2024-12-31-accounts

Bearwood Community Centre Association Registered Charity No. 1118753

18[th] Annual Report 2024

Management Committee

Chair	Natalie Pilcher
Vice chair	Celia Mitchener
Treasurer	Jenna Milton
Secretary	Olina Redford
Membership Secretary	VACANT
Trustees	Sophie Ireland
	Stephen Ireland
	Sheila Wells
	Anne Moira Clark
	Jennifer Casadio
Centre Manager	Nichole Rexon
Minutes Secretary	VACANT
BCP Council Rep	Marcus Andrews

The Bearwood Community Centre Association Management Committee is responsible for the Community Centre building under the terms of a lease with BCP Council This entails:

• the day to day running of the centre • managing the Association’s finances and administration • a continuing programme of works to maintain and improve the physical condition of the premises • continuing to make the Centre more accessible and engaged with the local community

The Chair and Vice Chair continued their roles as of voted on May 2023. Its pleasing to be able to get people for these voluntary roles. As with the trustees and other committee jobs, we would not be able to run properly without them, so we are incredibly grateful for your time and commitment. We are always looking to recruit new trustees and volunteers to assist in the running and management of the centre.

The Centre’s staff are a Centre Manager (Nichole Rexon), responsible for bookings and the general management of the centre as well as the relationships with all the groups using the premises and a cleaner, both are part-time roles and Jenna Milton as Finance, compliance & administration.

The following pages of this report detail the principal areas of activity during 2024.

Our Mcmillan coffee Morning raised £378.87

We continue to work in partnership with the Bearwood Social Club (BSC)

Natalie, Nichole, Jenna, Jenny, and Sophie all completed a First aid at work course.

There is still potential for the Centre to grow and develop further and a lot of desire and need within the area for even better facilities, activities, and events to meet the needs of the Community, whose ages range from Toddlers to the Senior members. To keep improving the centre and keep it appealing to the community is at the forefront of our thoughts.

We wish to continue growing the community around the centre and have more interaction with everyone in the area. We would also like to continue working with the local school and church in the positive way we do.

Activities at the centre and involvement with the community

The centre really is the heart of the community with a variety of groups for all ages, including dance classes for children, adults &seniors, plus a range of fitness groups, Martial Arts, Cheerleading, Yoga & Pilates,

There is music from the Ukulele rebels, Dog training and model trains, philosophy in Wessex.

It is lovely to have groups who support each other such as our happy seniors meeting each week for tea and bingo & AA.

Our lounges and the bridge prove popular with training groups.

Working with charities such as U3A meeting termly for badminton, short mat bowls and Genealogy and Brendon care have a Kurling group

The community coffee morning on Fridays has become an enormous success this last year now offering soft play alongside it. This continues to thrive, and we would like to thank Natalie, Jenny, and Anne for their continued efforts in making this a lovely, free event for the community, and a warm, safe space where people can interact, who otherwise may not see anyone else all week.

The centre is regularly busy with sometimes up to three birthday parties on a weekend plus baby showers, with always glowing comments and return visits. They especially remark on how clean the centre is.

The youth club is a huge part of the centre. Our youth leader Lol and her team really are amazing; it is wonderful to see it thriving.

Also, regular training groups attending the centre weekly.

Thank you to all our hirers for helping to make the centre the friendly, inviting place it is.

Administration of the Association and the Community Centre

A key part of this activity is to efficiently manage the administration of the centre to support its continuing growth and to meet the various demands placed on the Centre as a public venue and as a Registered Charity.

Management Committee & Trustees

The Management Committee also act as the Trustees of the Association.

Membership

The annual membership fee for 2024 is £5 and comprises of 40 members who hire facilities at the Centre. Whilst the Social Club now has a separate membership, they continue to contribute membership fees monthly to the Community Centre.

Organisation Structure and Constitution

The Association is an unincorporated association and Registered Charity no. 1118753 as of April 2007. The Association operates in accordance with our revised Constitution which was approved by members at the AGM in April 2006.

Engagement with supporting organisations

The BCCA is conscious that it will not be able to achieve the long term aims without the active involvement and support of a range of agencies that advise, guide, and facilitate any development. To this end the Association are actively engaged with various departments at BCP Council as well as Community Action Network (CAN). Membership of CAN has continued to access all the advice and support needed for the management of an active public building.

Licensing

Throughout the year the Centre has been licensed with the local authority to offer all forms of regulated entertainment in the Community Centre. The Community Centre does not hold an alcohol licence, feeling that it is sufficient for this to be restricted to the Social Club, however it is registered with the local authority as a food business able to serve tea, coffee, drinks and snacks in the lounge and youth centre.

Lease

BCCA agreed and signed a 35-year lease on the building in March 2007. We have a good working relationship with BCP Council to ensure both parties are abiding by the terms of the lease and fulfilling the necessary requirements for the maintenance and upkeep of the building.

Insurance cover

Insurance cover for the premises, contents and liabilities has been in effect throughout the year for both the Community Centre and Social Club parts of the building, including Public Liability cover of £10m as required by the Council’s lease. Review of our insurance our cover was carried out and is in place until May 2025, it was Decided to insure with Ecclesiastical from May 2024.

Policies

We are currently working on renewing and expanding our range of policy's

Relationship with Bearwood Social Club

We continue to keep in constant contact with the Social Club, and feel they are an important and integral part of the Community. We hope to continue this relationship going forward

Meeting our legal obligations

The Management Committee are aware of their responsibilities in running the centre in compliance with the wide range of laws and regulations influencing the Association’s activities, including Charity Law, Licensing Regulations, Health and Safety Law, Fire Safety, Environmental Health, building regulations, the Disability Discrimination Act and Data Protection Act. Compliance with these laws and regulations has influenced the Committee’s discussions and decisions throughout the year and have sought assistance from CAN, the BCP Council and other bodies where necessary.

The committee is conscious that the need for legal advice and guidance will be ongoing and will take this up when required.

All these activities have been essential for ensuring the proper and transparent governance of the Association in support of their position as a registered charity.

Community Involvement

The Association continues to make our premises available for charity fundraising events which are of interest to members and residents. Our trustee Sheila Wells organised and held an event

to raise money for MND ‘living locally’ it was an outstanding success, and we were proud to be able to have it in our Centre. Well done, Sheila!

Vision for the future

Our vision is of creating a vibrant and active Community Centre of which the residents of Bearwood can be proud. We ensure this is at the heart of our working.

There is still great potential for delivering improved community facilities and activities which meet the needs of the people of Bearwood, but this has not stopped us setting our sights higher and we continue to consider how to expand what we do in order that more people can benefit from a first-class community facility.

The achievements over the past eighteen years have provided the basis for achieving this vision and combined with our plans for future development and the significant investment we are continuing to make, this will position Bearwood Community Centre to be a valuable and beneficial resource for the Bearwood community and a place of which we can all be proud.

Finances – Treasurers Report

2024 has been another wonderful year for the Association.

Income for the rooms has stayed steady throughout 2024, with party hire being consistent in the usual busy months. Hire of rooms is always lower in the school summer holidays as a lot of classes and groups do not operate.

Training groups have also provided a steady income for us.

The social club contributes each month, and this year also made an extra contribution of £20,000.

We have a good credit control system in place for chasing outstanding debt

We have spent out on decorating and improving the Centre this year, and a new entrance security system, which is the heart of safety and safeguarding for all our hirers and visitors.

We have had to claim on the insurance this year. Unfortunately, there was a pipe leak discovered in the Bridge, which ended up being major, the floor needed drying out, and a new water pipe put in below the ceiling with an easier access stop cock

We claimed back £6627.68 - which covered everything apart from the Entrance carpet, which was our choice to put in, and to run the new pipe, our excess was £250.

This was all dealt with very swiftly, and il take the opportunity now to thank all the trades that helped so quickly, and all the advice and help we received regarding this. Also thank you to the hirers for all their cooperation during this time.

On the 31st of December 2024, the reserve account stood at £42,242.16 which still stays there for us to be able to run the Centre for several months if we do not get income. We can also use

some for major projects which are outlined for 2025 below. The Main bank account stood at £16,042.39

Some overhead costs have increased, as is the way of the world.

We fund Natalie’s highly successful Communi-t morning at £20 per week.

Natalie has also put a great deal of time and effort into producing fantastic seasonal parties for the community, which we have funded

We have kept up and, in some areas, improved the maintenance of the building. We will continue to improve the facilities going forward.

We expect some larger outgoings going into 2025 as the kitchen in the lounge needs modernizing. There are also talks of work/improvements for the hall ceiling. The hall floor is still in discussion.

We started a Community Pot grant scheme. This was giving back to the local people and businesses through them being able to apply for a grant. This was not as successful as first thought, but we have helped the local school with a grant for an outside area and helped a Dance Academy that have used the Centre for years.

Chair report

The Community centre is doing really well with engaging with the community and continuing to run affordable events for the community to attend.

The coffee morning is continuing to thrive, and we receive comments weekly how people look forward to attend. This provides a warm safe space for the community

Our Trustees are continuing to provide their time and effort to keep the centre running and offering their knowledge to improve where we can, thank you to everyone who offers their time.

Our paid staff go above and beyond their roles to ensure their duties are done and our centre would not run as smoothly as it does without them, so thank you.

We have been trying to improve the look of the centre by upgrading the fixtures and fittings along with decorating this is obviously a prolonged process as we want to cause as little disturbance as we can to the regular hirers, but I am incredibly happy with how this is looking currently.

We continue to receive support from people within the local community, and I would like to thank all those who offer help in anyway on behalf of the community centre trustees

The relationship with the social club is now really good and we are glad to have got it to this stage.

I am looking forward to the next year to come and look forward to updating with the progress in next year's report.

Acknowledgements

BCCA would like to record their grateful thanks to the very able Centre Manager, Nicole Rexon, who has continued to ensure the smooth running and maintenance by keeping the centre up to high standards and makes sure of good relationships with the groups using the centre as well as with the members and visitors, while at the same time working towards the future.

We would also not be able to carry on with our continuing success without the quiet, consistent, and excellent standard of work of our cleaners, Carole, Nichole and Thomas, and we are grateful to them for maintaining a clean and pleasant facility for all our visitors and coping with the increasing cleaning procedures of the centre. They are getting brilliant feedback weekly on how clean the centre is.

The committee have worked with various organisations during the year, and we should like to record our thanks to them for their support.

• CAN for their substantial support in providing advice, guidance, and encouragement.

• All our numerous suppliers and contractors during our ongoing developments.

• Amanda Nicholls – BCP Council Community Liaison Officer for her continued support to our Centre Manager.

There are several people we would like to thank for their support in the last year:

• Alan Hart as our Auditor for taking the time to study and report on our financial position. Unfortunately for us, 2024 sees the last of his auditing our accounts. We wish the absolute best for his retirement

• Leslie Legg is consistently available to advise our Centre Trustees, and brilliant at fixing our chairs :)

• Bearwood Social Club committee and members for their cooperation with the Association, and their hard work, ensuring the social club continues to be a wonderful place for all.

• Bearwood Social Club bar manager (Jodie), cleaner (Carole) and bar staff for supporting and being there for us.

• All the groups using the centre, their leaders, and members for their continuing support.

• All the volunteers who have given their time to the Community Centre in so many ways.

Bearwood Community Centre Association Telephone: [phone]

King John Avenue

Bearwood

Bournemouth

Dorset BH11 9TF

[e-mail]

Bearwood Community Centre Association. Independent Examination Checklist for 2024. Direction I Check whether the charity is eligible to have an independent examination. Income is reported as £90,271 and so is above the threshold for external scrutiny, but well below the threshold for an audiL The aggregate value of the Charity's assets is £58.284 which also is less than the audit threshold. The governing document does not require an audiL There are no subsidiaries. Direction 2 Check for any conflict of interest that prevents the examiner from carrying out their independent examination. I have no personal or financial involvement in the Charity except as an ordinary member. Direction 3 Record your independent examination. See below. Direction 4 Plan the independent examination. l am familiar with the overall structure of the Charity and its accounting procedures, having followed the activities of the Charity for several years prior to this one. As previously reported the Charity has moved its accounts over to Sage Accounting and this appears to continue to work satisfactorily. Direction S Check that accounting records are kept to the required standard. I have checked the accounting records, and I believe that there are no significant matters ofconcern BCCA Exam Checklist 2024.docx LL May2025

CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examln•rfs Report Report to the trusteesl members of 8earwood Community Centre Association On accounts for the year ended 31 De¢ember 2024 Charity no lif any) 1118753 S8t out on pages This page only. I rèport to the trustes on my examination of the a¢¢ounts of the above charity {"th Trust-l for th• y&8r ended 31 112 12024. Responslbllltles and As the charity trustees of the Trust. you are responsiblè for the preparalion basis ol report ol the accounts in accordance with the ièqurrements of the Charities Act 2011 1.the Act-l. I report in ro$pe¢t ol my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out und8r section 145 of the 2011 Act and in cafrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Dire¢tlOnS given by th¢ Charity Commission under S•¢iign 145lSllbl of the Act. I have complètely my examination I confirm that no material mattars have come to my attention in connection with the examination which give5 me use to believe that In. any material respect accounting records were not kepi in accofdan¢ with section 130 of the Act or th• ac¢ounts do not 4¢¢ord with th& accounting records I have no ¢oncerns and have come a¢ross no othr matters in ¢onnection wilh the èxamination lo which attention should bè drawn in ordor to enable a propar undeistanding ol the accounis to be re8¢hed. Independent oxaminer'8 statement Oat•: 9 May 2025 Signed.. N•me: Leslie Legg Relevant professlonal qualificatlonlsl or body Addr••$'. 2 Runnymede Avenue. Bèarwood. Bournemouth. BH11 9SF BCCA Accts 2024 F.x#m Report.docx Page l ofl May 2025

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