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March Update

February News

We'd like to update you on the latest situation with the Old Chapel Project as there have been significant positive developments since we last wrote to you before Christmas..

We've been talking to Durham County Council for a while now about some grant funding they have available. They are now very confident that they can grant us a substantial amount of money fairly quickly - in time to use it to complete the purchase of the Chapel.

There would then be enough funds left over to complete a Phase One of the project. We can carry out immediate building repairs and maintenance needed and make a good start on the refurbishment - for example sorting out the roof, electrics, plumbing, kitchen, and toilets.

Once Phase One is complete, we will be able to extend the use of the Chapel for the benefit of the community.

While that is going on, we will continue to identify ways to raise the additional funds required for the full project - from a new round of the Community Ownership Fund, and some other funds we're aware of.

We're currently very busy working out what Phase One will look like, developing our business plan, and getting the required paperwork completed for the County Council.

With that in mind, we have decided to put back the proposed Members' Meeting for a few weeks. This will allow us to clarify a lot of options and present a more definite picture of the way forward.

This is a very exciting and positive development, and we hope you can bear with us until we can report back with more details.

Kind Regards,

The Management Committee

Dear Members,

We hope you are all well and looking forward to Christmas.

After the good news of having our offer accepted on the Chapel, and another successful pop-up cafe, we had a setback last week, as we found out our bid to the government's Community Ownership Fund (COF) has been unsuccessful. They have given us some limited feedback, suggesting we need to better demonstrate both how we have the support of the community, and how the project will benefit the wider community.

We can reapply for the Fund, probably in a couple of months' time. In the meantime, the process of purchasing the Chapel continues. Obviously without having the COF grant, we will need to raise some more funds to complete the purchase.

We will also need our members' agreement if we are to go ahead with the purchase without having all the funding for the full refurbishment in place.

The Management Committee are working on plans to show how we can move forward with the project despite this setback. We all believe this is a once-only opportunity to save the Chapel for the Cotherstone community.

We plan to hold a members' meeting on the 20th of January to explain our plans, and the other options available. We will then hold a vote in order for the membership to make the final decision. This will include an online vote for those unable to attend the meeting.

More details will follow in the New Year, but in the meantime, we would love to hear your thoughts, and any suggestions you may have.

Our Annual Accounts for year ending 31st March 2022 are available here

These were approved at our AGM in September, and submitted to the Financial Conduct Authority as is our legal requirement.

Details of Annual Members’ Meeting

Management Committee Election

We would welcome anyone who would like to join us on the committee. There are currently seven of us on the committee, and we are all happy to stand again, and we have had one or two new people interested in joining. Please get in touch before the meeting if you are interested in joining the committee. If more than 12 people (including the current committee) want to stand, we would need to arrange an election.

If you would be happy to join the committee, but aren't comfortable standing for election, let us know, in case we don't need to hold one.

We would particularly welcome someone to help with the secretarial aspects of the committee.

Presentation of Accounts

The accounts for our financial year ending 31st March 2022 will be presented at the meeting. If you would like to look at them in advance, the latest draft is attached. All the figures are finalised, but we are still working on some of the wording. Please note these accounts are not for publication - they will be made publicly available after the Members Meeting.

Appointment of Auditors

The management committee recommend that we do not appoint external auditors. This is because:

It is not a statutory requirement, and most small organisations like ours choose not to appoint one

We have had the accounts reviewed by an independent accountant

The level of financial activity in the last year is relatively low

An external auditor could cost several thousand pounds, with little benefit to the Society

Unless there are any objections, this will be voted on by a show of hands at the meeting. Do get in touch if you would like to discuss this with the team.

If you haven't already, please let us know if you can attend, either in person or via Zoom. Tea and coffee will be provided, along with Joy's famous biscuits, and there will almost certainly be a move to the pub afterwards!

On the 6th September, the Tour of Britain cycle race will be passing through the village. We will be holding another pop-up cafe from 10am-4pm, with the usual hot and cold drinks and snacks.

The race is due to come through the village around 1pm, and there will be a short road closure around then

There will be no on-street parking allowed on the day, so please arrive on foot or by bike if you can. There is limited parking round the back of the chapel.

In June we were inspected by Durham County Council for our food hygiene rating. We were very pleased to receive the top rating, level 5.

This was largely down to a great effort by our team of volunteers to get the place ready, both physically - cleaning, painting, fixing - and by putting the necessary procedures in place for dealing with food.

To celebrate, we held a scaled-back pop-up cafe on 17th July. This enabled us to try out the new procedures. All went very well, and we made another £300 towards our funds.

We're holding another Pop-up Cafe on Saturday 28th May, 10am - 3:30pm.

Our theme this time is Café Velo. We'll have a skilled mechanic on hand to help get that old bike in the shed back on the road, there'll be information on great local rides, and details of the Tour of Britain race which is coming through Cotherstone in September.

We are hoping to have a couple of electric bikes for people to have a try on.

So get out and do a few miles before a well-earned coffee and cake, or just pop down to see what's happening with the Old Chapel.

Non-cyclists very welcome.

Lycra not compulsory!

We held a fundraising pop-up event at the Chapel to raise money for Ukraine. A fantastic day resulted in an amazing £2114 being raised for the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.
Thanks to everyone who baked, helped out on the day, or came along and supported the event.

We are holding another pop-up cafe in the Chapel on Saturday 12th February, 10am-2:30pm.

As it’s close to Valentine’s Day, there’ll be a vague theme - heart shaped cakes/biscuits, hearty soups - you get the idea!

If you can help out in any way - e.g. organising, serving on the day, or baking, please get in touch.

Otherwise, just come along on the day to see what’s going on, and grab a hot drink and a cake, or maybe a sausage roll.

If you are a Facebook user, and would like to sign up as a volunteer, we now have a group just for you!

Click here to join: https://www.facebook.com/groups/353794746545107/

Our plans for the building and grounds have been approved by Durham County Council. We have issued tender documents to five local building firms, so we hope to have detailed quotes returned in the next few weeks.

Many thanks to everyone who submitted letters of support to the Council.

We sold over £113,000 worth of shares

Drinks at the Fox & Hounds