Registered number 06802918 ## Guardians of Strutts Trustees Annual Report and Financial Statements Year ended 31 May 2025 ## **Guardians of Strutts Report and accounts Contents** ||**Page**| |---|---| |Charity information|1| |Independent examiners report|2| |Income and expenditure account|3| |Balance sheet|4| |Financial activities|5| |Detailed profit and loss account|6| |Notes to the accounts|7-9| ## **Guardians of Strutts Charity Information** ## **Trustees** Mrs C H Maddock Dr N P McLeod R P Downie G Henshaw ## **Accountants** Mr T Curtis ACCA FMAAT Ground Floor, Sterling House Outrams Wharf Little Eaton Derby DE21 5EL ## **Registered office** Strutts Centre Derby Road Belper Derbyshire DE56 1UU **Registered number** 06802918 1 ## **Guardians of Strutts** ## **Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees** ## **Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Guardian of Strutts ('the Company')** I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts for the year ended 31 May 2025. ## **Responsibilities and basis of report** As the charity's trustees of the Company (and also its director for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 ('the 2006 Act'). Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity's accounts as carried out under Section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 ('the 2011 Act'). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under Section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act. ## **Independent examiner's statement** I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with examination giving me cause to believe. 1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by Section 386 of the 2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or 3. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of Section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination or; 4. the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities (applicable to charities peparing their accounts in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawin in this report in able to a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Mr T Curtis ACCA FMAAT Derbyshire Tax Services Ltd Ground Floor, Sterling House Outrams Wharf Little Eaton Derby DE21 5EL 13 October 2025 2 ## **Guardians of Strutts Profit and Loss Account for the year ended 31 May 2025** |**Donations**
Administrative expenses
**Operating profit**
Interest receivable
**Net Income**|**2025**
**£**
154,638
(122,202)
32,436
3,113
35,549|**2024**
**£**
146,614
(97,890)
48,724
2,002
50,726| |---|---|---| 3 **Guardians of Strutts Registered number:** 06802918 **Balance Sheet as at 31 May 2025** |**Notes**
**Fixed assets**
Tangible assets
3
**Current assets**
Debtors
4
Investments held as current
assets
5
Cash at bank and in hand
**Creditors: amounts falling due**
**within one year**
6
**Net current assets**
**Total assets less current**
**liabilities**
**Creditors: amounts falling due**
**after more than one year**
7
**Net assets**
**Capital and reserves**
Restricted and unrestricted funds
8
**Shareholders' funds**|**2025**
**£**
154,276
24,041
1
215,923
239,965
(7,555)
232,410
386,686
(97,815)
288,871
288,871
288,871|**2024**
**£**
146,956
32,122
1
176,402
208,525
(4,343)
204,182
351,138
(97,815)
253,323
253,323
253,323| |---|---|---| The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 31 May 2025 The members have not required the company to obtain an audit in accordance with section 476 of the Act. The trustees/ directors acknowledge their responsibilities for: (a) ensuring that te chartiable company keeps accounting records that comply with Sections 386 and 387 of the Companies Act 2006 and (b) preparing financial statements which give true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable 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 the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to chartiable company. The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 13 October 2025 and were signed on its behalf by: N McLeod Director Approved by the board on 13 October 2025 4 ## **Guardians of Strutts Registered number: Financial Activities as at 31 May 2025** |Notes
**Income and endowments from**
Donation and legacies
Investment income
9
**Total**
**Expenditure on Chartiable activities**
General
**Net income/expenditure**
**Reconciliation of funds**
Total funds brought forward
**Total funds carried forward**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**£**
154,639
1,827
156,466
122,153
34,313
199,549
233,862|**Restricted**
**funds**
**£**
-
1,286
1,286
50
1,236
53,774
55,010|**2025 Total**
**funds**
**£**
154,639
3,113
157,752
122,203
35,549
253,323
288,872|**2024 Total**
**funds**
**£**
146,612
2,002
148,614
97,888
50,726
202,597
253,323| |---|---|---|---|---| 5 ## **Guardians of Strutts Detailed profit and loss account for the year ended 31 May 2025** _This schedule does not form part of the statutory accounts_ |**Sales**
Donations
**Administrative expenses**
Employee costs:
Staff training and welfare
Premises costs:
Rates
Light and heat
Cleaning
General administrative expenses:
Stationery and printing
Subscriptions
Bank charges
Insurance
Equipment expensed
Software
Repairs and maintenance
Depreciation
Sundry expenses
Legal and professional costs:
Advertising and PR|**2025**
**£**
154,638
-
-
2,378
40,842
6,060
49,280
190
292
62
15,219
646
353
41,441
12,689
67
70,959
1,963
1,963
122,202|**2024**
**£**
146,614
158
158
2,672
31,836
20,838
55,346
-
376
60
15,209
-
134
15,110
11,387
-
42,276
110
110
97,890| |---|---|---| 6 **Guardians of Strutts Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31 May 2025** ## **1 Accounting policies** ## _**Basis of preparation**_ The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with Charities SORP (FRS 102) '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)', Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of the Ireland' and the Companies Act 2006.The Financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, with the exception of investments which are included at market value. ## _**Income**_ All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measure reliably. ## _**Expenditure**_ Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal constructive obligation committing the charity the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be reliably measure. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the caterogy. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to a particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. ## _**Tangible fixed assets**_ The value shown in Accounts for the Land and Buildings represents the legal fees, professional fees and renovation works to the building incurred since the transfer of the property from the Derbyshire County Council to the Charity in September 2009. The land and building is thought by the Trustees to have a market value between £1.5m and £3.6m. |Freehold buildings|2.5% Straight line| |---|---| |Plant and machinery|10% Straight line| |Fixtures, fittings, tools and equipment|20% Straight line| |Computer equipment|20% Straight line| ## _**Stocks**_ Stocks are measured at the lower of cost and estimated selling price less costs to complete and sell. ## _**Taxation**_ The charity is exempt from cooperation tax on its charitable activities. ## _**Fund accounting**_ Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees. Restricted funds can only be issued for the paticular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restircted purposes. |**2**
**Employees**
Average number of persons employed by the company|**2025**
**Number**
4|**2024**
**Number**
4| |---|---|---| |**3**
**Tangible fixed assets**
**Cost**
At 1 June 2024
Additions
At 31 May 2025
**Depreciation**
At 1 June 2024
Charge for the year
At 31 May 2025
**Net book value**
At 31 May 2025
At 31 May 2024|**Land and buildings**
**£**
136,155
-
136,155
14,180
2,198
16,378
119,777
121,975|**Plant and machinery**
**etc**
**£**
56,541
11,366
67,907
40,102
5,701
45,803
22,104
16,439|**Equipment, fixtures**
**& fittings**
**£**
45,023
8,644
53,667
36,481
4,791
41,272
12,395
8,542|**Total**
**£**
237,719
20,010
257,729
90,763
12,690
103,453
154,276
146,956| |---|---|---|---|---| 7 ## **Guardians of Strutts Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31 May 2025** |**4**
**Debtors**
Other debtors
**5**
**Investments held as current assets**
**Fair value**
Unlisted investments
**6**
**Creditors: amounts falling due within one year**
Trade creditors
Other creditors
**7**
**Creditors: amounts falling due after one year**
Bank loans
**8**
**Movement in funds**
**At 01/06/2024**
**£**
**Unrestricted funds**
General fund
199,549
**Restricted funds**
Ryklow Trust Fund
52,586
Lift Fund
148
Restricted Fund
1,040
53,774
**TOTAL FUNDS**
253,323
Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows for 31 May 2025
**Incoming**
**resources**
**£**
**Unrestricted funds**
General fund
156,466
**Restricted funds**
Ryklow Trust Fund
1,258
Lift Fund
3
Restricted Fund
25
1,286
**TOTAL FUNDS**
157,752|**2025**
**£**
24,041
**2025**
**£**
1
**2025**
**£**
3,389
4,166
7,555
**2025**
**£**
97,815
**Net movement**
**£**
34,313
1,258
(47)
25
1,236
35,549
**Resources**
**expended**
**£**
(122,153)
-
(50)
-
(50)
(122,203)|**2024**
**£**
32,122
**2024**
**£**
1
**2024**
**£**
2,670
1,673
4,343
**2024**
**£**
97,815
**At 31/05/2025**
**£**
233,862
53,844
101
1,065
55,010
288,872
**Movement in funds**
**£**
34,313
1,258
(47)
25
1,236
35,549| |---|---|---| 8 ## **Guardians of Strutts** ## **Notes to the Accounts** ## **for the year ended 31 May 2025** Comparative for movement in funds for 31 May 2024 |**Unrestricted funds**
General fund
**Restricted funds**
Ryklow Trust Fund
Lift Fund
Restricted Fund
**TOTAL FUNDS**
**Investment Income**
Bank interest|**Incoming**
**resources**
**£**
109,136
51,509
6
22
51,537
160,673|**Resources**
**expended**
**£**
(97,783)
-
(12,127)
(37)
(12,164)
(109,947)
**2024**
**£**
3,113|**Movement in funds**
**£**
11,353
51,509
(12,121)
(15)
39,373
50,726
**2023**
**£**
2,002| |---|---|---|---| ## **9 Investment Income** ## **10 Other information** Guardians of Strutts is a private company limited by shares and incorporated in England. Its registered office is: Strutts Centre Derby Road Belper Derbyshire DE56 1UU 9 ## **Guardians of Strutts Report of the Trustees** ## **For The Year Ended 31st May 2025** ## **1. Introduction** The trustees, who are also directors of the Guardians of Strutts Charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31st May 2025. The trustees have adopted the provisions of 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). The trustees are mindful that a new version of the SORP 2026 will come into force shortly, on 1[st] January 2026, and have adjusted this report accordingly. ## **2. Objectives and activities** - **2.1.** To further or benefit the residents of Belper and the neighbourhood, without distinction of sex, sexual orientation, race or political, religious or other opinions by associating together, the said residents and the local authorities, voluntary and other organisations in a common effort to advance education and to provide facilities in the interests of social welfare for recreation leisure time occupations with the objectives of improving the conditions of life for the residents. - **2.2.** To secure ownership and preserve the Herbert Strutt School Building on Derby Road, for the benefit and use of the inhabitants of the Township of Belper, in perpetuity, and in accordance with the original 1909 Strutt Conveyance. - **2.3.** To encourage the sustainability of the township of Belper. ## **3. Structure, governance and management** - **3.1.** The Guardians of Strutts Charity (hereafter designated GOS) is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006. - **3.2.** The Guardians of Strutts has a wholly owned trading company, called Strutt Centre Limited, (hereafter designated SCL), which operates the site as the Strutts Community Centre and donates its entire operating surplus to the Guardians of Strutts. - **3.3.** The Guardians of Strutts is supported by an unincorporated "friends’ group", called the Belper Strutts Society, (hereafter designated BSS), which raises funds and encourages volunteers to help run the Strutts Community Centre. ## **4. Achievements and performance** - **4.1.** We rely entirely on our volunteers and without their efforts the Charity is not viable. Over the last 12 months we have recruited new volunteers for all areas of our activities. We have continued our volunteer coffee mornings, which have been popular and give the opportunity to meet other volunteers who work in different areas of the site. WhatsApp social media has improved communications between the various groups of volunteers involved with Reception, accounts, gardening, catering, bar and repairs. - **4.2.** A major aim of the Charity is the repair and restoration of the buildings and site. This year more of this work has been carried out by volunteers which has saved the Charity significant sums of money. - **4.3.** We are in the process of converting the classroom in the playground into a workshop for the repairs and restoration activities. We have invested in tools and equipment for woodworking and will set up facilities for window repairs. This is a major step in enabling this work to be undertaken in a more safe and secure environment, which should encourage more volunteers to join us with these efforts. - **4.4.** The intention this year was to start applying for grants to restore the building, but unfortunately there has been little progress due to other more immediate demands on our volunteers to keep the Community Centre open. We still need to recruit volunteers to help with grant applications. GOS Trustees Report 2025 Nov AGM V1.0 110226 (002) - 1 16/02/2026 ## **4.5. Public Benefit** The main benefit that the charity provides is facilities for community activities. The Charity has owned the former Herbert Strutt School site since September 2009 and maintains the building as the Strutts Community Centre for the benefit of the township of Belper. - **4.5.1.** The total recorded volunteer hours per annum to run Reception alone is around 3761. If we paid a minimum wage of £12.21 that represents a cash equivalent contribution of £45,921, for the benefit of the Community of Belper. The actual number of hours that our volunteers spend on running the Charity far exceeds this figure. We plan to quantify our volunteer contribution more precisely next year. - **4.5.2.** Our pricing structure for room hire subsidises community groups run by volunteers, and charges commercial users higher standard rates. This year it amounted to an additional benefit to the community of around £125,919, which when combined with the volunteer hours is of the same order of our total income. This is a significant financial contribution that the Charity makes for the benefit of the township of Belper. ## **5. Financial review** ## **5.1. Reserves policy** The Trustees have reviewed the reserves of the charity. The review considered the nature of the income and expenditure streams and the need to match variable income with fixed commitments and the nature of the reserves. We have followed the Charity Commission requirements for us to have adequate financial reserves. We have allocated funds of £40,000 as a “Continuation Reserve”, which would cover 6 months of operations in the event of a forced closure of the Community Centre caused by, for example another pandemic, shut down or fire. We have allocated £5,000 to a “Wind-Up Reserve”, to cover the unlikely need to close the Charity. We have also allocated £25,000 to an “Emergency Reserve” which would cover unforeseen repairs or new mandatory requirements. This gives a grand total of £70,000 in designated Reserves which are currently held in an interest yielding Co-op Savings Bank Account. The Charity earned £3,112 interest in the financial year, compared to £2,002 in the previous year. This was an increase of 55% due to increases in interest rates after the pandemic when they were effectively zero. Also, the allocation of more funds to restricted and designated reserves has resulted in larger bank account balances in interest yielding accounts. The unrestricted funds increased to £233,861 from £199,549, which represents an increase of 17% in the year to 31st May 2025. Restricted funds show a grand total of £55,009 up from £53,774, which is a 2% increase, and includes the Ryklow Trust funds. The total funds increased by £35,548 compared with an increase of £11,353 in the previous year. This is an increase of 14% and has resulted in an overall surplus to the end of the financial year of £288,871. ## **5.2. Donations from Strutts** ## **5.3. Centre Limited** Strutts Centre Limited is wholly owned by the Guardians of Strutts and runs the operation of the Strutts Community Centre. The primary source of income for SCL is from hiring rooms and facilities to local community groups and businesses. Secondary sources of income includes that from catering, bar services, and storage facilities that we provide to our users. The highlights from the SCL Accounts show the following: - Catering income was £6,059 with a profit of £3,437. - Bar takings of £6,903 resulted in a net profit of £4,248. - Storage income was £5,283. - Coffee machine income was £996 with a net profit of £258. GOS Trustees Report 2025 Nov AGM V1.0 110226 (002) - 2 16/02/2026 Overall SCL donated £154,448 to GOS, which showed an increase of 11% from previous year. This is a tremendous achievement and is due to SCL raising hire rates, the increased licence fees, and running more events. These higher returns are only possible because of the efforts of the unpaid volunteers who run the operations of the Strutts Community Centre. ## **5.4. GOS Income** The total income for the Charity from donations was £154,638. which was a 5% increase over the previous financial year. Bank interest for the Charity was £3,112 for the financial year, compared to £2,002 in the previous year. This was an increase of 55% due to increases in interest rates after the pandemic when they were effectively zero. Also, the allocation of more funds to restricted and designated reserves has resulted in larger bank account balances in interest yielding accounts. ## **5.5. GOS Expenditure** The GOS has spent £86,501 of the available funds on running costs, utilities and general repairs during this period. Some of the major categories are summarised below: |•|Administrative Costs|£2,958| |---|---|---| |•|Insurance|£15,219| |•|Cleaning Services
|£1,707| |•|Building Repair & Maintenance|£41,345| |•|Electric|£14,730| |•|Gas|£26,112| |•|Waste|£4,668| |•|Water|£2,378| ## **5.6. Accounting** Quickbooks accounting software was used for the Guardians of Strutts accounts this year. There have been transitional issues with the allocation of categories for the grouping of income and expenditure. Also, with the clearer split in responsibilities between Guardians of Strutts and SCL some items of expenditure are being moved between GOS and SCL, such as cleaning and licences. ## **5.7. Banks** We are in the process of replacing the RBS “Treasurers Current Account” with a new RBS “Charities Current Account” which offers full digital banking services. We already have savings accounts with the Coop Bank and the Restricted Funds with CAF Bank and are setting up a savings account with RBS. These interest-bearing savings accounts will be used to hold our reserved funds separately. All these Bank accounts will have balances below the Financial Service Compensation Scheme limits of £85,000 per bank, to eliminate the financial risk of default by the Banks. We have introduced SumUp debit/credit card readers and new electronic till systems for payments to SCL in Reception and the Bar. We have encouraged payments of invoices by bank transfer. The integration of these systems with the Quickbooks digital accounts package, together with digital banking, has significantly improved our financial controls. With all these developments writing of cheques has almost ceased! ## **6. Sustainability** ## **6.1.** Financial Risks The energy crisis has replaced the pandemic as a cause for financial uncertainty. Also, the unreliability of the heating system is of major concern and will require significant investment in the future. To this end we are building up designated funds towards the cost of new heating systems. The outlook for the net income over the next 12 months is still of concern due to increases in all our operating costs. The policy of building up the reserves and not borrowing has been vindicated as we have no debt to service. The decision to increase prices and the number of licence holders shows that a mixture of community and commercial users makes financial sense under these circumstances. Our prudent approach will give the best chance of ensuring that the Centre will be sustainable and available to the Community of Belper in the long term. GOS Trustees Report 2025 Nov AGM V1.0 110226 (002) - 3 16/02/2026 ## **6.2.** Heating For a successful Community Centre, it is essential to have a warm and welcoming building. Unfortunately, one of the two main boilers failed during the winter months. This meant that we had to use electric heating during this period, which was expensive and did not heat the rooms adequately. It highlighted our dependence on gas boilers for heating the building as the alternative use of electricity would require a significant upgrade of the wiring and supply. Our users were understanding of our situation, and the Trustees would like to express our thanks to them for their patience. We have spent £11,170 on boiler repairs in this financial year, up by 84%, as opposed to the unaffordable cost of completely new gas boilers. This work represents a positive step forward in the reliability of our heating system while we find a more efficient long-term solution, which includes sustainable renewable energy sources. Also, we need to reduce our energy consumption with such measures as insulation, curtains, and repairs to the windows. We have started to investigate the potential of solar panels on site but there are restrictions for our Grade II Listed building. We will research the viability of other sources of renewable energy, including air and ground source heat pumps. With the ever-increasing cost of energy this is the only sustainable path to follow. ## **7. Exemptions from disclosure** None ## **8. Funds held as holding trustee on behalf of others** None ## **9. Reference and administrative details** ## **Registered Company number** ## **Registered Charity number** 06802918 (England and Wales) 1130427 ## **Registered office** Strutts Community Centre, Derby Road, Belper, Derbyshire. DE56 1UU ## **Trustees** Mr P Downie Mr G Henshaw Mrs C H Maddock Dr N P McLeod ## **Independent Examiner** Derbyshire Tax Services Ltd., Office A, Ground Floor, Sterling House, Outram’s Wharf, Little Eaton, Derbyshire DE21 5EL GOS Trustees Report 2025 Nov AGM V1.0 110226 (002) - 4 16/02/2026 ## **10. Acknowledgements** The trustees thank all those who have supported the Charity financially, and especially all those individuals and groups who have used the building. The Belper Strutts Society raises funds to support the Charity by running events, producing newsletters, and the sale of books. The Charity would like to express its thanks to the Management Committee of Belper Strutts Society and the band of its members and volunteers for their efforts. This performance shows a significant recovery from the closures during the pandemic and makes a major contribution to covering the increase in operating costs due to the energy crisis. The Charity would like to express its thanks to all the Directors of Strutts Centre Limited and the band of loyal volunteers who have made all this possible. Approved by order of the Board of Trustees on Tuesday 14[th] October 2025 and signed on its behalf by: ......................................................................... Dr N P McLeod – Chair of Trustees GOS Trustees Report 2025 Nov AGM V1.0 110226 (002) - 5 16/02/2026