In January we submitted an application to BWCF and had approval to spend £5,000 of a total of around c. £16,000 on new furniture for the Volunteer Hall. We also managed to secure funds from AHFD reserves and £5,000 match from SBC Community Fund.
Our expenditure was impacted on by Covid pricing, and from prices going up due to Ukraine war and Brexit, so we had to shop around for chairs and tables and trolleys. We also had to factor in some supply delays and manufacturing time impacted on by shortage of materials and labour, but have now concluded the overall process and all our new furniture is in place.
We gave away much of our old furniture offering it to local groups and residents, though some of the furniture was in such poor repair that we had to bin it.
In the end we purchased the following:
| Supplier | Date | What | Notes |
| Nextday catering | 10 June | 6’ round tables x 6 | 1095.20 |
| Nextday catering | 10 June | 6’ round tables x 13 | 2374.60 |
| Office furniture | 23 September | Oak folding table x 28Table trolley x 4 | 5348.40 |
| Office specialties | 27 June | Red/black chairs x 200Chair trolley x 2 | 8100407.71 |
| Office specialties | 5 August | Sales credit | -250 |
| Totals | 17075.91 |
Our new furniture has been used in stages since June onwards, and with a busier post Covid set of events all of the furniture has now been used.
Attached at Annex A are some photos showing the furniture stacked and some event with furniture in use.
We’ve retained receipts showing how we spent the funds and are most grateful to BWCF for their chunky contribution to making our venue a better place.
