Annual Review 2011-12.pdf - Community Council of Devon

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Annual Review for the year ending 31 March 2012 This review includes the external and internal aims of the Community Council of Devon as set out in our Business Strategy 2010 - 2015 and summarises achievements against those aims. It also includes summarised accounts reported on by our independent auditors. Our full report including financial statements for the period ended 31 March 2012 is available from Community Council of Devon, First Floor, 3&4 Cranmere Court, Lustleigh Close, Matford Business Park, Exeter EX2 8PW or via our website: www.devonrcc.org.uk. It includes comprehensive details of objectives and activities, including progress against targets set in our Business Strategy and complete lists of grants and loans made by the Community Council, brief reports from bodies associated with the Community Council together with governance and management information required by the Charity Commission and Companies House. It includes the full audited accounts together with the financial reports of our trustees and independent auditors. Chairman’s Review 2011/12 has seen dramatic changes at the Community Council with the retirement of Jay Talbot, our CEO, in June. We are indebted to him for providing the organisation with stability and purpose. Elaine Cook was appointed with a brief to build on Jay’s legacy whilst moving the organisation to a more pro-active state, especially in light of the changing world around us. The end of 2011 saw the office move from County Hall after 50 years. This was a major undertaking by the staff and has seen us move to Cranmere Court. The office environment is a complete contrast to the School Huts at County Hall and I am extremely grateful to the staff for embracing the new move in such a positive manner. Our ‘Home Grown: Community Owned’ programme continues to prove popular with local groups and is well received at all levels. The Board was pleased to financially support the launch of Devon’s Community of the Year competition. We are indebted to South West Water and the NHS for their support. This competition provided an opportunity to showcase the very best of Devon’s community activities and spirit. The 2011 Conference was a joint event with Devon Association of Local Councils and showcased the work undertaken by both organisations and celebrated 50 years of the Community Council of Devon. Devon County Council announced at the Conference a birthday present of £400,000 to support capital expenditure on community buildings. Following our move to Cranmere Court three new initiatives have been set up; first class room hire and meeting room facilities, Catalyst, the in-house consultancy service and the Devon Oil Collective, a community-based county-wide oil buying scheme to help reduce the cost of heating oil. 2011/12 has already seen a major change for the Community Council of Devon and the next two or three years may well see many more changes as we position ourselves to be the community voice of Devon. The future is very challenging but my fellow Trustees and I have every confidence that the organisation and staff can rise to the challenge and that we will be a stronger and more effective organisation to meet the needs of the communities that we support. David Baker, Chairman Encouraging enterprise and innovation Aim: To enable communities to develop innovative and enterprising approaches which solve rural problems, provide local services, and improve the quality of community life. Achievements highlighted Our Social Enterprise Service supported over 40 community enterprises and voluntary & community sector organisations with one-to-one bespoke social enterprise advice from pre-start to transition and growth stages of their development. We have also been able to provide on-going business mentoring and advice to privately owned village shops and post offices due to the launch of the regional programme Store is the Core in September 2011. The first phase of our Women Do Business programme completed in August 2011 having established 14 Women’s Business Networks, set up three dedicated Women’s Business Centres, worked with 537 women, and delivered over 950 days of training. The programme of business-related training offered to groups included social media training, marketing, and how to speak clearly and confidently in business situations. The Connecting Devon and Somerset rural broadband initiative was successful in securing over £30 million in central Government funding. We have supported this initiative by promoting a Demand Registration campaign through our networks across rural Devon, engaging in the Demand Stimulation procurement process and undertaking a mapping exercise of Primary Connection Points (PCP) across Devon. Case Study Ilsington Community Shop The Community Council of Devon has been providing advice and support to the community of Ilsington to help them set up and run their own community shop. After many months of support, the shop will be due to open in July 2012. Rob Parkinson, Chair of the Village Hall Management Committee, praised the support of Community Council of Devon Social Enterprise Service as “a very valuable source of information, enthusiasm and encouragement.” 1 Community Council of Devon - Annual Review 2011 – 2012
Improving services and facilities Aim: To ensure that the needs and aspirations of people living in rural communities are met through access to a wide range of services and fit-for-purpose facilities. Achievements highlighted Our Community Buildings Service provided general advice and support on 354 occasions. 105 community halls are involved in the Hallmark quality assurance standard, with 11 halls securing awards over the year. Our training programme this year involved 9 events right across the county. Themes ranged from funding for capital projects, green technologies and a Suppliers Conference. We continue to work closely with the Devon Association of Community Buildings which now has 186 fee paying members across the county. A quarterly E-bulletin has been introduced. A ‘Green Hubs project’ has been delivered in community buildings, encouraging others to install renewable technologies. Our Community Hubs Project is supported by Devon County Council through the Devon Consortium’s Stronger Communities Programme. We continued work begun in April 2010 to support and develop the role of community buildings as hubs for community action and service delivery. We continue to provide the secretariat to Devon Playing Fields Association and its 190 member organisations. Member organisations have been supported to access a range of membership benefits including insurance and utilities. A successful conference was held during which members were able to meet a range of suppliers. Case Study Whitestone Village Hall refurbishment Whitestone village is a small community on the outskirts of Exeter which has been working on a four phased improvement of its village hall to provide a modern facility for the community. The Community Council of Devon has provided support and training to the management committee which lead to a £8,909 County Grant Scheme award in February 2011 for a new entrance area. The hall continues to source further funding to finish the refurbishment and is linked into the village community planning process with support from Community Council of Devon. Community Council of Devon - Annual Review 2011 – 2012 2
Page 1: Annual Review 2011 - 2012 The year
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