2025-03-31-accounts - The Thomas Poole Library Nether Stowey

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THE THOMAS POOLE LIBRARY, NETHER STOWEY

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

for the 12 months ended 31 March 2025

Registered charity	The Thomas Poole Library Nether Stowey
name
Charity registration	1181213
Constitution	Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), Association model.
	Established by constitution dated 21stOctober 2018, amended
	15thDecember 2018. Approved by the Charity Commission and
	registered on 17thDecember 2018
Operational address	The Thomas Poole Library Nether Stowey
	Castle Street
	Nether Stowey
	Bridgwater
	Somerset
	TA5 1LN
Trustees	Susan Aubrey
	Catherine Christie
	Tricia Griffiths-Gough (co-opted March 2025)
	Norma Frood (resigned August 2025)
	John Hartoch (co-opted September 2025)
	Helen Heslop (co-opted February 2025)
	Chris Pearson (resigned June 2025)
	Nigel Phillips
	Eliza Sackett
	Terence Sackett
Bankers	Co-operative Bank
	1, Balloon Street
	Manchester
	M60 4EP

Structure, Governance and Management

The Trustee Board manages the affairs of the CIO. In September 2025 the governance structure was updated. There are now three committees that report to the Trustee Board:

The Finance, Fundraising and Risk Committee chaired by the Treasurer

The Management and Operations Committee chaired by the Trustees Board Chair The Nominations and Governance Committee chaired by the Trustee responsible for Governance

The operations of the library are run by the Management and Operations Committee, which consists of the following Trustees and Officers:

Nigel Phillips Chair Eliza Sackett Secretary Tricia Griffiths-Gough Treasurer Catherine Christie Nominations and Governance Tony Edney Health & Safety (co-opted)

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John Hartoch	Events
Helen Heslop	Strategy and financial planning
Ruth Pickard	Children, young people
Terence Sackett	Design, marketing and publicity
Lynn Scales	Volunteers Leader
Ron Scales	Building maintenance (co-opted)
Bill Streeter	Chess Club
Sian Stafford	Centre Manager. Employed by SC/TPLNS
Kevin Ferriday	Parish Council representative
Open	Fundraising leader
Open	Membership Secretary

Objects

For the public benefit, the provision of a library in Nether Stowey, Somerset and a library service for the village and surrounding parishes.
For the residents of Nether Stowey and the surrounding area, to promote the library for recreation and/or other leisure-time occupation of people who need these facilities because of their youth, age, infirmity or disablement, financial hardship, or social and economic circumstances; and for the public at large in the interests of the community, and with the object of improving the condition of life of the residents.
To advance the education of the public in the history and heritage of the area, particularly in the lives of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and the local benefactor Thomas Poole, and in the local environment.

Public Benefit

In planning activities for the period covered by this Report the Trustees kept in mind the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.

THE THOMAS POOLE LIBRARY 2024-2025

We began this year by welcoming our new Chair, Nigel Phillips.

Two Trustees, Norma Frood and Chris Pearson, and two members of the Management Committee, Eric Coates and Jo Davison, have resigned. The Trustees are very grateful to them for all they have done.

Three new Trustees, Tricia Griffiths-Gough, John Hartoch and Helen Heslop, and two new members of the Management Committee, Tony Edney and Ron Scales, have been co-opted.

The lively and intensive meetings held at the end of last year resulted in a decision that TPLNS should do more to further its ambition to welcome more people to the library and become a community hub for Nether Stowey and its surrounding villages. This year we have formulated a funded Three-Year Business Plan to achieve this, with the main objective to turn the non-fiction room into a community and exhibition room with a café.

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The first step was to move the books out of the future exhibition room and re-arrange all the shelves and the book stock in the main room. This was a mammoth task, but the main room looks all the better for it, and our colleagues in the Somerset Library Service very much approve.

We have installed a Community Café in the exhibition room, complete with a coffee machine providing freshly-ground coffee and hot drinks and new café tables and chairs. This is already proving popular.

We are in negotiations with National Landscapes (NL – what was AONB), who would like to rent the office as their national office and to create a permanent exhibition about their work in the exhibition room.

In May 2025 we received a grant from HPC. Part of this grant will pay for an exhibition on our local landscapes, climate change, local history, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge and his friend Thomas Poole. We will be starting work on this exhibition in the autumn. We are most grateful to Nether Stowey Parish Council, who are applying to Somerset-Association of Local Councils (SALC) for a grant to pay for an oral history project, a valuable add-on to this exhibition.

We also hope to have ever-changing displays about local activities, clubs and societies in this room.

An eight-page full-colour brochure, designed by Terence Sackett, has been delivered to every house in Nether Stowey and Over Stowey and distributed to the neighbouring villages. It gives full information about the library and its activities, and we hope that it will encourage more people to visit the library and become library members.

Smart new signage (also designed by Terence), consistent with our ‘house style’, has been installed inside and outside the library, including a banner at the street entrance. The aim is to make the library unmissable!

A mini-Arts Festival has been arranged, and will take place in November: four events will cover painting, music and literature, including an exhibition of work by local artists, readings by local poets, and performances by folk musicians. We are arranging a similar mini-festival about the environment to take place next spring.

Thomas Poole was an untiring philanthropist. He benefited the village in so many ways, including setting up the Savings Bank and the Women’s Friendly Society – and, of course, building the pioneering free school in 1813, which now houses the library. We are asking residents of our community to help us carry on Tom Poole’s work for this community by becoming Patrons of the library, and we are most grateful to those Patrons who have already donated to this project.

As always, we are grateful for the support of our membership. At 31 March 2025 there were 73 paid-up members of the CIO.

This year the Trustees have been concentrating on governance and management. This ensures that by defining the tasks we have to perform, and by creating a structure of committees and groups responsible for each task, a firm framework will exist to support the many exciting projects we are busy with now or preparing for the future.

Library Performance

TPLNS is entirely managed and run by volunteers.

Opening hours: 18 hours per week.

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Volunteer hours for library operations: volunteers gave a total of 2949 hours of their time, both within the library and elsewhere (up from 2893 hours last year).

The time spent by Trustees in contributing to the management of TPLNS is not accounted for in these figures.

Community Library Partnership meetings: two have been held with Somerset Library Service representatives to review performance, and TPLNS has received quarterly performance statistics. SLS is totally satisfied with our performance.

Meetings: seven meetings of the Trustees were held, six of the Management Committee, and four of the Volunteers.

Activities

Evening Talks : ten were given.

Regular weekly/monthly/annual activities :

● Children’s activities, including weekly Storytime for toddlers, weekly Story Reading to a class from the village school, a children’s book group, and reading and craft activities for children at half-terms and in the holidays, and the summer Reading Challenge

Adult book group
Knit and Natter
Chess Club
Dungeons and Dragons
Patient Participation Group
Book sales – held regularly, plus a book table in the library and stalls at village events
Somerset and Exmoor Coast Trail: trail passports can be obtained and stamped at the library
The Women’s Walk (held in memory of Thomas Poole) – help with planning and catering, plus storage of the archive and the banner
Participation in many village events, including the Walking Festival (Stowey Walking), Somerset Activity and Sports Partnership walks, Stowey Green Spaces, Party in the Park (book stall)
Monthly drop-in IT sessions for those who need help
The library is used by village organisations for meetings and AGMs (including Stowey Green Spaces, Stowey Walking, the Allotment Association)
Ancestry research facilities available
Displays, including natural history, local history, arts and crafts, children’s art. There are also regular library displays in the community cabinet and the old village gaol
Annual plant sale

Other events:

● Events for children included a visit from the RSPCA and special activities for World Book Day.

Poole Day: tea at Poole House and a talk in the library on Tom Poole and the Poet Laureate Robert Southey given by Professor Lynda Pratt and Dr Ian Packer.

● The library shared a promotional stall (with Stowey Walking and Stowey Green Spaces) at the Christmas Fair in the Church Centre.

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● The library is now at the ‘recommended’ stage for listing on SW Heritage’s Local Heritage List of buildings, structures and places which have cultural significance in Somerset. It is also now on the Somerset Historic Environment Record.

● The library has been nominated for the King’s Award for Volunteers.

● The Quantock Landscape Partnership Scheme (a collaboration with Natural Landscapes) has been leasing an office in the library since November 2021. TPLNS is delighted to host QLPS, who are doing so much to enhance this area.

● The Coleridge Collection is housed in the library. This collection of old, rare, valuable, and more modern scholarly books by and about Samuel Taylor Coleridge and his circle is owned by the Friends of Coleridge. TPLNS is privileged to host this collection, and very pleased that the books can be seen and used by the public.

● Sian Stafford has joined the Quantock Messenger editors’ group and edits this village magazine every two months.

Maintenance work

The following work is planned to be completed by the end of this year:

Painting exterior of windows and cupola
Felling tree and repairing tarmac lifted by its roots
Lining ceiling of the Book Shed

Website and social media

TPLNS’s website, and its Facebook and Instagram accounts, are updated regularly. The social media team also post on Stowey News Facebook.

Grants and Financial Aid

We are most grateful to the following for their generous support:

Somerset Council Waiving of remaining 20% Council Tax (discretionary relief) after 80% charity relief

Somerset Council Revenue grant of £5,000 for the financial year 2024-2025

Nether Stowey Parish Council £500

Cannington Parish Council £100

Over Stowey Parish Council £300

Spaxton Parish Council £250

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National Lottery Community Fund £18,000 to cover one year of employment costs of the library’s Centre Manager

Somerset Community Fund: Warm Safe Spaces grant £3,000

Energy Grant £2,500 to cover winter fuel costs

Patrons of the Thomas Poole Library

Four patrons donated a total of £1,500 (three included in the financial year ending 31 March 2025, and one in June 2025)

After the end of the financial year (31 March 2025), the following grants and donations were received:

Books for Life Charity £400

HPC Community Fund

£36,000, to cover the Centre Manager’s salary for a year and to create an exhibition on the local environment and local history

Anonymous donor £250 to buy reference books for children

Acknowledgements

The Trustees express their sincere thanks to the officers and members who make up the Management and Operations Committee, to the Centre Manager, and to the Volunteers for their committed service in carrying out daily librarian duties and tasks behind the scenes. The work carried out by all of them ensures that The Thomas Poole Library, Nether Stowey continues its invaluable role as a public library and a community asset, and maintains its Community Library Partnership with the Somerset Library Service.

Signed

For and on behalf of the Trustees

30 October 2025

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TT1M0$Pool¢ UbiaryNetherSt Re0stered ChatyNth 1181213 Receimsand Panents accountsforihe5earfrcAnAwlltst3)2410March 3tstXJ25 Income SomersetCoumGrani SCF Grant HoysingGrant Heiptoiwinter Grant EnergyGrant NationalLotteryGra¥rt OtherGrants Iw.Ix) 25(KJ.( 18000.(M) 1050.(N) 29550. TotslGranEs 260[1. Mermbeiship&sbs Wednesdaytsiks Booksèles Lilxarytsking5 HatkHlie in¢ludlngQLP ntal Coffee shop Patronsandotherdonations Other T0talRe*nuefromOr8tiOns 33&CKI 925.75 74&2) 770. s5. 375.C i(w.(KJ 1586.W2 15294.07 641. IW.56 806&C6 Totsiincome Expendiiwe ice5and Uknlttie$ Routine Malntenance Specialmaintenance Secondrnentcosts Purchaseolcoffee machine C¥Jnsummabies Outreach costs Media Other .3962 -1463.57 .1.67 -250118 .2874.(¥J -377.31 .38&74 -347.xs -824.16 YrA3lEVnde .31247.82 Net loutgo11 IncomIre9)ceS Resources B/FfromPY 44682.31 ResourcesCIFto nextar 58278.56 4468Z31 Pagell

The Thomas Poole Ubrary Nether Stty Registered UrIty No. 1181213 ststemert ofAssetsand LlabllHles asat31Mareh2025 Ca$h Bank Co-opeiative Bank CommunityDirectPIus account 3119.80 InstantAccess SaMng5 Account $3W.19 5827&56 415T2.51 44682ai Total Notes tothe Accwnts al Gr During the year the library received funding from the National Lottery to fvnd employee costs, the annual grdnt from Somerset County Council to support library operations, an energy grant and help for winter grant to helpfund the designated warm space and various donations from local parishes. bl 81k sale5 The library has a second- hand book shop on the premises and thls Isthe income from selling donated second- hand book c) LlbraryTakh Library takings indude late fees and bk OFderfEes. d) Hall l Ri>om Hlre In the year ended 311312025. the lilyary receNed 24 morths of room rental from the Quantocks Landscape Partnership as thell as income from hoing PCC eleLtion& Room Hlre QLP rM hire PCC eLect(Ob Total 512.crfj 951ZOO e} Coffee Shop The library has purchased a coffee mathine and is offering tea and coffee for donatKJns. Page12

Patrons and Donations A patron scheme has been developed and there **re 3 patrons at the end of the year. g} Other income Other income indudes bank interest on the dewsit account and revenue from car parking. h) Servlces and ubliiies Ener 1650.95 I416 286.01 493.50 3912.62 Water Insurance Total i) Outreath OLrtreach costs include the costs of public ta0 and public relation activiiies (eg Website) Page13

JI Reser¥esand Golng CaKern The library has a clearty documented reseNes wlicy and ensu$ that the is a designated fund that indudes all commttted spend, two years of annual overheads and an eptIonal maintenance budget. The librnry has a 3 year financial pkn that supw>rts its going conrn assessment with a healthy level of free reser4es. Cash ba1anceat31l2025 £58278.56 HPC scc £5,{.00 NationalLotteryfunthng24125 HPC Secondment12 FFnthS HPC Media centre £9.200.C £aooo.crf) £14,IAI).(K) Tot•lrestslrted fund1 U52lJO. Designatsd reser%es One year 0rhead$ Committed secondment¢l)SL8 Maintenance budget £.c(lo. £18,IXN).IW) £10..{) Page14

k) Fixed Assets The librnry keeps and asset registrr. All assets are fulty expensed upon purchase and so are rot capitalised on the balance sheet. The main addOn to the asset lsterS in the year ended 311312025 was a coffee machine for £2874. The below assets are shown below at original cost. DispWstands Dtshwasher Coidlessvacuum Copier Bookstsnds I Bookiack Copser Gazebo Sheling Bookstands 2 Coffee Machine Tthal 130.00 279.00 37.00 72.00 178.00 158.(X) 46. 142.(X) 2874.(K> 5202. Page15

Independent Examiners ReoM)rt to the Trustees of the Thon)as PIM)le Llbrary Netherstowey I rep)rt on the aLYounts of the Thonw Poole library Nether Stowey for the yearApril 1st 2024 to March 315t 2025, which are set out in the attached page& The Chariws trustees are resEM)nsible for the pw)aration of the accounts. The ChaT1S trstee8 (y)nsider that the audtt rwwirernert of sthin 44 of the Clwities Act 2011 9the Chariti£8 act) does not appty and that an independent exan)non is neede4t It is my r11)llitytO. Examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act To follow the pr(kn laid down in the general Directio8 gtven by the Clwity comm10n {under section 145ts)(b) of the 2011 Cbarities Act). and to state whether particular llwtter5 have (x)rne to my attentio Basis of independent exami8 report My examination was rlled out in accordan with the General Directio$ given by the Charity Commissioners."kn examination includ&s a review of the accounting recoriLs kept by the charity and a compaEison of tbe accounts presentedwith th(K8e records. It also includes consideration of any unusual iterns or disclosures in the aCllnts 2nd seelung exp]2nations from the Tn]stees concerning anysueh matters. The pr<Thlur&8 undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and o)nwuentty no opinion is given &8 to whether the aecounts present a and faiff leW and the report is limited to those uwtters set out iu the statement below. Independent Exarninerfs stat¢mcnt Iu eonnertion with my examitiOn, no matter has Lyjme to my attention: i. Whieh gives me rea8onable cae to believe thaL in any material rw. the i. To keep aco)unting rerdS in aCLx)TdanWlth Stion 130 of the Chartties Act. and u. To prepare aOUnts which accord with reeords andto complywith the accounting reconts ofthe Art 2. To which in my opinion. attention should Ix drawn in order to enable a proper Page16