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2023-03-31-accounts

ABNEY PARK TRUST

ANNUAL REPORT AND STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2023

CHARITY REGISTRATION No. 1005334 COMPANY REGISTRATION No. 02634036

Independent Examiners Ltd Unit 2 The Broadbridge Business Centre Delling Lane Bosham PO18 8NF

1

ABNEY PARK TRUST

CONTENTS

Page 3 Legal and administrative information
Pages 4 to 14 Report of the Trustees
Page 15 Independent Examiners Report to the Trustees.
Page 16 Statement of Financial Activities
Page 17 Balance Sheet
Pages 18 to 23 Notes to the Financial Statements

2

ABNEY PARK TRUST

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

CHARITY NUMBER 1005334
COMPANY NUMBER 2634036
START OF FINANCIAL PERIOD 1st April 2022
END OF FINANCIAL PERIOD 31st March 2023
TRUSTEES AT 31 DECEMBER 2023 Tom Walker (Chair)
Martina Girvan
Carol Goldwag
John McShane
Elinor Roberts
Alison Rulton-Reed - Resigned on 20.03.2023
Nicholas Toner
Brooke Louise McKinnis - Appointed on 01.02.2023
Kate Jones - Resigned 04.07.2022
Alison Bean - Resigned on 13.02.2023
Benjamin Pass - Resigned on 18.04.2023
In addition, two representatives of Hackney Council sit on the Board:
Felicity Jane Premru - Appointed 27.05.2022, resigned on 09.08.2023
Cllr Susan Fajana-Thomas
Cllr Polly Billington - Resigned on 17.05.2022
CORRESPONDENCE ADDRESS The South Lodge
Abney Park
London
N16 0LH
GOVERNING DOCUMENT MEMORANDUM AND ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION
INCORPORATED 1ST AUGUST 1991 AS AMENDED BY
CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION ON CHANGE OF NAME
DATED 4 JUNE 2008
BANKERS HSBC
312 Seven Sisters Road
Finsbury Park
London
N4 2AW
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER Independent Examiners Ltd
Unit 2 The Broadbridge Business Centre
Delling Lane
Bosham
PO18 8NF

3

Abney Park Trust Trustees Annual Report – 2022/23

Mrs Graham’s monument unveiling, October 2022 Photo © Jannine Newman - www.janninenewman.com

4

Abney Park Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report for 2022-23

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Description of the charity

Abney Park Trust (the Trust) is a company limited by guarantee (registration number 2634036) and a registered charity (registered number 1005334). The Trustees are also Directors of the company.

The Trust is governed by its memorandum and articles of association and its registered office is The South Lodge, Abney Park, Stoke Newington High St, London N16 0LH.

The governance and management of the Trust is provided by the Board of Trustees elected by the members and operating in accordance with the articles of association.

The Trust advertises for new trustees when these are required. Between Annual General Meetings, potential new Trustees submit their CV and reasons for wanting to be a Trustee. They are then interviewed by two current Trustees, the Chair, and, if considered suitable, a recommendation is made to the rest of the Board who will then decide whether or not to appoint them. They are then formally put forward for election at the Annual General Meeting. Councillor Trustees are made by nomination from the London Borough of Hackney.

The Trust sends new Trustees an induction pack of documents relating to the Trust (including the governing document and the policies and procedures in place) and Charity Commission guidance on the duties of charity Trustees. The Trust also invites new Trustees to observe the meetings of the Board and spend time at Abney Park with staff members.

Abney Park is a 32-acre park in Stoke Newington in the London Borough of Hackney (Hackney Council). It was formerly a garden cemetery and includes densely wooded grounds based on a Victorian arboretum. It also contains operational buildings, listed historic monuments, tens of thousands of memorials, and a disused but recently stabilised Grade II listed funerary chapel which is Europe’s oldest surviving non-denominational chapel. Abney has significant historical, religious, genealogical, museum/archival, ecological and architectural importance.

Abney Park:

The Trust occupies Abney Park under a Licence to Occupy from Hackney Council. The arrangement between the Trust and Hackney Council is governed by a Memorandum of Understanding.

Trust management

Details on the Trust’s Board composition and staffing position are later in this report.

In the period covered by this report we have moved to one active subcommittee. Our committees are made up of Trust staff, Trustees and volunteers with expertise in relevant fields.

The subcommittees meet regularly and report to the APT Board at each meeting.

Events Committee

Our Events Committee manages the Trust’s busy programme of events including both on site and online virtual events. They also discuss and coordinate any event proposals that come in from external organisations.

Committee members for the reporting period: Irena Goldwag (Trustee), Dr Romany Reagan (Volunteer, resigned from the committee 4th July 2022), Haydn Schaare (APT staff), Nick Toner (Trustee), Lorraine Tillett (Chair of Abney Park User Group), Ellie Roberts (Trustee) and Martina Girvan (Trustee).

5

Abney Park Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report for 2022-23 (Continued)

The second subcommittee, the Fundraising Committee, has been dormant in the reporting period.

Risk assessment

A comprehensive risk register was introduced during the previous reporting period and is reviewed periodically by the Board. The main risks revolve around:

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Objects of the Trust

The objects for which the Trust is established, as set out in its articles of association, are:

  1. The conservation and restoration for the benefit of the public of the property known as Abney Park or Abney Park Cemetery (Abney) as an area of architectural and ecological significance, and historical and religious associations.

  2. To promote the benefit of inhabitants of London and in particular the Borough of Hackney without distinction of race, gender, sexual orientation or of political, religious or other opinions by associating the local authorities, voluntary organisations and inhabitants in a common effort to advance education and to provide facilities in the interests of social welfare for recreation and leisure-time occupation with the object of improving the conditions of life for the said inhabitants.[1]

  3. The advancement of public education by the establishment and display of a collection or collections of information literature manuscripts and artefacts concerning the history, development, associations and ecology of the cemetery.

The work of the Trust

The Trust works to achieve the Trust’s charitable objectives, which includes promoting Abney as an inner-city heritage and community resource. This involves:

1 The Trust is committed to extending this to all protected characteristics including age and ability.

6

Abney Park Trust Trustees’ Annual Report for 2022-23 (Continued)

The Trust is also a member of the Abney Park Development Board set up by Hackney Council to secure funding for Abney through a National Heritage Lottery Fund bid and decide on the future development of Abney. That Board now helps oversee the development of the project.

Activities during 2022/2023

In the previous two year’s annual reports we have reported on the impacts of COVID 19. Happily this is no longer a focus of this report, albeit this has been a period of transition for other reasons.

The following activities were carried out throughout the year to achieve the Trust’s charitable objectives:

Events and engagement

Our events and engagement returned to ‘in person’ events in 2022/23.

With the commencement of the building works the site has continued to be more limited in terms of access and use. This has not inhibited the range of talks and walks we put on, but has meant that the larger events the Trust ran before 2020 have not been possible (for example the Summer and Winter Fayres and the summer theatre productions).

Despite these restrictions – and thanks to our fantastic staff and volunteers – we have populated a wide-ranging programme of events.

There are key dates in the Abney calendar including the marking of the Coronation Avenue tragedy (commemorated by the Civilian War Memorial) in October, Remembrance Sunday in November and the park’s opening date in May. Alongside these we put on a range of regular tours plus experiment with new collaborations and partnerships.

In terms of events, we held approximately 57 events in total, of which 17 were history-themed talks or tours, 6 were nature-themed talks or tours, 15 were culture/art-themed talks or tours, 1 was a community memorial, 2 were related to wellbeing and mental health, 4 were community stalls/open days, 11 were events held as part of our Hello Again Hackney programming, and one was our Annual General Meeting.

We sold or gave out approximately 408 tickets for these events. Community stalls, memorials and Hello Again Hackney events were not publicly ticketed or were mainly attended by people who hadn’t pre-registered.

Particular highlights included:

Underpinning all this is the work of the Events Committee which met monthly.

7

Abney Park Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report for 2022-23 (Continued)

Hello Again Hackney grant.

We secured a grant of £2,500 from Hackney Council, as part of the Hello Again Hackney fund. This fund was developed as a post covid recovery initiative and offered to cultural institutions in the borough.

We were required to use the fund to bring new users to the park, particularly underserved communities. We decided to focus on local children and used pupil premium as a means to establish which school and nurseries to approach.

We ran a total of 11 events and brought over 200 children into the park. We estimate that over half of these children were from low income families.

The events were all themed around the park and the natural environment:

In addition to the events, we produced 5000 physical children’s trails. The clues for the trails were crowdsourced from our events committee volunteers and the imagery was developed by two local artists; Sarah Finke and Susanna Burton. We distributed the trails at local primary schools, in local businesses and during our open days.

Online and digital presence

We have continued to update a microsite with a repository of key information about the National Lottery Heritage Fund restoration project. This includes key documents and, where available, information for the public about the works.

We also continued to use social media more actively both to promote the park, engage the community and forge new collaborations. We have made many new links this way and get interest from across the UK, and occasionally from abroad.

We produce a regular short email bulletin which is sent every 6 weeks or so to over 2,000 subscribers. Since September 2021 it has included a full update from the Trust Chair and these updates are included in the news pages on our website.

In total we received 68,282 users to our website in this period which is a 6.8% decrease vs. the same period. This decrease was to be expected as we have been able to offer fewer events due to the works in the park and therefore have seen a reduction in those needing to visit the site to make an event purchase.

In this period the park was mentioned multiple times in national, local or sector print/online press of note including the Financial Times, the Daily Express, the Hackney Gazette, Suitcase Magazine, the Daily Mirror’s We Love TV magazine, and more.

Also in this period was the screening of "Jay Blades: No Place Like Home" on Channel 5, which featured our former Trust Manager and drove a significant number of visitors to the site.

In July 2022 we welcomed BBC1's Antiques Roadshow to Abney to film a contribution to a Stoke Newington episode. Fiona Bruce interviewed our Trust Manager as part of the broadcast. This was screened in spring 2023.

Grave searches

One of our most important roles is offering a grave search facility for those looking for relatives, friends or historic figures. Our team responds to these questions with dedication and compassion.

8

Abney Park Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report for 2022-23 (Continued)

Abney Park Trust received in the region of 221 enquiries about grave searches and burial records from relatives of those buried in Abney Park in 2022/23. Approximately 65 of these, where the records allowed, led to a full grave search. The grave search includes APT members of staff physically locating the grave site and either supporting the family to view the site or providing pictures and a copy of the burial records kept by the cemetery. This is never a straightforward process given the nature of the site and the often haphazard approach to burials during the 1960s and 70s.

If the grave cannot be found APT staff will provide whatever information is available as well as

background about the development of the site as a cemetery.

The African Caribbean community in Hackney is predominantly represented in burials during the 1960s and 70s - reflecting the aspirations of the local community at that time, when the site was nearing the end of the period as a functioning cemetery.

Monument maintenance and restoration

We have remained focused on promoting the history and stories of Abney Park.

During the reporting year we maintained our commitment to cleaning and maintaining the Commonwealth War Graves on the site, working with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). We maintain both individual Commonwealth War Graves and also the Commonwealth War Memorial at the heart of the park. We maintain the latter despite occasional misuse by members of the public. We are very grateful for the grant funding we receive from the CWGC to support this work.

Following the successful visit from Sir Bill Rollo in Autumn 2021, the CWGC revisited with their events planning and media people in late July 2022. They were very impressed by Abney and the visit went very well. A further small outreach event took place in the autumn. We committed to work together on further events to promote their important work, and the those buried and commemorated in Abney.

In relation to listed monuments in the park, we have prepared a preliminary assessment of work needed to maintain or repair a dozen listed monuments. We hope in the medium term to secure funding for these monuments.

Our major focus in 2022/23 was to work, in collaboration with author and writer Sharon Wright, to raise money to pay for a gravestone for female Victorian aeronaut pioneer Mrs Graham. The campaign began publicly in May 2022 and successfully raised £5,000 by August 2022. The design of the monument was developed by Sharon and our staff, working with local stonemason Charlotte Ruse. The stone was a carefully chosen slate and as well as providing a permanent memorial to Mrs Graham (who was buried in an unmarked paupers’ grave) it also notes the names of those buried alongside her.

The memorial was ‘unveiled’ with a ceremony on 30th October 2022. Members of Mrs Graham’s family attended including her great-great granddaughter and author Sharon. It was a beautiful ceremony and marked the amazing story of this brilliant and pioneering Victorian woman.

National Lottery Heritage Fund Restoration project

In January 2020 Hackney Council secured funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for a major programme of restoration work for the park and its amenities. This is a huge opportunity for the park and we are grateful for many of our predecessors who campaigned over many years to protect and save the park.

Although the Trust is not directly accountable for the project we are hugely impacted by it and have worked actively with Hackney Council to make it a success.

9

Abney Park Trust Trustees’ Annual Report for 2022-23 (Continued)

In this reporting period, the work continued on site. This is a profound change to the park and has seen a visible impact, for example:

We have participated fully in negotiation with the council and we have provided information to the public about what is happening on site, using #AbneyRestoration on social media and our own microsite pages.

This is a fantastic opportunity for Abney Park to become a major London landmark when the works are completed.

Although the work is very disruptive for the Trust, we have continued to meet our charitable objectives with real determination and flexibility.

In this period we have also ramped up our preparations for the delivery of the “Activity Plan”, mainly through regular meetings with Hackney Council staff to refine the plans and develop a thorough understanding of our audience engagement objectives.

Staffing

In terms of staffing, we employed three part-time members of staff throughout the year.

In April 2022 we appointed a candidate into the role of Trust Manager, a newly shaped role. Given the post COVID 19 operating environment, we elected to increase the hours and pay rate for the role and commensurate with the newly created role. The candidate left the role after four months. For the remainder of the reporting year we carried the vacancy pending the completion of the restoration project and the commencement of the ‘Activity Plan’ (the programme of events funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund) which the Trust will play a crucial role in delivering a large part of.

To help cover some of the basic tasks we also employed a part time administrator between the period of October 2022 and January 2023. This helped stabilise our day to day administration and when the candidate took another role we covered tasks as Trustees.

Like everyone else, we have had to navigate the challenges of inflation and the cost of living challenge. In December 2022 the Board decided to award a significant pay rise to our long serving team member. This was in recognition of the expert knowledge, benchmarking against other roles and the wider cost of living crisis. The Board carefully considered the balance of using our charitable funds for salary increases but were confident in the justification and we want to look after our team in these challenging times.

Our team have continued to work very closely with Hackney Council’s full time on site manager with further appointments to be made including to manage the chapel as an events venue and a volunteer coordinator. The Trust has been pleased to be part of the recruitment processes involved in key Hackney Council appointments, as well as the tender process for the new cafe and premises management.

Volunteer support

We rely on volunteers immensely to support the maintenance of the park and the work of the Trust. We are pleased that our volunteering work has continued. This includes:

10

Abney Park Trust Trustees’ Annual Report for 2022-23 (Continued)

We have a steady number of volunteers across these activities:

We also continue to work with Hackney Council on Abney Unearthed - the project to re-map Abney Park. This aims to create an online searchable map, add missing information to the burial records, research the various residents of Abney Park and bring their stories to light. The project was funded by NLHF and Hackney Council and is now part of the Activity Plan which sits alongside the wider restoration project.

Volunteer numbers have averaged around 11 - 15 people per week, as they have in previous years. Abney Unearthed has now checked the burial details of almost 59,000 people, adding 845 missing entries. They have also corrected the details, such as incorrect spelling of names, of over 1000 people.

Abney Unearthed has focused on the number of common graves on the site and the headstones of 749 people buried in common graves have been noted. The precise number of common graves in Abney Park Cemetery is currently unknown.

Fundraising

The Trust remains incredibly grateful to everyone who has contributed financially to its work. This includes generous donations from across our community.

We have maintained our CAF donation page, initially started in May 2020, and we have received a steady stream of small donations throughout the year. This has totalled £6,094 over the year for one-off donations, direct debits and gift aid.

We benefited from a significant legacy donation of £5,000 and we were able to raise money by disposing of some old historic railings which were not required as part of the restoration works. We are very grateful to everyone who has donated to the Trust thereby enabling us to pursue our charitable objectives.

We submitted one grant application to the Hackney Council Community Fund for a programme of monument restoration in March 2022. The bid was unsuccessful but we hope to use the preparatory work for future bids.

Board composition

As the year has passed we have continued to make changes to the Board to bring in the skills we need. This has also reflected the fact that working patterns, locations and time commitments of Trustees vary and inevitably people move on.

During the year, we said goodbye to Cllr Polly Billington on 17th May 2022, Kate Jones on 4th July 2022, Treasurer Alison Bean on 13th February 2023 and Alison Rulton-Reed on 20th March 2023. They all made a big contribution in recent years. Particular thanks to Alison Bean who was Treasurer for four years and has played a huge role in stabilising the Trust’s finances and streamlining much of our financial administration. She has made a huge difference.

In summer 2022 Cllr Fliss Premru took up one of the nominated Hackney Council elected member roles on the Board. Subsequent to the reporting year, Brooke McKinnis took over as Treasurer for the Trust.

11

Abney Park Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report for 2022-23 (Continued)

The Board is now in a strong position although we plan for constant change given the nature of the commitment people make against other professional and personal commitments. The Board is now at a core membership and we will look to review it again in the period ahead.

Looking ahead

Writing in late summer 2023, we are approaching the end of the transition as the Restoration Project comes to a finish.

It will be a complete transformation of the Park. We will have new premises, a welcoming environment and access to the community space and chapel to put on events. Hackney Council will employ more staff, leading on areas that the Trust has previously made the running on. We are agreeing a new Memorandum of Understanding with the council to help ensure the Trust remains sustainable and we operate in true partnership. The park itself should become selffinancing with revenues from weddings and other Hackney events ringfenced for the park’s use.

We are confident about those opportunities and, at least at a high level, the role Hackney Council sees for us. But we are finalising the details as new staff arrive. Our advantages as a small charity mean we can mobilise community input and funding that is complementary to taxpayer investment.

At the time of writing, we have appointed a new Events, Community Engagement and Programming Manager who started in August 2023. We will consider bringing in some administration capacity to support our programme of work.

It is an exciting yet challenging time for the Trust and we look forward to the restoration work completing and further opportunities to meet our objectives. We are committed to working with Hackney Council to ensure the park's status as a Local Nature Reserve is both protected and enhanced and are actively seeking to engage more closely and effectively with Hackney Council to this end.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Finance

The Trust continues to manage its finances effectively. Overall, the Trust has maintained good progress towards becoming self-financing.

Non-core income this year represents 55% of the overall income of the Trust, down 10% from 65% last year. Sources of income other than the London Borough of Hackney core grant are:

Charitable activities: 5% of income (down 8% - see note 3 for a breakdown)

Trading activities: 3% of income (up 2% - see note 4 for a breakdown)

Donations & legacies: 38% of income (up 24% - see note 2 for a breakdown)

Other grants: 9% of income (up 6% - see note 2 for a breakdown)

The staff time required to raise non-core funds continues to be significant. The cost of fundraising represents 18% of our total expenditure, with the remaining 82% spent on charitable activities, a decrease of 6% of expenditure spent on charitable activities in comparison with the previous year.

Reserves policy

Our reserves remain healthy. The Trust retains reserve funds sufficient to finance core activities for three months and other exceptional costs including redundancies if existing income streams were to cease.

Reserves are held in an interest-bearing deposit account.

12

ABNEY PARK TRUST Trustees’ Annual Report for 2022-23 (Continued)

Statement of Trustees' responsibilities:

The trustees (who are also the directors of Abney Park Trust for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the trustees' report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice), including FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland".

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under company law the trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources, including its income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

a.) select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistantly; b.) observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;

c.) make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

d.) state whether applicable accounting standard comprising FRS 102 and statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and

e.) prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that can disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the section 476 of the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

This report has been prepared taking advantage of the small companies’ exemption of section 415A of the Companies Act 2006.

Small companies provision statement:

This report has been prepared in accordance with the small companies regime under the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements were approved by the trustees, also directors of the charity on:

Date : 20/11/2023

Signed on behalf of the Board :

Name : Tom Walker, Chair of Abney Park Trust

13

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT ON THE ACCOUNTS

Report to the trustees/ members of Abney Park Trust on the accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2023 set out on pages 15 to 22.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

It is my responsibility to:

Basis of independent examiner’s statement

My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair’ view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner's statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention

  1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in, any material respect, the requirements:

  2. to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; and

  3. to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act have not been met; or

  4. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Zita Derbak Sign: Independent Examiners Ltd Unit 2 The Broadbridge Business Centre Date: 21.11.2023 Delling Lane Bosham PO18 8NF

14

ABNEY PARK TRUST STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITES AS AT 31 MARCH 2023

Incorporating income and expenditure account

Notes
INCOMING RESOURCES
Income and Endowments from:
Donations and legacies
2a & 10
Charitable activities
2b
Other trading activities
2c
Investment Income : Bank interest
2d
TOTAL
RESOURCES EXPENDED
Expenditure on:
Raising Funds
3 & 4
Charitable Activities
3, 4, 10
TOTAL
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) BEFORE
INVESTMENT GAINS/(LOSSES)
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)
Transfers between funds
10
NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS:
Total Funds Brought Forward
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD		 Unrestricted
Restricted
TOTAL
TOTAL
Funds
Funds
2023
2022
£
£
£
£
15,774
25,472
41,246
48,184
2,343
-
2,343
7,616
1,288
-
1,288
766
114
-
114
3
19,519
25,472
44,991
56,569
15,413
-
15,413
4,931
1,613
28,105
29,718
36,254
17,026
28,105
45,131
41,185
2,493
-2,633
-140
15,384
2,493
-2,633
-140
15,384
-133
133
-
-
2,360
-2,500
-140
15,384
49,703
2,500
52,203
36,819
52,063
-
52,063
52,203

Movements on all reserves and all recognised gains and losses are shown above. All of the organisation's operations are classed as continuing.

The notes on pages 18 to 23 form part of these financial statements.

15

ABNEY PARK TRUST COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 02634036 BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 MARCH 2023

Note
Fixed Assets
Tangible assets
6
Current Assets
Debtors
7
Cash at bank and in hand
8
Total Current Assets
Creditors:amounts falling due within one year
9
NET CURRENT ASSETS
TOTAL ASSETSless current liabilities
NET ASSETS
Funds of the Charity
General Funds
10
Restricted Funds
10
Total Funds		 Unrestricted
Restricted
31-Mar-23
31-Mar-22
Funds
Funds
Total
Total
£
£
£
£
264
-
264
528
69
-
69
646
53,056
-
53,056
53,725
53,125
-
53,125
54,371
1,326
-
1,326
2,696
51,799
-
51,799
51,675
52,063
-
52,063
52,203
52,063
-
52,063
52,203
52,063
-
52,063
49,703
-
-
-
2,500
52,063
-
52,063
52,203

For the year ending 31st March 2023 the Company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477(2) of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

Directors' responsibility:

  1. The members have not required the company to obtain an audit in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006; and

  2. The directors acknowledge their responsibility for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records and for the preparation of accounts.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies' regime within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.

The financial statements on pages 15 and 16 were approved by the directors, and authorised for issue on:

Date: 20/11/2023

Signed and approved by on behalf of all the Directors

Print name : Tom Walker

16

ABNEY PARK TRUST NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AS AT 31 MARCH 2023

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

1. 1 Statutory information

Abney Park Trust is a charitable company limited by guarantee and is incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office address and principal place of business is The South Lodge, Abney Park, Stoke Newington High Street, London, N16 0LH.

1.2 Basis of preparation:

The financial statements of the charity, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Charities Act 2011. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

The trustees have assessed whether the use of the going concern basis is appropriate and have considered possible events or conditions that might cast significant doubt on the ability of the Charity to continue as a going concern. The trustees have made this assessment for a period of at least one year from the date of approval of the financial statements. The trustees have reviewed our forecasts and concluded that there is a reasonable expectation that the Charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. The Charity therefore continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing its financial statements.

1.3 Income

Income is accounted for when it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

1.4 Expenditure

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category.

1.5 Stock

Stock is measured at the lower of original purchase cost and net realisable value at the balance sheet date. Stock is excluded from the balance sheet, as the year end balance is immaterial.

1.6 Fixed assets and depreciation

Assets are capitalised where the purchase price exceeds £1,000. Depreciation is calculated so as to write off the cost of an asset, less its estimated residual value, over the useful economic life of that asset as follows:

Stage: 33% Straight line Office equipment: 25% Straight line Furniture and fittings: 25% Straight line

1.7 Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid.

1.8 Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

1.9 Financial Instruments

The company has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments. Financial instruments are recognised in the company's balance sheet when the company becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument. Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

With the exception of any prepayments and deferred income, all debtor and creditor balances are considered to be basic financial instruments under FRS 102.

17

ABNEY PARK TRUST NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)

AS AT 31 MARCH 2023

1.10 Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the Association and which have not been designated for other purposes.

Restricted funds are funds to be used in accordance with the specific restrictions imposed by donors orwhich have been raised for particular purposes. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

1.11 Employee benefits

Short Term benefits

Short term benefits including holiday pay are recognised as an expense in the period in which the service is received.

Employee termination benefits

Termination benefits are accounted for on an accrual basis and in line with FRS 102.

1.12 Irrecoverable VAT

Irrecoverable VAT is written off as incurred.

1.13 Areas of critical judgement & estimation

There are no key assumptions concerning the future and other key sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year.

1.14 Volunteer time

The Charity works with a number of volunteers who help conserve and improve the landscape at Abney Park. The contribution of this time has not been included in income in the financial statements as the value of this time cannot be reliably measured.

2. ANALYSIS OF INCOME
a) Donations and Legacies
War Graves Commission
Donations including Gift Aid
b) Charitable Activities
Grave search & maintenance
Guided tours
c) Other Trading Activities
Other Income
Shop Income
d) Investment income
Bank interest
London Borough of Hackney
Legacies
Fresh & Wild
Commonwealth		 Unrestricted
Restricted
TOTAL
TOTAL
Funds
Funds
2023
2022
£
£
£
£
-
20,214
20,214
35,273
5,000
-
5,000
-
-
-
-
1,330
4,000
-
4,000
4,000
6,774
5,258
12,032
7,581
15,774
25,472
41,246
48,184
748
-
748
1,965
1,595
-
1,595
5,651
2,343
-
2,343
7,616
34
-
34
-
1,254
-
1,254
766
1,288
-
1,288
766
114
-
114
3
114
-
114
3

18

ABNEY PARK TRUST NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) AS AT 31 MARCH 2023

3. ANALYSIS OF EXPENDITURE

CURRENT YEAR
Raising Funds
Charitable activities		 Direct
Support
TOTAL
costs
costs
2023
£
£
£
£
10,514
2,024
2,876
15,413
15,020
6,071
8,627
29,718
25,533
8,095
11,503
45,131
Direct Staff
costs

Support costs are detailed in Note 4 and are allocated on the basis of direct staff costs.

PRIOR YEAR
Raising Funds
Charitable activities		 Direct
Support
TOTAL
costs
costs
2022
£
£
£
£
2,739
240
1,952
4,931
19,175
3,412
13,667
36,254
21,914
3,652
15,619
41,185
Direct Staff
costs
4. SUPPORT COSTS
Governance costs:
Independent examination
Other support costs:
Staff costs
Telephone and internet
Website
Insurance
Alarm system
Small IT equipment
Other office costs
Subscriptions + Legal fee
Accountancy
Marketing
Depreciation
Bank charges
Transaction fees		 Total
2023
£
555
555
4,506
532
543
2,373
-
305
272
95
942
815
264
127
174
11,503		 Total
2022
£
1,230
1,230
5,479
718
373
2,436
786
776
1,136
1,574
519
520
72
-
15,619

19

ABNEY PARK TRUST NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) AS AT 31 MARCH 2023

5. EMPLOYEE AND KEY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL

The key management personnel of the Charity comprise the trustees ("Directors" for the purposes of the Companies Act) and all members of staff. The total amounts paid in respect of the key management personnel of the Charity (including employer's National Insurance contributions and employers pension contributions) were £30,092 (2022: £27,393). None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the year or the previous year. One trustee was reimbursed expenses in the year of £120 (2022: 1 trustee was reimbursed expenses totalling £168).

The aggregate payroll costs were:
Wages and salaries
Employer's pension contributions		 2023
£
29,501
538
30,039		 2022
£
26,592
801
27,393

There were no employees earning over £60,000 in the year or the previous year.

Particulars of employees:

The maxiumum number of employees in the year were 3, which reduced to 1 by the end of the financial year.

6. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

Cost
At 1 April 2022
At 31 March 2023
Accumulated depreciation
At 1 April 2022
Charge for the year
At 31 March 2023
Net book value
At 31 March 2023
At 31 March 2022
7. DEBTORS AND PREPAYMENTS
Prepayments
8. CASH AT BANK AND IN HAND
Cash at bank and on hand
Total		 Stage
Short
Office
Furniture
Total
Leasehold
Equipment
& Fittings
£
£
£
£
£
3,000
17,323
7,079
5,000
32,402
3,000
17,323
7,079
5,000
32,402
3,000
17,323
6,551
5,000
31,874
264
264
3,000
17,323
6,815
5,000
32,138
-
-
264
-
264
-
-
528
-
528
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
Total
Fund
Fund
31-Mar-23
31-Mar-22
£
£
£
£
-
-
69
646
-
-
69
646
2023
2022
£
£
53,056
53,725
53,056
53,725

20

Abney Park Trust NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

9. CREDITORS AND ACCRUALS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

Accruals
Independent Examiners Fees
PAYE Liability		 Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
Total
Fund
Fund
31-Mar-23
31-Mar-22
£
£
£
£
-
-
-
1,586
1,110
-
1,110
1,110
216
-
216
-
1,326
-
1,326
2,696
10. FUNDS
Restricted funds:
London Borough Hackney
Mrs Graham fund
Hello Again Hackney
Total restricted Funds
General Funds
Total funds		 Balance
Balance
31-Mar-22
Income
Expenditure
Transfers
31-Mar-23
£
£
£
£
-
20,214
-20,214
-
-
-
5,258
-5,258
-
-
2,500
-
-2,633
133
-
2,500
25,472
-28,105
133
-
49,703
19,519
-17,026
-133
52,063
52,203
44,991
-45,131
-
52,063
CURRENT REPORTING PERIOD

Hello Again Hackney- this grant from the London Borough of Hackney is to offer free cultural events to Hackney residents who are experiencing financial hardship or are on low incomes.

A Place for Everyone
Hello Again Hackney
Covid related grants
Total restricted Funds
General Funds
Total funds
Restricted funds:
LB Hackney:		 Balance
Balance
31-Mar-21
Income
Expenditure
Transfers
31-Mar-22
£
£
£
£
-
20,000
-20,000
-
-
-
2,500
-
-
2,500
-
12,773
-12,773
-
-
-
35,273
-32,773
-
2,500
36,819
21,296
-8,412
-
49,703
36,819
56,569
-41,185
-
52,203
PREVIOUS REPORTING PERIOD

11. ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS

CURRENT YEAR

Tangible fixed assets
Net current assets		 Unrestricted
Restricted
Total at 31
£
£
£
264
-
264
51,799
-
51,799
52,063
-
52,063

21

Abney Park Trust NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

11. ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS - Continued PRIOR YEAR

Tangible fixed assets
Net current assets		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
Total at 31
March 2022
£
£
£
528
-
528
49,175
2,500
51,675
49,703
2,500
52,203

12. STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES - PRIOR YEAR

INCOME
Income from:
Donations and legacies
Charitable activities
Other trading activities
Investments: Bank interest
TOTAL INCOME
EXPENDITURE
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
Charitable Activities
TOTAL EXPENDITURE
Net income/ Net movement in funds
Balances brought forward
Balances carried forward		 Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
Funds
Funds
Funds
2022
2022
2022
£
£
£
12,911
35,273
48,184
7,616
-
7,616
766
-
766
3
-
3
21,296
35,273
56,569
4,931
-
4,931
3,481
32,773
36,254
8,412
32,773
41,185
12,884
2,500
15,384
36,819
-
36,819
49,703
2,500
52,203

13. RISK ASSESSMENT

The trustees actively review the major risks which the charity faces on a regular basis and believe that maintaining the free reserves stated, combined with the annual review of the controls over key financial systems carried out on an annual basis will provide sufficient resources in the event of adverse conditions. The trustees have also examined other operational and business risks which they face and confirm that they have established systems to mitigate the significant risks.

14. RESERVES POLICY

The trustees have considered the level of reserves they wish to retain, appropriate to the charity's needs. This is based on the charity's size and the level of financial commitments held. The trustees aim to ensure the charity will be able to continue to fulfil its charitable objectives even if there is a temporary shortfall in income or unexpected expenditure. The trustees will endeavour not to set aside funds unnecessarily.

15. PUBLIC BENEFIT

The charity acknowledges its requirement to demonstrate clearly that it must have charitable purposes or ‘aims’ that are for the public benefit. Details of how the charity has achieved this are provided in the Trustees report. The trustees confirm that they have paid due regard to the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit before deciding what activities the charity should undertake.

22