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← West Devon Methodist Circuit

2025-08-31-accounts

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Registered Charity Number: 1134070

Trustees Annual Report Statement of Annual Financial Accounts Year ended 31st August 2025

. Circuit No: 37/26

Name of Circuit:

WEST DEVON

Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) for the year ended 31 August 2025

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Circuit No: 37/26

Name of Circuit: WEST DEVON

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||||||||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |Statement|of|Financial|Activities|(SOFA)|for the|year|ended|31|August|2024| |.| |£| |z|ca|is|2|a| |5|3|2|oo|c| |a|se|2|8|E| |©|+|®|<a)|&|z| |5|62|6|3|Fd|ui|2023-24| |£|£|ca|bE|E|£| |Income| |1|Donations andlegacies|||||CE| |2|Income|from|monetary investments]|5.412[|12,909]|||||17 ||18,338| |[3|Income frominvestment|properties|||16.561||||—(|||__||18,661| |4|Assessments|on Churches|||116012/||||||+|~——| 116,912,| |5|CapitalReceipts|||CT|CE| |6|Grantsreceived|||Cd|CT|es]|8,968 || |7_Other charitable income|—~+d| tat]|oresp|||Ss|SidY:C, 8| |ls|Totalincome|ss|SCs:«|181,916]|23,034]|=||9,968]|17]|184,935||| |Expenditure| |9FiO|Grants and donations|——S—=édSCSCiat@TCSCSCdSCSC“‘SCC.COMO| |[1 PropertySalaries|maintenancand associat|e|d costs———~+|||24.5027e.590[|[——~+|—Ssi«d|~SSdY~SS~dC]|||40,000|||||118,599| |12|B02||| |FS DistrictConnexional Assessmentassessment &Lew& model|trustlevy28,772][9.464]682;||—+(|||||8,629,484 || |———SsSSCSCé‘iTSC(tédTSSCdPSSCdYSCSSCdSCC~‘idrCCSC‘| |Fi4Depreciation| |"1516 Office expenses|——=S=~=~“‘~‘dtSCé|CdTSCSSCdSC‘“‘RSC*‘d#‘S(C#C@OB| |[17|Other|outgoings|||85,322]||T8532| |18|Total charitabie expenditure||_171,367||_10,146||40,000, __0| ___0||224,513| |19|Gains|/i|(losses)|on|moneinves|t|ment propertiesaryinvestments|||||ET|| |20Netincomel{expenditure)| |21|||49,451]|12,888||-40,000||9,963||_17||3,678| |22 Transfers Othergainsi(losses) betweenfundsSs|[4227||CT||CT|||| |23Net movement infunds|| -49,029||_12,888||40,000]|6,968||408]|36,578| |[24|Total|funds brought|forward|=||182,810]|49,282||190,000]|||405 ||392,497| |25|Total|funds carried|forward|=||133,781 ||62,170|150,000|9,968]|__-|||355,919 ||

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Name of Circuit! WEST DEVON

Circuit No 37/26

Balance Sheet as at 31 August2025
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Notes to the Accounts of West Devon Methodist Circuit

For the year ended 31st August 2025

1 Basis of accounting

The financial statements have been prepared under the Charities Act 2011 in accordance with the 2014 version of Accounting and Reporting for Charities SORP applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS102 and taking note of the update bulletin 1 issued in 2016.

2 Funds

The funds held constitute: General Funds held for any purpose of the Circuit, which are unrestricted. The Circuit Model Trust Fund has wide purposes defined by Standing Orders and is categorised as unrestricted.

During the year 2023/2024 a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £9968 was received for specific purposes within the Circuit. None of this had been spent before 31st August 2024, so it was shown as restricted funds on the account. £5190 of this has been expended during 2024-25, leaving an unspent restricted fund of £4778 as shown on the SOFA and Balance Sheet

3 Accounting Policies

Basis:

These accounts have been prepared on a Receipts and Payments basis. No major items of income or expenditure related to 2024-2025 have been identified which are not included in these accounts.

VAT:

Since the circuit is not VAT registered, all input VAT is charged with the expenses to which it refers.

Tangible Fixed Assets for use by the Circuit:

Tangible fixed assets include 3 manses. Two of these are let on Assured Shorthold tenancies while we have no ministers to occupy them. The deemed valuation of the three manses is £732,329, which was the insured value in 2018, and which the trustees consider is the appropriate nett value if they were marketed. Nett rents received for the 2 tenanted manses were £23,407.

The Circuit also has Managing Trustee responsibilities for Belstone Chapel, where occasional services are held, and where the former Sunday School room is used as a tearoom in this popular Dartmoor village. The estimated sale value of the building is £150,000. If sold this would be subject to an automatic levy of £40,000 by the custodian trustees of the Methodist Connexional Priority Funds, so the net asset value to the Circuit would be £110,000, as included in the Tangible Fixed Assets.

Investments:

The Circuit does not hold any invested funds liable to changed valuations. All funds are held in Cash accounts with HSBC Bank (current account), Methodist Central Finance Board (deposit account}, and Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes (Trustees interest fund)

Debtors, Creditors and Prepayments:

There were no significant debtors or creditors or prepayments at 31st August 2025

4 Payments to Trustees

Payments totalling £898 were made to trustees’ businesses for building services (including materials) provided to the circuit, as agreed by the Managing Trustees.

No payments were made to any Trustees for their services as trustees.

5 Fees for examination of the accounts

An Independent Examiner's fee of £275 was paid for reporting on the 2024 accounts. The fee for examination of these accounts is still to be agreed.

No other payments will be made for advice or accountancy services.

6 Paid employees

The average number of full-time equivalent paid workers was 2.5

The total cost of salaries, employer's National Insurance, pension contributions was £126,427. This included reimbursing the Methodist Connexion for the stipend and other costs associated with our fulltime ordained minister.

7 Capital Commitments and Contingent Liabilities

At 31st August 2025 there are no capital commitments, nor any identified contingent liabilities.

8 Tangible Fixed Assets

See note 3 above.

There have been no disposals or acquisitions of fixed assets during the year.

9 Loans

A longstanding loan of £1000 to Boasley chapel is stili outstanding. The Circuit provided a further £5000 loan to Boasley chapel in April 2024 to enable emergency electrical work to be completed in their premises. This loan is also outstanding.

A loan of £1000 (nett) to our Superintendent Minister to enable him to purchase a new computer was outstanding at 3ist August 2024, but has since been repaid in full. This is reflected in the balance sheet.

10 Restricted and Designated Funds held @ 31st August 2025.

Within the Circuit Model Trust Fund held by the Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes on our behalf, we had designated £150,000 to cover predicted budget deficits in future years. £65,000 has been drawn down in 2024-2025, leaving a designated balance of £85,000. This will allow us to engage in missional development activities in the next 2 years, which would be impossible without drawing on that Fund.

(Notes to circuit accounts 2025}

Name of Circuit .. WEST DEVON

No 37/26

Declarations and Scrutiny

| confirm that these Receipt and Payment based accounts for the year to 31 August 2025 have been prepared from the records of the Circuit and that they include all funds under the control of the Circuit meeting.

Senate of tees nh LRSM pate. 2( 25... Name and address of treasurer ..... Alan Partridge 16 Kestrel Close, Okehampton, Devon EX201UT

Presentation to the Circuit meeting

| confirm that the annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 August 2025 were/will be*

presented to the Circuit meeting held on ......26" November 2025 Signature of the Chair of the meeting Caste. bec cessaeeae ceeuceses teste eeeseaes Name of the Chair of the meeting ... ker. Ge ASST SEES | Date 26, fujeoos..

Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of the

West Devon Methodist Circuit

Charity Number [.(Q.i.a-O

Responsibilities and basis of report

| report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the | West Devon Circuit for the year ended 31 August 2025 set out on pages ... to.... As the Circuit's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).

| report in respect of my examination of the Circuit's accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and, in carrying out my examination, | have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Name of Circuit .............. WEST DEVON

No. 37/26

Independent Examiner’s Statement

| have completed my examination. | confirm that no materiaf matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination (otherdisetoSedbelew*;which tharrthat give me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

| have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

| aeee/have not* obtained independent verification of all investments with the Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes or held in other trusts, bank balances and funds at the Centra! Finance Board of the Methodist Church which are individually in excess of £10,000 (ten thousand pounds) at the balance sheet date.

Signature of independent examiner SS 0, Cn Name of independent examiner ............... NASSE WATTS ceeececee Relevant professional qualification of independent examiner CCA... DChA detent tteeeseeeees

Name 3 | WERTOTTS....( te) LEP offirm (where appropriate) ......WEA EQ ALC ET ce cee cea ee eee eee ees Address IC... CRANUIERE..ROADAZEHAMP TON. XEON bec ece ete eee tee tee ten eeneeaceensesee eee seeteetetterststsensttstestsetsstsesssssssesesseeeee POSt Code EX20 (UE Date so Me DS se

WEST DEVON METHODIST CIRCUIT

ANNUAL TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR YEAR ENDING 31st AUGUST 2025

INTRODUCTION

The West Devon Circuit is situated to the north-west of Dartmoor and is spread over approx. 400 sq miles. The Circuit currently serves twelve active churches, with memberships ranging from 4 to 64, and has a total membership of 248. ° AIMS AND ORGANISATION The Charity objective is to act as a resource provider within the area for the Methodist Church. The purposes of the Methodist Church are, and shall be deemed to have been since the Date of Union, the advancement of: a) The Christian faith in accordance with the doctrinal standards and the discipline of the Methodist Church; b) Any charitable purpose for the time being of any Connexional, District, Circuit, local or other organisation of the Methodist Church;

We seek to accomplish this by:

ANNUAL REVIEW

At the end of the reporting year, the Circuit staff comprised of: The Superintendent Minister, a Family Worker (full-time), two Lay Assistants (part-time) and an Administrator (part-time).

During the year, the Heritage Project (with National Lottery funding) was organised and implemented with 5 very successful Heritage Days being held at different church venues in the Circuit. Each day was well supported by locais and visitors who enjoyed reading and seeing varied artefacts that were mostly provided by locals about people from the church and neighbouring areas. The Heritage days ended with Songs & Folklore Concerts given by Jim Causley. The Project has created great interest and inspired other circuits to do something similar. In accordance with the Methodist Church procedure, Circuit Stewards organised consultations among all church congregations to consider appointing the superintendent minister for a further five years from September 2026. The Manses at Hatherleigh and Northlew are let with the tenancies managed by Stags Estate Agents, who undertake regular maintenance checks and report back to the Circuit. Management charges are 12% + VAT of rents collected.

INCOME

Circuit income is primarily drawn from the assessment paid by the Circuit Churches. There is also rental income relating to the rental of the Manses at Hatherleigh and Northlew.

EXPENDITURE

Stipend and salary expenditure has increased each financial year in line with increases set by the Methodist Conference

and the Living Wage Foundation. Approximately 15% of normal expenditure was the Circuit’s contribution to the District and Connexion, used to fund the work of the wider Methodist Church. Funding for the part-time Administrator and other additional expenditure incurred for lay ministry work were taken from reserves.

FUND BALANCES

As at 31st August 2025, total funds held were £315,261 including 3 repayable Idans totalling £6,000. The balances include a restricted fund (remaining Lottery Funding for the Heritage Project). A proportion of this is designated for payment of staff in the coming year as we are not likely to generate enough revenue income to fully cover projected expenditure. RESERVES POLICY Policy for General Funds

The Circuit Meeting acknowledges the policy of the Methodist Church in relation to financial reserves and at this point will endeavour to maintain a reserve amounting to six months general expenditure £105,000. This should be sufficient to meet unforeseen loss of income or additional expenditure whilst enabling the ongoing work and witness of the Circuit through missional and outreach opportunities to continue and develop.

Funds held for specific purposes: £85,000 remains designated to help meet salaries and other expenses of lay workers over coming years. This policy will be reviewed annually by the Circuit Trustees.

TRUSTEES as at 31st August 2025

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||||||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |Mrs Margaret|Allin|Miss|Winifred|Davey|Mr|David James|Mrs|Heather Smallacombe| |Mr|Richard|Balsdon|Mrs|Beryl Down|Mr|Dean James|Mr Ken|Smallacombe| |Mrs|Christine|Cottle|Mr|David|Down|Mrs|Ruth James|Mr|tan Trenaman| |Mrs|Dorothy Couch|Mr|Ken|Down|Mrs|Linda|Kyle|Miss Sandra|Trenaman| |Mrs Jackie Crawford|Mrs|Lucy|Gilbert|Mr Alan|Marshall|Mr Owen Vanstone| |Mr Mike|Curtice|Miss|Brenda|Hockridge|Mr Alan|Partridge|Mrs Judy Waterer| |Mr Les|Cutter|Mrs|Marlene|Hunkin|Mrs Anne Searle|Mrs|Lynda Whitworth| |Mrs Barbara|Dalton|Rev.|Chris Jackson|(Chair)|Mr|Barry Searle|Mr Gary Yates|

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PRIORITIES FOR 2025/26

Circuit financial plans for the coming year have been prepared on the basis that staffing levels remain the same. The staff team will work with the trustees, and their appointed officers, to engage with church and community activities appropriate to changing circumstances.

LOOKING FORWARD TO 2025/26

Reporting Standard (FRS) 102.

The members of the West Devon Methodist Circuit Meeting are the Charity Trustees, membership being made up of circuit office holders, the superintendent minister and representatives appointed by the local churches.

CONTACT: Rev. Chris Jackson, 42 Leeze Park, Okehampton, EX20 1EE

EMAIL: chris.jackson7 @gmail.com

‘

ACTIVE CIRCUIT MINISTER

- Rev. Chris Jackson .

CIRCUIT STEWARDS

CIRCUIT TREASURER

CIRCUIT LAY WORKERS

BANKERS

PUBLIC BENEFIT

We confirm the trustees have had regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

The governing document for the Circuit is the Deed of Union (1932) and Methodist Church Act (1976). Detailed governance arrangements are outlined within the Constitutional Practice and Discipline of the Methodist Church by order of the annual conference (CPD).

Day to day management of the Circuit is undertaken by the Circuit Leadership Team (Superintendent Minister, Circuit Stewards, Circuit Treasurer & Administrator) along with the Circuit Meeting and the Local Preachers’ Meeting.

TRUSTEE TRAINING

A range of guidance produced by the Methodist Connexion to support the effective running of the Circuit, specifically the leaflet, ‘The Role of a Trustee in The Methodist Church’ is available for all new Circuit Meeting members as induction to their role as trustees.

RELATED PARTIES

The Circuit is part of the Plymouth & Exeter District and is also accountable to the Methodist Conference. The following are linked to the Circuit:

RISK MANAGEMENT

All special activities and events organised on behalf of the circuit are risk assessed in advance. Where appropriate, additional insurance cover is taken out against major risks which have been identified. Income and Expenditure is monitored and is compared with the approved annual budget on a regular basis to detect trends as part of the risk management process to avoid unforeseen calls on reserves.

SAFEGUARDING

.

Every person has a value and dignity which comes directly from the creation of male and female in God’s own image and likeness. Christians see this potential as fulfilled by.God’s re-creation of us in Christ. Among other things, this implies a duty to value all people as bearing the image of God and therefore to protect them from harm. Methodist Connexional practice outlines commitment to the following principles:

The West Devon Circuit commits itself to ensuring the implementation of Connexional Safeguarding Policy; government legislation, guidance and safe practice in the Circuit and in the Churches.

The West Devon Circuit commits itself to the provision of support, advice and training for lay and ordained people that will ensure people are clear and confident about their roles and responsibilities in safeguarding and promoting the weifare of children and adults who may be vulnerable.