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2025-03-31-accounts

Trustees' Annual Report for the period

Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod
From Period start date To Period end date
1st April 2024 **31st ** March 2025

Section A Reference and administration details

Charity name

Saffron Walden Community Church

Other names charity is known by formerly Gold Street Chapel

Registered charity number (if any) 1176353

Charity's principal address Saffron Walden Community Church Castle Street Saffron Walden Postcode CB10 1BD

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8		 Trustee name Office (if any) Dates acted if not for
**whole year **		 Name of person (or body) entitled
to appoint trustee (ifany)
BarryJames Land Chair & Secretary
Peter Jonathan Graves
Paul AnthonyJohn Martin
Siobhan Rouse

Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees)

Name Dates acted if not for whole year

Section B Structure, governance and management

Description of the charity’s trusts

Type of governing document

Constitution

How the charity is constituted

Trustee selection methods New trustees are appointed by existing trustees (eg. appointed by, elected by)

Additional governance issues (Optional information)

You may choose to include additional information, where relevant, about:

The trustees delegate the day-to-day running of the church to the pastor and the leadership team, who are primarily responsible for the spiritual wellbeing of the church, and the operation of the various church policies and practices.

The trustees and leadership team are assisted by a Support Team who are appointed by the members of the church. The Support Team are responsible for maintaining the fabric of the building, finance and admin.

One in particular is the Finance Co-ordinator responsible for keeping accurate accounts of all transactions and for preparing the accounts for the end of year Independent Examination and for presentation at the church AGM and quarterly business meetings, which are open to the public. There is regular oversight of accounting records and processes by the trustees.

The church employs three staff members: the pastor, the ministry leader and a church administrator. All three staff members were offered entry into a pension scheme but all three have opted out.

The trustees ensure that the charity is being run satisfactorily by those delegated to do so, including compliance with the Child Protection Policy, Risk Management Policy and Data Protection Policy, all of which are reviewed annually, and that the charity is operating for the public benefit.

It is intended to seek additional trustees from the Leadership Team during 2025.

Section C Objectives and activities

For the public benefit, to advance the Christian faith in Saffron Walden, Summary of the objects of the Essex and such other parts of the UK and the world as the charity charity set out in its trustees may from time to time decide. governing document

Objectives and activities
For the public benefit, to advance the Christian faith in Saffron Walden,
Essex and such other parts of the UK and the world as the charity
trustees may from time to time decide.
Summary of the main
activities undertaken for the
public benefit in relation to
these objects (include within
this section the statutory
declaration that trustees have
had regard to the guidance
issued by the Charity
Commission on public
benefit)		 We act for the public benefit in enabling all people to live out their
Christian faith as part of our church and town communities through:
•
regular worship services
•
teaching related to evangelical Christianity for children and adults
•
a Toddlers Group, and well-being groups, and
•
working with other churches and with Saffron Walden Churches
Together
In particular, we promote and support -
local mission activities:
oAlpha courses, or similar
oVarious styles of Sunday services
oChildren’s and youth activities
oSocial events
oTeaching church members to promote Christianity where the live
and work
oCelebration of Christian festivals
oSupport for Stort Valley Schools Trust
And international mission activities:
oLatin Link
oWycliffe Bible Translators
oTEAR Fund
We strive to advance citizenship and community development through:
•
Pastoral care, primarily to those who attend church but also
extended to those outside the church
•
Support for Stort Valley Schools Trust
•
Part of Saffron Walden Street Pastors
When planning activities for the year, the pastor, leadership team and
trustees have regard to the Commission’s guidance on charities for the
advancement of religion.
All the above activities are open to all sections of the general public.

Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)

You may choose to include further statements, where relevant, about:

As resources and opportunity permit we attempt to help those in need through:

The pastor, the ministry leader and the church administrator have been the only paid employees of the church so much of our activities are provided by volunteers.

Section D Achievements and performance

Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year

Worship • Sunday Morning services and occasional Evening Prayer and Praise services. The Sunday Morning services continued to be made available on line. • From September 2023, a second weekly Sunday Morning Service was held in the Jubilee Gardens Hub in the centre of town providing a more informal service but still under the main church umbrella. • All are welcome to join us in our services in the buildings and on-line. Mid-week meetings • Midweek small groups have continued. Pastoral Care • Pastoral care continues through the small groups and directly by the Leadership Team when appropriate. The wider community benefits from our pastoral care as appropriate through WWW (see below). Pop-In Coffee Morning • This particularly helped those of the wider community who may be lonely or in need of a chat. Payment was by voluntary gift only. However, due to falling numbers and recognition that other opportunities were available in town, this activity ceased in November 2024. Walden Wellbeing Walk-In • This initiative has continued providing counselling for those in the community with emotional and mental health issues, staffed by qualified mental health practitioners and volunteers. This is open to the general public. Mother and Toddler Group • Continues throughout the year.. Market Square Outreach • This initiative continued on Saturday mornings offering to listen and support any with issues who wished to share, particularly offering prayer support. Ecumenical Relationships • The church continues to be an active member of Churches Together in Saffron Walden. We are also members of the Evangelical Alliance. We have also continued to support three overseas missionary societies and to one UK missionary society.

Section D Achievements and performance

Summary of the main
achievements of the charity
during the year (cont.)		 .
Community Pastors
•
Renamed from Street Pastors with which the church continues a
deep involvement. They continued to patrol the streets every
Friday evening between 8pm and 1.30am when licensed
premises were open. They are there to help the evening
community to have an enjoyable, and as far as possible, a safe
experience of the town. They have expanded into help on the
local railway and daytime patrols in town when necessary.
•
This initiative continues to have the support of the Town Council,
the local police and the various licenced premises of the town.
Alpha Courses
•
The church successfully ran a number of Alpha Courses during
the year teaching the basics of Christianity to a range of
interested people.
Church Building
•
The church building has continued to be used for the benefit of
the community providing accommodation as a Polling Station.

Section E Financial review

Brief statement of the
charity’s policy on reserves
Details of any funds materially
in deficit		 The income of the church, largely through voluntary donation and return
on savings and investments, increased substantially from last year, while
the expenditure increased only modestly. The charity finished the year
with a cash balance of £191,825 and an investment portfolio of £103,000.
The church sought to appoint another staff member during the year
without success (but a new staff member is due to start in September
2025) and the balance may be required not only for employment costs
but also some element of housing funding.
The church has a policy of maintaining a balance of £50,000 (or less if
agreed by a church meeting) for the running of the charity.
It was also resolved during the year to pursue investment of church funds
in accordance with an Investment Policy, adopted during the year so as
to offset the loss of value in savings accounts through inflation.

Further financial review details

You may choose to include additional information, where relevant about:

Our income comes from:

Section F Other optional information

Section G Declaration

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s)
Full name(s)
Position
Date		 B. J. Land P.J. Graves
Barry James Land Peter Jonathan Graves
Chair & Secretary Trustee
20 October 2025
20 October 2025
Saffron Walden Community Church Saffron Walden Community Church 1176353
Receipts andpayments accounts CC16a
For the period
from		 4/1/2024 To 3/31/2025

Section A Receipts and payments

Section A Receipts and payments Section A Receipts and payments
A1 Receipts
Donations
125,432
Rental Income
1,260
Gift Aid Tax Reclaims
34,612
Savings A/c Interest
3,810
Govt Grant in lieu of VAT
169
Interest and dividents(Walden Capital)
874
-
-
166,157
Unrestricted
funds
to the nearest £
Sub total(Gross income for AR)		 to the nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Restricted
funds		 to the nearest £
Endowment
funds		 Total funds
to the nearest £
125,432
1,260
34,612
3,810
169
874
-
-
166,157		 Last year
to the nearest £
Donations 125,432 - -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 125,432 128,536
Rental Income 1,260 - 1,260 420
Gift Aid Tax Reclaims 34,612 - 34,612 34,469
Savings A/c Interest 3,810 - 3,810 3,757
Govt Grant in lieu of VAT 169 - 169 243
Interest and dividents(Walden Capital) 874 - 874 -
- - - -
- - - -
Sub total(Gross income for AR) 166,157 - 166,157 167,426
-
Investment sales
26,436
Sub total 26,436
Total receipts 192,593
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).		 -
-
-
-		 -
26,436
26,436
192,593
-
-
-		 -
26,436 -
26,436 -
- - 167,426
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
- - - -
Investment sales 26,436 - - 26,436 -
Sub total 26,436 - - 26,436 -
Total receipts 192,593 - - 192,593 167,426

A3 Payments

Employment 72,701 - -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 72,701 64,396
Worship 3,001 - 3,001 2,686
Youth 1,971 - 1,971 1,097
Community 9 - 9 149
Pastoral 1,514 - 1,514 671
Mission Support 12,538 12,538 22,718
Outreach 454 - 454 548
Social 848 - 848 1,000
Services 15,308 - 15,308 14,721
Subscriptions 2,170 - 2,170 1,650
Professional Fees 720 - 720 775
Refurbishment of building - - - -
Equipmentpurchases 17,371 - 17,371 3,327
Investment Management fees 1,420 - 1,420 1,697
Adjustment - - - 8
Sub total 130,026 - 130,026 115,443
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
Walden Capital Investment - - - - 97,996
Purchase of investment 25,808 - - 25,808
**Sub total ** 25,808 - - 25,808 97,996
Total payments 155,834 - - 155,834 213,439
Net of receipts/(payments) 36,760 - - 36,760 - 46,013
A5 Transfers between funds - - - - -
A6 Cash funds last year end 155,065 - - 155,065 155,065
Cash funds this year end 191,825 - - 191,825 109,052

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Categories
B1 Cash funds
B2 Other monetary assets
B3 Investment assets
B5 Liabilities
B4 Assets retained for the
charity’s own use		 Details
Lloyds Current A/c - SWCC
Petty Cash
Walden Capital
Lloyds Current A/c - VBS
Saffron Building Society Savings A/c
Details
Gift Aid reclamable for 24/25
Details
Walden Capital
Details
Church building in Castle Street
Other Assets
Details
Independent Examiner’s fees
Expenses & refund debit card
Total cash funds
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))		 to nearest £
94,019
-
992
-
96,814
191,825
OK
to nearest £
-
-
2,254
-
Unrestricted
funds
Unrestricted
funds
Fund to which
asset belongs
General Investment
Fund to which
asset belongs
Fund to which
liability relates		 to nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
OK
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
Cost (optional)
-
-
-
-
-
-
Cost (optional)
450,000
51,963
720
166
Restricted
funds
Restricted
funds
Amount due
(optional)		 to nearest £
Endowment
funds
-
-
-
-
-
OK
to nearest £
Endowment
funds
-
-
-
-
-
-
Current value
(optional)
103,000
-
-
-
-
-
-
Current value
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
When due
(optional)
Independent Examiner’s fees 720
Expenses & refund debit card 166

----- Start of picture text -----
-
-
-
Signed by one or two trustees on Date of
behalf of all the trustees Signature Print Name approval
B. J. L an d B. J. Land 10/20/2025
P. J. Graves
10/20/2025
P. J. Graves
----- End of picture text -----

Asset Register

Details
Laptops x 2
Drum Kit(electronic)
Keyboard(Electric)
Sound system
Portable Baptistry
Photocopier
Stagingfor modular system
Cooker
Camera for recordingservices
Projectors x 3
WIFI Hardware
Chairs (160 * £107 each)		 Fund to
which
asset
belongs		 Cost
(optional)
940
2,300
2,000
16,000
1,830
1,400
2,100
1,700
2,700
2,000
1,632
17,161

160

107.2563

CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trusteesl members of Saffron Walden Community Church On aC￿unts for the year ended Charity no (if any) 31 March 2025 1176353 Set out on pages TAR and CC16a 1-2 Respectlve The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in responsbbilities of accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 1.the Acr}. trustees and examiner The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Act and thal an independent examination is needed. 11 is my responsibility to". examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act. to follow the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145151(b) of the Act, and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention. Basis of independent My examination was Garried out in accordance with general Directions given examiner's statement by the Charity Commission. An exafflination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees conceming any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true and faiff view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the slalement below. Independent In connection WFth my examinath'on. no material matters have come to Tny examiner's statement attention which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect.. accounting re(xJrds were not kept in accordance wilh section 130 of the Charities Ad or the accounts do not accord wtth the accoLJnting records. I have no concerns and have come acr033 no olher matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Slgned: Date: 20 October 2025 Name: Peter Wi Relevant professional quallflcationls} or body Chartered Accountant {FCA- Membership no 7139500) Address: Hill House, 27 Meadowford Newport. Saffron Walden Essex CB113QL IER May 2018

Section B Disclosure Only complete rfthe examiner needs lo highlight matters of concern (see CC32. Independent examination of charity accounts.. directions and guidance for examiners). Glve here brief detslls of any items that the exafniner wishes to Isclose. IER May 2018