HAMDON YOUTH & FAMILY CENTRE TRUST
West Street, Stoke sub Hamdon, Somerset TA14 6QG
“a place for young people in Stoke sub Hamdon”
Trustees’ Annual Report for the period:1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024
Background
The charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (“CIO”) and manages the Hamdon Youth & Family Centre in West Street. The Trust has a lease from Stoke sub Hamdon Parish Council who own the building and the Trust hires out the Centre on an hourly basis to children’s recreational groups or for children’s birthday parties. The Centre complements the other three venues in the village, the Memorial Hall, Working Men’s Club and All Saints Hall all of which host mainly adult activities during the day and evening time.
The building is a former Methodist Church and was purchased in 2018 by the Council under the Community Right to Bid legislation. It is intended that Trustees are drawn mainly from its own service users as a way of empowering villagers to have control over their own leisure facility. The Centre is only allowed to hold children-based activities under restrictions imposed by the sale by the Methodist church, the title to the property and specific Charity Commission permission for the sale to the village.
Chair’s Overview
Over the last year, our regular hirers have shown that they have continued their custom throughout the year. It demonstrates that both the venue has been good for their activities and good for their attendees.
The variety of the types of clubs shows what a versatile venue the HYFC is. To have more holiday clubs and daytime hirers would be ideal. The loss of the Hamdon Youth Group on a Monday throughout the year is both a major reduction to HYFC income but also to the service that the venue can offer to every demographic in Stoke. I feel that both should be reviewed and reconsidered for financial support to open once again.
The increase in the cost of living means that some families have found it hard to find the extra money to spend on clubs and so another reason why a Youth club is so valuable as it offers just a low £1 weekly charge, and needs no specialised equipment to take part.
We made a big effort in an Easter Eggstravaganza fundraiser which was a great success and the Centre would like to repeat the event in the future.
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The Girlguiding Movement has approved the Centre as a “sleepover venue”. Girlguiding Somerset have now used it and the link to the information remains on their website. Our village Brownie unit are looking for dates that they can hold an overnight stay there later in the year.
At the end of this year we find ourselves at a crossroads where 3 trustees have given notice to leave at the AGM and for myself to step down as Chair, but to remain a trustee.
Barbara Brooks has managed the venue since its conception and has gone above and beyond to ensure that the community provided a place for the Young People of the village. The handover document she has done demonstrates the time and attention she has put into the Centre. I sincerely thank her for foresight and making it happen not just at the beginning but throughout her tenure.
Hugh Donovan has worked very hard in the maintenance and adaptation of the building into what it is today and the HYFCT is very much indebted to him.
Sarah Moore has gone through so much and how she has managed to remain a trustee despite this is without reproach. Thank you Sarah, much of what you do is behind the scenes but I see you and want to say how much I admire you.
As the Parish council – our landlord - goes through its own re invention like us at HYFCT, I am hopeful as the venue is working really well and with the right support we can take this community asset into the future. I hope that we can develop a level of trust and working environment to benefit our community.
It is the Trustees’ wish that HYFC has the opportunity to continue to be the place where our young people can learn skills, discipline and good social values; whilst developing their hobbies and interests and feeling valued within the wider community. Investing in our younger generation now has a direct impact on how they become young adults, parents and grandparents in the future.
Jackie Poole
Chair of Trustees
Secretary’s Report
Hire income showed a positive and significant increase during the year up from £2,426 to £4,452. This was the result of greater use by Star Dance and 9 Realms Martial Arts, both of whom increased the number of regular sessions to meet popular demand. We invited Pop Up Play Village (who had taken on new franchisees) to come back to the Centre, they took us up and this has now developed into a regular monthly booking. This group brings in people from outside our village, so showcasing this village venue. To ensure the Centre remained clean and tidy whilst busier we increased cleaning hours to 2 one hour sessions per week and we are grateful to Neil Bridge for all his hard work in this respect.
Whilst the increase in bookings is encouraging some caution needs to be noted for the current financial year. As funding for one of the Centre’s key hirers Hamdon Youth Group has been significantly reduced, this has impacted on the number of sessions booked down from 4 to 1 a month and a potential reduction of £700 p.a. in hire income. It will be difficult for the Centre to replace this regular income in the current economic environment where families
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are finding the cost of living impacting their choices. The Hamdon Youth Group sessions at just £1 a week offered great value for money. As a short term measure the Centre organised a fundraising event on Easter Saturday March 30[th] which was a resounding success raising £1,140 and we are immensely grateful for all the village support we received. These proceeds fall into the current financial year rather than 2023-24, as they were paid into the bank in early April.
In line with good governance Trustees reviewed key Policies and Risk Assessments during the year. These included our Risk Register and Monitoring Plan, Health & Safety assessments, COSHH, Safeguarding, Fire Safety, and the 5-year Management Plan. In May 2024 the Trust was proud to again be awarded the Charity Excellence Framework Quality Mark Award for its governance and systems, particularly in the light of the fact that the Trust and the Centre is run entirely by a small group of volunteers.
Barbara Brooks Secretary
Treasurer’s Report
We started this financial year with an opening balance of £17,634. The Centre’s funds are held in three separate accounts: a day-to-day current account, a standard savings account and a 32-day savings account. As the Trust is responsible for the internal repairs, the Trustees have a Maintenance reserve in which £300 is ring-fenced each year. This reserve currently stands at £1,500.
Income
With an increase in user groups and one-off hirers the Trust’s income has increased. The total hirer income for the year was £4,452 which is double the hirer income from the previous year. The Trust decided to transfer a large proportion of its funds to a 32-day savings account and with the increase in bank interest rates the total received for the year was £308.15. The total amount received from grants and donations has decreased considerably during the year. The annual management grant received from the Parish Council was £1,152 instead of the usual annual amount of £2,000 and no other grants or donations were received.
Expenditure
The Centre’s operating costs amounted to £5,220 which comprises of water and electric utilities of £2,374, repairs and renewals of £881, cleaning costs of £1,285, fundraising costs of £88, insurance and music licence of £270 and £322 for sundries, equipment and audit fees. In comparison to the previous year, the Centre’s outgoings have decreased. This is mainly due to the brokering of a new electricity supplier with a tariff aimed specifically at charitable organisations which gave us an annual saving of £4,798 on the previous year.
Summary
Setting our expenditure off against our income, our net receipts for the year were £692 and with the cash funds at the start of the financial year of £17,634, the cash in bank at the end of the financial year is £18,326.
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I would like to take this opportunity of thanking Trudy Cronin for carrying out the annual inspection of the accounts. As always, she’s done a fantastic job. A copy of the Receipts and Payment for 2023/24 is attached to this report for your information. Sarah Moore Treasurer
Structure, Governance and Management
The Trust is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (“CIO”) and its Objects, Powers etc are contained in a Constitution originally set up in 2018. The Constitution specifies that any organisation in Stoke sub Hamdon which is involved in youth leisure activities is entitled to use the Centre and to nominate one of its members as a Trustee, and the original document sets out a list of the 10 current eligible Stoke organisations. This list can be amended by Trustees at any time by a Resolution as circumstances require as new groups are established and use the Centre.
The Constitution was amended early on in 2022 to state more clearly what the Trustees’ responsibilities are in regard to the Permitted Use of the building under the Transfer of Title deed restrictions. The Permitted Use specifies that no activities (with or without hire fees) which are primarily aimed at adults are allowed to be held in the building. This would be contrary to the legal terms of the sale of the building to the Parish Council by the Methodist Trustees and their ‘Model Trust 40’ provisions and required to be adhered to by the Charity Commission. These terms are binding in perpetuity on both the Parish Council and the Trust and any subsequent management organisation. The one exception to this usage rule is a dispensation to the Parish Council as freehold owners of the building to use the Centre without charge on a very limited basis, namely for the holding of their monthly council meetings.
The Constitution now identifies the financial penalties that would arise for the village should an unauthorised use of the building trigger a forced sale on the open market. In that event, the village would lose one of its community venues, which would impact significantly on the younger generation as sufficient alternative meetings spaces are simply not available in the village at the desired times. Financial penalties on a sale involve a payment to the Methodist Trustees either £40,000 or £23.5% of the proceeds of sale on top of the repayment of the outstanding balance of the £150,000 Public Works Loan Board loan (plus interest due). For this reason both the Centre Trustees and the Parish Council are bound to ensure that neither party take any actions regarding day to day operations and activities that are outside the Permitted Use of the building set out by the building’s title and the Charity Commission’s rule on allowing the sale of a property to a charity at a discount.
The Constitution allows for a maximum number of 17 Trustees, the majority of which must be service users, as it is intended that the Centre should be run primarily by the people who use it. The Parish Council and the South Petherton & Crewkerne Circuit of the Methodist Church are also eligible to put forward a Trustee. Three of the Trustees will be elected to serve as Chair, Secretary & Treasurer, and the quorum (minimum number) for meetings and decisions is three Trustees. As the Trust is a CIO, Trustees do not have any personal financial liability.
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Reference and Administrative details
Charity Name: Hamdon Youth & Family Centre Trust Registered Charity No: 1177307 Correspondence Address: c/o Tamarisk High Street Stoke sub Hamdon Somerset TA14 6PP
Website :- https://www.hamdonyouthcentre.co.uk Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hamdonyouthcentre JustGiving: https://checkout.justgiving.com/c/3555001
Trustees who managed the charity during the year:-
| Appointed: - Chair Jackie Poole 28.2.2019 Secretary Barbara Brooks 16.2.2018 Treasurer Sarah Moore 16.2.2018 John Bailey 28.2.2019 Hugh Donovan 16.2.2018 |
Representing Brownies Blackrock Irish Dancers Independent Hamdon Youth Group Independent |
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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): Jackie Poole (Chair)
Date:
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HAMDON YOUTH & FAMILY CENTRE TRUST
(Registered Charity No. 1177307) (Company number . CE 013364)
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENT ACCOUNT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
Mrs Trudy A Cronin 6 East Stoke Stoke sub Hamdon Somerset TA14 6RQ
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Hamdon Youth & Family Centre Trust
(Registered Charity No. 1177307)
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENT ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
| RECEIPTS Donations from private individuals Grants :- Parish Council Lettings :- Bank Interest (Savings Accts) TOTAL RECEIPTS PAYMENTS Utilities Repairs & Renewals Cost of Fundraising Promotional / Subs / Sundry TOTAL PAYMENTS NET RECEIPTS CASH FUNDS (INC SAVINGS) AS AT 1 APRIL 2023 CASH FUNDS (INC SAVINGS) AS AT 31 MARCH 2024 Insurance/Music Licence Cleaning & Cleaning Materials |
2024 2023 £ £ 1000 1152 2000 4452.25 2426 308.15 31 5,912 5,457 £ 2024 2023 £ £ 2374 7089 881 1285 470 88 270 322 682 5,220 8,241 £ 692 -2784 17634 20418 18,326 17,634 £ |
2024 2023 £ £ 1000 1152 2000 4452.25 2426 308.15 31 5,912 5,457 £ 2024 2023 £ £ 2374 7089 881 1285 470 88 270 322 682 5,220 8,241 £ 692 -2784 17634 20418 18,326 17,634 £ |
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| -2784 20418 |
||
| 17,634 £ |
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Hamdon Youth & Family Centre Trust
(Registered Charity No. 1177307)
STATEMENT OF ASSETS & LIABILITIES AS AT 31 MARCH 2024
| CASH FUNDS Lloyds Treasurers Account Lloyds Instant Savings Account Lloyds 32 Day Term Account Petty Cash in Hand |
2024 2023 £ £ Total Total 1794 1410 3290 16224 13242 0 0 18,326 £ 17,634 £ |
|---|---|
ASSETS
None noted.
** A Maintenance Reserve allowance has been allocated since 2019. This has been noted by the Treasurer. The sum of £300 has been "Ring Fenced" each year. The current value is £1500.00
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Hamdon Youth & Family Centre Trust
(Registered Charity No. 1177307)
As the charity trustees of the Trust you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Certificate of Approval
I approve these accounts and confirm that they include a complete record of all relevant income and associated expenses and that I have made available all records and informationn for their compilation.
Signed on behalf of : Date Hamdon Youth & Family Centre Trust
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