Welcome and Opening of the AGM

On 28th January 2026, on a bright but bracing winter morning, over 50 guests gathered for our Annual General Meeting and our 21st Century Community Halls case study event at the brilliant community hub that is Chieveley Village Hall. It is a venue we always enjoy visiting and it provided a fantastic backdrop for a day of sharing project updates, catching up with members and friends of CCB, and celebrating the achievements of our 21st Century Community Halls project.

We were joined by a wonderful mix of people. Members came from community buildings and parish councils right across the county, and we were delighted to welcome partners, funders, stakeholders and our Trustees. It felt like a real gathering of the CCB family.

AGM Highlights

Mark Nevitt, our Chair, and Tim Parry, our CEO, opened the morning and guided us through the AGM business. This included officially welcoming three new Trustees to our Board: David Oram, Annie Moon and Alison Taylor. We are very much looking forward to working with them.

We also said goodbye to Sarah Morland, who completed two three-year terms. As Mark reminded us, Sarah had a remarkable rise, joining in March 2020 and becoming Chair within six months. She has contributed an enormous amount to CCB and has been a thoughtful and passionate advocate for Berkshire’s communities. We are incredibly grateful for everything she has done.

With the AGM concluded, Tim gave an overview of our work over the past year, highlighting key projects and achievements.

Rural Housing Enabler Spotlight

Tim then introduced our Rural Housing Enabler, Maria Kelly. Maria talked us through how the Rural Housing Enabling project works, why it requires time and careful consultation, and the kinds of support rural communities can expect. She shared examples of current work in Beenham, Compton and Waltham St Lawrence and explained some of the excellent data tools she uses to map local need and rural housing stock.

Moveability and the Benefits of Seated Exercise

Next, we welcomed Debbie Medlin from Moveability. We have been working with Debbie for several years, helping her secure funding to bring her seated exercise classes to rural communities across West Berkshire, including Chieveley, Hermitage and Lambourn.

Debbie spoke about the benefits of the classes, not only for physical wellbeing but also for reducing isolation and building connections. She finished with an energetic taster session to what must be one of the happiest songs ever recorded, Ob La Di Ob La Da by The Beatles, which certainly lifted the room.

21st Century Community Halls Case Study Training Session

After a break for networking and an excellent brunch, we moved into the 21st Century Community Halls training session led by our Community Building Advisor, Kate Meads. This was a real highlight and included first hand insight from Neal Courtney from Chieveley Village Hall.

Neal talked us through the hall’s development journey and how the Trustees and a dedicated group of volunteers created a development plan, carried out meaningful community engagement and put together a fundraising strategy to support the hall’s long-term ambitions. Hearing their story while sitting in the very building they were describing brought everything to life.

The National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise (NICRE) joined us to share how they are supporting CCB to learn from, develop and evaluate the outcomes of the 21st Century Halls Project. Sarah Best presented a new set of Village Hall case studies, featuring Shaw‑cum‑Donnington, Arborfield, Farley Hill and Speen, highlighting the different approaches halls are taking to modernisation and community engagement.

Reflections and Key Takeaways from the Day

Overall, the day left us feeling energised and connected. It was a strong reminder of the value of our work, the commitment of our Trustees and partners, and the creativity of communities and volunteers who find new ways to support local people.

We heard first hand how long-term projects like rural housing need time and collaboration, how small interventions such as seated exercise can spark positive social change, and how village halls can thrive when motivated Trustees, a clear plan and community voices come together. Most importantly, it reinforced why we do what we do: helping Berkshire’s communities thrive by supporting places, projects and relationships that last.

Feedback from Attendees

“The event was just what we needed. It is great to see what others are doing and how CCB is supporting improvement projects.”

“What a great session. We have several community buildings on our patch who would really benefit from membership so they can access support from the 21st Century Community Halls Project. I will be encouraging them to join.”

Final Thoughts from Tim and Kate

Tim said: “I would like to thank all our members and other delegates for supporting CCB at our AGM and conference yesterday. Thank you to Sarah and colleagues from NICRE for sharing their ongoing evaluation of our 21st Century Halls project and to Neal for sharing his team’s inspiring work to improve Chieveley Village Hall. These conferences are a great way of bringing like-minded people together and are a genuine highlight of our year.”

Kate said: “The best part of the day was simply having so many different people in the room together. It was great to have time to chat informally, hear presentations, ask questions and wander around talking to service providers and trustees who have used solar installers, infrared specialists and online booking systems. We also loved hearing from our learning partner, NICRE, about how they are capturing the impact of CCB’s 21st Century Halls Project. It was brilliant for everyone to hear about our other projects too because there is so much crossover. A village might also be linked to our fuel poverty project or our rural housing enabler work, or realise there is a need to run more activities for people who are socially isolated. Having all those conversations in one place made the day feel really exciting.”