OpenCharities

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

2024-03-31-accounts

Charity Name: METHERINGHAM SWIMMING POOL Charity Number: 1185436

Trustees' Annual Report & Financial Statements for the Period 01 April 2023 to 31 March 2024

Reference & Administration Details

Charity name: Metheringham Swimming Pool

Registration Number: 1185436

Address :

Metheringham Swimming Pool Princes Street Metheringham Lincoln LN4 3BX

Trustee names

(In the period April 2023-March 2024 there have been 5 Trustees who are all involved in managing the Charity)

Melanie Wright – Chairperson

Karen Rymer – Secretary

Terence Wright – Treasurer

Nicola Duncan – Lifeguard manager/RAF Liaison

Ruth Hunter-Leith – Events & Social Media Manager

Structure Governance & Management

What are the Charity’s Trusts

Metheringham Swimming Pool has the right to manage the land on which the Swimming Pool is built, through a Memorandum of Understanding with Metheringham Parish Council. The buildings on the site are in its Trust.

Type of Governing Document Metheringham Swimming Pool is governed by a Constitution

How the Charity is Constituted

Metheringham Swimming Pool is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation

Trustee Selection Methods:

Trustees serve for a period of 2 years. There are no less than 4 & no more than 7 Trustees.

The Governance & Management of the CIO is defined in the Constitution as follows:

Apart from the first charity trustees, every trustee must be appointed for a term of two years by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees. In selecting individuals for appointment as charity trustees, the charity trustees must have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the CIO.

How New Trustees are Inducted & Trained The existing charity trustees will make available to each new charity trustee, on or before his or her first appointment:

a copy of the current version of the constitution; and a copy of the CIO’s latest Trustees’ Annual Report and statement of accounts.

Induction and training will be provided by the secretary in a separate session, not less than one week before the first meeting which the new Trustee attends.

Objects

Summary of the Purposes of the Charity.

The Objects (purposes) of Metheringham Swimming Pool CIO stated in the constitution are:

Statutory Declaration on Public Benefit

The trustees declare that they have complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission in exercising their powers or duties.

Executive Summary

In the Financial Year 1[st] April 2023 to 31[st] March 2024 the Trustees have met formally on a regular basis (a minimum of bi-monthly) to review the financial controls and continue with ongoing training for the Trustees in accordance with the specific guidance from the Charity Commission. The 2023 season was the first “normal” year at the pool since 2019. In the intervening years the pool was hit by reduced opening times in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid restrictions (although it is worth noting that the Trustees & Pool Committee worked hard to ensure that the pool still opened in those years, when many other local pools did not).

The major refurbishment started in 2022 was complete and the whole pool site was looking incredible, with a solid infrastructure underneath the lining, a tiled base, a new filtration system and resin gel around the poolside replacing the original uneven paving slabs from the 1970s.

New poolside furniture was purchased using a grant awarded from the Siemens Charity Committee following a vote by Siemens employees in August 2022 and this completed the new look to the poolside, enabling the worst of the old plastic chairs and tables to be “retired”.

The achievements of the 2023-4 season are detailed below. The pool continues to go from strength to strength, despite increasing running costs and this is largely due to the time & effort donated by the Trustees, Committee & Volunteers.

Activities & Achievements

Summary of Pool Activities April-September 2023

April 2023: The pool opened on 1[st] April for Cold-Water Swims, and 20 swimmers came along to sessions on 10 /17 days in April, including some first timers. A pre-season Volunteers’ Day was held on Saturday 15th April. The annual boiler service was carried out and we started to heat the pool in the last week of April, in preparation for our Grand Opening Day on Saturday 29[th] April (the first time for many years that the pool has been open before the start of May). We had glorious sunshine all day as we celebrated the start of the season with a Meg-a-Swim day for all ages, a BBQ, cake sale and stalls on the poolside. The day finished with a “family fun” hour of games led by Marisa, our Zumba teacher.

May 2023: Swimming lessons started with Hazel, our new Swimming teacher, organised by Mel & Terry. We ran two more Meg-a- Swims on both Bank Holidays as part of the community’s Coronation celebrations. In the first 12 days over 650 swimmers, from babies to octogenarians used the pool. All the usual activities restarted from 2[nd] May including Adult Swims, Sunday morning Parent & Toddler/Child Swims, Open Swims and Private Bookings. Other regular bookings (including Zumba fitness and Nocton & District WI) started from 1[st] May. Increased numbers of adult swimmers came to us because the Heron’s pool at Branston was closed. Many said they would be returning next year because they found Metheringham Pool such a lovely place to swim.

June 2023 Metheringham Primary School swimming started after half term. There was an issue with the boiler ignition system which was investigated under the Insurance contract (as notified to the Clerk & The MPC rep at the time). Ultimately no claim was made as the cost of the repair was less than the excess and from June onwards it continued working with no further issues. Only one day of swimming was affected by this. At the end of June, the Metheringham Primary School children took part in an all-day Splash-a-thon which raised just over £1300 for the pool. The NKDC Environmental Team carried out the annual water quality testing which the pool passed with flying colours.

July 2023: The Lifeguard team reached full strength with 6 qualified lifeguards giving the potential for more sessions to open up over the summer holidays. Paving slabs donated by a volunteer were laid on the area next to the boiler house. The last of the rubble from the refurbishment was removed from outside the gate and additional soil was smoothed down and raked. The annual party was run for the Y6 pupils from Metheringham Primary School on the last day of term. A local resident donated money so that local children could have a free swim over the summer – this was co-ordinated with the help of Metheringham Primary School. One of our adult swimmers completed a personal challenge to swim the width of the Channel at the pool to raise money for the Macmillan Cancer charity. Reece, (the leader of our Junior Volunteers) challenged the adult swimmers to put a team together to swim 50 miles in a week as part of the RAFA 50 challenge. Trustee Ruth organised the team of 12 intrepid swimmers and from 24[th] to 30[th] July they notched up 5600 lengths (more than 50 miles) and raised over £250.

August 2023: The usual sessions continued in the summer holidays and additional Parent & Child & Open swims were added on Tuesday and Thursdays. Private bookings increased as the weather improved. A final Meg-a-Swim day, on the Bank Holiday Monday was well attended. Lido swimmers from all over the country came to visit us & we updated our entry in the Lido Guide book.

September 2023: The pool closed for human swimming on Friday 15[th] September with a final swim for the volunteers who had given their time all season. The risk assessment for the annual end-of-season Doggy Swim was reviewed and was approved by the NKDC Environmental Health team. The event ran for 2 days on 16[th] & 17[th] September with nearly 80 dogs enjoying their swim. Once that finished our pool engineer Carl carried out an extensive clean before he made the pool ready for the winter.

Overall, we were open for 20 weeks in the 2023 Season and we had over 10,000 swimmers in the pool during that time, averaging over 500 a week! For a small community pool run entirely by volunteers this is an amazing figure and we are so grateful to all the people who came along to swim and to our loyal band of volunteers who made it happen by donating hours of their time in the Tuckshop and behind the scenes.

Like so many organisations we have been hit by the rising gas prices and it has cost us over £20,000 just to heat the pool this year. As a small community pool, we are not eligible for the heating grants which are offered to the larger swimming pools.

Fundraising Activities

Volunteers continue to run a Tuckshop at the Dunston Comedy Night which brings in additional revenue. Metheringham Primary School children joined a “Splash-a-thon sponsored swim and raised over £1300 for the pool. The pool had a stall at the Metheringham Fayre & Feast with games and pool merchandise. £120 was raised from this. An Indian Banquet in aid of the pool was held in Metheringham’s newly opened Maharaaj restaurant in September. Over 50 people attended, raising over £1000. The Tuckshop has also been opened on Fridays from September to December for “after school” treats, staffed by Mel, Terry & the volunteers.

At the end of the season, Claire facilitated donations from the Lincoln Minster Rotary Club and from an anonymous benefactor from the village which enabled us to purchase a Pool Hoover. A competition was run at the Fayre & Feast to name the Hoover which was eventually named “Meryl Sweep”!

Olivia organised a Halloween Trail from the pool on 31[st] October and raised £37.

Thanks to Lead Fundraiser Claire and Trustee Ruth who have organised many of these events together with Chair & Treasurer Mel & Terry and Volunteers Angela & Roy, Shaz & Ian, Simone and Sue.

Merchandise

Volunteers Ian & Shaz from Enhance Embroidery & Print in Metheringham have designed a range of pool merchandise, including hats, T-shirts, towels, mugs, coasters & keyrings. They have produced these at cost for the pool so that they can be sold to raise money. The items had their first outing at the Metheringham Fayre & Feast, where they proved very popular and will also be sold in the Tuckshop next season.

Grants Received

Secretary Karen successfully applied for funding from Heath Farm Energy (part of Future Boigas) and received £3000 towards the cost of the heating. The pool also received a grant from a local Lottery fund of £470.99 which was used to purchase a Marquee and Patio Heaters in order to facilitate poolside activities in bad weather and when the nights are colder. This also allows us to plan events in the off-season.

MoU Review

The Memorandum of Understanding between the Trustees and Metheringham Parish Council was due to be reviewed in October 2022. The initial review meeting finally took place in April 2023 and is still on-going. As a result of the initial meeting the current statement of finances (already reported to MPC in the monthly reports) has been expanded to include projected expenditure to the end of the season.

Pool Management Committee & Trustees

Following the MoU review in April, the Trustees meetings and Pool Management Committee meetings were merged into one monthly meeting. Committee membership has expanded in 2023-24 to include new members, each representing an area of Pool management as follows:

Trustees Committee members
Mel - Chairperson
Karen – Secretary
Terry – Treasurer/Site manager
Nikki – Lifeguard Manager/RAF Liaison
Ruth – Social Media/Events		 Shaz – Tuckshop Volunteers
Olivia – NKDC Lottery
Reece – Junior Volunteers
Ian – Covers		 Claire – Fundraising
Sarah – Adult Swimmers
Steve – Website
Glynn – RAF Projects

Exemptions from Disclosure

There are no exemptions from disclosure applied to Metheringham Swimming Pool CIO.

Use of Volunteers

All people associated with the Pool are volunteers, only the lifeguards receive a salary.

Volunteers are not paid, they donate their services in maintenance, running the tuckshop etc. Their contribution to the pool cannot be quantified in the financial sense however they are crucial to its running and future success. It is imperative that the work of the Trustees and the running of the CIO is transparent at all times, so the Volunteers know that they remain at the heart of the Charity’s structure.

Performance Data

The data for the 2023 season (1[st] May to 15[th] September 2023) is detailed in the table below:

Performance Data
The data for the 2023 season (1stMay to 15thSeptember		 Performance Data
The data for the 2023 season (1stMay to 15thSeptember
May to September 2023
Activity Numbers Participating
Footfall non-swimmers 1000
Open Swims 3106
Adults 1882
Mega Swims +Family Fun 796 +50
846
Parent & Child 399
Parent & Toddler 188
Private Bookings (76) 1530_(est)_
Regular Groups
(WI- Gables-Zumba)		 (190-50-380) 620
Swimming Lessons 100
School Swimming Lessons whole
school 5 weeks		 1150_(est)_
Junior Lifeguards_(14 per week)_ 84
Total 10,905

Financial Review

Statement of the Charity’s Policy on Reserves

The reserves that we have set aside provide financial stability and the means for the development of our principal activity. We intend to maintain our reserves at a level which is at least equivalent to £2500 which is the amount required for initial opening of the pool in the 2024 season before revenue is generated.

This will cover:

The Trustees of Metheringham Swimming Pool regularly (as part of the financial statement at every meeting) review the amount of reserves that are required to ensure that they are adequate to fulfil our continuing obligations.

Details of any Funds Materially in Deficit

The Trustees declare that the charity had no funds which were materially in deficit at the date of the statement of assets & liabilities.

State of the Charity’s Finances

In the financial period 01-04-2023 to 31-03-2024 the income of the Charity was £50,052.17 and expenditure was £47,755.77. There is very little income accrued in the months between October 2023 and March 2024 as the Pool is not open.

In May 2021 Metheringham Swimming Pool entered into a formal agreement with Mr S Rymer, a connected person to Trustee Karen Rymer, to pay a monthly fee in respect of coding and managing the Metheringham Swimming Pool website. This decision was made in accordance with the Charity Commission rules. The monthly fee for the service is less than half the going rate for such services. Mrs Rymer removed herself from the meeting for the purpose of this discussion and remaining trustees made the decision and approved a written agreement. The agreement is renewed annually to ensure the costs still meet the Charity commission requirements.

Restricted Funds

Metheringham Swimming Pool CIO did not hold any restricted funds in the financial period 01-042023 to 31-03-2024

Designated Funds

There were no designated funds in the financial period 01-04-2023 to 31-03-2024

Particulars of any Outstanding Guarantee given by the Charity

The Trustees declare that the charity has given no guarantee where potential liability is outstanding at the date of the statement of assets & liabilities.

Particulars of any Outstanding Debt

The Trustees declare that the charity has no outstanding debts which are secured by an express charge on any of the assets of the charity at the date of the statement of assets & liabilities.

Declaration

The Trustees declare that they have approved the above report and authorised that it be signed on their behalf.

Signed

K Rymer

Secretary

Metheringham Swimming Pool Trustees

28-01-24

Metherirtgham Swimming Pool Accounts for the Period 01April 2023 to 31March 2024 Approved by the Trustees of the Charity 27-01-2025 Melanie Wright (Chairperson) lan Holmes (Treasurer) Karen Rymer (Secretary) Terence Wrigh (Treasurer) Nicola Duncan (Trustee) Ruth Hunter-Leith (Trustee)

Iilliiiiiii NIIINI llllllllllllllllllllllllQllllllllllllllllllllllllllllQllll

IUN UNI llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

11 lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

llllllllllllllllll IIINIOI

llllllllEI'

llllllll

11

11 Illlllllllllll- UNI

11

11 11 llll Ii'lll

llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

lllllllllllll NIIIN lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

11 11 Illlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll EBI

C>

Metherlngham Swimmlng Pool Accounts 2023-24 Summary by Category INCOMING £202.36 £10,723.88 £12,064.17 £9,544.93 £3,672.92 £6.343.10 £7,405.81 Merchandise Fundraising Open Swims Parties Swimming Lessons Tuck Shop Adult Swims OUTGOING £1,366.93 £715.00 £60.(N) £86.60 £4,434.43 Equipment Pool Maintenance Consumables Payroll Costs Website & Phone Loan Repayments Total Intome Bank balance at 06104123 Total £21,446.76 £2,714.48 £7.698.30 £267.45 £6,252.42 £913.40 £1,81XJ. £95.00 £50,052.17 £6.763.92 £56.816.09 Totsi ExPend￿￿Te £47.755.77 Bank balance at 31103n4 £9,1160.32 Independent examiner's report to the Trustees of Metheringham Swimming Pool I report to the trustees on my examinatlon of the accounts of Metheringham Swlmming P￿1 for the year ended 315t March 2024. Responslbilltle5 and basis of report As the charity trustees of Metherlngham Swlmmlng Pool you are responsible for the preparation of the aCc￿ntS in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Att 2011 1.the Act,). I report in respect of my examinatTon of Metheringham Swimming Pool's accounts carried out under s.145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions glven by the Charity Commission under s. t4515I1bl of the Act. Independent exam7ner's statement I have completed my examination. I conflrm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect.. 111 accounting records were not kept in respect of Metheringham Swimmlng Pool as reqirired by section 130 of the Act,. or 12 }the accounts do not accord with those records- or 131 the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and c¢)ntent of account5 set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fair view which is not a matter consldered as part of an Tndependent examination. Page1of2

I have no concems and have come across ot￿r matters in connection with the examination to which attention Shl￿ld be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper Understand1r￿ of the accounts to be reached. Slgned Name: Relevant professional qualification or lyjdy: ft . 1 , o_. ￿})￿ k Address: Date: I fT Page2of2