Haversham Social & Community Centre Charity

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CHARITY OVERVIEW

Haversham Social & Community Centre ('HSCC') is a registered charity (charity number. 300276). Its purpose is to provide facilities for the local community to meet and to socialise, and we also organise events for the local community each year. The Centre is operated under licence from Milton Keynes City Council (‘MKCC’) by the Trustees and is run by an annually elected Trustee Board. It is normally referred to locally as ‘The Social Centre’.

The Social Centre is based in premises to the rear of Haversham Village School, which were built with money raised by the local community at the time the school was being built. It was transferred to the ownership of MKCC and is known by them as an ‘annexe’ and the charity was simultaneously granted a licence of use. As part of that licence Haversham Village School has a right of use of the large hall during 'normal school hours'

The Social Centre relies on raising funds primarily by hiring out the facilities for both regular use and for one-off activities and parties. This income coupled with that raised via the events organised each year help us to remain self-sufficient, and any surplus is used to maintain and improve the facilities. We do not receive any grants from MKCC or other bodies, other than those that we apply for to undertake projects. Funds permitting we are hoping to improve the hall in the next year or two, with acoustic baffling, Wi-Fi and the installation of Audio-Visual equipment including a hearing loop, that can be used for presentations and possibly films.

CHARITY GOVERNANCE

As a registered charity, the HSCC operates in accordance to charity law and its constitution which is a legal document that outlines the rules and regulations governing the charity's operations including its purposes, powers and management structure.

The HSCC is an Unincorporated Charitable Association ('UCA') which means that whilst the Trustees run the day to day operations of the charity, every resident of the Parish over the age of 18 is also a member of the charity and has the right to attend and vote at the Annual General Meeting and can also put themselves forward to be elected as a Trustee.

At our 2025 AGM on 28 April, a new constitution was adopted for the HSCC Charity to bring it up-to-date with the Charity Commission's recent changes and it can be found here: HSCC Constitution Adopted 28 April 2025.

A copy of all the papers from the 2025 AGM, including the Minutes from the 2024 AGM; the Chair’s Annual Report; an update from the Treasurer regarding the 2021 to 2023 finances; the Treasurer’s Report and Accounts for 2024; plus the details behind the amendments to the Constitution can be found at this link here: AGM 2025 Papers.

As a charity we have to have a number of policies and procedures in place to operate within charity law. You can find our adopted policies and procedures at HSCC Policies and Procedures. We are recently refreshed all our core policies and will continue to add to this set to ensure our charity's governance is robust and comprehensive.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2026

Our AGM is at 7:30pm on Monday 13th April. As residents of the Parish anyone over 18 is a Member of the HSCC charity and entitled to attend and vote at the AGM where we update on the previous year’s activities and finances as well as discuss our strategy for the coming year and beyond. This is your opportunity to give us feedback and influence the future of the charity, so we hope to see as many of you as possible attend.

The AGM is also where we elect our Trustees for the coming year. As a Trustee you share the responsibility with your fellow Trustees for the governance, financial and commercial aspects of the charity. We meet every other month as a rule, so it is not onerous, and whilst not essential, the Trustees do get involved with helping at some or the events. Should you wish to consider standing as a Trustee then please email us on contact@havershamsocialcentre.org.uk or contact one of the existing Trustees. We will be happy to have an exploratory chat and share a bit more about the charity and the role of Trustee.

TRUSTEES

The charity needs a minimum of three Trustees and can have a maximum of twelve. Trustees are elected annually and there is no maximum term. The current Trustees (officer role in brackets) are:

Aimee Tidman (Chair)
Fiona Viney (Secretary)
Richard Pryor (Treasurer)
Louise Reid

You can contact the Trustees via contact@havershamsocialcentre.org.uk

Note: Richard Pryor is an ex-officio Trustee appointed on behalf of the Parish Council.

EVENTS COMMITTEE

The events committee looks at our overall events schedule for the year and drives the marketing and promotion of the events, as well as consider ideas for new events. The committee comprises the Trustees plus:

Jackie Brown
Holly Sains
Barry Clift
Shula Holt
Helen Nagle-Smith

Most events also now have their own Working Group made up of some Events Team members with other volunteers who plan out the details and ensure everything is a success on the day.

So, if you want to get involved with an event such as the Village Show, or help to restart our annual Village Fete, or have something completely new in mind, then please do contact us using contact@havershamsocialcentre.org.uk.

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