# **Parish of Great Marsden St John the Evangelist with Nelson St Philip**
Registered Charity Number 1176541
**St John’s Church and St Philip’s Centre**
## **Annual Report 2022**
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**Contents:**
**Vicar’s Report Administrative information Structure, governance and management Objectives and Activities Achievements and Performance Church attendance PCC Review of the year Churchwardens Report Churchyard Report Ministry Reports Children and youth Sticky Fingers Lighthouse Church Army Financial Review**
**Great Marsden St John the Evangelist with Nelson St Philip**
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## **ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL**
## **Vicar’s Report & Vision – moving forward with Jesus**
As I write this PCC is in the middle of a radical rethink of our vision. As I said to them, I have a personal goal at the moment to get fitter so I can fully enjoy upcoming cycling and walking holidays. In order to achieve that I need to put the work in during the week to do exercise. It’s hard to fit that round an extremely full workload but trying I am and determined I am! I need to value doing this enough to actually do it! Vision gives us something to aim for, a goal, a place we want to be, the kind of church we believe that God is calling us to be. If the vision is right and it’s a place we want to get to then we will be motivated to put the work in to achieve it. We will value the things that help us achieve it. I am valuing an hour grabbed on my bike or the chance to go walking on my day off. I am enjoying the journey that is leading to my goal. My prayer is that as we unpack and continue to develop our vision and the values and actions it generates, we will be excited for the journey. For journey we must if we are to get out of our post covid slump and be the church God calls us to be. That will mean seeing changes and not always getting our own way. We are a diverse community travelling together, different ages, outlooks, backgrounds and ethnicities. But we are **all** family. The book of Proverbs says:
_When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. Pr 29:18 NLT_ The old King James version says:
## _Where there is no vision, the people perish._
We need to follow the vision our Lord gives us or we will go nowhere. You will be hearing much more about this in the coming weeks and also about plans to maximise our potential to grow. All this relies on your faithful giving week by week. The fact that we are currently in exile in St Philip’s doesn’t mean we don’t have ongoing costs for St John’s and our ministry. Without your giving we cannot serve our Lord. Thank you to all our church members for all you do to support our ministry and mission in the giving of your time, energy and money.
Here is my review of the years highlights:
## **January**
Having opened St Philip’s Centre in December we recommenced our Lighthouse ministry on a Monday night. This is a nutritious two course hot meal we offer to people who for various reasons find themselves on the margins whether through homelessness, mental health, loneliness, addiction, learning difficulties or other reasons. In late January we launched a short service afterwards which we called Lighthouse Gathering. People came and now we have a regular congregation, including some of our volunteers, of 12-14 people. Our guests are people who would otherwise never come to Christian worship.
Food bank which Andrea runs started to operate inside the building and we started a café alongside it serving homemade soup.
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I attended New Wine Leaders conference in Harrogate. It was the first time I had been to a large gathering of Christians for three years. It was immensely uplifting to worship Jesus with thousands of fellow church leaders and to enjoy fellowship with friends old and new.
The acting Diocesan Secretary (effectively the Managing Director of the Diocese) came to visit St Philip’s Centre to see the work we do. The building costs the Diocese money to run and he said they wanted to see fruit in terms of people engaging with the gospel within 18 months or the Diocese may sell the building. We are still in the dark about what they are thinking.
I was involved in interviewing for a new CAP Debt Coach which we needed as I had persuaded the Burnley CAP Debt Centre to expand into Nelson and Colne and I am on the Management Committee. Katy, the wife of the Rector of St Bart’s was recruited. She has a surgery once a month at St Philip’s Centre. CAP (Christians Against Poverty) is a brilliant Christian charity which deals with people’s debts. Debt is a massive stress for people trapped in it. Every client has a befriender from a local church who literally befriends them as appropriate. That might mean taking them out of a coffee and listening to them and inviting them to church events. Many people become Christians through the love of their local church. Our befrienders are currently Andrea, Christine and Louise. They are already working with clients and we need more from our church to step forward. Could this be YOU?
## **April**
Yvonne our church administrator started ending an extended period of over a year without one through which mainly Andrea covered the essentials in the office aided by Pauline and I. We were mightily relieved! She has been a wonderful gift to us.
We joined with The Mission church one Saturday morning to do an outreach offering candies and Easter service flyers.
We had our first Good Friday service atop Pendle Hill since 2019.
## **June**
We held a big tea party in the church car park for the Queen’s Jubilee.
## **July**
We hosted a meeting of the Pakistan Press Club UK of which Saleem is Vice President. It was attended by Christians and Muslims from the local area and Manchester. In addition to talks, Saleem and Javaid organised Christian worship to be part of it.
We started a youth group with 9 young people which is very exciting.
## **August**
We held our first holiday club since 2019. We took the yellow minibus on a trip to Formby beach. It was a great day.
## **November**
We held a fireworks event with pie and peas.
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Andrea and I went on the Diocesan Conference which was faith filled and joyful, except that I was ill.
We started to explore green replacements for our boilers. These were to be sadly rejected due to the cost.
Our social committee organised a Christmas Fair.
## **December**
Our social committee organised a South Asian Evening which was well attended.
We joined with The Mission church to do an outreach in the town centre singing carols and handing out invitations to our Christmas services. We even went into the Lord Nelson to sing and agreed we must go again!
The week before Christmas we had a massive flood due to burst pipes. Despite that we still had our Christmas services including mulled wine and mince pies served in church.
Throughout the year we had monthly Messy Church services and our Asian services. I served our schools with weekly worship at St John’s and several times a term at St Philip’s. I continued to serve as Vice Chair of St Philip’s Governing Body.
At St Philip’s Centre our Lighthouse Gathering continued most weeks and steadily grew. We fed up to 200 people each month at our Lighthouse meal and Tuesday soup café. We helped people in food poverty through our food bank. We ran a homeless drop in every week with Calico. We hosted a Recovery Café with guitar lessons that all are welcome to join. We reached out to the homeless with love and food. We long to be able to help homeless people more.
I conducted two weddings, a wedding blessing, a memorial service, three baptisms and two funerals and a burial of ashes. The marked lowering in numbers of funerals is a sign of the increasing secularisation of our community. What can we do about that? Ideas welcome.
Thank you to all who made our services and events possible and all those who worked behind the scenes. You know who you are. We can’t do this without you.
God bless you all. With my love as a fellow servant of Jesus,
**Rev Lorelli Hilliard**
**Vicar**
## **Administrative information**
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Parish worship is conducted at St John’s Church Centre situated on Barkerhouse Road in Nelson. The parish is part of the Diocese of Blackburn within the Church of England. The correspondence address is: Church Administrator, St John’s Church Centre, Barkerhouse Road, Nelson, BB9 9EY.
The Parochial Church Council (PCC) is a registered charity number 1176541.
Members who served during 2022 are:
|Members who served|during 2022 are:|||
|---|---|---|---|
|**Name**|**Role**|**Rules of**
**membership**|**end of term**|
|Lorelli Hilliard|Vicar|ex-officio|-|
|LesleyWright|Licensed LayMinister(LLM)|ex-officio|-|
|Christine Price|Deanerysynod|ex-officio|May-23|
|Janet Laycock|Deanerysynod|ex-officio|May-23|
|Pauline Ashworth|Church Warden|ex-officio|May-23|
|Saleem Gill|Church Warden|ex-officio|May-23|
|Victor Sohail|Assistant Priest|ex-officio|left June 22|
|Des Murphy||Elected member|May-22|
|MaryRushton||Elected member|May-22|
|Pam Cork||Elected member|May-22|
|Babu Muzaffar|DeputyWarden|Elected member|May-23|
|Anita Leo||Elected member|May-23|
|AnthonyMay||Elected member|May-24|
|Dilwyn Nicholas||Elected member|May-24|
|Rita White||Elected member|May-24|
|Des Murphy||Elected member|May-25|
|Sheila Spencer||Elected member|May-25|
|Helen Spencer|Treasurer|co-opted|May-23|
|Andrea McLoughlin|Authorised Lay Minister (ALM) &
Evangelist in Training|co-opted|May-23|
## **Structure, governance and management**
The method of appointment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. All Church attendees are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC.
## **Objectives and Activities**
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St John with St Philip PCC has the responsibility of co-operating with the vicar, the Revd Lorelli Hilliard, in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical.
## **Achievements and Performance**
## **Church attendance**
There were 61 people on the electoral roll. 19 people are not resident within the parish boundaries and 42 are resident within the parish.
## **PCC Review of the year**
There were four meetings throughout the year. Key resolutions made were:
That Des and Louise Murphy train as Authorised Lay Ministers (ALM’s) specialising in preaching and pastoral care respectively.
That this PCC to submit a bid to the Parish Vision Fund Financial Assistance Group and the LICF Fund to employ a Social Justice Coordinator for 3 years at St Philip’s Centre.
That we join the Soul Survivor Family of Churches.
That St John’s makes a firm commitment to reduce its carbon footprint and do as much as possible and to act responsibly as far as the climate crisis is concerned.
That we change our bank to Unity Trust which is an ethical bank with online facilities and that the cheque book resides in the office.
## **Churchwardens Report**
First of all, we would like to thank everyone for all that has been done to keep our church going and running well whilst we have been meeting at St Philip’s this year.
St John’s sustained extensive flood damage just prior to Christmas. Thereby commenced a long process with the insurers appointing a loss adjustor.
In November, a _Shove Test_ in the Churchyard was carried out but the results were subsequently not collated due to the flood and other difficulties. Hence, a further test was carried out by the _Friends_ . As we write this is currently being disputed.
The outside security lighting was still needing attention at the end of the year so an available electrician was being sought.
As we look forward to getting back to St John’s on completion of the repairs, let us look at how we can all play our part to reach out and share the Gospel in our Parish.
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## **Churchyard Report**
The Friends continued to maintain the churchyard whilst we are applying for the Council to take it over. We are immensely grateful for their hard work over many years.
## **Ministry Reports**
## **Children and youth**
We have run Messy Church throughout the year with attendance around 40 persons (adults and children). Children’s work has remained during during the service at the back of church due to low numbers.
Pauline set to over many days organising all our crafts resources that we use for children’s work and Messy Church. Thank you Pauline.
Our youth group started in July run by Lorelli and Andrea. We run weekly on a Thursday night. We have lots of fun playing games and include relevant biblical input. We have done various trips including walking up Pendle, a BBQ, trampolining and Laser Quest. We are going on a summer camp in July 2023. If you want to sponsor some of our low income young people to attend we would love to hear from you. Please pray for us.
## **Sticky Fingers**
_Sticky Fingers_ toddler group meets on Wednesday morning for babies, toddlers, pre-schoolers and their carers.
The ethos of our group is to reach out to families with the love of Jesus. Carers can bring their little ones in the certain knowledge that everyone is accepted and valued. We don’t usually have a Bible story or sing overtly Christian songs apart from during Christmas, Easter and other appropriate festivals, but we seek to reach people who would normally run a mile from anything like this with love, acceptance, lots of fun activities and for the adults, a welcoming coffee, a listening ear and if necessary, a shoulder to cry on.
That done, we build up relationships and trust so that we can invite parents and other carers to other church activities so that people can engage with the challenge of exploring faith at their own pace. At _Sticky Fingers_ we get to be involved in a family’s journey of faith, enabling and encouraging both little people and their grownups to experience what it is to know the God who loves them.
_Sticky Fingers_ continues to have busy weeks and less busy weeks. We have parents who have stayed in touch after their little one has left to start nursery and a number of parents who have accepted our invitation to _Messy Church_ .
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After Christmas, we decamped along with the rest of the Church to St Philip’s Church centre and while it has been a pain to get all our equipment out of storage and put it back again each week, (thank you to all those who have helped with this) it has worked and enabled the work to carry on.
Please pray for Christine, Katrina and myself that we will be full of love, compassion and energy so that more families of all shapes and sizes will experience an unconditional welcome, and that each person will have fun playing and learning together, leaving feeling better than when they arrived and that we would be open to the Holy Spirit’s promptings whatever they may be.
It is my hope and prayer that _Sticky Fingers_ will carry on being a vital part of our community. If that is your prayer too, if you feel called to take up playdough-making, coffee-serving, storytelling, or glue spreader cleaning, why not come and join us?
## **Lighthouse**
Lighthouse is still busy, and we have on average thirty people every Monday evening. People of all ages and backgrounds attend. We provide a welcoming space for people to attend and we serve a hot meal, and connect with people who have _Hurts, Habits and Hangups_ . Following provision of a hot meal and fellowship, we hold a short and simple service which is led by either Lorelli or myself. This started with a low number and now we have approximately 13 people attending together with some children. From this service there has been an interest to run a course something like Alpha on another day.
We have a small team of volunteers to help run the event which is made up from people from our Church community, the Inghamite Church, and a foodbank helper. We would welcome more help, and so would encourage those who believe this is something they are called to do, to please speak with Lorelli or myself.
## **Church Army**
2022 has been a busy time. I’ve been backwards and forwards to and from Sheffield in March, May, July, September and November from Friday until the Sunday on residential training, involving worship, fellowship and fun, and of course excellent food. On my return home from the residential training events, I have six weeks to do my assignments. So far, I have had assignments on Mission and Evangelism, Mission and Evangelism in Church history, Introduction to Christian Worship and Creating new communities. These are all important parts of my training. Alongside this, I have the support of a mentor and a reflector who I meet with monthly, and also Lorelli, who I meet with regularly as she overseas my ministry as well, so I am well supported.
In May, I had my Annual Review with the Church Army which involved a meeting on _zoom_ , where I was interviewed by a panel of three people made up of a member of the Church Army board, a member of the Senior Leadership Team and a commissioned Church Army Evangelist. Prior to the meeting, they are sent a report of what I have covered from our learning framework which has reports from my tutor, reflector, mentor and my incumbent. The reason for meeting with them is to check on how my training is going and to check that what I do in my life and ministry meshes with the Vision and Values of the Church Army. The Values are GRACEUP – generous, risk-taking, accountable, collaborative, expectant, unconditional, prayerful. The
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Vision is for everyone everywhere to encounter God’s love and to be empowered to transform their communities through faith shared in word and action.
During this meeting they asked about what I had been doing at St Philip’s centre as well as at St John’s and they are very pleased with what is happening. The meeting is a way to check how I am feeling about my training and my welfare whilst training, and also how I am raising awareness of Church Army and any fundraising. if you want to know more about what Church Army does you can look on www.churcharmy.org or you can ask me. If you would like to support the work of Church Army financially, I can give you the information on how to do that, but please do pray for the work that they do and for the Church Army evangelists, and also for my family and myself.
**Thank You** for your continued support of my training with Church Army.
If you don’t yet financially support Church Army, would you prayerfully consider doing so?
If you would like to know more about what I do in training or ministry, please feel free to ask me. Or, if you want to know more about what Church Army are and do, please visit www.churcharmy.org.uk or ask me.
## **WAYS TO DONATE**
**QUOTE REF:** 2021AMC
**Online:** churcharmy.org/donate
**Internet banking:**
Barclays Bank Sort Code 20-49-81 Account 80255459 Quote Ref: 2021AMC
**By card:** Phone 0300 123 2113 Quote Ref: 2021AMC
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##
|Receiptsand Payments AccountYear Ended 31|Decemb|er 2A22|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||General|Designated||Restricted||This Years|LastYears|
||Notes|Funds|Funds||Funds||Total|Total|
|||€|f||f||f|f|
|Receipts|||||||||
|Voluntary receipts|||||||||
|Gift-aidedregular giving||13,859|||||13,859|13,76e|
|Other||191|||||191|25|
|Loose Collections||s3a2|||||5,302|6,O24|
|Other donationsand legacies||33|||3,647||3,680|2,754|
|StPhilips Centre Donations|||||2,544||2,544|3,036|
|Total voluntary receipts||19,385||C|6,197||25,576|25,605|
|lncometaxrecovered||2,9ss|||||2,955|4,533|
|Grantsreceived|||||||||
|StPhilip's Centre|||||25,500||25,500|881|
|BDBoF-Energygrant||1,,187|||||1,,787|0|
|Generated funds|||||||||
|LadiesFellowship||o|||||8|92|
|Sticky Fingers||132|||||L3Z|53|
|Open Doors|||||||0|0|
|Foodbank|||||54',).||541,|0|
|Lighthouse|||||L36A||1.,360|860|
|Messy Church||||||45|45|0|
|Other fundraising||415|||||66s|0|
|Minibustripreceipts|||||583||s83|0|
|Bank& Trustlnterest||103||209|||312|101|
|Other incoming resources|||||||||
|Propefilncome|||10,20c||||10,200|10,200|
|RentfromChurch Lettings||4,986|||||4,986|5,888|
|Wedding&funeralfees||2,s62|||||2,s62|3,297|
|Vicar'sdiscretionarypayments|||||||0|600|
|Postbox|||||117||117|152|
|TotalReceipts||32.334|10,659||34,337||77,329|52,262|
|Deduct payments|||||||||
|Churchactivities|||||||||
|Parish share||15,000|||||15,000|33,897|
|ChurchCosts|4(a)|8,818|||||8,818|7,269|
|Church repairs & Church garden|4(b)|L,7L8|||||L,7tA|t,789|
|Maintenance ofServices||1,,31,8||982|11|26|3,52s|1,839|
|ChurchAdministration|4(c)|z,a!4|3,364||||5,378|2,752|
|lndependentExaminer'sFee||0|||||0|800|
|Parochial expensesofclergy||2,645|||||2,645|3,272|
|Vicar'sdiscretionarypayments|||||||0|0|
|Wedding&funeralfees|||||||0|2,887|
|Activity &FundRaising Costs4(d)|4{d)|667|||||667|1,210|
|Minibusexpenses||2,254|||162||2,419|47|
|Property||||589|||589|2,512|
|Lighthouse|||||402||402|1,,0t2|
|StPhilip'sCentre/Grants|||||23,102||23,142|4,313|
|Post box|||||620||520|0|
|Total payments||34,438|4,934||25,51L||64,883|63,594|
|Excessof receipts over payments( payments over receipts|||(2,104)|5,725||8,826||L2,446|1L1,,3321|
|CASH&BANKBALANCESheld at1January 2022||6,516|30,562||15,172||52,257|63,752|
|Re-statementofbalances||||||||(15e)|
|CASH&BANKBALANCESheld at31 December 2022||4,412|36,286||23,998||64,697|52,25t|
##
||General|Designated|Restricted|This Years|LastYears|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||Funds|Funds|Funds|Total|Total|
||€|f|€|f|f|
|lnvestmentsheld at cost||||||
|8 DundonnellRoad, Nelson||48,500||48,500|48,500|
|18 HelmsdaleRoad,Nelson||43,000||43,000|43,000|
||(|91,50C|0|91,500|91,500|
||General|Designated|Restricted|This Years|LastYears|
||Funds|Funds|Funds|Total|Total|
||f|f|€.|f|f|
|Cashfunds||||||
|Bankbalances|3,438|15,589|23,998|43,O25|30,730|
|Cashbalances|974|||974|t,o32|
|Deposit accounts||||||
|heldwithBlackburn Diocese||9,7A9||9,789|9,667|
|MarsdenBuilding Societyaccount||10,909||10,909|10,821,|
||4.4!2|36,287|23,998|64,697|52,251,|
|Debtors||||||
|lncometax recoverable|3,626|||?, 626|3,783|
|Prepaid expenses|453|||453|263|
|Fireworkreceipts||||0|742|
||4,O79|I|0|4,O79|4,788|
|Liabilities||||||
|Parish share|874|||874|874|
|Accruals - bills|1,4L8||1.61|1,s83|2,331,|
|HMRC|736|||736||
|Minibusexpenses|||0|0|2,O18|
||3,O27|0|t67|3,194|5,223|
##
##
||Designated|Balance|
|---|---|---|
||otlotlzoz?|3tlLzl2022|
||f|€|
|Mission& Ministry||27,05L|
|lnterestreceived|||
|AdministratorsSaiary|||
|Rentfrom thetwoproperties|||
|Expenditure-18 HelmsdaleRoad||-294|
|ExpenditureBDundonnellRoad||-294|
|Vicarsdiscretionaryfund||3,761,|
|Projector||-982|
|Totals (per Receipts&PaymentsAccount|||
||Balance|||Balance|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|RestrictedFunds|auaLl22|||3ULZl2022|
||E|||€|
|Granttowardsfieldproject||||2,500|
|StPhilips Grants|||27.,242|6,352|
|StPhilips Centre|{1,085)|||558|
|Moneyraisedformissionmlnistry|166|||166|
|Donationstowardsnewboiler|3722|||s,564|
|Donations receivedfor youth worker|2000|||2,000|
|Lighthouse|793|||1,751.|
|Others|566|||566|
|||31246|||
|Minibusfunds|1044|s83|1.62|1.,465|
|Messy Church|381|45||426|
|Caf6 Hope|7||||
|Funeralfees|||185||
|FoodBank|||||
|Scargill|||435||
|Projector|||L226||
|StPhilips Shower|||||
|Dishwasher|||||
|Kitchen|||||
|Pendleside Hospice|||||
|Tearfund|||||
|Totals(perReceipts&Payments Account)|||||
##
##
||General|Funds||
|---|---|---|---|
||This Yearf|Last|Yearf|
|(a)ChurchCosts||||
|Churchgas,waterandelectricity|4,260||3,655|
|Telephone,computerand alarm|583||s8l|
|Windowand church cleaning|1,,948||1,s10|
|lnsurance|948||892|
|Alarm costs|L,079||624|
||8,818||7,269|
|(b) Church repairs&Church garden||||
|Garden /Yard|0||87|
|Church|1,1L8||1,702|
||1",718||1,,189|
|( c)ChurchAdministration||||
|Bankcharges|41"||54|
|Stationeryandofficesuppiies|1,369||772|
|Welfare/hygiene|bu4||229|
||2,O14||1,05s|
|(d)Activityand FundRaising Costs|||
|---|---|---|
|Stickyfingers|39|72|
|Minibusrunning expenses||(30)|
|Children'sactivitycosts& refreshmentsetc.|252|276|
|Caf6 Hope||236|
|MIsc|376|89|
||661|642|
PARISH OF GREAT MARSDEN ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST wrrH NELSON ST.
PHILIP
YEAR ENDED 315t DECEMBER 2022
REPORT OF THE INDEPENDEiYf EXAMtNER TO THE TRUSTEES OF
THE PARISH OF GREAT MARSDEN ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST WITH NELSON ST.
PHILIP
I retK)rt on the accounts of the church for the year ended 31 December 2022, which are set out on
pages I to 4.
Respective responsibilities Df the Parochial Church Council and ExAminer
The Parochial Church Council is responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The Parochial
Church Council ¢on5ider5 that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) ol the
Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and ihat an independenl examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to=
examine Ihe accounts under section 145 of the 201 l Act.
to follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity
Commissioners under section 145(5)(b) of the 201 l Act. and
to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent examiller's report
My examination was carried out in accordance with the generdl Directions given by the Charity
Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a
comparison of the accounls presented with the records. It also includes consideration of any unusual
items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as the Parochial Church
Council concerning such matters. The procedures undet1aken 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'lrue and fair view. and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
Independent examiner's stydtement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
(l ) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material reSpt the requirements-
to keep accounting record5 in Cordance with seclion 130 of the 201 l Ael- and
to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the
accounting requirements of the 201 l Act have not been met- or
(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drnwn in order to enable a proper understsnding
of the accounts to be re
ched.
Steven Wood FCA
Hargreaves Brown and Benson.
Chartered Accountan
l. Bond Street.
Colne, Lancashire BB8 9L
30, October 2023