2024-03-31-accounts

Denholme Community Centre : Annual Review 2023-24

Overview of the Year

groups and ac4vi4es con4nue and thrive for the most part, but we have been able to add several new opportuni4es. With the closure of other social facili4es such as the Conserva4ve Club and a local pub, the availability of community mee4ng and leisure space at the heart of our community is even more vital.

The centre was fully up and running following the Covid outbreak by March 2023, which is when we introduced the first of our regular weekend events, a Farmers’ Market.

The community centre con4nues to provide accommoda4on for a community-run library offering a valued service to families in our village. We also have a thriving Book Club mee4ng monthly, and a writers’ group mee4ng weekly. Each year the writers’ group publishes collec4ons of poetry and prose which are for sale on Amazon.

we simply could not sustain a full-4me post a.er the LoNery funding ended, but the role is now fulfilled by a local volunteer/trustee, and the centre has thrived under this ‘new management’.

There have been come changes at trustee level. Two long-standing trustees were forced to step down for health reasons and we were sorry to lose their experience and exper4se, though we wish them well in their re4rement. We were able to recruit three new trustees who bring new perspec4ves and energy to the centre, as well as invaluable exper4se in fundraising and event management. Under their guidance, we have massively extended our events programme, star4ng with the fundamental basics such as achieving a five-star food hygiene ra4ng enabling us to offer food and drinks to support our ac4vi4es. We have become licenced for alcohol, making our social events even more popular. We have also appointed a qualified accountant to act as financial adviser to lead our budge4ng and financial planning. As a result, we have been able exercise detailed oversight and control of our finances on a daily basis.

Another cost-control measure has been the introduc4on of sensor-controlled ligh4ng in communal areas. We con4nue to fund raise for a replacement boiler.

Our regular upstairs tenant gave no4ce just before Christmas 2023and vacated the premises in January. We were able to iden4fy a new tenant very quickly, an established local children’s dance school, who moved in in March, so the loss of revenue was minimised. This change offered an opportunity to improve the facili4es upstairs by installing a separate toilet. We were also able to nego4ate a fair rent with an itemised contribu4on to u4li4es costs to take account of real and known costs.

terms of revenue from room hire, but the centre remains commiNed to offering a high level

of service and opportunity to local people. We recognise our crucial role in reducing loneliness and enhancing social contact between residents.

Community Involvement and Communica@on

Many ac4vi4es taking place within the community centre are community led and rely on the resources of local volunteers. We pride ourselves on our communica4on with, and support for, these volunteers and, where possible, we act promptly on the feedback that they give us.

Over the last year, we have con4nued to build links we have with other groups in the village. We have provided facili4es, free of charge, to the Neighbourhood Watch group, who operate a contact point where people can report police and council issues, and to the local church, who host a weekly coffee morning providing low-level secular support and befriending to some of the most vulnerable members of the community who may be reluctant to par4cipate in a more structured ac4vity. We have also worked with the Children’s Gala commiNee, and we par4cipated in the 2023 Gala where we held a fundraising tombola.

We have also maintained links with local businesses; the Coop, the pharmacy and the post office as well as the local restaurant who provide the meals for our Lunch Club.

Followers to our dedicated Facebook page rose from 400 to 1000 in the course of the year. Along with our contribu4ons to other local social media channels, this enables us to keep the local community informed of our ac4vi4es. We post regular promo4onal material adver4sing our programme of ac4vi4es (usually a dozen or more posts a week) and welcome comments, sugges4ons and feedback through these channels. For older people who may be less comfortable using the internet, we have a computer drop-in session to assist them to get online safely. And for those who prefer more tradi4onal methods, we have leaflets, no4ceboards and an open door where they can come and share their thoughts with us.

Denholme has one of the highest propor4ons of elderly residents within the whole of the Bradford MDC area and thus a large number of our regular ac4vi4es and groups have evolved to support older people. The Lunch Club offers what can be a rare opportunity to meet and socialise with others. In response to requests from users we have sought to open during bank holidays to help people feel less isolated from their peers.

Opening as a “Warm Space” as part of the government backed scheme also enabled us to reach out to isolated individuals and families. We worked with the church in the village to ensure that the provision we were both offering did not overlap. Offering free hot drinks and snacks, wifi and charging facili4es meant that users could make the most of our space and keep their own hea4ng costs down.

Cra.ers session

Although our services to the elderly are vital, during the course of the year we have made a conscious and concerted effort to reach out to other demographic groups. In part this is in response to the need to diversify our income, but we also want to ensure we aNract new user groups to the centre. Our Zumba class, Slimming World and yoga have proved popular and have aNracted users to the Centre who may not previously have par4cipated.

New Ac@vi@es

alcohol as well as other refreshments such as hot chocolate, mince pies, mulled wine and other fes4ve food.

We opened the centre to the community on Remembrance Day 2023 with pie and peas and hot drinks for sale.

We ran an Easter Egg hunt around the village for local children

Since Christmas 2023 we have been planning a lively programme of social events, mainly to take place at weekends when the centre s4ll tends to be underused. The first of these took place on 15 March 2023. 70 people aNended and takings were £1900, a massive and welcome boost to our income in the year. We aim to build on this early success by ensuring the farmers’ markets and indoor car boot sales become established as regular monthly events, hopefully aNrac4ng input from local businesses.

be experimental, but early signs are good. The ideas under considera4on include:

• Seasonal events such as Easter and Christmas, Halloween, Christmas wreath-making

• Music, e.g. Northern Soul, themed discos, Reggae Night

• Events linked to the wider community ac4vity, e.g. summer party at the Gala, social event on Remembrance Day, Christmas lights switch on in collabora4on with Denholme Town Council

• Celebrate na4onal events, e.g. World Cup Final

• Psychic Night

• Cocktail Night

• Private hires for birthday par4es, weddings, even funerals

The Challenges

by rising running costs, in par4cular the cost of hea4ng and ligh4ng. Our energy bills have been beNer controlled this year due to a much more detailed understanding of our ongoing costs and nego4a4ng beNer tariffs with suppliers. Even so, we have an old building and maintenance costs are inevitably high.

earned income and be less reliant of grants, though we will con4nue to explore poten4al sources of external funding to help offset one-off costs. We hope to bring in at least an addi4onal £1000 a month from events during the course of the coming year. We will also review the price of alcohol served in the centre to remain compe44ve but maximise our earning poten4al.

Conclusion and Future Plans

Financial Controls

• a) centre. Weekly events will be introduced to open the centre at weekends, including those outlined above.

• b) We will con4nue to seek to aNract new trustees to join our team to enhance our exis4ng skill set, with a par4cular emphasis on fundraising

• c) One of our main priori4es remains to pressing need to iden4fy funding for a new boiler, without which the Centre will struggle to operate in the long term.

• d) and caretaking costs by paying a local person or a trustee to perform these du4es.

Understanding Our Community

We will con4nue to welcome sugges4ons from residents regarding the sorts of new ac4vi4es they would welcome in the Centre. Specifically, we will further improve the aNrac4veness of our centre as a venue for hire as well as enhancing our own events, as well as security, by installing a proper bar from which to serve alcohol

We aim to conduct a biennial survey to ensure that we keep up to date with what residents want. We also want to conduct a communica4ons audit to ensure that we are reaching all residents. As part of this, we will be star4ng a Centre Users Group to formalise the feedback from our users and par4cularly our volunteers.

already put in place and our plans for the coming year will enable us to successfully navigate our way through the challenges. Times are hard, but the community centre is needed now as never before, and we are determined to ensure the centre remains viable and sustainable for future genera4ons. We cannot insulate ourselves from the impacts of external cost increases, but we have developed a track record of reac4ng appropriately and in a 4mely manner to maintain a solid founda4on for the future.

DVI C¢MM￿[ty Centre . Year £nd Acc4unis 1st A￿1 2023. 31st fvtsrth 2024 Profit & ioss Accwrt 2023124 2022123 c￿￿Me￿Ill Rents 13,451 12.195 17.940 1&761 Casual Rents U28 212 Grants &Swyt 44,629 Bl£ Lottery Ccop Pot Wind Farm 8radfofd C(yJrKil BuslnesslDTC Grani other 22.L £ 10.850 1,250 20.LY)) 2.629 MiscellanetYJS 1929 £ 84212 39,198 PYolessl¢wl Fees & LkerKes 2273 L564 Building In5uraKe ReBi5tratioVMembe¥ship Fees 2,273 1.564 Staff Costs Ifunded prlmarily frL>n Lottery Grantl 12.150 11,970 Expenses £ 57.609 28.934 Vtllltles aeaning Other SeThices Consumables MaintenaKe Security Electric Gas Water Interr￿1 £ 13,5021 6.446 4.(M)S 4,043 2,143 7.560 E 5008 420 9.895 £ 26A08 943 389 £ 6.9)) 9fA) 6.353 6.268 937 DoTration5 Pl￿VLO55 In th Yur 11172 Dfvl Comfflunlty Centre . Y••r EN1 A¢¢oynts t WI 2023- 31st M•￿h 2024 B•l•rKe Sheet 3.270 2023124 202V23 Openlng BalaKe Total IrKcffie Toial Expenth￿re Cioslry Balance 31.390 84.1 72,040 44.$62 39,198 £ 141.4 31.390

Independent examinerfs report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to th• tru$te•s DMI Communty Cenlre On accounts for th• yo•r •nded 31° March 2024 Charlty no (If any) 1176755 Set out on pagos I report to the trustees cm my examinalion of the aCC￿nts of the above charity ('the Trust.) for the year erKled 3110312024. Responslbllltles and basls of rnport As the charrty's trustees. you are reSponsi￿e for thè weparation of the accounts in accordance wrth the requirements of the Charities Acl 2011 ("the Act.). I report in rew)ed of my examinatim of the Trust's a¢count$ camed oui under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the appliGable Directbons given ty the Chanty Commtssion under sedion 145(5){b) of the AGt. Independont I have completed my examination I confim that no malerial rnatters have examinerfs slatemont come to my attention in ¢onnection wrth the examination {other than that disclosed below ') which gives me cause to believe that in. any material respect: the accounting records were not kept in accordance ith section 130 of the Charrties Act.. or the accounts dKI not accord wrlh the accourting records,. of the accounts did nol compty wrth the applicable requirements concerning the forni and content of accounts set out in the Chanties (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2CM)8 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fair, view which is nol a matter considered as part of an independent eXaminat￿n. I have no Goncems and have come auoss no other matters in Connection with the examination lo which attention should t drawn in this report in order to enab￿ a Fwer understanding of the acc(yJnts to be reactr￿d. ' Please delete Ihe ￿*¥dS in the b[￿e1$ rfthey do not 8ppIy. Slgned: Dat•: 2710112025 Name: Christopher Green Relevant professional qu•16ficatlon(sl or body (If •ny): MICB Addr•M: Lawnlafvjs Bungalow, Station Road, Denholme, Bradford. BD13 4BS. IER Oct 2018

Section B Disclosure Only complete rf the examiner needs to h￿hlIght material matters of concem (see CC32. IndeperKJent exarninats'on ol charty accounts: dire(#ions and gu￿nCe for examiners). Gfve h•re brlef detalh of any Items that th• Oxaminer wl*hM to dhsclose. IER Oct 2018