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 T￿￿tee5 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 trL￿ee5 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 pa￿lI0n> 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 En￿lSh 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 COnsti￿tiOn.. 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
unincc*rporated Hamisworth Memorlal Trust.
The rewew, which Included detailed exchanges of Snformation with the Charity Commission, was o￿oIng 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 en￿rOnMental COn￿M5. 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 COnd￿Cl 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 appliCa￿E 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 IrregUla￿lIeS. 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.
ReSpO￿lbIlItieS 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 ex*mlner's gts¢¢ment
I have compleied my ¢xaminaiion. l ¢onfim tha¢ no m?¢riol mlliier% have come io my ai*ntion 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 C￿￿17¢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 Co￿ern5 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 EXpE￿DITL,RE IlCCOUNT)
Total
2022
Rvbtricted
2023
Noles
Incomlng Resourees
Incomc from chan￿ble 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 G￿1n￿(Lo¥￿tSI on ItLve51meni%
1116921
186921
9D109
N¢t MovemEnl In b"und5
1481Y41
{48184)
28978
Roinnclli8¢inn offund¥:
TO1￿11 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 aSs￿S
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 Sta*menLS

BENENDEN VILLAGE TRUST
NOTES TO THE FINAYCIAL.STA TEMEP*TS
FOR THE YFAR Ff*DED 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 Rcroynn￿ndtd 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 j4￿￿ory 2015)- Ichiiritics SORP IFRS 10211. the Finunciiil
RerK>riin8 Siand*rd 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¢cugnj￿d 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 rc￿1vCd.
Investment Incon￿, rtht#l and hlre chllrges
IrKomc from Inve%in￿l)I. r¢nial #nd hire cha￿5 is includcd in Siale￿I 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 Sth*n*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 pu￿5¢ UViLiliLbl¢
general funds. arc rcsirieied whcr¢ th¢ 4LnN)uni.s rcccivcd have a s￿lfIed Pur￿￿¢.
Invvltment incvn
Tolal
2022
ChJriii¢s invLsin*ni fund
Inieresi on deposiis
20
23
24
Ch¥rlt#hle Actlvltl
Resiri¢*d
To￿1
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¢stric*d
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
Equipn*m
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 2￿25
8550
I4(K￿l
186931
¥(K¥397
784981
12(KXX)I
901Q9
855090
The Chariiy's invesimcnis consisi ofaccumulaiion units in Chariiies orrici41
Inveytmeni F￿nd.
CrL,dltur5: An￿￿￿¢S f#lSln8 due wlihln one yeur
2023
2U22
Accr￿11￿ and deferred incomE
1440
I l(J8
Fund5
2023
2022
Re.sifiLied
Inh¢riicJ A4SCES FuTrJ
827208
875392
875392
875392
12