2023-12-31-accounts - The Downton Memorial Centre

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The Downton Memorial Centre (Registered charity, number 1183511) Financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Page	Contents
2 - 5	nnual report
6	Independent e	report
7	Receipts & payments account
8	Statement of assets & liabilities
9 - 11	Notes to the accounts

The Downton Memorial Centre annual report for the year ended 31 December 2023

Full name The Downton Memorial Centre CIO

Organisation type Charitable incorporated organisation

Registered charity number 1183511

Principal address Downton Memorial Hall, The Memorial Hall, The Borough, Downton, Salisbury, SP5 3NB

Trustees

Susan Kirsten Barnhurst-Davies, Chair David Philip Mace, Treasurer Hilary Mace, Booking Secretary Jeremy Parsons Lesley Giles, from 01/02/2024 Andrew Philip Smith, from 01/03/2024 Christine Anne Pearce, until 02/01/2024

Independent examiner

Units 1 & 2 North West, 41 Talbot Street, Nottingham, NG1 5GL

Governance and management

The charity is operated under the rules of its CIO Foundation constitution adopted 21 May 2019.

Trustees are nominated by local organisations or trustees and appointed by the trustees.

Initially there were (Downton Memorial Hall, Charity No. 305507). Other trustees up to a maximum of 23 in number can be nominated by local organisations.

The trustees can also appoint up to 4 local residents as new trustees.

Objectives and activities

The provision and maintenance of the Downton Memorial Centre for use of inhabitants of the parish of Downton in the county of Wilts and its immediate vicinity without distinction of sex or political or religious or other opinions, including use for:

a) physical and mental training and recreation, and
b) intellectual development through the medium of reading and recreation rooms library lectures, classes, recreations.

The Downton Memorial Centre

Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit

The main activities of the Trustees are concerned with the operation of the Downton Memorial Centre to achieve the aims of the charity e.g.

maintaining the fabric and services of the building,
taking bookings for the hire of rooms and other facilities at the centre, managing the cleaning arrangements for the building,
collecting hire fees and rent, and managing the finances of the charity, fundraising for items to improve the premises for the public benefit, and advertising in the local press, and the village website, to promote the facilities of the charity.

The activities of the charity enable its local community to have easy access to rooms with good facilities, in a safe, clean, heated environment, and at a very reasonable cost. The rooms and other facilities of the Downton Memorial Centre are hired by local residents, organisations, and other parts of the community, for a wide variety of different activities, in line with the aims of the charity, which include:

physical exercise and development classes, recreational activities,
intellectual lectures etc. and development, and
entertainment in the form of film, theatre, musical performances and

The trustees wish to put on record their grateful thanks to the volunteers who help with the running of the Downton Memorial Centre, the fund-raising events and the improvements that continue to be made to its facilities.

Public benefit statement

The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit, 'Charities and Public Benefit'.

Summary of the main achievements during the period

The Downton Memorial Centre CIO (DMC) was protected from the world-wide massive increase in energy prices in 2022 as it already had in place a 3-year fixed price contract for its gas and electricity supply. However, that contract came to the end of its term in April 2023. gas and electricity rates became approximately two and a half times higher than on its previous contract.

In anticipation of this large increase in energy costs the Trustees reviewed the fees which it charged for its principal source of income i.e. the room hire fees. The fees for using the old part of the building had not increased for at least 10 years. In that time, the Consumer Prices Index had increased by approximately 30%. Similarly, the fees for the meeting rooms in the new extension were still at the levels which were set when the rooms were first opened in 2018; the CPI in that time had increased by 18%. Taking everything into account, the Trustees decided to raise each of the hourly room hire rates of £10 and £15 by 10% to £11 and £16.50 respectively. This change was published in March 2023 and became effective from May 2023 room bookings onwards.

The Downton Memorial Centre

years and, for the first time, exceeded the pre-Covid pandemic levels of 2019, as can be seen in the table below:

	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	20231 (excluding price rise)
Hire Fees	£21,566	£10,913	£8,553	£17,955	£25,552	£24,202
% change over 2019		-49%	-60%	-17%	+18%	+12%

The final column has been calculated by having the room hires which took place since May 2023 be notionally charged as if the price rise from May 2023 onwards had not been implemented).

The increased usage of the Downton Memorial Centre reflected the increasing confidence of people to meet in public following the Covid pandemic. Notable bookings in 2023 included:

The Snow Queen stage production, which was a very popular show, and a successful fund-raising event for the Projector & Screen Fund;
the return of the biennial dance show by the local dance school, The Forest School of Dance;
the return of weekly weight loss meetings by Slimming World;
the start of Little Buds, a weekly class for new mums; and
due to popular demand, increasing numbers of willow weaving and quilting classes which first started in 2022.

The Trustees policy on reserves is to maintain unrestricted cash reserves equivalent serve for emergency maintenance to the premises and facilities (£8,000), plus the Projector & Screen Fund (£3,820) making approximately £28,000 in total. The total unrestricted reserves at the 2023 year-end stood at £40,410. This appears to be a strong financial position. However, some of these unrestricted reserves will need to be earmarked for potential, future maintenance work (see next section) once those works have been fully identified and quantified. This planning work will take place during 2024.

Financial review

The charity has two principal sources of income, namely:

a) the hire fees charged for the use of its facilities and b) the pre-school rent.

The increasing level of room bookings in 2023 resulted in a healthy growth in the income from room hire fees. However, there were some on-going difficulties in 2023 with the receipt of rental income.

The Downton Memorial Centre Following a vote at an Exlraordinary General Meeting on the 26th May 2023, the Trustees of the Downton Comniunity PresGhool decided that they had no option but to permanently close the preschool from the end of the 2023 summer term. The Trustees of the Downton Memorial Centre were inforned that this decision was made due to Ilie ever-worsening finanGial situation of the pre-school and in light of the then national policies relevant to the early years sector. The fomal, six-month notice to terminate the sublease was received on 12th June 2023 and hence the sublease ended on 12th Dernber 2023. As at the end of 2023 some loose ends remained to ba sorted out in 2024. These included: some involS which were yet to be paid by the preschool; some overcharged utility recharges whiGh needed to be refunded to the preschool. During the latter half of 2023 the Tru3tees' attempts to find a new tenant for the early years part of the building were unsuccessful and so. at the year end. there was uncertainty over the rental income whiGh Could be achieved in 2024. Financial rlsks Unexpected, unplanned maintenance costs. The completion of the Memorial Hall XtenSIon project by Downton Pamsh Council (DPCI in ltltg 2018 resulted in a new lease being agreed be¢en DPC and the then Trustees of the Downton Memorial Centre CIO (DMC). In this new lease, the responsibilrty for maintaining the external aspects of the building will transfer fiom DPC to DMC once DPC ha8 completed certain remedial works on the building, the most signrficant of these being the replament of roofs and guttering. Those works have been in progress from 2019 onw¢iid&4 and ale due to be Gompleted in 2024. It is @xpected that the newly replaced flat roofs, as is nomially the case with flat roofs, will need to be redone in about 20 years, time. Now that the DMC is getting back to normal after the pandemic, and this is expected to continue through 2024, from the start of the 2025 financial year the Trustees will be earmarking some of the reserves for a 'Roof Maintenance Fund, and with the intention of growing this fund each year so that sufficient funds will be available to repla the flat roofs when needed. Similarly, other maintenance items which have a signifiGant potential cost will be identrfied, quantified and, where appropriate, reserves will be earmarked and grown over time to ènable the Trustees to pay for such future maintenance as and when the tlme arises. Signed on belialf of the Charity's trustees- Signed Susan Kirsten Barnhurst-Davies, Trustee Date )24

Independent examiner's report to the trustees of The Downton Memorial Centre for the year ended 31 December 2023 I report to the trustees on my examination of the 2ccounts of The Downton Memorial Centre (the charity) for the year ended 31 December 2023. Rgsponsibilities and basis of report As the trustees of the charity 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 charity's accounts carrled out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charty Commission under section 145(5){b) of the Act. Independent examiner's statement I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respéct.. accounting record8 were not kept in rospect of the charity as required by qection 130 of the Act. or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records. I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Signed John O'Brien Msc, CA, FCIE Employee of Community Accounting Plus Date

The Downton Memorial Centre Receipts & payments account for the year ended 31 December 2023

2022 Total Unrestricted Funds Funds £ Note £ Receipts 1 Grants & donations 2 2 230 Fundraising events 1656 4219 Rental income 5514 18085 Sales & hire fees 25591 177 Bank interest 1171 1965 Utility recharges 2232 75 Key deposits 100 - Damage deposits 200 24752 Total receipts 36466 Payments 45 Advertising/Promotional 45 5215 Cleaning 6238 21 Equipment 231 - Fundraising costs 763 588 Insurance 726 50 Key deposits refunded - 288 Legal & professional fees - 50 Membership fees 50 132 Music Licence 139 202 Office & general admin expenses 216 3 Printing, postage & stationery - 6043 Repairs & maintenance 7073 5411 Utilities 8686 808 Website 567 18856 Total payments 24734 5896 Net receipts/(payments) 11732 23282 Cash funds at start of this period 28678 29178 Cash funds at end of this period 40410	Restricted Funds £ 776 - - - - - - - 776 - - - - - - - - - - - 175 - - 175 601 500 1101	*2023* Total Funds £ 778 1656 5514 25591 1171 2232 100 200
		37242 45 6238 231 763 726 - - 50 139 216 - 7248 8686 567
		24909 12333 29178
		41511

The Downton Memorial Centre Statement of assets and liabilities at 31 December 2023 20?2 2023 Cash assets Bank accounts Cash in harKI 29158 20 29178 41511 41511 Othermonetsry assets Debtors Prepayments rpayment 3083 4386 856 1025 6267 3083 Assets retalned for the charity's own use General equipmert Liabilities Creditors AdvarKed receipts - Sales a 're fees Refvrd2ble dÉposits PÈld 112351 1563} {25S8) (7751 625 3958) (1798) These financial statements are accepted on behalf of the charity by.. Signed David Philip Dated rustee

The Downton Memorial Centre Notes to the accounts

for the year ended 31 December 2023

1. Receipts & payments accounts

Receipts and payments accounts contain a summary of money received and money spent during the period and a list of assets and liabilities at the end of the period. Usually, cash received and cash spent will include transactions through bank accounts and cash in hand.

2. Grants & donations

3. Funds analysis

Projector & Screen Fund

In 2019 the Trustees started to raise funds to enable the Downton Memorial Hall to have its own projector and screen. During the Covid pandemic, in 2020 through to 2022, it was impractical to try to run any significant fundraising events. However, The Snow Queen stage production in January 2023, which was held as the first major fundraising event for the Projector & Screen fund since the Covid pandemic, was a great success. As at the end of 2023 the Projector & Screen Fund, consisting of the total of grants received, and of the net profits made on the fundraising events since 2019, stood at £3,820. Further fundraising events are to be held in 2024 and with the intention of implementing the new facilities by 2025.

The Downton Memorial Centre

4. Debtors, prepayments and overpayments

5. Creditors, refundable deposits and advance receipts

6. Premises

The land and buildings are owned by Downton Parish Council and leased to The Downton Memorial Centre CIO at a peppercorn rent of £10 per annum for a term of 900 years beginning on 24 June 2018.

educational provision, were sublet by the CIO to the Downton Community Pre-School (Charity No. 1027574) from 1[st] November 2018 through to 12[th] December 2023.

7. Related party transactions

The trustee David Mace is also a Parish Councillor, and the trustee Susan BarnhurstDavies is also an Officer, at Downton Parish Council. Downton Parish Council hired rooms during this period for a total amount of £957.

The trustee Hilary Mace is also a committee member of the Downton Green Group. The Downton Green Group hired rooms from The Downton Memorial Centre during this period for a total amount of £40.

The trustee Jeremy Parsons is also a trustee of Downton Moot Preservation Trust. The Moot Preservation Trust hired rooms from The Downton Memorial Centre during this period for a total amount of £10.

The trustees Susan Barnhurst-Davies and Jeremy Parsons are also committee members of The Downton Society. The Downton Society hired rooms from The Downton Memorial Centre during this period for a total amount of £41.

The Downton Memorial Centre

Trustees received no expenses, remuneration or benefits in this period.

9. Glossary of terms

Advance receipts: These are amounts received by the organisation in the accounting period, for use in a future period.

Creditors: These are amounts owed by the charity, but not paid during the accounting period.

Debtors: These are amounts owed to the charity, but not received in the accounting period.

Prepayments: These are services that the organisation has paid for in advance, but not used during the accounting period.

Restricted funds: These are funds given to the charity, subject to specific restrictions set by the donor, but still within the general objects of the charity.