Burgess Hill Shed
AGM Trustees Report October 2024
Introduction
On Tuesday 26 November 2024, we hold our seventh AGM and celebrate over 8 years since beginning our wonderful Shed. During the meeting we will together review our performance over the year followed by an open members’ session to consider how we may best move forward.
Every year since starting, we the trustees have been able to report positive progress and consolidation, and this year is no exception. We have once again performed well and made solid progress in achieving our mission. Our financial performance has been strong, attendance and membership continues to increase steadily.
This report provides a summary of our work over the past year and information on our performance as a local charity. It will form part of our Trustee Annual Report to the Charity Commission which may be published on their website.
Our mission
As many of us have no doubt experienced at some time, loneliness and social isolation can impact on health and well-being outcomes particularly in later life. Sheds are an important if not essential way to counter isolation for some people, and we should not underestimate the value of the work we do at BH-Shed for our community.
Following the principles of the Shed movement, we perform our mission by operating a craft workshop with facilities and resources for members to engage in activities as a means for social interaction. The workshop is run entirely by members on a voluntary basis and together they make it a very warm and friendly environment in which to share experiences and help each other and visitors from the community.
Our Organisation
In August 23, we successfully completed the handover of the Kiln to Burgess Hill Creative Community BHCC which has ensured that Kiln activities and events have been able to continue and grow. Whilst the Kiln lease remains uncertain, the Kiln under its new leadership continues to be a remarkable success and we wish them all the best for the future.
The Handover involved closing down Kiln storage spaces and transferring or disposing of materials and equipment that were no longer needed. Some of this helped to raise funds and some materials were used for community projects and by members for their own projects. There remain a few items at the Kiln which are in effect ‘shared’ and which may be needed by either BHCC or BH Shed in the future. The final decision on these items will be made when the future of the Kiln becomes clear. We understand that they will be given notice to close the Kiln in 2025 and then we may have to help them dispose of shared items under the terms of our handover agreement.
A special thanks to all members that helped with Kiln start up and handover operations.
After handover, we were able to focus fully on our workshop and look for ways to enhance our mission. Initially we asked WSCC to extend our lease allowing us to use the workshop 5 days each week. We also asked them to consider leasing the Green
Room for other activities. Our aim to use the Green Room was wel supported by our MP and councillors from WSCC, MSDC and BHTC. In the end WSCC were unwilling to allow us to use this space because they may need it for future storage of WSCC assets. They did allow us to extend our days to include Mondays and Fridays with some restrictions for which we are very grateful.
After these changes we continued to focus on the workshop and make improvements as well as restarting leatherwork and introducing willow work into our range of activities. WSCC have continued to invest in the Burnside site and have recently upgraded the electrics. We understand that Burnside is to continue operating for some time which is very good news considering it was not so long ago threatened with closure. We wish them the best and hope that we will also be able to continue to lease the workshop from them.
Lease Status
We have provisionally discussed a new lease with WSCC and they have said that this is likely (probably under similar terms but higher rent). We have asked for a longer-term lease which they are looking into. With greater assurance on the term of our lease we could release funds from our reserves to enable us to improve the workshop and buy new equipment.
Activities
This year as mentioned previously we were able to extend activities through leatherwork sessions on Mondays and willow work on Fridays. In addition at the beginning of the year we started evening sessions in the Scout Hut since WSCC will not permit evening sessions at Burnside. Evening sessions provided opportunities for members to meet socially to discuss projects and play games. Initially attendance was promising. However attendance gradually declined and after a couple of months it was decided to discontinue until there was more interest.
Woodcraft and metal work sessions continued to take place Tuesdays, Wednesday and Thursdays. These are generally well attended with members learning new skills and taking up more diverse projects.
Promotions
Last year we said that to move forward, we must begin to promote our work much more rigorously throughout the community and especially to all political parties and councils with the aim of getting more support on appropriate space, either as real space or financial support to rent other spaces. At the beginning of the year we hosted visits from BHTC and MSDC Councillors. All stated their strong support for our venture and desire to help us wherever possible.
This year we attended several events, beginning with St Peter and St James Open Garden event in May. In June we ran a stall at Hassocks Open Gardens in the Community Garden behind Age Concern and later in June we ran a stall at Burgess Hill Summer Fayre in St John’s Park. All of the events gave us the opportunity to engage with the public, sell some of our products and network with stallholders and other community groups. Overall, there was a lot of interest in our products and of course we raised some funds as well as making new friends.
Thank you to all members that helped and participated in these events. Through these events you made a significant contribution in terms of finance and community engagement.
We also said last year that we should engage more with local businesses. This is still very much in our minds and Graham and Tony have offered to lead on this.
Performance
Our overall performance as a charity is assessed against the following criteria:
Membership levels - the number of people we help (i.e. our members)
Attendance levels - the level of attendance achieved
Benefits – the benefits to members and the community that they gain from attendance and involvement
Value to community – the value provided by our volunteer efforts
Sustainability – our ability to finance operations and manage continuity risks
Membership
We are pleased to report that this year membership has increased by 30% from 50 last year towards 70 this year. Over 20% of members are women. We remain very much a local charity with 65% of members living in Burgess Hill, 17% live in Haywards Heath and Lindfield, 12% live in Hassocks and Ditchling. A few members live further away in Brighton, Crawley Down and Horsted Keynes.
As always, we depend entirely on our volunteer members who give up their valuable time to keep our venture alive. Without them we would not be able to offer sessions or run events. I am sure we all want to thank our fellow members for their many fantastic and significant contributions, many amusing and fun, some just hard work but all essential in enabling us to operate.
At this point I extend a big thanks to Jasmine Patel for undertaking her voluntary role as Membership Coordinator, for leading on well-being and keeping in touch and encouraging everyone including members and external stakeholders.
Attendance
Overall attendance figures for the Shed were encouragingly higher than previous years. This was partly due to the increase in operating days and also because generally more members are attending each day. More details will be provided during the AGM.
Benefits to Members
This year members were able to enjoy more sessions and a wider range of crafts. Feedback from the member’s survey is positive. More information will be given by Jas Patel during the AGM.
Value to Community and Voluntary Value
We continue to make a significant contribution to our community. Although there are many sheds now operating across the country, few have the premises and equipment to match. The workshop is well equipped which gives us opportunities to participate in community events and projects in many ways, some of which have been described previously.
We calculate the value of our work to our community in terms of voluntary value. This is the contribution made by voluntary work performed by members to enable us to operate effectively. This includes management, admin, supervision, maintenance and repairs, first aid cover, attending training courses, managing accounts, applying for grants, attending external events and running events, and so on. This value is equivalent to the amount of work a council would need to fund a place like the Shed.
Last year I reported that our cumulative voluntary contribution was in the order of £850K. This year taking into account that we are now operating 5 days each week, the value is around £90K per annum taking us to a cumulative figure over the past 8 years of around £940K.
We extend a big thanks to all the volunteer members that have contributed to this staggering amount.
Sustainability
Our current financial status is healthy in the short term (see ‘Finances’ below and Appendix A: Treasurer’s Report).
However, now we are operating as a shed alone we do not have the extra income that was being provided by some Kiln activities. In addition we have some increased fixed costs and therefore in June 24 it was decided to raise membership subscriptions from £30 per annum, to £40 and to split this into two six monthly payments. This was the first increase for over 8 years. Sessions costs were held at the previous rate of £3 per day which is very low compared to other local social organisations considering the cost of providing a fully equipped workshop.
We have a short lease which runs out in 2025 and it has a break clause which in effect means that anytime we can be given 6 months to leave Burnside. If we have to move to alternative premises it will be very expensive. As an illustration, I have been advised that another shed has to pay £30K per annum for premises and a lot of effort is needed from their members and trustees to raise funds.
We are very fortunate that WSCC allows us to use our premises at very reasonable rates and it looks likely that we will get a new lease next year. If we have to find alternative premises we have developed a good contingency reserve to offset the change though this would only probably cover us for a couple of years and then we would need to find other ways to continue.
Trustees
Our trustees not only frequently contribute as members they also give up their valuable time to look after strategic and governance aspects of our organisation.
We are sure members would wish to thank the Trustee team for their valuable inputs and for having the courage and tenacity to help us through some difficult periods, and keep us on a steady course.
The following are current Trustees:
Brian Campion (elected 2023) David Bailey (re-elected 2022) David Hayes (re-elected 2021) Eric Palmer Chair (re-elected 2022) Graham Mason Treasurer (elected 2023) Jasmine Patel Membership Co-ordinator (re-elected 2023) Tim Penn (re-elected 2021) Tony Ryan (elected 2023)
Trustees stand down on rotation at the end of three years and may be re-elected. This year David Hayes, Eric Palmer are standing for re-election. Tim Penn has decided to stand down and retire having served for over 8 years. Tim has been a trustee from the start of the Shed project. He has fully supported and contributed in many ways over the years often helping with the less glamorous but very important background jobs that we have had to do over the years. We especially thank him for his loyalty and dedication to our charity and pass on our best wishes for his future.
Stakeholders
We extend our thanks to two very important external stakeholders: West Sussex County Council and the Burnside team. Without them we simply would not be able to operate. We also thank Burgess Hill Town Council for giving us space in the help point and for selling our products.
Community projects
We continue to raise a good level of income from community projects. We raised £200 by making dormice boxes for Green Circle, £400 for scenery and stage furniture for Hurst Players Theatre and £160 for sports trophies. Taylor Wimpey donated £250 to run a competition for a sign for their Ockley Park development in Hassocks and Mid Sussex Older Peoples Council gave us £50 for making special wall hangers. In addition we made good sales at our events and received income for many repairs and products made by members.
Finance
A summary of our financial performance for year ending September 2024 compared to year ending September 2023 is given at Appendix A. As you will see, our net income was considerably down and this is all due to BH-Shed handing over the Kiln operations to BHCC. In these circumstances it is difficult to make direct comparisons on a ‘like for like’ basis. A more appropriate, ‘like for like’ comparison can be made by looking at changes in our performance since year ending Sept 2020, which was prior to the effects from the Kiln project and also the Covid pandemic. These figures are shown in Appendix B
This shows that between 2020 and 2024 our net income grew by 66%, considerably more than increases due to inflation. The figures also show that the increase was largely due to higher attendance (76% higher) and higher membership numbers as reported under Membership above. This is really good news because it shows that today we are providing considerably greater benefits to more people than we were before the Pandemic.
With the income generated this year, our reserves are approaching £50K. As explained earlier in this report, these funds are needed to offset the discontinuity risk should we not be able to acquire a new lease in 2025 and need to relocate. If we are able to negotiate a favourable lease, it is likely we shall use the reserve to upgrade our workshop.
Over the past year, Graham Mason has taken on the heavy load of looking after our finances. Our accounts have become more complicated with the introduction of card payments and changes to membership subs. It takes Graham quite a bit of time to keep the books, pay money into the bank and reconcile all the figures.
On behalf of the trustees and members we express our great thanks and much
appreciation to him for volunteering to do this work.
Conclusion
In concluding this report, we should obviously consider our achievements over the past year and the benefits to our members. However because this largely concludes our involvement with the Kiln project which was a big undertaking, we should also perhaps reflect on the contribution our Shed has played in the community and the benefits we have given to others. We should certainly acknowledge the value of the Kiln project and that many other people now enjoy craft activities like our members simply because BH-Shed built the Kiln. That project alone demonstrated that whilst a shed can be a place to make things, a shed can be and can do so much more.
Overall Burgess Hill Shed is in good shape and will be able to consolidate on its strong foundation and continue to develop its activities and enhance its mission. Ultimately, a shed can only be as good as its members and it is through their magnificent endeavours that the success of Burgess Hill Shed is assured and that it will continue to grow.
Thank you to all members, past and present, and please keep doing what you do so well.
The Trustees Burgess Hill Shed 13 November 2024
Appendix A Financial Summary
| Sep 23 BH-Shed incl KILN |
Sep 24 BH-Shed only |
Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income | |||
| Donations | 424 | 1675 | +1251 |
| Sales | 5530 | 3173 | -2357 |
| Session Fees | 14480 | 6155 | -8325 |
| Members Subs | 3567 | 2112 | -1455 |
| Grants | 7100 | 0 | -7100 |
| Other | 2590 | 0 | -2590 |
| Interest | 454 | +454 | |
| Total Income | 33691 | 13569 | -20122 |
| Expenditure | |||
| Equip & Mat’l | 7672 | 2631 | -5041 |
| Training | 245 | +245 | |
| Insurance | 761 | 548 | -213 |
| Premise Hire | 750 | 2366 | +1616 |
| Premise Refurb | 3341 | 0 | -3341 |
| Legal & Prof | |||
| Postage | |||
| Gen Expenses | 7121 | 1710 | -5411 |
| Total Expenditure | 19645 | 7500 | -12145 |
| Net Income | 14046 | 6069 | -7977 |
Appendix B
Financial Summary compared to year ending Sept 2020
| Sep 20 | Sep 24 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income | |||
| Donations | 1220 | 1675 | +455 |
| Sales | 2842 | 3173 | +331 |
| Session Fees | 2229 | 6155 | +3926 |
| Members Subs | 1025 | 2112 | +1087 |
| Grants | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 110 | 0 | -110 |
| Interest | 454 | +454 | |
| Total Income | 7501 | 13569 | +6068 |
| Expenditure | |||
| Equip & Mat’l | 859 | 2631 | +1772 |
| Training | 524 | 245 | -279 |
| Insurance | 397 | 548 | +151 |
| Premise Hire | 0 | 2366 | +2366 |
| Sundries | 1896 | 0 | -1896 |
| Legal & Prof | |||
| Postage | 4 | -4 | |
| Gen Expenses | 162 | 1710 | +1548 |
| Total Expenditure | 3842 | 7500 | +3658 |
| Net Income | 3659 | 6069 | +2410 |
|
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Receipts and payments accounts
01/10/2023)
Section A Receipts and payments Unrestricted Restricted Endowment a Sarde funds Total funds Last year salen rs“ine to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ A1 Receipts Donations es 2ee 9) Sales ee 2ee oc) Session Fees Sd ee ee 0 GrantsMember Subs PE ee 3.8087| Other eePp es es890| Sub total (Gross income for AR) 13,570 13,570 33,691 A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). es es Sub total| | A3 Payments Equipment & materials Pest fT ed Training Courses 9 es ee 02 Insurance a ee 2ee 9 Premise Hire a ee 0ee 0 Premises refurbishment [|[Ss] -|{[SC] - |Et Legal& Prof Expenses MT nen as Postage es ee oe 0a eeGen Expenses |too]ee CTC| nn ne oS[E960] | ee Sub totalP 70 df | __ 19,645 | A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table) a es Sub total] | ASTransfersbetweenfundsNet of receipts(payments)| 5.820) |LTB20 A6Cashfundslastyearend [|[TT =so-j{ |Te Cash funds this yearend| __—_—5.820)[ LOY
CCXX R11 accounts (SS)
1
23/06/2025
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Unrestricted Restricted Endowment funds funds funds to nearest £ to nearest£ to nearest £ ec) es |ee Total cash funds [*905|{__-]L[__— (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Unrestricted Restricted Endowment funds funds funds Details to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ — — _ —_= Fund to which ‘ Current value Details asset belongs Cost (optional) ‘optional Fund to which Amount due When due i —VetalisS —liability relates optional =optional Signed by one or two trustees on : ? Date of behalf of all the trustees Signature cack Bian approval | ; Mane | Graham Mason | 3/6]29
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
2
23/06/2025