FRIENDS OF GRAVES PARK FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
FRIENDS OF GRAVES PARK INDEX TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS PAGE Legal and Administrative Details Trustees' Report Chair's Report Treasurer's Report Independent Examiner's Report Statement of Financial Activities Balance Sheet 1 2-3 4 - 6 7 Notes to the Financial Statements 8 9 10 11 - 12
FRIENDS OF GRAVES PARK LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS Charity Registration Number : 1080407 Address of Charity: 141 Mount View Road Sheffield S8 8PJ Trustees: C.D. Dewar D. Hartlebury E.W. Brewin (appointed 28/11/2024) B.A. Greatorex P.K. Hobson S. Chapman P.R. Bragg (appointed 28/11/2024) M. Edwards (appointed 28/11/2024) L. Baxter (resigned 18/11/2024) P.L. Whitfield (resigned 19/11/2024) L.P. Baxter (resigned 18/11/2024) S. Whitfield (resigned 19/11/2024) Bankers: Lloyds Bank plo 1 High Street Sheffield S1 2GA Independent Examiner: Peter Shield 40 Bartle Road Sheffield S12 2QQ
FRIENDS OF GRAVES PARK REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 The trustees present their report along with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2025. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in Note 1 to the accounts which can be found on page 11. Constitution and Objects The charity is constituted by a Scheme of the Charity Commissioners adopted 7 September 1999 and amended 22 March 2000. The objects of the charity are: to assist other trusts with interests in Graves Park in enhancing and maintaining the park for leisure, education and conservation in conjuction with the local community and: to preserve the flora and fauna for the benefit and enjoyment of the park users. The trustees have referred to the guidance given by the Charity Commission on public benefit when reviewing the charity's aims and objectives. Details of the activities that have taken place during the year can be found later in this report. Organisational Structure The trustees who have served the charity during the year are shown on page 1. Financial Review The charity had net incoming resources of £9,153(2024: net incoming resources £4,433). The trustees are aware of their responsibilities and by working closely together are hopeful that future years will reflect a surplus of incoming resources. Reserves Policy It is the policy of the trustees to maintain unrestricted funds which are the free reserves of the charity, at a level to provide sufficient funds to cover anticipated administration and support costs for a period of 12 months. Risk Management The trustees are aware of the operational and financial risks which the charity faces and regularly review those risks to mitigate against any impact they may have on the charity. The major risk facing the charity is the continued support of the individuals and the community in using the facilities and the introduction of the younger generation to provide for the future. The trustees work closely together with members to address these risks. Investment Policy The charity now has a policy to open accounts with other bodies in order to get interest on our reserves, all accounts to be FSCS Guaranteed. 2
FRIENDS OF GRAVES PARK REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 (CONTINUED) Review of Activities The trustees have referred to the guidance given by the Charity Commission on public benefit when reviewing the aims and activities and as a result, the activities described in the chairman's report and the treasurer's report have taken place during the year. Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities Law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to; - select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently - observe the methods and principles of the Charities SORP - make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent - state whetner applicable accounting standards have been tollowed subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statement - 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 also responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitv and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention of fraud and other irregularities. Signed - Trustee Print Name - Trustee DAVID HARTERURY 28/10/2025 Date 3
FRIENDS OF GRAVES PARK AGM 2025 CHAIR'S REPORT Welcome to the Friends of Graves Park's AGM, in our 25th year. We have managed to return to the Rose Garden Café for our meeting this year, for the first time in 3 years, now that the cafe is fully open again. Since our last AGM in September 2024, the Friends have been very busy, as usual, trying (sometimes with difficulty) to protect the park and uphold the will and wish of J. G. Graves. Finding Lost Norton Park: Digging Deeper for All Our project drew to a close last year, after 18 months of events and activities, looking into the history, archaeology and ecology of Graves Park. Working with partners, South Yorkshire Biodiversity Research Group, this project was digging deeper into the history, heritage, ecology, archaeology and local memories of our historic park. Our success in securing support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund by being awarded a grant of £142,770 (final total received from the National Lottery Heritage Fund = £130,651.64), along with the £5,000 the Friends were able to contribute, has given us an opportunity to pursue our research of Graves Park. We were able to involve the community in the project and all feedback from those involved has been very positive. The new maps, of the heritage, trees and wildlife in Graves Park, have been very well received and we are so pleased with being able to produce these at last. We were also able to produce new noticeboards for the park, which are all now in place, at entrances, key sites in the park and in Chantreyland Meadow. We have a film of the project, as well as little videos, an interactive map on Sky Maps and photogrammetry on Sketchfab, which displays detailed models of features in the park. All the results of our project will eventually be online on our website and on SYBRG's website, for everybody to access. Another of the outcomes will be reports compiled from the results of all the information we have amassed, which will eventually, we hope, further protect Graves Park. Rose Garden Café Restoration The Friends have continued to work in the Partnership, with the Save the Rose Garden Café Campaign Group and Sheffield City Council, with an independent chair. Since last year, our representation has changed slightly; one of our members stood down, so we took the opportunity to ask Alan Nock if he was prepared to join the Partnership as a FOGP representative and he accepted. Alan is the chartered surveyor who conducted our independent survey after the Rose Garden Café closed. He also attended the earlier meetings with the Council. As with those meetings, Alan is now offering his services pro bono and we are most grateful for his help and advice. We are so pleased he has joined us in the Partnership! We also have Chris Hill, the architect who produced some initial drawings for us, who is now working on the restoration project and has produced the drawings for the restoration. We are also very pleased that Chris is working with the Partnership! At our last meeting, the Partnership divided the restoration project up into phases, which gives us the opportunity to focus on different funding providers. Our primary focus is on the heritage aspect of this iconic building, although other phases are also important in terms of improving the café as a whole. The Friends have told the Partnership about the upcoming anniversary of the café first opening in July 1927; it is our goal to have the restoration of the cafe completed by this date. We look forward to planning this celebration. In the meantime, the Friends continue to work with the 4
FRIENDS OF GRAVES PARK AGM 2025 CHAIR'S REPORT (CONTINUED) Fundraising for the café restoration has taken up a lot of our time this year. We have supported events and activities run by the Rose Garden Cafe Community Fundraising Group, as well as running events ourselves. We helped with the Craft, Christmas and Easter Fairs. We have helped with promotion of events, for which we can now have posters put in the new display boxes below our new noticeboards around the park. David has conducted several fundraising walks and will continue to run these in the future. I have given talks and run walks where the donations received have gone into the fund. We have several collection boxes at the café and other local places, which are helping to add to the funds. We are continuing to keep a tally of the funds raised and this is added to the online donations on our Just Giving page. Maintenance of the Just Giving page, the management of collection boxes and the maintenance of the website and our Facebook pages all takes a considerable amount of time, but it is worth it. Restoration of the Norton Nurseries Site The Friends have attended every Charity Subcommittee meeting at the Council this year. We have raised questions about the use of the Norton Nurseries site, its abuse by the Council in its use as a depot and rubbish collection tip and the Council's refusal to cooperate with the reorganisation of the site, so that our restoration of the third section of Chantreyland Meadow and Arboretum can begin. At every meeting we have asked questions of the Charity Subcommittee, however we seldom if ever get a straight answer. We will continue to ask questions, of the Charity Subcommittee and via the Freedom of Information route, until we get the next section released for restoration, as agreed many times in the past. The Friends have detailed plans for this next section and are raring to go as soon as approval is given. We have some funds put aside for this, however, we are confident that we could also raise funds from the local community and supporters as soon as permission is forthcoming. We know that this is a despoiled site, with much of the rubbish from the nursery activities buried under the compacted ground, however, we are up for the challenge and are determined that this site will become parkland once again, to ensure that there are never future plans to build on the site. Protecting Graves Park The Friends have written to the Charity Commission several times during the past year, including raising concerns about the disposal of land, related to cricket, tennis and the continued blocking of the restoration of the Norton Nurseries site. So far we have not received definitive responses from the Commission, however, we continue to keep them informed and they have said that they are reviewing what we are sending them and will be in touch in due course.
FRIENDS OF GRAVES PARK AGM 2025 CHAIR'S REPORT (CONTINUED) Protecting Graves Park (Continued) We met with the Allama Iqbal Cricket Club, on the cricket ground, in September 2024. The group confirmed that they did not want to lease the land, although they were very keen to continue to play cricket on the old Norton Woodseats CC site and wanted to refurbish the changing rooms. An agreement was made that the Friends would support any funding applications and would be prepared to help if required. The club is now leasing the changing rooms building only, on a short term lease, which is acceptable. This was endorsed by the Charity Subcommittee in November 2024. The Friends finally managed to accept an invitation to meet with the Food Works director, Rene, (once our diaries matched) where we walked around the greenhouses and discussed the plans that Food Works has. We also shared our plans for the restoration of the next section of the Arboretum with Rene, taking him on a tour of Chantreyland Meadow and Arboretum, as he had never been. While we are broadly supportive of the greenhouses being brought back into use, we do not have the time to work directly with Food Works, although our volunteers, in Chantreyland Meadow and Arboretum, work alongside their volunteers on a Sunday. Activities and Events We have continued to be very active in spreading the word about Graves Park and representing the Friends. Over the past year, we have run Heritage Open Days walks, attended the Sheffield Heritage Fair Weekend again (giving out lots of our new maps), attended some LAC meetings, represented FOGP at SYBRG's Climate Change event, amongst many other activities. We have indeed been very busy! The Friends will continue to make Freedom of Information requests and we will continue to inform the Charity Commission of the activities of the trustee, until we are able to reach a position where the parkland is safe. There are many opportunities for any of you who have skills or an interest in local history, horticulture/gardening, trees, wildlife, applying for grants or campaigning or any other skills or interests you think might help us. We desperately need members to join our committee (we really need a secretary) or offer your services as a volunteer. Please do get in touch if you think you can help us. Finally, yet again thank you to all our members, for your continued support, your generous donations and the campaigning over the past 12 months. We continue to be one of the largest friends' groups in Sheffield. We will keep working towards ensuring that Graves Park is protected permanently for the benefit of all the citizens of Sheffield. Caroline D. Dewar 16th July 2025 6
FRIENDS OF GRAVES PARK TREASURER'S REPORT The Digging Deeper project is now complete both physically and financially, with the remaining grant money being received from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, following spending on the activities. There was a small amount of money provided from the Friends of Graves Park fund, this was always going to be the case as the Friends agreed to provide £5,000 match funding. There are presently two ongoing funds held by the Friends, the general fund and the Rose Garden Café Restoration fund. The latter is being held on behalf of the Rose Garden Café Restoration Partnership, which is made up of Sheffield City Council, the Save the Rose Garden Café Group and Friends of Graves Park. Discussions are underway between the Partners on the procedures for committing and spending this money and also the receipt of grant money from the various bodies that could help with funding. At 31st March 2025, this fund stood at £18,764 but this included a grant from Sheffield City Council of £2,092 which had to be spent on fundraising equipment and services, of this £2,092 only £1,409 had been committed meaning that the actual money held towards the restoration costs was £18,081. However this has since risen to around £25,000. If you look at page 9, there is a breakdown of where the money received in 24/25 came from. Thank you to all those who contributed either directly or with their time. The general Friends of Graves Park fund stood at £16,036 at 31st March 2025. This fund provides the money for the day to day running of the Friends and also it will be used towards the funding of the restoration of the next section of Norton Nurseries back to parkland when it is released by the park trustees. When this happens, there will be a requirement to raise more money. Again if you look at page 9, there is a breakdown of expenditure so you can get an idea of the order of annual running costs for the Friends. The Friends have three bank accounts, one for the day to day transactions and two savings accounts. The majority of the money held is kept in an account which returns a reasonable rate of interest given that there is a much more limited choice of accounts offered to charities by the banks. I took over from Lee Baxter as Treasurer early in December following Lee's resignation. Thanks go to Lee for getting us up and running with internet banking and for creating a new accounting system making use of more modern technology. In response to Charity Commission requirements, we have also been putting together various procedures including financial ones. These are not yet formally agreed and adopted by the trustees but this should follow soon. Thank you also to Peter Shield for preparing our formal accounts and also for his advice and help with the financial procedures. Philip Hobson 16th July 2025 7
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF FRIENDS OF GRAVES PARK I report to the Trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above named charity (registered no. 1080407) for the year ended 31 March 2025, set out on pages 9 to 12. Responsibilities and basis of report As the charity trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (the Act). I report in respect of my examination of The Trustees' accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act. Independent Examiners Statement I have completed my examination. I 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: (1) accounting records were not kept in respect of the Charity as required by section 130 of the act: or (2) the accounts do not accord with those records; or (3) the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give 'a true and fair view' which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. I have no 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. Pete, Sile Peter Shield S/10/202. Date 8
FRIENDS OF GRAVES PARK Expenditure Rose Garden Café surveyor and other costs Printing, postage, stationery and consumables Insurance Website Meeting expenses Just Giving Sundries Gardening consumables and small tools Transfer from Unrestricted to Designated funds NLH Fund - digging deeper 709 203 126 51 216 117 249 641 - - - 2 - - - - 66,921 Total Expenditure NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS Fund balances brought forward FUND BALANCES CARRIED FORWARD 16,036 9 1,409 - - - 18,764 1,409 709 203 126 51 216 117 249 641 66,921 34,800 Total 2024 2,974 628 2,391 65 500 64,372 70,930 210 669 191 632 80 216 127 64,372 66,497 4,433 21,214 25,647
FRIENDS OF GRAVES PARK BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 MARCH 2025 NOTE 2025 2024 CURRENT ASSETS Cash at bank Debtor 34,798 34,798 22,319 3,328 25,647 CURRENT LIABILITIES Creditor - 75,070 NET CURRENT ASSETS TOTAL ASSETS FINANCED BY: Unrestricted Funds Designated Funds Restricted Funds - Rose Garden Café 34,798 34,798 25,647 25,647 3 16,036 18,764 34,800 15,759 9,888 25,647 The financial statements were approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by: Caroline Dewar - Chairman Signed - Trustee Philip Hobson - Treasurer Signed - Trustee 25/10/2025 Date 10
FRIENDS OF GRAVES PARK NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES a) Basis of preparation and assessment of going concern The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention unless otherwise stated in the relevant notes to these accounts. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities (FRS102) and the Financial reporting Standard (FRS102) and the Charities Act 2011. The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the Trust's ability to continue as a going concern. The trustees have a reasonable expectation the Trust has adequate reserves to continue in operation existence for the foreseeable future. Accordingly the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis in the preparation of the accounts. b) Income Recognition Income is recognised once the charity has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably. Donations are recognised when they are received. c) Expenditure Recognition Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis. Grants are recognised when they are approved and the intention has been communicated to the recipient. 2 DESIGNATED FUND NATIONAL LOTTERY HERITAGE FUND For comments about the conclusion of the project, please see the Chair's Report (page 4). 11
FRIENDS OF GRAVES PARK NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 (CONTINUED) 3 RESTRICTED FUND ROSE GARDEN CAFÉ The purpose of this fund is to provide resources to facilitate the restoration of the Rose Garden Garden Café to its former glory. The Friends of Graves Park are working in a Partnership with the Save the Rose Garden Café Campaign Group and Sheffield City Council, with an independent chair, to restore and fully reoper to allow funds within our bank account for this restoration. For more details on the Partnership and progress, please see the Chair's Report (page 4). As of 16/07/2025 the total raised by public donations and events is: £24,958. 12