Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Hurstpierpoint Village Centre Trustees held on Thursday 25 July 2024 at 9.30pm, at Hurstpierpoint Village Centre (Charity No 305265).

Also present:                      Sarah Groom, Clerk to the Trustees

1. Apologies for Absence: The Trustees received and accepted apologies for absence from Helen Bedford, David Evans, Malcolm Llewellyn, Bob Sampson and Lindsay Thompson.

• Previous Minutes:  The Trustees agreed the minutes of the meeting held on 29 February 2024.

• Annual Report: The Chair introduced the Annual Report for the previous year which the Trustees agreed to adopt for submission to the Charity Commission.  The report included an update on the use of the building, a description of the maintenance items undertaken and a summary of the year end accounts.

• Annual Accounts: The Trustees considered and agreed the accounts for the year ending 31 March 2024 for submission to the Charity Commission and noted the date of the independent examination was 15 July 2024.

• Annual Independent Examination:  The Trustees noted the good report from Mulberry & Co produced following the independent examination on 15 July 2024.  There were no recommendations and the Team was congratulated on the successful outcome.

• Appointment of Independent Examiner:  The Trustees considered the appointment of an independent examiner for 2024/2025 and noted they had previously agreed to ask Mulberry & Co to act as the independent examiner to inspect the accounts for three years (to include 2025/2026).

• 2024/2025 Budget Monitoring:  Trustees noted the budget monitoring report for the first quarter of 2024/25 including the bank reconciliations, balance sheet and detailed income and expenditure.  The utility bills will be closely monitored to ensure accurate billing and budgeting.

• MSDC’s Community Energy Project Update:  The Trustees considered the report commissioned by WSCC/MSDC exploring the potential to enable more rural communities to generate and share renewable energy, limiting reliance on the grid and reducing carbon emissions.  The conclusion of the report was that there was no financial case for renewable heat options but the recommendations regarding PV (photovoltaic) options were less clear. Trustees were happy to have received the report but more work is required to better understand the conclusions in more detail.  The Clerk will also seek to find out the responses of WSCC and MSDC to the findings.

• Date of Next Meeting: The date of the next meetings was agreed as 28 November 2024 to follow the conclusion of the Parish Council meeting.

The meeting closed at 9.46pm.                                                                                                           Chairman