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General Covington Amenities Committee (CAC) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

THIS IS A DRAFT VERSION OF THE FAQ.

Letting

  • Have the CAC looked into potential income from hiring for weddings, anniversaries, birthdays and the like to those living outside the village now that non-villagers have got a taste of what we have to offer?
  • Yes, we have, although to date almost all of the lettings have been to villagers. Once the lettings policy has been produced and published it may attract some external bookings although there are some insurance problems associated with this that haven't been addressed as yet.
  • Is the lettings policy printed and available for all to see? Where?
  • The Lettings Policy was never ratified - mostly due to disagreements over the layout of the document. We are in the process of redesgning the document layout and should be releasing a draft for comment soon.
  • What is the procedure if someone other than a villager wishes to hire the hall?
  • They would need to contact Margaret Riswick. Contact details for letting the hall should be in the main portch but currently are not. This is being addressed.
  • Is there a different rate of rental and special terms laid down?
  • We're unsure if this question refers to seasonal or local/external lettings. The Rate Card should be in the Porch but isn't. It will be placed there after the 2007AGM as we are proposing a simpler scale of charges to the one currently in operation and it makes no sense to produce one if it's about to change. There are currently no special "Terms" for external lettings except that for insurance reasons there *must* be a Responsible Person (Committee member) present at all times.
  • What about agreements within the Parish Precept in terms of money paid by the Parish Meeting to the AC and the letting of the hall to the wider community?
  • We are unsure of what this question is getting at. The Precept is levvied by the Parish Meeting. What they spend the money on is up to them. The Clerk to the Parish Meeting says:
    "The funding aspects are that the VAC has no divine right to funding and should be applying for funds prior to the precept setting meeting for the next financial year.The fact that it is doing so in a current f/y makes life v complicated and more of juggling act and that no other group is applying for funds from the PM has frankly let the VAC 'off the hook' in the last few years. If there are applications from other groups and the precept does not go up substantially then the level of current funding to the VAC cannot realistically be maintained. I would not know what the village may decide in such circumstances. From this year I will be inviting budget bids from ALL groups BEFORE the precept meeting in October, so the amount of money required overall can be debated and asked for. There is also a trend beginning of villages not getting their precept request in full and having to make some cuts on planned expenditure, although this is at the top end of the range (£40k per year)."
  • What plans have the CAC got to advertise our facilities (as other villages do) in the Bystander and the Parish magazine, notice board in Kimbolton PO, etc.
  • It must be understood that the facilities in the Village Hall are currently barely adequate for external lettings. There is still work to be done to bring the facilities up to a standard to make them suitable for external lettings. There is also the question of how the village would intend to police external events. Whilst a Responsible Person would be present, this may not prove to be enough.
  • When does the CAC expect to have the appropriate annual [drinks] licence in place that would allow for more flexibility in the use as the hall as well as more lettings?
  • We have no intention of purchasing an Annual Drinks Licence. The number of events that require a drinks licence is still very small and presently it is cheaper and more convenient for all concerned to apply for a special licence for each event as it is booked.
  • Lettings policy. It was ready to be published. That must be at least three years ago as it was before we all had broadband. The document was based on one supplied by some organisation called Cambridgeshire Acre. http://www.acre.org.uk/. See also: http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/communities/halls/
    The documents were on Marilyn Turrell's or Simon Parson's computer since the CAC had spent several meetings with the documents going through the wording and making notes. It SHOULD be an easy matter to get it printed and finalised.
  • Please refer to our answer to the very similar question below.
  • The AC designed a leaflet which co-ordinated with the lettings policy and that was ready to go out. Did it? (This was a simple flyer which could be easily read with all the pertinent facts stated clearly.)
  • The Committee was unable to ratify the design and content of the leaflet or the Lettings Policy so it was not printed and was not published. Design styles have changed since the original was drafted and we are currently updating the leaflet. Ted Triance is working on the documentation and we hope to publish it in a simpler, more modern format soon.

Maintenance

  • When are the lights going to be repaired? The hanging lights have no power and the porch light bulbs have blown. Where are all the switches?
  • The lights are all repaired. Only one bulb was blown (the Porch) and the broken light switch for the hangning lights has been replaced. Previously, the hirers all knew which switch did what. Now that more diverse people are hiring the hall the switches will all be labelled and their locations detailed in the documentation for hirers.
  • When is the floor going to be put right? We were told that we had to let it settle before the floor layer/carpenter would come back and rectify the ripple effect. That was several years ago and it is getting worse, not better. What happens next to put this very expensive mistake right, please? You can’t dance on it and it will get more dangerous.
  • The floor has got much better in the last year. It cannot be "Put Right" but it should be poassible to run a floor sanding machine across it to iron out the bumps. The problem is that the floor is not intended for dancing. A proper dance floor of flatter, more slippery and resilient material would need to be installed and this costs money the Committee simply hasn't got. The number of enquiries for potential dance events that would require a dance floor so far have been nil. None at all (barring one or two Children's party/discos in the past few years).
  • When are the windows going to get fully repaired and painted? Again they are letting in the weather.
  • This is scheduled for when the weather is warmer and the steel frames are warm enough to paint.
  • AC should organise a Spring Clean each year as Linda does for Litter Picking.
  • We do better than that. We "Spring" several times a year. The last one was on December the 2nd, 2006. It was advertised widely.
  • When is the date plaque going to be put up on the chimney?
  • We are informed that the plaque has been designed but there are some problems with the actual casting of it. A report on this will be in the minutes of the March2007 CAC Meeting.

  • The Building Work

  • Where are the plans for the new extension? Who may see/comment on them?
  • Most residents will have received a copy of the plans during the original planning process, however we recognice that there have been some changes in the village since then. Recognising this, Richard Brown shall be placing them on display in the village hall soon and a downloadable copy has been on the village web site for some years!
  • What estimates or quotes does the CAC have on building costs? How many builders have so far been asked to quote?
  • One.
  • What business plan does the AC have to project income, fund-raising, etc. to meet any target for the cost of the second extension?
  • We are not a business; we are a group of residents trying to get a job done for the benefit of the village as a whole.
  • How is the money that is being raised by various village organisations, hall hiring, etc, SPECIFICALLY for the NEW EXTENSION, being accounted for?
  • There is NO NEW EXTENSION. We are continuing the refurbishment project as originally defined, by building the store that we couldn't afford to build at the same time as the kitchen area.
  • When does the present planning permission run out and what happens then?
  • (BY THE TIME THIS IS PUBLISHED) We have started building the store so this does not apply.
  • Have the AC projected how long before the new building work can start?
  • It has started although it cannot be completed until we can afford to complete it.
  • Have the AC considered the longer they wait, the more the project will cost and what do they intend to do about this?
  • Yes. We have done what we can currently afford to do.
  • Have the AC investigated having the extension built with a mortgage (payments to mortgagor made from projected earnings in business plan)
  • Yes, see below.
  • Have the AC considered the possibility that there might be someone in the village who has the wherewithal and who might see a business opportunity in providing a private mortgage, say over a ten year period to cover the extension build. If they were paid something like 6.8% interest or 1% above the base rate it would be a solid earner and both mortgagor and mortgagee would benefit.
  • We would accept the offer of an interest-free loan of capital in order to proceed with the project but we cannot accept that someone in the village would be making money out of the rest of the villagers - many of whom have scrimped and saved to assist in the project. That is immoral and wrong.

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(Acknowlegment: Some information on this site was originally derived from the Victoria County History and The Monuments of Huntingdonshire - Pevsner)
Page Last Modified: Wednesday July 25, 2007