Report for the year ending 31st December 2007

The Halls are managed by committee constituted under a Deed of Trust dated 20th February 1950 for the benefit of all inhabitants of the Village of Brookwood. The Management Committee is appointed annually in April comprising 4 members elected by qualifying inhabitants and up to 14 members representing recognised Village organisations. A further 6 members may be co-opted by the Management Committee to represent other local interests. All Management Committee members serve for a year from the date of the Annual General Meeting at which they are appointed. Co-opted members serve until the AGM following their co-option. The Management Committee during the entire year comprised: Mr. J. Thornton (Chairman), Mrs. J. Gable (Secretary), Mrs. M. Cook, Mr. A. Gray, Mrs. H. Hill, Mrs. K. Lopez and Mrs. M. Mealin. Three additional members served part of the year. Mr. R.H. Fryatt sadly died in February 2007, ending over thirty years involvement in managing the Halls. Mr. M. Craven and Mr. H. Bailey (Treasurer) resigned on 2 April 2007. Mr. J. Thornton took on the Treasurer’s duties on an acting basis. Mrs. J. Stone acted throughout the year as Caretaker and voluntary Bookings Secretary. The Hall’s banker is the Charities Aid Foundation, West Malling, Kent. The Management Committee has established a policy to maintain financial reserves adequate to sustain the Halls' financial solvency in the event that the Halls became unlettable for a year, calculated as the average annual regular expenses measured over the three preceding financial years. The Committee estimate that a year would likely be the maximum period required to render the Halls fully lettable again after major insured damage. The Committee reviews this policy annually. The reserves policy was met throughout the year.

We installed car park lighting during the year, and watched the new surrounding trees settle in through the drought, whilst making further arrangements to protect against flooding. The Large Hall was redecorated over the New Year, and looks a treat. We introduced recycling bins to help reduce landfill waste, asking our hirers to separate their waste. Woking Borough Council responded to our direct representations by extending waste removal services to charities such as us. The annual Remembrance Service was again very well attended, and the Scouts presented some interesting facts about those named on the remembrance plaque in the Large Hall. This year the Large Hall kitchen is due a major make-over, already helped by the generous donation of a beautiful cooker by the Women’s Institute, and a grant from Awards for All. Further grounds improvements are planned during 2008. We lost two of our valued volunteer members during the year to the weight of their other external commitments, and hope to see replacements step forward soon to help share the burden, before the remaining members become too overloaded. The Halls continue to enjoy high levels of use by all parts of our community, and the work that goes on behind the scenes to maintain the Halls cannot continue to be sustained by the weary few. More use of external contractors will inevitably result in increased hire rates despite our strong controls over expenditure.

Thanks are due to all our willing volunteer Committee members and their groups, and to our Caretaker and Bookings Secretary in particular, for all their efforts in keeping the Halls attractive and accessible for the benefit of the entire village.