The Board have over the past 2 years streamlined the SCPS admin processes which have included the following:
· All admin carried out by the secretary is now stored electronically making it easily accessible, when handed over to the next Secretary.
· We have all accounts recorded on Xero accounting system which allows the Treasurer easier access to produce P&L as well as monthly management accounts and makes it more straightforward when producing the end of year figures for the Accountant.
· We have appointed Sarah of Chipchase & Manners Accountants to oversee our accounts and produce the end of year accounts.
· Using the SCPS domain we have created each Board Member with dedicated email addresses, which make things more professional when communicating with outside bodies etc, and will make any future handover more informative.
· We are currently updating the shareholder database, which has never been right, and hopefully improve communication.
Each month we have met with the Tenant to ensure that the pub is being ran in accordance with the Tenants Agreement, and we have provided regular advice and support.
We applied for a grant from the Solar Panel Company, Harmony Energy and unfortunately we were unsuccessful, we were told that other projects within Skeeby had already received grants.
Nevertheless we have also been talking to organisations in respect of grants for projects to improve the pub, and to that end we have someone coming to do a survey of the pub and advise us of how to improve the pub with the aid of grants.
In respect of a car park, the original approval from Lord Zetland In respect of the lease of the land below Half Hill, was withdrawn during the process of the proposal to build houses on the land and a village car park. We recently contacted Lord Zetland for an update and he has shelved the proposed development including the car park for now. Therefore we have asked for permission from Lord Zetland to construct a temporary car park which he is considering. We have also approached a Planning Consultant who has agreed to obtain the necessary regulatory approval. Assuming we get final sign off from Lord Zetland then we will go out for quotes etc.
We have held off issuing dividends at this point, until we know the car park outcome, and details of what grants we may receive, although the general feeling at the last AGM appeared that the majority of people seemed to think it was more important to ensure we retained our pub.
At our Board meeting we ringfenced £5,000 to repay share holders who wish to cash in their shares, and we have been speaking to other Community Pubs for marketing ideas in respect of selling more shares.
We are always looking to recruit more members with fresh ideas to the board.
Following our recent announcement in respect of our current tenant, we will be calling an EGM to discuss this further. We must point out that our recommendation is in the best interest of the future of the Travellers Rest and the shareholders investments.
We must point out that the poor behavior of some shareholders is unacceptable the Board and their family members have been subjected to verbal and written abuse, and North Yorkshire Police have agreed that it is unacceptable and they are monitoring the situation.
Finally we would like to point out that we need to remain together in our efforts to ensure that the Travellers Rest Skeeby remains to be a viable community facility.