Charity No 1185399 ## **- Friends of Ellington Park CIO 1185399** Report March 2022 – December 2022 For information: The reporting period was set up as March – February to reflect when we originally started as a Community Group so the accounts and report for last year were submitted for the period March 2021 – Feb 2022. We have now adjusted this year to be from March until December 2022 and going forward it will then be a standard calendar year which will be in sync with the accounting period of the CIO. Our previous report advised that Ellington Park was undergoing major refurbishment and building works after being awarded a National Heritage Lottery Fund (NHLF), in partnership with our local council (the landowners). This work has now been completed with the opening of the new community café with toilet facilities (in August 2021). The CIO has taken on the tenancy of the café with the local council as landlord and Ellington Park Café Ltd is the operating company. It is run by paid managers and a group of reliable volunteers. It is open 6 days a week and offers a comfortable space with good value food and drink for the local community. In conjunction with FoEP and the A/O* there are several groups of various backgrounds, ages and abilities that are using the café regularly and this has continued to build over the last year. In the winter months some volunteers opened the café on Mondays (when it is usually closed), to provide a warm space and offer free tea and toast. In addition, the NHLF funding is paying for an *Activity Officer (A/O who was appointed in October 2021), to work on our behalf to encourage local groups, schools and the wider community to use the park and café for their wellbeing and educational workshops. The original budget was drastically reduced which has had a knock-on effect as to the amount and level of activities that can be arranged but the A/O has liaised with many specialists/creative artists/performers who have offered their services at reduced rates or even for free. These contacts continue to grow and we have regular presentations such as local history talks, archeology, local author readings and book signings, painting and crafting sessions etc. The other restoration works have also been completed including the renovation of the historic assets of the park such as the 120 year old bandstand and terrace area, as well as planting of new trees and plants. We are proud to announce that Ellington Park was awarded the prestigious Green Flag award and also Green Heritage Site accreditation – being the only park in our district to have received these accolades. We are most grateful to all of our hardworking volunteers who help to maintain the park to keep it at its best. In the final quarter of 2021 we were able to start organising events in the park again and this has gone from strength to strength in 2022. These events provide income for the CIO from stall fees and kind donations from the attendees but also involve some high expenditure on items such as portaloos, entertainment, first aid support and additional insurance cover. However, we want to encourage everyone to use the park and our events are free and attract a large attendance from all walks of the community and are we receive fabulous feedback from park users and on social media. In 2022 we held the following events: Easter Fun Day, World Bee Day (with a presentation from our local beekeepers’ association and we now have our own hive!), our largest event the May Fayre, Queen’s Jubilee celebrations, Family Picnic in the Park for families to come and enjoy the park and listen to the music on the bandstand, annual English Heritage Open Day where we present the history of the park which goes back to 11[th] century, Halloween Party and Christmas Fayre. These events, along with kind donations from park users, has allowed us to have a defibrillator installed outside the café so that it is accessible anytime. We have ring-fenced the funds to pay for the 5 year contract for this. We have helped with other events working with local groups and charities including mental health awareness days to encourage people to come and enjoy our beautiful park and to show there are many organisations that can offer support and advice; Disability Awareness Week where the local Mencap group did a ‘yarn bomb’ on the bandstand; Power of Women held a family fun day for International Women’s Day. Local schools regularly come for nature walks and some have also set up litter picking sessions. From April – October, weather permitting, we are able to open our book shop which is manned by volunteers and has a vast selection of reference and fiction books for all ages. It is well supported which brings a good revenue for the CIO. We hope in future to be able to adapt the space so that the volunteers do not have to carry the stock in and out each time and we would then be able to be open all year round. The NHLF project will continue until the end of 2023 so we are working with them to fulfill the outcomes for the project and it is already noticeable that there has been an increase in daily visitors to the park to enjoy nature, exercise, dog walk etc but also now to use the café and the new children’s play area. We are now planning activities and projects for next year! ## _**Treasurer**_ ## _**Friends of Ellington Park CIO**_ From an article December 2022 in local town magazine that is distributed to all residents. CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Th• Frf•nds of E*lngiM Pwk CK) Receipts and ayments accounts 31112R022 CC16a from Section A Receipts and payments Unr••trlct•d fund• R••trfct•d End¢wrn•nl Total fund• lund• Laot y•¥r A1 R•c•l TDC FuThYln -knS•l RTC Granl-l)r Cwrt Bookahop S¥krys PTcfilfmm Café Lo•n wpaid Irom C￿• Community Fundrnlsi Ev•rt6 Sub$Grfpth)n8 S t>JneJon¥ Ti•e S CXh•r lrto •5CI 1•21 621 S.047 717 5.717 11N83 11.501 17J 171 49,103 Sub total ( ross Incorrn AR) A2 A•••t and Inv••tm•nt ••l••, t•bl•). Tot•1 rn¢•lpts .217 12,616 4•,103 A3Po •nt• S•l•rylO Acllwl Offl Admln Co$lS Wlklllfo G•rden Exp•ns•5 Commun FthdM81fi0 E Work5 Inwronc• Defibrillth R•nt•l Propert MHinienBrtO s¢Jlor P8wn 1.1187 5,103 7,804 1.337 27,17 Sub fot41 A4 A*wt and InN••tm•nt • l•bl• 752 3 Prlnt•rn C•biDelfoi C*flbrillator hproveThenl8 to Boards 752 2$0 1,1J1 Totol yyments Net of rettlptrfp•ym•nlS) A5 Tran•f•rs lund• A6 Ca¥h funds last ￿•r •nd Cash funds Ihls ye•r end 18,039 10,270 15.604 36,390 11. ow10￿023 CCXX Ri #ccfjunts ISSI Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Unr•strtcted funds Rèstricted funds bdowmont funds trJwMt£ to n•arF•t£ to neares1£ B1 Cash funds Bar* 88Lg 29.712 C*sh Hek 140 X.852 6.546 6)> UnTr#￿¢t¢d funds R•strlctod fund Endowment fundg to n••r•¥t£ Detsils to n￿re1t£ Fund lowfftl¢ s•t bDI tsetalls Cojt lo￿10￿1) FurNI towh*h Cumnl val Ldll¥ IbrilktorCthThl C•8t loptknzll B4 As¥¢ts retalned for the Charf￿$ own use G)M[4tsrEq￿FlThr￿ swi￿5 & C￿5 SW ar￿ Gard￿ Ewiwr PA Eq¥or•)I un￿51r￿d F￿dt0 whl¢h ltsbjl ur¥estri￿¢d th•n du• tlona B5 Uabllltlos Svaned by or trustees on behalf of all the trustees Dale of val Print Name 10 (¥ CCXX R2 &¢counts ISSI Charity No 1185399 ## **PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL** ## **TREASURER’S REPORT Dec 2022** Much of our income in the reporting period was generated by our everpopular community fundraising events, which we were able to reintroduce in late-2021 after COVID restrictions had been lifted. These were exceptionally well attended and brought in £1926 of unrestricted funds. The Charity saw further sources of income generated by our community bookshop (£5847). Also, after COVID, we started to request membership fees again (although a good many members had still paid their fees or made donations during that time). Key items of spend included: Activity Officer's remuneration (£8850), funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund via the District Council; costs associated with community and fundraising events (£7804); the ongoing 5 year rental for the defibrillator (£2886) and other charitable activities, for example Wildlife Garden maintenance (£6443). Also earmarked for our funds are some long standing projects, some of which were excluded from the NLHF funding due to increased costs on the build, such as: - **Petanque piste** (now in progress as funding received from Town Council) - to upgrade **Shed** area with proper roof and door etc so that it is weatherproof and more accessible for use. - to extend the **Bookshop** (maybe with an additional container), so that the volunteers do not have to lug the stock in and out each time and then it can be open year round. The bookshop is a good source of income for us as all stock is donated and all the work is done by volunteers so has no outgoing cost. The volunteers have advised that this year there has been a definite increase in customers and revenue. ## **Reserves policy for the Friends of Ellington Park 2022** The Charity’s free reserves at the end of the reporting period stood at £29,852. The Trustees consider the current level of reserves to be more than enough to cover the Charity’s expected expenditure for the year ahead were projected sources of income not to materialise. In the present reporting period, FoEP has focused on managing the Heritage-funded regeneration project successfully and will continue to do so through to its completion in December 2023. Once the regeneration project is completed, the Trustees plan to utilise a suitable proportion of the Charity’s reserves for other projects which further the Charity’s objects. In the meantime, the Trustees are taking the opportunity to build the Charity’s resilience and capacity, strengthening its reserves through fundraising activities such as the community bookshop, community cafe, May Fayre and other events. In summary, the Friends have achieved some remarkable things this year and hope that we can build on these for 2023. ## _**Treasurer**_ _**Friends of Ellington Park CIO**_