Annual Report and Accounts for the year ending 31 March 2022
Charity Number: 1162318
Shap Swimming Pool: Trustees Annual Report 2021-2022
March 2021
Objectives and activities of the pool
Shap Swimming Pool was established as a Community Interest Organisation (CIO) on 19 June 2015 to manage Shap Open Air Swimming Pool. The pool has been open since 1987, on land provided by the Parish Council and Lowther Estate. It was established after years of dedicated fundraising by the villagers of Shap.
The pool is widely used by the local community as well as visitors and operates during the late spring and summer, typically late May to early September. It is run entirely by volunteers although does train and employ lifeguards each season.
The pool is used by local schools for school swimming lessons, as well as other community groups such as Cubs and sports clubs. It offers season tickets and private pool hire as well as a small shop for the sale of drinks and snacks during pool opening hours.
The agreed objective of the CIO is:
“The promotion of community participation in healthy recreation for the benefits of the inhabitants of, and visitors to, Shap, by the provision of a swimming pool.”
This is broken down into specific aims to:
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Provide access to swimming facilities for local people of Shap and the surrounding area
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Support the provision of swimming lessons for local children through the school, sports clubs and other local groups
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Attract new and returning visitors/tourists to Shap village, to increase visitor income for the pool and other local businesses
Chair’s report
After not opening at all in 2020, we were pleased to open in 2021. We were able to install a new auto dosing system in the pool which reduced the daily time needed for maintenance. We opened on 12th June without knowing how long restrictions would last, what they could change to or if we would need to close early, due to new restrictions, a Covid outbreak etc
We had to keep a limit on numbers and follow Covid guidelines within the pool, keeping our swimmers, lifeguards, volunteers, and local community safe. We kept sessions to one hour, to allow greater numbers through the day, bearing in mind the limits on numbers at any one time (max 20 in the pool).
When restrictions were largely lifted on 19 July, we decided to retain the limit on numbers to 20 in the pool and keep the one-hour sessions but removed the lane booking system. We also introduced a small number of adult only sessions.
This decision was taken in light of still high Covid numbers locally and to keep people, volunteers especially feeling safe – lots of volunteer feedback that they liked the booking system as they didn’t have to deal with a queue and needing to interact directly with lots of people.
School swim sessions were unable to go ahead as schools were still operating in their bubble system, with limits on available of adults to manage sessions etc. although we did still manage to host some private hire sessions for local Beavers and Cubs groups and local schools e.g., a leavers pool party.
Private hire sessions were very popular, with family groups and organisations taking advantage of the option. Often this meant we had a guaranteed income even if the weather wasn’t good, when sessions might otherwise have been very empty!
Booking system
We used BookWhen, an online ticketing system, to manage the tickets and number for each session. This worked well on the whole. For example, for visitors on holiday, who could guarantee a time to swim during their holiday and also for our volunteers who didn’t need to manage a queue outside the pool and monitor numbers during a session etc.
Achievements and performance
Despite the shorter season and limits to the numbers in the pool, we had:
1329 adult swims
953 child swims
75 private hires of the pool
Note: the swim numbers aren’t unique users, just the number of bookings.
We set a simple price structure for this year and absorbed the cost of the booking system rather than adding it to the ticker price. We know that there was some disappointment that we didn’t have a season ticket this year but the shorter season and reduced numbers we could get into the pool were factors that contributed to this decision. We did introduce a swim pass – 12 sessions for the price of 10 from 19th July which reduced the price per swim.
Pricing for the 2022 season will be confirmed nearer the time of opening but our key priority will be to reintroduce season tickets for the local community. We are also keen to work closely with local schools to bring back school swimming lessons, so that we can fulfil the agreed objective and aims of the organisation.
Volunteers
We are, as always, really grateful to all our volunteers. We couldn’t run the pool without them. We were pleased that they had positive feedback for the new booking system, as it made their role less stressful on the whole! We will be looking at how we can encourage more people to volunteer, even if it is only for a few hours through the season – every little helps. We will also look at how we can provide an incentive for volunteers, for example complimentary swim sessions.
Financial Review
The statement of accounts accompanies this report.
The pool did not open at all during the 2020-21 financial year, but we opened the pool for both general sessions and private hires as well as the pool ship from 12 June 2021 until the end of September 2021.
The BookWhen booking system worked well and allowed us to better monitor the numbers using the pool. The private hires were popular and provided a steady income throughout the season.
The pool received the following grants during the year:
£1,983 Rural Pools grant from Eden District Council in two payments, in May and September 2021. This is a regular grant for the outdoor pools in Eden District.
The Pool also received a £500 donation from the Shap Young People’s lottery which is one of our regular supporters. The Committee thanks the organisers for their ongoing support.
With the good income from the 2021 season and the savings held by the pool, including the grants, the Committee agreed to replace the toddler pool and replace all the grouting around the edge of the pool. The shop will also be refurbished, and the showers updated, along with a number of other minor improvements including painting and new signage. The works began in February 2022, with the aim of completing them all by early May 2022, ready for the 2022 season. A full, costed, plan has been produced.
As set out in the constitution, we will retain a small surplus in our accounts, to ensure we have funding for emergency repairs or unforeseen costs.
We remain on fixed rate tariffs for our gas and electricity supplies, with gas up for renewal in 2022 and the electricity up for renewal in 2023.
The pool’s Nat West Bank Account was closed in June 2021 and the money transferred to the Barclays Bank Current Account. The account has been dormant for a couple of years, with all the banking transferred to Barclays in 2019.
Structure, governance and management
The charity is run by volunteers, with a dedicated committee and a small number of seasonal volunteers who assist in the pool shop and help with plant room maintenance, cleaning and general maintenance. The pool employs lifeguards during the season and funds their training course.
As at March 2022, there are currently 2 Trustees. There is a vacancy for a permanent committee Chris, who would also become the third Trustee. The committee is hoping to recruit a Chair in the coming year and is advertising across local newsletters and groups to advertise the position.
Reference and administrative details
Charity number: 1162318
Principle office: Shap Swimming Pool, Gayle Avenue, Shap, CA10 3NS
Trustees: Sarah Bruce (Treasurer), Teresa Martin (Secretary)
Committee Members: Briony Newsome (Acting Chair), Sarah Bruce, Teresa Martin, Stacey Lewis-Wrobel, Emily Williams, Briony Newsome, Mel Wright
| Shap Swimming Pool | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statement of Income and Expenditure as at 31st March 2022 | |||||||
| 2021/2022 2020/2021 2021/2022 2020/2021 Income Income ExpenditureExpenditure £ £ £ 10,365.72 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 1587.77 0.00 911.46 0.00 2749 21,414.00 320 0.00 0.00 1946.52 900.00 1 0.00 3085 0.00 324.46 0.00 0.00 8,646.00 0.00 0.00 1910.65 0.00 0.00 2526.65 35.94 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1,255.52 611.41 2,730.84 0.00 102.00 369.00 6,585.38 0.00 1,118.49 1,129.77 307.00 0.00 18.24 0.00 650.00 0.00 49.98 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 264.10 3.25 4109.44 0.00 |
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| Swim sessions | |||||||
| Season Tickets | |||||||
| School Swim | |||||||
| Showers | |||||||
| Shop sales | |||||||
| Grants | |||||||
| Fund Raising | |||||||
| Donations | |||||||
| Bank Interest | |||||||
| Pool Hire | |||||||
| Miscellaneous income/expenses | |||||||
| Major Works | |||||||
| Chemicals | |||||||
| Repairs & Maintenance | |||||||
| Advertising | |||||||
| Rates | |||||||
| Rent | |||||||
| Water | |||||||
| Gas | |||||||
| Electric | |||||||
| Wages | |||||||
| Insurance | |||||||
| Staff Uniform | |||||||
| Admin | |||||||
| Training | |||||||
| Phone | |||||||
| Stationery | |||||||
| VAT on sales & purchases | |||||||
| VAT refund / paid | |||||||
| 24,488.91 | 22,314.00 | 27,076.31 | 2,149.37 | ||||
| Balance Sheet as at 31/03/22 | |||||||
| Opening balance | Barclays Current Account 31/03/2021 | 13,164.36 | |||||
| Barclays Savings Account 31/03/2021 | 10,003.30 | ||||||
| Nat West Current Account 31/03/2021 | 6,076.40 | ||||||
| Petty Cash in Hand | 0.00 | ||||||
| 29,244.06 | |||||||
| Closing balance | Barclays Current Account 31/03/2022 | 28,391.48 | |||||
| Barclays Saving Account 31/03.2022 | 10,004.30 | ||||||
| Petty Cash in Hand | 0.00 | ||||||
| 38,395.78 | |||||||
| Movement in Funds | |||||||
| -2,587.40 | |||||||
| Funds to carryforward | 26,656.66 | ||||||