2021-03-31-accounts

Wallington Village Community Association

AGM Reports for 2020/21

CONTENTS:

Treasurer’s Report

Financial Statements for the year ended 31/3/21 Independent Examiner’s Report Planning report Once in a While and Website Report

Registered Charity No. 1038479

Treasurer’s Report 2020/21

1. Gross income/expenditure

The financial statements for this year show gross deficit for the year of £4,669 compared to gross deficit of £536 last year. Primarily due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the village hall was closed for almost the entire year. Some maintenance including internal painting and electrical work has been done but no new work has been undertaken. Management oversight of the hall has been continuing and a programme of deep cleaning undertaken. There has, however, been a marked decrease in income over the period.

2. Income

Overall income for the year was £39,637 significantly down on last year’s £88,837. this income has been bolstered by Government grants totalling 21,161.

• •Our main source of funds, the hall, decreased to only £14,361 from last year’s figure of £59,500

• •Interest and dividends received have reduced compared to last year, primarily due to continuing low interest rates. Nevertheless interest amounts remain fair, because we maintain over £68,000 of long term investments in accounts with the United Trust Bank. These investments were reviewed by the Finance SuCommittee in February.

3. Payments

Payments for the year have reduced by £44,867 over the 2020 figure to a total of £44,306.

No major new work has been embarked upon in the year and running costs have been reduced.

4. Cash reserves

• •At 31 March 2021, monies held in bank accounts, fixed interest accounts and cash amounted to £97,550

• •A further £109,424 is held in the Equity Growth Fund a significant increase on last year’s total of £82699. This is due to the change in share values over time.

• •Overall, total monetary assets available to the Association are £206,974.

Registered Charity No. 1038479

5. Treasurer’s summary – allocation of reserves

Hall rebuild fund:

• •Income from the hall is normally a large percentage of total income so the reserves held to cover potential loss of revenue, currently stands at £125,000 and has been increased by £5,000 each year in line with the Reserves Policy.

• •We have set this sum aside to help with rebuild costs of a new hall, in particular to cover the costs of any improvements the association can make to a new hall in light of technological advances. It will also be sufficient to enable the Association to continue with its other activities for more than two years without having the income from hiring the hall.

• •This year of pandemic has shown the value of setting aside a significant sum to cover losses as, if it were not for government grants, the association would have needed to call on those reserves to the tune of around £20K.

Hall maintenance fund:

• •The hall maintenance reserves have been set aside in order to cover any larger items of expenditure that would be required to keep the existing hall in an “as new” condition. Funds have been used for this purpose during this financial year, painting, electrical work, plus deep cleaning, but the nominal £20,000 remains to ensure further work can be undertaken in future.

• •No new work projects have been undertaken during this financial year.

Water Meadow fund:

• •The water meadow reserve has again been increased by £1,200 this year in line with the Reserves Policy to £31,003. These funds are set aside by the trustees to ensure funds are available to cover any costs that might be incurred in protecting the meadow. This could include legal costs incurred in fighting a potential development of the meadow.

Although some of the funds have been designated for particular purposes by the trustees, most of the funds available to the Association are unrestricted reserves. A total of £199,479 can be re-designated at the agreement of the trustees to cover any requirement the WVCA may have.

The WVCA continues to be in a good position with regard to the level of reserves it holds and is well placed to cope with unforeseen costs or loss of income as has been suffered during this exceptional year.

6. Independent Examination of the Accounts

An examination of the accounts, including these statements, has been undertaken by an independent examiner. Her report is attached to the AGM Agenda.

Peter Trott

Treasurer WVCA

Registered Charity No. 1038479

Wallington Village Community Association

Accounts for the year to 31 March 2021

1. Receipts & Payments Account

Accounts for the year to 31 March 2021 1. Receipts & Payments Account Income Year ending Year ending 31 March 2021 31 March 2020 £ £ £ £	Accounts for the year to 31 March 2021 1. Receipts & Payments Account Income Year ending Year ending 31 March 2021 31 March 2020 £ £ £ £	Accounts for the year to 31 March 2021 1. Receipts & Payments Account Income Year ending Year ending 31 March 2021 31 March 2020 £ £ £ £	Accounts for the year to 31 March 2021 1. Receipts & Payments Account Income Year ending Year ending 31 March 2021 31 March 2020 £ £ £ £	Accounts for the year to 31 March 2021 1. Receipts & Payments Account Income Year ending Year ending 31 March 2021 31 March 2020 £ £ £ £
Income Receipts
Hiring of Hall 14,361.21 59,500.20 Gift Aid Tax refund 335.50 388.04 Fete 0.00 9,165.87 Membership & Adverts 1,828.80 2,363.50 Social Activities 309.60 5,507.55 Environmental projects 0.00 7,332.00 Bus 0.00 144.00 Local Government Grants 21,160.72 0.00
	37,995.83		84,401.16
Fund raising income
Donations 0.00 39.92 Annual Draw 0.00 0.00
	0.00		39.92
Investment income
Interest & dividends	1,641.35		4,196.05
		1,641.35		4,196.05
TOTAL RECEIPTS		39,637.18		88,637.13
Payments
Hall running costs & insurance 37,627.88 50,123.99 Fete 0.00 9,597.10 Social Activities (Incl 40th Dinner) 940.75 8,705.47 Water meadow 0.00 0.00 Environmental projects 268.95 15,408.02 Administration 1,927.99 1,127.80 Once In A While 3,028.00 2,881.03 Bus 0.00 1,330.00 Allotment 512.82 0.00
TOTAL PAYMENTS		44,306.39		89,173.41
Gross income/expenditure for the year		(4,669.21)		(536.28)
Capital Released from FP Equity Fund	0.00		0.00
Net payments/receipts for the year		(4,669.21)		(536.28)
Cash & Bank balances at 31 March 2020		101,871.69		102,407.97
Cash & Bank balances at 31 March 2021		97,202.48		101,871.69
Page 1 Registered Charity No. 1038479			Friday	, 9 April 2021

Friday, 9 April 2021

Wallington Village Community Association

Accounts for the year to 31 March 2021

2. Statement of Assets and Liabilities at 31 March 2021

		Year ending Year ending 31 March 2021 31 March 2020 £ £ £ £	Year ending Year ending 31 March 2021 31 March 2020 £ £ £ £	Year ending Year ending 31 March 2021 31 March 2020 £ £ £ £	Year ending Year ending 31 March 2021 31 March 2020 £ £ £ £
Assets NOTES Monetary Assets
Bank & Cash Balances
Ecology Building Society United Trust Bank Account United Trust Bank 1 yr Bond Lloyds Current Account Lloyds No 2 Account Cash Account		10,875.82 46,997.71 21,324.24 18,220.99 73.63 58.00		10,768.14 46,318.17 20,976.33 23,642.97 60.08 106.00
			97,550.39		101,871.69
Investments
IFSL/CAF Equity growth fund (Valuation 31 Mar 2021)			109,423.86		82,699.46
Total Monetary Assets			206,974.25		184,571.15
Non-Monetary Assets Buildings - Valuation 23 October 2020 Fixtures & fittings
			1,568,905.00		1,336,867.00
Brought forward, reduced by 10% Additions & replacements		86,961.20 0.00		78,444.27 18,179.28
		86,961.20		96,623.55
Prepayments and receivables
Gift aid to be recovered (Est)		0.00		350.00
			0.00		350.00
Total Non Monetary Assets			1,655,866.20		1,433,840.55
Total Assets			1,862,840.45		1,618,411.70
Liabilities
Prior Years liabilities outstanding 0.00 New liabilities 2020/2021 0.00				0.00 0.00
Total Liabilities			0.00		0.00
3. Analysis of Funds	Restricted Unrestricted Total 5,131.80 119,868.20 125,000.00 0.00 20,000.00 20,000.00 2,363.18 28,639.76 31,002.94 0.00 30,971.31 30,971.31				Total 120,000.00 20,000.00 29,802.94 14,768.21
Hall Rebuild (add £5000pa) Hall Maintenance Water Meadow (add £1200pa) General Reserve
Total Funds	7,494.98 199,479.27 206,974.25				184,571.15

Monday, 31 May 2021

Page 2

Registered Charity No. 1038479

CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trusteesl members of WkLLihJ4TI K) VILLA&& thMMuKli7V Charity no lif any) On accounts for the year ended 31 M A-RCH 2011 I03e+79 Set out on pages I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity ("the Trust I for the year ended 3 1 lQ312ozi Responsibilities and As the charity Ifustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation basis of report of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 1"Ihe Act") I report in respect of my examinalion of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in c3rrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145151{b) of the Act. I have completed my examination. I confinn that no material matters have come to my attention E&&F￿￿e18¥È') in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect.. accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or the accounts do not accord with the accounting records Independent examiner's statement I have no concems and have come across no other matters in connection with Ihe examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts lo be reached. Please delete the words in the bftckets if they do not apply. Signed: Date.. 01106 2021 Name: Relevant professional qualrficationls) or body lif any): 64 li10￿) FCA - OR A<(QL4fvJfA*J Address: It Poib IER October 2018 Registered Charity No. 1@38479

Planning Matters report

During the period from the beginning of the WVCA year 2020/21 to date various (new or resurfaced) planning issues have been flagged up and reviewed by a small study group. Discussions have often resulted in letters of objection or concern and, in some cases, notifications by Mailchimp have been issued to alert residents and urging support.

Details of the main applications and WVCA responses to them have featured in OIAWs, notably summer and winter issues of 2020. These are the three applications listed here:

An application for a residential development of up to 29 houses on the field at the junction of North Wallington and Standard Way (The location that is usually referred to as the Horses’ Field).

Two applications for industrial units close to the SUEZ Waste Transfer facility opposite Fort Wallington. The first one, to the west of SUEZ, originally appeared in so-called Local Development Framework (LDF) proposals in 2007 and most recently within the Fareham Local Plan 2036. The second one is to the north of the SUEZ site with access by the truncated section of Military Road.

Additionally, a letter of comment was felt appropriate in respect of a planning application for a car valeting facility at Sainsburys in Broadcut.

Horses’ Field. FBC 19/0894/OA Land East of North Wallington Road Fareham

Study Group Meeting’s purpose was to focus on the recent proposal for road alterations to help draft a WVCA response, but, beforehand, independently to review the entire outline application and WVCA approach to date, e.g. from website

Bullet points:

• Foreman’s diagram lacks a key explaining the various lines.

• Unacceptable earthworks will cut into an embankment for nearly 100 metres disfiguring an ancient and attractive rural lane.

• Any excavation would run a serious risk of undermining the parallel, gravelled road above it, a road which is un-adopted and, in the majority of cases, forms part of the property of individual houses extending to the centre of the bank. The unstable geology would contribute significantly to the risk.

• The priority scheme resulting in flip-flop closure of half the road would only exacerbate the frequent congestion even without taking into account the domestic traffic generated by a housing estate.

• The proposed layout would extend over a considerable length of road, much of it with poor sightlines.

• Increased traffic loading on the road surface nearest the river would create further damage to a carriageway already suspected of collapsing (frequent Walkround evidence).

• Safety will become an even greater concern with the shuttle scheme. Pedestrians will probably have to face hazards from cyclists using the pavement as a cycle path to avoid giving way to cars. Forcing cars to use any single lane, even with good sightlines, would increase the risk of conflicts.

• Cars are regularly parked along much of the road between the entrance to Maindell Pumping Station and Riverside Avenue; their displacement would be likely to further add to village congestion (permit holders or not).

Registered Charity No. 1038479

Conclusions:

sustaining the objection to the application as expressed in WVCA submissions of November 2019 and further comments in February 2020. Destructive proposed modifications to the riverside road cannot alter the case for this Ill-conceived plan.

Subsequent actions:

Phone call to Brenda Clapperton (Secretary of Fareham Society). FS unaware of latest amendment. Subsequently had call from their planning application reviewer – now on case. Also spoke about the new Industrial site application. Emails sent to Mark Keithley (Walkround Highways contact) and Stuart Jarvis (HCC) to ensure that Highways were aware of the proposed road idea.

Suggested draft letter:

WVCA wishes to maintain its objections to the construction of any houses at all on this totally unsuitable site. List the points above and conclude ….

‘Wallington has a good record of absorbing new houses, many within the last twenty to thirty years so that few sites now remain. Those that do remain suffer serious practical drawbacks of one sort or another or, because of their environmental scarcity deserve definitive preservation.

This entire plan must count as one the least sensible of any so far conceived. The site is close to a (soon to be) 8-lane motorway. Alongside there is an industrial park service road carrying heavy lorries up and down a steep hill plus fast-moving commuter traffic at certain times of day. Noise and accompanying pollution levels would be in excess of permitted limits and 2.6 Metre perimeter ‘billboards’ would complete the horror.

There are fully outlined adverse comments already submitted by this society and now we wish to add the above asserting that this highways proposal does nothing to mitigate them.’

P/19/0169/OA - Land at Standard Way - 0.6 Ha (Business/employment B1, B2 or B8)

Like the other sites in the (now superseded) Local Plan 2036, it was wafted in front of developers as acceptable, subject to conditions. WVCA sustained opinion has been that the adverse indications for any development on this site are the same as for the Horses’ Field i.e. that Standard Way is unrestricted nearby and carries heavy lorries and other fast-moving Industrial Park traffic. Access would also be close to a bend. Noise and airborne pollution levels would be unavoidably high creating unpleasant working conditions. This is even more relevant now with the imminent arrival of two extra lanes on the M27.

In recent months interest in this site has been intensified by Foreman Homes, who have enlisted the lobbying support of Vail Williams (Industrial/Commercial Estate Agents). Interesting to note in the submission of the latter that ‘speculative’ seems now to be a desirable descriptor for developments, suggesting prudent forward thinking (i.e. rather than shifty/risky but potentially lucrative!)

P/20/0636/OA - Land to the north of Military Road - Outline Application for the Development of up to 22 Units for Employment Use (B2, B8 & E(G)) with access off Military Road.

Registered Charity No. 1038479

[Note: This application was referred to by Foreman Homes in their supporting documents of the previous one. It was noted that the Consultees commenting were mostly industrial tenants or technical]

Study Group considerations centred around increased traffic with safety issues, further loss of greenspace, problematic access issues and drainage/flood matters.

Bullet Points:

• Increased traffic on Pinks Hill/Military Road with accompanying noise and pollution.

• Access route proposed is via a road which had to be designated Open Space on release from the Military. Now technically owned by FBC. Foreman’s transport consultant says ‘no public rights of way that pass through or close to the site.’ Challenge?

• Health and safety issues likely (weakly confirmed by technical opinions) to arise because of fast-moving traffic on Standard Way and air and noise pollution from nearby 8-lane motorway.

• Likely detriment of quality of life both for residents and tenants of nearby office buildings.

• • FBC Environmental Health (Craig Perkins) not unduly worried about air pollution but the noise consultant from Foreman’s a bit pessimistic about chances of mitigation.

• Loss of green space, leading to a loss of village identity, character and amenity. Effect of road improvements leading to a loss of vegetation would impact upon adjacent properties. The previous refusal of permission for the Pinks Hill Road widening scheme in 1996 should have a bearing on any repeat proposal.

• Is it really needed? That is, with similar units remaining empty in the area, seems a bit unnecessary.

• Pedestrians and cyclists would be disadvantaged since site isolated from any amenities and impossible to be connected by pavements.

• Although the Ecologist seems unconcerned about increased, unwelcome people pressure (e.g. to SINC) there is a certainty of habitat loss for wildlife, especially protected species e.g. Dormice. As with the Horses Field proposal the cumulative effects of habitat destruction have to be considered. All five of the remaining green spaces within the village are subject to planning proposals (i.e. excluding the Water Meadow). Foreman’s own consultant ECO support in their summation 1/7/20 acknowledges adverse impact on wildlife.

Conclusions:

The application, if passed, would inflict increased industrial traffic on roads which are already heavily loaded. This would, in turn, result in an increased burden of pollution by noise and emissions in areas which are already on or beyond acceptable limits. It would be to the detriment of quality of life both for residents and tenants of nearby office buildings.

With so many vacant industrial units available in the area generally it is hard to see that this proposal can be justified on a ‘needs’ basis.

The Village is potentially losing, piecemeal, all its greenfield pockets through speculative developments of doubtful benefit to anyone but the vendors.

The excessive loss of green space here is about more than landscape impoverishment or an adverse impact on wildlife. In the process a unique setting, counterbalancing so much nearby industry is jeopardised and, as with all nearby threatened fields, valuable natural flood mitigation potential may be lost. Drainage and flood issues need to be taken particularly seriously here.

Registered Charity No. 1038479

For anyone working on a site located here health and safety issues would be more than likely to arise through access and egress within fast-moving traffic on Standard Way and because of air and noise pollution from nearby 8-lane motorway and its junction.

There is reason to believe that the proposed access route to the site is problematical. Not only would it join Standard Way at a dangerous bend but the legality of using the truncated road once part of the old MOD route to Portsdown Hill may itself be in doubt.

Planning application P/20/1583/FP – Proposed car valeting facility at Sainsbury’s

[Note: Documents in response to all these applications can be viewed on the FBC website by selecting the Planning page followed by ‘Search online applications’ and entering the relevant references.]

Into the Future:

There are long-standing local issues as yet unresolved, of course, The Gauntletts Field development threat being one of them. An unwelcome hurdle we may have to overcome at this location is new government legislation aimed at giving various advantages to Self-build aspirations. See https://www.gov.uk/government/news/over-150-million-funding-to-kickstart-self-buildingrevolution

The over-arching general concern, however, is the Fareham Local Plan (previously 2036 but now 2037 after some astonishing twists and turns). There had been some hopeful news in September 2020 with the announcement that, following a reduction of the number of new homes required in the borough, the Council had withdrawn all the proposed sites in Wallington (and some others) that had previously been identified for development in the Local Plan. Unhappily this later proved to be a false dawn following a government reversal.

Now an earlier projected figure has been restored but while the potential residential sites earmarked in Wallington have been removed, we are likely to lose the green buffer between us and Downend with the miserable proposals for a major development there to help Portsmouth to achieve its housing target by government imposition. The imposition is, of course, really on poor Downend.

Planning Subgroup

(Arthur Hackney, Ron Hooper and Sally Dixon)

[Please note that the matters referred to above fell largely within the 20/21 society year. Recent actions concerning the response to the Fareham Local Plan will be reported in the December OIAW]

Registered Charity No. 1038479

‘Once in a While’, Website & Facebook Report 2020/21

“Once in a While’

Up to year ending April 2021, the total cost of production for the magazine was £3028 (3 issues of 430 copies each). This makes for a unit cost of £2.35, up 15p the previous year. A negligible increase, given last year’s slightly longer print run )1400) and the stresses placed upon both the printer and editorial team due to the pandemic/lockdowns. Costs continue to be offset slightly by advertising, and the crucial balance between content and adverts remains. Hopefully, the magazine continues to be a popular Wallington feature, though more feedback from our readers, whether good or bad, would be greatly appreciated. As is often stated, it is the village’s magazine — so please, comment, make suggestions, submit articles. Due to space constraints and the timehonoured ‘OIAW” principles of ‘no politics or personal attacks”, receipt is no guarantee of inclusion. Also, any piece may be edited — after all, that’s why we’re here…

Website

During 2020 Mark Hobbs, who oversees the website and carries out any of the major amendments required, revamped the site to give it a fresher look. Do have a look at it; there is a great deal of useful information on it. We are grateful to him for the help and advice that he freely gives.

Coping with the frequent changes to the contents of the Village Hall page has proved quite a challenge. This was brought about by the need to respond to the copious (but welcome) Covid safety advice given by ACRE (Action within Communities in Rural England) as reported by David Kett in the OIAW. All credit to The Secretary and Hall Sub Committee.

As might be expected, the Social Events page has been blank throughout the last eighteen months or so, but topical items have been uploaded through the News Portal and various News Flashes have continued to appear on the Home Page as required. The absence of much in the way of environmental work has been reflected in a very quiet Environment News page but there is reason to hope that, as with other WVCA activities, the pulse may begin to quicken in the near future.

Please note that the various Portals (News, Events and Environment) enable us to upload content, if required, very quickly. WVCA responses or observations about contentious planning matters, for example, can be viewed almost immediately as can urgent environmental information etc. If there are items that you would like to see on the website or alterations to your information shown if you are an organizer of a hall user group (say) then please let us know.

Facebook

The Facebook Residents’ Page has grown in membership and continues to be a popular source of village info and forum for debate. Since the last AGM, Kate Howell has added a ‘code of conduct’ to the page, in order to keep comments respectful and to ensure dialogue doesn’t stray into being offensive. Pleased to say, this has been a success.

In a similar vein, the page has, albeit occasionally, been issued ‘content warnings’ due to ‘harmful’ comments made on the page. This is absolutely down to the shortcomings of Facebook AI, which can take a word completely out of context and issue a warning automatically and is definitely no reflection on any of the page’s users. Since the last report, Kate is now aided by admins Sarah Hatton and Tara Brockington-Hill and moderator Susie Jones. We are grateful to all for their efforts, which makes the page a valued source of information as well as a friendly and respectful space.

(Steve Taylor, Arthur Hackney, Kate Howell)

Registered Charity No. 1038479

NOTES/QUESTIONS:

Cover Picture of the High Street first appeared in a ‘Once in a While’ of 1982 and is by Roger Goldstone

Fareham High Street is credited with being one of the most complete Georgian streets remaining in the country and is the town’s inheritance from this prosperous period. The railway came to Fareham in 1841 by way of Eastleigh on its route to Gosport (no extension to Portsmouth then) and, with its arrival, the commercial heart of the town shifted to West Street. This had the effect of leaving High Street free from modern shop fronts and other cosmetic alterations.

Registered Charity No. 1038479