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Benington Community Heritage Trust- Chair's Report 2019-20

It has been 18 months since our last AGM, mainly due to the current situation regarding COVID-19, which has had a large effect on all hospitality and heritage centres across the whole of the UK, but also because there has been a large turn around within the board of trustees.

The previous BCHT board had taken the Beonna project as far as they were able and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their time and commitment over the years.

The newly formed BCHT is now more dynamic and pro-active, with some fresh new thinking and I feel we are definitely more capable of taking the project forward towards its true potential, we have also acknowledged that we need a few more trustees in specific areas to help share the workload. I take this opportunity also, to thank the new members for their dedication and time given to date.

2020 also saw a change round of key staff. Thanks go to our previous development and volunteer officer Alison Montgomery for the work she did for us, and that leads me on to welcome Sam Mason our recently recruited Centre Manager. Sam brings with him some good knowledge of the heritage and hospitality industry and his time and dedication so far to-date has had a very positive influence on what Beonna is capable of offering. Keep up the good work Sam, the future is looking very bright with you in the hot seat! Further members of key staff are planned for early 2021 and Sam is currently working on this at the moment.

This should hopefully allow us to be up and running in earnest by mid spring 2021 (Covid restrictions aside) and use the venue fully to put some much-needed revenue towards future plans.

We hope to have all of the outstanding snagging issues left outstanding with the venue from the refurbishment phase wrapped up and completed by early 2021 and get Bonsers restoration signed off. This will be another huge milestone passed in our quest.

The car park has now been fully signed off by Boston Borough Council and all of the uncertainty surrounding its legality have been resolved, so for me personally, that is a huge relief, and the sale of the village hall site to help fund the loan facility is still ongoing, however I am quite hopeful that this fourth attempt will have a positive outcome by early spring 2021

So, on reflection, since the last AGM, we have faced quite a few challenges, many of them based around a worldwide pandemic. I feel we have coped with them admirably, and if we are able to overcome those, who knows what exciting things we are capable of during a more normal year.

Thanks once again to each and everyone of you that has played their part no matter how large or small in our journey over the last 18 months and hope by this time next year, I am reporting on a busy, vibrant, prosperous Beonna.

K Pinner

BCHT Chairman