CAN's Spring Meeting 2007 was held on Thursday 10 May in Rothbury Jubilee Hall.  The 74 friends and colleagues in attendance were welcomed to the hall by John Lewis, Professor of Medical Statistics at Newcastle University, who thanked CAN for supporting the recent work done in upgrading the hall.

Following the business part of the meeting, a presentation was given by Alan Hedley and Louise Currie:

Presentation – Community Buildings in Northumberland

Alan Hedley, Assistant Director, spoke in his role as Village Halls Adviser (VHA) introducing those present to some of the community buildings that CAN had assisted in some way over the last 5 years, aided by CAN staff and various partnership organisations.  The main areas in which support and advice had been given were in governance; insurance; licensing; legislation; taxation and funding.

Louise Currie, CAN Community Initiatives Officer, whose role was shared between supporting parish councils and community buildings in new initiatives, then spoke about the official launch in Northumberland of a new National Hallmark Scheme.  Louise explained that this Scheme was a Quality Standards Scheme devised specifically for village halls and similar community buildings, whose benefits were:

·                   To encourage, establish and reward good practice

·                   To encourage improvement in established management customs and   procedures

·                   To obtain recognition from other bodies, of a standard of management of community facilities

The Scheme had 3 Levels:

·                   Level 1- assessed whether the hall is complying with the requirements of its charitable status

·                   Level 2 – assessed compliance with legislative issues

Level 3 – examined the role of the hall in the community and how it interacts with its users and the wider community

All halls had been invited to join the Scheme and the invitation was reiterated within the presentation. Louise also assured those present of the flexibility of the scheme and its user friendly approach.

Questions were invited from the floor, after which Sally Black, CAN trustee and vice president, moved a vote of thanks.