Ellis, Henning, Reynolds, Skeet and Thomas
In Attendance / Cllr Dawlings; Caroline Levett – Clerk; 2 members of the public were in attendance.
Item / Action /
Responsibility
117/16APOLOGIES / No apologies.
118/16
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST / No declarations of interest.
119/16
MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING / It was agreed that the minutes and the confidential note of the meeting held on 17thOctober 2016 be approved and signed by the Chairman.
120/16
MATTERS ARISING / (I) Reconstitution of the Harmsworth Memorial Trust
An email from David Harmsworth had been circulated confirming that the application for the new charity had been submitted and acknowledged by the Charity Commission. It is hoped that the Benenden Village Trust group will meet in January.
(II)Iden Green Housing
Cllr Davies had raised the concerns raised by Trustees regarding the field behind the development and the plaque with ERHA. It is hoped that the plaque will be installed in the coming days. Alison Thompson, ERHA, is investigating further the field issues. The Village Lengthsman is currently working on securing the field.
121/16
BENENDEN VILLAGE HALL / (i)Administrator Report
The monthly reports from the Hall Administrator, Lorraine Jones, had been circulated.
Finance : Net profit for October was £1,358, and financial year to date £7,534. Compared to last year expenditure is down by 42% and income up by 30%.
Cleaning : Tenterden Twilight Commercial Cleaning is now cleaning the hall 7 days a week for a fixed fee of £135 per week . It was agreed that the trial period should be extended for another month, and the contract run until the end of the financial year.
Heating in Small Hall :The gas fired heater no longer works and it was agreed to have this removed and replaced with an electric heater. As an interim measure there is a convector heater. Cllr Ellis offered to fix this to the wall.
Electrical Installation Condition Report : Issues regarding the unsatisfactory rating have now been rectified and the Hall is now rated electrically satisfactory.
Microphone and A/V System : The microphones are not working. Cllr Ellis offered to look into this.
Piano : It was agreed that a nominal fee of £5 would be charged to piano users to help cover the costs of tuning and repairs.
Christmas Tree : Organised by the Primary School's PTA, this will be arriving on Wednesday 7th December. Cllr Reynolds will arrange for it to be removed after Christmas.
Bonfire Night : The Hall was booked by another user on bonfire night, and although this did not cause any issues, it was agreed that in future years the Bonfire Society ought to book it.
Lorraine was thanked for her work and achievements.
(ii)Naming of the Main and Small Halls
Cllr Davies proposed renaming the main hall as the Harmsworth Hall and the small hall as the Rothermere Room. This was agreed by the Parish Council and would be done at the same time as the Trust is formally reconstituted. / PE
PE
GR
122/16
PLAYGROUND / No update.
123/16
ST GEORGE’S / Cllr Davies is following up some issues which have arisen at St George’s.
  • The Pre-School has asked whether the fixed wiring had been inspected by a qualified electrician as required.
  • The Pre-School has enquired about cars which are permanently parked in the car park. It was suggested that these may be owned by residents of Feofee Cottages.
  • There is water dripping through the ceiling on the landing outside the Pre-School.
/ PD
124/16
FINANCE / (i)Monthly Finance Report and approve cheque for payment
The November 2016 cheque list, and bank reconciliation and bank statement for October 2016 were ratified and approved.
125/16
CORRESPONDENCE / None.
126/16
ITEMS FOR FUTURE CONSIDERATION / None.
127/16
DATE OF NEXT MEETING / Monday 12th December 2016 at the Iden Green Pavilion.
128/16 / The meeting closed at 9:20pm

Chairman………………………………………………………. Date……………………………………….Page 1

These minutes are not a verbatim report of the meeting, but a summary of discussion and decisions taken at the meeting