Greens Norton Community Centre Association ## Charity Registration Number—1087278 CHARITY COMMISSION Independent examiner's report on the j FOR EKJLAW AI40 WALES accounts S•ttion A Indepfrndent Ex•minv*r's Report Report to thè trnsi•rfl M•m￿r* ol Gr••n• hlorton C•mmunlty C•ntr• A••OcI￿l0n On •ccount• ft>r lh• y•*r 3111 M•r¢h 2023 ¢nded ¢h•rlty no 1087271 Ill anyl S•t out OTr p•ge• 1to2 I roport 10 tho tnffjtees on rny èwniAiDon ol IlK• ac£4uM$ of ih• •btsv• ch•rily I'th• Tru￿") for IM y•ar •nd&J 3110312023. RMpon•lbllllh• •nd - b••l• of r•port AJ Itt• th•nV• Irusl•rf, you Of• r•sgonwN• for th• prfrpai4tion of the •¢xwnls In •ttc¥d•ncé Wilh tho r•ww8m•nt8 ol Chafrti•s Aa 2011 I'l￿ Acl") I r•port fft rMp•cl ol my ex•mln•Kin ol tho Tw•l'• •c￿nI$ ¢•m•d o under sedion 145 of im 2011 Aa ants In carry￿9 out rny •x•min#iJOn. 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Of the •ccourrts dbJ nol ￿mplY wrfh th• ?Fpli¢gt￿ r•qu1remènll conc•rniry th• lorm and coni•ni of •c¢ounli ￿1 cwt In lh• Ch•nlkni IA¢¢¢)uni$ and Repmsl Re9￿all01￿ 2008 olttfjr ihon any requiremenl Ih•i tlki atcounis gi￿ a and l•w' vthv i* * m•tttsr sthr•d a$ part of an Indewndenl exarninalion I ha￿ no eone6m$ and have come 4cmg8 no olhef m•ttws In th lh• txaminalion lo which allenlion Should ￿ drwkn IfTr Ihls r•pNt in older to enable a wopew uncler51andirvJ ol ihe èccounis lo b• r•a¢W. o w(*ds tn tho cltels rf Iljey do nol 8ppIy S￿n•d., Dit•: 3rt July 2024 Nam•: i BrSan J M•nnlng R¥levant proles$lon•l A18 Ilnti o18ank•rn) IER Ocl 2018 ## Trustees Report - 2024 It is now over seventeen years since the community centre was opened. During that time the CCA has carried out much work on the site, as previously reported, and is continuing to do so. The work is funded either by the CCA themselves, or from external grants — the general philosophy of the CCA is that they are to be self funding as far as possible and not a financial drain on the parish. As a recent example of this was when the centre was used as a vaccination centre during Covid. Approximately 60000 vaccinations were administered—the grassed car park turned into a quagmire. We used some of our own funds and a grant from Garfield Weston to excavate / hardcore approximately two thirds of the area. The other third is still to complete. Just when we thought we had weathered the Covid storm (it depleted our reserves by about £ 7000), the war in Ukraine started and we were soon into the next crisis—gas and electricity prices, the effects of which are still ongoing. Even with our best endeavours our utility costs rose by over six times. We are now over a year into our new contracts and we are still monitoring the monthly costs, seasonal adjustments, and how to manage financially. To improve efficiency the heating systems are now controlled by a Hive system. To put some figures to this problem—in December 2023 our utility bills totalled £ 920.00—our invoicing for hall hire for the month was just £ 1300.00. Taking into account other costs—cleaning, insurance, maintenance, etc. we operated at a loss that month. Hopefully the balance will be somewhat redressed during the summer months. Fund raising through this period has been difficult—there is much competition for grants. Our main fund raising event in the past had been the Village Tote—this came to an end with Covid. During Covid personal contact was forbidden, and door-to-door collectors were understandably reluctant to be in proximity with others. Also with about 700 houses in the parish the task was becoming too onerous for the ageing helpers. Other fund raising events we are holding/have held include— - ¨ January 2024—Burns Night. Next year’s will be on Saturday 25th. January—a note for your diary - ¨ March 2024—we held a successful musical evening with Anna Ryder - ¨ Fashion Show— it was the first attempt at such an event in 2023, and proved to be most popular. This is being repeated this year—April 20th. Tickets available ! - ¨ September—we shall be holding another quiz this year—September 9th. - ¨ November—we shall be holding another Art and Craft Show. Apart from all kinds of family celebrations—christenings, weddings, wakes, and parties, etc. regular users include Brownies, Yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi, Alzheimers Society, Fifty Plus Groups, Cricket and Football clubs, Cha Char Chimps, Northampton Carers, Fitsteps, Table tennis, Taekwondo, etc. etc. The community centre has always had a one-way traffic system. This is because the width of the road around the buildings is too narrow for two-way working. There is also a planning condition, stipulated by the Highways Authority when Change of Use / Planning was originally granted, that the Community Centre had to have separate entrance and exit gates. Also, if traffic enters the site via the exit gate there is blind spot where any toddlers playing nearby could be at risk. There have been some near misses. Sadly there have been some individuals who choose to ignore this simple system. Because of this potential safety issue (it is always easy to be wise after the event) it was decided to install flow plates at the exit gate to encourage drivers to enter and leave the site correctly. Along with the Parish Council we have also had reports that both car parks to the playing field have been used for suspicious activities after dark when the Centre is closed. This is something we take seriously, and taking into account all of the concerns we have over the use of the car park we have decided to install an external CCTV system and an additional floodlight to help monitor the site. The car park is not a public car park, it is owned and operated by the CCA, and is for the benefit of users of the community centre. If car park space is available the trustees have no objection to it being used, for example, for picking up and dropping off children for the school, etc. etc. When funds permit one of our next projects will be to clad the rear building to improve its weathering / insulating qualities.