OpenCharities

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

← Friends Of Homeyards Botanical Gardens In Shaldon

2024-12-31-accounts

pees Oe — I—S

o_o =

—s

=

_

| |

| | | ||

Friends of Homeyards Botanical Gardens in Shaldon Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31°t December 2024

Thestatements Trusteesof are the pleasedcharity forto the presentyear their ended report31’ December together with 2024. the financial

|

Reference and Administrative Details of the Charity, its Trustees and Advisors

Friends of Homeyards Botanical Gardens in Shaldon

Registered Charity number: 1159641

Principal Office: The Paddocks, Brook Lane Shaldon, Devon TQ14 OHL

Trustees:

The trustees during the period are:

Chair Joyce Gillespie (appointed 14/03/24) Treasurer Hazel Dawn Todd Trustees Carolyn Elizabeth Pash Tina Caple (appointed 15/11/23)

Bankers:

Barclays Bank plc., Leicester LE87 2BB

| an - a — - ” ——

——

|

Structure, Governance and Management

Governing Document

The organisation is governed by its Constitution, amended 28" November 2014 which establishes its objects and powers.

Constitution of the Organisation.

Friends of Homeyards Botanical Gardens in Shaldon is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, registered on 16" December 2014.

Board of Trustees and Trustee selection.

The body responsible for the management of Friends of Homeyards Botanical Gardens in Shaldon is the Board of Trustees.

The full complement of Trustees is eight and the Constitution requires that there shall never be less than three. Trustees serve for a term of three years and there is a three year restriction on the number of terms that a Trustee may serve. Appointment of Trustees is by election at the Annual General Meeting or by the Trustees. All Trustees must be members of Friends of Homeyards Botanical Gardens in Shaldon, and members are invited to nominate people to serve. The Chair and Officers are appointed by the Trustees from among their number.

Upon their first appointment each new trustee is provided with the following information.

o Acopy of the Constitution along with any amendments made to it.

The Trustees are supported by a management committee, members of which attend Trustee meetings, and by volunteers who provide valuable assistance with work in the Gardens and with fundraising events.

Trustees’ responsibilities in relation to the financial statements

The charity trustees are responsible for preparing a trustees’ annual report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards.

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity.

= — ~—S OO 2 bd = — = ieeeieee ee =

beicel

= = o°S 6 SE Sea ies —<— ©

| |

|

| |

|

Risk Management

The Homeyards Botanical Gardens is owned and maintained by Teignbridge District Council who operate appropriate risk management policies. The Friends of Homeyards Botanical Gardens in Shaldon organise events in the Gardens from time to time and for each event a risk assessment and risk management plan is prepared having regard to:

Protecting the public from risk

Protecting the Gardens and property from damage Safeguarding of Children and Vulnerable Adults

Objectives and Activities

The principal objective of Friends of Homeyards Botanical Gardens in Shaldon is for the public benefit to promote the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment and to advance the education of the public in the land and buildings at Homeyards Botanical Gardens, Shaldon Devon.

Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit

The Friends run Easter, Summer and Halloween events to involve children and families in the gardens. These events are generally free, but fundraising can be involved.

|

Volunteers open up the Castle on regular occasions to provide refreshments and information for visitors. As well as enhancing the experience of the gardens for visitors the facility is a meeting point for local people and volunteers, providing a social opportunity and increasing engagement with the gardens.

Continuing historical research into the Homeyards story.

Conservation volunteering on a regular basis to maintain and improve specific areas of the gardens.

Achievements and Performance

Gardener

Shaldon Parish Council agreed to subsidise the cost of gardening for 2 days a week and this has been extended for the year 2024/5. The contract for the garden’s maintenance contractors working for TDC continues with ID Verde. They employ the gardener directly.

|

|

, |

The gardener remains a hard-working and experienced gardener and a great asset to the Shaldon community and the Gardens.

Castle Folly

The folly building structure remains vulnerable to leaks in wet stormy weather which means it is more useful as a summer venue than for winter events. The council has instructed heritage contractors to look into finding a solution. The solution for 2024/5 has been to clean up and paint in Spring making it usable for the summer months. A very efficient team of volunteers managed the emptying of the dehumidifier

Castle Folly openings

The opening of the Caste Folly for Teas and Coffees run by volunteers for donations was successfully continued in 2023, offering tea and coffee refreshments on an informal basis to garden visitors. These were running most Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings from June to September 2024 and net proceeds were £629.22.

or 2024, Tina Caple, one of our Trustees kindly agreed to take over the administration of the castle volunteers and has created and rolled out full procedures and controls.

Walk and Talk Events

The Friends held two prearranged afternoon events with a guided tour of the gardens followed by tea and cake. These both raised healthy donations.

Easter event 2024

The Easter event in 2024 was held in St. Peter's Church, Shaldon thanks to the PCC due to inclement weather. We had craft tables, live animal petting, bush craft and the Devon Butterfly Conservation table. Cakes and drinks were served by the volunteers. Our thanks to Shaldon Water Carnival for their kind grant of £250 offset against the cost of £470 for this event.

Autumn Children’s 2024 event

This was a free but ticketed event for accompanied children. Monica Shanta Brown provided well received flower and leaf printing workshops in the castle using natural materials from the gardens. The volunteers provided refreshments. The cost was £500 paid to DAISI which organised the artist.

Plants

In the autumn we planted cyclamen plants, anemone, narcissus and Scilla bulbs below the pond area and a good-sized Acer Shindeshojo beside the pond. Also 15 Hebe Sutherlandii between last year’s new birch trio.

Shaldon School Volunteer groups

Starting in September we have welcomed gardening help from a regular small group with staff from the local primary school. They have carried out all sorts of tasks with great cheer including planting up 3 spring planters which were donated by a local resident and weaving a willow fence.

Financial Review

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP), "Accounting and Reporting by Charities" issued in July 2014.

The Receipts and Payments account shows the gross income from all sources and the split of activity between restricted and unrestricted funds.

Review of the financial position

There was an excess of payments over receipts of (£1,657) during the year. The cash balance held in unrestricted funds decreased by this amount.

Total funds at the end of the year were £11,795 including £11,279 in the deposit account which was opened in Autumn 2023 earning interest of £178.

Donations were higher in 2024, £3,737 compared to £2,118 in 2023 due to an increase in special donations from £250 in 2023 to £1,915 in 2024. Excluding the special one-off donations, underlying donations were flat. There was an increase in Just Giving Donations which included associated timely Gift Aid recovery which was largely event and coffee and tea donations. Cash and Cheque donations only represented 5% of all donations.

Total Events Fundraising (tea coffee mornings, plant sales and events) fell in 2024 (£1,224 in total, compared to £1,559 in 2023) and a decision was made at the November 2024 Trustee meeting to cease the Easter and October events.

The Tea and Coffee gross donations increased slightly from £798 in 2023 to £819 in 2024, but this was an achievement considering the delayed opening times due to the water issues in Castle Folly.

A grant of £250 continued to be received from Shaldon Water Carnival (£250 in 2023)

= —— |

=a — a

ere l ULES O65 28 — ————

|

|

| |

The historical book commissioned and launched in November 2022 sold £110 in 2024 (£571 in 2023) giving a total of £1,147 to date against an investment of £1,875 in 2022-61. 865 | books remain. | onExpenditurethe Pergola wasgates significantly(£3,200,higherapproved in thein year2023 £7,581but spent(2023in £2,050)2024) and duethe to pond the expenditureworks (£1,231) There was also money spent on planting of specimen rhododendrons from Millais Nursery above the castle banks following paid for clearance of brushwood and weeds, utilising the kind one off donations from the funeral of our former Chairman Gerald Symons.

The main items of expenditure were routine operating expenses (insurance, website hosting, meetings).

|

Plans for 2025

All dependent on estimates and council permissions.

Reserves Policy

A formal reserves policy was documented in the Finance Policy approved in January 2024. The trustees aim to hold sufficient reserves to provide funding for special events and fundraising efforts organised by the Friends Committee or by supporters.

Total Reserves on 31% December 2024 amount to £11,795

Trustees consider the remaining free reserve to be adequate to cover planned expenditure commitments and the costs of arranging a typical programme of events for a year.

Reserves are unrestricted and held in cash at Barclays Bank in a current and deposit account as mentioned above. The Just Giving site introduced in 2023 is the main method on online donation. Funds are automatically transferred to Barclays monthly. Donations collected via PayPal continue to be automatically transferred to Barclays Bank monthly, but this is now only one regular donation.

Structure Governance and Management.

At the 2024 AGM, Alison Melville Shreeve retired and Joyce Gillespie was appointed Chair. Hazel Todd retired as a trustee as of 31st December 2024. At the March 2025 AGM Carolyn Lisa Pash will retire by rotation.

— —

——

— =

.

~ ~ - a i

|

----- Start of picture text -----
:
----- End of picture text -----

Adrian Symons was co-opted as new trustee in February 2025 and to be formally appointed at the AGM. Lucie Laker was co-opted as new trustee and Treasurer in February 2025 and to be formally appointed at the AGM.

The Trustees constantly review the need for new policies and review existing policies. The safeguarding policy was reviewed and signed in January 2024 and Finance policy was formally adopted also in January 2024.

A risk register was created and adopted in 2024.

Volunteers

|

The work of the Friends depends upon volunteers and the trustees are very grateful for the time and effort given by the management committee and by all those volunteers who turn up regularly to work in the gardens. There are 10 garden volunteers, 6 Tea and Coffee volunteers and 4 other volunteers giving 20 in total. An induction document was introduced and is in use for garden volunteers, new and old. Similarly, a protocol for castle refreshments volunteers has been introduced since the 2024 season.

|

Pond

The council provided and we designed 2 signs requesting for dogs not to go in the pond. We also blocked the pond steps with planters to deter entry.

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees.

Joyce Gillespie Chair

|

|

12!" March 2025

7¥ | CHARITY COMMISSION Friends of Homeyards Botanicali :1159644; (ie) FOR ENGLAND AND WALES |Gardens in Shaldon Receipts and payments accounts cc16a For the period Period start date 1 Period end date from 1st January 2024 ° 31st December 2024 Unrestricted . Endowment funtis Restricted funds funeles Total funds Last year tothe nearest £ to the nearest£ to the nearest£ to the nearest£ to the nearest£ A1 Receipts eee |ay| a Tazz Fo Ef cea [=i [Events & Fundraising X01) [Merchandisingto} FSi EO to} | WaterCamivalGrant_ [Shaldon | so} [Ci CCSC™C™~—tYSCS~~~“—~stO]C |st Grant) of | (Fo [0 [Devon Widlife SSCSC~C~C HMRC GiRAid Repayment Ta] [SSC YC CCCSCSC~S Bankinteest | | |TC |[CCC] es) Sub total(Gross income forAR| saz {|tr[rr] A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). po EE eee EO of Subtotal eT A3 Payments [Subscription-Devon AGM&MembershipCostsGardensTust_ «| SSS] [SSCS TTC TCC [WorksinGardens |NT]CT} T aC T a)ee<7) [Mosaic Seat & Workshops | TO |ae ee) ee) ee (SNS (a) | a =) events ) [Merchandisingcosts, CC TC EC25 Ca) DaSubtotal]ees eessei| |)ee || |ees|) |es[2,050] | A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table) nraee eee)| |eeee) nee)| Subtotal Th Net of receipts/((payments) 467}, 1,657). 2,924] AS Transfers betweenfunds [oy it | SC | AGCashfundsCash last yearend = [—__taasq]} [SY ita 10,628 funds this year end 1,795) | 11,795 13,452 Unrestricted Restricted funds Endowment | funds funds to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ B1 Cash funds Barclays Bank Current Account a, [SOSt~t So Barclays Bank Savings Account | 11.279) [OS~S TSO Tota ash funds | zesj[[of]

----- Start of picture text -----
(agree balances with receipts andaccount(s))payments OK OK | [-.
Unrestricted Restricted funds Endowment
funds funds
to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £
— —
Fund to which asset - Current value
— belongs visi Sdsaipinn (optional)
——=
Fund to which asset Cost (optional) Current value
belongs Seopu (optional)
Fund to which Amount due When due (optional)
—=liability relates (optional) =
allSignedthe trusteesby one or two trustees on behalf of Signature Print Name Date of approval
a NG, Joyce Gillespie 2/03/2025
4 .f ee 8 Luci
e cle Laker xx03/2025
----- End of picture text -----