Chairfs Re ort 2021 2022 We started this year with two fewerTrustees having been unable to get anyone to join our ranks, we were in the middle of a pandemic that was making it impossible to carry out any fund raising and then HSBC decided they did not want to continue as our bankers! Not what we had hoped for. Following Richard Hambleton's and Lesley Burrowe<s resignations at our last AGM we asked if anyone would like to join as a Trustee but had no takers. so the was no other option but to cary on and spread the duties amongst the remaining Trustees. The fact we were in the middle of the Covid pandemic made any thought of fund raisinE impossible. although we had one local young man who took it on his own inttiative to run up to the Pillar every night (after a daVs work, mostty in the dark and often in pouring rain} and set up a just giving page for people to sponsor him. He raised £391.87 which vrds an impreSSNe amount at any time and an inspiration of what can be done. Collection tins remained at bcal businesses and offers of indivldual fund raising helped to continue to improve our fund5. This year has again seen the support and interest shown by member5 and people far and wide has been amazing, and has often been the driving force for the Trustee's to continue to look for ways of achieving the goal we all want. this support is second only to raising the money to carry out the repair on the Pillar. it has always surprised us how much the Pillar means to so many people. so thank you to you all for that support. To preSee these funds we had meetings on line. when we weren't allowed face to face. then when we were allowed outside meetin85 we had them in our garden, so no funds were used for the hire of any rooms. Then in March 2021 we reived a letter from HSBC. gNing us notice that they intended to remove their banking services from the Charity: this came completely out of the blue and there was no explanation then or sin. Steve endeavoured to find an alternative banL which was not straight forward but he came up with one that would work for us and again after many e-mails etc we ended up wtth a new bank account, a headache that we would have liked to have not had. The only other positive we had was following CadWs request for an updated report on the condition of the Pillar. which Cadw would fund and would be required for the major funding we would be looking for. 50 1 joined Gerdint Roberts and Terry Parry who Cated the original report, on a cold, wet and breezy day for them to cary out further inspections of the Pillar. The outcome was an updated report that would be the basis for any funding. The updated report did show that the deterioration in the Pillar vffis not as bad as they had originally predicted and in fatt was not a great deal worse than when the original report was created just over two years previously. Following this report there was continued discussion wtth Natural Resources Wales to agree a bease of the grounds around the Pillar and the ground that the Pillar stood on. The Charity needed this to allow u5 to be able to cary out the work Sin WTthout the agreement the maiorfunders would not consider awarding any grants.
What was to come out of NRWS internal discussions. was something that I think none of us experted or even hoped for. As NRW had a Eong tern) lease on the Bround. they in principle decided that they were the land owners. therefore had a duty to fund and carry out the repairs required. The icing on the cake was they would also do the same as they do with similar such structures on their land. whack would be to carry out regular inspections on the Pillar to ensure any deterioration would be picked up much sooner and be dealt wtth. This is much more than we could have ever hoped for. To date NRW have continued to setup the qUired funding from within their organisation. which is now in place, they have appointed a Project Manager who has made contact with us, and wants to involve the Charity in the repairs to the Pillar. which is also good nev. They are creating a tender document which should be put out for Companies to put in their quotes, with a planned start of work in July 2022. a little later than they had hoped but they believe {depending on the weather} that they will be able to complete the vrkS by October 2022. So although following our last AGM the future was not as bright a5 we would have liked, the lead up to this yearfs AGM is far brighter than we thought possible. There is a little way to go. and the Charwty will continue to OFerate until the Piltar repaired. whenever that may be.
| Current Assets | ||
|---|---|---|
| Natwest Bank Current Account | 2'699 | 777 |
| 2'699 | 777 | |
| Current Liabilities | ||
| 2'699 | ||
| Represented by: | ||
| Accumulated Fund | ||
| Brought forward | 777 | |
| Surplus from | ||
| Receipts and Payments Account | 1'922 | |
| 2'699 | 777 |