MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE VILLAGE HALL COMMITTEE held on Thursday, 12 July 2007 in the Parish Room, Village Hall, South Darenth at 8 pm.

PRESENT: Cllr Gill Tripp (Vice Chairman in the Chair)

Cllrs Dawn Mitchell, Christine Page and Robert Valentine

Marie Meggitt

IN ATTENDANCE: Carol Allart, Parish Clerk,

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Cllr Peter Bradley, Anita Cockrill, John Wood, Caretaker

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST: None

13 MINUTES

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the last meeting held on 10 May 2007 be approved and signed as a correct record.

14 MATTERS ARISING

Tap Dancing

Cllr Page reported that our floor is beech which is not as good as some of the older floors in other halls which are maple and much stronger.

Smoking Ban

The committee was informed of action taken in connection with the No Smoking legislation which involved warning all hirers that if it is found that smoking has taken place in the building, monies (currently £50) will be deducted from the damage deposit.

RESOLVED that this practice will continue.

Black Stage Curtains

The clerk reported that the curtain maker recommends the Venus fabric together with another called Neptune. Both should not absorb stains as easily as the others and will hang the best of all the options. The committee noticed that the Venus fabric had attracted fluff and so preferred Neptune.

The Committee was reminded that if they wished to go ahead without getting further estimates, financial regulations would have to be suspended. In view of the substantial amount of money involved, it was agreed that further quotes should be obtained.

Electrics Report

The committee discussed the electrics situation and considered future action.

RESOLVED that

1. the Valley Players and the Village Pantomime members be asked to clear the loft area of all props by 31 August so that the electrical work can be carried out; and
2. attempts be made to obtain three estimates for a periodical test and report on the lines suggested in the report by Colin Smith.

15 BUDGET

The committee went through the budget for this committee to give new members an idea of what areas and items are covered and how much is available to spend. It was noted that the £5000 from reserves earmarked for slabs for the garden area was unlikely to be spent this year as the work was most likely to be carried out in connection with the village hall extension because of planning constraints.

16 VILLAGE HALL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Members were asked to consider a review of the terms and conditions for hiring the hall following an objection by a regular hirer to some of the conditions imposed and the problems of deciding who had caused damage. A copy of the Conditions papers were circulated.

RESOLVED that the terms and conditions for the hire of the village hall remain as previously agreed.

17 KEY DEPOSIT

RESOLVED that action taken in respect of securing a £50 returnable deposit when hirers are given a key to the outside gates be confirmed.

18 HALL PHONE

The request by the Short Mat Bowls Club for a phone in the hall was discussed in detail.

RESOLVED that no action be taken to re-instate the hall payphone.

19 REQUEST FOR FREE USE OF HALL

The Committee considered a request from some Mums from the playschool who are organising a party to celebrate Mrs Reynolds’ 40 years with Riverside to have free use of the hall. Cllr Mitchell said that Mums wanted this as a gesture of support from the Parish Council. All other members felt that this could not be done as it would set a precedent for many other groups who could claim special treatment for their various special occasions.

20 NEW YEAR’S EVE

It was reported that Mike Palmer had been successful in the draw for New Year’s Eve 2007 which took place in the presence of 2 parish councillors on 16 May. Mr Palmer is holding a Rock and Roll event and has many contacts to sell the tickets to but he will sell to locals as well. There will not therefore be a village family disco as such this year on New Year’s Eve.

21 ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Start Time of Meetings

The 8 pm start time was not convenient for several Members who would prefer 7.30 pm. Cllr Mitchell said that she could not get to a meeting before 8 pm because of family commitments. It was decided to discuss the matter at the next meeting.

The meeting ended at 9.20 pm.

Chairman

Date

Informative: Before the meeting, members looked at the garden area as the grass cutting is very uneven (some parts bare earth) because of the undulating nature of the ground. It was agreed that it would not be cost effective to consider any works to flatten it out especially as the area is likely to be affected by the extension. The clerk was asked just to ask the grass cutter to raise his blades slightly. It was noticed that there were some bricks, and other items of rubble that should be removed.