Governance – Managing the Village Hall Charity

Our constitution

The objectives outlined in our Constitution form 22 August 1977 are stated to be “the provision and maintenance of a village hall for the use of the parishes of Upper Beeding & Bramber.”

In carrying out these objectives, the Council of Management (COM) and all its members and sub-committees make the following commitments:

• We run the Hall on behalf of the community living in the parishes of Upper Beeding & Bramber, according to the Constitution.
• We follow all relevant laws, regulations and guidance from the Government and Charities Commission, including compliance with the requirements of the 2006, 2011 and 2016 Charities Acts.
• The Trustees comply with their legal duty to have regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance and regulations on public benefit, and the public benefit requirement informs the activities of the Charity.
• We are committed to encouraging equality, diversity and inclusion, and eliminating unlawful discrimination. We do not discriminate against anyone on the grounds of gender, sexual orientation, race (including colour, nationality, and ethnic or national origin), disability, religion or belief, or other political opinion.
• We seek feedback from the local community wherever practical, both at the AGM and as required throughout the year.

View our formation documentation

Day to day running the Hall

The Council of Management, as the Trustees, are legally responsible for the management of Beeding & Bramber Village Hall. However, they meet only four times per year. Each year, at the first Council of Management meeting after the AGM, officers are elected to act for the forthcoming year. Those include the Chair, Hon Secretary and Treasurer. These three officers, are collectively called the Executive, and they are responsible for carrying out the day-to-day running of the Hall, following the policies and procedures, which are decided by the wider Council of Management. The Officers give a report and update at each of Council of Management meetings.

Finances, purchasing and external suppliers

• It is a duty of all trustees, Council of Management, and members to safeguard the assets of the hall, it is a shared responsibility.
• The treasurer and one other of the bank signatories (which would normally include two of the following the treasurer, secretary or chair or shall sign cheques and issue BACS payments.
• The COM must approve all expenditure over an agreed limit but in the case of an emergency the officers to approve expenditure and report to the next COM meeting.
• In making decisions about purchasing and external suppliers, we aim to achieve an appropriate balance between all relevant factors, including safety, cost, quality, durability, reputation, timeliness, and volunteer workload.
• For work which cannot be done by volunteers, we employ trusted local contractors wherever possible, as long as they can demonstrate that they are qualified to perform the work, will do so in a timely manner to a high standard, and offer a fair price for the job.
• If a member of the council of management or their close family member are quoting for paid work for the charity, that member shall withdraw from voting about such a decision.
• External contracts for higher value goods and services will be put out to tender when the council of management considers it to be appropriate.

View our financials

Support from volunteers

We rely heavily on volunteers to undertake the many tasks required to operate the hall and recreation ground, and to run village social events. Anybody who wishes to contribute ideas, or help in any form is asked to contact us or attend one of our AGMs.

Abusive behaviour

We will not tolerate any form of abuse, bullying, harassment, intimidation or threatening behaviour directed against the members of COM, sub-committees, paid contractors or volunteers. We reserve the right to take appropriate action against anybody who demonstrates such behaviours, verbally, in writing, or on social media. This may include a ban on using Hall premises and refusal to engage in further discussions. We have a code of conduct which we abide by for all of our team and events.

Additional policy documentation

Our Booking Terms & Conditions of Hire, Privacy & GDPR policy, including procedures for accidents and fire, our Health and Safety Policy and our Child Protection Policy, can be found in our DropBox account – which you’re welcome to view.

View our policies