Amesbury History Centre CIO Registered Charity 1176636 Annual General Meeting 24[th] May 2021, 7.00pm
Annual Report
Introduction
I have prepared without an independent check the financial statements covering the period 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 from the books and records of the Amesbury History Centre CIO (AHC). To the best of my knowledge and belief the financial statements recorded herein reflect a true account of the operating fiscal year 2020/21
Chair’s report
Achievements and challenges.
The past eighteen months since Melor Hall was closed up and pulled down have brought many challenges to us as an organisation. Although we were aware that it was on the cards, we were only given a few days’ notice to pack up the exhibits and artefacts and arrange to put everything in dry, secure storage. We were able to arrange with both the community shop in Flower Lane and Amesbury Library to install some of the display cases in their public areas, allowing us to maintain a link with visitors and local people.
The trustees had a guided tour of the new Wessex Gallery at Salisbury Museum and came away with many ideas that we could put into practice in the new building. We aim to tell a similar story of our town and the surrounding area and show, like the Wessex Gallery does for Salisbury, how Amesbury has an unique place in the region’s history. This visit made us realise that we will need to open up the heritage of the area to a wide range of visitors.
Four of the trustees attended a seminar in Trowbridge, where we met and talked with fundholders such as the National Lottery and the Wiltshire and Swindon Community Foundation and were able to get answers to any questions about fundraising that we had. Each person that we had a conversation with was positive and encouraging about our future applications.
We remain partners with VisitWiltshire, an organisation that will help us with marketing our facilities and publicity of our events in the future and is providing information on new schemes to make visitors that are on their way to Devon and Cornwall aware that there are places of interest that they could visit on their way to the West Country.
When lockdown and closures were announced, the Charities Commission issued a statement concerning the postponement of AGMs and gave advice about holding online trustee meetings. We have done our best to follow this advice and have met regularly over the past 15 months
because although we do not have a physical building to manage, there are a lot of decisions to be taken and preparations made in anticipation of opening up once more.
Our biggest challenge still exists, however, and that is the absence of a lease for the new building. We have met every condition set by the Town Council; we have had online discussions about the terms of the lease; and there has been much correspondence with the Town Clerk. We produced a Business Plan and Financial Statement when requested and gave a presentation to the Full Council, which went down very well as we were able to fully answer all their questions. In February, I was informed, by the Town Clerk, that the terms agreed between us and the council had been forwarded to the council’s solicitors and they would prepare a lease and send it to us and to our solicitor, but this has not happened. I have chased the Town Clerk on many occasions about the lack of progress but have had no satisfactory reply about why there is still a delay.
This absence of a lease is hampering our ability to fundraise from national and local fundholders, it is stopping our ability to apply to the Arts Council for Accreditation, which would enhance our reputation as an independent, community museum. Even the Wiltshire Council Museum Advisor, whose role is to support the trustees, has been unable to get any answer about this challenging situation.
Vision and mission.
It has been thrilling to watch the new building coming alive. There are time-lapse videos and photographs on our website and on social media following the build process from pouring the foundations to lifting the huge roof panels by crane.
In order to progress both the internal and external work required, five Action Groups have been created. There is a group looking at the displays, galleries, and events; another at fundraising and marketing. One looking at site management; another at the development of a shop and café; and a fifth at creating a team of volunteers. Individual teams will be working on these five areas and regularly reporting back to the Board of Trustees.
Once these groups have fulfilled their briefs, we will end up with a modern, environmentally sustainable museum that tells the story of the 10,000 years of Amesbury history in a building designed for the 21[st] century but one that sits well in its rural location. Our intention is to have a soft opening as soon as the build is complete and the lease signed – with a hand-over ceremony involving the Mayor, the builders, and the Trustees. Then, when the day-to-day business is running smoothly, we will have a public opening with a well-known celebrity and a ribbon-cutting/tree-planting ceremony.
We aim to become a more resilient organisation by using business-like approaches to everyday situations and by exploring new ways of working in order to develop new audiences. We want to improve the quality of experience for children and young people by increasing the reach of what we offer and thereby increasing levels of participation. We are putting together a
programme of community-related activities that will reveal how societal changes impacted the lives of ordinary people.
I would like to thank the trustees for their work, which has been very much behind the scenes this year, and with the continued support of the members and the local community, I believe that the future looks very bright for the Amesbury History Centre.
Treasurer’s Report
This year has been unlike any other, as we have not had access to a building and with the onset of the coronavirus, we have spent most of our time planning for the future without a huge amount going on in the accounts.
Income
We have been lucky enough to receive some donations through the year from individuals and most notably from the previous Mayor’s fundraising of £4100.00. We were also able to secure a grant from the area board of £10,451.93 which is to go towards IT equipment for the newly built museum. We also restarted our membership scheme, which has brought in £2,510.00. Total income for the year therefore was £17,166.93
Expenses
There haven’t been many expenses, £333.40 spent on the website and membership leaflets, £1,005.00 spent on solicitors’ fees with regards to the lease, £148.00 on postage of the membership leaflets, £1680.00 in storage fees, £13.36 in Stripe fees and £85.00 on professional memberships.
Balance Sheet
We end the year with a surplus for the year of £13,902.17, £30,890.96 in the bank, £964.81 in inventory and £960.00 due in storage fees so our closing balance sheet figure is £30,895.77.
Conclusion
Despite the extreme and unprecedented circumstances of the past year, we haven’t stopped planning and are in a great place to get working on the new building once the lease has been agreed and we are ready for the year ahead. We have adequate finances to get the lease finalised and to spend on assets and equipment to get the museum up and running in the first instance. The year ahead may be hard to predict and the first year of running the museum will no doubt bring more expenses than income, but we will be working hard to maintain stability within the accounts as we move forward so that we can effectively run the Amesbury History Centre for the benefit of the community.
Sarah Heath – Treasurer 24.05.2021
Annual Accounts
Amesbury History Centre
For the year ended 31 March 2021
Turnover
Donations £4,205.00 Grant Income £10,451.93 Membership £2,510.00 Total Turnover £17,166.93 Administrative Costs Advertising & Marketing £333.40 Legal Expenses £1,005.00 Postage, Freight & Courier £148.00 Storage £1,680.00 Stripe Fees £13.36 Subscriptions £85.00 Total Administrative Costs £3,264.76 Total Surplus for the year £13,902.17
Balance Sheet
Current Assets Current Account £25,895.96 Deposit Account £4,995.00 Inventory £964.81 Total Current Assets £31,855.77 Current Liabilities Accruals £960.00 Total Current Liabilities £960.00 Total Assets less Liabilities £30,895.77 Current Year Earnings £13,902.17 Retained Earnings £16,993.60 Total Capital & Reserves £30,895.77