01/10/2025
From:- Paul Hayes, Chairman. October 2025
I'm pleased to report that we've just completed our most successful year ever; income is up 21%, costs contained under 3% and surplus increased by 40% over the prior year.
We have increased the number of organisations that use the Gym facilities to 14, and now have Pickleball, Indoor cricket, 5-a-side, Netball, PE (special needs school) added to Badminton (now 5 clubs), Remote control car racing (extended booking), Junior Tennis and Archery (2 clubs) that used the Gym prior to the new roof refurbishment.
We really are going from strength to strength and I thank Dorset council & our other commercial sponsors for their help to make the reroofing in 2023 happen. This has enabled us to get into this position of long-term sustainability (81 years remaining on the 99 year lease). It is great to have a rural sports facility that does not need any council funding support to operate.
Volunteers continue to play an important part in the management, maintenance and improvement of the Gym. Hundreds of (free) hours are provided each year and our major clean and refurbishment event in July had more than 25 participants. See attached a few pictures of the result.
Using the volunteers and surplus generated last year has enabled us to complete a major clean & improvement over the summer.
There is still plenty to be done but it is great that ongoing improvements are the norm.
I am also pleased to announce that Paul Gamble from Friday’s Remote Control Car racing and Sally Childs-Slade from Thursday Netball have agreed to join the management team of the Piddlehinton Gym Charity. Paul Gamble will take leadership for maintenance and improvements and Sally for Health and Safety. See attached the revised organisation chart
We still have capacity for more clubs, especially day-times but also Thursday evening and Saturday afternoons. The more clubs we get the more sustainable Piddlehinton Gym will be.
