The Old Bluecoat School, Thatcham - Minutes and Accounts

Accounts 2011

REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 05229774 (England and Wales)
REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1106343
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND
UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR
ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2011
FOR
THATCHAM(OLD BLUECOAT SCHOOL)CHARITY LTD
C B Heslop & Company
Chartered Accountants
1 High Street
Thatcham
Berks
RG19 3JG
THATCHAM(OLD BLUECOAT SCHOOL)CHARITY LTD
CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
for the year ended 30 SEPTEMBER 2011

Report of the Trustees 1 to 2
Statement of Financial Activities 3
Balance Sheet 4 to 5
Notes to the Financial Statements 6 to 8
Detailed Statement of Financial Activities 9
THATCHAM(OLD BLUECOAT SCHOOL)CHARITY LTD
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES
for the year ended 30 SEPTEMBER 2011
The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with
the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 30 September 2011. The trustees have adopted the provisions
of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities' issued in March 2005.
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS
Registered Company number
05229774 (England and Wales)
Registered Charity number
1106343
Registered office
1 High Street
Thatcham
Berks
RG19 3JG
Trustees
Mrs S M Ellison Company director
Mr. C.B. Heslop Chartered Accountant
Mrs S E Nicholls Teacher
D L Quaintance Businessman
Mrs S D Steevenson Thatcham Town
Councillor
C D Turner IT Consultants
D C H Williams OBE Solicitor
M A Langford Retired
R P Dewey Retired
Mrs A R Bates Director
Company Secretary
Mr. C.B. Heslop
Bankers
HSBC
16-17 The Broadway
Thatcham
Berkshire
RG19 4HX
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Governing document
The Thatcham (Old Bluecoat School) Charity is governed by it's Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 13th
September 2004 and is registered with the Charity Commission.
Appointment of new trustees
The trustees may appoint additional trustees at any point in time but they must be reappointed at the following Annual
General Meeting if they wish to remain in office.
Organisational structure
The number of trustees shall not be less than three but there is no maximum limit. The Board of Trustees meets
regularly to administer the charity, including the day to day activities.
Risk management
The trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate
controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error.
Page 1
THATCHAM(OLD BLUECOAT SCHOOL)CHARITY LTD
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES
for the year ended 30 SEPTEMBER 2011
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
Objectives and aims
The objects of the charity are to preserve, for the benefit of the people of Thatcham and of the nation, the historical,
architectural and constructional heritage that may exist in buildings in and around Thatcham and in particular, the Old
Bluecoat School (also known as St. Thomas's Chapel). The Old Bluecoat School is to be made available for the
advancement of education and to provide leisure and recreation facilities, with the object of improving the conditions of
life for the inhabitants of Thatcham and adjoining parishes. To achieve this, the charity leased the Old Bluecoat School
(a Grade I listed building) and holds it for public benefit before conserving and restoring the fabric of the building.
ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE
Charitable activities
The charity and its advisors are continuing work to formalise applications for the major refurbishment funding.
Fundraising activities
The charity has held a number of fundraising functions all of which have been successful and very much appreciated.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
Reserves policy
The trustees have established the level of reserves that the charity ought to have. Reserves are required, in the short
term, to sustain operations over the period when it is anticipated that some of the income generating activities will be
curtailed whilst the charity establishes itself.
Reserves are necessary to finance the conserving and restoring of the fabric of the building and to fund the gap between
spending on education, leisure and recreation facilities and receiving resources through admission charges and grants
that provide funding.
The trustees consider that the current level of reserves of £14,160 is sufficient to cover costs as they arise. The trustees
are continuing fundraising activities in order to build up the level of reserves.
Investment policy and objectives
Under the Memorandum and Articles of Association, the charity has the power to make any investment which the
trustees see fit.
FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS
Future funding for the refurbishment is still the priority and forms the focus of the trustees attention.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD :
.............................................
D C H Williams OBE - Trustee
Date: .............................................
Page 2
THATCHAM(OLD BLUECOAT SCHOOL)CHARITY LTD
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
(INCORPORATING AN INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT)
for the year ended 30 SEPTEMBER 2011
30.9.11 30.9.10
Unrestricted Total
funds funds
Notes £ £
INCOMING RESOURCES
Incoming resources from generated funds
Voluntary income 2,860 2,144
Activities for generating funds 2 1,021 2,124
Investment income 3 - 1
Total incoming resources 3,881 4,269
RESOURCES EXPENDED
Costs of generating funds
Fundraising trading: cost of goods sold and other
costs 287 59
Investment management costs 4 1,292 340
Charitable activities
Running costs 1,361 1,267
Governance costs 822 2,714
Total resources expended 3,762 4,380
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) FOR THE
YEAR 119 (111)
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Total funds brought forward 14,041 14,152
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 14,160 14,041
The notes form part of these financial statements
Page 3
THATCHAM(OLD BLUECOAT SCHOOL)CHARITY LTD
BALANCE SHEET
AT 30 SEPTEMBER 2011
30.9.11 30.9.10
Unrestricted Total
funds funds
Notes £ £
CURRENT ASSETS
Stocks 1,938 -
Debtors 7 476 905
Cash at bank 12,001 13,558
14,415 14,463
CREDITORS
Amounts falling due within one year 8 (255) (422)
NET CURRENT ASSETS 14,160 14,041
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT
LIABILITIES 14,160 14,041
NET ASSETS 14,160 14,041
FUNDS 10
Unrestricted funds 14,160 14,041
TOTAL FUNDS 14,160 14,041
The notes form part of these financial statements
Page 4 continued...
THATCHAM(OLD BLUECOAT SCHOOL)CHARITY LTD
BALANCE SHEET - CONTINUED
AT 30 SEPTEMBER 2011
The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year
ended 30 September 2011.
The members have not required the charitable company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year ended
30 September 2011 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.
The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for
(a) ensuring that the charitable company keeps accounting records that comply with Sections 386 and 387 of the
Companies Act 2006 and
(b) preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company as
at the end of each financial year and of its surplus or deficit for each financial year in accordance with the
requirements of Sections 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act
2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the charitable company.
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies
Act 2006 relating to small charitable companies and with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities
(effective April 2008).
The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on ............................................. and were signed on
its behalf by:
.............................................
D C H Williams OBE-Trustee
The notes form part of these financial statements
Page 5
THATCHAM(OLD BLUECOAT SCHOOL)CHARITY LTD
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
for the year ended 30 SEPTEMBER 2011
1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Accounting convention
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, and in accordance with the
Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (effective April 2008), the Companies Act 2006 and the
requirements of the Statement of Recommended Practice, Accounting and Reporting by Charities.
The charity has availed itself of Paragraph 3(3) of Schedule 4 of the Companies Act and adopted the Companies
Act formats to reflect the special nature of the Charity's activities.
Incoming resources
Donations and grants
Income from donations and grants is included in incoming resources when it is receivable, except when donors
impose conditions which have to be fulfilled before the charity becomes entitled to use such income, then the
income is deferred and not included in incoming resources until the pre-conditions for use have been met.
When donors specify that donations and grants, including capital grants, are for particular restricted purposes,
which do not amount to pre-conditions regarding entitlement, this income is included in incoming resources of
restricted funds when receivable.
Rent receivable
Rent receivable is included when it becomes receivable by the charity and represents income from the hire of the
building for public use.
Interest receivable
Interest is included when receivable by the charity.
Resources expended
Resources expended are included in the Statement of Financial Activities on an accruals basis, inclusive of any
VAT which cannot be recovered.
Certain expenditure is directly attributable to specific activities and has been included in those cost categories.
Certain other costs, which are attributable to more than one activity, are apportioned across cost categories on
the basis of an estimate of the proportion of time spent on those activities.
Management and administration costs are those incurred in connection with the administration of the charity and
compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements.
Stocks
Stocks are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value, after making due allowance for obsolete and slow
moving items.
Taxation
The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.
Fund accounting
Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.
2. ACTIVITIES FOR GENERATING FUNDS
30.9.11 30.9.10
£ £
Fundraising events 1,021 2,124
Page 6
THATCHAM(OLD BLUECOAT SCHOOL)CHARITY LTD
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - CONTINUED
for the year ended 30 SEPTEMBER 2011
3. INVESTMENT INCOME
30.9.11 30.9.10
£ £
Deposit account interest - 1
4. INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT COSTS
30.9.11 30.9.10
£ £
Property repairs 1,292 340
5. TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS
There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 30 September 2011 nor for the year
ended 30 September 2010 .
Trustees' Expenses
There were no trustees' expenses paid for the year ended 30 September 2011 nor for the year ended
30 September 2010 .
6. ACCOUNTANCY
The accountancy charge in the accounts is £Nil. The actual cost of £970 has been donated to the charity.
7. DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
30.9.11 30.9.10
£ £
Other debtors 476 905
8. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
30.9.11 30.9.10
£ £
Other creditors 255 422
9. OPERATING LEASE COMMITMENTS
The following operating lease payments are committed to be paid within one year:
30.9.11 30.9.10
£ £
Expiring:
In more than five years 25 25
Page 7
THATCHAM(OLD BLUECOAT SCHOOL)CHARITY LTD
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - CONTINUED
for the year ended 30 SEPTEMBER 2011
10. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
Net movement
At 1.10.10 in funds At 30.9.11
£ £ £
Unrestricted funds
General fund 14,041 119 14,160
TOTAL FUNDS 14,041 119 14,160
Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:
Incoming Resources Movement in
resources expended funds
£ £ £
Unrestricted funds
General fund 3,881 (3,762) 119
TOTAL FUNDS 3,881 (3,762) 119
11. LEGAL STATUS
The charity is a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. The liability of each member in the
event of winding-up is limited to £10.
Page 8
THATCHAM(OLD BLUECOAT SCHOOL)CHARITY LTD
DETAILED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
for the year ended 30 SEPTEMBER 2011
30.9.11 30.9.10
£ £
INCOMING RESOURCES
Voluntary income
Donations 1,360 144
Grants 1,500 2,000
2,860 2,144
Activities for generating funds
Fundraising events 1,021 2,124
Investment income
Deposit account interest - 1
Total incoming resources 3,881 4,269
RESOURCES EXPENDED
Fundraising trading: cost of goods sold and other costs
Fundraising costs 2,225 59
Closing stock (1,938) -
287 59
Investment management costs
Property repairs 1,292 340
Charitable activities
Rent, rates and water 366 197
Insurance 917 924
Light and heat 78 146
1,361 1,267
Governance costs
Sundries 321 29
Professional fees 324 785
Legal fees - 1,770
Subscriptions 110 60
Bank charges 67 70
822 2,714
Total resources expended 3,762 4,380
Net income/(expenditure) 119 (111)
This page does not form part of the statutory financial statements
Page 9

Thatcham (Old Bluecoat School) Charity. Charity Number 1106343

Minutes of a meeting of The Old Bluecoat School Trustees

Annual General Meeting

17^th April 2013

Text Box: In attendance: Paul Bulluock
James Hitchon
Simon Witcomb

Present: Clive Williams(Chair)

Sandra Nicholls Chris Turner

Text Box: Apologies: Angela Bates
Sheila Ellison
Dominic Boeck
Bobbie Wootton Malcolm Langford

Bob Dewey

Colin Heslop

Election of Chair for 2012 – 2013. Malcolm Langford proposed Clive Williams, seconded by Bob Dewey. There was unanimous agreement and approval by the committee.

Appointment of Treasurer and Company Secretary. Clive proposed Colin Heslop as treasurer and Company Secretary. This was seconded by Malcolm Langford with unanimous agreement and thanks for the fantastic work that Colin does at no charge to the Old Bluecoat School. Angela Bates will continue her excellent work with the day to day running of the Old Bluecoat School accounts but is not a signatory for cheques.

The minutes of 23^rd February 2012 were signed and approved. There were no matters arising.

The Chairman’s Report was read (attached to bottom of minutes). The committee expressed their appreciation for all the work that Clive has done over the last year and for composing the report which is a useful record of the huge progress made over the past year. Points 14 – 17 were discussed and it was decided that for the time being bookings should carry on being taken and the next concert series should go ahead until a definite date is known for the repairs to take place.

The Statutory Accounts were signed and Clive will send a copy to the Wolfson Trust along with a copy of John Triggs book. The final figure on this date is: £12,301.74 with £8,193.63 in the deposit account.

SLA (Service Level Agreement) with Thatcham Town Council. The Trustees agreed that this would be a good asset and show a regular income. The Town Council will gain15 days usage of the building in return for £1K a year. The exact days to be agreed in advance. Clive Williams signed the agreement and will forward it to TTC.

Paul Bullock gave a short report on the success of the first Open Minds Youth Project meeting. Despite stormy weather 15 people enjoyed the session and everything went well with no problems. The next meeting will be on the 24^th May and will be ‘A Big Night In’ with pizza and games. An advert will be put on the notice board.

One of the groups (Too Old To Die Young) which uses the OBS to rehearse in will perform a concert as part of Thatcham Festival on Sat. 12^th October in the Frank Hutchings Hall. There will be a retiring collection which they are prepared to donate to the OBS. Angela Bates is helping to run the concert and Bob Dewey kindly offered to help and possibly run a raffle.

Heating: The extra heaters work extremely well and make it possible to use the building in even the coldest weathers. Following on from their excellent work installing the heating Bob and Malcolm intend to put timers onto two radiators to enable ‘pre heating’ before events.

Concert Series. The third series of concerts is up and running with another Autumn Series planned. Thanks were given to Angela Bates and Bob Dewey for the tremendous amount of work they put into running these concerts.

AOB. Chris Turner successfully ran in the Reading Marathon and donated £50 of his sponsorship money which was very gratefully received. James Hitchon is based at Oxford Brooks University and he spoke about his Architectural project which will be based on the construction of the OBS. A lively discussion ensued when he mentioned a possibility that the building that we now use may not have been the original construction from the 13^th Century!

Date for next meeting: Wednesday 17^th July 5.30pm.

Chairman’ Report to Trust – AGM – 17^th April 2013

The Thatcham (Old Blue Coat School) Charity is a charitable company limited by guarantee, which was incorporated on 13^th September 2004.
Its directors, who are also Trustees, are as follows:-

Mrs Angela Bates

Mr Bob Dewey

Mr Dominic Boeck

Mrs Sheila Ellison,

Mr Colin Heslop (also Company Secretary)

Mr Malcolm Langford

Mrs Sandra Nicholls (Minute Secretary)

Mr Chris Turner

Mr Clive Williams (Chairman)

The building, known as the Old Blue Coat School (OBS), is Grade 1 listed and is owned by Thatcham Town Council, who acquired it from West Berkshire Council on 28th June 2004 for community use. The building is subject to restrictive covenants.
On 1^st June 2005, the Town Council leased the building, subject to the restrictive covenants, to the Trust for a term of 99 years at a rent of £25 a year.
The building is insured with Zurich Municipal
In 2008 Paul Dick resigned as Chairman and was succeeded by Peter Allen on 19^th November 2008. Sadly Peter Allen died on 27th May 2009 and I was elected Chairman to succeed him on 25^th June 2009.
Over the years the condition of the building deteriorated, not helped by its proximity to the A4, which resulted in salt from gritting activities being sprayed on to the south of the building, eating into the brickwork and stonework and permeating through the wall, with the result that interior mortar started crumbling.
That particular problem has now greatly diminished as result of a road realignment carried out by the West Berkshire Council at a cost of £70K. Former Trustee David Quaintance then arranged at his expense to have the interior mortar repaired and Trustees Bob Dewey and Malcolm Langford have carried out a number of subsequent repairs.
With the aid of 50% matched funding from the Greenham Common Trust, the building was then carpeted, seating was purchased and Bob Dewey and Malcolm Langford installed heating and improved lighting.
The Trust then had the problem as to how to attract users. With just one toilet and no kitchen, the building was not suitable for many groups. One faithful user was Simon Witcomb, who has his accountancy business in Thatcham but also runs the Beenham Wind Band, which uses OBS for practice sessions.

Simon suggested that the Trust should use the building for a series of musical concerts and then assisted by Sandra Nicholls and her family, set about organizing them. The first series of 9 concerts ran from March –May 2012 and were judged so successful that a second series of 6 concerts were run from October-December 2012. We are now in the middle of the third series.

· Lecture Recital Trumpet & Piano - Mark Kesel & Ian Westley

· Nicholls Family and friends (twice)

· Jayne O’Mahony – songs from the Shows (twice)

· Jubilee Ensemble – The Kanes, David Lewis, Coral Lancaster (twice)

· Loose Tubes

· Woodwind Solos – Jolanta Modelska; Michaela Bell; Caroline Woodhouse

· Jocelyn Freema – Piano Classics

· Duos for Violin and Viola – John Kane and Chris Redsel

· Antonia Kesel (Violin) and Daniel King-Smith (Piano)

· Mark Kesel (Trumpet)

· Caroline Woodhouse

· David and Valerie Stephenson – Songs to please

A particular feature of the concerts has been the tea and wondrous array of cakes provided by Trustee Angela Bates, so much so that the concerts are now known as the tea and cake concerts. Front of house has been looked after by Trustee Bob Dewey, who has also sold John Trigg’s history of the building. Our grateful thanks must go to Angela and Bob and of course to Simon Witcomb and our Secretary Sandra and her talented and musical family.
Success begets success and it is pleasant to be able to report that the building is now being hired out on a regular basis. The are Zumba sessions on Tuesday and Friday mornings and Knit a Bit on a Thursday morning. No regular afternoon bookings as yet but the room is hired out every week-day evening apart from Monday. The building is most used at the week-end viz the tea and cake concerts; Heartstart First Aid; Oral History Group; Local History Research meetings; Reike, a baby Shower Party; Antiques Road Show; Spiritualist Meetings; Open Minds – Young Adults group; Art and Photography Exhibitions; play readings; Wind Band Sectional Rehearsal.
Our Architect, Andrew Townsend was asked to update the Condition Survey and Schedule of Repair of the building and to prioritize it. He did this and broadly speaking it will cost £120K to carry out the priority repairs and £70K to complete the programme. VAT on repairs has now increased to 20%, which has added to the burden.
We employed a fundraiser, Richard Bonnington to try and raise this money, working on a no fee no commission basis with 15% paid on monies raised. To date he has raised £15K but he has also found us the Wolfson Trust, who have invited a full application on a 50% matched funding basis. We will know the outcome of our application by early July.
Separately we applied to the Greenham Common Trust and they have committed to meeting 50% of the £120K, if Wolfson are prepared to meet the other 50%.
If Wolfson do provide 50% of the funds required, an application will be made to the Landfill Tax for a grant towards providing the £70K required to complete the refurbishment programme. If Wolfson do turn us down, the application will be made for matched funding for priority repairs.
A handsome Notice Board has been provided at a cost of £1200.
Thatcham Town Council have suggested that the Trust enter into a SLA (Service Level Agreement) whereby they will pay the Trust £1k a year in turn for the use of the building for 15 days a year, the exact dates to be agreed with Trust. This is on the Agenda but I feel the Trust should support.
The recent Volunteer Fair generated interest from four individuals, all of whom have much to offer. They have been invited to attend the AGM.
All in all this has been a very positive year and excellent progress has been made in getting the building back into community use and raising the money needed to remedy many years’ neglect.

Clive Williams

Chairman

22^nd March 2013

Town Clerk. Even when the TC officers retire, they still maintain their involvement, as witness Angela.

Finally there is Sandra, our Secretary. As a former Secretary myself I may be biased but I feel that no organisation can flourish if you don’t have a competent and hard-working secretary and Sandra has all of those qualities and many more.

The Concerts

One of the challenges with maintaining an old building, even one which is Grade 1 listed, is to find a contemporary use. As Trustees will know that has been a challenge for us. The idea of turning the building into an internet café was given serious consideration and was backed by a number of organisations involved with young persons, including the police. But the young man who put the idea forward was unable to pursue it and it died a death. I was not surprised as I could not see the concept generating sufficient income to meet our requirements as the Landlord and the operator’s as the tenant.

Then enter our musical accountant, Simon Witcomb. He has in the past hired OBS both for his business and to enable the Beenham Wind Orchestra to practice. Because of its high roof, the acoustics in OBS are very good for smaller musical groups and so Simon has been given consent to run 9 musical concerts at OBS as follows:

March 4^th: Lecture Recital for Trumpet & Piano

March 11^th: The Nicholls family

March 15^th: Jayne O’Mahony

March 25^th: Jubilee Ensemble

April 1^st: Loose Tubes

April 15^th: Woodwind solos

April 22^nd: Jocelyn Freeman

April 29^th:Duos for Violin and Viola

May 13^th: Recital for violin and piano

All the above dates are Sundays and each concert will be held at 4.0pm.Tickets will cost £10 for adults and £5 for children.

If each concert is a sell-out the Trust will receive approximately £750. But more important than income to the Trust at present is demonstrating to the good people of Thatcham that the building serves a useful purpose. These concerts will certainly achieve that and if they are well-supported, they could become an annual feature.

There have been some costs associated with putting on these concerts, involving improving the heating, providing seating and a piano. The total cost was estimated at £7K and the Greenham Common Trust have agreed to meet 50% of these costs. 60 padded stackable chairs have already been bought at a cost of £1800 (£30 a chair) or £15 having regard to the Greenham contribution. It is likely that a piano will be hired for the concerts but an electric piano will then be bought for general use.

Thanks are owing to the Greenham Common Trust and both Simon Witcomb and Sandra, who has worked with him and whose family are providing one of the concerts.

John Trigg

John is a retired head, who lives in Woolhampton and whose interest is local history. He has written many books about this area.

His most recent book concentrated on OBS and is entitled ‘The Old Blue Coat School and its times’. He offered his manuscript it to the Trust and his offer was gratefully accepted. The Trust met the printing costs and paid the author a modest royalty. The book is now on sale for £10 at the Family Bookshop in Thatcham; the Woolhampton Post Office and Thatcham Town Council Offices. The proceeds of sale, less the retailer’s discount, come to the Trust.

The Extension

In order to become a hub of the community, the Old Bluecoat School needs improved toilets, plus a small kitchen and some storage space. The cost of building an extension to provide these additional amenities has been estimated to amount to £200K. The cost is high because one would be building onto a Grade 1 building and only an extension of the highest quality would be likely to receive approval from the planning and associated bodies.

In an effort to raise this money the Trust have employed a fund-raiser, Richard Bonnington, on a commission basis. The UK has numerous Charities, who offer grant-aid for a variety of causes. They vary greatly in size and resources but now that Govt bodies have all had their funding cut and demands on the Lottery are rising all the time, Charitable Trusts have become the first port of call for Trusts such as ourselves.

Richard Bonnington tracks down the Trusts worth approaching and they then receive a letter from me (drafted by Richard) with supporting information seeking financial support. Unfortunately most replies to date have been in the negative. We have received in total just £2K. There are still Trusts out there not yet approached but the chances of success are not that good.

The Future

If the forthcoming concerts are successful, we should build on that to make OBS a Berkshire Centre for musical excellence for smaller musical groups. The lack of changing facilities for musicians and the existence of just one toilet – all pose potential problems but the position can be evaluated once the concerts are over.

The condition of the exterior fabric of the building is also a concern. Re-aligning the road has helped considerably with the salt spraying problem, but the fact the interior of the building deteriorated even after David Quaintance’s repairs (requiring Malcolm and Bob to carry out further patching) shows that there is still a problem with salt embedded in the fabric. Presumably the problem will resolve itself in the fullness of time but how long that will be is impossible to say.

In the meantime the exterior of the building looks rather sad and I feel we should now make a start on a rolling programme to re-point and/or replace worn away bricks ands masonry as our limited resources allow. The exterior window frames also require attention.

Clive Williams OBE

Chairman