2022-03-31-accounts

DocuSign Envelope ID: 17AB39A0-5A3E-4901-9561-F6395C0E9E6F

REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 05305188 (England and Wales) REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1119555

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS LIMITED

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

Bedford Creative Arts Limited Bedford Heights Brickhill Drive Bedford MK41 7PH

DocuSign Envelope ID: 17AB39A0-5A3E-4901-9561-F6395C0E9E6F

BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS LIMITED FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

	Page
Chair's Report	1
Report of the Trustees	2 to 16
Independent Examiner's Report	17
Statement of Financial Activities	18
Balance Sheet	19
Notes to the Financial Statements	20 to 28

DocuSign Envelope ID: 17AB39A0-5A3E-4901-9561-F6395C0E9E6F

BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS LIMITED FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022 CHAIR’S REPORT

This year Bedford Creative Arts has succeeded in delivering one of its most ambitious programmes of wide-ranging artistic work for its community beneficiaries whilst also recouping from a challenging year in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.

I am delighted to report that we reached 23,194 people with our rich programme of innovative art, including 9,123 physical audiences and participants, and a digital audience of 14,071. Together with our partners, we celebrate this no mean feat considering the ongoing challenges presented by Covid-19 related restrictions as well as the need to adjust to new methods of working remotely after departure from our offices in 2020. The result, however, is a fantastic testament to the resilience, adaptability and imagination of the executive staff team collaborating with an excellent group of artists, creatives, educators and freelancers to enable us to realise our ambitions.

We have worked with 34 artists across 55 different creative activities. Our projects include the truly pioneering Airship Dreams: Escaping Gravity exhibition - a project that combined a community co-curated memory and heritage exhibition with the creation of a new immersive artwork built using technology we had never encountered before (Unreal Engine for computer games development). Led by artist Mike Stubbs, our creative team developed a work completely unlike those to which audiences in Bedford usually have access. It attracted support and engagement from peers across the country, including the British Council and Doncaster Creates. Our community was both inspiring and inspired through this project, which engaged over 800 children & young people as well as 60 work placement students and 12 community curators working closely with our long-term partner The Higgins Bedford.

In juxtaposition, much of our work was truly neighbourhood-centred and site-specific, including a project with our new Ambassador’s Group in Queen’s Park and artist Caroline Wendling to build new artworks due to be exhibited in 2022 that reveal and celebrate the vibrant, multi-cultural community there. We also delivered public art on Bedford’s High Street through Julian Beever’s The Vault commission for the pilot of the High Street Heritage Zone Cultural Programme; and engaged 1,066 children & young people in work either delivered by ourselves (such as Andy Field & Beckie Darlington’s innovative news reporting show: News News News ) or through re-starting delivery of Culture Voucher funded work through our schools & artists brokerage service: The Culture Challenge.

Throughout this tough year, our team have been dedicated and strong, continuing to champion new ways of working to deliver our aims. We were delighted to welcome our new Projects Assistant to the team and pleased to offer them the chance to explore career avenues in socially-engaged artistic practice. We also welcomed a new Marketing Manager and completed recruitment of our core team after changes post-Covid. With the welcomed support of a Culture Recovery Fund grant, we re-designed and reviewed our working practices to ensure that our team are equipped to deliver our programmes while working remotely both from home and in the heart of our communities. The result is that we have an appropriate staff structure designed for delivering significant results with robust working practices that support the wide-ranging nature of our work.

We are particularly grateful to our key partners and funders who continue to demonstrate understanding and invaluable flexibility in supporting us to achieve our aims. In particular, we would like to thank Arts Council England, National Lottery Heritage Fund, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, The Harpur Trust, Bedford Borough Council and Central Bedfordshire Council for their considerable and ongoing support.

The result of this hard work is that we are on a solid footing for our future with exciting plans to develop new themes for our work in collaboration with our many partners and friends in Bedfordshire & beyond.

I hope that you enjoy reading about Bedford Creative Arts' activities in our Trustees’ Report for the year ended 31 March 2022.

Richard Sobey Chair

18 October 2022

Page 1

DocuSign Envelope ID: 17AB39A0-5A3E-4901-9561-F6395C0E9E6F

BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS LIMITED REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

The trustees who are also directors of the charitable company for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charitable company for the year ended 31 March 2022. The trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and reporting by Charities, applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) issued in October 2019 by the Charity Commission.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Registered Charity Name

Bedford Creative Arts Limited

Registered Company number 05305188 (England and Wales)

Registered Charity number 1119555

Registered office

Bedford Heights Brickhill Drive Bedford MK41 7PH

Trustees

Richard Sobey Paul Messam Jenni Thomas Resigned 19 July 2022 Samantha Matthews Suzette Reed Mark Taylor Sarah Payne Resigned 21 May 2022 Tara Lopez Resigned 3 February 2022 Timothy Pain Appointed 13 April 2021

Director

Elaine Midgley

Independent Examiner

Grant Thornton UK LLP 300 Pavilion Drive Northampton Business Park Northampton NN4 7YE

Bankers

HSBC 12 Allhallows Bedford MK40 ILJ

Page 2

DocuSign Envelope ID: 17AB39A0-5A3E-4901-9561-F6395C0E9E6F

BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS LIMITED REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing document

The charitable company is controlled by its governing document, the Memorandum and Articles, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.

Recruitment and appointment of new trustees

Bedford Creative Arts Limited has a policy for the recruitment and induction of trustees who may serve for up to two terms of three years. New trustees are appointed in accordance with the Articles of Bedford Creative Arts Limited. They are found from the contacts and networks of existing trustees and the executive. Vacancies are also publicised through our website, social media and through other organisations and forums. When recruiting new trustees, the Board looks for individuals with skills and experience which are of value to Bedford Creative Arts Limited and complement those of existing trustees. Potential trustees are interviewed by a panel of trustees and the Director. When a new trustee joins the Board, they are provided with a “Trustee Induction Pack”, which provides comprehensive information about Bedford Creative Arts Limited. They attend induction meetings with the Director and Chair as well as receiving additional training when required. In 2021-22 we launched a recruitment campaign for new trustees after the resignation of Tara Lopez who leaves to focus on her professional paid work.

Organisational structure

The Board and Executive have an agreed Business Plan that articulates the strategic direction of the organisation over 3 years and includes organisation-wide objectives, financial and income strategy, audience development aims, organisational structure proposals, commitments to equality, diversity and the environment and programme ambitions. This strategy is supported by Arts Council England and is core to their monitoring of our delivery on their funding objectives. Day-to-day delivery of the Business Plan is delegated to the Director and staff team. Unusual or significant decisions are made by the Board of Trustees on recommendations from the Director. The Chair and Vice-Chair meet with the Director monthly to review progress. Sub committees of the Board meet approximately quarterly to review detailed aspects of strategy including income generation, equality & diversity and programme development. The Board also have assigned champions to meet with the Director and staff to discuss and challenge other areas of the business including HR/staff, environment, risk, and a Treasurer that supports financial scrutiny.

Risk management

The Board of Trustees, with the Director and the staff team, keep organisational risk under review and mitigate risk with a range of measures including: insurance, planning, performance monitoring, policies and procedures. The organisation holds a corporate Risk Register for the monitoring of strategic risk which is reviewed quarterly. Programmes are mainly run with advance secured funding to ensure that any income risk is well managed. Residual risk is assessed and informs the Reserves Policy, which includes financial and non-financial risks. To meet contractual and legal obligations and deliver operational objectives, the Board agrees the broad annual programme, plans and budget, and monitors performance during the year. 2021-22 was a year of continued risk due to the ongoing Covid19 pandemic. The Trustees have identified the following to be the key risks to the organisation along with the mitigating actions to be undertaken:

Page 3

DocuSign Envelope ID: 17AB39A0-5A3E-4901-9561-F6395C0E9E6F

BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS LIMITED REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

Risk	Mitigating Action
Funding of the Organisation	Bedford Creative Arts Limitedwill continue to develop the programme in a way that diversifies its income from a range of funders including its core client Arts Council England, trusts & foundations, statutory funders and earned income from consultancy. Projects are operated on a full-cost recovery basis to cover overheads and staffing not covered by core funding. Arts Council core funding is secure until 2023. Close monitoring of reserves by the Board and a clear Reserves Policy helps to build investment potential with targets for building reserves for key purposes. The Board have appointed a Treasurer (trustee role) to support the Executive in managing funds including close cost control. The Business Plan incorporates an Income Generation Strategyfor continual securingof funds.
Loss of Key Staff	Bedford Creative Arts Limitedwill aim to invest in its staff and consider succession planning and resilience in its policies and processes. We offer an appropriate level of salary and flexible working arrangements. Salaries are benchmarked across the sector and staff receive above statutory minimum annual leave entitlements. Annual training budgets provide continual CPD. Role design considers succession planning and legacy. Documentation of processes and projects are based on Prince2 principles and enable smooth transition between staff for successful handover/team working. Clear recruitment processes and a recruitment policy ensures quality replacements when required.
Covid-19 and programme/sector impact	The Covid-19 outbreak has had a detrimental impact on the voluntary sector, arts sector and wider global economy as well as a direct impact on local communities and beneficiaries. The Board have reviewed its Reserves Policy to designate reserves to managing organisational change as a result of the outbreak including investment in staff training, digital tools and communications. The staff have been supported with improved technological access to home- working and flexible working practises to ensure service delivery remains steady during periods of restriction. The Director engages regularly with key community stakeholders to proactively respond to changes in programme and the Chair and Vice-Chair meet monthly with the Director to handle operational strategy. All major projects have a strategic risk assessment to consider the risk of their cancellation or postponement should restrictions change.

Page 4

DocuSign Envelope ID: 17AB39A0-5A3E-4901-9561-F6395C0E9E6F

BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS LIMITED REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

	Safeguarding and Health & Safety	The organisation has a Safeguarding Policy and highly experienced, well-trained staff. Using advice from other local experts including the CVS, Bedford Borough Council and Board members in highly skilled professions such as the Clergy, the policy incorporates safer recruitment processes for staff, volunteers, trustees and contractors. Training and DBS checking is repeated every 3 years at a minimum. The Director as well as the Company and Projects Manager have Institution of Occupations Safety and Health (IOSH) Managing Safety qualifications and experience of HSE guidance, risk assessment and control. All activities are risk assessed and appropriate mitigating actions are incorporated.
	Staff wellbeing & management of remote working	The organisation has no office premises and staff work from home or in remote locations in the community with limited supervision. BCA holds a Remote Working policy that guides staff in safe working practises which includes regular daily contact with team members to ensure their location & safety is known. The Board issue an annual Staff Wellbeing Survey that enables staff to anonymously report on their wellbeing & job satisfaction. The Board and Executive discuss results in order to implement additional measures to support staff. The Board & SMT continue to monitor staff performance through fortnightly 1-2-1s and a twice annual Performance Review system.

Remuneration

The charitable company operates a remuneration policy whereby salaries for all directly employed staff are benchmarked against salary levels in the sector on an annual basis and any increases are calculated to account for the financial performance of the organisation.

The average employee headcount during the financial year was seven and the average number of employees (full-time equivalent) was five. No employees earned in excess of £60,000 and the total remuneration paid to the key management personnel during the year was £90,333. During the period the trustees received no remuneration.

Page 5

DocuSign Envelope ID: 17AB39A0-5A3E-4901-9561-F6395C0E9E6F

BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS LIMITED REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Charitable Objectives and Activities for the Public Benefit

Bedford Creative Arts Limited is a contemporary arts charity. We run a programme of artistic commissions and cultural education projects, events and workshops that aim to provide creative opportunities for diverse audiences both locally and further afield, and to provide new creative opportunities for artists.

Our Charitable Objective is to advance the education of the public in creativity and the arts within the Borough of Bedford, the county, the wider region and over time more broadly across the UK by:

1. Offering people the opportunity to develop skills, confidence and knowledge.

2. Using the arts as a tool to improve social welfare and people’s quality of life by responding to those needs identified through contact with local community groups and other agencies.

3. Actively engaging people who are excluded from mainstream provision of arts education for reasons of disability, social, cultural or economic circumstance (by seeking to make activities physically, intellectually, socially, culturally and financially accessible).

4. Enabling everyone to exercise the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community and to enjoy the arts and its benefits.

5. Promoting, improving, advancing and providing access to current developments in contemporary arts practice, through a programme of temporary exhibitions and educational and recreational activities.

Bedford Creative Arts Limited has referred to the guidance in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on Public Benefit when reviewing its aims and objectives and planning its future activities.

In particular, the trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives they have set for the organisation, thus ensuring public benefit continues to be delivered.

Each year the Board of Trustees review and update the Business Plan including reviewing the organisation’s Vision, Mission and Foundations statements to ensure they reflect our current approach in delivering on our Charitable Objectives:

Our Vision: is that future communities will have an outrageous sense of entitlement to the arts because of its power to provoke change.

Our Foundations: We believe that art is essential for a full life as it engenders self-expression, confidence, connectedness and a sense of belonging. It builds strong and resilient communities; it empowers individuals. Where there are challenges in communities, whether social, educational, environmental or economic, the arts have the intrinsic power to provoke and facilitate change. The arts can provide a platform for a diversity of voices to be heard. Through engagement with the arts, people can explore, express, connect, learn, share, debate and challenge, often in innovative and ambitious ways. We want all communities to have access to the arts so that they can do these things and become active citizens with us to work towards better, stronger communities. We see a community as a neighbourhood or as a group of people with a common characteristic or shared experience. We recognise that neighbourhoods are home to many communities and each of us is a member of several communities. We work predominantly in Bedfordshire but strive for our activities and learning to make a national impact on the sectors where we work and the world we live in.

Our Mission : We create art that responds to communities. In order to inspire action and change, over the next four years we will:

People - Put people at the heart of our work, working responsively and collaboratively with communities.

Page 6

DocuSign Envelope ID: 17AB39A0-5A3E-4901-9561-F6395C0E9E6F

BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS LIMITED REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

Place - Support place-making, shaping and enriching by helping communities to have a sense of identity, belonging, agency and pride in where they live.

Power - Enhance the power of communities to provoke change, champion social and environmental justice, and strive for a just and equitable society.

Possibility - Seek to ask questions and have conversations that challenge the status quo, support meaningful debate and enable radical ideas to be explored.

Practice - Use socially engaged artistic practice to develop knowledge, skills and tools that can be shared and used nationally.

Our Strategic Aims for this period have been developed jointly by the Board of Trustees and the Executive Team through a process of collaborative discussions.

The aims of the organisation until March 2023 are:

1. Enable an ambitious, high quality place-shaping artistic programme that has a positive impact on local people and Bedfordshire’s national reputation.

2. Develop active citizenship through arts and culture.

3. Develop and support local creative talent in our fields of work.

4. Ensure our work is resilient, sustainable and accountable.

5. Raise the national profile of our work and broaden our provoking influence on peers, policy- makers, individuals and communities.

We are fleet of foot and work peripatetically, exploring genuine artistic collaborations and new ways of awakening and developing talent and fostering wellbeing with an array of new and long-standing stakeholders and partners: arts and non-arts agencies and charities; local authorities; funders; educational institutions; associate curators and producers; and regional, national and international artists, experienced in socially engaged practice.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

The key activities we deliver to achieve our aims are:

1. Artistic Commissions

We commission artists to develop contemporary art in a wide range of genres across Bedfordshire in response to our Business Plan aims. The theoretical framework for our work is based on socially engaged practice; we believe great art can enhance and transform people's lives. We aim to innovate, to produce original, imaginative, extraordinary, adventurous and often provocative art works and encounters in every day and unconventional locations. We aspire to create art that is critically recognised by our peers and has an impact on the sector on a regional and national scale.

We work with diverse communities, specialising in encouraging new participants and building audiences where there is often a history of low cultural engagement. This includes working deeply within neighbourhoods across Bedford to engage with local people in addressing the issues that matter to them. Currently this means we have focussed intensively on the Queen’s Park ward of Bedford which is culturally diverse and includes residents who are affected by multiple indexes of deprivation.

Our commissions and neighbourhood work are informed by Listening Projects. These projects involve sending our staff into the community to listen and understand their social needs and consider opportunities for our work to respond to them.

Page 7

DocuSign Envelope ID: 17AB39A0-5A3E-4901-9561-F6395C0E9E6F

BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS LIMITED REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

2. The Culture Challenge

Bedford Creative Arts seeks to develop and support access to culture for children and young people, particularly through close collaboration with the formal education sector. We acknowledge that young people will form our future communities and we believe that they should have an outrageous sense of entitlement to the arts. This is because it gives them a means of self-expression, opportunities for personal development and exploration, enhances wellbeing and supports academic attainment amongst a myriad of other advantages.

We deliver The Culture Challenge programme, a brokerage service that provides schools with access to a directory of cultural providers. The service also includes Continued Professional Development (CPD) for teachers/schools and cultural providers to enable informed collaboration. We raise funds for schools to enable them to access cultural activity in the form of Culture Vouchers that lead to investment in activity and we support schools in attaining Artsmark status and using Arts Award.

Our continual engagement with schools and providers working in education such as Royal Opera House Bridge, along with our participation in networks such as the BACE partnership (Bedford Art & Cultural Education) has led to the development of project work that further supports deeper engagement by schools, as well as further CPD opportunities and networks that build up a suite of tools that strengthen the cultural education sector in Bedfordshire.

The Culture Challenge service was reviewed during the year with support from the Culture Recovery Fund by external consultant Tina Corri. The aim was to establish the relevance of the service to users postpandemic and review possible business models to make the service viable in the long term. The service will continue until August 2022 at which point a decision about its structure and future will be made by the trustees and executive.

3. Creative Consultancy

In response to the delivery of our artistic programmes, we support other organisations that deliver on our aims in the form of Creative Consultancy. This includes being commissioned by organisations to undertake research, lead projects, provide training and construct networks or opportunities that enable arts & cultural activity to grow in Bedfordshire.

This includes projects such as Make Way for Culture, a series of interventions commissioned by Central Bedfordshire Council to support cultural organisations in the local authority area to better serve local schools and engage their students in culture.

4. Ecology, Practise, Knowledge & Talent Development

Bedford Creative Arts works to build the creative economy in Bedfordshire and to nurture and grow creative talent by supporting artists, curators and producers both locally and beyond. We do this by:

• Providing mentoring and practical support to artists and producers within our programme and commissions, particularly through our Producer Hub programme delivered in partnership with 1 Degree East;

• Participating in opportunities to “listen” to the communities we serve such as supporting local Creative Schools Networks and sitting as a member of the Women of Bedford steering group;

• Acting as a partner to support projects that are led by other organisations or directly by artists and local producers such as supporting artist Arabel Lebrusan to deliver her Blunt Blades commission in The Higgins, Bedford;

• Nurturing, attending and developing local collaborative networks that help to build up the creative economy and ecology such as the Bedford Cultural Partnership and Central Bedfordshire Culture Hub (co-founded by Bedford Creative Arts) and the Local Economic Partnership’s Creative & Cultural Sector group.

Page 8

DocuSign Envelope ID: 17AB39A0-5A3E-4901-9561-F6395C0E9E6F

BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS LIMITED REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

We provide mentoring and support to the artists and freelancers engaged in the delivery of our work, but particularly seek to reach those with limited opportunity, especially in the Bedfordshire area. We target opportunities to work with people from a diverse range of backgrounds and to enable people to have a long-term relationship with Bedford Creative Arts over a number of years through interventions such as opportunities for work, mentoring, brokerage of partnerships, promotion of their work and advice on funding.

ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE – A REVIEW OF THE YEAR

Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic

Understandably the Covid-19 pandemic continued to impact our delivery and how we operated our organisation during the year.

Several of our projects originally due for delivery in 2020-21 were brought forward into the 2021-22 financial year and most had considerable adaptations to their delivery successfully negotiated with supportive funders and stakeholders.

This resulted in project budgets being stretched over a far longer than originally anticipated period and reduced our capacity for taking on new work. It also resulted in two large projects being delivered simultaneously and placing pressure on a small team. To mitigate the immediate and anticipated longerterm impact of this, we were successful in securing a Culture Recovery Fund grant and a Harpur Trust grant, which enabled us to invest in organisational capacity building and resilience to manage this busy period.

We invested in consultancy support to help with community mapping, legal agreement writing and service review. We invested in equipment to support staff with continued home and community-based working after the departure from our office premises in 2020. We invested heavily in staff training to support reengagement with sector conferences and safety training as well as investing in delivery of partnership projects such as Desire Paths (a street arts project commissioned by The Place Bedford with Third Angel theatre company). We also appointed a fixed term Projects Assistant to the team to help us deliver the back-log of project work and provide a training and development opportunity to someone new entering the sector.

As a result of this investment and in our successful delivery of project work, we have been able to re-build reserves lost during the pandemic in order to support a year of research and project development with our communities planned for 22-23.

Project Delivery

Despite the impact of Covid-19, the organisation continued to deliver activity for its beneficiaries, largely through exploiting the opportunities for use of digital mechanisms in addition to carefully designed face to face delivery.

Overall, it meant we were able to reach audiences of 23,194 across the year including 14,071 in digital audiences. We also delivered 55 creative activities and 44 digital outputs.

We were also proud to have been able to support the employment of freelance artists and contractors during this challenging time by providing work for 34 creatives during the year.

Key successes in the year included:

Airship Dreams: Escaping Gravity – This artistic exhibition and community engagement programme originally due to open in October 2020 was finally launched in July 2021. The result of 18 months’ work with a collaborative team of artists, a two-fold exhibition was opened in The Higgins Art Gallery & Museum Bedford that comprised a new, immersive digital artwork produced using the Unreal Games engine shown alongside a community co-created exhibition of community memory relating to Bedford’s airship heritage.

Page 9

DocuSign Envelope ID: 17AB39A0-5A3E-4901-9561-F6395C0E9E6F

BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS LIMITED REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

We contracted the lead artist Mike Stubbs to drive the artistic response, resulting in a 36 minute immersive cinematic installation in the William Harper Gallery. He collaborated with a team of multi-media artists; Roland Denning, Dave Lynch, Sam Wiehl, Rob Strachan and Roger Illingworth to create the work which was exhibited until November 2021. The community co-created exhibition, worked on closely with the Keeper of Social History at the Higgins, continued until 22[nd] March 2022.

We delivered a range of public events and workshops throughout the period of this exhibition to showcase the projects and raise the profile of the educational programme delivered alongside, in particular with Shortstown Primary School, Bedford College and Mark Rutherford School. This included commissioning sculptor Paul Pibworth to produce a permanent piece for Shortstown School, commissioning a printed publication about the project’s process and history, and delivering 3 launch events and symposiums reaching 91 participants including 2 digital labs.

In total 29,197 people engaged with Airship Dreams through a whole range of activities and resources (including online video engagements). 7,508 of these visited the exhibition and engaged in face-to-face events. 844 children & young people were engaged including 9 children at risk of exclusion from school.

The project has, overall, been one of our most ambitious projects to date, pushing us to work with new technologies, with new partners and embedding educational delivery on a substantial scale. The result is that there are over 15 new legacy resources across Resource Packs for teachers and young people, the publication and a 360 virtual walk-through exhibition and the work is now embarking on national touring activity.

Audience feedback was overall positive, despite the abstract and contemporary nature of the work being new to The Higgins’ programme:

“Escaping Gravity was an installation unlike anything I've seen before. It was a very visceral experience. My senses were stimulated. It was inspiring and harrowing. The song at the end was beautiful” Exhibition visitor

“It is absolutely wonderful to see James’s work, from Graphic Design, printed on the front cover of the Higgins leaflets. The confidence this has given him, and all the students involved, and experience for CVs and those important links made, will no doubt continue to aid the students through their continued education and chosen career paths.” Teacher, Bedford College

“Was such a beautiful thought-provoking tribute to the R101! With the many themes of life, death, planet, throwaway society, spiritually and the circle of life! AMAZING!!!” Exhibition visitor

“The airship dreams video was fantastic, I never expected to see something like this in Bedford” Exhibition visitor

“Bedford Creative Arts is fuelling this new revolution of a creative economy & [Bedford] could well be the silicon-valley of art, technology, faith & community […] there is a sense we are in 2121 in this work” - Skinder Hundal, Director of Art, British Council.

Holidays & Food Central Bedfordshire Art Drop – We were commissioned by Central Bedfordshire Council to deliver activity funded by their Holidays & Food Central Government programme. We aimed to deliver remote activity for children on Free School Meals at home and provide workshops through video conferencing. The result was that we produced 600 packs for children and young people delivered via Children’s Centre and 2 schools in Central Bedfordshire produced by commissioning 3 artists to produce a range of activities across music, visual art & poetry.

Page 10

DocuSign Envelope ID: 17AB39A0-5A3E-4901-9561-F6395C0E9E6F

BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS LIMITED REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

News, News, News – We worked in partnership with The Place Bedford to bring artists Andy Field & Beckie Darlington to Bedford to work with Priory Primary School and deliver their project News, News, News. 10 school children from a range of cultural backgrounds were invited to work intensively over 3 weeks on producing a news show for adults. The children chose the topics important to them that they wanted to research (noise pollution, anti-social behaviour and the river) and interviewed local experts on these topics before preparing a new show for a public audience in Feb 2022. The show was a sell-out event and was well received, including receiving attendance from the Mayor of Bedford and the Bedford MP.

The Culture Challenge – In response to feedback from schools and providers that were overwhelmed by the impact of lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we took the decision to scale back delivery of The Culture Challenge for much of the year whilst schools focused on returning to normal. Our Culture Challenge Manager moved on in mid-2021 and was eventually replaced in January 2022 by a new manager on a fixed term contract until August 2022. The focus of the service during the year was to continue to provide advice and mentoring to teachers and providers seeking to work together during the period and to encourage them to apply for Culture Voucher funding. The result is that during the year around £20,000 worth of culture vouchers were issued to schools for 36 programmes of work either delivered in 2021-22 or to be delivered in early 2022-23 that will engage around 2,000 young people in cultural activity through schools.

The primary focus of the year was to work with consultant Tina Corri on a thorough review of the service. Tina interviewed cultural providers and teachers as well as funders and partners about the service’s approach both before and during Covid-19. She also undertook a full competitor audit and business plan analysis to make recommendations about future options for delivery. The Board & Executive of BCA will review these options in early 2022-23 with a view to deciding the future approach of Culture Challenge from the 22-23 academic year. A new programme of CPD began, including re-networking providers through online and face to face speed dating events and will be continued in the Summer Term 2022.

Take Part Queen’s Park – This project was re-launched physically in the community in October 2021 through delivery of the Made In Queen’s Park community café. The 3 commissioned artists took up residence in the Queen’s Park Community Centre in October half term alongside local art providers and caterers for a week-long programme of family friendly participatory activity that opened informal conversation about what they liked about Queen’s Park and hoped to see delivered from the future commissions. The programme consisted of Lego model-making, screen-printing, cooking, wellbeing, clay pinch-pot making, and a community feast. Both activity and food were provided free to residents and resulted in a total number of 710 engagements over the week. The programme was more successful than anticipated with all activities over-subscribed each day. It was well received and provided a wealth of contact details from those keen to stay involved with the project in the future.

Participant comments:

“I was involved in Clubhouse and we were counting the days for you to come back again.”

“There is nothing much to do in Queen’s Park for children. I have 6 kids. If we weren’t here we would be at home all day thinking of things to do. This is great because I can talk to people and there is something for the kids to do.”

“I have seen people here today that I haven’t seen for two years. It’s really great to be at an event where we can socialise again.”

“We just moved to Queen’s Park two months ago. I saw the publicity and brought my kids as something to do and a way of meeting new people. There hasn’t been much like this to engage with and so this is a great opportunity to come out and find out more about what’s happening here.”

High Street Heritage Action Zone Cultural Programme Pilot – We joined a local consortium of cultural and heritage providers initiated by Bedford Borough Council with the aim of designing a cultural programme in connection to the High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ) project being delivered by the Council. Historic England provided funding to the Borough Council for a pilot project and we were commissioned to deliver a 3D illusion artwork on Bedford High Street that aims to draw public attention to the myths and

Page 12

DocuSign Envelope ID: 17AB39A0-5A3E-4901-9561-F6395C0E9E6F

BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS LIMITED REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

stories surrounding the former bank site near the river. We appointed internationally renowned artist Julian Beever to deliver the work in May 2021 which is now accessible to visitors of the town centre.

One project continues to be postponed due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic:

Make Way for Culture – This project commissioned by Central Bedfordshire Council was due to engage cultural organisations and schools in Central Bedfordshire in a collaborative learning experience about maximising children’s access to cultural services. However, in response to closure by the local authority of their cultural services during lockdown and the impact of repeated lockdowns on schools and their staff capacity, the project continues to be on hold. Funding relating to the project is being held in Restricted Funds until such time as the commissioner feels able to revisit delivery, currently planned for Autumn 2022.

Championing Diversity

Bedford Creative Arts (BCA) remains committed to celebrating diversity through our work and ensuring equality of opportunity for both audiences and artists. BCA uses an Equalities Action Plan alongside its company policy on Equality & Diversity to ensure that it continues to deliver its commitment.

Particular activity that was focused on supporting access and inclusion this year included:

• We undertook Equality Impact Assessments of all our key elements of project delivery which resulted in making additional provisions for people of certain characteristics including: creating an audio description of the Airship Dreams exhibition and providing Bengali and Polish interpreters at the Queen’s Park Community Café.

• We supported a virtual event for International Women’s Day organised with Legacy of Windrush Descendants (LOWD).

• We targeted trustee recruitment at people from under-represented backgrounds resulting in a successful candidate from a Black Caribbean background aged under 25 years being inducted to the Board with a proposed start date of July 2022.

• We targeted community engagement work at protected characteristics at risk of exclusion including those on low incomes (Holidays & Food creative art packs), older people (Airship Dreams and workshops for Take Park Queen’s Park at Presentation House sheltered accommodation), and young people (including a bespoke programme of artist engagement for 9 students at risk of exclusion at Mark Rutherford School)

• We successfully reached a diverse community with our Queen’s Park Community café event, including an audience of 70% South Asian residents many of whom had not engaged with our partners at The Higgins previously.

• Acknowledging that audiences for both ourselves and The Higgins over the past 5 years have been around 70% female, our Airship Dreams project with a male artistic team attracted an audience of 50% (double the number reached by BCA in 19-20).

Ecology, Practise & Knowledge Development

We have continued to invest in local and specialist talent across a range of artforms and practises through our projects and ongoing support networks. Particular achievements in the year include:

• We led on re-launching Creative Bedfordshire, a free network for creatives working in Bedfordshire to connect, network, share news and hold debate securing 150 members. The network is now jointly delivered by members of the Bedford Cultural Partnership (still Chaired by BCA) including Spectacularts, The Place Bedford and the arts & culture team of the University of Bedfordshire. We worked with Bedford Borough Council and Central Bedfordshire Council to secure funds to create a new online platform, hosted by BCA, and delivered a series of online talks and networking events to kick-off.

Page 12

DocuSign Envelope ID: 17AB39A0-5A3E-4901-9561-F6395C0E9E6F

BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS LIMITED REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

• We continued to convene meetings virtually of the Bedford Cultural Partnership consortium of cultural leaders in Bedford, maintaining support to peers during Covid-19 and initiating discussions with the Council Portfolio Holder about developing a cultural strategy for Bedford. We inputted to a Managed Funds application that secured £35k worth of investment towards developing a cultural vision in 2022-23.

• We continued our virtual attendance in local strategic networks including BACE (Bedford Arts & Cultural Education), the SEMLEP Creative & Cultural Steering Group; the Central Bedfordshire Culture Hub including inputting into research by the University of Bedfordshire consultancy work a cultural strategy.

• We continued to represent the town’s cultural viewpoint on the Town Deal Board, formed by the Bedford Borough Council in order to create an investment plan to apply for funding for a central government Town Deal fund.

• We delivered a programme of 6 sessions for local creatives reaching 25 individuals in collaboration with 1 Degree East to provide mentoring on skills across fundraising, producing, inclusive working and budgeting.

• We mentored 2 creative producers with support from Royal Opera House Bridge interested in developing a practise within cultural education.

Organisational Development & Change

2021-22 was a much more settled year after considerable organisational change in the prior year.

Particular changes in the year included:

We appointed to the role of Projects Assistant, a new fixed-term 2 year appointment supported with emergency funding from The Harpur Trust. The post-holder will support all aspects of project delivery from marketing to workshop delivery and administration. This has enabled us to mentor someone emerging in the arts sector across a range of skills to guide their path to a new career from 2023. It also supported considerable levels of operational delivery in the year and been a great asset to the team to which we extend considerable thanks to The Harpur Trust.

We continued to operate without an office after our lease came to an end in December 2020. We kept our working conditions under review and initiated a staff wellbeing survey to ensure staff felt supported in their roles. I am pleased to report that the anonymous staff survey stated 100% of staff felt BCA took positive action on wellbeing & 100% said they were satisfied in their role. New equipment including desks at home, laptops and tablets has enabled staff to be flexible in their working locations, experimenting by working in conference centres, cafes, hotels, churches and community centres as required.

Sadly, at the end of April 2021, our long-serving Cultural Education Producer, Kayte Judge, took the decision to leave BCA and pursue a freelance career after finishing her cancer treatment. We reviewed the staff structure and decided that we would be able to continue to work with people such as Kayte as Associates of BCA in future and therefore did not replace the role internally.

Due to a staff resignation in November 2020, we had a marketing vacancy for much of early 2021 and used the services of a few marketing consultants at this time to support different projects. In August 2021, however, we appointed a new permanent Marketing & Communications Manager to the team.

We had appointed a fixed-term Producer to deliver the Take Part Queen’s Park project in 2019, however, as the project was significantly extended due to Covid-19 it was felt that we should bring the producing role inhouse in order to preserve budget to continue the project in 2022 if necessary. Therefore, our producer left at the natural end of her fixed-term contract and our Programme producer took over producing responsibilities for the Take Part Queen’s Park project.

The Board returned to quarterly Board meetings in early 2022 in response to the impact of Covid-19 settling down and the organisation recovering into a position of resilient staffing, stronger financial footing and successful project delivery.

Page 13

DocuSign Envelope ID: 17AB39A0-5A3E-4901-9561-F6395C0E9E6F

BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS LIMITED REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Reserves policy

The Reserves Policy aims to maintain reserves at the minimum level required to manage risk, support organisational resilience and enable investment in development. This is managed through the use of named designated funds identified for specific purposes. This supports strategic financial management and accountability.

Targets for designated funds are set following an assessment of the operational financial commitment and associated residual financial risk if income is unexpectedly terminated. The reserves policy is reviewed at least annually by the Board of Trustees and designated funds reviewed quarterly with the preparation of financial management accounts and projections.

The charity’s emergency designated fund will ensure that the charity has the ability to manage unforeseen events that affect its financial health and not to fall below the level that would put the charity at risk of demise, or breach of the law or its obligations. The Trustees have set a Designated Emergency WindUp Fund with a minimum target of three months’ expenditure (currently calculated to be £60,000). In addition, other funds are designated to allow the charity to invest to create new opportunities and to manage growth with a further target of £60,000 across these funds.

Summary of Designated Funds and their purposes:

Designated Emergency Wind-Up Fund with a minimum target of three months’ expenditure (currently calculated to be £60,000) to be used should the company be required to wind-up in a legally responsible manner.

Designated Covid-19 Emergency Fund – a fund to support the company's response to the coronavirus pandemic that has necessitated consideration of both programme, staffing and operational changes to service delivery. This fund will remain in place until evidence suggests that the Covid-19 pandemic is unlikely to have further impact on operations.

Designated Capital Fund – maintained to enable the purchase and maintenance of capital equipment such as PCs & laptops for staff and to enable taking on a new office after the pandemic, if required.

Designated Programme Development Fund – to enable investment in our programme so that we may increase our ambition and develop new projects & programmes with matched funding support that could lever in additional funding. It is particularly important at this juncture as BCA comes to the end of a 4 year investment period and is preparing a new programme plan for 23-24 onwards.

Designated People & Organisation Fund – to enable future investment in organisational development. This can include resourcing changes to staff structure, the need to invest strategically in staff training & development, or to manage unforeseen temporary staffing issues such as unexpected absences of leave.

Any general funds that are not designated for the above purpose will be reviewed with a plan to invest these funds in a manner that supports the delivery of the charity’s objects within 12 months of operation.

The trustees agreed that this was a prudent approach and would ensure the future growth and development of Bedford Creative Arts was financially sustainable.

The Board has agreed that funds will only be held in low-risk UK bank accounts as approved by the Board of Trustees.

The trustees also agreed that the charitable company will continuously strive to deliver its charitable objectives as cost effectively as possible whilst ensuring it is able to continue to meet its liabilities as they fall due.

Page 14

DocuSign Envelope ID: 17AB39A0-5A3E-4901-9561-F6395C0E9E6F

BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS LIMITED REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

Principal funding sources:

BCA Limited received income of £317,473 (2021: £374,473) in the year, of which £127,818 (2021: £184,436) represented restricted funding, relating to the Culture Challenge Service (£20,333), Queen’s Park Project Fund (£5,000), Make Way for Culture (£1,248), Airship Dreams (£58,818), Project Assistant (£20,000), Producer Hub (£1,260), Art Drop (£8,629), High Street Heritage Action Zone Fund (£7,472), Creative Bedfordshire (£708) and Bedford Contemporary Dance (£4,350) programmes. Expenditure in the year totalled £372,219 (2021: £294,498) of which £210,265 (2021: £134,641) related to the restricted project funding.

BCA’s biggest investment source is Arts Council England through our designation as one of its National Portfolio Organisations. We also received significant funding from The Harpur Trust concerning The Culture Challenge alongside a range of other financial support from various funding bodies, trusts and foundations that have helped us to deliver our wide-ranging programme including:

Bedford Borough Council, Central Bedfordshire Council, The Gale Family Trust, Royal Opera House Bridge, The Harpur Trust, The University of Bedfordshire, Arts Council England Covid Recovery Fund and National Heritage Fund.

Funds available

The reserves held at 31 March 2022 are £171,278. This includes unrestricted funds of £123,727, which equates to approximately seven months’ expenditure and is in line with the reserves policy.

Within the unrestricted funds, the trustees have designated the following separate funds:

Designated Emergency Wind-Up Fund: £60,037 (2021: £60,037) Designated Covid-19 Emergency Fund: £5,000 (2021: £5,000) Designated Capital Fund: £5,000 (2021: £5,000) Designated Programme Development Fund: £15,000 (2021: £5,000) Designated People & Organisation Fund: £20,000 (2021: £10,000)

The trustees are confident that the charitable company can continue to meet its liabilities as they fall due for the foreseeable future and that the accounts should be prepared on a going concern basis.

Related Parties

BCA leased a store from Verve Developments Limited for £nil in the year ended 31 March 2022 (31 March 2021: £nil). Verve Developments Limited is a related party due to Timothy Pain being a director of the company and trustee for Bedford Creative Arts Ltd. If payable, the commercial rent on the store would have totalled £1,650 for the year ended 31 March 2022 (2021: £412). This has been received as a gift in kind from Verve Developments Limited for both financial years.

FUTURE PLANS

Some of the 2021-22 programme will continue into the 2022-23 financial year, however the Board & Executive have begun the process of designing new Business Plan aims for 2023-24 onwards including 3 new programmatic themes for our work.

New programme themes under development are:

The River Ouse: Identified by residents as central to Bedford’s identity, BCA will work in neighbourhoods to explore how does a river shape a place & what is the relationship between communities (esp. rural Boroughs) and the river? How might communities want to embrace, use and celebrate it as iconic to Bedford and a metaphor for their desires, conversations and reflections over a longitudinal period?

Bedford’s Innovation Heritage: Bedford sits on the Cambridge-Oxford arc and is an historic place of technological innovation, yet little is celebrated in the town and fully known by communities (evidenced by our work with Airship Heritage and High St Heritage Action Zone). This theme will explore what do people

Page 16

DocuSign Envelope ID: 17AB39A0-5A3E-4901-9561-F6395C0E9E6F

BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS LIMITED REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

in Bedford think and feel about their tech heritage? How might Bedford use art to celebrate, share and enliven it and give Bedford a reputation relevant to its position on the arc?

Migration: Bedford has larger than national average levels of migrant residents who live peacefully together. How might art help to celebrate this and the positive benefits of migration? How might migrant communities share and own more cultural capital in Bedford? Might this build on successful cultural initiatives like Refugee Week but turn the narrative towards positivity and freedom of expression?

Our programme for 2022-23:

• Airship Dreams: Escaping Gravity – this project is due to tour to Sheffield DocFest (international documentary festival) in June 2022 with a view to securing national touring partners to take the work from Sept 2022 onwards.

• We have secured funds from the Bedford Borough Council Town Centre Priority Fund to deliver 4 “ghost sign” murals in Autumn 2022. Based on the idea of historic wall advert paintings, these murals will incorporate an augmented reality element and engage local artists in paints in both the town centre and a local school.

• Take Part Queen’s Park will come to fruition with an exhibition in The Higgins, Bedford of the work of Caroline Wendling in the community through an exhibition from April – June 2022. The work will feature a community co-created film, embroidery and clay items made by Queen’s Park residents. There will also be a community sharing event in Queen’s Park with the artworks gifted back to the community at the end of the project. A mural, proposed to be delivered in Queen’s park, will be delivered by artist Andy Holden later in 2022.

• We anticipate that we will continue to deliver The Culture Challenge until August 2022, whereafter it will be re-designed to incorporate promotion and CPD within the Creative Bedfordshire network programme.

• Make Way for Culture will be revisited in Autumn 2022 with Central Bedfordshire Council to identify how the project might engage children & young people with cultural facilities in their area.

• We will launch our “river” theme at the Bedford River Festival in July 2022, including providing activities in partnership with artists Pell Ensemble to begin to explore the stories people want to tell about the river.

• We will work with partners at St Paul’s Church Bedford to commission an artist to deliver a project for Refugee Week 2022 that invited refugees new and old in Bedford to share their memories, stories and photographs with the wider community.

• News News News will make its return to Bedfordshire in partnership with Leighton Buzzard Library Theatre in February 2023.

• We will continue developing partnerships with local networks and community associations that we anticipate will develop into further project work.

In preparing this report, the trustees have taken advantage of the small companies’ exemptions provided by section 415a of the Companies Act 2006.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD:

Richard Sobey

Chair

18 October 2022

Page 16

DocuSign Envelope ID: 17AB39A0-5A3E-4901-9561-F6395C0E9E6F

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS LIMITED

I report on the accounts of Bedford Creative Arts Limited for the year ended 31 March 2022, which are set out on pages eighteen to twenty eight.

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with the regulations made under section 154 of the Charities Act 2011. My work has been undertaken so that I might state to the charitable company’s trustees those matters I am required to state to them in an independent examiner's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, I do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s trustees as a body, for my work, for this report, or for the opinions I have formed.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charitable company’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 and part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and that an independent examination is needed. The charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000 and I am qualified to undertake the examination by being a qualified member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Having satisfied myself that the charitable company is not subject to audit under company law and is eligible for independent examination, it is my responsibility to:

• examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011;

• to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act 2011; and

• to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of independent examiner's report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a comparison of the accounts with the accounting records kept by the charitable company. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true and fair' view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner's statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

• which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:

• to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act 2011 and section 386 of the Companies Act 2006;

• to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records; and

− to comply with the Statement of Recommended Practice ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Repoublic of Ireland (FRS102) (effective January 2019)’

have not been met; or

• to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Gareth Norris FCA Grant Thornton UK LLP Chartered Accountants Northampton Date: 1/11/2022

Page 17

DocuSign Envelope ID: 17AB39A0-5A3E-4901-9561-F6395C0E9E6F

BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS LIMITED

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

Note INCOME Donations 2 Investment income 3 Charitable activities 4 Total income EXPENDITURE Raising funds 5 Charitable activities 5 Total expenditure NET (EXPENDITURE) / INCOME RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS Total funds brought forward 13 TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 13	Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds £ £ 152,385 333 18 - 37,252 127,485 189,655 127,818 - - 161,954 210,265 161,954 210,265 27,701 (82,447) 96,026 129,998 123,727 47,551	31.3.22 31.3.21 Total Funds Total Funds £ £ 152,718 146,385 18 286 164,737 227,802
		317,473 374,473 - 20 372,219 294,478
		372,219 294,498
		(54,746) 79,975 226,024 146,049
		171,278 226,024

There are no recognised gains or losses other than those included above. The results shown above relate to continuing activities.

The income and expenditure are measured under the historical cost convention.

The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements

Page 18

DocuSign Envelope ID: 17AB39A0-5A3E-4901-9561-F6395C0E9E6F

BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS LIMITED BALANCE SHEET

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 05305188 (England and Wales)

Notes FIXED ASSETS Tangible assets 9 CURRENT ASSETS Amounts owed within one year 10 Cash at bank and in hand CURRENT LIABILITIES Amounts falling due within one year 11 NET CURRENT ASSETS TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES NET ASSETS FUNDS 13 Unrestricted funds Restricted funds TOAL FUNDS	Unrestricted Funds £ 3,449 1,838 124,672 126,510 (6,232) 120,278 123,727 123,727	Restricted Funds £ - 1,750 64,994 66,744 (19,193) 47,551 47,551 47,551	31.3.22 31.3.21 Total Funds Total Funds £ £ 3,449 2.171 3,588 10,011 189,666 234,925
			193,254 244,936 (25,425) (21,083)
			167,829 223,853
			171,278 226,024
			171,278 226,024
			123,727 96,026 47,551 129,998
			171,278 226,024

The company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 31 March 2022.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2022 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for

• (a) ensuring that the company keeps accounting records that comply with Sections 386 and 387 of the Companies Act 2006 and

• (b) preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company as at the end of each financial year and of its surplus or deficit for each financial year in accordance with the requirements of Sections 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the company.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies and with the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice ‘Accounting and reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) issued in October 2019 by the Charity Commission;

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 18 October 2022 and were signed on its behalf by:

Richard Sobey Chair

The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements

Page 19

DocuSign Envelope ID: 17AB39A0-5A3E-4901-9561-F6395C0E9E6F

BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS LIMITED NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

1. COMPANY INFORMATION AND ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Company Information

The company is a private company limited by guarantee and is registered in England and Wales. Registered company 05305188 Registered charity number 1119555

Registered Office: Bedford Heights Brickhill Drive Bedford MK41 7PH

Basis of preparing the financial statements

The trustees believe that the charitable company can operate for a period of at least 12 months from the date of approval of the financial statements. The charity continues to be supported by the funding from the Arts Council and other income streams and as such consider it appropriate to prepare the accounts on a going concern basis.

Accounting convention

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, and in accordance with the Companies Act 2006 and the requirements of Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (FRS102) and section 1a of FRS102. The presentation currency used in the accounts is pounds sterling.

Cash flow statement

The trustees have taken advantage of the exemption in Charities SORP (FRS102) from including a cash flow statement in the financial statements on the grounds that the charitable company is small.

Incoming resources

All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities when the charitable company is legally entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy. Voluntary Income is received by way of grants, donations and gifts and is included in full in the Statement of Financial Activities when receivable. Income is only deferred when the donor specifies that the grant or donation must only be used in future accounting periods or the donor has imposed conditions which must be met before the charitable company has unconditional entitlement.

Government Grants

Grants, including government grants, are accounted for under the accruals model as permitted by FRS102. Grants of a revenue nature are recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities in the same period as the related expenditure.

Resources expended

Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. The pension costs charged against income represent the amount of contributions payable to the scheme in respect of the accounting period.

Costs charged to a restricted fund relate to the activities undertaken to further the specific charitable purposes the fund was established to support. These costs include both direct and support costs associated with the activities undertaken by the restricted funds. Support costs are allocated based on agreed allowances from funders.

Expenditure attributable to the restricted fund may still be charged to it even if there is an insufficient balance on that fund at the time. However, expenditure should only be charged to a restricted fund in deficit when there is a realistic expectation that future income will be received to cover the shortfall, for example when a decision has been made to invite donations to that restricted fund.

Page 20

DocuSign Envelope ID: 17AB39A0-5A3E-4901-9561-F6395C0E9E6F

BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS LIMITED NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

1. COMPANY INFORMATION AND ACCOUNTING POLICIES continued

Operating Leases: the charitable company as lessee

Rentals under operating leases are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

Tangible fixed assets

The company’s threshold for capitalisation is £200. Expenditure below this value, on items that may be considered fixed assets, is written off to revenue account as the trustees consider that the administration cost of capitalisation outweighs any benefit to the user of these accounts. Fixed Assets with a value in excess of £200 are depreciated over their anticipated useful life of 3 years.

Taxation

The charitable company is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.

Defined Contribution Pension

The company operates a defined contribution plan for its employees. A defined contribution plan is a pension plan under which the Company pays fixed contributions into a separate entity. Once the contributions have been paid the company has no further payment obligations. The contributions are recognised as an expense in the Statement of Financial Activities when they fall due. Amounts that are not paid are shown in creditors as a liability in the Balance Sheet. The assets of the plan are held separately from the Company in an independently administered funds.

Debtors

Trade debtors, prepayments and other debtors are valued at the amount paid in respect of future accounting periods.

Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and in hand include cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or openings of the deposit or similar account.

Creditors

Trade creditors, accruals and other creditors are recognised when there is an obligation at the year-end as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required in settlement and the amount of settlement can be estimated reliably.

Financial Instruments

The company only enters into basic financial instrument transactions that result in the recognition of financial assets and liabilities like trade and other debtors and creditors.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees. Within the Unrestricted funds the trustees designate separate funds, which consist of monies set aside by the trustees out of general funds to be spent on the specific programmes and events identified after the year end. These funds have no specific restrictions other than the trustees have set aside these monies out of general funds to support the specific programmes and events identified by the charitable company. Transfers are made to and from designated funds to general funds on the basis of the trustees’ estimate of future expenditure on the specific events and programmes.

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charitable company. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes. Provision is made in the majority of restricted funding streams for management and administration costs. These costs are borne within unrestricted funds and then an appropriate transfer is made in accordance with the funding agreement.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

Page 21

DocuSign Envelope ID: 17AB39A0-5A3E-4901-9561-F6395C0E9E6F

BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS LIMITED NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022 CONTINUED

2. DONATIONS

ATIONS
Grants Donations	31.3.22 31.3.21 Unrestricted Restricted Total Unrestricted Restricted Total £ £ £ £ £ £ 146,385 - 146,385 146,385 - 146,385 6,000 333 6,333 - - -
	152,385 333 152,718 146,385 - 146,385

The Grant of £146,385 is from Arts Council England. Bedford Creative Arts Limited is one of the National Portfolio Organisations which receive unrestricted funding to support the running of the charitable company.

3. INVESTMENT INCOME

Bank account interest

31.3.22	31.3.22	31.3.21
	£	£
	18	286

4. INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

Arts Council England CRF Bedford Borough Council Central Bedfordshire Council The Gale Family Trust Royal Opera House Bridge BPHA (Bedford Pilgrims Housing Association) The Harpur Trust The University of Bedfordshire Paul Hamlyn Foundation Airship Heritage Trust National Heritage Fund National Lottery Community Fund Women in Bedford Artist studio rental income Furlough Scheme Other income

31.3.22 31.3.21 Unrestricted Restricted Total Unrestricted Restricte d Total £ £ £ £ £ £ 35,727 - 35,727 - - - 1,525 7,826 9,351 6,250 52,280 58,530 - 10,231 10,231 - 17,500 17,500 - 8,750 8,750 - - - - 1,260 1,260 - 4,240 4,240 - - - - 500 500 - 45,000 45,000 - 51,000 51,000 - 4,350 4,350 - 9,330 9,330 - - - 20,000 - 20,000 - - - - 1,000 1,000 - 49,948 49,948 - 31,029 31,029 - - - - 9,750 9,750 - - - - 7,557 7,557 - - - 1,739 - 1,739 - - - 15,262 - 15,262 - 120 120 115 250 365

37,252 127,485 164,737 43,366 184,436 227,802

Page 22

DocuSign Envelope ID: 17AB39A0-5A3E-4901-9561-F6395C0E9E6F

BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS LIMITED NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022 CONTINUED

5. ANALYSIS OF EXPENDITURE

Charitable activities Salary related costs Temporary staff and consultancy costs Rent and rates Insurance Utilities Artistic Programme Office cost and admin Staff Training Recruitment Independent examiner’s fees Accountancy, payroll and HR support costs Trustees’ expenses CRB checks + Companies House fees Depreciation of tangible fixed assets Raising funds PayPal charges	Unrestricted Restricted £ £ 108,144 46,162 14,450 - - - 1,692 - - - 13,332 164,103 8,525 - 7,312 - - - 1,860 - 5,130 - 28 - 103 - 1,378 -	31.3.22 Total £ 154,306 14,450 - 1,692 - 177,435 8,525 7,312 - 1,860 5,130 28 103 1,378	Unrestricted £ 119,311 5,035 8,333 1,871 3,597 7,229 8,187 1,380 200 1,900 1,942 60 13 779	31.3.21 Restricted Total £ £ 37,055 156,366 - 5,035 - 8,333 - 1,871 - 3,597 97,586 104,815 - 8,187 - 1,380 - 200 - 1,900 - 1,942 - 60 - 13 - 779
	161,954 210,265	372,219	159,837	134,641 294,478
	- -	-	20	- 20
	- -	-	20	- 20

6. NET INCOMING/(OUTGOING) RESOURCES

Net resources are stated after charging:

	31.3.22	31.3.21
	£	£
Depreciation – owned assets	1,378	779
Operating Leases - property	-	8,333
Independent examiner’s fees	1,860	1,900

7. TRUSTEES’ REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

None of the Trustees received any remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 March 2022 or for the year ended 31 March 2021. There were trustee expenses totalling £nil paid during the year (2021 - £60). The total number of trustees who claimed travel expenses during the year was 0 (2021 – 1).

Page 23

DocuSign Envelope ID: 17AB39A0-5A3E-4901-9561-F6395C0E9E6F

BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022 CONTINUED

8. STAFF COSTS

Wages and salaries Holiday / TOIL accrual movement Social security costs Pension contributions	31.3.22 £ 143,104 (470) 7,813 3,859 154,306	31.3.21 £ 142,601 2,485 7,278 4,002
		156,366

The average number of full time equivalent employees during the year was 5 (2021 – 5). The average head count of employees during the year was 7 (2021 – 7). No employees received emoluments exceeding £60,000 per annum (2021: none)

9. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

Computer Equipment £ COST At 1 April 2021 6,158 Additions 2,337 Disposals At 31 March 2022 8,495 DECPRECIATION At 1 April 2021 3,987 Charge for the year 1,325 Disposals At 31 March 2022 5,312 NET BOOK VALUE At 31 March 2022 3,183 At 31 March 2021 2,171 BTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR Trade debtors Other debtors		Fixtures & Fittings and Equipment £ 363 319 682 363 53 416 266 - 31.3.22 £ 1,750 1,838 3,588	Total £ 6,521 2,656 9,177
			4,350 1,378
			5,728
			3,449
			2,171
			31.3.21 £ 7,415 2,596
			10,011

10. DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

Page 24

DocuSign Envelope ID: 17AB39A0-5A3E-4901-9561-F6395C0E9E6F

BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022 CONTINUED

11. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

Trade creditors Other creditors	31.3.22 £ 16,766 8,659 25,425	31.3.21 £ 7,735 13,348
		21,083

12. PENSION COMMITMENTS

The charitable company operates a defined contributions pension scheme. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the company in an independently administered fund. The pension cost charge represents contributions payable by the charitable company to the fund and amounted £3,859 (31 March 2021: £4,002). Contributions totalling £nil (31 March 2021: £nil) were payable to the fund at the reporting date and are included in other creditors.

13. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS

Unrestricted funds General fund Designated funds Restricted funds Queens Park Project Fund Culture Challenge Service Fund Twinning Fund Make Way for Culture Fund Airship Dreams Fund Gigs4Kids Fund Bedford Contemporary Dance Fund Project Assistant Fund Producer Hub Fund Women in Bedford Fund High Street Heritage Action Fund Arts Pack Fund Creative Bedfordshire Fund TOTAL FUNDS	At 1.4.21 £ 10,989 85,037 96,026 39,289 24,714 2,790 19,545 11,117 992 8,147 11,300 2,940 1,749 7,415 - - 129,998 226,024	Incoming Resources Resources Expended Net movement in funds £ £ £ 189,655 (161,954) 27,701 - - - 189,655 (161,954) 27,701 5,000 (30,916) (25,916) 20,333 (20,789) (456) - (2,790) (2,790) 1,248 (2,400) (1,152) 58,818 (93,809) (34,991) - (992) (992) 4,350 (11,214) (6,864) 20,000 (20,400) (400) 1,260 (4,200) (2,940) - (1,749) (1,749) 7,472 (11,669) (4,197) 8,629 (8,629) - 708 (708) - 127,818 (210,265) (82,447) 317,473 (372,219) (54,746)	Transfers between funds £ (20,000) 20,000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	At 31.3.22 £ 18,690 105,037
				123,727 13,373 24,258 - 18,393 (23,874) - 1,283 10,900 - - 3,218 - -
				47,551
				171,278

Transfers between funds relate to approved project support, administration and salary costs incurred by Bedford Creative Arts Limited in relation to specific funds.

Page 25

DocuSign Envelope ID: 17AB39A0-5A3E-4901-9561-F6395C0E9E6F

BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS LIMITED NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022 CONTINUED

13. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued

Designated Funds Designated funds are as follows: Emergency Wind Up Fund Covid-19 Emergency Fund Capital Equipment & Renovation Fund Programme Development Fund People & Organisation Fund	31.3.22 £ 60,037 5,000 5,000 15,000 20,000 105,037	31.3.21 £ 60,037 5,000 5,000 5,000 10,000
		85,037

The designated funds, as described in the trustee report on page 15, consist of monies set aside by the trustees out of general funds to be spent on the specific programmes, contingencies and events identified after the year end. These funds have no specific restrictions other than the trustees have set aside these monies out of general funds to support the specific activities identified by the charitable company.

Transfers from Restricted Funds

Provision is made in the majority of restricted funding streams for management and administration costs. These costs are borne within unrestricted funds and then an appropriate transfer is made in accordance with the funding agreement on an annual basis.

Purpose of Restricted Funds

Queen’s Park Project Fund: This project contains grant funding to enable a programme of creative activity culminating in 2022 that supports community cohesion and wellbeing in the Queen’s Park ward of Bedford. It includes funds for artistic programming, marketing, social impact evaluation and community engagement activities supported by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, the Harpur Trust, BPHA and Bedford Borough Council.

Culture Challenge Service Fund: The Culture Challenge (TCC) aims to increase the number of young people accessing, enjoying and making great art and culture by acting as a broker between the education sector (predominantly schools) and the cultural sector. It is funded by The Harpur Trust and Central Bedfordshire Council. Funding supports the maintenance of a directory of service providers, CPD events for educators and cultural providers, Arts Award support & moderation, marketing costs and Culture Vouchers which are used to fund service delivery in schools. The transfer from this fund to unrestricted funds relates to approved project support, administration and manager salary costs.

Twinning Fund: This funding was provided by the EISG to support the creation of a project that “twinned” eight schools in Bedford with eight cultural providers in order to enable peer to peer learning. The project culminated in delivery of 24 creative projects for the benefit of the schools’ young people and also included an intensive programme of CPD for teachers and cultural providers as well as support for schools in securing Artsmark status. The remaining funds are held to provide matched funding to future projects to be developed after pandemic restrictions lift. The transfer from this fund to unrestricted funds relates to approved project support, administration and producer salary costs. This project was completed in 2021 with the issue of funds to providers who had received “seed funding” to continue their projects.

Make Way for Culture Fund: this is a consultancy project funded by Central Bedfordshire Council to support the creation of a series of programmes that will support cultural education in the locality, especially in Houghton Regis, Leighton Buzzard and Dunstable. Funding is used to support a Pioneering Partnership programme of CPD and Culture Voucher funded delivery for each location working with 3 schools, the libraries and the music service. Funding is also supporting delivery of a new network, the Culture Hub for participants in both sectors as well as Arts Award and Artsmark support for participating schools and providers. The transfer from this fund to unrestricted funds relates to approved project support, administration and producer salary costs. Remaining funds continue to be held until such time as the client is in a position to continue the project post-Covid-19.

Page 26

DocuSign Envelope ID: 17AB39A0-5A3E-4901-9561-F6395C0E9E6F

BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS LIMITED NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022 CONTINUED

13. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued

Airships Dreams Fund: This fund was used to support the development of the Airship Dreams project that culminated in a major exhibition and community & school engagement programme in 2021. Funding includes sponsorship from The Harpur Trust, grants from National Lottery Heritage Fund, Arts Council England and Airship Heritage Trust. Delivery includes a development of educational resources, virtual community sharing events and development of the exhibition and artwork for exhibition in 2021. Transfers to unrestricted funds include agreed support towards producer & management personnel salaries and general overheads that support project administration, insurance and marketing. The fund is in a negative position at the end of the year due to the National Lottery Heritage Funding being paid in arrears & the final payment being due in 2022-23.

Gigs4Kids Fund: This was a crowd-funding campaign to raise enough funds to deliver a “gig” in every one of Bedford’s 54 primary schools targeted at Year 3 children in order to engage them in music before secondary school. The project also provided 1-2-1 tuition for 30 children. The majority of the gigs were delivered in 2021 after pandemic restrictions were lifted in collaboration with the Music Service and Music Coop.

Bedford Contemporary Dance Fund: This is a project in partnership with the University of Bedfordshire funded by Arts Council England to develop a centre for choreographic excellence in Bedford for contemporary dance. 3 emerging dance artists will be recruited alongside 3 established artists to explore new dance performances that develop dance audiences in Bedfordshire. Bedford Creative Arts is providing marketing and audience development expertise as well as logistical support for artist’s work. Funding will be expended on artist fees, producer time and marketing support including a contribution for unrestricted funds for administration and staff time on project support. The project will end in early 2022.

Project Assistant Fund: This consists of a grant from The Harpur Trust to enable the employment of a fixed term salary post of Projects Assistant in the organisation, fixed until March 2023. The position is to support the ongoing delivery of projects including marketing, administration and practical event delivery.

Producer Hub Fund: This fund comprises grant support from the Royal Opera House Bridge to enable the mentoring of 2 producers aspiring to work in Cultural Education to be delivered in partnership with 1 Degree East. Producers were mentored throughout the year and provided with funds for project inception.

Women in Bedford Fund: This fund consists of donations and grants secured by the Women of Bedford group and provided to Bedford Creative Arts to enable the commissioning of artist Diane Gorvin to produce a maquette of a statue of historic personality Amy Walmsley. The funds were spent on artist fees, artwork production and marketing for the project which was transferred to The Higgins museum for permanent display for the community in late 2021.

High Street Heritage Action Zone Fund: The fund consists of a grant from Bedford Borough Council for the initiation of a 3D illusion artwork on Bedford High Street that aims to draw public attention to the myths and stories surrounding the former bank site near the river, alongside a sponsorship from the Bedford Business Improvement District (BID). The fund was spent on artist fees, artwork production and marketing for the project delivered in May 2021. The remainder will be carried forward to the Ghost Signs project, also to be supported by the BID, due for delivery in Autumn 2022.

Arts Pack Fund: The fund consists of a fee provided by Central Bedfordshire Council for the delivery of creative art packs and video-workshops for 600 children on free school meals during the Summer holidays in 2021. Funds were spent on artist fees, artistic materials and travel & transport. The transfer from this fund to unrestricted funds relates to approved project support, administration and producer salary costs.

Creative Bedfordshire Fund: The fund consists of fees paid by Bedford Borough Council and Central Bedfordshire Council to cover the cost of the Creative Bedfordshire online platform. Funds pay for SixCircles to provide the platform infrastructure and hosting services.

Page 27

DocuSign Envelope ID: 17AB39A0-5A3E-4901-9561-F6395C0E9E6F

BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS LIMITED NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022 CONTINUED

14. CAPITAL

The charitable company has no share capital. The liability of members is limited by guarantee and does not exceed £1 per member.

15. RELATED PARTIES

BCA leased a store from Verve Developments Limited for £nil in the year ended 31 March 2022 (31 March 2021: £nil). Verve Developmentss Limited is a related party due to Timothy Pain being a director of the company and a trustee for Bedford Creative Arts Ltd. If payable, the commercial rent on the store would have totalled £1,650 for the year ended 31 March 2022 (2021: £412). This has been received as a gift in kind from Verve Developments Limited for both financial years.

16. OPERATING LEASE

There are currently no operating leases held by Bedford Creative Arts Limited for the year ended 31 March 2022 and the year ended 31 March 2021.

17. PRIOR YEAR NET ASSETS BY FUND

Notes FIXED ASSETS Tangible assets 9 CURRENT ASSETS Amounts owed within one year 10 Cash at bank and in hand CURRENT LIABILITIES Amounts falling due within one year 11 NET CURRENT ASSETS TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES NET ASSETS FUNDS 13 Unrestricted funds Restricted funds TOAL FUNDS	Unrestricted Funds £ 2,171 2,596 100,247 102,843 (8,988) 93,855 96,026 96,026	Restricted Funds £ - 7,415 134,678 142,093 (12,095) 129,998 129,998 129,998	31.3.21 Total Funds £ 2,171 10,011 234,925
			244,936 (21,083)
			223,853
			226,024
			226,024
			96,026 129,998
			226,024

Page 2 8