Benenden Village Trust BENENDEN VILLAGE TRUST Report and Financial Statements 5t Year ended: 31 March 2023 Charity No: 1176351
BENENDEN VILLAGE TrUST Report of the Tru5tee5 for the year ended 31" March 2023 The Trustees present thelr annual report and financial statements of the Charity for the year ended 31. March 2023. The financial statsments have been prepared in accordan with the accounting policies set out in Note I to the accounts and comply with the Charitvs Constitution. Oblertlves and actlvltiesforthe publlc beneflt The purposes of the Trust art.. l. To further or benefit thè residents of the parish of 8enenden in the county of Kent and the nei8hbourhood, without distinction ol sex, sexual orientation. race or of political, lIgiOUS or other opinions by assooating together the said residents and the locAI authorities, voluntary and other or8anisatlons in a common effort to advan education and to provide facilities in the interests of soclal welfare lor recreation and leisure time occupation with the objective of improving the conditions of life lor the residents. In furtherance ol these obje¢t5 but not otherwise. the Tiustèès shall have power to establish or Secu the establishment of community centres and io malntain or manage or co-operate with any statutory authority in the maintenance and management of suth centres for activities promoted by the charity in furtherance of the above objects. 2. To promote for the beneflt of the inhabitants of Benenden in the couThty ol Kent and the surrounding area the provision of facilities lor recreation or other leisure time occupation gf indiwdua15 who have need of such facilities by reason of their youth, age, Infirmity or disablement, financial hardship or ststial and economic clrcumstances or for the public at large in the interests of social welfafe and with the object of Improving the condition of life ol the said inhabitants. Benenden Vlllalè Tru5t- Or8anlsatlon arKI Go¥em•nc• The Benenden Village Trust was re8lStered with the Charity Commission on 18" De£ernber 2017 as a Chalitsble Incorporated Or8anisation and with the Regrstered No. 1176351. Officè.. Benenden Vllla6e Hall, The Street. 8enenden, TN17 4DE Independent Examlner of Accounts .' Manningtons Chartered Acwuntsnts, 39 High Street, Battle. East Su55ex TN33 OEE 8ankers.' Barclay5 &nk plc, Longer Housè. High Street. Rye TN317JL Manager of the Trust: Caroline Levett The Trustee5 during the year were '. Kent Barkèr.. Simon Brown.. Athena Cflpps.. Tom Dawlin8s- Martin Dickson,. Julie Lewis; sally Ann Marks.. Chris Parkinson- IbthaTd Stubb¥ng5.' Paul Tolhur5t. Under the Trust's Constitution, one thi¥d of the Ttee5 are required to stand down at each AGM and. if nominated, can stand for eCtIOn. The AGM is to be held on 31, July 2023. Athena Cripps, Martin Di¢ksoTr and Julie Lewis will step down as Trustees but are prepared to stand again for re-election.
The board of trLee5 saw several changes durin8 the year: Martin Dickson was elected chairman by fellow Iiustees in July in succe5510n to Jonathan Stron& who resigned in June as chairman and a trustee for personal reasons. Tom Dawling5 was elected deputy chairrnan. 5uccee(lin8 Kent 8arker. who. while remainin8 a trustee, did not stavd for re-election to the p05t. Two new trtsstees were co-opted durin8 the vèar.. Chrls Parkinson and Paul Tolhurst. Trustee Rèsponslbllltles The a8reed working groups developed and evolved, and the workload spread amon8StTrustees to apply their respecti¥e skills approprlately. ffj FInan, Governance and Compliance: Martin Dickson Ileadl.. Salty Ann Mark5,. Athena Cripps OJ Health. Safety. Security and Risk Management.. Athena Cripps ro Human Resources.. Julie Lewis Ileadl. Torn Oawlings; Sally Ann Mark5 OJ Membership and En8a8ement.. Martin Dickson QI Parish ènd 8orou8h Council LialS-TOM Dawlin8s,. Julie Lewi5 DJ Playgrounds.. Caroline Levett tu Property.. Kent 8arker Ileadl., Simn Brown- Rlchard Stubbings,. Chrls Parklnsory Paul Tolhur51 The Trusvs A5set5 By a Ve5tin8 Declaration. The Trustees of the Hafmsworth Memorial Trust transferred all the assets of that Trust to 8enenden Village Trust on 151 April 2018. These assets are... Investments In rhe COIF Charities Inve5tmtnt Fund mana8ed by the CCLA Managers Ltd. Cash held in various bank aicounts. Freehold Title to the fdlowlng propertles.. 8enenden Vllla8• Hall and Recreat5oD Ground.. part of the land Is leased to the Bowls Club St George's Hall, Benènden- parts leased to the Pre-school. the Social Club and a residential tenant Iden Green Pavlllon (leased to the Trystee5 01 the palI0n> and Recreatlon Ground including land leased to the Iden Green Tennis Club Land at Wood¢o¢k Lane, Iden Green. part of whith Is leased to the EnlSh Rural Housin8 Associatlon and the remainder let under a grazing licence The propèrties, beln8 permanent endowmert assets, are held by the Charilablè Intorporated Organlsatlon as trustee on the trusts which applied to the Harmsworth Memorial Trust belore 1st April 2018. Those tru5t5 are sei out in Schemes made by the Secreiary of State for Education and Science on 17th August 1967 and by the Charity Comrnis5ion on 30th September 1976. Those Schemes. rrfjt the purposes of the Trust referred to above, apply to the perrnanent endowment assets. The propertie5 were acquired in the 1920's ori the basls that they must always be used for particular purpjses. as set out in the ori8inal Ctsnveyances. That makes them permanent endowmeni. Rlsk m•nagement Any risk strategy comprises an ongoing review of the risks any or8anisation like the Trust rTtay lace,. the establishment of systems and procedure5 to mitigate the identilied risks; and the implementation of procedures designed to minimise any potential impact on the Charity should those risks materialise. The Trust had identified the process to be used to create a risk management plan and each ol the Working Groups has carried out a review of its plan.
Investment Revlew arxl PerformarKe The Snvestments inherited from the Harmsworth Memorial Trust are in the COIF Accymulated Investment Fund, managed by CCLA Investment Managers Ltd. The value of the investments at 31" Marth 2023 was £6.398¢£85S.¢l at 31" March 20221. A total of £40.LXIO worth of unlts was reali5ed during the course of the year. Re¥lew of Actlvitles durlnB the past year Four Sssues dominated the work ol the Trust in 2022-23.. a review of tts Human Resources poliry and stsffin8,' a review of Sts COnstitiOn.. the maintenance of it5 properties: and an evaluation of its finantlal performance. HR Review The in-deprh HR revi wa5 prompted by ihe resignation of Karen Saunders, the caretaker ol Benenden Vllla8e Hall, in the summer of 2022 and intirnotions from Holly Clayson. the Hall M3na8er, that in due course she too would wlsh to move on. The re¥Mew was tondurted over several months by the HR Working Group. under the Seadershlp of Juliè Lewis. It included a comparison of the running of Benènden Village Hall with other local halls and camè to the contlu5ion that many OF the functions of the Hall Manager and Caretaker could be combined in a sin8le role. Accordin8ly, the Trust advertised for a new mèna8er combining both skills and. after the year-end, was delighted to ann¢unce the appolntment of John Betts to the new post. The Trust would like to reiterate its thanks to Karen and Holly for their work forthe tyust over the years, and to Chris Heath, who stepped to help the Trust as temporary taretaker over the winter months. Constitutional Revlew The ri8orous con5titution?I reylew, undertaken by Simon 8rown. addressed three main issues.. whether the constitutlon remained lit for purposes and pratticable,. the nature and extent ol the Trusys charitable purpose,. arxl the correct Status of property èr)d other assets held by the Trust under the constitution which established it as a Charitable Incorporated Orgarlisation ICIOI, separate from its predecessor. the uninccrporated Hamisworth Memorlal Trust. The rewew, which Included detailed exchanges of Snformation with the Charity Commission, was ooIng at the year-end. However, an early recommendation was that the trust make two minor tidyin8 IJP amendrnents to the constitution to facilitate the smoother runnin8 of the or8anlsation. These will be put to mèmbers for a vote at rhe trusvs Annual General Meeting in Juw. Pfopertv Trustees tackled several significant property issues durlng the year. An inspection of St George's Hall revealed damp in one part of the buildin& thought to have been caused by leaks in the roof. At year-end. building contrartors We bang soughi to conduct repai both to the roof and to some faulty windows. Attention was also paid to 8enenden Willage Hall'5 old and inefftcient heating system, which will need replacing before long. The trust contrarted a heating expert to ad¥ise on pJssible replacements, bearln8 in
mind changing running and fuel costs and enrOnMental COnM5. The reFx)rt identified a number of possibilities and al year-end a lollow-up meeting with the tonsultant was b*ng sought. Future Projerts It Is now five years since the creation of the Trust and there have beert considerable change5 in the make-up of the board. In light of this, and the ongoing constitutional rewew, trustees believe the time 15 ripe for an In- depth re-examination of BVTS overall strategy and purpose. Tru5tee5 will COndCl thls In the autumn. A signifitant thread in the discussion will be concern about the trusV5 finances. which are covered more fully in the settlon below. Financial rwl•w Durin8 the year the Trust had to draw deeply- £40,OCO- on its financlal reserves invested in the COIF Charities Investment Fund to offset an imbalance between its income and expenditure. This followed a further £20,000 drawdown in ttte 2021-22 financial year. The Trust's predecessor, the Harmsworth Mernorial Trust, also drew on its COIF investments to support its operations. but the stale required over the past two years is of concern to Trusiees. ContrSbutory factors appear io have included the following.. Hl8her slaff c05t5. Over the past 10 years the Trust and Its pre(leces50r have relied Increasingly on pald Staff or outside contractors, rather than ¥olunteers, to operate and malntain Benenden Village Hall and its other assets. The maintenance and capital Investment demand5 Of thè Trusys agein8 property portlollo and the low rental returns achieved on some of those assets. The slow return to nornial sodal life following the Cowid pandernic. Many of the pressure$155ted above are expected to persist. or intensify, In comlw year5. Unlike many vlllage ha115. which are run by parishltown countils, and lar8ely stsffed by voluntèèrs, Benenden rece5ves no support through the council Pfecept and, apart from occasional grants and donatlons, Is entire dependent on its gwn resources to sustain opwation5. Thanks to past benefactor5 and reasonable investment returns. the Trust's COIF investment reserves remain healthy, ai £806,398 at year-end. 8ui the robustness of those reserves is linked to the health of the wider economy, and, in any event, the Trusi needs to ensure a reasonable balance between income and expenditure so that it can continuè to provide leisure farrilitits in the parish of Benenden Igr generations to tome. An examination of finan£es. and how to Improve them overthe lon8 run, will form part of this autumn's review of 5trate8y and purpose. Reserves Policy The current policy ol the Trustees is to maintain cash reserves within the Charit(s bank accounts to meet contin8encles equating to three month5. of the Charitvs average annual operating expenditure and allowing for known capltal expenditure. Cash reserves at the year-end arnounted to £20,383 18,9221£18.922- 20221. There wa5 an operatln6 loss of £39,492 in the year.
The sale of £40,000 of irwestments was used to Supplement the Trusys income. Trustees. respon$lWlltle5 In relation to the 14n(la1 statements The Charitvs Trustees are responsible for preparing a Trustees, annual report and financial statemènts in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accouratin8 Standards Iunited Kingdorn Generally Accepted Accountlng Practice). The law appliCaE to charities in Engkind and Wales requires charity trustees to prepare financial statements for each year which give a true and fair of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period. In preparin8 the financial statements, the Trustees a required to.. select suitable accountin8 policies and then apply them coftslstentlv. observe the method5 and principles in the applicable Ch3ritie5 SORP,. make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent.. state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures that must be disclosed and explained in the financial 5tatements.' prepare the financial statements on the 80in8 concern basls unless it 15 inappropriate to presumè that the charity will coniinue in business. The Trustees are responsible for keeplng proper accountlng récords that dlsclose with reasonable acwracv at any time the financial position of the charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial staternents tt*rnply with the Charities Act 2011, the applicable Charitles IAccounts and Repgrt51 Re8ulatlons, and thè provlsions of the Constitution. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity artd takin8 reasonable steps for the preventlgn and detection of fraud and other IrregUlalIeS. The Trustees are responsiblè for the maintenance and integrity of the chafity and financial information included on the charitws website in accordance wlth leg¢slation in the United Kingdom governin8 the preparation and d5ssemination oi finan¢tal statements. Approved by the Trustees on...... Z&27 . and signed on thelr behalf bv.. Martin Dickson (Chairman olTrusteesl
BENENDEN VILLAGE TRUST INDEPENDENT F.XAMINER'S RF.PORT TO THF. TRUSTEKS OF BENEYDEN VILLAGE TRUST I report io the Inisree4 on my examinAlion of the acwJtLlS of ihc Benenden Village Trust (the Trust) f()r the yeut ended 31 %t March 2023. ReSpOlbIlItieS and b&sis of Teport A.4 Ihe Lharily ITus1¢¢& vf Ihc Trusi you arc rcsw)nSkbl¢ Ihc prnparaiion of Ihc in Jrrordanee wilh the rcquircnKn15 of Ihc Ch¢11)eS Aa 2011 I'ihc Aci.). l TCPOrt in rc&p¢¢l of my examinaiion of Ihe Trus1'S a¢rounts carried oui uThJcr 5CCtion 145 of th¢ 2011 Aci iin(l in Carrying oui my exarnination I have followcd all ihe applicable Di]tClion$ giv¢n by the Charity C()tnmi.s%ion ut)d¢r SCLiion 14515llbl of ihc Acl. Independent exmlner's gts¢¢ment I have compleied my ¢xaminaiion. l ¢onfim tha¢ no m?¢riol mlliier% have come io my aintion in conneciion wiih Ihe ¢xdminuiion 8iving 10 lIeVe Ihai in 4Lny m&icTial th¢.. l. Kcouniing rcc(Ir(l% w¢re noi kw in res of rhc Trusi #% r¢quired by [lon 130 of Ihc Acl: or 2. thc a¢¢ounis do noi accord with Iho¥c T¢coYds'. or i. Ihe aLcounis do not LYmply wilh th¢ Jpplicablc rcquircrrtnt¥ conceming ih¢ forni and cvTrlcnl of acLC)uni% set oui in Ihc C17¢5 IA¢¢ounis Rerrfin%l Rc¥ulaiic?ns 2(M)8 other Ihaii any r¢quir¢meni thai Ihc accwnl5 8ivc a 'iru¢ aml fair vicw which 15 mallCT Lon%id¢rcd as part of an indcpcndcni examinaiion. I hiive no Coern5 and h&ve coN* no vther mailers tn conneciion wilh Ihe exiinunaiiun io whi¢h Iieniion %hould bc drawn in this repon in order io enable a proper undersianding of Ihe llecoun15 10 be r¢a¢hed. R wal.sh fccA MdnninBlon5. Chartered A¢¢ounionts 39 High Sireei Battle, Ea5L Su5¥ex TN33 OEE Date.. 31.07.2023
BENENDEN VILLAGE TRUST .STATEMEP4T OF FIYAf*CIAL ACTIVITIES (INCORPORATING INCO.ME AI'D EXpEDITL,RE IlCCOUNT) Total 2022 Rvbtricted 2023 Noles Incomlng Resourees Incomc from chanble Aciiviiies R¢nt41 Inco Hall incurne IncortK fr(>m G¢n¢rawl Funds Inve.ilment locon Grants. donations. le8acies a¢)d similar incow Tol#l Incomlng Re5uurce5 18567 387.19 38719 425 57754 5760 6U?24 57754 Resource5 F.xpended 93806 95806 144 97246 120395 96() 121.ISS Giivernance Ci).%l Totgl Re%our¢¢s Eyp¢nded 97246 Net IncomtllF.xpendlturel Before InvestnKn¢ 1194921 1394921 Nei G1n(Lo¥tSI on ItLve51meni% 1116921 186921 9D109 N¢t MovemEnl In b"und5 1481Y41 {48184) 28978 Roinnclli8¢inn offund¥: TO111 Fund% Broughi Fc)rwJrd Ttst41 Carrled Forw8rd 875392 8?7?OR 87.S.192 82721)X 840414 A7$192 The note$ on Pages 10 10 13 form part ofthe5e Fjnancial Sthtenrn.
BENENDEN VILLAGE TRUST BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31ST MARCH 2023 2011 2022 Notes FiK¥d Ass¢tS Tdnbiible aSsS Invcstmcni 1867 806398 808265 2489 8551YJU 857579 Curreni A%%¢t Debtor% und prcpJytrKnL% Bllrclay.% bunk ii¢couni¥ Elarclay% dep(Ksii u¢¢ouni Cush in hand 17198 15805 18921 CredilOTS: amunts falling du¢ wiihin onc ycar 1440 1108 Nei Currcni a55Cts 17813 Nei A¥&¢ts Y27208 875392 Resiri¢i¢d fund5 827208 873392 Toial Charity FurwJ5 827208 875392 Thc flnancilll staicmenis wcre approved by th¢ Board of Trus¢$ on Ind.%istned on lis bchulf bi . Tru¢¢ Dale.. 31/7/ Z£)z S The note$ on Pa8e% 8 to I I form part of ihe Finon¢ial StamenLS
BENENDEN VILLAGE TRUST NOTES TO THE FINAYCIAL.STA TEMEPTS FOR THE YFAR FfDED 31ST MARCH 202J Accounting Pollcl BASIS of prepar411thn of accounts The financial siaiements have been pi¢pared in ¥¢ordan¢e with Accouniing an(1 Re]h)rting by Chariiie%.' Siaitmeni of Rcroynnndtd Praaice applieable to chariiie% preparing their accounr Én uccordance with Ihc Finan¢ial R¢nIng Siandard applirablc in the UK and Republic (Trr Ircland IFRS 1021 leffeciive l j4ory 2015)- Ichiiritics SORP IFRS 10211. the Finunciiil RerK>riin8 Siandrd applicable in ihc UK and Republic of Ireland IFRS IU21 and Ihe Charities Art2011. Bencndcn Villag¢ Twsi meets Ihc definiiion ora public bcncfil enliiy under FRS 102. A55CIS nd liabiliiiL¥ aT¢ iniiilllly T¢cugnjd ai hiyiorical ¢osi or Irw15a¢tion v)Ju¢ unl¥&& (>ih¢rwis¢ stated it) Ihe relevani ac¢ourtting lleY nu. 1.2 Gr4nts recelvable, donatlons and 51mll8r Incornlng re50urtts Gran14, donaiinns and simil8r incomin8 r¢sour¢es iniltHled irt the year rc1vCd. Investment Incon, rtht#l and hlre chllrges IrKomc from Inve%inl)I. r¢nial #nd hire cha5 is includcd in SialeI of Financial A¢tiviiiey in ihe yeor in which it Li receivibk. Resource% L'xpend¢d Re40ur¢e% expended are included on an accruals basis and include Value Add¢d Tax which cannoi bL reLovered. T8n8lhle nxed &&eL$ for uq¢ by the cknrliy and deprttialion Tansiblc lixcd J%%ct% fL)T U.c by lh¢ iliariiy Jr¢ Lv%I les5 dcpreciation. Depreciation is pn)viiled at raics caiculaicd io wriLc olfil com or valuaiion of fixed assei le%% their tslimated re.%iduai value. over th¢ir eKrt¢wl w4eful lives on the following bahe%: Fitting5 equiprnent 25% WTirtcn down value. Flxed A55et Investments Fixed asset in¥e%tmenis llre irteluded SLt clo¥ing mid-JTwkei value at the IMlance hh¢er datc. Realised gains 2nd losses on inves(mtrti$ a]r ¢aleulai¢lt as tb¢ diff¢rItt bciwccn sale procccds and Ihcir inarkei value at of y¢aroi thcii sybscquent COST, and aTe hargcd or Crediied io Ihe Sthn*ni of FinaE)cial Aciivities in the perithl of disposal.
BENENDEN VILLAGE TRUST No'rEs TO THE FINANCIAI. STATF.MF.NIS {CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR EWDED 31ST MARCH 2023 CJovern8nce casts Expcndiiurc on gnvernance o)SLS of ihc chaTiiy includes all ex¢[Ure not direcily related 10 ihe charithble aclivi¢y or lundraising velliures. Funds Unresrricied fuod% are donatio$ and her incoming r¢wurces receivahlc or genernted for IhL obji¢t& ol thc churiiy withoui further srxrificd pu5¢ UViLiliLbl¢ general funds. arc rcsirieied whcr¢ th¢ 4LnN)uni.s rcccivcd have a slfIed Pur¢. Invvltment incvn Tolal 2022 ChJriii¢s invLsinni fund Inieresi on deposiis 20 23 24 Ch¥rlt#hle Actlvltl Resiri¢d To1 2022 Running COSI$ Si. Gei)rges l(Jin GrL'en Villugc Hull cApcn Playground.5 ReLreaiion gTUUJ 22614 3652 22614 365 19Y)3 54933 1256 8827 32 622 971 1611.34 2443 46tA? 37921 2080 1527 829 12019.5 54933 1250 8827 321M) 622 Deprecialio The Charily had on averJge 3 employees l?022- 41. InLluded above ioial salarie5 of £311.842 artd pension coniribuuon5 of £1,803. 10
BENENDEf4 VILLAGE TRUST NOTES TO THF. FINANCIAL s'fATE.MENI'S ICONTINUEDI FOR THE YEAR EYDF.D 31ST MARCH 2023 Governance costs R¢stricd Tothl 2022 IrKkpendeni ex4Lmtners fee 1440 Trusiees aTe noi remuntrai¢d and no expenses were paid io them ith the pcriod. Ix¢d 4ssets Frc¢hold ProFnkes Finin&% and Equipnm Coil or Wriii¢n Down Yalue At 151 April 2022 Addiiions Ai 3151 MarLh 2023 7864 DepreciJiio Ai l¥¢ April 2022 5375 5375 Charge for ihe year 622 622 Al 31%1 March 2023 5997 5997 Nel Iwk value% Ai 31.%1 March 2023 1867 1807 Ai 31.41 March 2022 489 2489 Thc Truuees have deeid¢d not to havc itx orrtn markel vaiv (>fth¢ prow¢i4s %%e55ed and Ihui. a5 there wtts M) ¢on%id¢raiioo) poid for them. Iky are at Dil rosVvalu¢.
BENENDEN VILLAGE TRUST NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL s"fA TEMF.h'15 ICONTINUED) FOR THF. YFAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2023 Fixed Awl Invfstmtrtts 2023 2022 Valu4iiivn ai 31 MJr¢h 2022 Withdrdwa] RevJlu4ltivD Nei book vdlue ui 31 M4Lrch 225 8550 I4(Kl 186931 ¥(K¥397 784981 12(KXX)I 901Q9 855090 The Chariiy's invesimcnis consisi ofaccumulaiion units in Chariiies orrici41 Inveytmeni Fnd. CrL,dltur5: An¢S f#lSln8 due wlihln one yeur 2023 2U22 Accr11 and deferred incomE 1440 I l(J8 Fund5 2023 2022 Re.sifiLied Inh¢riicJ A4SCES FuTrJ 827208 875392 875392 875392 12