Cause for Concern

As chairman of the management committee of the village hall, I need to highlight that the existing volunteer trustees and committee members has reduced during the past year meaning the load carried out by fewer individuals is greater than before.  The constitution of Bishop Sutton and Stowey Village Hall states there must be a Chair, Secretary and Treasurer; currently the chairman is holding all three positions plus the role of being responsible for maintenance and website/social media, etc.  The Bookings Officer is also carrying out maintenance and other roles in addition to his task description.  We now only have three trustees; this compares with fifteen during the 1990’s.

In the current state, we cannot form a quorum to elect officers or to carry out lawful business.

I am therefore putting users of the hall and the community on notice that there is a clear risk to the continued running of the facility.  It only needs an illness or other catastrophe to take place within the committee and the hall could fail to function.  There is no depth of support from anyone able to shadow these roles or act on behalf of the responsible person in the event of sickness or holiday.

The community value the facility but very few do anything to help manage or run it.  Residents in the community will have relevant skills appropriate to assisting the running and upkeep of the hall but fail to come forward to assist.  It’s always left to others.

At some point the existing function holders may step down; there is no notice period required and I for one, won’t wait until a replacement is found when I feel I have provided sufficient commitment and time for the benefit of others.

If volunteers don’t materialise and step forward to help, then the community may have to consider that their wonderful hall that has stood proudly for 30 years (and a facility combined with the old hall for the community for 104 years), may cease to function.

DO NOT TAKE THIS FACILITY FOR GRANTED