Houghton Regis Heritage Society (Charitable Incorporated Organisation)
Annual Report of the Trustees and Financial Statements
st for the Period Ended 31 December 2022
Charity Number 1174720
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Trustees Report for the period to December 31[st ] 2022
Charity Name
Houghton Regis Heritage Society
Charity Number
1174720
Registered Office C/O Houghton Regis Town Council Peel Street Houghton Regis LU5 5EY
Trustees Office Held Term of Office Ends David Hill Chair June 2024 Roger Turner Treasurer June 2022 Dudley Smy June 2023 Janet Smy Secretary June 2023 Tracey McMahon June 2024 Joanna Hillyard Resigned March 2020 Allan Grubb June 2023 Susan Thorne June 2023 Catherine Agagnoglu June 2023 Bankers Nat West, Dunstable
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Trustees’ Report for the period to 31[st ] December 2022
Aims and objectives
To advance the education of the public in the history and heritage of the town of Houghton Regis, in particular but not exclusively through the collection, preservation and making available to the public of material and artefacts of historic significance by the establishment and maintenance of an archive and collection for the preservation of such material and artefacts and by the production of literature, films and recordings.
Governance and management
The Society is managed by the Trustees whose are elected at the Annual General Meeting. The committee elected the Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. The powers of the management committee are set out in the Constitution agreed at the Annual General Meeting.
Summary of the main achievements during the period
2022 has been a year in which the Society has seen our Archive website maintain a steady number of visitors, we have also seen a growth in picture contributions from residents. The work of Roger Turner in inputting pictures and information into the archive (www.hrhsarchive.org.uk ) and updating our website (www.hrhs.org.uk ) is acknowledged.
In July we had a stand at the Town Carnival, the first after Covid. It was a great success, interest in the Society was huge and we had many visitors to our stand. We were hoping for our membership to grow but it did not really materialise to a great degree.
Our new book ‘The Family on the Green’ by Rosemary Harris was launched, we managed to obtain the rights for publication from Rosemary, and we have had a steady stream of sales. A considerable amount of work has gone in to updating the Brandreth Family Tree which has been inserted in the book and in addition will be displayed on a board in Houghton Hall Park. Work on this has been carried out by Allan Grubb, Roger Turner and Dorothy Jones.
We have a membership of 30 at present. Several public meetings were arranged, but most had very few in attendance. There were some exceptions, a Talk on the Leighton Buzzard Railway and a talk on the History of the Hospital.
We need more volunteers to become Trustees and can help the Society continue with the important work of protecting and informing the residents of the Town’s heritage.
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We continue to receive pictures and stories from the public and several new items have been added to the Heritage Society’s Archive – www.hrhsarchive.org.uk .
We will be pleased to accept any photographs, documents, etc, which you may have so that we can continue to add to it. The Archive is a record of the past history of Houghton Regis for today and for tomorrow’s generations to enjoy and learn from. However, it is not a static record and today’s images are tomorrow’s heritage. The Town is changing rapidly with the massive development of HRN1 and other house building and we hope that this development can be recorded.
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Financial Review
The Charity reported a deficit of £21.01 Principal Funding Sources: Membership subscriptions amounted to £119.00 Houghton Regis Town Council Key Partner Grant and other Grant £600 Central Bedfordshire Council Ward Councillor Grant £700.00 Donations £75.
Future funding will be via Member Subscriptions, fund raising activities and grants.
Structure, Governance and Management
Governing Document
The Charity is governed by its Constitution (Articles of Association) and is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), registered as a Charity on 19[th] September 2017. A copy of the Articles of Association can be found on our website – www.hrhs.org.uk In the event of the CIO being wound up members are required to contribute an amount not exceeding £1, which was paid with their initial subscriptions and is held in the Member Liability Fund.
Recruitment and Appointment of Trustees
The directors of the company are also the Charity Trustees for the purposes of charity law. The Trustees form the management committee for the Charity. Mrs Rae Bird was appointed to the Management Committee. The Trustees are appointed for a period of three years, by election at the Annual General Meeting. All trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity.
Responsibility of the Trustees
Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of the affairs of the charitable company as at the balance sheet date and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including income and expenditure, for the financial year. In preparing those financial statements, the Trustees should follow best practice and:
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select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
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make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; and
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prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is not
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appropriate to assume that the company will continue on that basis.
The Trustees are responsible for maintaining proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 1985. The Trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
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Balance Sheet for the Period ended 31[st ] December 2022
| 2022 | 2021 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ |
£ | £ | ||
| Fixed Assets Tangible Assets |
0.00 | 0.00 | |||
| 0.00 | |||||
| Current Assets Current Account |
2643.56 | 2611.63 | |||
| Less Outstanding Cheques | 90.00 | 0.00 | |||
| 2553.56 | 2611.63 | ||||
| Debtors | |||||
| Current Balance | 2553.56 | 2611.63 | |||
| Cash | 37.06 | 0.00 | |||
| Total Assets | 2590.62 | 2611.63 | |||
| Current Liabilities | |||||
| Creditors | |||||
| Member Liability Fund | 30.00 | 30.00 | |||
| Member Liability for the Year | 2.00 | 1.00 | |||
| 33.00 | 31.00 | ||||
| Total Assets Less | |||||
| Current Liabilities | 2557.62 | 2580.63 | |||
| Represented by | |||||
| General ReserveB/F | 2611.63 | 3091.41 | |||
| Surplus/(Deficit) for the Year | -21.01 | -479.98 | |||
| General Reserve C/F | 2590.62 | 2611.63 | |||
| Member Liability | -31.00 | -31.00 | |||
| 2557.62 | 2580.63 |
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Receipts and Payments for the Period Ended 31[st ] December 2022
| Receipts Subscriptions Member Liability Society Meetings Quiz Shows Book Sales Walks Archive Web Site Grants/Donations Total Income Payments Stamps Member Liability Web Site Society Meetings Quiz Shows Insurance Equipment Expenses Total Expenditure Surplus/Deficit Bank and Cash Bank at the start of the period Cash at the start of the period Total Bank at the end of the period Cash at the end of the period Total |
£ 119.00 2.00 6.00 368.00 12.50 151.50 0.00 0.00 1375.00 2034.00 28.81 0.00 1022.96 190.00 79.06 44.82 96.00 40.00 111.36 2034.00 -21.01 2611.63 0 2611.63 2553.56 37.06 |
|
|---|---|---|
| 2590.62 |
This statement includes all gains and losses in the period. All incoming resources and resources expended derive from continuing activities.
Approved by the Trustees on 30[th] May 2023 and signed on its behalf by
Roger Turner Treasurer
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Statement of assets and liabilities at 31[st ] December 2022
| Cash Assets Current Account Cash Total Cash Assets |
£ 2553.56 37.06 2590.62 |
|---|---|
Other assets
2 Digital Recorders & 2 Lapel Microphones Panel Display Stand PC Projector Gazebo
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Notes to the Accounts for the Period Ended 31[st ] December 2022
1. Receipts & payments accounts
Receipts and payments accounts are statements that summarise the movement of cash into and out of the organisation during the financial year. In this context "cash" includes cash equivalents, for example, bank accounts where cash can be readily withdrawn to pay for debts as they become due.
Subscriptions of £5 per member will be due in January 2023
2. Grants & Donations
----- Start of picture text -----
£
Key Partner Grant HRTC 500.00
HRTC Grant 100.00
Ward Councillor Grant 700.00
J Carroll Donation 10.00
Olive Tree Church Donation 30.00
S Thorne Donation 5.00
T McMahon Donation 5.00
A Kings Donation 5.00
R Bird Donation 20.00
Total 1375.00
----- End of picture text -----
3. Trustees Remuneration
No Trustee received any remuneration during the year.
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