Charity Registration Number: 1153056
Curdridge Reading Room and Recreation Ground Charity
Accounts for the year ended
31[st] December 2024
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Independent examinerfs Tekwrt to the tntstees of the Cunlridge Reading Rorm and RreatiOn Ground Charity I retfsrt on the accounts CA the chanty for the end&131 rkcemter 2024, which a set out on pa 3 to Resp&tive resp)nsilx"litie5 of t and exami The charty's trust&s are resb for the preparaticm of the Kcounts f(x the year end 31 cec9ber 2024. The charty's trustee5 con5Kler that an audit Is not Uired for ths year under on 144 of the CharitE5 Act 2011 ("the Charities Acn and that an indendent examInatrt is ne&led. It is my reskN)nsibility to: Examine the accounts under settl 145 of the Chartts Act, To follow the procedures la dov4n in the geneJal DIrli0n5 given by the Chanty Commi55ion (under sertion 145(5)(b) of the Chantses Att. and To stste whether paFtiuk3r mtters have to my attenti(. Basis of independent examinerfs report My pJaminatvJn was CaEd out in accordance wth general dirertions given by the Chartty COMMIOn. An examination Includes a VIeW the accounting recCd5 kept by the chanty and a ccfflpari9 cf the accounts presented with those records. It akn includes consmleration of any unusual lteft or d6cIc6U in the accounts, and seekn'ng explanatn5 from the trustees (c(emIng any such matteTS. The prcredure5 undert3ken do not proinde all the evKlence that wcvki required in an audÉt, and c$sequentlY no opinion s given as to whether the accounts present a ue and fairf view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the next ststement. Independent examinerfs siatwnent The Cttarty CommLsgon promdes detailed guKfjan for all charsts and within that guidance rt provide5 a partular fcxus on Internal Financial Contro6. An Imwtsnt element of CCtrOl can achEved in charits by ensuring the Is a separation of duties. Al, if CXTKers are apintly1 to tske partular care of certain areas it not alter the fart that all Trustees a r[nSible for the whole of the financ&, but it dces help them to know that partvIar attentlcll 15 given by degna rremLs af their group. The only dfsignabj Orrer is the Chair. who tskes cCtr(l the maprty of the finanoal tranSacn$ and much of the administrative burden. This appls to b(rth the running of the faciltti'es and the fundrasing activitEs. It would be consKlered prudent to have at least a TreaSur and a Secretsry undertaking ijentified artivities and reswnsibilrt>e5 which ttjuld prowde gome of thè Internal control procedL5res. Sign&J: Elaine Flower 49 Rosebery Cwent Eastlei9h Hampshire S050 4HX Pagc 2of9 Page 2 of9
| Curdridge Reading Room and Recreation Ground Charity | |||||||||
| Accounts for the | Year 1st January to 31st December | Accounts for the Year 1st January to 31st December | |||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||
| Income and Expenditure | |||||||||
| Revenue | Income | Expenses | Net | Income | Expenses | Net | |||
| Hall hire income andgrant | £26,010.09 | £646.64 | £25,363.45 | £27,714.59 | £0.00 | £27,714.59 | |||
| Equipment hire | £823.75 | £0.00 | £823.75 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | |||
| Bank interest | £1,111.63 | £0.00 | £1,111.63 | £72.49 | £0.00 | £72.49 | |||
| Caretaker services | £0.00 | £9,875.25 | (£9,875.25) | £0.00 | £13,858.09 | -£13,858.09 | |||
| House cleaning | £0.00 | £6,609.81 | (£6,609.81) | £0.00 | £8,770.16 | -£8,770.16 | |||
| House maintenance | £0.00 | £13,669.05 | (£13,669.05) | £7,212.00 | £7,142.46 | £69.54 | |||
| Grounds maintenance | £0.00 | £1,228.54 | (£1,228.54) | £0.00 | £1,064.00 | -£1,064.00 | |||
| Ground cleaning | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | |||
| PAYE | £0.00 | £1,342.36 | (£1,342.36) | £0.00 | £3,373.86 | -£3,373.86 | |||
| Insurance | £0.00 | £2,569.51 | (£2,569.51) | £0.00 | £2,370.84 | -£2,370.84 | |||
| Gas | £0.00 | £3,754.04 | (£3,754.04) | £0.00 | £6,528.13 | -£6,528.13 | |||
| Telephone,Wifi,Broadband | £0.00 | £1,611.57 | (£1,611.57) | £0.00 | £1,574.16 | -£1,574.16 | |||
| Water | £0.00 | £456.87 | (£456.87) | £0.00 | £417.78 | -£417.78 | |||
| Electric | £0.00 | £1,770.49 | (£1,770.49) | £0.00 | £6,859.60 | -£6,859.60 | |||
| Council Tax and Licences | £180.00 | £675.03 | (£495.03) | £0.00 | £370.21 | -£370.21 | |||
| PRS&PPL Licences | £0.00 | £718.30 | (£718.30) | £0.00 | £429.49 | -£429.49 | |||
| Marketing& Website Maintenance | £0.00 | £1,725.88 | (£1,725.88) | £0.00 | £1,080.96 | -£1,080.96 | |||
| Recyclingbin | £710.40 | £0.00 | £710.40 | £1,012.69 | £0.00 | £1,012.69 | |||
| Administration & Professional Fees | £0.00 | £1,036.95 | (£1,036.95) | £0.00 | £2,520.91 | -£2,520.91 | |||
| Bank Charges | £0.00 | £60.00 | (£60.00) | £0.00 | £60.00 | -£60.00 | |||
| Grants for Revenue Items | £2,741.28 | £0.00 | £2,741.28 | ||||||
| £31,577.15 | £47,750.29 | (£16,173.14) | £36,011.77 | £56,420.65 | -£20,408.88 | ||||
| Capital | Income | Expenses | Net | Income | Expenses | Net | |||
| Donations & Grants * | £8,298.01 | £0.00 | £8,298.01 | £353.39 | £0.00 | £353.39 | |||
| Preloved Sale(1) | £543.62 | £0.00 | £543.62 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | |||
| Easter EggHunt | £363.42 | £63.69 | £299.73 | £331.14 | £191.34 | £139.80 | |||
| Preloved Sale(2) | £633.72 | £0.00 | £633.72 | £1,572.87 | £188.94 | £1,383.93 | |||
| Village Fete and Craft Fayre | £6,433.59 | £2,198.72 | £4,234.87 | £8,164.37 | £4,889.20 | £3,275.17 | |||
| Rave at the Rec | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £2,233.87 | £817.20 | £1,416.67 | |||
| Partylike it is 1999 | £1,305.74 | £412.22 | £893.52 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | |||
| Beer Festival & FamilyFun Day | £3,641.64 | £1,416.17 | £2,225.47 | £7,021.94 | £3,763.44 | £3,258.50 | |||
| CharityClothes Swap | £123.50 | £6.00 | £117.50 | £305.54 | £0.00 | £305.54 | |||
| Halloween Event(Cancelled) | £19.27 | £19.44 | (£0.17) | £877.88 | £624.76 | £253.12 | |||
| Table TopSale(1) | £469.66 | £0.00 | £469.66 | £159.83 | £0.00 | £159.83 | |||
| Craft Market | £427.00 | £0.00 | £427.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | |||
| Table TopSale(2) | £90.00 | £70.00 | £20.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | |||
| Christmas Party | £808.68 | £1,084.15 | (£275.47) | £2,339.85 | £741.62 | £1,598.23 | |||
| GatsbyDinner | £3,720.97 | £590.15 | £3,130.82 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | |||
| Expenses relating to previous yr events |
£0.00 | £994.86 | (£994.86) | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | |||
| CharityBingo Night(1) | £640.63 | £93.06 | £547.57 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | |||
| CharityBingo Night(2) | £732.75 | £163.64 | £569.11 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | |||
| Coronation Picnic | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £202.25 | £37.84 | £164.41 | |||
| Misc event expenses | £64.50 | £288.78 | (£224.28) | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | |||
| Total Capital items | £28,316.70 | £7,400.88 | £20,915.82 | £23,562.93 | £11,254.34 | £12,308.59 | |||
| Total Movement of Funds | £59,893.85 | £55,151.17 | £4,742.68 | £59,574.70 | £67,674.99 | -£8,100.29 | |||
| Balance Sheet as at 31st December 2024 | Balance Sheet as at 31st December 2023 | ||||||||
| Revenue | Revenue | ||||||||
| Analysis of Funds | Reserve | Capital Reserve | Total Reserves | Reserve | Capital Reserve | Total Reserves | |||
| OpeningBalance | £20,657.80 | £29,225.04 | £49,882.84 | £20,066.68 | £37,916.45 | £57,983.13 | |||
| Movement of Funds thisperiod | (£16,173.14) | £20,915.82 | £4,742.68 | -£20,408.88 | £12,308.59 | -£8,100.29 | |||
| Transfer of Fundsto cover deficit | £16,000.00 | (£16,000.00) | £0.00 | £21,000.00 | -£21,000.00 | £0.00 | |||
| Funds as at 31st December 2024 | £20,484.66 | £34,140.86 | £54,625.52 | £20,657.80 | £29,225.04 | £49,882.84 | |||
| Statement of | Assets and Liabilities | ||||||||
| Current Assets - cash: | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||
| CAF Gold Account (includes old | |||||||||
| "Virgin" account) | £23,662.93 | £30,116.24 | £53,779.17 | £0.00 | £3,912.70 | £3,912.70 | |||
| CAF Cash Account | £500.00 | £0.00 | £500.00 | £500.00 | £0.00 | £500.00 | |||
| Virgin Account | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £21,617.80 | £21,331.97 | £42,949.77 | |||
| Lloyds Account | £0.00 | £1,596.35 | £1,596.35 | £0.00 | £3,520.37 | £3,520.37 | |||
| PettyCash | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | |||
| Total cash | £24,162.93 | £31,712.59 | £55,875.52 | £22,117.80 | £28,765.04 | £50,882.84 | |||
| Current Assets-Other | |||||||||
| None | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | |||
| Current Liabilities | |||||||||
| Deposits held | (£1,250.00) | £0.00 | (£1,250.00) | -£1,000.00 | £0.00 | -£1,000.00 | |||
| Net Current Assets | £22,912.93 | £31,712.59 | £54,625.52 | £21,117.80 | £28,765.04 | £49,882.84 | |||
| Fixed Assets | |||||||||
| Buildings and contents | £570,000.00 | £570,000.00 | |||||||
| Skinner Field | £31,000.00 | £31,000.00 | |||||||
| Total Fixed Assets | £601,000.00 | ~~Pag~~e3of9 £601,000.00 |
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Curdridge Reading Room and Recreation Ground Charity
Trustees Report for the Year 1[st] January to 31[st] December 2024
Charity Registration Number: 1153056
Southampton, SO32 2HE
Telephone: 07704 208703
Website: www.curdridgereadingroom.co.uk
Email: curdridgereadingroom@googlemail.com
Charity Trustees:
Vanessa Hancock Chairperson Harriet Brocklehurst Treasurer from March 2025 Larry Burden Bill Priest Chloe Burden Matt Doyle Resigned 5[th] February 2024
Structure, Governance and Management:
The Charity was formed as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) and took over all the assets and liabilities of the Curdridge Reading Room Charity (Registration Number 203472) on 1[st] August 2013.
The Governing Documents of the Charity are published on the website www.curdridgereadingroom.co.uk and an individual may apply to the address or telephone number given above for a paper copy.
The Charity will have a minimum of four and a maximum of eight Trustees.
A rotation basis is adopted as detailed in the Governing Document in order that each Trustee position will be the subject of an election at least every three years. At the AGM none of the Trustees will be standing down and seeking re-election.
The Charity maintains a Register of Members and all members of the community are actively encouraged to become Members. There is no charge for membership and as at 31[st] December 2024 the register shows that there were 34 members.
The Objectives and Activities of the Charity:
The full description of the Objectives of the Charity are contained in the Governing Document but can be summarised as:
Providing facilities for recreation and leisure time activities for members of the community who need them by reason of their youth, age, infirmity or disablement, financial hardship or social and economic circumstances or for the public in the interests of social welfare; and with the aim of improving the condition of life of the inhabitants in the Area of Benefit.
The facilities comprise of:
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The Reading Room building which is available for hire in part or fully
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The main recreation ground which includes facilities specifically for the playing of cricket but is available for other sports and recreation as well
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A children’s playground
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An open area commonly known as The Skinner Field
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The Trustees deliver the public benefit of the Objectives stated above by managing the facilities in a way that ensures all members of the community have an equal and fair opportunity to use them in the way they choose, this includes:
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Maintaining the facilities including the buildings and the grounds with a particular regard to Health and Safety
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Operating a booking system and maintaining a fair charging policy
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Publishing all relevant information on the website, on the notice board, in regular features in the local Parish Magazine and by using social media such as Facebook and Twitter
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Holding all Trustee meetings in public with an open session at the beginning for visitors to raise any issue
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Working closely with the Parish Council to obtain available funding and ensuring that activities and facilities provided are in line with local needs
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Working tirelessly to achieve compliance with all the requirements of the various laws and guidance that apply to the Charity
As reported in previous years, the Charity continues to face an enormous challenge because the building is showing signs of structural instability and is in need of significant repair and renovation. A part of the current building was erected in 1884 and various additions have been made over the years.
Steps are being taken to obtain current details on the structural state of the building so that the Charity can put in place a maintenance plan that is realistic and practicable to deliver given the financial constraints. At the time of writing this report, there is no intention to consider any potential replacement of the building. The reasons for this includes:
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That there continues to be no interest from third parties in this option;
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The current team of Trustees is established but the Charity continues to be financially vulnerable – although progress has been made in increasing hire income;
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The Trustees feel that this is not currently a viable option and that the focus should continue to be on increasing hire income and undertaking a schedule of maintenance and repairs to keep the facilities going as long as possible with the ultimate aim of securing the longevity of the resources and, in turn, the Charity.
Note from the Chair
The Trustees, staff and volunteers worked hard during 2024 to improve the financial position of the Charity. The Charity continues to be financially vulnerable due to hire income not covering operating costs and, with aging facilities, this situation continues to put the future of the Reading Room & Recreation Ground in a precarious position. However, as you will see from the financial results, the steps taken to reduce costs have had a positive impact in reducing the financial loss compared to previous years.
I am still learning a lot about what it takes to run a successful community resource and I hope that there will be more changes yet to happen that will help to secure the future of the facilities. One of the biggest realisations since my appointment in 2023 is that the Trustees cannot do this alone. We continue to need the support of the community to survive and getting this message into the public domain and raising awareness of the challenges faced will always be the focus of everything that we do.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the team of volunteers who work alongside me as Trustees for their support and contribution to the management of the facilities and, in particular to Larry Burden and Chris Pink for all of their hard work last year, repairing and maintaining the facilities where they have been able to and not to mention, their input into sorting out equipment and supplies for the various fundraising events.
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I would also like to thank our staff members who worked hard throughout the year to embrace the changes that took place and continue to work with the Trustees to try to make the facilities the best they can be with limited time and resources.
I am incredibly grateful for the team of volunteers that make up the Events Planning Committee – without their support none of the fundraising that we do would be possible.
I would also like to thank the volunteers who came along to our community maintenance days and helped us improve the appearance of the building and grounds, David Jacobs who spent many hours repairing and painting the wooden windows around the building, Ian Hancock, David and Sarah Baker who gave their time and energy to paint the main toilets and lobby in August 2024.
Last, but by no means least, I would like to welcome the Bishops Waltham Men’s Shed who took on the hire of the Cottage space at the rear of the building in December 2024. Their enthusiasm and the expertise that their Members bring to the Reading Room has already started to enhance the facilities and bring a new buzz of activity. We are delighted to have another charitable community resource onsite and we look forward to working with them while they are here.
The following information in this report outlines the Charity’s financial performance throughout 2024 and the steps being taken to maintain/improve the facilities and increase bookings.
Achievements and Performance
At the last AGM in 2023, we acknowledged the impact of the pandemic on the volume of regular hirers of the facilities. Since then, there have been a number of local businesses who have taken up a regular hire at the Reading Room which offer the local community acrylic art classes, yoga classes, Tai-Chi, a regular spiritual event and Happy Hour with Cornflower Sky. There was also a 67% increase in the number of private hires in 2024 (38 in 2023 and 57 in 2024). However, we did lose one of our main regular hirers with the Auction initially going from a weekly hire to once a fortnight in April and then closing down completely in August.
Fundraising
The events in 2024 included an Easter Trail, two craft markets, the Village Fete & Craft Fayre, Party Like It’s 1999 (an adult disco), the Beer Festival, two Preloved Sales and a live music event which was a joint event with the Curdridge School Association (CSA) – the PTA for the local primary school. A local business, The Sustainable Wardrobe, held a Clothes Swap event from which the funds raised were donated to the charity. Sadly, the live music event that was held in December made a loss due to low attendance figures and we had three events that we had to cancel also due to low take-up of tickets. These were the Halloween event and two quiz nights. The financial results from the fundraising is outlined in the financial review.
Trustee Commitment
The trustees remain committed to delivering the following objectives:
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Maintaining and improving the building and grounds for the benefit of users and the local community
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Improving the financial position of the charity by:
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Retaining and expanding a group of loyal regular users and hirers
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Increasing the use of the Reading Room for ad hoc bookings
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Managing the annual fundraising activities
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Strengthening links with the school and other community groups
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Supporting our stakeholders (Scouts & Guides and The Curdridge Cricket Club) in their activities at the Recreation Ground
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Evaluating opportunities to secure the longevity of the Charity and the facilities.
Financial Review
The accounts have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis.
The main source of regular revenue for the Charity is from the hire of the building and grounds – either from ad-hoc or regular hires.
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The Charity adopts a Revenue and Capital Reserves Policy.
The hire rates for use of the building will be reviewed annually with the aim of the day to day income and expenditure balancing, having made reasonable provision for ongoing costs of maintenance and repair which may not arise on an annual basis. This balancing continues to be challenged by the loss of hirers as a result of the pandemic, the significant maintenance required due to the age of the facilities and increases in operating costs for staff and utilities.
The Charity will hold sufficient Revenue Cash Reserves to maintain security for the day to day operations. In 2024 this was considered to be £20,000 but the figure will be up-rated as necessary with the effects of inflation in the future and any identified needs. No increase in this reserve amount was identified for 2025.
All fundraising and special activities, donations and grants will be held in the Capital Reserve from which all capital projects will be funded. Any Designated Funds will be held as part of the Capital Reserve but may only be used for their specific purpose. As at 31[st] December 2024 the only Designated Funds are the balance on the Memorial Bench Scheme and the Play Area Refurbishment Project.
Should Revenue Reserves fall below the amount considered to be prudent by the Trustees, then Capital Reserves (except Designated Funds) may be used to top them up. The hire rate review each year is used to regulate this for the future so that Capital Reserves are not depleted unnecessarily.
Following market research, the Trustees feel that the current standard hire rates are comparable with the market and as such, the standard hire rates for the facilities will remain unchanged for 2025 however, they will be reviewed for 2026 due to increasing utility and staff costs.
2024 continued to be financially challenging due to the fact that hiring activity has not returned to prepandemic levels and one of the main regular hirers – Under The Hammer Auction ceased to operate. However, due to various grants and donations received throughout the year, there was no deficit in overall funds at the end of the year.
Gross Income
Compared to 2023, gross income was lower by £4,434 in 2024. This is remarkable given that two of the main hirers significantly reduced their hours in early 2024 and one subsequently left in August.
Gross income from Hall Hire was £2,351 less than the previous year which reflects the hard work by our Facilities Coordinator to increase ad-hoc hires and sign-up regular hirers.
The income from the recycling bin reduced by £300 but bank interest increased significantly due to the decision to close the Virgin account and transfer all funds to the CAF Gold account which had a higher rate of interest resulting in over £1,000 more interest being earnt for the year.
Lastly, we started to charge for equipment hire and this generated an additional £824 of income for the Charity.
Costs
These reduced by just over 15% to £47,570 in 2024 compared to £56,421 in 2023 despite a greater spend on house maintenance and refurbishment projects and, increases in the cost of insurance, council tax, licences, professional fees and marketing / website maintenance.
Cost savings were made in 2024 by reviewing the cleaning service in line with the lower hire volume which resulted in reduced staff costs. The utility bills for the facilities reduced by nearly 59% for the year compared to 2023 due to better management of energy usage and a new utilities contract giving better value for money. Administration costs reduced by 59% as a result of tighter stock control and more effective use of stock and supplies and despite the charity having to pay £300 professional fees for the independent examination of the 2023 accounts.
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Net Profit
Net profit for revenue saw an improvement of nearly 21% with a reduction of £4,236 in operating loss for 2024 despite the increase in spend on house maintenance. However there was still a substantial loss of nearly £16.2K at the end of the year.
This loss was offset by nearly £21K as a result of income from the 2024 fundraising events including those kindly hosted by The Cricketers Inn (£14,299), grants received from Curdridge Parish Council (£2,741), Winchester City Council (£4,751) and Hastoe Housing (£250) and the donations made by Silverlake Automotives (£1,500), The Cricketers Inn (£730), members of the public (£137) and security deposits kindly given as donations (£200). These funds meant that at the end of 2024, the accounts were showing a gain of £4,743 compared to a loss of £8,100 in 2023. This is a much healthier position to be in.
Net Cash Assets
There was an increase of £4,743 in the Charitys net cash assets by the end of 2024 with a total of £54,625 cash (after liabilities).
Liabilities
Our liabilities increased slightly to -£1,250. This reflects the security deposits held from hall hires. £550 of this dates back to 2022, with a further £200 relating to previous years going back to 2016. Efforts have been made to refund these with no success. £500 of these liabilities relate to 2024. We will be contacting any hirers from last year who has not received a refund of their security deposit to try to arrange this and reduce our liabilities.
Actions to improve the Charity’s financial position:
Throughout the year, the Trustees took the following actions to try to improve the Charity’s financial position:
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The contract for the Grounds Maintenance was still not renewed. Instead, work was carried out when it was needed and grass cutting was kept to a minimum on Skinners Field by only cutting a pathway and leaving the rest of the field to grow as a meadow to increase wildlife and insects. Many thanks to Rob, a local resident and Ian and Darcy King from Pinkmead who helped us with hedge and grass cutting at minimal to no cost throughout the year;
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A new contract for Gas & Electric commenced in October 2024 which will help to keep utility costs as low as possible;
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Extensive marketing to attract regular and private hirers to increase hall hire income;
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Changes were made to the cleaning service to reduce costs;
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Careful management of stocks and supplies to reduce over-ordering and increase effective use;
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Relaunch of our wedding reception packages which resulted in one booking in 2024 and a booking for 2025 with more enquiries in the pipeline;
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Regular Hire fees were reviewed to address the imbalance between fees for current regular hirers and new regular hirers. This has resulted in a more consistent approach to applying hire fees making invoicing easier and less time-consuming. As a result of this review an increase of up to 10% was applied to existing regular hirers so that their hire fees reflected our standard fees more closely. The discount was originally granted to encourage hirers to return following the pandemic.
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Running smaller, more regular fundraising events aimed at the local community to improve engagement and generate income whilst reducing the financial risk to the Charity.
Moving forward, further steps continue to be undertaken to help keep costs down, generate income and improve the facilities. These include:
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Reviewing costs and removing / reducing non-essential spending where possible;
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Undertaking a promotional campaign to generate bookings for the facilities;
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Holding Community Maintenance Days to carry out some of the essential tasks required to improve the look of the facilities and make them more attractive to hirers;
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Exploring partnerships with local businesses who can offer services to enhance private bookings (catering, wedding planners, inflatables, balloon decorations and more);
Page 8 of 9
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Carrying out an extensive exercise to contact local clubs, activities and businesses to promote the hire opportunities that the facilities can offer to recruit new regular hirers;
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A review of our standard hire fees for private and regular hires to establish whether these will increase at the next AGM in 2026;
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A robust, practicable maintenance programme to be established following the completion of appropriate surveys commissioned by the Curdridge Parish Council in support of the Charity.
Fundraising
2024 saw the continuation of our approach to fundraising with a number of smaller scale, lower risk events taking place throughout the year. These events generated just over £14K of funds to support the Charity. This amount includes the funds benchmarked for the play area project.
Play Area Regeneration Project
As a result of the fundraising events held by The Cricketers Inn and ourselves, and donations from Silverlake Automotives, Hastoe Housing and The Cricketers Inn, the total amount of £6,923 was raised in aid of the Play Area Project in 2024. Some of this was spent in 2024 to repair some of the play equipment (a new scramble net and two new timbers for the timber log climbing stack) as well as a new gate to separate the play area from the cottage garden space. The costs for these are recorded under grounds maintenance in the 2024 accounts and came to a total of £1,150 which leaves a balance of £5,773.
The Trustees declare that they have approved the above Trustees Report and attached Accounts.
The 2025 AGM will be held on the 22[nd] May at 7.30pm.
Signed Dated …21/05/25………… Vanessa Hancock - Chair of Trustees
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