A Message from the Chair in Spring 2025
CHAIRS REPORT FOR AGM 20th March 2025
Just over 2yrs as Chair, I can’t quite believe how quickly it’s gone or what you, the
committee, trustees, volunteers, partners etc. have achieved. I will highlight some of
these achievements but please don’t be offended if I have forgotten something that
is particularly pertinent to yourself as an individual because as I have already
mentioned, you’ve done a lot and although I’ve kept a bit of a diary, I dare say I will
have missed something.
Last April we welcomed Vicky Beech. Vicky, was one of the founders of the toddlers
playgroup, that has since evolved into Bubwith Bunnies. Along with helpers such as
Sheila Reed and Kay Gardner, they have made the Bunnies a great success with I
think a peak of around 30 children attending one of their recent sessions.
Also in April, Lizanne began the process of submitting a grant to cover the cost of
buying another mower as the one we were using was over 40yrs old and was
becoming more unreliable and expensive to maintain. I think the cost was a little
under £10k so it would have been a pretty big hit on our reserves if we’d had to
stand the full cost. Fortunately we received a grant for 50% which I think reflected
the fact the grant body, Spaldington Wind Farm, had received a lot of grant requests
and only had a certain amount to share out. Well done and thankyou Lizanne for
taking the initiative as well as for taking responsibility for the general outside
maintenance of the field, hedges, trees etc. You have made a really positive impact
on the overall appearance, condition and health of our outside areas which was
badly needed after a spate of negative comments, made of platforms such as
Facebook, criticising the state of the field despite one of the wettest winters for years
Because of the wet conditions, the pitch had been unusable for months and as a
consequence, we noted a few warning signs that the agreement we’d made with
Holme Rovers was beginning to fail In effect, they’d stopped communicating with us
and stopped paying the rent and eventually I managed to meet with one of their
committee members who confirmed that they were moving elsewhere. More
expensive but with all weather capabilities. Disappointing after the work we’d put in
with them to get the agreement in place.
The work to build our new patio area began in June. This came as a result of a grant
application Sandra made to UKSPF, a local authority initiative, for just under £25k.
This grant fully funded the patio, new outside tables and chairs as well as replacing
the flooring in the bar area. This has been a very attractive and welcome addition to
the Centre so thankyou Sandra and also to Brent, (Mr. Hills), and the other trustees
and volunteers for helping to fix it in place.
Charlotte Worthington, who had been acting as our Financial Coordinator left us in
July. This was due to work and family pressures. This was a huge loss but in the
months she helped us, she gave invaluable advice on best practice in relation to
matters of finance and was also able to look at some of our processes, such as the
way we managed our stock and realign them, making us more compliant and
efficient.
Around this time the trustees realised that due to an increase in bookings etc. we
needed extra help behind the bar because as willing as our trustees and volunteers
are, we found that on occasion we were in danger of being unable to staff these
events properly. After a short selection process Jo was successful and has become a
real asset to the team.
Sad to report that in the summer we began seeing incidences of anti social
behaviour, in the gents toilets which were being bunged up with paper towels,
resulting in flooding and mess which obviously wasn’t very pleasant to clean up. This
was mainly done by Tracey so thankyou Tracey. Fortunately we don’t seem to be the
target of this type of behaviour too often and on this occasion I am pleased to report
that after Kay chased and caught a couple of youths in the act so to speak, we
haven’t had reoccurrences. Well done Kay.
We didn’t get time to worry about Holme Rovers leaving us before North Duffield
Dragons joined us. This was fantastic news and is another endorsement of our
excellent facilities and the quality of our field and pitches. NDD are a thriving
organisation, fielding teams of all ages, male and female and they are already more
engaged with us at Bubwith as their Chair, Nick Mennell attends our monthly
meetings.
Steve Young has continued to support us, hands on when necessary but more
importantly by supporting our grant applications. He has helped Sandra, Lizanne and
more recently Vicky, in their applications all of which have been successful.
Unfortunately however, in December we found out that the big one, which would
have allowed us to resite and develop a new playground, hadn’t been successful
which came as a really big blow. Steve and Sandra in particular had done an awful
lot of work to get this application in and everyone had fingers crossed as it would
have been a huge improvement on our current playground and a really great asset to
the community and Centre. Thankyou Steve and Sandra and I know that Steve is
already looking at this again.
We have an active and busy social team, mainly managed by Alison and Adrienne
but with other helpers too, who are always looking at ways to get people in to the
Centre, spending money. Last summer we began opening up on Friday evenings
with the added attraction of being able to order food from local vendors. This was
just in time for the new patio area to be utilised. We also opened the bar for the
Euros football for when England played, which was a great success financially. Other
events that stand out were the Macmillan Coffee morning, Gin Festival, Murder
Mystery, FoBS beer festival and Panto. There were others. The Panto deserves a
special mention as it was the first time it had been organised. Despite this, it was a
huge success, just short of 400 tickets sold, and was a credit to all involved in its
production. Well done and look forward to seeing you again next year.
Another successful grant application has allowed us to begin the refurbishment of
the bar area. Decorating done, tables, chairs, new blinds and seating and bigger TV
to follow shortly. With regards to the bar, it’s been a busy year and thankyou to our
bar manager Paul, assisted by Charlotte and Jo for ensuring it has operated so
smoothly. Profits from the bar go directly into the charity reserves and I think we
managed to add around £10k last year into the charity from bar profits which is a
good effort. A redesign and refurb. of the bar itself is planned in the coming months.
These were some of my highlights over the last 12 months, I’m sure you will have
your own and these are the ‘extras’, so to speak because the charity remains a
success and continues to be healthy and sustainable because of what it does and is
doing, on a daily and weekly basis. For example Sophie’s Social Dances, Bingo,
Quiz, Curry Nights, etc. all supplement these events. The number of user groups we
have is increasing with walking netball and flower arranging being a couple of the
most recent. Regular users are Pilates, Zumba, Tai Chi, Boxercise, Kickboxing,
Bowls, etc. etc. the list goes on!
A special mention here about Sophie who at her Danceathon held here a couple of
weeks ago, raised around £10k for Motor Neurone Disease. Well done to Sophie for
organising it and well done to everyone who supported it.
The number of enquiries we are getting to hold private parties, weddings and even
wakes is increasing which often results in people having to book their second choice
of date for an event as their first choice is already booked.
This again shows our success, none of which could be possible without the massive
help and support, given by the trustees, volunteers, families and friends. It’s not just
doing the big things that matter, it’s the little, day to day things that need doing and
wouldn’t get done otherwise. It’s people like Alison, Adrienne and Tracey who
physically go out and buy stock for the bar because it’s cheaper than using our
supplier. It’s Barry who’s always being asked to fix something. Everyone plays their
part and if they didn’t, we wouldn’t be here so thankyou from me, you really need to
be proud of what you’ve achieved and what you’re part of.
Thankyou also on behalf of everyone who uses the Centre, many of whom in all
probability don’t realise it’s mainly run by volunteers.
Lastly but by no means least, we all know that Tracey is the glue that holds the
Centre together. She is at the heart of everything the Centre does and stands for and
is the first contact anyone wanting to hire or use our facilities has. I can’t thank
Tracey enough for what she does for us, the help she has given me or the way she
just gets on and does it. By the time I’ve thought of something, Tracey has normally
done it and got it down on a spreadsheet!
Thankyou Tracey.
I’m not sure if I’ll be here next year. Most of you will be aware that our house is
currently for sale and we are intending to move back into York. I will be leaving with a
heavy heart but genuinely feel that the Centres success is assured thanks to the
people who are responsible for looking after it.
Go Well.
Shaun Thompson
Chair of Trustees.
The 
