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2022-04-05-accounts

CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examinerfs report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trustee members of On accounts for the year ended Charity no (if any) 1185712 Set out on pages I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity ("the Trust") for the year ended As the charity's trustees, you are responsible lor the preparation of the accounts. in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Acl 2011 ("the ACV,). ¥ T T ¥ Responsibilities and basis of report I rewrt in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable DirectKJns given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(bl of the Acl. Independent tThe charity's gross income exceeded £250,000 and l am qualified to examinerfs statsment undertake the examination by being a qualified member of {insert name of applicable listed bodyll. Delete I l rf not applicable. I have compleled my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination (other than that disclosed below '} which gwes me cause to believe that in, any material respect.. the accounting records were nol kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act- or the accounts did not accord with the accounting records,. or the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements conceming the form and content of accounts sel OLrt in the Charities (Accounts 8nd Reports) Regulab'ons 2008 olher than any requirement that the accounts give a Irue and fair, view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. 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 enab18 a proper u￿lerStandIng of the accounts to be reached. Please delete the words in the brackets rfthey do not apply. D*e: Signed: 13- 1- 13 Name: Lif￿￿sEy W£ThHf fvC4 Relevant professional qualification{s) or body (rf any).. I CASwJ IER Oct 2018

Address: a¥42￿&￿ Stst-iE ILro tKJ i UZ Section Disclosure Oiily Gomplete if 'he exaTri liner needs io ikiigiiiigiit material mi alters ol concern {see CC32, Independent eAamination of charty accounts.. directions and guidance for examiners). Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose. IER Oct 2018

KIRKHAM STREET FIELD COMMUNITY TRUST TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 5 APRIL 2022

Charity registered number: 1185712

KIRKHAM STREET FIELD COMMUNITY TRUST CONTENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 5 APRIL 2022

Page
Administrative details 1
Trustees’ Annual Report 2
Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees See covering Form IER
Financial Statements 7
Notes to the Financial Statements 8

KIRKHAM STREET FIELD COMMUNITY TRUST ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Charity registration number 1185712

Principal Office

Riverside Pesters Lane Somerton Somerset TA11 7AB

Email

info@kirkhamstreetfield.org.uk

Website

www.kirkhamstreetfield.org.uk

Independent Examiner

Lindsey Wright MAAT ACA Accounting Angels (SW) Ltd Walker House Market Place Somerton Somerset TA11 7LX

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KIRKHAM STREET FIELD COMMUNITY TRUST Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 5 April 2022

Kirkham Street Field Community Trust (the Trust) was registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation by the Charity Commission in England and Wales on 9 October 2019.

The trustees are pleased to present their annual report together with the financial statements for the year ended 5 April 2022. The prior period figures cover the period from 9 October 2019 to 5 April 2021 because the trustees opted to extend the first accounting period.

Objectives and activities

The Trust’s objective, as stated in its constitution, is

To preserve Kirkham Street Field as an amenity green space located within the town, including its environmental benefits; in order to provide facilities for informal recreation and other leisure-time occupation in the interests of social welfare with the object of improving the conditions of life for the Community of Somerton

The trustees confirm that they have complied with the requirements of section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission for England and Wales.

Kirkham Street Field (the Field) is situated close to the conservation area in the old market town of Somerton, Somerset. The Field was used as a school playing field until spring 2021 when the school relocated to new premises in the west of the town. Prior to being a school playing field it was used as the town cricket ground and before that for travelling fairs. The Field covers about 1.5 acres and is owned by Somerset County Council (SCC) who had budgeted to sell it to developers to provide some of the funds required for the construction of the new school.

In February 2019, following a public consultation about the new school, Somerton Town Council (STC) received a letter from a member of the public asking whether it agreed that the Field represented ‘the best, and possibly the last, chance to create a new public park in Somerton’. STC agreed to take action and decided the project to save the Field for the community should be a community lead project. A community action group was formed and STC also applied to South Somerset District Council (SSDC) to register the Field as an Asset of Community Value.

The action group arranged several well attended public meetings that established there was widespread support for saving the Field for the community. This was confirmed by a Public Consultation in April 2019. That a community park is needed is also supported by the SSDC infrastructure delivery plan update document in 2016 that identified a shortfall of 3 acres in the provision of informal open green space in Somerton.

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KIRKHAM STREET FIELD COMMUNITY TRUST Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 5 April 2022

Based on the Public Consultation the trustees consider the potential benefits of the Trust’s objective to be:-

These benefits are sought for all the community and will be compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act 2010.

The Field was added to the SSDC register of Assets of Community Value on 16 April 2019. The registration expires on 16 April 2024. This status requires SCC to give notice to SSDC when it decides to sell the Field. If notice is given it triggers the community right to bid for the Field. If the community expresses a wish to bid it then has 6 months in which to raise funds and develop a bid. After that period SCC is free to sell the property. The right to bid does not oblige SCC to accept the bid. Up to the date of this report SCC has not given SSDC notice of an intention to sell.

Rather than wait for the community right to bid procedure to be triggered, the action group entered into discussions with SCC about the possibility of purchasing the Field for the community. The outcome was that SCC set a price of £750,000 for a community purchase. The action group agreed to set up a charity to purchase the Field and SCC allowed a year for the community to raise the purchase price starting from the date the charity was established. The charity established is the Trust which was registered on 9 October 2019.

By October 2020 the Trust had been unable to raise sufficient funds to make a bid. Fundraising efforts were severely curtailed by the Covid restrictions that ran from early 2020 to summer 2021. The momentum that had been built in 2019 faded as lockdowns and health concerns took priority. In view of this the Trust asked SCC for an extension of the October deadline. SCC extended the deadline to 31 December 2020 and also said it would be willing to consider an offer for part of the Field. By 31 December 2020 the Trust had not raised sufficient funds to make an offer for a sufficiently large part of, or the whole of, the Field. SCC declined to extend its offer beyond 31 December 2020.

In January 2021 the Trust was approached by Anna Anderson and Sam Hampson. Anna, who has family in Somerton, and Sam want to see the field used for the community and to avoid the alternative of a commercial developer building as many houses as possible on the Field. Their proposal is to develop about a third of the Field to generate funds to cover the construction costs and the cost of buying the land from SCC and to create a community park

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KIRKHAM STREET FIELD COMMUNITY TRUST Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 5 April 2022

on the remaining two thirds of the Field. Since then, they have been assessing the feasibility of this idea with their professional advisers. SCC has informally indicated that it would be willing to consider this approach if it is supported by the community.

Two public meetings were held in the afternoon and evening of 17 February 2022 at which Anna, Sam and their architects presented their ideas to the community. These were attended by a total of some 80 people including our local MP and the Chair of STC.

On 18 May 2022 another pair of public meetings were held in afternoon and evening. These were led by the architects and set out their overview of the different ways the residential development on a third of the field and the park on the remaining two thirds might be implemented.

Feedback from the public meetings was generally favourable towards the idea of saving two thirds of the field and to the initial ideas of how residential development on the remaining one third might work.

At the time of the May meeting it was intended to hold community workshops over the following six months to test various ideas and community support for them. However, after the May meetings, it was decided that the approach outlined then is too broad and that a better approach is to enter into discussions with the planning authority (in conjunction with a professional planning consultant) to establish how a third of the field could be developed in ways that would be likely to gain planning consent. A more focused public consultation could then be carried out in the light of that knowledge.

Anna and Sam are themselves bearing the full costs of their professional advisers and the costs of the public meetings to discuss their proposals. The Trust supports their exploration of these ideas and the trustees are in regular contact with Anna and Sam.

Over the next year it should become clear whether this route is viable and has public support.

The role the Trust could play if this idea were to go ahead will become clearer as a detailed plan is developed.

Fundraising

The action group raised funds to cover the expenses of the campaign to save the Field. Once the Trust had opened a bank account the remaining funds held by the action group of £2,296 were donated to the Trust and have been treated as unrestricted funds.

The Trust then sought donations and grants to buy the Field. The population of Somerton is about 4,500, so raising £750,000 is a big challenge and there is a significant possibility that the amount raised might not be sufficient to buy the Field. The Trust has undertaken to repay donations made for land purchase if it is unable to buy the Field.

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KIRKHAM STREET FIELD COMMUNITY TRUST Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 5 April 2022

Fundraising efforts were aimed at

A website, kirkhamstreetfield.org.uk, was set up to provide details of the project, reach a wider audience and encourage donations. Locally, the Trust communicates with the public through the STC magazine that is distributed monthly to all households in Somerton, through local newspapers and through posters and leaflets at pick up points around the town.

A few wealthy individuals have offered to provide funds totalling £55,000 if we get nearer the target of £750,000. The trustees are very grateful for these offers but unfortunately are not yet in a position to take them up.

A campaign to raise funds from local businesses was modestly successful.

Applications were made for grants from STC and SSDC. In July 2020 STC granted £25,000 conditional on a sale agreement having been secured with SCC. In April 2021 SSDC granted £12,500 conditional on the project having been completed.

Our research into grant making organisations showed that, for land already owned, there are opportunities to obtain grants for the provision of new facilities and the refurbishment of existing facilities. However, such grants do not extend to land purchase. A notable exception was the National Lottery Community Fund. Our application of £100,000 was well received but eventually turned down in April 2020. One factor cited by the Lottery was the urgent need for them to support their existing projects which were facing financial challenges due to Covid.

The trustees wish thank all to those members of the community, including STC and SSDC, who have supported our campaign by attending meetings, contributing to the discussions and making or promising donations.

Design

The Trust has prepared designs for a community park guided by the information obtained in the Public Consultation of April 2019 and with expert assistance. These were circulated to every household in the town and residents invited to discuss them at an exhibition event in September 2020. Broad support was expressed for the main design ideas. These ideas will be considered again if the proposals made by Anna and Sam outlined above go ahead.

Financial review

At 5 April 2022 the Trust held £34,188 (2021: £31,587) of funds restricted to land purchase and £1,871 (2021: £2,264) of unrestricted funds. The restricted funds are held in an instant access deposit account and the unrestricted funds in a current account. Both accounts are with Unity Trust Bank. The Trust does not hold any investments.

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Appointed Resigned Role
John Dippie 1 January 2021
Maureen Fletcher Initial trustee, re-appointed
30 November 2022
Judith Hurley Initial trustee Secretary
Gillian Locke Initial trustee, re-appointed Treasurer
9 October 2021
Suzanne Standen Initial trustee, re-appointed
30 November 2022
Margaret Chambers Initial trustee 10ctober 2021 Chairperson
Andrew Foyne Initial trustee 31 December 2020 Deputy chairperson
Jasmine Brain Initial trustee 21 September 2021

U n restricted Restricted Total Total
funds funds 2022 2021
£ ££
Receipts
Donations for land purchase 2,580 2,580 31,554
Donations for running costs 96 96 1,927
Donation from the Save Kirkham Street
Field Community Action Group 2,296
Bank interest received 21 2133
Total receipts 96 2,601 2,697 35,810
Payments
Printing 721
Insurance 254 736
Advertising
Website costs
Events
Bank charges
Total payments 489 489 1,959
Net of receipts/(payments) (393) 2,601 2,208 33,851
Cash funds at the start of the period 2,264 31,587 33,851
Cash funds at the end of the period 34,188 36,059 33,851

U n restricted Restricted Total Total
funds funds 2022 2021
££ ££
Cash at bank 1,871 34,188 36,059 33,836
Cash in hand 15
1,871 34,188 36,059 33,851

For the year ended 5 April 2022

KIRKHAM STREET FIELD COMMUNITY TRUST Financial Statements

Notes on the Financial Statements

1. These financial statements have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis.

2. Kirkham Street Field Community Trust (‘the Trust’) is not registered for VAT and accordingly costs include VAT where applicable.

3. The Trust has not given any guarantees nor granted any security over its assets.

4. The restricted funds represent amounts raised for the intended purchase of the Kirkham Street Field. Should the Trust be unable to purchase the Field it has undertaken to repay these donations.

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