FRIENDS OF FISHPOND PARK PANTEG CHARITY REGISTRATION NO. 1184066
TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT 24[th] JUNE 2019 TO 31[st] OCTOBER 2020
Purposes of the Charity
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1) To advance the facilities and maintenance of the Fishpond Park Panteg for the benefit and enjoyment of the public at large
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2) To raise funds to further this aim whilst not engaging in any taxable permanent trading activity and must comply with any relevant statutory regulations.
Summary of the main activities
The ongoing maintenance and improvement of all areas of the park. This includes planting shrubs, annuals and perennials in the numerous beds. We keep costs down by purchasing seeds and plug plants. Some of our more green fingered members bring them on in their own greenhouses and allotments and transport to the park when ready for planting. Any plants surplus to requirements are sold to the general public . Many people donate empty hanging baskets and containers to us which we plant up and sell at a good profit. The park is enclosed by hedging. The outside is cut annually by the Council but our members take care of the inside. This task alone keeps us busy at certain times of the year. We use good quality rechargeable electric tools and have had to purchase additional batteries to keep pace with the volume of work. We have also agreed to purchase a wood chipper that will enable us to reduce the green waste that is collected by the Council and also provide mulch for some of the borders.
There is a brick pavilion in the grounds which is in a poor state of repair but we use it as a base for our activities and for storage. Each year we try and identify some area to repair/improve. In the period covered by this return we completed the refurbishment of the ladies toilets. This was quite costly but a local Housing Association helped with a generous donation (received prior to June 19).
The large windows in the pavilion all needed attention. One window was missing and the area just boarded up and the other windows had missing or broken glass. A hardwood replacement was ordered from a local joinery firm and installed and glazed by one of our members. A locally based window company re-glazed the remaining windows using safety glass where necessary. The window frames all needed stripping, rubbing down and then repainting and this is being done alongside the gardening jobs.
The outside of the pavilion also needed painting. Security shutters and doors have been done but further work is required to complete the task.
Damaged concrete steps have been repaired.
A number of new benches have been commissioned and installed by our members.
A water fountain has been installed to provide drinking water.
CCTV was purchased and installed free of charge by a local electrical company. This was considered to be desirable to discourage any antisocial behaviour and is therefore helping to make the park a safe environment for the many residents who visit and value this local green space.
A major fundraising event is our family Fun Day and Dog Show which takes place in July and attended by several hundred people. The attractions include stalls, an ice cream van, afternoon teas, bouncy castle, football goal scoring, tennis tuition, bowls taster competition and plant sale. Unfortunately, in 2020 the Fun Day had to be cancelled due the pandemic but we did manage to hold a socially distanced plant sale.
The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA )working with Torfaen County Borough Council have chosen the Fishpond Park as a venue for professional tennis coaching sessions for children. Outside of these sessions, the courts are available to members of the public free of charge. The general public will therefore benefit when the courts are resurfaced courtesy of the LTA.
At Christmas we host an afternoon tea for local pensioners free of charge. Children from the local primary school attend to sing carols and there is also a free raffle. All the food is donated by our members so the cost to the charity is kept to a minimum. This event is particularly enjoyable and we know it is very much appreciated.
We hope that our status as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) will enable us to secure funding to make further improvements. It has already enabled us to negotiate with Torfaen County Borough Council with regard to us leasing the park and the brick pavilion.
The Trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.
Achievements and Performance
The main achievement is probably the fact that as a group we are still going strong and as determined as ever to work together to maintain and improve the facilities in this park for the benefit of the community. The pandemic meant we were unable to work as a group for many months but
during that time some individuals carried on working alone to ensure the park didn’t decline. At a time when none of us could travel very far the park attracted a lot more visitors and we received many compliments and words of appreciation. It seems that there were a lot of people who were very grateful to have this tranquil green space nearby. Our Facebook page is testimony to our achievements.
When the group started in 2016 there had been a lot of anti-social behaviour, drug use and vandalism by youths in the park. I am pleased to report that such incidents are now very rare and this is probably because the park is being cared for, used and more appreciated.
We are pleased that our hard work in the park has been recognised by Keep Wales Tidy and we have been awarded a Green Flag each year since 2016.
Financial Review
At the end of this reporting period (31[st] October 2020) the charity is in a good financial position. We have £16, 863. We already expect to spend around £8,600 in the near future on planned expenditure as mentioned in the receipts and payments account and there will be further costs to put a pitch roof on the coming storage container (as required by Planning). Negotiations regarding the lease are progressing well and we hope that having the lease will enable us to secure more substantial funding so that we will be able to finance some of the more expensive work needed in the park e.g. resurfacing of the tarmac paths which are in a very poor state.
Structure, Governance and Management
Governing document - Constitution We are a CIO Trustees are appointed at our AGM. By election.
On behalf of the Charity’s Trustees
Wendy Carol Woods Position: Treasurer Date: 15[th] August 2021
FRIENDS OF FISHPOND PARK PANTEG REGISTRATION NO. 1184066
RECEIPTS & PAYMENTS FOR THE PERIOD 24th JUNE 2019 to 31 O
A1 RECEIPTS
Donations Plant sales Tea & veg sales Members standing orders Trustee subscriptions Income from car boot sale Income from Fun Day Profit from members private xmas function Profit from members private BBQ
Total income in period
A3 PAYMENTS
General expenditure Expenditure for Fun Day Expenditure for car boot sale Expenditure for pensioners xmas tea party Refurbishment of ladies toilets Windows New pond filter plus repairs CCTV Water fountain ( drinking water) Four new benches Planning fee for storage container Plants & Shrubs
Total expenditure in period
NET INCOME FOR PERIOD
For Information
The total funds held at 31st October 2020 This includes £3800 previously given to us by the Lawn Tennis Association to resurface the tennis courts. £799 earmarked for a wood chipper
£4,000 plus earmarked for a secure storage container
Notes
Donations have been given by individuals, local businesses, Ward and Parish Councillors and a local community group
When members meet to work in the park we have tea/coffee and donated homemade cakes. Also donated seasonal vegetables. Members pay by way of a donation.
Some individuals have organised standing order payments direct from their bank by way of a donation
General expenditure includes a broad range of things E.g. Kitchen and toilet equipment and consumables. Paint and brushes. Gardening essentials, turf and obelisks. Fish food. Electric heaters. Strimmer and rechargeable batteries for gardening tools.
The cost of one brand new (large) window plus replacement of broken or missing glass in the rest of the windows in the brick pavilion.
OCTOBER 2020
| See Note | |
|---|---|
| 3244 | 1 |
| 2593 | |
| 814 | 2 |
| 425 | 3 |
| 21 | |
| 95 | |
| 1924 | |
| 40 | |
| 40 | |
| 9196 | |
| 1586 | 4 |
| 377 | |
| 38 | |
| 82 | |
| 2167 | |
| 1092 | 5 |
| 772 | |
| 125 | |
| 414 | |
| 360 | |
| 190 | |
| 518 | |
| 7721 | |
| 1475 | |
| £16,863 |
Note I Note 2 Note 3 Note 4 Note 5