2025-12-31-accounts

Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Parochial Church Council

of

St Helen's Witton (also known as Northwich PCC)

for the year ended 31 December 2025

Incumbent: Rev Andrew Ridley (until 30/11/25)

Readers

Mr David Drinkwater

Bank: HSBC Bank plc, Northwich

Independent Examiner: Mrs Sharon Hudson

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1. Reference and administration details

Charity name: Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Helen's Witton

Also known as: St Helen's, Northwich

Registered charity number: 1179543

Principal address: The Vicarage, 61 Church Road, Northwich, CW9 5PB

Names of the trustees who manage the charity

Trustee name	Office (if any)	Dates acted if not for whole year	Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (if any)
Andrew Ridley	Chairman	Until 30/11/25	Chester Diocese
Mr Andrew Cannon	Church warden		APCM
Mr Francis Pendlebury	Church warden		APCM
Mrs Berenice Kirwan	Deanery Synod Rep	Until 6/10/25	APCM
Mrs Barbara Spencer	Deanery Synod Rep		APCM
	Deanery Synod Rep		APCM
Mrs Rachel Clarke			APCM
Mrs Joy Montgomery		Co-opted member	APCM
Mrs Amelia Visscher			APCM
Mrs Jennifer Thomas			APCM
Mrs Jo Hind			PCC
Mr Gordon Atkinson		Co-opted member	APCM
			APCM
Mr Andrew Jeapes	Secretary & Treasurer		APCM
Mr Kenneth Moth			APCM

APCM = Annual Parochial Church Meeting

2. Structure, governance and management

Type of governing document:	Act of Parliament: Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956 as amended and Church Representation Rules (contained in Schedule 3 to the Synodical Government Measure 1969 as amended)
How the charity is constituted:	Parish Church Council
Trustee selection methods:	Members of the PCC are either ex-officio due to an office or appointment they hold from Chester Diocese or are elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting in accordance with the Church Representation Rules.

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The parish consists of one church: St Helen's. The vicar also has responsibility for St John's, Lostock Gralam.

3. Aims and Objectives

Aims and purposes

The PCC of St Helen's, Witton (also known as St Helen's Northwich) has the responsibility of cooperating with the incumbent in promoting, in the ecclesiastical parish, the whole mission of the church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. It also has maintenance responsibilities for St Helen's Church, the Sexton's House and 4 houses which are rented to produce income.

Objectives and activities

When planning our activities for the year, the incumbent and the PCC have considered the Commission’s guidance on public benefit and, in particular, the specific guidance on charities for the advancement of religion. We aim to enable ordinary people to live out their faith as part of our parish community. We have adopted the overall objectives:

“Serving Christ, Serving the Community”

The primary object of St Helen’s Parochial Church Council is the promotion of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the doctrine and practices of the Church of England within the ecclesiastical parish.

Reference: “The Advancement of Religion for the Public Benefit”, Crown Copyright 2008

To this end we undertake activities in the following 4 areas:

• To maintain, develop and renew public acts of worship held regularly within our church building.

• To provide pastorally-relevant religious ceremonies open to all parishioners for baptisms, weddings and funerals.

• To extend the knowledge of and education in Christian teaching to both church members and members of the parish, within our acts of worship and through specific teaching opportunities, such as, confirmation groups and Sunday schools

• To provide pastoral care to members of the church and any parishioners in need of spiritual, social or practical support.

• The PCC acts to underpin all these activities by provision of well-maintained buildings.

4. Performance & Achievements

4.1 Secretary’s Report

2025 has been an important year for St Helen’s Church because it was our last with Andrew Ridley as vicar. However, this has not cast a shadow over the life of the church and we have maintained and to some extent our place as a worshipping community in Northwich, as can be seen from our attendance figures:

In 2025, numbers attending Sunday worship increased and scarcely a week went by when there wasn’t someone new to welcome. There were 89 (84) Easter communicants 100 (102) in total Christmas communicants were 96 (91), total attendance 299 (321). Usual Sunday attendance (averaged across the year) was 57 Adults (57) and 7 children (5), and the ‘Worshipping Community’ stood at 145 (135), which is 10 up on 2024.

We have live-streamed and recorded on YouTube virtually every Sunday morning service. There is a small, faithful following of parishioners who watch online.

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Bishop Sam conducted a Service of Confirmation on Palm Sunday for one adult member of our congregation and a 2[nd ] member was confirmed at another church later in the year.

We held 7 Weddings in 2025, compared to only 1 in 2024. The number of funerals in church was static at 17 and 4 (10) funerals were conducted at crematoria. Grieving families were invited to a Service of Remembrance and Thanksgiving on the last Sunday in October and to the Christmas Carol Service. 20 (27) children under 10 were baptised in 2025 , plus 2 (2) adults. The adults were presented with Bibles. Baptised children and their families continued to be invited to the following month’s Worship Together Communion to pick up their child’s baptism certificate and a Hannah Dunnett print for their child’s bedroom wall.

Witton Church Walk School pupils and staff have continued to attend St Helen’s for Collective Worship every fortnight during school term. WCWS had its Harvest Service, Christmas Christingle Service, Easter Service and Leavers’ Service in St Helen’s. Victoria Road School held its Christmas Performance in church and Rudheath Senior Academy held their Christmas Service.

The third Wednesday in the month Communion Service in the Holy Cross Chapel continued, followed by CAMEO lunch. ‘Praise and Play’ met weekly during term time. Seasonal occasions such as Ash Wednesday, Holy Week and Ascension Day were observed. St Helen’s was well represented on Good Friday at the Churches Together Service at the Salvation Army Citadel, followed by an Open Air Service in Baron’s Square. Fr. Paul from St Wilfrid’s joined Rev Diane Cookson in leading the Service at the War Memorial on Remembrance Sunday. This followed the traditional Parade Service in church.

We continued our discipleship adventure with a 3[rd ] module of the Jesus Shaped People Programme – ‘From September to November, on 10 Sundays and in 4 small groups meeting after church on Sundays, Monday afternoons, Monday evenings and Thursday evenings. Our studies, from Acts of the Apostles explored how the early disciples put their faith into practice and faced the inevitable challenges of witnessing for Christ among their own people.

We said goodbye to Andrew & Carol Ridley at the beginning of November but have been committed to maintain the life and work of St Helen’s. In terms of public worship, we are grateful for the efforts of 2 retired priests from our congregation and our reader. In addition, we have been fortunate to receive help from 2 other retired priests from the diocese, particularly during the demanding time at advent and Easter.

The process to recruit a new incumbent has been launched with the production of our Parish profile and election of 2 Parish Representatives. We are committed to working productively with the Diocese to achieve a successful recruitment of a new vicar in 2026.

4.2 Churchwardens' Report

Chronological Record of Works: January 2025 - December 2025

January - May 2025

Basement Flood Alarm Investigations regarding the fitting of a basement flood alarm following flooding incidents in the boiler room.

Ramp Handrail This was installed after a suitable design was accepted in keeping with the church .

May - July 2025

Water Heater Repair Leak identified m water heater. Repair completed at significant expense.

Tower Access Review Review conducted of door and roof access in the small tower above the vestry to ensure safe and functional access.

September - October 2025

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Roof Inspection Visual inspections conducted from tower. Minor standing water noted in gutters. No significant debris identified near drainpipes. Roof contractor engaged for routine maintenance and gutter cleaning.

Chair Maintenance Programme Repair and re-varnishing programme initiated for church chairs. Chairs requiring immediate attention identified and removed from use. Re-varnishing of all church chairs commenced.

October 2025

Storm Damage Assessment South Aisle Minor rainwater leaks identified in South Aisle following Stonn Amy Assessment indicated wind-driven rain penetration beneath roof rather than blockage-related issue s. Leaks monitored.

November 2025

Organ Installation Phase 1 Off-site manufacturing work completed. Installation of valves and bespoke manufactured components commenced. Components double-checked and tested prior to final installation due to post-installation inaccessibility. No concrete completion date established. Easter 2026 completion anticipated but uncertain.

Tower Room Conversion Faculty Process Public notice for faculty to remove font ahead of tower base conversion to meeting room displayed for statutory 28-day pen od. No formal objections received.

Electrical Works Holy Cross Chapel Investigation commenced into cabling and switch mechanism for Virgin Mother box-light in Holy Cross Chapel. Objective: engage contracted elections to remedy issue and re-illuminate feature.

December 2025

Archdeacon's Triennial Inventory Triennial Inventory conducted 1st December 2025 Overall positive outcome with minor administrative details identified for completion.

Small Bell Tower Repair Wooden panel repaired and reinstalled securely

Organ Installation Phase 2 Installation work continued throughout December period.

Our thanks go to all of those volunteers who have helped with the upkeep of the church, grounds and helped in other ways. We couldn't do this without the volunteers who give their time and skills freely. You are too numerous to name here, but we thank you all.

4.3 Place of welcome & 4C’s

Place of Welcome

Place of Welcome opens each Thursday from 11:00am to 1:30 pm during the autumn, winter and spring months. The core purpose of Place of Welcome is to offer a time when people can get together, chatter, meet others and make new connections. Since 2022 we have also provided a simple free lunch. This event started in 2021 when weekly numbers tended to be in single figures. Over time friendships have blossomed, our warm welcome has been valued by more and more people with weekly numbers averaging over 40 during 2025.

During 2025, Place of Welcome continued to thrive, with between 45 and 55 sharing lunch. These include members of the MIND bereavement groups, volunteers from Grozone, asylum seekers, neighbours, carers and regulars from the parish. Other visitors take the opportunity to pop in while the church is open, many stopping for a drink and chat with volunteers. The unconditional welcome and conversations are such an important part of what is offered, as well as the homemade soup and the opportunity to eat with friends. Saying grace before the meal is an expected and accepted part of sharing together. At Christmas 65 guests shared in special meal with quiz, raffle and singing, an event attended by the Mayor of Northwich and MP Andrew Cooper.

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The team of volunteers, many of whom are not regular church members, meet and greet, engage and listen, make wonderful home-made soups, serve endless hot drinks, wash up, clean up and move lots and lots of furniture around.

During 2025 the costs of food, heating and lighting and general consumables were fully met by external grants.

Barbara Moth & Gordon Atkinson

4Cs: Coffee, Cake, Company, Conversation

Every Saturday morning, between 10am and 12noon, hospitality is provided by regular volunteers and this is an important way in which St Helen’s Church is in contact with our community. We are grateful to those who help regularly and frequently. We have about 20 regular attenders but have been pleased to welcome a range of visitors from within the town and further afield. Good coffee and home-made cake are provided every week as well as a warm welcome. The atmosphere is further enhanced by the three talented flower arrangers and the equally talented knit and natter group! 4C’s also plays a role in fund raising for the PCC nominated charities and during 2025, over £2500 has been raised for: Headway (£653) Christian Aid (£670) Tiny Steps (£687) and the Children’s Society (£523).

Andrew Jeapes

4.4 Praise & Play & Sunday Creche

Praise & Play continues to meet on a Friday morning between 9.30am and 11.00am and is for pre-school children and their parents or carers. This activity starts with a short service normally lasting about ten minutes, during which we sing a couple of songs, listen to a story and say a short prayer. After the service there is a craft activity linked to the theme of the worship for the children and then the children and adults enjoy a drink and a snack (usually toasted teacakes). Topics explored during the year included “God Makes it Grow” and “Thanking God for Days Out” (during the summer months) and pre-Christmas topics included “Candles” “Presents”, finishing with “The Journey” and “Good News”. There is no charge for Praise & Play.

Until their retirement last year Praise &Play has been led by Andrew and Carol Ridley, since when both the service and craft sessions have been organised by Chris Davies.

We would like to thank Chris and also Elizabeth Tunnacliffe and Tara Birdsey who help with the service and activities as well as the serving of refreshments and welcoming parents and carers. We are always looking for more church members to help and support this outreach initiative. Anyone is welcome to come along and join in with the worship and find out how you could help.

The Sunday Morning Creche

The Creche was available for pre-school children and continued every Sunday during the first part of the service except the 1st Sunday in the month in the lower vestry. Children are accompanied by a parent or carer. The space is made ready for a story from the bible based around the reading for the day,children take part in a simple art or craft activity linked to the story and then return to the service for a blessing with their families. It has been well attended by children over the last year. During the vacancy period weekly activity packs have been provided for the creche to continue. Many thanks to Carol Ridley for all her work in running the creche and providing the activity packs for the vacancy period. Rachel Clarke

4.5 Sunday Club

The Sunday Club continues to meet in the upper vestry on the 2nd and 3rd Sunday of the month during term time. Using the Godly Play Scheme of teaching stories from the Bible following the Church's year. We have also used the JSP - Jesus Shaped People Resources that are available to young people including the Lent course - "Cross Shaped Jesus" and recently "The Spirit Filled Church" Children have enjoyed exploring the bible passages and the fun activities related to each week

We continue to have between 2 and 4 children attend on Sundays and actively ask new families if

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they wish their child to attend. During the vacancy period we will continue to offer Sunday Club to those children that wish to attend as normal.

I would like to thank Ruth and Amelia for their help in leading Sunday Club with myself over the last year. It is greatly appreciated. Rachel Clarke

4.6 Bell Ringers

We are an active group of bell ringers who are members of the Chester Diocesan Guild of Bell Ringers. As part of the Mid Cheshire Branch, we have meetings and social events where we meet with ringers from other local towers. We are grateful for the support of visiting ringers. We continue to ring regularly for the Sunday service and occasional additional service. We will be giving ringing demonstrations at the Tea at the Tower events this summer. We always welcome new recruits and if you are interested in learning to ring, come to our practice on Monday evenings or have a word with Lyn Horrocks.

4.7 Parish Recorder's Report

Generous giving by the wider Church family is very much appreciated, it is the most important element of income which allows St Helen’s to thrive as a worshipping community.

The past.

Total giving over the year 2025 amounted to £46,317

The breakdown of this amount is set out below.

Gifts by standing order direct to our bank account increased by around 5% whilst gifts via Sunday plate offerings reduced by around 17%

Giving direct to bank account	£32,338
Personal envelope	£3,330
scheme
Other directgifts	£3,001
Sunday plategiving	4593
Contactless	1925
Donations towards specificprojects	1130
Total	£46,317.00

Reclaim of gift aid provided an income of £9,785

The Future.

Our Church, just like all other charities, businesses and individuals faces ongoing cost increases. In 2026 and going forward we hope we will need to increase our annual parish share by about £16,000 per year. This will be the additional charges for having our own full-time vicar. The parish share is the money we send to Chester Diocese that covers the cost of the Vicar, the vicarage and some other charges.

Giving is personal and is the consequence of an individual’s careful consideration of how they feel most able to support the church they love – in our case St Helen’s. Please do reflect on this matter and, if you feel able, consider an increase in your giving. Even if this increase can only be small every little helps.

4.8 Safeguarding

During 2025, no matters of concern have arisen. We have adopted “Promoting a Safer Church” as our own safeguarding policy and the appropriate posters are being displayed. We have taken on board the “Speak Out, Stay Safe” campaign and literature for this is available to all. We follow national guidance regarding lone

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working, social media, GDPR and data retention. We have continued with training and DBS checks for appropriate volunteers and we are currently up to date with this. Our Parish Safeguarding Dashboard has been upgraded from level 1 to level 3 over the year and is now showing as 94% progress with no red warning lights.

4.9 Health & Safety Report

During the year 2025-26 the following UNOR reportable incidents have occurred:

Level 1 0 Level 2 1 Level 3 17

Level 3) Near miss incident/Observed Hazard: This is an incident or observed hazard/behaviour that could have resulted in an injury or damage to property if nothing was done about it. An example could be a damaged electrical socket or a spill of water that is not cleared up.

Level 2) Incident that caused damage to property or a minor injury requiring first aid: This is an incident that would have caused injury had there been a person in the wrong place at the wrong time or a minor injury not requiring professional medical attention. An example of this could be an overloaded electrical socket or a minor lighting fire. Level 1) Incident that led to a more severe injury requiring first aid/emergency services call out/RIDDOR report: Any incident that requires an emergency services call out is the highest level of UNOR.

Incidents

Incidents are rated according to the severity or potential for harm that could arise from the incident. Following each reported incident or near miss, an evaluation of the incident and the events leading up to the incident are undertaken by the H&S Officer and other members of the PCC if required. The investigation will result in a number of recommendations being made to the PCC.

The level 2 and 3 incidents were near misses, with the potential to cause injury or damage. Lessons have been learned and revisions to policies, where necessary, have been put in place.

Once again, can I ask that you let me know if you have seen anything that you consider to be a hazard or an unsafe event occur. There are forms available in the vestry and these are checked regularly. All of the above incidents have resulted in recommendations being made to the PCC or the persons involved. The list of recommendations is available if required. Policies and Risk Assessments

All policies and Risk Assessments are up to date but are reviewed following reported incidents to confirm their adequacy and updated if necessary.

Weekly monitoring of the defibrillator and condition of the carpets is undertaken and recorded in the H&S File.

Andrew Cannon

4.10 Northwich & District Churches Together (NDCT)

Representatives of NDCT meet quarterly to exchange news and to plan for the year ahead. On Good Friday at 11.15am the Walk of Witness met at the Salvation Army before walking down to Barons’ Quay where an Open Air service was held. On Sunday 12[th ] October we held a Songs of Praise at Owleywood with the Condate Singers leading the singing. This was quite well attended and enjoyed by all. At the Christmas Market and also the Artisan market over 850 Christmas cards were distributed in town. The cards contained details of all the Christmas services being held in our local churches. These cards were well received by passers-by. It is interesting to note how helpful Asda were on both occasions. They set aside a table for the volunteers to use as a base, to have a drink and a rest before going off again to distribute the cards.

Joy Montgomery

4.11 CAMEO

As usual we meet on the third Wednesday each month for a Bring & Share lunch after attending the Midday Communion service. We also go out for lunch in the summer and also just before Christmas. We do miss Andrew and Carol but were delighted to welcome Canon Diane in January. During Lent

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we have a more frugal lunch, soup, bread and cheese after the Ash Wednesday service and also in March. If you are retired please do consider joining us when you will be made very welcome.

Joy Montgomery

5. Financial Review

The financial statement of the PCC has been prepared in accordance with the Charity Commission requirements for England and Wales and is shown in tabular form at the end of this report.

Unrestricted funds

Financially, 2025 has been an uneventful year with no major items of additional income or expenditure. The bedrock of our income is the regular offerings made by standing order, envelope and contactless payments and these have increased by about 4%. The nett income for our rental properties is lower than 2024 (16%) because of increased maintenance costs, which of course vary from year to year. Income from deposit account interest has increased (57%) largely due to the monies held from the sale of the Sexton’s House.

Our expenses have fallen by a small amount (2.6%) overall. We continued to make our contribution towards the vicar’s salary, and this remains our largest single cost. Encouragingly, our heating and insurance costs remained constant. We had no major building projects and we spent less on maintenance and minor repairs (33%). We have also been able to continue to support local & national charities through Saturday’s 4C’s and Tea at the Tower.

Restricted funds

In 2025 we received grants towards Place of Welcome of £3070. We had a grant of £15,000 towards the tower room, and a generous donation of £1000 also for the tower room.

Most of the expenditure has been for Place of Welcome (which is covered by grants from 2024 and 2025). We have continued to use the funds for children’s work to assist Witton Church Walk School.

The trustees' policy on reserves:

As a PCC, we are well aware of the forthcoming challenges in terms of repair and maintenance of the church building and of meeting our aspirations to develop the growth and ministry of the church. Equally, we do currently hold significant assets (cash, investments and buildings) which we need to manage effectively for the best outcome for St Helen's Church. Our saleable property portfolio as at Dec 2024 is valued at approximately £535,200. A reserve policy clearly will help with our future funding strategy. In the light of the foregoing background, the PCC agreed a revised reserve policy as follows:-

Reserves Policy for St Helen's (Witton) Northwich

What:

The following risks are addressed

1. Loss of three months income from residential properties, say £6,000.

2. Decline in planned giving and collections (annual), say £18,000.

3. 3.Unforeseen eventuality (say building or services failure), say £36,000.

TOTAL CASH RESERVE £60,000

Why:

These reserves are held to cover significant unexpected reduction in income or unexpected and unplanned urgent expenditure. However, the PCC will also need to take action to remedy deficits in its funding over the longer term and to rebuild the reserve whenever it is called upon.

When can these reserves be used:

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Money held in reserve can only be allocated by the Parochial Church Council. If an urgent response is required an emergency PCC will be called.

Review:

The PCC will review the reserves policy annually, as recommended by the Charity Commission, in sufficient time to present the revised policy to the Annual Parish Church Meeting.

6. 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)	Andrew Jeapes	Ken Moth
Position	Secretaryof PCC	Chairman
Date	26-3-26	26-3-26

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Receipt and Payments Account from 1[st] January 2025 to 31[st] December 2025

	Unrestricted funds		Restricted funds		Endowment funds		Total funds		Previous year
A1 Receipts	To the nearest £
Voluntary income	45,187		1,130				46,317		64,547
Tax Receipt	9,785						9,785		12,055
Income from events & activities	10,797		1,077				11,874		13,990
Income from investments	15,572						15,572		9,893
Income from rental properties	28,399						28,399		29,449
Grants			18,070				18,070		8,880
Other Income	1,895						1,895		4,067
Sub-total (Gross income for A1)	111,635		20,277				131,912		142,882
A2 Asset & Investment Sales (see table)
Sale of Sexton’s House							0		153,424
Total Receipts	111,635		20,277				131,912		296,306

A3 Payments

A3 Payments
Missionary & charitable grants	3,804						3,804		5,263
Church-related:
Ministry & worship	45,157		945				46,102		50,540
Events	1,709		2,311				4,020		6,090
Building running costs	21,970		1,045				23,016		22,358
Minor repairs & maintenance	10,842		329				11,172		17,489
Costs of rental properties	7,738						7,738		2,716
Admin & IT	3,939		85				4,024		2,718
Sub total church-related	91,356		4,716				96,072		101,911
Major works & repairs	13,127		2,101				15,228		37,781
Sub-total A3 Payments	108,286		6,817				115,104		144,954

A4 Asset & investment Purchases

A4 Asset & investment Purchases
Costs of sale of Sexton’s House									713
Sub-total A4									713
Total Payments	108,286		6,817				115,104		145,667
Nett of receipts/(payments)	3,349		13,460				16,809		150,639
A5 Transfer between funds
A6 Cash funds 31stDecember 2024	267,798		50,237				318,036		167,397
Cash funds at 31st December 2025	271,147		63,397				334,844		318,036

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Section B Statement of Assets and Liabilities at the Year End

		Unrestricted funds		Restricted funds		Endowment funds
B1 Cash Funds
Cash at bank		271,174		63,697
Total cash funds		271,174		63,697
B2 Other Monetary Assets		Fund to which asset belongs		Cost (optional)		Current value (optional)
CBF Institute		Unrestricted				40,379
CBF Witton Sunday School Fund		Restricted				23,841
Total						64,220
B3 Investment assets
8 St Chads Fields		Unrestricted		115,200
17 Hollybank Close		Unrestricted		150,000
16, St Chads Fields		Unrestricted		130,000
1 Scholars Rise		Unrestricted		140,000
		Fund to which asset belongs		Cost (optional)		Current value (optional)
B4 Assets retained for charity’s own use
		Fund to which liability belongs		Amount due (optional)		When due (optional)
B5 Liabilities	Organ refurbishment	Restricted		40,000		31/07/2026
	Outstanding fees	Unrestricted		275		31/03/2026

		Fund to which asset		Cost (optional)		Current value
		belongs				(optional)
B4 Assets retained for
charity’s own use
		Fund to which liability		Amount due		When due
		belongs		(optional)		(optional)
B5 Liabilities	Organ refurbishment	Restricted		40,000		31/07/2026
	Outstanding fees	Unrestricted		275		31/03/2026

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