DACRE ROOMS KIMPTON CHARITABLE INCORPORATED ORGANISATION
Registered Charity No: 1175741
REPORT and ACCOUNTS
For the year ended
31[ST] MARCH 2024
Registered Address: Dacre Rooms, High Street, Kimpton Hertfordshire SG4 8RA
DACRE ROOMS KIMPTON CIO
TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] MARCH 2024
Chairman's Report
The year ended 31[st] March 2024 was the first reporting period in which our community, and the country at large, had returned to operating in an unrestricted manner reminiscent of life before the strictures of the SARS-CoV-2 for the entirety of the period.
I am pleased to report regular bookings for many of our activities. The Friday morning coffee and cake sessions continue to be the most popular events that we host and are attended by dozens of people each week. They enable the operators to raise money for their chosen charities or clubs and they provide a vital support network for many of our elderly residents. Similarly, activities designed to support mothers and toddlers as well as a long-established craft group aimed at the retired community continue to offer regular opportunities to members of our local community. The Trustees continue to support these activities and have decided against raising rental charges which remain at pre-pandemic levels.
The Rooms are used regularly again by the Scouts and Girl Guides and their junior affiliated groups and are often booked for private social events and parties. Yoga and other keep fit activities are also popular. We encourage the use of the venue during village festivals and celebrations by other organisations seeking to raise funds for their activities.
Our charitable objects require us to provide a facility for Kimpton residents and the local authorities, voluntary and other organisations in an effort to advance education and to provide facilities for recreation and leisure in the interests of social welfare in the community. The Trustees and others involved with the running of the Dacre Rooms in Kimpton have worked hard throughout the year to ensure that we were able to deliver upon these objectives which I believe we have achieved.
The day-to-day operations of the Dacre Rooms are coordinated by the Management Committee. It comprises of a group of dedicated volunteers under the skilful management of David Pitcher. I wish to publicly thank them for their diligent efforts yet again this year.
Ted Frith Chairman
Trustees for the period were
Mr Charles Edward Frith (Chairman) Mr Simon James Thompson (Treasurer)
Mrs Anne Juliet Elizabeth Morton (Secretary)
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Treasurer’s Report
The accounts for the period are shown on page 4.
They have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis in accordance with the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (FRS102)[1] .
The accounts show that our income was stable, indeed slightly higher, during the period but that our expenditure had increased by 25%. Even allowing for the one-off nature of some building repairs, our operating costs were 13% higher. The most significant increases were, perhaps unsurprisingly, in our utility bills which were 11% higher than the previous period.
The UK economy continued to experience the effects of higher than anticipated inflation during the period under review and interest rates remained at elevated levels. Economic growth was close to zero and consumer sentiment was muted. Bookings for our facility struggled in this rather depressing climate. This resulted in a reduction in rental income of 9%.
The trustees aim to cover operating costs from the rental income but this has not been possible during the period. The dynamics set out above negatively affected both sides of this particular equation. The CIO registered a loss of £1,571 for the period.
Capital grants from central government were not available and so other income was restricted to small amounts of donations from activities led by the trustees.
Our prudent approach to managing the finances in prior periods has provided us with a significant buffer that will enable us to weather what we hope will be a temporary downturn in our operating income. Our building is in an excellent state of repair and we anticipate only modest costs relating to building maintenance in the short term. Any longer-term expenditure is forecast to be covered comfortably from our healthy cash reserves.
Thus, despite short term stresses, I believe the charity remains in a stable and healthy financial position. We are confident that we can fulfil our obligations to operate a venue for the public benefit to further our charitable objects.
Simon Thompson Treasurer
1 Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015)
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