The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parlsh of
Speldhurst with Groombridge and Ashurst
Reglstered charity nunthr 1128599
wlth the Char5ty Cornn￿$s1O￿ IEnGland and Wales)
Iso known as
The PCC of the Parish of Speldhurst with Groombridge and Ashurst
Annual Report and Financial Statements
for the Year Ended 31st Oecember 2023
Cortents
Annu￿ Repart
i-io
Statement of Trustee5' Respons*iiftles
li
Independert Examlnees Report
12
Statement of Fi￿nCIal ALtlvltles
13
8alance Sheet
14
Notes to th• Accounts
15-24

The Parochial Church Council of the Eccleslastical Parish of Speldhurst with
Gn)ombrldge and Ashurst Iyhe PCtrI
Also known a$ Yhe PCC of Whwst wtth Groti￿1e and Ashu
The PCC was re￿￿ered ￿ a Charttywlth the Charttycomrn￿ {&ylaDd & Wales) In 2QTr3 uthler
r•i15tr¥tk>n nwnber 1118599 und•rthe r•4uk*ments otthe Charttles Art 1993 In¢w the Ch•rltl
Art 20ts
Annual Report for 2023
Reference and admlnistrative Inlornmt
tncumbent..
The Revd. DO￿l3$WreN
Until Aprtl 2023, thereafter In vacancy
Address:
Chwth Offl¢e
The Rectoryi Southllelds
Spddhurst
Tunbrldge Wells, Kent, T143 OPD
Prlncipal Bank,.
Natlonal WE5tmk￿er 8ank
89 Mount Pleasant Road
Turd)rhly Wdls, Ken¢ TNI Iql
Independent examlller: Foot Davson Ltd
Lonsdale Gate, Lonsdale Gardens
Tunbrfdge Wells, Kent, TNI INU
Website..
eldhurst,o
cfv.u
M•mbershlp: Dudnl the year the folknwryJer¥ed as membersofThe PCC..
IncufflbenL'
The Ae¥d. Dou8las Wren
{chakman untll Aprll 2023)
Churrhwordens..
Helen Coffln 1st. Marf$l
8ecky Leeves {St. Marfsl
Julie Plnnell 1st. M•rfs?
lan 1st. M*sl
Chrrs (St Martln'sl
Tom Watson (St. Martin's)
Iurtll May 20231
Iuntil May 20231
(from May 2023)
{from Mty 2023)
Oeputy Churchwarde￿wInst0n Blake (St. Jows)
Da￿d Crunth*ell ISL John'sl
Anthorry Joyce1St. Mar¢5)
GI￿1 Wllllam5 (SL Marfsl
{Untit May 20231
Qeanery Synod..
Martln AtkiTwn (St. Marfsl
Peter Soyke
Glenn Pottow
Until June 2023 IAtso Vl¢e Chalmanl
Until June 2023
Fram Junè 2023

Polly loyee
Froim June 2023
flertedmembers..
Adrlaft Dawes 1st Marvsl
Arlene Fane 1st. lohn'sl
Carolyn Fjrt,4 (St, Marvsl
lan Flrth (St. Marfsl
Heather Hughes 1st. ma￿$>
Graham Rlddltk (St. Martln'sl
Tracy Watson 1st, Martln'sl
lalso deputyvite Chalrmanl
IUntS1 May 20231
(also Secretary)
lun￿1 May 20231
(also St. Martin's DCC Treasurerl
optedmember
Martln Atklnson (St. Marfsl
George Carter (St. Marfsl
Dawn Pottow 1st, Marfsl
Rev. John Perklfts Iclerk of Hoty Order51
lfrom lune 20231
(also Treasurer)
la150 Parish Safe8uardlng Offl¢erl
Other mlnlst•rs In th• Parish
John Perklns and Shella Perk1￿ are prlests. John &Jckle, lenrby Fltrslmmons, Da￿￿ Lamey and Kafol
Leeves ¥e Readers and Sarah Bullett and Karol Leeves are Pastoral A$4stants, all with the Blshop's
Permlssion to Officiate,
The PCC presents its Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December
2023
Ba￿$ of preparatl•Jn oltho actw
The ¥¢counts have been prepare(lin ac¢(*dance wllh the acmurttng polknes set out In nole I to the
accounts and comply wSth the Church Accountlng Regulatlons 2￿, thè Charttles Acl 2011 and
Accountlng and Reporting by Charitle5.' Ststement of Recommended PractkE appllcable to ¢harftles
preparlng thdr accounts In att￿dance wlth the Flnanelal Reporting Standard appllcable In the UK
and Aepubllc ol Ireland IFRS 1021.
Strurturffj gowrn•nceand man¥ement of ThePadsh
The PCC Is a corporate bo(ty estalAlshed by the Churth of Errfland and ts a chaI￿V registered wlth
The charlty Commlsslon (Eniland & Wales) l*he Char6ty Commi551on") number 1128599, the
reglstr•tlon covering all three churches ￿ The Padsh. The PCC operate5 un&rthè Parochlal Church
Coun'cm Powers Measure 1956 and the Chw¢h ftepre5entatlon Rules.
The Eccleslastkal Paristi of Speldhur5t wlth Gro0rnbrf￿e ènd Ashurst Partsh") conslsts of three
dlstrfcts corre5pondini to the churchesof St. Mary the Vlflln. Speldhwst, St. h)hn the Evangellst,
Groombrldge and 5t. Martin ofTours, Ashurst. The Padsh came Into belng on l April 1977 after an
Order lrn G)uncll Gonfirmed a Pastoral kheme ur4tin8 the two Benefieés and Parlshes, Speldhurst
with Groombrld8e Iwhkh was one parbh pre¥lously) aftd AShU￿t, Into a sin8le parlsh. In 2C
Speclal Parochial Church Meetln8 made, and the 81shop's COU￿11 and stsrtdl￿ Commlttee ofthe
Dlocesan Synod appioved, the current sthemt under whkh St. Marfs and st. Martin's operate wl
thelr Dlstrl¢t ChLtrch Coun¢il I"Gfttl whlle St, John's operates throu2h a committee of The PCC
(The Commlttee") whkh as suth re￿IVeS 8UIdan￿ from The PCC. Thè khem* prowdes rules for
Ihe operatlon of the kn¥0 DCCS qnd The Commlttee.
Each DCC, under delegated authorlty frorn The PCC, the funrtions, power5 and dutles of a
parochlal church cour¢dl wlthln Its dlrtrlct, sublea to certain exceoltsns and limitatlons, In partlcular
¢c*ncernlng flnanclal and CDntrxtual matters. The PCC has dele8ated to The Ctsmmlttee the day to

day running of S;. lonTh'5 but retalns a more handS￿n approath as compared to the two ch¢Jrches
with thelr own IJCCS.
The memtsers ofThe PCC are appoSnted as follows..
rhe Incumbent, anycurates, the Churchwardens. Dewty Chur¢hwardens and the Deanery
Syrtod Represenlatlves are ex offlcio.
The Churchwardens are nomlnat8d bythe Annual Meetfng of Worsfilpper51'AMWI of thelr
rEspecthe thurches and elected at a Meetln8of PailshSon8rs annu4ly for a one year term.
The Deputy churehwardens are elerted by the AMW of thdr respectlve churches for a one
Year term.
The Deanery Symd representatfves. eurrentty the Parfsh Es all¢)cated 3 partlc+pants, are
ected at an Amual PaTochlal Chur¢h Meeting I"APthI'I for i three y2artemi, Electlons
last took plaee In 2023.
The elerted members are nomlnated bythe AMWS and then elerted annually at the APCM
for one year.
Thére are provisions for ¢a5ual vacandes to be fHled.
The PCC deals w*h those matters 5pedficaNy reserved for It, those ￿ferred to It by the DCCS and
The (ommlttee, and those affertlng the whole Parish. It has tb.È rèsponslbillty of cotrperatlng with
the Rector and 55 responsible throu8houtThe Parfsh for the whole mlsslon of the church, pastoial,
evan6eltstlt, so¢lal and ecumeni¢al.
Under the Chadtles Art 2011 The PCC members, who are the Yru5tees of the tharlrf, take uklmate
responsibility ￿ managlng all ofthe affairsof The PCC and therefore of all 3 churthes In th* Parlsh.
On elecfion The PCC members ¥e Instructed In thelr responslbilities as trustees.
Rel•led parties
Whllst the Rector was in office durkng 2023 he was an ex officlo Foundatlon Govemor of Speldhurst
chuich of ETh￿and (Voluntary Aided) Prlmary SCIN￿1 and St. Plarvs DCC 1$ requlrpd to apPo￿t a
further 3 Foundation knernors, whFle Ehe DlocesE off¢￿$t￿r h requlred to appolnt the final 3
Foundatlon G￿￿rnor$.
St. Marfs DCC has the power to appoint a Trustee to Speldhurst vlllale Hall. a charfjty re85stered
wlth Th? Charity Commlsslon wlth number287945,. the person appolnted 1$ not a mwnber of a OCC
or the PCC.
Whilst in offlce the Ilertorwas, and the Churchwardens r￿Mknated ￿ St. Marfs are, em offlclo
trustees of the Speldhursl Recreatlf>Th ￿OUnd, a tharfty regtstefed withThe Ch•rity Comrnisslon with
number 302846.
The Rector wa5 a tru5tse of the Spedal Subieth Room lknown a5 Yhe Speldhurst 1931 Trusv or
The 1931 TrusVI a thaflty whlch, due to its small slte, Is not required to re8lster, and has not
re8S$tered, wlth the Charity C<>mmlsslon (En81￿d and Wal*s}.
The Tntst has as Its oble¢t beThefftlng people and org4nSsatlons wAthin the Parf$h of St. M4rf5. The
power to appoint the trustees l*s with The PCC as does the powerto dlrert the trustees In the vray
that Ihey dlsburse the Trusvs fijnds, although thls latter power has not ￿ell exerclsed for some
years.. both powers have been delegated to SL Marfs DCC.

The DCC of st. MartlTr's has the rlght to appolnt, For a year at a drne, Nvo representative members to
The Comrnlttee of Mana8ement iall Jf whom are the truS￿ee$l o.. the Ashur5t McDermotrt Hall,
charlty reglstered with the Charlty Cornmlsslon (England aid Walesj with number 302673. They are
Tom Watson and Tracy Watson, coth mèmbers of The PCC. In addltlon Sophle Minoprlo is a trustee
and a member ofst. Martin's DCC.
Details of all trarisactlons vlth related parues are Set out In note 7 on paee 18.
ObJ•ctN¢S and aL*l￿￿e$
The objeLt of The Parish 15 to promote the whole missSon of the Chur¢h of En￿and within The Parish.
As pan of thls, The PCC, prfmarlly through the DCC5 and The ￿Mmittee, ts committed to enabling a5
many people as posslble Co worship at the three churthes and to become part of thelr ré5pectlve
church ¢ommunitles. Agaln. malnty through the OCCS arid The Cornmlttee, The PCC mqlntalns en
overvlew ol worship throughout The Padsh and conslders bow the 5ervltes and other related
act1v1t￿5 can involve the many 8TOUPS that Ilve withln the dlstrfcts of the three thurches, The
serVI￿S and wor5hlp put fath Into pr4ctlce through prayer and s¢rfpture, muslc and outreach.
Rlsk management
The PCC, through the OCCS and The CornwAttee. has ¢affled out an assessment of the major risks t
whlch The Parlsh Is exposed, as identified by The PCC rnember5. In partlcular, a chl1 d prolectlon
pollcy Is In place as part of a safeguardlng framework developed In accordance wlth Diocesan
guldellnes and the procedurè forobtalnlni approval for those worklThg wtth children and vulnerable
adults Is wéll established.
All three churches and the central Parlsh functit)n have systems of flnandal procedures Sn place for
handlSn¥ cash and for aulhorislw apprtythg afid paymgfor items of expendlture, Approprlate
Insuranc8 polictes are In place.
Publ1¢ benefit
In pknnlng the artlv6Ues of the three churthès In The Parlsh, the clergy and The PCC have ￿nSIdered
The Chaflty Commlsslon's guldance on Publ1¢ Beneflt and in partlcular the spècMcguk4ance for
charliles for the enhancement of rellgion. The artI￿￿eS Indude the followtn8'.
The provlsion of public Chrlstian 4w)rship open to all.
The pro￿S￿on of sacred 4)ace for personal prayer and contÈn7platbn.
Pastoral worK Indudlngvlsktlnll the skk and bereaved.
The teachi￿ of ChrfstSanlty through sern)ons, courses and small groups.
The Pfovlslon of chlld and youth artlvttles with a Chdstian ethos.
General promot•)n of Chrlstlanity.
Op¢ffatlon of The PCC
The PCC meets as requlfed and ha5 a Stanthii and FInan￿ Commlttee whth transarts buslness as
required between meetin8$ of the fvll PCC, suble¢t to any dSrertlons gNen by The PCC. Most of the
day to day actthties take place in the church DCCS and The Commlttee as approwfate, The PC
oversees the fln4nclal affairs of the DCCS and The Commlttee and provldes The Committee with
8uldance on addtlonal matters and takes a more artive role in the management of SL john'&
The three churche5 present to The PCC budgets lor the year for thelr resperti¥e churches. PCC
approves these and authodty is glven for Ihe three thurches to work wlthln their ￿dIets ￿thOtst
lurther reference to The PCC. The PCC also 4pproves the budget forthe central Parlsh funttlon.

Standln& and Firnan￿ Commlttee
Thls committee Is requlred to be appolnted by law The members of the wmmlttee are, and were
throughout the year, the Vl¢e Chairnian. the Chu.rchwardens, the Deputy Churcbwarden appolnted
by St. John's, the Treasurer of Tne Parlsh, the Treasurer of St. Martln's. The Chalman was alsc+ )
member ofthe committee untll Aprti.
Reser¥es polity the cov
The PCC has approved a pollcy of malntalnlne at a parucular level, the Unrestrfcted Funds whlch are
deslgnated for the use of the 3 churches, these are t￿e General.=unds of each churth whlth are the
free rFserves of that churth. For St. Marfs th.i515 at a level of not less than 4 month$, nomial
expendlture. For St. john's and St. Martln's this is at a level whlch Is betweon three and SSX months,
normal expendlturel plus a further amount of £Is,{X￿ I£IO.OiKI for St. kshn's, £6,OCQ for St.
Martin's) to ￿Ver unexpected repalr5 to the chur¢he&
Based on the budgets for 2024. In alvegate nom)al expendltsfe for5t. Majys forfour months and
for St. John's and st. Martin's for three months amounts to £46,169 whilst norrnal expendlture for
four month5 at St. Marvs and for slx rp.onths at st. John's and SL Martin's amounts to £54,260. The
funds needed to C￿eT thls normal expenditure plus the E16,(A)) for emer8erTrty fabrlc repairs are
between £62.169 and £70,260.
Al 31 December 2023 In aggregate the General Funds of the three ¢I￿r¢he$ amounted to £264,641
and thus are well In excess of the pollq lirnits.
The PCC'$ Unrestrlrted Funds, l.e. Its free reseTve5, a5 opposed to the Unrestrkttd Designated
Fund5, are on￿ £434. If the need 8ros&The PCC would have toainslder undesignatlng some or all of
thèse Funds of the three Chu[d￿S. potendalty tslng it ac￿$$ lo what WtJu5d be addltlonal free
reserves of £264,641 from their General Funds, whlch w unrestflrted In the th￿ thurthes,
£45,436 from thelr Dlocesan Church Ilepalr Funds and £49,204 frc•m the Groombridge School House
Fund.. were all these funds unde$￿nated,1l wtythd resutt in total ￿n￿$(rided furmls of £W,281.
Fwnds held x Custodi￿ bthlfof othets-15ee nots 6 on pa6e 181
The PCC has a¢ted as an agent for Spring Haivest, under its Group Organ15er 5cherne, and as such
collects monLy from intendlng partlclpants durlne the year a5 they CoMn￿t to attendln& and
forwants the money* usuaNy around February. The pcc has also acted as agent for the Dloce&e of
Rochester In the c￿le¢tIon of fees for such se￿ceS as hjnerais and weddlThgs. Ths money Is dlrert¢y
du• to Sprlng Harvest and the Dloce5e respeGtlvely, not the PCQ and is the￿tsre not Inc1th￿ed in the
Income or eKpendittJre of the pcc but does fomi part of the bank balan￿, offset by the equlvalent
Ilablllty,
At the year end, the PCC held £12 gn behalfof Spring Haryest12022 £3651, these fvnds are held in
spparate bank account, No money was held at the year*nd on beh811 of the Oloce5e12022 E3WI.
Fees of £586 were collected oh behalf of retlred Cler￿ wkh Permlssltsn to Qffi¢iate IPTOI. At the
Year énd É107 was held to be ￿fjd over tothe PTO.
Followtng Douglas, departure the Rertory has been leased on a sthort tenn basls to thlrd party
tenants. At the yearend the PCC held £565 recelved from the ienants lo settle balan¢es due to
comthnatlon of utlllty pr¢>vbJers and Tunbrfjdge Wells Borough Coundl In feSFRd of councll tax on
the Rectory (2022 £01.

RévlÈw ofthe year
A¢hievernents and perfomiance
2023 has been a yèar of 51gnlflcant change for the Parish with thè departure of Douglas Wren, our
long-standlng Rertor, to lake up i new role In a Corn15h parlsh.
51n¢e Dougla5, departure In Apdl the Par15h has beei in vacanry, vlith slgnlfl¢ant tlme belng spent by
mernbers of all three churches In dlseusslon w￿n the Dh￿se of Rcchester to prepare a Parlsh
Proflle, reflecting both the unlque and unitlng features of each of St ma￿5, St Martln's and st
john's, for the purposè of advert151ng the Parish and re¢rultin8 a new rertor. Thls process remains
ongoln& whi15t the UPCC and the Dlocese a5rn. to appoint a candldate la+er in 2024.
Further detalls on the aLtlvltles and athlevemonts of the three churches are set gut below,
The PCC
The PCC met 4 tlmes durlng the year and the Standing and Finance Committee dealt wlth Several
matters by e-mall resolutlons. The two DCCS and The Commlttee met befv4een meetings and réports
of these meetlngs were recelved by The PCC and d55cussed anrt approved where necessary.
Ele¢tor¥l roll and thurch attendance
The followln8 Elertoral Roll Thumber5 W@re reported durfnE the year,,
St Marfs
144
st Martlrfs
28
st, John'$
13
Deanerysynod
The Tunbridge Wells Deanery Synod meets 3 tlme5 a year and ¢omprises rewes¢ntatlves of all 20
Angllcan Churches {14 benefkesl In TunbrKl8e Wells and Southborough and Includes about 25 ¢Sergv
mèmbers and 40 lay member$. Meetlngs Indude reports on the 81$ho￿5 Councd, Dlocesan Syngd
and General S¥nod dlscu%ions. followed by an address andlor dlscusslon about a wlde range of IDcal
and natiortal chwch related toplcs.
S•tw*rdln¥
Safeguardin8 has eontinued to be at the core of cyji Parish Ilfe. The Parish Safeguardin8 Officer
routlnety follow5 UP with Individuals requirin8 first tlme or updated 08S checks monltors the
status of mandatory safe8uardin8 training rofnpletion. ¢ommuni¢atin8 outstsndlng actlon5 to
Indlvlduals directly and to the UPCC throughvut the year. Our UPCC members all have up tc dale
D8S IOlsc105ure & Barrlng Servlcel Certificates and have completed applicable safe8uardlng training
module&
FiD•n
Overall income was £173,018 for the year12022: £218,673]. This year4)wear rethjction was due to
the gl¥nift¢ant ofte-off kgades recelved in 2022 which were not repeated in 2023.
Expendlture rose durtng the year to É1%,40112022: £179.8241. The overall resuli b•Fore tsklng
account of unfealized Fdir value movemènts on investments was a defidt of É23,38312022,' surplus
of É38,8491. The Parbsh's Imiestments pneratsd an unrealiud galn of £17,24712022.' ￿￿￿9111ed loss
of £-24,1251 on revaluatlon at year end.

The funds available to The Parl5￿ at year end were £372,30112022'. £378,437]. The balance Sheet Is
currentty healthy wtth sufflclent cash to meet all cuirently foreseeable need$.
Coples of the detalied fln8n¢ial fesulis of ea¢h indlvldual thurch are avallable on request from the
Parlsh Admlnlstrator at the Church Offlce lsee pa8e I for contart details), Flnancial highllghts for
each of the churches are as follows:
St. Marfs 5peldhtsr3t.'
Unrestrlcted income was £52,194 luwerthan In 2022 at £128,63612022.. £180,830], Expendlture
rose by £22,652 to £7S,55012022: £52,8981. Restrlcted fund Inc0￿e recelved amounted to £4,850
whllst restrlrted fund expendlture amount￿ to £2.825. After contrlbutlng to Parlsh costs and
consldertng the unrealized falr value Increasè of Investments of £11,757 St Matys showed an overall
net deuease In funds of £.8,111 and a doslng balance sheet of £23?,110.
st. John'5 Groombrldge..
Unrestrfcted Income decreased 511ghtly at £14.05012022'. £15,130]. Expendlture remalned fairly
slati¢ 4t £6,85412022- £6,723]. Investment revaluatbns resutted in an urtreallted gain of £5.490 for
the yeai. After ¢onlrtlyJtlons to Parfsh Costs St John's ck*sed 2023 wilh an overall Increasè In
unrestrlcted fund5 of £4,941. Restrkted Funds cS)sed hlgher at £6,359, Increase of £3,401
resultlng from donat10￿ and lega¢les.
St. Mtsythn's Ashur5t.'
Unrestdcted Income Increased to £16.35012022.. £13,799,.. EKpendlture Incr*ased to É9,07011022-
£6,8241, resultlnB In net Income for year of £7.280. After contr1￿ti￿lS to Parlsh Costs St Martln's
closed wlth an overall reductl¢)n In unrestrlcted funds ot E-2,052. Re5tr1cted fund Income rose
Ightty to £1,967 but thls was offset by restrkted expendlture of £3,514, leadlng to a doslne
Testrltted fund balance of £26012022: £1,8071.
2024 8udgets.'
These show that In the General Funds of the three ¢hurd)es, overall expendlture Is likety to èxceed
total income by about £1,5￿. The Parish has suffleiert financial resourcesto hjnd these defi¢lts
should all budgeted expeThJlture be Incurred.
Reports of the actlvltSes of the three thurches of The Parish
The Wardens're
Jr Rertorfs departure in April made 2023 a busy year for the churchwardens In eath of the Parlsh'5
ehurches. In addStion to the regulaf churchwarden duUe5 the wardens have taken on a range of
addltlonal tasks that are Lbsualty performed by the Incumbent. IncI￿JInI helpkn8 parents wlth
Ippllcatlons for thelr chlldren to attendchurch of &¥larHI $￿andary 5cIK)ol, flndlng a new
foundallon governor for Speldhurst sch¢￿ and preparing a Partsh Profile, which is needed to help
recrulr a nèw Incumbent.
Sl Marfs warderns have alw provlded asslstance and cover for our Parlsh Admlnlstrator wh),
nfortunately, was unwem d￿1￿ the fourth quarterof the year. It would have been dlfflcult to cope
wSthout the tè8m of leaders, v8rgers and helperswho have worked 50 hard to wpport our misslon.

Commu I
Our ep.gagemenl wllh the loeal communlty contln¢Jed thrw8h a ran8e of a£tlvili?5 in 2023. We were
very pleased to be able trj serve our commuii It¥ In 2023 through provlding several Baptlsm sorrflces,
weddlng and funeral servl¢es In St. ma￿5.
en
At 5t Marfs Bumps and Ba>es, who meet fortr..Ightly for coffeej provlde a great opportunity both lor
St, Mary's to get to know new mums in the village, and for num5 to get to rfnow one another. As
those bumps become toddlers, WÈ encourage muni.s to brlng them along to PraSse & Playi a sirnple
act of worship. bullt around story and Jong. These rela￿OnshIpS contlnue thro￿gh school yoars.
Mothers. Unlon has ¢ontlnued to support the Rothe5ter DI0￿Se Motherfs ljnlon events Including
the annual Lady Day Servlce and the Wave of Prayer ftsrour Unked {￿erseaS Oloceses. In our Parfsh
we o)ntinued to support Praise and Play by helping on the eofsee rota," our Motherf5 Union group
also sent annlversary of 8apttsm cards lo all WI￿ have bee4 bap￿Sed, helplng to keep touch vJlth
thelr famllles for four years aft.er Baptism and held a Summer Garden Party raising lund5 for the
Motherfs Union Summer of trfope Appeal.
st Martln's main fund4ralsln8 event d¢Jrfng the year was the Progresslve &Jpp*r, whlch represents an
excellent opporttsnlty to otch up wlth frvends and neknbours In a so¢lal setting after a lofi& cold
wlnter, and this year raised some £g]O toward5 Church fvnds,
Si john's and St Martln's congreEat50nslolned together at St Martln's for Harvest Festlval In October.
St Martln's atso held a numberof so¢lal gatherin8s in conjunction vlth some oflts main se￿ceS,
often In the fomi of a Brln8 and Share meal.
Men on Wednesday COnt￿n￿e5 to attracl good supporL The group's membership comprLses 25 men,
drawn from rl8ht across the local wnmunlty. Attendance Is often between 15 and 2Q people who
are all retlred and beneflt from both the [￿aradede and conversatlon the 8roup affDrds.
St Marf$ pastoral asslstants haye ￿ntInUed to support those In need thrO￿h phone Calls, home
Wlyts Includi￿ in care homes and h05pltals. and taknng Holy Comrnunion to those unabbe to come to
church* gMn8 them and ¢ompany. Cards are •ven orsent to those who a￿ 5kl in hospltal,
Inlured, and the bereaved.
The vlNaRers of Ashurst, and some I￿41n8 Outslde the area, arè kept In touth wlth St Marttn'5 and
v411age matters through the monthly A%￿r$t 8roadsheet, Th1515 dlstrfbuted throuihout the vllla8e
and fvrther afield.
From a flnanc131 perspeetF¥e. St. Marfs has contlnued to gfve away IO% of Its gEneral fund Income
to charfty, and to S￿1t thls to enwre local, UK and international charltles are all Intluded. A
team of four SL Marls members consld&r how to share out the money and recommend Its
distributlon to the Flhance Commlttee, aimi￿ to suppJrt worthwhle chadtles ¥Ath clear
•thlcallChrlstlan gbjectlves aThJ low adminirtratlve costs,
rowi
Sl. Marfs runs a number of Home Groups. where small groups of people wlthln the famity of St
Ma￿S alm to deepen friendship and encourage one another to grow In farth. e5peclally through
85ble study, Groups meet throughout the week In daytyrne and in the evenln8 In people's homes
around the vlllage.

At present we have 11 groups covering more than 90 members of the congregatlon and we are
always on the lookout fcr MO￿ groups and more members.
Worshi
t7nd Pra
er
During the vacancy we have endeavoured to continue our worshlp along the same line as In previtsus
years. At St Mary's in particular the mix of ages at our services continues to lead us to think
creatlvely and consider the style preferences and needs of everyone. With the departure of
Douglas ap.d Becky LeEve5, who led St Marfs music programme for many years so woll,
varlous members of the congregation have stepped up to helpTr with both the provlsion
of music and planniig ongoing worship activities. St Marfs has continued to thrtve In its wotship
activities In splte of the rector vacanry thank> to the energy of Tts tongregation. At Christmas the
two Crib servlces drew over 400 people to the church on Christmas Eve.
Music contlnues to support worship and aims to help the congregation engage wlth God at a
the St Marvs Carol Seryice again this year. Both St John's and St Martin's held candelit carol servlces
in December.
At Stjohn's a joint service was held wtth the Rochester branch ofthe Prnyer Booksociety on Ascension
Day whilst the Bishop of Rochester also vistted durlng the year to ￿ad a service of Holy Communion.
Chlldren tsnd Youn
Peo
le
During the year St Mary'5 saw over 30 families regularfy attendlng setvlces. Sunday children's groups
Little Acorns, Outback and Up and Over- have developed during 2023 through age-appropriate
acttvlties Ilnked to the week's Bible passages or, in the case of Little Acorns, the group working its
way thronologically through the Bible.
We ore blessed with our links wrth Speldhurst Church of England Primary School, which have
developed significantly in the past year through members of the St Marfs congregatlon who go in
weekly to dellver the whole school worship following the Rochester DK)cese for Education scheme.
Church Fabric and Church ordActivitie
At St Marvs routine maintenance artivities a5s0¢iated wlth the church building progressed
throughoul the year. The ageing church boiler was replaced, a roof repair contract was placed, and
the churchyard maintenance work was restrurtured to redu￿ cost, with a number of volunteers
coming fO￿ard to assist with maintaining the churchyard.
St john's continued to receive regular maintenance Servicing of critical system5, togetherwith
regular churchyard maintenance. A faculty appllcation to install under pew heating was submitted to
the Diocesan Advlsory Committee in June, the result of which remained outstanding at year end.
The St Martln's churchyard continued to bè professionally maintained and thls was supplemented by
our annual Tidy Day in the autumn.
Maintenante and scheduled checks on relevant aspeLts of all three churches were carried out
throughout the year.

Approved byThe PCC on 14 May 2024 and stgned on its behalf br.
Martin Atklnson Ivlce Chalrmanl
10

STATEMENTOF PCC MEMaERS' RESPONSIBILITIES AS THE TRUSTEES
The Trustees are The PCC Members and as wch are responslble for preparlng the Trustees, Report and
Flnanclal Statement5 In accordan¢e with applicable law and United Klngdom Ac¢ouTrtlng 5tindard$,
Charlty law requlres the PCC Members ta prepare flnar.cial statements fcr ea¢h flnancial year which glve
ue and falr vlew of the State of affalrs of The PCC and of its Income and expendlture, fDr that perfod,
In do5n£ so the PCC Members are ieouired to:
select sultable accountlng polkle5 and then app￿ them ¢onslstentty;
• observe the meth¢ds and prfnclples of the Cnarttles, Statemènt of Rewmmended Prattlce
make ludgements and estlmates that ale reasonable and pNdent,'
state whether appNcable Kcountlng $t8ndards and State￿nts of recommended Pract1￿ have
been followed, $ublect to any d?partures disck•sed and ¥XDlalned In the financlal statements.. and
prepare the flnancial statements on the goi￿ ¢oncem basls unless It Is Inapproprlate to presume
that The PCC wll contlnue In operatlon.
The PCC Members are responslble for keeping a¢¢ountlng records whlch dlsclose with reasonable
a¢curacy at any time tbe financlal posI￿an of The PCC. They are also responslble for 5afe¢uarding the
assèts of The PCC and hence for taking reasona￿e steps for the preventlon and detectlon of fraud and
other Irregulgrltles.
Insofar a5 the PCC Members are aware. there Is no relwaftt Informatlon of which The PCC'S
lrtdependent ExamSner15 unaware, and the PCC Mernbers have taken all steps that they ought to havè
taken to make themselves aware of any relevant Informatlon and to estab115h ihat the Independent
eKamlner Is aware of that Informatlon.
The PCC Members are responsible for the malntenance and integrity of the c￿Or11e and flnan¢lal
Informatlon Included on the PCCS web51te,

IWDEPENDENT EKAMIPIER'S REPORT TO THE PAROCHIAI CWURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH
OF SPELOHURST WITH GROOMBRIDGE AND ASHURST
I report to the charity's trustees on my examin?tion ol the accounts of th.e charlty faT th,e year ended 31st
December 2023 whlch are set out on pages 13 to 24.
Re5POn51bllltles and ba51s ol report
the eharSty's trustees you are ￿spOnsIble for the preparatlon of the atcounts in accordaree wlth the
requlrements of the Charitles Act 20111.the
I report In respect of my examlnatlon of the charftvs attounts carrled out under section 145 of the Act and In
carrylng out my examlnatltsn I have followed all the applicable Dlrectioris 8lven by the Charlty Commlsslon
under sectlon 14515llbl of the Act.
Independent examlner's ststement
I have completed my examSnatlon, I confltm that rjo matèrlal matters have come to my attenlioti in ¢onne¢tlon
with the examlnatlon 8Svlng me cause to bèlleve that im ani matedal ¥espect.,
1 3c¢ountlng record5 were not kept In respect of tbe charlty as requ1￿ by sertlon 130 of the Act,. or
2 the accounts do not accord wlth those records,. or
3 the accounts do not comply with the applicable req￿reMentS concernlng the form and content of
account5 set out In the CharitSes (Accounts and Reports) flegulatlons 2008 other than anv
requlrement that the accounts g5¥8 a 'true and falr vlevl which Is not a matter ¢onsldered as part of
an Independent examlnation.
I have no COn￿rn$ and have come across no other matters In eonnedon wlth the examln8tion to whlch
attentlon should be drawn In thls report In orderto enable a woper understandlng of ihe accounts to be
reached.
der Menv• ACA
For and on behalf of
Foot Oav59n Ltd
chartered kcountants
Lonsdale Gate
Lon$dale Gardens
Tunbridge We115
Kent
TNI INU
l?May 2024
12

111
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f£2 J

PARISH ofSPELDFIURSTwlth 6AOOMBRIOG£ ASHURST
Notes to the Accounts
2023
l poHde$
The ¢h4rlty ¢onsgtutes a put￿￿ benef,t 8nL'ty as deflthed by FRS 102. The flnincial siatements have been prepared In accordancè wlth Ihé
Churth A¢counUng R%ulatlcn5 2W6, AcCo￿￿tIn.8 arK Rwrting by Chaod•s-. Staiemeryt of ft8¢obTrmended Prattlco applioble to charftleg
prepartng th¢lr a¢count51rt accordance wbth Fknandal Rep¢vtpr8 5'.aD.dard aJplIca￿e In the U< Republlc of Ireland IFRS 1021 Issued
on L6 luty 1014 las updated throu8h Update &.11@tln I pu￿1$￿ed on Z Febru*ry 201fjj, the Flnancl81 AepDrJng Standard applicable In th
Unlted XlnKdoM and Aepublle of I':lar.d (FI% 1021.the tha1￿e$￿£t 2011 and UK GeneralivAccepted kcpuntini Pr4Ctks.
The flnanclHI statements are prepara on a i¢ing coptern basts unde.. Ibe hL8twkal cost convÈnUon. rwdlfied to indtfde In¥esttnent a55ets
al fèk value, The financial st1￿￿,*nts are presented in sterftr¥whic415 the K,ncUoi41 ¢urrerKy of the charlty and rouftded to the #earest £.
They do Thot Include the ac¢oufits afckurch 8roiip5 that awe tbd- miin •ffillatlcn tuar￿tt￿r bDdy nor those that are Informal gatherlny ol
The PCC has consldered whethert.ie ¢ash ffow statement adds mattrally to ¢he ynthrstaNdlns tsf the PCC'S affatrs and has conclud¢d that
daes nDt. It Y$ therefo'e applled Update 8ulledTr l ￿ puèltshed on 2 Febru￿ 2016 and does hot Include a caxh flow statement the
810unds th4t* Is applyln8 FP5 102 Sect1￿ IA,
Tho sIgn￿￿C3￿t iccountlr,g poncles applled In thq preparatEon al th50 financlal stitem2nts Jre set Qui balow. These poll¢le$ have bèen
eonslstently appllgd to all year5 prespnted unles5 othpr*lse s￿led.
Il Funds
flestilrted Funds r"preyent Income whktr may be expended ohty an th￿ restFi¢ted oblEe.s for whlch they were slven. Any balarnce
remalTrin8 unspent at tre end ?f each ¥Èar must becarr(Èd forward as ) bal￿￿ oty that luThl. The PCC does not USU￿lY inve$t $eparately faf
each fund. Where there 's no Separat￿ lThvestmer.t,..rteros: ts apP￿ned to l￿dIV￿lU41 Iwids on an aYepa8è bal*ntt basss.
UDrt%trlded fund5 represént the fuThds ol the PCC that a'.t not sub,%Lt to any ¥￿al ￿t￿CtIonS regardlng thelr ¥$* aThd are avallable fot
applicatlon to the general purposes of ibe Pct. Funds desiÉn•ted for a parucular pwpose by the PCC are 150 unrestrlL*ed and the PCC h•$
the authorfty to chanteor remove the desiqrTr4don.
bl thcoM￿l re50Yf
11 VoluntGryEnrèm¢ ¢nd¢O￿t￿l reswrres
p￿nned glvlw re¢elvable under8fft a54 collectlon5 Ind donalKJrs a'e r8cwxs8d rt¢dved by or on behaff gf the PCC
10¢omè tax recoveralAe on Aift aid donations Is recwThsed the iJKome 15 reco8nI58d.
Grants afy4128ades to the PCC are rec+Jgttlsed as soon as the PCC 15 Èthfled of iL$143l entitlemenl the amountd¢Je Is quantlfiable, ￿¢t1pt Is
probalA¢* ind any condtlons attachln6 to thEfft are or. in Instances *there rEJaied e¥pendibJre has been IrKurred, thew Is i reallstt
eiped4+Oon that aN condlt(oqswill be met.
SpeC￿¢fUnd ralsln8 events, 5uth 4% lÈtÈ*, bazaars and5kn1arever￿,are I¢¢a￿ted foiy•si.
511 In¢￿t￿rn Investments
Dfvlde"rnd5 and Interest we rewnlsed when ferelvable. knytax recoverabl• ￿ such thwme ts re(oEnlsed lrn thesamepertod.
¢1 exp•￿•￿
11 Grqnts
Grnnts and donatkins ale *(￿jnted frx %•theTrp*d over. ortthn aw¥ded Wthat award tyeites a b(ndlT48 Obl*a￿On tsn th• pcc,
The PCC ha5 8 poIILy of dtstrlbuth8 o* the lrnctyne of the Ge*ral IrKome aThJ ExpeTrdltUTe Funds In gmts - 'Awty Glvlng.. In the
ol a contr4cVJal obllg•tlc•i male In thls way. tb)se the support ol O%Efseas MI5￿OnI￿e$, ¥e arKourted for on
the b151s tyl the supp)rt •yeed bythe wele¥ant UCC orAway IYbkn8 e¢4TrYattee that rel*s to the fi￿ar￿al year concern•d.
11 Athltlesdtrectfy rek7tlno ¢0 the olthttYNrth
The Parlsh's Yo￿nt￿ry tontrfbutian to Central dlc<esan ¢￿ts (see nate l 81. Is aLrourted for f￿h￿ due. other e¥pEndknre 1$ 8eDer•llv
rIc¢￿sed when It ￿ Fr￿rIed and ts ac¢ouMted foriros&
dl G•lM and los*•s oft
RtalsÈd 03ln5 orkwes are retolnlsed wh*n Irfftstments aresobj.
Unreallsed i•ns oriosses are retO8nl$ed on r￿luat￿ of I￿e$￿enut0 at the ￿aTend LY on redesl¢ftaikni- see note l el
Conseuated and beneft¢•d wopertyl& exduded frwi the accourts bys.Ir421 ChaiithsAtt 2011,
Mo¥aNe churth fuThlshiws held by the RedLW and C￿￿rthwarden5 on speu4 tnJ5t lor the PCC requtre i fatsjlty fN d15P05al, are
Inallenable property. The¥ are IL4ied kn the Church•5' In¥entor*$ 4thkh ¢an be Inspected al ary reasonable fjme. FDr a￿h1n& a¢qulred
v)r to 20th) there b Irtsufflclent cost INlorn3llon rrilable aTrJ th•refort stsch è%%•ts •rn no: ¥•lued In the statements. Items
4¢q￿rnd slnce l J•nuary 2COJ whlth w0￿d h*e a rtsale Yak￿ •re ca￿￿¥￿ and depreclat¢d In a¢¢owts thelr intktsJ4t•d useful
e(oA¢mk Ilfe When *wlred, orover 20y•ar4 whkhth*rts the str•Jrtér.￿ a5trWt Xne ba%L%.
111 LXh¢rJlrture¥ fltt1ft¢5 pndequfpmeht
Equ.wnent Used w￿hdA Ihe cttuT(h prtmlses b depredotrd on a stralght t1￿ bams 0￿r four yeirs, Indhidu•l Y(ems of aqulpntent wlth
purchase ￿¢* 01 £S,W or Itss are wrttten ofl when the asset Is acqL4red.
1111 Investments
In¥¢5tm¢nrs ir*va*Jed atmarket value•t31 r)e¢embrfu51nx the.b￿￿k¢..
15

PARISH Vf$PE￿[uIL8TW1th GROOM8RIDG£ and ASHURST
Notes to the Atcouttts
2023
fj Currerrt assets
Indlvldual amounts In Exces5 oFÉ500 pald ITr advance are rethverable and all amounts owiftg itt the p￿ at 31 DeEember art shown as
dabtors and prepayments. Provlslon Is made for any ¢ebtors that may prDve Irrec0￿¥ts￿. Short temi deposlts Ir4clude Easr held on deposlt
wSth Rothester Trlocesan Board of Flnince and at bar,ks.
%) Contrlbutlon ts the Dlo¢e5an C•ttY41 cas￿ Inwrnbent4 s￿d and •$%￿ted g)sts, Ind sh•r•d eKpehdtture
rhe PCC de¢lde5 each year gn the Volunt￿ ￿[￿.11￿￿ton to be rrad- by tle Pa.lsh l? the DIoee5e to cover It's cer,tral costs, wllGi Include
the Incumbent's stlpend and *sod8ted ¢osts. It y the￿after rE5poTrdble for th15 coithbuikiD, the "ettory runnlyg costs, Re4ders' and
PastDral Assistants, ctrsts, the costs of ￿51[1.￿g der￿* the admlr)Istrntols $8W and soff￿ )f the PaT(sh Office Costs. A contrIbU￿Or Is made
bythe ind the 5t J￿￿,$ Commlttee t)wtrds thesecorts.
I lllcoffte Irom,.
T¢tsi
2Q2J
Totil
2022
De4￿1*d
Pknned glvlng.,
114ula'GIft Ald th)Datlon5
Tax re¢tsvera￿e on Gwt AKI donatkjns
Reeular (l￿nI by CAF and GYE
Other relubr
CdlectE￿s'.
By ¢n¥elop
Not Glft Alded
Tax recoverable on LYJMertlon5
Nm-reiulat Gift Alddonations
Non-reiukr dtrnatlons Dot Glft Alt#¢d
Pox & mlscdlaneous domt
89,359
23.096
1,79CI
5,121
1,435
90,794
24,136
1,790
5,121
87015
25m4
3,206
5.636
6,717
3,757
12S3
71XI
245
2,431
6,678
122
250
67
4044
16
GA3g
4,(Xb7
2,330
6,915
S,266
1909
11,735
51
1,271
4,673
4Y,136
127
141157
.361
203IS4
fjr•tt& The PCC wès watefvl t¢t recthe th¢ yants from Spddhw5t Parlsh Councll.. £LQW towaras St M•y'5 chtsrchyard
malrt¢naTKeJ Él,fyJO for StJohn¥ ¢hurchyard malntenan¢e. fwsl M8rt'.n's thufcthard maknt¢nirKe and £5W t¢)wards the c05t of St
irtifdn's Brtt4dshttt Map￿Tre. The ¥C also Kratelul to receNed a g￿t of £60 Trom CÈtas En¢ryy tow•rds:h¢ cost of St Mary's
heath8 •pd a grnnt ol E27 from the Commorweahh War Gr•￿$ Commlsskn tow¥ds51 M¥y's chuichward miintenance, The PCC was a15b
plwsed lo r*£c￿e grnnts totallng £5,715.60 expe¢Es to rece￿￿ • fiJ•thef £961.￿ thE Usted laces of Worshlp knt Scheme equal
the VAT on repalrs and m•lmr•nance W￿kInd th¢ replacement ul the las Wler al St In 2022 •ThJ 2013,
bl (thurth
F*45 and other related lft¢¢me
st mIr￿n,5 8roadsheet
Aswclated artmtles and Pw15h ￿niS
S*le$ pf churEh h15t(wy boob, notdets urds
261
2,431
11,265
LefaGle5
Away GIVI￿ Ppp*a
9SO
467
5,408
467
231
Z45
Jlg
51
6.91>
231
4.7rJ
Other Dp•rntfwi
Fund ri￿nI Income
U41
15t4
Omdends and interest IlnduthnK imf red*med t•¥)
+1 Olhw
InS￿rte ¢141m5
Surp￿5 on sate of fixed a5sEts
9*65
42
131
TOTA¢IIKOM114G RÉSOIMCIS
159*36
173,01
218,6
16

PAftISH of SPELOItUllSTwlth GROOMBRIDGE and ASHUAST
Notes to IheAt¢ounts
2023
ilnrnstrte¢ed Unie51rkted ttestd¢t
Des*nattd
T•t*l
Total
zozz
3 ExptAdlttsr¢ or*:
41 Fund ralslni t¢sts
Cost of lundra151n¢
bl Church
M155lonary and chartta￿e 11￿￿8 (see note beluwl..
Churrh overse•s
Rell8t and devélopment aceides
om8 m15sbn$ 4nd other church organl$*lons
Sècular charlties
Total away 8lYlr8
Mln15try
ContA￿tIoN to db¢es* toslg
Othet dgr8y, rectory and MlniSty¢OSts
Deanery aThd elhep ¢ontrlbuUon$
PrfDtlw stauonery & parfsh offlce costs
Crypputer h?rdware, software and expenses
Churth se￿£t$ cort$ and fue
cntsreh repairs afjd malntena
5tJohn's thurrh redewration
St Mary'5 Churth. reorgonls•tlon
thurchyard Upkeep
ID$w•nce
*elohurst Chap
Teathlng and outraach
st Manln's Broidsheet wsts
Youni p¢¢pk'$ work
0￿1￿[sts and leaders
Oigan malnten•nt* *nd rNslccosts
Érnpl¢y•t Msts
Assoclated #rtmties
Bankth¥ges
dependent eMmlp*r
other expense5
450
4,570
1,402
5,$85
3,873
15,430
71
4,641
1,402
5585
4,308
15.936
4,704
1,576
6,535
4,a80
17,195
435
506
Plvth 14 bl
72,657
IM73
71637
U73
so
4.957
1,59S
6,756
40,643
81,088
6,003
50
4,03
425
5,241
4,664
76
so
4,049
424
3S4
6,696
38,920
60
1,723
no
3,335
9,757
3.570
417
474
509
1.326
1,114
3.126
231
181
720
8,478
9,757
3,57Cs
417
L637
407
L326
L114
5,700
17,734
8,896
2035
1,091
1,741
510
1,280
996
17,185
329
162
1,7S2
4S8
179,374
5,143
1,163
11021
14,4Z7
231
181
928
535
LgZ8
93
442
•IA74
12.171
TOTAL RÉSOURCES V5ED
91A74
Note., The onty granl In ex¢ess of Élm) Ind￿ded In the m￿$￿1Th1ry and Is £J,Lfl& to Mksskn Sodety. Of the
ballnee of grants, all were of Él,CW ￿ ￿$5 iTrd 11 were io knrJtukn.
4a1 $14ff
Tr¢ avera6e n￿y￿￿er of ernpkiyees kn 2023 wi$ 312022 21. The starf costs arnoufflled to £21,15312022 £IF,185I, ol whlcfv É20,S41
12021 £16,593) was salarfes, £012021 £0) empl4)YEr Natignal Ipsurante tosts. and £61212D22 £5921 efflployer pen$ktt and life Insuran
eosts. 140 ernpknyée earnld £6Qts￿ tsr more in thèye¥.
The oryank5t * St Martln's ind the re6￿8r oryantsts * st M¥*5 prrydd• thdr %￿ceS wIth￿rt tharye, Qth¢r ww15ts ¥e not 2￿￿try*e$
but pro￿de thelr *r¥l¢¢s ¢ffj i osual basls •Trd art pabj the fee thrych¥ge.
bl Per￿On s¢h•mes •nd ¢mthtrtQAtrtbutk
The Dkxese of Ro¢hestér pays the ftedorfs stlpend and 4150 the peN￿on ¢ontdtrArtbns reladrrf to hlm In respart of the Chufch ol EnO￿d
Pension S¢heme whlch Is i defiwj benefft $then￿. The Ptt has tsffwed ptys • ¢4nrrfbutbo to the 0S(Kes¢ to ¢trrfEr the Costs ol
and other tsntral costs of the Olocese butthls is Trot alocated to •ny pirtthlal tier￿, It Is theref(¥e rtot posslbk to SHY how much ol
the offe￿1 ¢¢rbtrlbutlort rehtes to the pen40Tr rontr1￿￿ON$ th.at Ihe Dhy¢ese plys In resped of the Rector. The PCC no I￿rther Ilablllty
In rèsperf of the Re￿off s pen510n.
KC pald penslon ¢ontrlbutlons Into è wwkpkn penthn, whl¢h Is a defined ¢optrfWon sL+th*e, *Ld these amunted to £1,155 In
202312022 £1,1191,, £54312022 É5271 of thls w¥ dEducted *M￿￿o￿,PaV•l emptye contrft¥utk)ns. the KC hès further Ilablllty
In r•￿¢¢t ol$uch penslons.
1r

PASIiSH of SPEiDHUHSYwlth GROOMBRIDGE and ASHURST
Not•8 to the A¢counts
2023
S *ssocl•ted a¢U¥ltle$ and Parlsh
A$$￿141ed actlvlrles In 2￿3 Iwluded ¥ Paq$sDvvr Supperand ames5Y£OrnP.
6 Funds i•¢dvqd aftd pald as48•nt
£300,40 of fees due ta the Rochester Dlotssan Ooard of FIrya￿e was h4td at thE start 012023. A further E738.80 wa5 rec&Tr4ed durlng the
year and £1,039,2Q was pald to Rocheste.. D8F. fvo money due * Rothes:er D&- r*malned heldat 31 D¢¢ember 2023.
£101,60 01 fees due to rptlred tler8y wlth Pemilssion to OMki¥tÈ lrnl was hdd at trJest3n of 2023. A fvrther £586,40 wa5 recelyed durtrg
the year and £980.80 ¥va5 pald to the PTO clery¥ 1.1 2023.. È107.20 was leld it 31 December 2023 and was paid to the P-.0 c.ew In Jawdry
2014.
£io.(Ki due to a Reader, 5Th respect DI travel costs reFated totskkni a fvnei•l,w•s rqcalveé ènd w4ld to the Reider.
É3,101,82 was rttdved Irom thE ttD)nt5 of the Re¢toy in respect o.. tb*" CcuDril Tax and bilk5. A tct41 of £2,736.82 was pald to
Tunbrldge We115 8orough CosJn(11 and io the (rtllltysupppikn. É565.(Kl was It 311)ectMber 2023 and wa5 pald to the Borouth CO￿￿¢1[
and ￿￿llIty suppllers in laDuary2024.
£325.76 was collerted on behalfof èpd pa'd to The (thIk1￿￿'S Soo8ty.
É365 Spilftt H*vest money was held at trÈ start of 2023. É5,09S was for the 2023 ¥tsk te Sprfn8 H4rv*st. É5,448 wa5 pald to
Sprlng Har¥est. £12 Sprln8 H4r¥e¢. money ￿ndIned held at31 Oecei)otr 2023.
£320 wès eollerted lor a leamgwft lorthe m$lc leader aid tssed to payfor ber ilft.
EI,170,50 was ￿llected forl•*ln8 forthe Rector and Ns Wfei partwas Jsed to buvthe1r￿fts3nd part was pald to thern by chwe.
£177.55 was pald on behalf of Sptldhurst Cgrnrnunlty shop Lt41 In respect of blll$ for spé1dhu￿È ￿h¥pE} 4fter thp lease by the Parlsh
*xplfed and has been rÈlmbur5ed ty5pddhur# Cgmmunltyshop Lrdl* 2024.
7 pl￿rI15 ¢0 Pccmeffibers •nd f•lated
Detalls of those bodles which are related pwt1è5 ￿ ￿rtue 01 • PCC mevlthr bek¥ In¥0￿ed With them •fE Set odt on p￿e 3 01 the report.
Other than those noted below. there were no pay.Trnts toany of these ￿d..t$.
The PCC pald £012022 ÉOI In l¢tllw lèes ro Speldhurst Villap Hall whlth wis charged ta the PCC at the ntyrmèl hlre i at¢5. The$e Gosts are
Induded under Iheheadlfig of tfve adMti¢s io whld) rley relat¢a.
The PCC Is not ¢harg￿ forltsuse of A5hurr McD•rmott Hall and rnade a doDaUoTh of <IW12OZ2 EICQI.
Asmall IFnmatertal portlon of tht e¥pqnses pald t<pthe Rtdwmay havefelated to 715 serlces a5ehalrman of tho PCC. Exxrtses relmbursed
to other PCC mernbers dld not relate to ffj 5eTh4¢es or prLWed ¢x lor tr*d or sub515tehce a￿1 were gnly for b)na flde expenses
Ineurred by then) on behaLlol th• PCC.
£87.75 wa5 paid bythe PCC l)rwlhe at t.le Rertorfs lea￿￿1￿￿th at thkh 5e¥•ralPCCmember5werE pre5eTrt
Included In the Par+sh Insw&iee ¢o¥¢r 15 4 Ilrnlted •mtyJryt of Tru5tet Indefi￿tY lfftsurnThte co￿￿, the ¢ost of whKh 15 noi $ep•rntely
IdéntSfled.
8 Parfsh Offlea bdl
Th¢ ¢ost of thé P4dsh (ifflc•, É22,333, was bom• bythè PCC rt wrftteTh off In 2(X)l. The PCC has M4otJated a wrrtteo aireement wlth the
Dlp¢e5e prothdlw lor relmbur5ement of p¥t of the cost shodd the ￿OreSe or Rertor tak* any at￿on *hkh m4kes tt Impo$lbl& to use th8
offire for Its present PUfP05e5. ReFM￿JrS*Tr¢rt ts ona slhJkn8 scale. prthth fof rwTrerrt to the Paflsn uplo 2Q40.
9 SpeSdhurst (th•￿1
ltt kptember 2021 the PCC enlerEd Irrto • 12 moftthj kase arnenl Tntstees ol ihe Wartern tsJntl•s •nd South Wales
E¥angells4tion Trustlor the use of Sptldhurst Chapel, Th•fe r￿, p•fftble under the terms of th￿ least, but the PCC was re5ponslble
for elertrtc4 work lo make the Chapel Mfe tsr ￿$8 for the day to day lunry1￿ ￿sts of the thapvl. In ZOZZ aA36 w•s $p•nt on runnhq
st%. The lease wis Èxtended lor a further 12 months from septwr.bef 2022 at an artnU￿ lent 01 £4,ZW,' £L41J) ol thls was pald In 2022
Ind the tsa￿nce el £2W was pald in 1023, The PCC had M resp)i￿1*￿ty tor rep*s to tt* struc￿re of th* hJlldin& and has no
r•sp￿Ssb11tyf9r4fiY¢oSf$ r•latln8 toSpelOtht Chapd fr￿ 29September 2023.
10 nKed ass¢ts
l)urfNK the yearthé flxed ¥sets wwe held In thé Investrnents for the unffEstrkteddtslwW fvnds ltst•d.
olEt*•d C•ntrnl Board afFIMn¢• IhY•5t￿t FuAd. In¢om• Shams
St Marfs Gonenl Fund
St10P￿'s6￿￿rll Fund
2024
T•t•l
Sh4r•s
2022
Total
th•r•s
Val
O¥lan¢e tt l January2013
Slleol Shi￿$. pl￿¢•d5
A8allsed Surplus Dn 41
Uhrea15sed surplw I
Ideftdtl on revalu•i14
Il¥ket ¥alu8 at
31 Qe¢embor2023
12SM75
Im2
37,162
181,725
205,850
11,757
l963
8￿27
t7 247
24,125
21￿1
1.689
198,972
18Ln5
18

PAA15H of SPELOHLIRST with GROOMBRIOGE and ASHURST
Notes to the Ac¢ounts
2023
11 An•fysls ef net assets
ft•rtrfaed
23
2022
Tot•1
Parf5h General Fuid
Church Repair Fund
SI. Ilary's Getheral Fund
Sl. Joln'5 GtneNI Fund
st, John's Groombrldge Sthcol Housp Fund
Sl. Martln'$ Genèral Furd
Partsh Resldcted Funo
Parfsh Sequestratlon Fund
Parfsh Youih Fund
SL Miry'$ R¥strlcted Fund
st. ￿hn'S Churthyard MalntenancÈ Fund
Friends Df St, john's Grtytymbrld8è
SL John'5 Bmtlsh l4ion Fund
st. John's Under Pw He•*lnt Fuid
It. Mortln's ChLrthard fund
51. Martln's AwayG1¥.,￿ Fund
Wlndows Fund
roadsheet Fund
Broid$heet 91ndlni Fund
434
434
45,436
213,498
21P62
49204
31,081
1218
S26
240
68,618
L97,404
21,089
45,677
34,740
1,218
4S.436
213,498
21,062
49,I04
31,081
1,218
526
3,488
1,198
3,223
235
2,999
3.223
235
2,999
2,958
9,125
3,125
1,351
iitr
iio
iio
196
Iso
150
150
431
16al11
360281
lfj•l
11586
16bl
a7l,301
378,437
Se• note 16
20
1022
bl Jytypeof a65et
Flxed assets
Current assets
Cutreni Ilabllhles
Fund balance
198,972
198.972
163,914
12,4ZO
199,104
122,605
8341
25 77SI
360,111 11.516 J71301
1$1,72S
220259
123,54
Y78 437
115,1rn
15.177
17.947
I17￿13)
Allot•tlon to chtsrtl￿ •nd Pathh
Pitlsh
St M*Ys
SrJo)n's
5t Martkn'5
1,744
3.Z23
6.359
260
2,178
237,110
86,691
46,322
a7&JOI
233A17
8OJ32
16,062
360,Ui
24S,221
78,149
49,921
J7B.437
Incomé tax and Glft Ald M Sma• DonaUon$ reCv￿atAa
Debtus and prepawnehts
6,539
5,0)9
9,548
3.963
I3￿11
13 ￿￿kind c•
•] ShI￿t￿M &poshs
Rochesl•r ban deposlt
ba￿ deposlt ac¢ouThrs
l5,554
98,198
123,752
48,876
172,62•
34,1)44
155,230
43,240
198,470
DI0¢?s￿ thurth Repalr Fu￿d
bl Qxr•nt4¢¢ounts 4hd ¢•sh
Ban* Current accounts
Ca$h and eheques In hand
14.201
727
7,614
8271
19

PARISH ol SPEU)HUrtSTwith GROOM8R106E and ASHLIRST
f4ot*s to the 4ttounts
2023
al Amounts f4111ne due wlthth gne year
Attr￿415 &nd defferr¢d Inegme
other ¢redltors
2DJ3
118,8541 115,2591
16.921
13,3851
25.775
18,$44
iozz
bl Amountsfalllni d¢Ae l yeèr
Pro¥l$lon lor *Mtya 1024 contrfbutlon to Dloe•s4
The 2024 c41cul8ilon ol the ¢ontrlbJtlan 19 tfve Dlcteie Is based pwdyon the Parlsh'5 2022 Income when St Mary'$ recelved 50n
exceptlonal IrKonTe, and a proW4sM trf £4.903 In respect o(th'.s was Ipdudec In the Z022 arounts. Tk.Is /mount Is now dLQ wllhln one year
and Is In¢l￿ded in the li8ure In Note 14 al,
14,9031
15 Coll￿nItnt IlabMIU*s •ndQpitsl ctynnthtnts
91 Cohtlnient Il•bllltl
There were none at 31 De¢embtr 202312022 £NIL).
b5 Qphal cfjmmltments
There were noth at 31 Decemb2r202312021 £NIL).
16 Fund d¢t•l
PCC lunds
fj•neia Income ind Exper¥Jltur* A#￿￿1.￿Are5*rk*ed
Thls ateount Is fty lh• use Df the iweral PLrposè$4f the Parth.
ChuKh R¢pJlr Furtd- Unrèst￿•￿ destcn•ted
The fund L8 designated for the repalts of the thiee churthès. MMey L* ￿(d Into It Jrynwally ta help wlth the cost ol repairs that ir15e
f￿lOWIng a qulnw4nnlal inspectlon 01 the thJrrh bulldlrys ￿ the Archltect. st. Marfs had ap lTrspecilon In 2021, St. Jok.n's had
one In 2023, and 5t. Martln's had one In 202tr. thus the r.ext InspeLkn aredue 2026, 2028 ar.4 2025 Fesp8Ctlvply.
P•flJh Rertrkted Fynd
Thls fvnd hold$ mfftey d¢Kpated to subsldlje places at to fLture HaF¥ests.
P4ri5h Sequestralign Furtd
Thls fund ie¢¢ive5 the fees that woukl normally be p￿￿1* to Roehester D8F, Thest fees are wthheld frorn paymnt to RoEhe$ier DBF
the InterrrfDum apd are used tr+ ply the fees Ind expenses of ￿$￿tr￿d￿rI¥ an& t￿.* gf the Rertory StarwJln¥ ¢harg25 ￿en the
Rect￿ IJ as oyeed wlth the R¢(herter ok1r￿e. wJrOJs It￿nIng at the end of the Intorr¥rum 1$ payable to Rothester
DBF.
Plrfih Youth Fun&. rqsirlrt
Ik fund has been Used lor thlldren's 4nd work ITh tr* Pansh, the nakkn8 gf 8tsnts to the vouth * youn4 adults attendlr
worsllp Qt a church ITh the P￿sh to fu￿1 thejr r￿ssIOnary work In the UK Or0¥er￿S. È3.6CQ wa5 pahl kn 2021 to • youlh worker at
St Church, Spe￿h￿St is aireed tythe PCC Thelund has tssed and been dosed.
6th¢ril Inome•d Attaurt.uwe*l¢¢•J dÈ*W•d
Thts accDUnt15 deS￿nated hrthe ust of SL Marf5 1)CClty the vn¢r4 pwpowsafst. M•V5 dNrch.
Th1$ w4s set up by the PCC kn 2004. Itrecelveslunds that ha¥e téen d¢¥Hted forspedfled PUrpp5e5￿ pays out eKpens¢s relatkn8 tts those
marterk
SL lohn's lunds
¢3w•r41 thtM)e and Exp¢nthw•Attount. u1#estri¢￿
Thls account Is de*n4tedfvr the use of St. John's Corykminee fcrthé 8#n￿al pufposts dSL John'sthurth,
Sthool FuThd. ￿leStr1d•￿ deskn4￿4
lund wmprises Inccrfne 5hafes the C8F Investment Fund12022 1.W $b.8￿1, *d i depO￿t of £851512C22 E8,5151. The
dfvklend and deposlt dert¥ed frtsm tha h¥eMment Is rÈ¢*fved krto St. John's GerTrtrral Fund,. no record5 hav¢ betn f￿JThd of èny
restrt¢tlons In the USÈ ttf the wltaf ￿ Intdma. The then Dccol St. Jcth's h ¥Ath the PCC de51enat•d th55 fvnd for t￿* on luture
tal pffjSt¢ts at 5t. John's and the St. John¥ Commltl•e has ntst Muested inychaw In th1sdEsSDaiion.
Thé fvnd eryknes donaiioThs recel¥ed forthe ma1thmn￿afthe th¥rthywd.
Frf•ndsol$t John's Groon*rt*È. re¢rfrt
Th15 was started kn 2011, The fu￿4 Is prtm¥ty for the ffl*nt¢na￿oIthQ ¢hurch
rhfuDd iecehes the Church ft¢rnembr•n￿ Sunday ¥thlth15 5tsted as b•lnt for the Wal trldsh Lw'Dn 19 whKh subsequently
Is pdd,
lJndTrrPw PurNI.r+rtrkted
Th• fund reeelved d¢natlQn$8K￿ spe¢th¢ltytwirds theeost ¢fln5taifins unthrpew hear1￿4n the chtsrth.

PARISH olSPEiDfrllJlST GRIXIMBRIDGE and ASHURST
Ilotesto the Accounts
2023
St, Martln'sfunds
G•fienl IDwmé and t*pMdittrrnAtcauJrt. uDr•strirted des¥W
Thls accc*un+15 dèslii8.ed lor the use ￿ St. Mèrtlp.'s DCC for Ihe geTrerdl purposes of St. M¥rtln4 thurth.
thulehyard Fund. restrlcted
Tro I￿nd coffipr&es donations rettlved spedfiEaltyfvthe malRtenan¢e olthe ¢hurchyard,
AwayGlvlw Fund. rtsthrted
Thls frjnd ret¢l¥es the p7re2ds of speclèl coll•thtsns for¢hafftabbaway gMn8.
Wln4ow$ Furw4. rtstrlrté
Th15 fund recelved donallgns lor the Installadon 01 stalned las5 ￿ndry*s ?nd was used for that purpose In 2014, except for the
iorywlnlng b&ance whlch .s fer a plaque ¢f InsCr￿li¢ntts wwlth them Is the flfial partot the￿ndoWS prolert.
8road5hert Fund. rethrted
Th15 fund recelve5 tlloney whlth ts swlflcally to defraythe cosls of produdngtheAshur&t Broadsheet.
Bro•dsh¢tt BlTrJlnK Fwd. reslrfcted
Thlsfund has been set up10 fund rhe blndln¢ of setof thlistfllyearstsl &%uesof theAshutst Br1>adS￿L
Z023
2022
41 Unre#rkted Funds
11 Vnr•strlcted
Gemrnl In¢ome& i¥pendlbJreActount (The Paithl
Bala￿e at l JiTru
licor(¥d r￿e￿d
Transfer from S:. Mary's General knume EXpep.dI￿re Ac¢Dunttoward% partsh costs
Transfer from Sty.. John's Ge￿ra1 Inctyne and Èxpendlture AcrJJun¢t¢w4MS paplsh costs
Trdn$fer frcth s:. Marfp'sGeneral Income ind ENpenditwe knnt iowards partsh cort5
Interest added In the year
Exp¢ndltJre In th@ year
Bal¥Ke 31 De¢rmber
111 ilTrrestrfttEd FurKIs
11 thurth Repalr {￿e be
Ba4arKÈ ** l January
Transferred trorn Gener4 Pjhds
Gross Interest
Repalrs
6•l*Ke ar 31 t)ec¢mbèr
210
74,979
7.745
9.332
194
192,0561
434
85,512
7,755
9023
30
103,090
68,518
6370 '
S7￿12
3,370
3ZS
12,7SO
68,618
131,1501
45,436
t•
St, Mary'3
st. John'$
51. mar￿￿$
20,389
10,C*6
14,981
46.619
8,625
13,374
61,618
21 GEmer41 In¢om• awd Exp•th¥fftArwitsL Pa•rf
Balance at I january
Surluslli)8ft¢itl af Income •xpenthturefoithesrar befwE cmtrlbudon
Contrfb￿￿Ory to Padsfv cost$
SuWusllOefldtl of Income overexpendltur• forthey
Transferred to Church Rewli Fuftd
lftcreise/lDecre#el fjnvauatloTr pf IrNestmelltsW for the General Fvnd
pl￿nCe at 31 Oecember
197,4Chl
83,316
174J791
8,337
14Xb)Jl
11,757
213Ag8
172.617
127,744
89J12
42,23Z
ii.cwi
16,445
Nate io
arKt it l January
SurpbJ5llDefidtl of In¢omedverexper*dlturnfor the ywb•fore
ContrSbutlon to Partsh costs
rplusllDeffcltl of Inrorne ove". expendltw• forthe year
Trarsl¢rrna to Cb.Uf¢h Repelr Fur#1
Increa5ellWre4sel In valjidon ol In¥estrneryts hdd for the Ge￿rnI Fund
e •t 31 Decern￿r
21,089
6,925
17,74SI
18201
11.1701
24,421
8,339
17,7551
11,1701
Note 10
21

PARSH otSPELDHURST w+th GACY￿.￿RIDGE and ASHURST
Notes to the Att¢>unts
2023
416roombrldte Schod kious¢ 1st Johfi'sl
Balafice at l January
Ir*¢re?st/lDeereasel In valuatlon of IThv8stn￿nts held for the Fur#1
Balance at 31 Deceffj￿r
Sl General Intom¢ & &¥pendJtur•A<counilSL M*ln'sl
Bdance at I larkuary
Surplu51lD8flcitl of ltscame Dver ekpendlttsre forth¢ ￿Or before contrtbutTon
Contrtbutkn to ParL%h tosts
SuFplusllDefkltl of Incotne o¥eP expendlture for the year
rraTrslerred to Chureh Repalr Fund
8alance at 31 Oecember
2023
20Z2
50,611
14,9341
4S,6n
Note 10
3,527
49204
34.740
6,873
9,332
12,4591
11.20)]
31,081
35,lQ8
9,655
9,8231
11681
34,740
Total St. hlary's
rotsl SL John's
233.887
244,023
75,391
48,114
367,52R
80.331
Total St, M*rtln's
44062
36D,281
Totsl Unr•stdctod I)e51￿•t•d
bl Réstrirted Fund5
2023
2022
11 P4rl$h Rertikted AtDd
a￿n¢t at l Janu
Incorne rettfved Inrludlng Gmt t¥x rethh*ry
Subsldy to *rln8 trIar￿t placas
8ilance at 31 December
21 P•rt¥h se9￿$tr￿an Fund
8alancè at I january
FeE5 receiwd
VISItt￿ clergy feesand expen525
Rectw standing tharges when unoccupled
8alance •t 31 D2t¢mb¢r
Jl P•rtth Y4uth Fyhd
L218
1,218
1,21B
1,218
950
12241
12C4)
3,488
Interest added In year
Expendlture In the year
rrwsfef ta Dl81ts1 Fund
Balance * 31 Detember
5,859
13,4981
IZ,3801
Tgtal Part
L744

PARISH otSPELoHuftsf with GftOOMORIDG£ and ASHURST
Notss lo theA¢wnts
2023
111 st, M*rfs
RestdEtod Fund
Balan¢e al I lanuary
Collec¢lons & donations Includ'rtg giftald tsxre¢uvery
Grnnts recelwed
Gas
anlEI cards
Chur¢hyard
MlsslonaryaTrJ chaHtabl8 sl¥lng
Fe￿ onllne
8alar￿e a1310ecember
Tot•1 St M•plJ
1111 St. John's
11 thur¢h¥ard M•lntenan¢• Fund
Balance at & january
Granis and donalons Fr￿ludIng GIfrAd tax reco￿ry
mal•t￿Or￿e costs
8•lan¢e at 31 Derember
21 Frtènds ol SL khn's Gtoombddgo
Balance at I lanuary
C¥Matlon5 Includln8 1(ft ald tax retowy
Exyndltmre In the year
84l•nce at 311)e¢ember
918rftl$h L48kn
ltsnee atl l•nuary
ojmatliths
EKpendiNJre the year
Balaoce at31 December
2023
2022
1,198
2,763
2,087
1601
13541
12027)
13841
1,355
2,136
12,2601
18MI
3323
3223
1,198
1,198
2m23
2.012
1.250
235
1958
1,665
1,764
2,248
IL,7231 ￿95$>
1958
122
1221
214
1214
41 Vnd¢r P¢w H•*ln¢Fund
Balance at I lanuwy
Donat.oThs In¢libllng glft ahl tax rec￿lery
Expend6ture In the yÈar
OalatKQ at31 ￿rnber
3,125
Totsl StJohn'•
6.359

PARISH of SP£iDHURgf wfth GRIXIMBRIOGE and ASHURST
2023
l¥1 St. Math's
tl Churthyard Flknd
8alance at l January
Grants fft¢efved
Expendlture In the year
IAl8resL added In the ¥ear
Balanc6 at 31 Oecember
io
2022
1,351
786
1,351
21 Away Fund
Btlance at l January
Income In ihe year
Expendllure In theyear
Oalance at 31 Decernber
31 WndDWS Fund
Bilonc# at l January
Exwndlture In theye4r
Balance at 31 Decemb¥
127
1271
iio
iio
iio
iio
41 #roa4shwt lund
8lance at I january
Grants recelved
other Income 1ndu41ng￿ft ald t￿reCoVery
Expenditure In the Year
galan¢e it 31 De￿mber
196
500
467
1,163
1,392
245
11,741
51 eroadshEet 81ndlni Fund
B*nce at I lanijary
Grants recelved
Expendlture In tbe year
831ance at 31 December
150
150
150
Tot¥1 $1 hl•th's
250
Tot41 Rewktod Ftmdj
11,586
10.669
YorAL PCC FVMDS
¥ote 16 all)
Note 16 •1111
Note 16 bl
Ikni¢stdct￿ D•sknatedFund5
Funds
IfjOA81
I1￿6
367.528
10,669
IY SuffwNryofTran4vs
Padsh General Fund
Gèner81 Fund (St. Marfsl
General Fund151.lohn'sl
General Fund (St. Martirn'51
rJ)tsrch R•palr Fund ISL Marf5}
Cthwch Aepalr Fund 1st. John's
ChurGh RepabrFufjd1St. M•rtFn'sl
92,056
178,9791
18,9151
110,S321
1,170
1.2ry)
92,Q56