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2024-12-31-accounts

SOMERFORD ARC CHARITY REPORT January 1[st] 2024- December 31[st] 2024

January 2024 december CHARITY COMISSION REPORT 2024

Relating to the performance of the:

Somerford ARC Community Centre

20 Southey Road Somerford BH23 3EH Charity No. 1156427 T: 01202 470770 E: info@somerfordarc.com

W: www.somerfordarc.com

SOMERFORD ARC CHARITY REPORT January 1[st] 2024- December 31[st] 2024

REPORT TO CHARITY COMMISSION

Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31st December 2024

The Trustees present their annual report and audit financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024 and confirm they comply with the Charities Act 2011, as amended the trust deed and the Charities SORP (FRS 102).

Reference and Administrative Information

Name Somerford Alliance Resource Centre
(Somerford ARC Community Centre)
Registered
CharityNo
1156427
Address 20 SoutheyRoad, Somerford Christchurch BH23 3EH
Trustees Christine Hopkins
Paul Hilliard
Mandy Forbes
David Jones
JenniferSpencer
Bank HSBC
94 Terminus Road
Eastbourne
East Sussex
BN213ND

Governing Document

Somerford Alliance Resource Centre (Somerford ARC) is constituted as CIO registered with the Charity Commission 28 March 2014. It is governed by a constitution dated 6[th] January 2014 and amended on 26[th] March 2014.

Organisational Structure

The five serving Charity Trustees are responsible for the general control and management of the charity. The Trustees give their time freely and receive no remuneration or other financial benefits.

The Trustees meet as a body monthly and are responsible for all decisions taken in relation to running the community facilities and the activities provided by the Charity.

Day-to-day management of the community facilities and projects are delegated to Trustees, Volunteers, a paid Office Manager and a paid Office Assistant who deal with the day-to-day general running of the Centre.

Recruitment and Appointment of Trustees

All serving Trustees are aware of the legal rules of eligibility required to serve as a Trustee.

When selecting new Trustees, we will seek to identify people who regularly attend events and functions organised by the Charity and willing to volunteer to help broaden our work within the community.

Guidance will be provided to prospective Trustees with a balanced account of what their role entails, including their duties and responsibilities, and access to the Charity Commissions publication “Responsibilities of Charity Trustees (CC3)”.

The applicant’s eligibility, personal competence, specialist knowledge and skills will be taken will be taken into consideration. Potential conflicts of interest will be carefully considered and managed.

Potential Trustees will be invited to attend board meetings of Somerford ARC Community Centre as observers, offering them an insight into the details of the Charity's aims and activities.

Risk Management

Somerford ARC Community Centre manage risk management following the “Charities and risk management (CC26)” publication:

The Trustees review the risk matrix regularly and are satisfied that systems are in place, and arrangements are in hand, to manage the risks that have been identified.

Insurance cover is in place and the finances of Somerford ARC Community Centre are kept under review.

Appropriate Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks, supported by regularly reviewed policies, are made for all those who work alone with children or other vulnerable groups within the Community Centre where needed.

Objectives and Activities

Our aims

The objects of the charity are set out in the charity's constitution and are summarised as follows:

Provide a community facility for the purposes of recreation, education and enjoyment principally but not exclusively for the people of Somerford and to promote through the Centre activities for the benefit of the residents of Somerford and of Christchurch.

Our objectives

To further or benefit the residents of Somerford, the Grange Ward and the neighbourhood. Without distinction of sex, sexual orientation, race or of political, religious or other opinions by associating together the said residents, the local authorities, voluntary sector and other organisations in a common effort to advance education and to provide facilities in the interests of social welfare for recreation and leisure time occupation with the objective of improving the conditions of life for the residents.

An important part of our strategy is Community Welfare and Education. All our community facilities, activities, classes, health initiatives, education and IT are advertised, and we welcome the participation of all in our local community.

Most of our activities are free and/or supported by donations or Grant Funding. Concessions are made for students, residents and pensioners for any payable activity.

Helping people who have moved to Somerford and to settle into the community successfully is important to us.

Use of Volunteers

Somerford ARC Community Centre places great value on the involvement of volunteers. Volunteers help keep Somerford ARC Community Centres work relevant to the community of Somerford by bringing a range of personalities, backgrounds, skills and experience into the organisation.

Once all contractual agreements are signed newly selected volunteers receive a full induction and a volunteer handbook, any training required to enable volunteers to fulfil their role is arranged and paid for by the organisation.

Our Trustees give time freely in the centre, and we currently have 7 local residents regularly giving their time.

All volunteers working with any projects involving children or other vulnerable groups are DBS checked and certificated where applicable.

Activities and achievements

How our activities deliver public benefit

The charity carries out a wide range of activities in pursuance of its charitable aims.

The Trustees consider that these activities, summarised below, provide benefit both to those who use the community facilities and the wider community of Somerford and Christchurch.

Somerford ARC Community Centre supports a diverse group of people predominantly from disadvantaged areas. Their challenges fall into four key categories:

All groups and activities run by the organisation are specifically chosen to address growth within these areas with a pragmatic approach.

Community Activities

When considering the activities and events held at Somerford ARC Community Centre the Trustees follow guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit, and endeavour to ensure that events and activities are provided to the community enabling access to free events and courses.

We provide a community facility for the purposes of recreation, education and enjoyment principally but not exclusively for the residents of Somerford, promoting external activities beneficial to local residents and the wider Christchurch.

Being a universal point of access for residents, we respond to a range of issues, as well as providing well needed resources to the community, it’s vital we are up to date and understand any changes in our local town and the impacts these may have within the community, enabling us to deliver support and activities to their full potential.

Hall and rooms

HALL IT SUITE SNUG
Capacity 100 people
Disabled access
Large stage
Projector
Equipped with 12
computers with
webcams and an
available network
printer
48inch television
tv and computers
interactive
Large conference table
seating 11
capacity: 20
comfortable room with
two settees and
armchairs
smart television
ideal for small groups,
meditation and
interviews

When facilities are not required for community use, they are available for hire on Commercial terms and subsidised for residents.

YEAR – January 1[st] 2024- December 31[st] 2024

New and current Sessions run by Somerford ARC

Community Lunch and Transport .

Christchurch has the highest population of over 85s in the UK, making it a hotspot for isolation among older people. Challenges of modern society and the cost-of-living have exacerbated this, leaving the elderly more isolated and disconnected from their community.

Research shows isolation increases the risk of many physical and mental conditions including Hypertension, heart disease, weakened immune system, anxiety/depression, cognitive decline, and Alzheimer’s. Those engaging in meaningful, productive activities with others tend to live longer, boost their mood, and have a sense of purpose. Social interaction can help maintain wellbeing and improve cognitive function.

Our lunch club is crucial in reducing physical and mental health implications accelerated by isolation and provides nutritional meals reducing the financial burdens currently faced.

We create an enjoyable and memorable day out for our members, we recognise the significance of social connections and emotional wellbeing in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Providing individuals opportunities to form friendships we contribute to our members overall happiness and mental health.

Lunch club operates solely with the help of volunteers. We work closely with the probation service, which facilitates the placement of individuals who have been sentenced by the court system to serve community service as part of their probationary period, this allows them to fulfil their obligations while gaining valuable skills and experiences.

For the affordable price of £4pp, residents can enjoy a delicious two course homecooked meal. We serve up to 65 meals per week and have 100 registered members. Offering additional meals to those in need to take home.

Our door-to-door bus service plays a crucial role in addressing isolation, we remove barriers that prevent isolated individuals from participating in social activities. It is an indispensable resource.

Allowing members to overcome mobility limitations. The demand on this service is overwhelming, we have now extended our hire time of the bus and are accommodating 18 passengers.

Around 1.4 million elderly people in the UK are living in absolute poverty after housing costs, over 4.2million aged 60 and over have reduced their spending on food due to the cost-of-living. Despite a 8.5% increase in the state pension, it remains approximately £2,643 below the minimum income required for an acceptable standard of living, with pensioners needing around £14,144 per year to cover basic needs, while the full state pension is currently £11,501 per year. Malnutrition’s already a significant problem among the elderly, with 1 in 10 experiencing it in some form. To ensure everyone has access to a nutritional meal, we offer a waiver of fees and offer an extra dinner for those in need to take home, additional to this in winter we’ll be preparing take-away soup increasing access to nutritious meals.

Financial assistance programs like the household support fund and the surviving winter fund are often unknown or misunderstood to our vulnerable members. To address this issue, we implemented a volunteer-led initiative teamed with

citizens advice offering one-to-one assistance during the group, guiding members through the complicated application processes.

ADaPt Café.

According to data, coastal constituencies in the south of England have the highest number of people living with dementia per head of population- with Christchurch in Dorset topping the list, in our constituency 2,400 people have dementia, which is 2.8% of our overall population.

Our ADaPt Café is a weekly group for people living with Dementia, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and their amazing carers. We continuously research to ensure users are getting all the benefits and support they are entitled to, offering emotional support outside the group on tougher days. Monthly Musical exercise class improves mobility of joints, strengthen muscles, and enhances mood and frequent crafting sessions allow users to express themselves.

Those living with dementia can still experience sensation, relaxation, and reminiscence, we have recently added a magic table, and its games are specifically designed to stimulate all these three areas. Loved ones and carers feel alone and overwhelmed while trying to adjust to a life of emotional disconnection from the person they love. The magic table breaks the stillness and the silence; it allows users to bypass language barriers, and briefly unites loved ones enabling them to communicate, you see a glimpse of long-lost personalities even if it is for a short second.

Dementia Carers Count reported that 9 in 10 dementia carers feel they are reaching crisis points, with a third describing their emotional health as "bad" or "very bad," highlighting the profound impact of caregiving on mental health and the urgent need for increased support and resources for carers.

As part of our ADaPt Café we provide our members with the opportunity to access free counselling. counselling for carers can have a significant impact on their well-being, giving them an impartial and non-judgemental listener who offers support and acknowledges their reality without any preconceived expectations. They are able to express their emotions, address their grievances, and explore coping strategies in a supportive, safe and confidential environment.

Send Parent Carer Drop-in.

In 2025 it was reported BCP provided support to over 4,000 children and young people with an EHCP and a further 7,552 children were accessing SEN support.

it was strongly highlighted that a high percentage of our families were struggling with children requiring SEN support, paediatric care, mental health support and ECHP’s whilst battling to understand the educational system and what this means for their child. Families were facing unreturned calls, “out of the office” emails and lack of support from the schools.

It is for this reason we decided to extend the support drop ins we offer here at the ARC by building an educational and disability face to face support.

Enabling parents to move away from the unknown and tears of worry, giving them somewhere to go so they can understand their children’s development and learning to benefit the child’s overall wellbeing.

The Director of Education is very supportive of our initiative and works with us by arranging guest visits from representatives of the BCP Education Department; exclusions teams, SEND service, virtual learning managers, attendance team and many more. BCP plan to use our initiative as a model for other community centres across Bournemouth and Poole.

The drop in is built with 3 core organisations attending each time alongside BCPs guest visitor:

BCP: The Co production and engagement lead of Inclusion and Family Services.

Parent Carer Foundation: Empowers and supports parent/carers of children and adults from any age with any type of disabilities with or without a diagnosis making sure their voices are being heard. Their vision is that all parents/carers count and should access the help they need to live a more improved and fulfilled lives.

SENDiass: Service for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities and their parents and carers. Providing information, and support with relation to educational, social and healthcare matters.

Breakfast Hub.

Breakfast Hub is a community-driven initiative focused on providing a free breakfast, offering a full continental breakfast (additional hot sandwiches when volunteers are available), as well as free baby food. This service addresses the growing issue of food insecurity, which affects approximately 5,800 people in the BCP area, with around 101,000 considered food insecure. The rising cost of living has only intensified the struggle for many to access adequate food resources.

Food banks are facing unprecedented pressure, with Faithworks foodbanks reporting a 200% increase in people seeking assistance across Dorset over the past two years. In 2024 Christchurch Food Bank+ reported:

As food insecurity continues to rise, the need for community meals and accessible food resources is more critical than ever. Breakfast Hub not only helps alleviate the financial burden caused by the cost-of-living crisis, but it also ensures residents have access to a nutritious meal. By doing so, we aim to reduce the tough choice many face between heating and eating.

Any leftover food is shared with residents, ensuring nothing goes to waste.

We encourage members of the community to get together with likeminded people, promoting intergenerational friendships, combatting isolation, financial hardship and mental health.

Children’s activities

Our families fall into the category of financial hardship, and after reaching out to the community, it became clear that parents were in need of affordable activities for children aged 0–8.

We offer a variety of activities, which are completely free including:

To ensure full support in the community we plan our activities around our support hub, to remove any barriers parents may face when seeking assistance during the holiday period.

Weekly External Support Groups and Drop-in.

Employment

6,700 people aged 16 and over in BCP were unemployed in the year ending December 2023, leaving the unemployment rate standing at 3.3% and the claimant count as of March 2024 at 3.5%. The area has a high level of long-term unemployment and increasingly younger people are struggling to find work. Poor educational attainment, skill gaps, lack of self- confidence and self-worth are typical of the challenges we are seeing.

SNG Employment and Skills: SNG hold an additional weekly service with their employment and skills team offering tenants:

Citizens Advice

Citizen’s Advice provides free, confidential and impartial advice to residents, their face-to-face drop- in sessions here at the ARC ensure our residents receive good quality advice regardless of their problem or situation. They play a crucial role in the community, especially considering the impact of the rising cost of living on many individuals. Many residents have faced financial turmoil, advisors have committed to helping residents navigate complex housing and benefit systems, apply for government grant schemes and emergency food funds. Their advisors understand that Somerford is a hard-to-reach area, and have successfully built

trust within the community, they are seen as a friendly face that people can turn to in times of need, someone to help them overcome challenges to improve their wellbeing.

SNG

approximately 50% of the estate where we are located is owned by Sovereign Housing Association, they are committed to investing in their community. Their primary focus is on providing comprehensive help and support to their tenants, with the ultimate goal of creating a positive living environment for everyone. Sovereign Housing holds a weekly face-to-face drop-in session here at the ARC, where tenants have the opportunity to meet with their housing officer and discuss various aspects related to their homes ensuring tenants in our community feel heard and valued. They extend their support beyond just housing-related matters. This includes debt advice, access to their grant schemes and assistance with employment and training.

SNG Customer Income Advisor Face to Face Drop-in

SNG Customer Income advisors provide support to tenants with income-related matters, particularly regarding benefits and universal credit. They help tenants understand eligibility, navigating the benefits system and developing action plans to improve financial situations.

Access Wellbeing

Access Wellbeing Boscombe is managed by BCHA, working in partnership with Help & Care, The Lantern Trust, NHS Dorset and Dorset HealthCare – as well as community mental health teams, other charities and voluntary sector organisations.

Access Wellbeing offers earlier access to different types of support depending on need, whether that is mental health, financial matters, work, or concerns about housing or benefits.

Partnership Working

In developing our community programs, we are pleased to work in partnership with:

New and Current Groups and Classes

Annual Events

Christmas Lunch: Serving Christmas Dinner to our service users it’s a chance for everyone to get together have a glass of wine and enjoy the festivities.

Christmas Movie Night. Free Christmas movie with a hotdog dinner and popcorn. We have been lucky enough to receive funding for gifts a from The Christchurch Rotary Club enabling us to offer this event free to families.

Going Forward in 2025

Our aim for 2024 is to widen our services to the local community and build a stronger relationship with residents across the community. We have come a long way this year, but we have so much more that we want to do in the community and our aim now is to go out for further funding to enable us to give our community more choices and opportunities.

Financial review year to 31 December 2024

Receipts

Core monthly hire from regular users / clubs is in the region of £1,400/£2,500pm which provides us a good base. This revenue is added to by other activities run by Skills and Learning and other organisations that have been in dialogue with the office manager and the team.

Somerford ARC Community Centre is reliant on funding and donations to enable us to provide services to the community. We would like to express our special thanks of gratitude to:

Their support has played a vital role in keeping our centre running throughout 2024 enabling us to continue providing much needed support in the community.

Payments

As expected in completing our ninth year running the ARC expenses have increased significantly due to an increase in staffing hours and general purchases.

Reserves policy

The level of financial reserves held by Somerford ARC Community Centre will be reviewed by the Board of Trustees at the Annual General Meeting during the discussions held regarding the budget for the next financial year.

The current minimum level of unrestricted reserves to be held by Somerford ARC Community Centre is between 25% and 33.7% of the annual precepted figure, i.e., to fully cover approximately three to four months of contracted expenditure.

Statement of Trustees' responsibilities

The charity Trustees are responsible for preparing an annual report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

The Law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the charity Trustees to prepare financial statements for each year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period. In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 1993, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The Trustees for the purposes of charity law who served during the year and up to the date of this report are set out on page 1.

Signed: Chair: Date:

1156427
Somerford ARC
Receipts andpayments accounts
01-Jan-23
31-Dec-23
To
For the period
from
CC16a
~~ie~~
1156427
Somerford ARC
Receipts andpayments accounts
01-Jan-23
31-Dec-23
To
For the period
from
CC16a
~~ie~~
1156427
Somerford ARC
Receipts andpayments accounts
01-Jan-23
31-Dec-23
To
For the period
from
CC16a
~~ie~~
1156427
Somerford ARC
Receipts andpayments accounts
01-Jan-23
31-Dec-23
To
For the period
from
CC16a
~~ie~~
Section A Receipts and payments
Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
Endowment
funds
2023
2024
to the nearest £
to the nearest £
to the nearest £
to the nearest £
to the nearest £
A1 Receipts
Hire Revenue
-
-
-
30,963
34,376
Grants & Donations
-
-
-
41,715
42,622
Bank Interest
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Sub total(Gross income for
AR)-
-
-
72,678
76,998
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
-
-
-
-
-
~~Sub total~~-
-
-
-
-
~~LLB~~
Total receipts
-
-
-
72,678
76,998
A3 Payments
Council Tax
-
-
-
553
76
Telephone / Computer Fees
-
-
-
4,283
6,455
Gas & Electric
-
-
-
2,098
1,797
Water & Sewerage
-
-
-
432
377
CommunityEvents
-
-
-
7,302
12,584
Breakfast Club
4,477
6,819
ADAPT club
1,300
4,437
Insurance/ licences
-
-
-
1,924
2,141
General Expenses
-
-
-
2,480
2,534
Maintenance
-
-
-
6,275
1,998
Training& Wages
34,933
40,178
SundryPurchases
-
-
-
2,525
2,642
Sub total -
-
-
68,582
82,038
~~oe~~
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Sub total -
-
-
-
-
Total payments
-
-
-
68,582
82,038
Net of receipts/(payments)
-
-
- 4,096
- 5,040
A5 Transfers between funds
-
- -
-
-
A6 Cash funds last year end
-
- -
40,907
45,003
Cash funds this year end
-
-
- 45,003
39,963
~~=====~~
-
- 5,040
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
1
08/08/2025
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
Unrestricted
Restricted
Endowment
Categories Details funds
funds
funds
to nearest £
to nearest £
to nearest £
B1 Cash funds 45,003
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
39,963
-
-
Total cash funds
~~SeS=~~
(agree balances with receipts and payments (agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s)) Agreement Error
OK
OK
Unrestricted
Restricted
Endowment
funds
funds
funds
Details to nearest £
to nearest £
to nearest £
B2 Other monetary assets -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
~~—_—~~
B3 Investment assets Fund to which
asset belongs
Cost (optional)
Current value
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Details
~~===~~
B4 Assets retained for the
charity’s own use
Fund to which
asset belongs
Cost (optional)
Current value
(optional)
-
9,000
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Details
Computers, screens, TVs, projectors
~~a~~
Fund to which
Amount due
When due
Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees
B5 Liabilities
liability relates
(optional)
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-
Date of
approval
26-Jun-25
26-Jun-25
Details
C Hopkins
Print Name
Paul Hilliard
Chistine Hopkins
Signature
philliard
~~—~~
CCXX R2 accounts (SS) 2 08/08/2025

Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of Somerford ARC (the Trust)

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Trust for the year ended 31 December 2024.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the trustees of the Trust you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 (the ‘2005 Act’), the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended), and the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’). You are satisfied that your charity is not required by charity law to be audited and have chosen instead to have an independent examination.

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 44 (1) ( c) of the 2005 Act and section 145 of the 2011 Act. In carrying out my examination I have followed the requirements of Regulation 11 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and all applicable 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 giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

  1. accounting records were not kept as required by section 44 (1) (a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and section 130 of the 2011 Act; or

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records; and

  3. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of Regulation 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended).

I 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.

Signed: a howland

Name: Alinda Howland

Relevant professional qualification(s) or membership of professional bodies (if any):

Address: Mudeford

Christchurch

Dorset

Date: 12/06/25