The post BBCA Annual General Meeting appeared first on Braintree Community Centre.

All users and visitors are welcome to join us.

AGENDA

 Present and apologies

Minutes of 2022 AGM

Chairs Report

Secretarys Report

Treasurers Report

Election of Committee Members

If you are planning on attending please let the office know so that we can cater accordingly.

If you would like to join the Committee, please contact Agnes Bishop, Chair, through the office.

If you wish to raise any matter with the Committee, please contact Agnes Bishop at least 48 hours in advance

 – no items will be taken from the floor.

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Annual General Meeting 2020-21

via Zoom

Tuesday 22^nd March 2022, 7.30pm

If you would like to attend, please email info@braintreecommunitycentre.org.uk.

Zoom invitation links and AGM documents will be emailed out two days prior to the meeting.

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Our website is now being updated with the new classes and activities we are offering coming out of the lockdowns of the last 12 months!

We expect most of our groups and classes to start again from mid-June onwards (assuming no changes with the roadmap out of lockdown).  Most of our tutors will been working through the summer holiday this year, rather than stopping for a break the way we normally do. Lots of you are keen to come back and not have to stop within a short time and then wait again until September, so we are encouraged this support.

Until September we will still be encouraging Covid safe activity though – facemasks, hand sanitiser  and social distancing with some number restrictions on how many in a class or group. Until everyone has been vaccinated twice, we are following the advice not to encourage Covid to come back!  Even after that, we will be trying to keep everyone safe and will be carrying out safe practises.

Great changes under foot!

During the lockdown, we haven’t been sitting on our laurels..

Our rear garden has been re-laid out with new (flat!) turf with some little jobs still to do.

So, it should be COVID  friendly to anyone who wants use an outside space – we just need the weather to warm up a bit more! With new hanging baskets, bird boxes and  a hedgehog hotel in place, new lighting is going to be added during the summer to make the garden more comfortable into the evening. It will also make the car park better lit through winter time.   We are pleased to announce that a new tree has been donated by the Dolphin WI group – more about that to follow.  These works were assisted by a Grant from local Councillors from Braintree District Council.

Inside the Centre, we have managed to achieve even more!  Do you remember our plans?

The new sliding doors have been installed and a new access into the Hall is in hand. The works are not quite finished as we ran into unexpected problems (when do you not, when changing an old building?)  Once complete, we will have two Halls available instead of one, so we can be more flexible for users.

We have also overhauled our heating and ventilation system so that it keeps the building at a better overall temperature, with improved ventilation (which will help beat COVID as well) and some extra moveable lighting.

Using another BDC grant, we have been able to purchase some special IT equipment which will enable electronic meetings and classes. Hybrid meetings with some people at home and some in the Hall are going to be possible – the wonders of modern science! A programme of Zoom/Teams talks is going to be developed.

And we now offer Gift vouchers!

So much great news!

There will be a chance for everyone to come and have a look round once all the works are completed in mid-June. In the meantime, there are a couple of support groups already using the space but with only the upstairs kitchen available.

Fees remain the same and if we are holding any advance payments from last year, these will, of course, be honoured.  Please do look at the website and drop us a line to confirm which classes you wish to join!

A very few classes are moving time or day due to change in tutors or give extra room, so please don’t assume everything will be the same – check and sign up.  Classes will be added as we agree them, so do check that we are offering what you want!

Art is the biggest subject to change, so watch out for those changes especially!

The post Welcome Back! – May 2021 Update appeared first on Braintree Community Centre.

If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact us at info@braintreecommunitycentre.org.uk.

The BBCA Annual General Meeting for the year April 2019 to March 2020 will be held over Zoom on Tuesday 26th January at 7.30pm.

All Users of the Centre (students, tutors, hirers etc.) are welcome to attend.

Please note that this meeting will be held on Zoom only.

Please notify info@braintreecommunitycentre.org.uk if you wish to receive an invitation. Please check your access in advance, so as to allow the meeting to start promptly at 7.30pm.

Annual Officers’ reports will be placed here on the website as well as being sent to those interested parties who request attendance. The reports will be sent in advance for scrutiny, with questions allowed during the AGM. It would assist a speedy meeting if any such questions are notified in advance.

Only matters for Any Other Business which are notified in advance (before 5pm on 26th January) will be taken from the floor.

Please note that this AGM has been much delayed by COVID, but it is not intended to deal with issues arising after 1st April 2020. If you have any queries about COVID related issues, please raise the issue separately to info@braintreecommunitycentre.org.uk.

Download Agenda:

BBCA AGM Agenda 2019-2020

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The post COVID-19 Update: January 2021 appeared first on Braintree Community Centre.

We hope that you are all OK and have survived the break without too many problems. There lots of places to go for help – Braintree District Council (https://www.braintree.gov.uk), Essex Map (https://www.essexmap.co.uk) etc. if you need it.

The government have suggested that leisure organisations, such as Braintree Community Centre, can reopen from 1st July 2020. As the Management Committee of the Centre, we shall be taking a cautious approach to reopening from that date.

Our staff have all been on furlough, so if you have been trying to contact us, please bear with us as we start to get going again. We are planning and installing various measures to ensure that we can be Covid-safe.

Groups : Starting back

We are not expecting every group to start back straight away – indeed, we do not want the Centre to get very busy too quickly, whilst we get used to having social distancing measures in place here, to ensure maximum safety.

Covid-safe may mean that in order to avoid very busy periods developing, we will be looking at staggered starts to classes and even changing days, in order to avoid having lots of people moving around at the same time. Equally, we will be expecting people to arrive on time for their meetings – we will be discouraging people being in the Centre waiting for start times. Chairs may be made available in the rear garden where necessary. We will be asking for your support as users, as well!

Every independent group is invited to contact us to discuss their own requirements. Please email to info@braintreecommunitycentre.org.uk. We are aware that many groups are still thinking about what to do – do please let us know if you want to continue or not in the long term. We will not be treating this Covid break as a break for affiliation status purposes, so don’t feel you must start back straight away.

Classes

Our own classes will be starting back in conjunction with our tutors wishes and attendees needs. Each group will be dealt with separately and students will probably be contacted by their own tutor. No group will start back before 1st July and some may be left until September. Information will be published here and will be available by phone (01376 323280) from mid July.

If you have prepaid classes outstanding from before we closed down, these will all be carried forward and will start again whenever you choose to rejoin your class – you’re not under any pressure to come back as soon as the class starts up again if you are continuing to isolate.

Please note that there is an NHS Health group which is going to be starting back in the next few days. No other people will be allowed in the Centre before 1st July.

We are looking forward to getting restarted and welcoming you back to the Centre; in the meantime, stay safe, keep well, and keep your chin up!

Agnes, Brenda, Lesley, James, David
Management Committe

Debbie, Yaz, Kelvin
Community Centre staff

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