From the Management Committee Helen Bull, Caroline Davies, Gillian Flint, Ted Flint (Chair), Kevin McBride (Treasurer), Eve McBride and Judy McCulloch were present. John Lea and Paul Spinks sent their apologies. The meeting was well attended by members of the Valley community.

• The Treasurer (Kevin McBride) outlined the financial position. The Chair reviewed the Hall’s events and activities over the past year.
• The late Val Spinks, who was a tireless and enthusiastic member of the Committee, kindly left in her will a gift of £1,000 to the Village Hall.

The Chair thanked the members of the community present at the meeting for their strong continued support for the Hall and its activities. He invited anybody who would like to help with the Hall’s events and activities to leave their names. (The response was very encouraging and much appreciated). A member of the Committee will make contact with everybody who has offered their assistance to tie down the details

• In the past year we have replaced the carpet, installed a key safe, purchased new chairs (with funding from the Parish Council) and installed a defibrillator cabinet.
• We are planning some electrical work including safety testing, the installation of new power points around the Hall and the improvement of outside lighting.
• Some routine work is needed, such as gutter clearance and the repair and renewal of Dog Show and Summer Fete equipment. It was suggested that we should ask the landowners to cut back the sycamore trees that overhang the Hall.
• Wessex Water have kindly undertaken to repair the driveway once their works on the water main have been completed.

• An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) has been purchased for the community by the Parish Council and is now housed in an unlocked cabinet on the front of the Village Hall.
• Tim Watts will take the lead in organizing defibrillator training for those who are interested.
• The meeting was shown a short film by St John’s Ambulance about how to operate a defibrillator.

• The Management Committee will meet quarterly in 2023 rather than monthly as hitherto. If this trial is successful then quarterly meetings will be the rule in future.
• Work will continue in 2023 to put the ownership of the Hall and its land on a firmer legal footing, and to bring up to date the structure of the Hall’s charitable trust.

The medium to long term intent is to rebuild the Hall on the current site and along similar lines to the current Hall. The planning and survey work done in 2020 remains valid. The Management Committee’s view is that now is the wrong time to start fund-raising for a new Hall, given the current cost-of-living crisis. However, we will start asking members of the community to consider the Hall in their wills and, subject to demand, will organize a free will-writing event.

• Caroline Davies offered to set up an Instagram page for the Hall.
• Judy Munro suggested that we should produce an A5 flyer advertising the Hall for distribution with the Parish News.

The members of the Management Committee formally resigned and the new Management Committee were unanimously elected, comprising the members of the existing committee together with Richard Joy who has rejoined the committee and Peter Roberts who is a new member. Both new members are very welcome. The composition new Committee is now as follows:

The next Annual Meeting is provisionally scheduled for 19:00 on Friday 19 January 2024.

Ted Flint (Chair)