TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31[ST] MARCH 2024
YR HEN YSGOL, DINAS
(Called “the Charity”)
TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT - for the period ended 31[st] March 2023
Reference and Administration details - Trustees and Advisers
Name - The name of the Charity is - Yr Hen Ysgol, Dinas Charity registration number - 1122445 Charity registration date - 23[rd] January 2008 Company number - 05735031 Incorporation date - 8[th] March 2006 Registered office address - Broyan House, Priory Street, Cardigan, SA43 1BZ
The names of the Trustees are as follows -:
- a) Brendan Roger Terence Patchell (Chairman) b) Anne McKernan c) Duncan Wigney d) Eric Nicholas 5) Gareth Jones 6) Rosemary Lait 7) Simon Reeves 8) David Hutton (appointed 1[st] July 2024)
The Treasurer and book-keeper prepare the annual accounts; the accounts are independently examined by DMB Davies Accountants, Cardigan, who also submit them to the Charity Commission and Companies House.
Structure, Governance and Management
Yr Hen Ysgol, was gifted to the people of Dinas by the Barony of Cemaes in November 2005 and the title to the land was transferred to ‘Yr Hen Ysgol Dinas Trust’ on the 10[th] March 2008. The only duty of ‘Yr Hen Ysgol Dinas Trust’ is to hold the ‘deeds’ to the land and Property.
Under the Trust, the Charity - ‘Yr Hen Ysgol, Dinas’ - holds the Property as sole trustee for and on behalf of the people of Dinas. The Charity was registered with the Charity Commission on the 23[rd] January 2008 and its governing document is ‘The Memorandum and Articles of Association’ . The Charity was incorporated as a ‘company limited by guarantee’ on the 8[th] March 2006.
Recruitment, appointment and training of Trustees
Trustees have been recruited largely by approaching local residents who are known to have suitable background and experience and are willing to volunteer. In addition, any Member who is nominated or who expresses an interest in becoming a Trustee, or any nominee from a user group, should send a brief ‘pen portrait’ of interests and experience to the Chair of the Trustees. Their application will be considered by all the Trustees, usually at the following quarterly meeting of Yr Hen Ysgol Committee.
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TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31[ST] MARCH 2024
The Trustees
During this financial year the Charity initially had 9 Trustees, all residents of Dinas; two have retired and one new Trustee was appointed in July 2024. The Trustees, together with other volunteers, are members of Yr Hen Ysgol Committee (see below) which manages Yr Hen Ysgol. The Trustees consider and approve the annual accounts and prepare an annual report. They also consider and approve matters relating to strategic planning of the land and buildings, official charity policies, and all legal matters of the charities.
Yr Hen Ysgol Committee
All Committee volunteers are responsible for the ‘day-to-day’ running of the Charity. At every opportunity, the Committee encourages Members and user groups to make suggestions for the use of Yr Hen Ysgol and likewise encourages them to organise and take part in their own ‘activities’ at Yr Hen Ysgol.
The website has been enhanced with the on-line bookings allowing users to readily identify which time slots are vacant for each of the rooms.
The contract with “Helping Halls”, to provide a paid part-time administrator to help with the bookings system, has been terminated as external funding for this service was withdrawn. This will reduce costs but improve the response time for queries via the web contact form.
The major maintenance and improvement projects completed during the year include:
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(a) Boundary wall recapping on the East side and new section on the West side.
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(b) Walled garden flower bed extended with obelisks, tree planting
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(c) Car park corner flower bed created with tree planting
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(d) Electrical safety lighting replacement. Building electrical certificates and drawings.
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(e) Replacement projector
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(f) External Table Tennis
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(g) Five a side football nets.
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(h) Storage room shelving
Objects of the Charity
The Charity’s objects as expressed in its ‘Memorandum of Association’ are: To provide, maintain and enhance 'Yr Hen Ysgol' for the benefit of the people of Dinas and its environs, by associating together the said individuals in a common effort to provide facilities in the interests of education, the arts, social welfare, sport, recreation and leisure, with the aim of improving the conditions and quality of life of the said individuals.
In summary, Yr Hen Ysgol Committee volunteers look after the ‘building’ and provide ‘facilities’ so that ‘the people of Dinas’ - ‘the Members’ - can organise and take part in their own ‘activities’. It is a joint responsibility. We work closely with Dinas Wellbeing Hub to enable events.
Public Benefit Statement
The Trustees acknowledge their duty to meet the public benefit requirement, in compliance with the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit. All the good works of the Charity, as defined in its constitution, are ‘ for the benefit of the people of Dinas’ - they are all beneficiaries of the Charity. The partnership between Yr Hen Ysgol Committee and participating Members is the framework that delivers ‘improved conditions and quality of life for the people of Dinas’ .
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TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31[ST] MARCH 2024
Financial Review
Bookings revenue was considerably increased by comparison with the previous financial year. The sum raised from bookings was £12,491.63 , of which about £9,700 came via the online bookings system. Donations by the ‘Friends of Yr Hen Ysgol’ (the capital fund for Yr Hen Ysgol) raised a total of £2,779.00 plus £413 gift aid. The popular volunteer-run monthly community coffee mornings raised £710 and the Christmas Market £1,181.63.
Funding submissions produced an additional £12, 567.34. The net income from ordinary activities was therefore £26,108 .
Capital expenditure included: Hearing loop 4k, Wall capping 4k, tea urn, insulation and electrical works and totalled £12,000 . Operational expenditure totalled £15,000 and included Oil 3k, Electricity £1.5k, and maintenance £5k. Total expenditure was £26,789
The Trustees contingency for this year was set at £30,000. On the 31[st] of March 2024, the funds in the Charity’s bank accounts were:
| Current Account | £3,324 |
|---|---|
| Deposit Account | £30,907 |
| Friends’ Account | £27,097 |
| Grant Account | £30,618 |
| PayPal Account | £136 |
| The total cash balance was | £95,784. |
Grants
Five grants were obtained in this financial year. The total grant expenditure was £9,374.
Charitable Activities
Regular activities included art, choir, chess, dancercise, film club, history club, Pilates, quilting, table tennis, tai chi, yoga, Community Council, Yr Hen Ysgol Committee, the 3Cs Community coffee mornings, and Quaker and Buddhist groups. The numbers participating in these activities ranged from 5 to 90, with most between 10 and 20. Courses/training exercises were run by Pembrokeshire County Council, Pembrokeshire College, and the Coastguard Agency among others.
The Eileen Webb Fund: this supported the Summer Party and the Autumn Craft show.
Dinas Wellbeing Hub volunteers organised many community activities based at Yr Hen Ysgol; they also continued to maintain and improve the garden.
The future
We have succeeded in a bid for a major kitchen refurbishment with a donation of over £11,600 from the Asda Foundation. In addition we are in the process of gaining planning permission for a new extension called the “Garden Room”.
We have a greatly improved usage which will enable us to further improve Yr Hen Ysgol.
Brendan Patchell Chair of the Trustees 4th November 2024
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