Pickering War Memorial Charitable Trust
Treasurer’s Annual Report for the financial year from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.
Registered Address
Memorial Hall Potter Hill Pickering YO18 8AA
Charity Registration Number: 1045498
1 Trustees
The following people served as Trustees during the period of the report:
Mal Danks (Secretary to 08/07/24, retired) Tony Danks (Treasurer to 08/07/24, retired) Joan Lovejoy (Chair) Ishmail Ahmed (Deputy Chair) Emma Dineen Alison Seaward June Haighton (retired 08/07/24) Gill Colley (resigned 30/09/24) Chris Colley (resigned 30/09/24) Ruby D’Alquen Richard Haythorne (Treasurer from 08/07/24) Helene Haythorne (Secretary from 08/07/24) Andrew Gadsby (co-opted from 25/11/24)
2 Objectives and Activities
The current Charity was created in 1994 with the object, as defined in the Charity scheme document, of providing and maintaining a facility for the use of the people of Pickering, without distinction of political, religious or other opinions, to be used for meetings, lectures, classes and other forms of recreation and leisure activities.
The Charity is managed by a Management Committee of Trustees. Pickering Town Council is designated as Custodian Trustee and holds legal title of the Memorial Hall. The remaining trustees are volunteers appointed under the terms of the Charity scheme document.
The Trustees are committed to the provision of the facilities in the Memorial Hall for the benefit of the people of Pickering, at the lowest prices possible while maintaining the viability and integrity of the building and equipment.
While carrying out their duties the Trustees believe they have complied with the Charity Commission’s public benefit guidance.
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3 Achievements and Performance
The Memorial Hall continues to be an extremely well used asset in the heart of our town providing a meeting place for the community, as well as office space for small businesses, independent groups and the Town Council.
Occupancy rates of rental rooms remains healthy and income from room hire increased slightly since the last reporting period. The Management Committee with the Hall Manager continuously and actively explore ways to increase room occupancy and therefore income.
Towards the end of the reporting period an information gathering exercise carried out by the trustees, using social media, highlighted that the majority of local residents that responded, mistakenly believed that the Memorial Hall is owned, managed and funded by the Town Council. This resulted in the decision to design and produce an information/promotion leaflet for distribution to all Pickering households. The leaflet was funded by a successful grant application to Pickering Town Council.
The Management Committee agreed to broaden the reach of the Friends Of The Memorial Hall fundraising scheme by offering an additional online donation option as well as the traditional method. This was publicized in the above mentioned information leaflet, on the Memorial Hall’s newly revamped website and on new advertising displays located in the foyer.
The Management Committee agreed to replace an obsolete desktop PC used by the Hall Manager to process room bookings. A laptop and mobile telephone were purchased along with modern multi-function booking software that can be accessed remotely from multiple devices both in the office and remotely. This expenditure was funded by a grant from Pickering Town Council.
Annual fund raising efforts continued including a Quiz Night at the Sun Inn, the Pickering Town Treasure Hunt, and the ever popular book donation scheme located in the foyer of the Memorial Hall.
4 Financial Review
Receipts and Payments Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 are included with this report.
The financial environment in which the Charity operates is increasingly challenging as running costs increase year on year while income remains relatively static due to the constraints of the building and our aspiration to provide low cost facilities to the community.
The Management Committee acknowledged that the net operating loss of £6452.79 is not sustainable and subsequently undertook a review of room hire and long term rental pricing. Both room hire and rent rates were increased during 2025.
Cash reserves fell by £5,269 from £93,004 on 01/04/2024 to £87,735 on 31/03/2025. £5000 was used in June 2024 to bridge a running cost shortfall. Cash reserves were soon to fall by a further £10,000 early in April 2025 to pay for a replacement boiler which was installed in January 2025 following the failure of the old unit.
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On 1 October 2024 cash reserves were transferred from a low interest yielding instant access account to higher interest notice accounts. Investment income therefore increased significantly in the second half of the reporting period and thereafter.
The Management Committee is continually exploring ways to reduce running costs:
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During the reporting period the annual cost of insurance was reduced by £1200 by separating Flood Cover from the general business insurance policy.
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A positive consequence of replacing the failed boiler is that the new boiler is less powerful and therefore uses less gas than the old one. Heating engineers confirmed that the old boiler was significantly overpowered for the purpose it was being used for and the thermal demand of the space it heats.
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On investigating the seemingly high electric bills, with the current Supplier British Gas, it was found that the electric supply into the building exceeds the Halls’ actual requirements. A process to change the building’s electric meter from a Half Hourly Current Transformer (CT) Meter, intended for use in industrial settings, to a standard Smart Meter has begun. The work is complicated by the need to coordinate between the suppliers’ meter service subcontractor and Northern Powergrid. On completion of the work we will however be able to access more competitive electric tariffs from a wider range of suppliers.
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In December 2024 energy consultants Synergi Energy Systems carried out a free energy survey to identify potential savings. Their subsequent report made several recommendations that the Management Committee has considered and will review periodically as funding becomes available.
Richard Haythorne Treasurer 21 July 2025
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| Charity Name | No (if any) | No (if any) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pickering War Memorial Charitable Trust | 1045498 | ||||||||||
| Receipts andpayments accounts | CC16a | ||||||||||
| For the period from ~~ee~~ |
01/04/2024 Period start date ~~ee ee~~ |
Period end date 31/03/2025 To ~~ee~~ |
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| Section A Receipts and payments | |||||||||||
| Unrestricted funds |
Restricted funds | Endowment funds |
Total funds | Last year | |||||||
| to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | |||||||
| A1 Receipts | |||||||||||
| Rent | 15,389 | - | - | 15,389 | 14,736 | ||||||
| Room Hire | 38,780 | - | - | 38,780 | 35,521 | ||||||
| Catering | - | - | - | - | 454 | ||||||
| Fund Raising | 334 | - | - | 334 | 2,899 | ||||||
| Donations | 1,687 | - | - | 1,687 | 2,581 | ||||||
| Bank Interest | 2,036 | - | - | 2,036 | 876 | ||||||
| Sundry | 2,397 | - | - | 2,397 | 1,202 | ||||||
| - | - | - | - | 3,347 | |||||||
| Sub total(Gross income for AR) | (Gross income for AR)60,623 | - | - | 60,623 | 61,616 | ||||||
| A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). - - - - - - - - - Sub total - - - - - Total receipts 60,623 - - 60,623 61,616 ~~——————~~ |
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| A3 Payments | |||||||||||
| Wages | 8,486 | - | - | 8,486 | 8,191 | ||||||
| Insurance & Utilities | 25,568 | - | - | 25,568 | 21,556 | ||||||
| Stationary/Postage/Telephone | 1,965 | - | - | 1,965 | 1,244 | ||||||
| Renewals & Maintenance | 8,614 | - | - | 8,614 | 8,987 | ||||||
| Fees & Licences | 1,033 | - | - | 1,033 | 1,763 | ||||||
| CatereringExpenses | 84 | - | - | 84 | 382 | ||||||
| Equipment Purchases | 897 | - | - | 897 | 56 | ||||||
| SundryExpenditure | 1,182 | - | - | 1,182 | 3,525 | ||||||
| Hall Management | 19,272 | - | - | 19,272 | 18,360 | ||||||
| **Sub total ** | 67,101 | - | - | 67,101 | 64,064 | ||||||
| A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table) - - - - - - - - Sub total - - - - - Total payments 67,101 - - 67,101 64,064 ~~——————~~ |
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| Net of receipts/(payments) - 6,478 - - - 6,478 - 2,448 A5 Transfers between funds - - - - - A6 Cash funds last year end - - - - - Cash funds this year end - 6,478 - - - 6,478 - 2,448 ~~=======>~~ |
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
22/10/2025
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Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
| Categories B5 Liabilities B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use B3 Investment assets B2 Other monetary assets B1 Cash funds |
Details Details Details Details Current Account Investment Accounts Petty Cash Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Details |
Unrestricted funds to nearest £ 10,823 76,867 46 87,736 Agreement Error Unrestricted funds to nearest £ - - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which liability relates |
Restricted funds to nearest £ - - - - OK Restricted funds to nearest £ - - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - Amount due (optional) - - - - - |
Endowment funds to nearest £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| OK | ||||
| Endowment funds to nearest £ |
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| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| Current value (optional) |
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| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| Current value (optional) |
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| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| When due (optional) |
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| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - |
Signed by one or two trustees on Signature Print Name behalf of all the trustees
Date of approval
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
22/10/2025
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Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of The Pickering War Memorial Trust
| report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Pickering War Memorial Trust (the Trust) for the year ended 31% March 2025 Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity trustees of the Trust you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).
| 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 | have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examiner’s statement
| have completed my examination. | confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
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accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or
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the accounts do not accord with those records.
| note that the Statement of assets and liabilities of the Trust does not record any value to the Pickering War Memorial Hall nor have | been able to see any evidence of registered title or ownership of this property, | have however seen documentation that supports that Pickering Town Council are custodian trustees of this property.
| have no other concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Signed: Mf ‘ Name: John\B Harrison
Relevant professional qualification FCA:
Address: The Old Rectory, 23 Hallgarth, Pickering, YO18 7AW
Date: 12 November 2025
7 A i2tules