PLAY @ COTHERSTONE (Registered charity number 1174041)
FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
Chair Mr M Windle Vice Chair Mr J Smith Treasurer Ms A Urbanowicz Secretary Ms E Wilson
Charity Trustees: Mrs Y Butterfield Mrs DAR Forster Mr S Rogers Ms E Rowell Mr J Smith Ms A Urbanowicz Ms E Wilson Mr M Windle
play @ cotherstone’s registered address with the Charity Commission is:
play @ cotherstone c/o Cotherstone Village Hall Moor Road Cotherstone Barnard Castle County Durham DL12 9PH
Treasurer’s Report
Governance
Play@cotherstone continues to manage Cotherstone Village Park, the land for which has been leased from Mr J Birkett on a 25 lease with an expiration date of 2031.
The charity operates as a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) which provides protection for the charity, trustees and volunteers and helps the group be sustainable.
The objects of the charity are:
“ To promote, for the benefit of the inhabitants of Cotherstone and the surrounding area, the provision of recreational and sporting facilities for the entire community in the interests of social welfare with the object of improving the conditions of life for the residents of Cotherstone.”
The charity is administered and managed by 8 trustees. There have been no changes to the trustees during the year. We continue to look for new trustees to be appointed to the charity and be actively involved.
In addition there is a host of people who help throughout the year with maintenance, events and administration. Without the help of all these volunteers, the charity would not be able to operate. We very much welcome new volunteers to bring new ideas, drive and energy to help with maintenance, as well as holding Park and fundraising events.
In order to reflect the true operating position of the charity, it is also reported here that the charity has benefited from 548 volunteer hours during the year. In adddition some, £540 of gifts-in-kind were received and of particular note, is the £250 bike rack donated by Durham County Council which using a small sum from reserves, has been secured at the front of the Park.
play @ cotherstone has continued to operate a bank account with the CO-OP Bank. In keeping with our Bank Mandate, the bank account requires two signatures for all cheque payments and no electronic payments have been made during the period. The small holding of petty cash is held secure and requires a full audit trail.
In terms of governance, in April 2023, we note that we updated our Principles and Statement of Banking and Accounting Controls and this was approved by the trustees.
Accounting
These accounts have been prepared on a cash receipts and payments basis and cover the year 1st April 2023 to 31st March 2024.
As well as cash, other assets held by the charity are the Park barn, land under and around the barn, play equipment, trim trail, maintenance tools and event equipment.
All grants with restricted terms are shown separately in these account. To assit the reader, a summary statement of movement of reserves is included within these accounts.
For prudence, the charity continues to build up an unrestricted reserve in the final 10 years of the lease towards future legal costs. At the end of the accounting year to 31 March 2024, a further £500 was transferred into this fund from the general reserve to give a carrying balance set aside of £1,500.
Fund raising, grants and donations
A key part of the sustainability of Cotherstone Village Park relies on ensuring there is a suitable general reserve built up to continute operating even in difficult and unexpected conditions. Over the years, the Covid19 epidemic and rising material costs have proven this to be essential. Therefore, there is a constant need to fundraise to keep the Park open.
The charity needs to raise around £3k per year to simply keep on top of essential maintenance and every day running costs such as the grass cutting and the annual insurance. This is over and beyond any capital additions or replacements.
Despite the weather, we were delighted to hold the November 2023 Bonfire Fundraising Party which was a great evening despite the rain and mud. The numbers attending were much lower than in recent years which was then reflected in a drop in the surplus arising from this event to £1.4k. Given the weather, we were pleased to still hold the event and bring in a surplus and it was excellent to see the local fire service come along to support the event.
We are particularly grateful to Mr Dent for the loan of the field used for the village bonfire and for the advance cash donations which provided assurance that the party could go ahead. In addition, of particular note was corporate support by way of a £50 donation from the GSK Care charity and gifts-in-kind of an estimated £40 from Farrans. Thank you to all the volunteers who helped to plan, conduct and clear up the 2023 Bonfire Party and to all who donated cash, prizes and food on the day. This is a whole village event and it is brilliant to see the effort put in by volunteers and ensure we raise much needed funds.
During the year, other donations were provided by:
| Cotherstone Fun Weekend Committee – donation to the new infant unit | £500 |
|---|---|
| Cotherstone Fun Weekend Committee – donation to running costs | £500 |
The Fun Weekend Committee work incredibly hard to raise funds each year for our community and we are extremely grateful for their support during 2023/24 and past years.
In addition to the above, during the year, we were very pleased to have received the following grants:
| Cotherstone Parish Council (50% of a £1.4k grant towards the new infant | |
|---|---|
| unit; having already received £700 in 2022/23) | £700 |
| Durham County Council Teesdale Action Partnership Neighbourhood | £10,000 |
| Fund – for sustainability | |
| Community Ownership Fund (COF) Departement of Leveling up and | £4,000 |
| Communities (DLUC) - for sustainability |
All fundraising, grants and donations, together with payments during the year can be seen in detail in the accounts.
In terms of sustainability, we have embarked on a number of mini projects to strengthen the infrastructure, paths and boundaries and these will continue throughout 2024/25.
Grass and weed control services were outsourced for the 2023 season and continue to be for 2024. We yet again, continue to thank Richard Toward for his valuable help.
Just after the year end we received a further grant of £500 from Cotherstone Parish Council (CPC) which is not reflected in these accounts but will appear in the 2024/25 future accounts. However, we acknowledge this receipt and many thanks to CPC for their continued support.
Major project in the year
During the year we delivered a major project as part of our replacement and sustainability drive. We were very pleased to remove the original 2004 infant unit and instal the eagerly awaited new version. This was possible due to the hard labour of our volunteers as well as grants and donations. Our final project cash costs spread across both 2023/23 and 2023/24 are shown below.
Funding source for Infant Replacement Unit Durham County Council TAP grant 13,000 Cotherstone Parish Council grant 1,400 Fun Weekend Committee donation 500 Utilisation of general reserves inc Eurovision sweep 111 Total cost of project 15,011
This is a flagship part of the Park and the new infant unit was opened with fanfare in May 2023 and it was great to see such good coverage in the Teesdale Mercury to highlight the generous support from funders, as well as the obvious enthusiasom of the children.
In addition benches and picnic tables continue to be replaced both for the enjoyment of users and to support the appearance.
The Future
We are extremely grateful to the many funders and private donors who continue to support the charity.
Our year end closing general cash reserve sits at £8k and our set aside renewal of lease fund, at £1.5k. In addition we also hold restricted funds already committed to our sustainability project and we continue to work with funders.
The work above forms part of the Sustainability Project to secure use of the land to continue to provide Park facilities, refurbish/replace play equipment and upgrade its infrastructure and boundaries in order to provide the Park for future generations. The Sustainability Project started in 2021 and will continue into 2024/25. It is a milestone phase in the life of Cotherstone Village Park. This is an exciting time to take part in the redesign and enhancements in the Park. However, this new vision for the Park requires
new trustees, new volunteers, new ideas for fundraising and a team to deliver it, as well as capital grants. The trustees are working hard to make this happen and go into 2024/25 with optimism and a sound financial operating base.
The charity is grateful for the existing trustees to continue in post until the successful execution of a succession plan.
P lay @ cotherstone accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024
Prepared by:
Dated: ............................... Signed: .............................. (Anna Urbanowicz, Treasurer)
These accounts were independently reviewed by Mrs T Wilcox on 14th May 2024.
Accepted and approved on behalf of the Trustees:
Dated: ............................... Signed: .............................. (Mark Windle, Chair)
play @ cotherstone
Registered 1174041 incorporated 31 July 17
ACCOUNTS FOR YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
| General Purpose Fund from activity in the period - Unrestricted Funds Receipts and Payments Account Income received Prize donations returned Donations for the load of equipment to others Bonfire & Firework donations November 2023 Fun Weekend Grant April 2023 new infant replacement unit Fun Weekend Grant February 2024 towards general costs Write back of rent for 2023 Investment Income Bank Interest TOTAL INCOME Expenditure Bike Rack - free bars but costs of fixing Repairs & Maintenance general Use of general reserves towards new infant unit replacement Fun Weekend grant utilised towards new infant unit replacement Use of general reserves towards new Asda picnic table Bonfire 2023 expenses Grass maintenance and strimming services - R Toward 2023 season Annual Insurance Jan 2024 TOTAL EXPENDITURE NET RESULT FROM ACTIVITIES Transfer to Reserve for Lease Cessation or Renewal NET CONTRIBUTION TO GENERAL RESERVES BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD BALANCE CARRIED FORWARD |
2024 £ 15.00 20.00 2836.11 500.00 500.00 200.00 0.00 4071.11 118.08 59.71 110.71 500.00 18.33 1370.74 1500.00 545.45 4223.02 -151.91 500.00 -651.91 9024.11 |
|---|---|
| 8372.20 |
| Reserve for Lease Cessation or Renewal - Unrestricted Funds Incoming reserve transfers or income Transfer from General Reserve TOTAL INCOME Outgong reserve transfers or payments TOTAL EXPENDITURE NET RESULT FOR THE PERIOD BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD BALANCE CARRIED FORWARD Restricted Funds - Asda Grant for Picnic Tables Receipts and Payments Account Income received Grant received TOTAL INCOME Expenditure Purchase of equipment Materials to fix and secure TOTAL EXPENDITURE NET RESULT FOR THE PERIOD BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD BALANCE CARRIED FORWARD |
2024 500.00 500.00 0.00 500.00 1000.00 |
|---|---|
| 1500.00 | |
| 2024 £ 959.00 959.00 792.00 167.00 959.00 0.00 0.00 |
|
| 0.00 |
Durham County Council - Teesdale Action Partnership - Replacement Infant Unit Restricted Funds
| Receipts and Payments Account Income received Grant received TOTAL INCOME Expenditure Final payment for equipment - utilisation of funds TOTAL EXPENDITURE NET RESULT FOR THE PERIOD BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD BALANCE CARRIED FORWARD Cotherstone Parish Council - Replacement Infant Unit Restricted Funds Receipts and Payments Account Income received Grant Received - second tranche of £1,400 received 50% TOTAL INCOME Expenditure Final payment for equipment - utilisation of funds TOTAL EXPENDITURE NET RESULT FOR THE PERIOD BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD BALANCE CARRIED FORWARD |
2024 £ 0.00 0.00 5633.75 5633.75 -5633.75 5633.75 |
|---|---|
| 0.00 | |
| 2024 £ 700.00 700.00 1400.00 1400.00 -700.00 700.00 |
|
| 0.00 |
COF Revenue Grant - sustainability project Restricted Funds
| Receipts and Payments Account Income received Grant awarded TOTAL INCOME Expenditure Valuation fee Search fees TOTAL EXPENDITURE NET RESULT FOR THE PERIOD BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD BALANCE CARRIED FORWARD Durham CC - Teesdale Action Partnership - sustainability project Restricted Funds Receipts and Payments Account Income received Grant awarded TOTAL INCOME Expenditure TOTAL EXPENDITURE NET RESULT FOR THE PERIOD BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD BALANCE CARRIED FORWARD |
2024 £ 4000.00 4000.00 540.00 360.00 900.00 3100.00 0.00 |
|---|---|
| 3100.00 | |
| 2024 £ 10000.00 10000.00 0.00 0.00 10000.00 0.00 |
|
| 10000.00 |
STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AS AT 31 MARCH 2024
Cash at bank as at 1 April 2023 brought forward
| Petty Cash held Co-Op Bank plc - current account Plus total gross income for the year of activity Less total expenditure for the year of activity Cash at bank as at 31 March 2024 Petty Cash held for events Co-Op Bank plc - current account TOTAL ASSETS Unrestricted Funds General Purpose Fund arising from activities Reserve for Lease Cessation or Renewal Restricted Funds COF Revenue Grant - sustainability Durham CC Teesdale Action Partnership - sustainability TOTAL FUNDS |
381.33 15976.53 19730.11 13115.77 67.75 22904.45 |
|---|---|
| 22972.20 | |
| 8372.20 1500.00 3100.00 10000.00 |
|
| 22972.20 |