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## **The Friends of Jersey Park (FoJP}**
**Annual Trustees Report and Accounts Year Ending 31[st] March 2023**
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## **Introduction**
The Trustees of the Friends of Jersey Park present their annual report and accounts for the year ending 31[st] March 2023.
## **Our Charity Aim & Objectives for the Public Benefit**
For the benefit of the inhabitants of Briton Ferry, Neath and surrounding area (“the area of benefit”) to provide or assist in the provision of facilities for recreation and other leisure time occupation in the interests of social welfare with the object of improving their conditions of life for the inhabitants of the area of benefit in particular but not exclusively by the preservation, promotion, support, assistance and improvement of the Jersey Park.
## **Our Objectives are:-**
- To promote Jersey Park in Briton Ferry as a public open space for the benefit of the community and to involve the community in the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment within park;
- To improve the health and wellbeing of the community in Briton Ferry and surrounding areas through healthy open air recreational activities which meets the needs of all ages, including space for tranquillity and enjoying the natural surroundings and wildlife. To be achieved through developing the facilities and activities for visitors to the site;
- To promote a sense of community, through holding organised events and activities;
- To gain the views of the public about what they see as the needs of Jersey Park in relation to improving the area. Raising funds through grants and fundraising activities to support such developments.
_**The Trustees of the Friends of Jersey Park are aware of the Charity Commission’s public benefit guidance, and has duly complied with the requirements in all planning and implementation of our work**_
## **Activities and Achievements for the Public Benefit**
## **Community Events & Activities**
The following events were held throughout the reporting period, all of which were free to attend:
February through to October we held monthly Wild Tots nature play sessions to encourage children to play and explore in nature. Each session had a theme which was linked to a story and craft activity.
An Eggstravaganza event was held at Easter. This proved to be a very popular event with many families attending. There was an Easter bonnet parade, a pet’s corner, egg and spoon and sack races as well as a bunny trail, egg rolling, crafting and music. All the children received a gift of an Easter egg.
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In June, we made lots of red, white and blue bunting and decorated the park for the Queen’s platinum jubilee.
Our Summer event was a picnic in the park. It was very well attended. The Briton Ferry Pageboys Jazz Band opened the event. The main musical entertainment was provided by the Backroom Bluegrass Band. Interplay came with their rope bridges and swings. There was a pet dog show which very popular with lots of dogs entering the competition. The Police dog-handlers were present too with their police dogs. Also, we had games for the children and crafting. Everyone enjoyed a demonstration of vibrant chair yoga to popular music, by the Easy Movers Fitness & Fun community group. Income was generated through the sale of refreshments and hotdogs.
The final event of the year was a children’s Christmas party. There were 84 children who attended with their parents. A naughty elf provided lots of fun for the children who really enjoyed dancing to the music. Games were played, including pass the parcel with forfeits. A local entertainer provided musical entertainment with popular songs. Santa made an appearance to give each child a Christmas gift. Income was generated through the sale of refreshments. Children’s refreshments were free of charge.
In February 2023, three volunteers gave a presentation on the work of the Friends of Jersey Park to Eden Project Wales Community project. It was a great opportunity to share our work, find out about other groups and network with other like-minded people.
## **Improving the physical and natural environment within park**
April 2022 saw garden maintenance re-commence at weekends. The volunteers spent one hour a day watering the plants during the hot weather. The borders in the play park were cut back and weeding was undertaken. Litter picking was undertaken, each weekend.
The council, in response to a request from the FoJP, removed overgrown vegetation to expose the walnut trees at the play park entrance. Gardening equipment that the FoJP needed was obtained through the Welsh Government ‘Enabling Natural Resources and Wellbeing grant’.
Working closely with the Council for Volunteer Services and Neath Port Talbot County Borough council the FoJP was able to provide opportunities for people long-term Unemployed and those with mental health issues to benefit from volunteering in the park.
## **Future Plans**
Our strategy was reviewed to assess whether we achieved what we had planned for the Year and agree our priorities for 2023/2024.
## **Structures, Management & Governance**
## **Meetings and Communication**
The FOJP held monthly meetings with minutes of all meetings recorded. The events subgroup met, as necessary. The trustees met with Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council (NPTCBC) to agree a way forward for partnership working. A draft
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memorandum of understanding MOU, was presented to the council which they were considering using to develop their own MOU for volunteers, to give clarity on partnership working and communication.
## **Volunteer Benefits**
As a group the FoJP has enjoyed being together and working as a strong, cohesive team. We have provided opportunities for people to have work experience through volunteering with us. The FoJP volunteers were invited by Mayor of Neath Port Talbot to attend afternoon tea at Margam Park orangery. This was in recognition of the environmental and heritage work undertaken by the group.
## **Financial Review**
Our principal source of funding comes from donations, Stalls at Fayres and restricted funds from grants for specific projects. Monies generated through selling refreshments at events are used to off-set the costs associated with holding events.
The FoJP do not reclaim VAT on purchases.
## **Reserves Policy**
The Friends of Jersey Park maintains a cash reserve of £750.00 on the balance of our account in order to:
- Meet unexpected costs like broken essential office or gardening equipment.
- Repairs to our gardening container.
- Funding to cover essential unplanned training costs
Restricted funding for projects is protected and spent in line with the funding agreement.
The charity does not have large income streams for unrestricted funds. Neither do we have overheads such as contractual obligations for service provision, paying employed staff or maintenance of buildings.
## **Funding**
As far as possible, the trustees try to anticipate future costs such as holding events, insurance and training costs etc and plan for ways to meet these costs. This will help to ensure that the reserves fund is not depleted unnecessarily, but left for unforeseen and emergency expenditure.
There would be no costs associated with closure of our charity. The obligation placed on us would be to distribute our assets to other not-for-profit groups in our community.
There is a possibility that activities or issues crop up during the year that we are unable to plan in advance. This would be funded from reserves and efforts would be made to obtain replacement funds.
The FoJP Trustees proactively seek funding to ensure sufficient monies are available for us to function and meet our objectives. It is assumed that most capital purchases will be
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funded from specific grants. Insurance will cover the cost of theft or damage to equipment and our steel containers as well as any public liability.
## **Establishing and maintaining reserves**
In the event of reserves dropping below the minimum threshold level, we will aim to restore the reserves within the financial year through increased fundraising or reducing expenditure. Reserves that are above the minimum threshold will be used to further our objectives. The aim will always be to use our funds for the public benefit and not to accumulate large amounts of funds.
## **Monitoring and reviewing**
Our reserves policy will be reviewed every two years.
## **Income Generation, Donations & Grants**
As a community group we provide events that are free of charge to attend, with only nominal charges made should people wish to purchase refreshments.
**Restricted Income** totalling £10,629.99 was received from the following sources:-
Play Opportunities Wales £629.99 ( interplay activities) Neath Port Talbot Members Fund £10,000.00. (Shelter Project)
With regard to the shelter project, unforeseen issues were raised by Cadw which meant that the cost of the project increased significantly. Unfortunately, due to the additional costs the project ceased and all grant monies were returned to the funders, minus the £3,655.50 expenditure funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund for the shelter design.
## **Unrestricted Income**
**Donations** totalling £1,120.00 were received from the following sources:-
- Ferry Fest £ 100.00
- • Member of public £ 5.00
- Briton Ferry Community Shop £1,015.00
## **Income Generation** totalling £ 835.89
Autumn Fayre Raffle & Tombola £135.70 Ferry Fest Tombola £114.50 Eggstraveganza £ 98.49 Picnic in the park £246.20 Christmas Party £241.00
Local businesses such as Tesco and Morrisons supermarkets were very supportive during the year, donating refreshments for events.
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## **Friends of Jersey Park Accounting Period 01.04.2022 to 31.03.2023**
|**Bank**
**15521.01 **Starting Balance
**Petty cash**
**158.59 **Starting Balance|**Bank**
**15521.01 **Starting Balance
**Petty cash**
**158.59 **Starting Balance|**Bank**
**15521.01 **Starting Balance
**Petty cash**
**158.59 **Starting Balance|**Bank**
**15521.01 **Starting Balance
**Petty cash**
**158.59 **Starting Balance|**Bank**
**15521.01 **Starting Balance
**Petty cash**
**158.59 **Starting Balance|**Bank**
**15521.01 **Starting Balance
**Petty cash**
**158.59 **Starting Balance|**Bank**
**15521.01 **Starting Balance
**Petty cash**
**158.59 **Starting Balance||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**RECEIPTS**||||||||
||**Unrestricted**
**Funds**||**Restricted**
**Funds**|||**Total Funds**|**Last Year**|
||**to the nearest**
**£**||**to the nearest £**|||**to the nearest**
**£**|
**to the nearest**
**£**|
|**Donations**|120.00|||||120.00||
|**Grants**|1000.00||10629.99|||11629.99||
|**Members subs**|191.00|||||191.00||
|**Income**
**generation**|835.89|||||835.89||
|**_Total receipts_**|**1146.89**||**11629.99**|||**12776.88**|**0.00**|
|**PAYMENTS**||||||||
|Grants refunded|||16424.50|||16424.50||
|Projects|||3666.53|||3666.53||
|Wild Tots Play|||362.16|||362.16||
|Events|878.50||629.99|||1508.49||
|Miscellaneous|473.21|||||473.21||
|**_Total_**
**_Payments_**|**1351.71**||**21083.18**|||**22434.89**|**0.00**|
|Starting Balance
Bank & Cash|**15679.60**|||||||
|Total Receipts|**12776.88**|||||||
|Total Payments|**22434.89**|||||||
|**Balance**|**6021.59**|||||||
|||||||||
|||||||||
|**End of Accounting Period**
**31.03.2023**
**Petty Cash**
**£135.69**
**Bank Balance**
**£5,885.90**
**Total Monies**
**£6,021.59**||||||||
|||||||||
|||||||||
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## **Assets**
|**Item**|**Estimate Value**|
|---|---|
|Garden storage cabin|£2,500.00|
|Gazebos x 3|£ 475.00|
|Garden tools/equipment|£2,500.00|
|Event equipment|£5,500.00|
|Office equipment|£ 200.00|
|Total|£11,175.00|
## **Economic value of our Volunteers**
The FoJP is an important asset in our community. We thank all of our volunteers for their hard work throughout the year. The economic value of our volunteers over the last year has been calculated by looking at the number of volunteer hours spent on various activities and costing the hours up using the minimum hourly wage for 2023 (£10.18).
|Activity|Volunteer Hours|
|---|---|
|**Events**|**760**|
|**Fund raising**|**60**|
|**Administration**|**80**|
|**Governance**|**84**|
|**Gardening**|**480**|
|**Meetings**|**580**|
|**Comms/PR**|**110**|
|**Total hours**|**2154 x £10.18= £21,927.72**|
## **Conclusion**
The FoJP continue to grow as a group, having increased its community activities to include Wild Tots nature play. Each of our volunteers contribute their own skills to make us a cohesive group.
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