April 2026 Minutes
Sudbrook and West Willoughby Village Hall (SWWVH) Committee Meeting 15th April 2026
1. Attendance
Present: John Somerville (JS), John Cairns (JC), Barbara Campbell (BC), Fiona Stocks (FS).
Apologies: Louise Burn (LB), Miranda Hickson (MH), Salena Leighton-Humphries (SLH), Andy Newton (AN), Rae Seng (RS).
2. Approval/ Amendments of the minutes of the previous Committee meeting.
It was agreed that the minutes of the Committee meeting held on 23rd March 2026 provided a good overall record. JC was to forward the minutes for inclusion on the APC website.
3. Village Litter-Pick.
A provisional date of Sunday 12th April 2026 for a Village Litter-Pick had been agreed at the last meeting. However, during the week prior it was discovered that AN had already conducted his own litter-pick which had left the access routes in excellent condition. Consequently, it was agreed that the Village Litter-Pick would be postponed until further notice.
4. Consideration of the best day to hold future meetings.
Those in attendance at the last meeting had considered Wednesday evenings to be a viable alternative to Mondays to accommodate SLH’s new work schedule.. JS was still seeking the views of MH, AN and RS but would plan for meetings on Wednesdays in the meantime.
5. Appointment of Assistant Website Manager.
SLH had verbally agreed to JS acting as the Assistant Website Manager to share the workload associated with regularly updating the VH website with timely information. SLH and JS would be arranging a mutually convenient date to conduct the necessary administration and training.
6. Gazebos.
It had been agreed that it was rarely feasible to erect and disassemble the marquee for ad hoc social gatherings due to the manpower required. Additional shelter could also be required when the marquee was being used for major events. The procurement of one or more pop-up gazebos would satisfy both scenarios. Assistance with funding the purchase could be sought from the South Kesteven Community Fund.
The online store ‘Gala Tents’ was identified as a lead supplier of well designed and durable gazebos for a wide range of national organizations. In addition, its commercial products were provided with 3 or 5 year warranties and a comprehensive spares department was available online.
After careful consideration, it was agreed that two white 3m x 6m Gala Tent Pro 40 gazebos at a total cost of £1955 would be ideal for meeting the VH’s requirements. JC offered to draft an application to the South Kesteven Community Fund prior to the commencement of its 2026/27 funding rounds in early May 2026. The purchase of a ‘Gutter Kit’ and ‘Infills’ to join the 2 gazebos together could be self-funded if subsequently deemed desirable.
7. Planning Events for 2026.
No changes were made to the 2026 events programme proposed at the last meeting. In particular, JS confirmed that the forthcoming World Cup would be unlikely to have a significant impact upon attendance at the Summer BBQ on 4th July 2026.
Detailed planning for the Summer BBQ would commence at the next meeting. However, the following aspects required earlier consideration:
Flyers advertising the BBQ would ideally be delivered to each household with the next edition of the ‘News & Views’ magazine. BC agreed to investigate the associated timescales.
BC offered to ask her daughters, Megan and Rosie, to produce the flyers using the template they had kindly designed for last year’s BBQ.
JC agreed to post the flyer on the SWWVH and Ancaster Facebook sites at the end of May 2026.
Ticket prices would remain the same as last year’s BBQ (£10 for adults and £5 for children) with each ticket holder being provided with a drink (a pint of beer, a glass of wine or a soft drink), 2 BBQ items and a bowl of strawberries and cream.
BC agreed to investigate whether last year’s beer prices were still viable and if the cost of Ancaster Butchers’ meat had risen by a significant amount.
Finally, suggestions of having a Bric-a-Brac stall and a table set aside for selling homemade cakes plus sundry snacks (crisps, sweets etc) for later in the afternoon had been received. Both ideas were met with approval. In addition, a proposal to hold a tug of war at last year’s BBQ had been dismissed due to a perceived lack of space. However, having seen last year’s layout, BC was keen to re-examine the possibility and would report back to the Committee..
8. Any Other Business (AOB)
There was no other business.
9. Date/Venue of Next Meeting.
The next routine SWWVH Committee meeting would be held at FS’s home on Wednesday 13th May 2026 at 7pm.
This was later amended to LB’s home on Wednesday 20th May 2026 at 7pm.