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2023-04-05-accounts

Serpentine Community Garden Society CIO Serpentine Walks, Burlington Road, Buxton, SK17 9AR

Report of the Trustees 6 April 2022 - 5 April 2023

Registered Charity number - 1188016 Registered office - c/o 39 Park Road, Buxton, SK17 6SQ

Date of registration as a charity - 18 February 2020

Trustees

Madeline Hall re-elected 06/04/22 to 05/04/2023
Simon Fussell re-elected 06/04/22 to 05/04/2023
Pete Brown re-elected 06/04/22 to 05/04/2023
Carole Garner re-elected 06/04/22 to 05/04/2023
Derek Bodey re-elected 06/04/22 to 05/04/2023

Solicitors

Brooke-Taylors Solicitors 4 The Quadrant, Buxton, SK17 6AW

Bankers

Cooperative Bank

Contents

  1. Structure, Governance and Management

  2. Objectives and Activities including summary of volunteer hours on site

  3. Achievement and performance

  4. Financial review

  5. Evaluation

  6. Risk Management

  7. Future Plans

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1. Structure, Governance and Management

The Board currently comprises five trustees, all of whom take an active role in organisational development. Further trustees - to a maximum of eleven - are actively sought to contribute expertise and experience. Recruitment is via advertising roles with a description of the key skills, knowledge or experiences being sought and an overview of the role and responsibilities of a trustee. SCGS’s own networks and communication channels are used. Succession planning is an element in recruitment. Despite a good increase in volunteers contributing to practical activity, interest in volunteer trustee roles is limited. Additional promotional events are planned for 2023/2024.

The term of office for trustees is three years, renewable for a further three year term. After a break of a year trustees may stand for election for a return to office. For each of the first three years the longest serving trustee will resign, but may stand for a second term’s appointment. Madeline Hall is now in the second year of her second term. Simon Fussell is serving the first year of his second term. Carole Garner and Pete Brown are in the final year of their first term. Derek Bodey is serving the first year of this first term.

Response to the Covid-19 crisis included rapid development of IT capabilities and use for meetings. Trustee meetings have been held on the zoom platform, supplemented by ad hoc meetings on site. We continue to work as trustees to improve how we exchange and share information.

The Board of Trustees has sustained practice from its precursor Board of Directors of Serpentine Community Farm CIC, meeting every two months to review finance, projects and activity and to discuss long-term strategy and direction. The business plan approved in January 2020 was reviewed in detail in 2021, informed by appraisal from a financial consultant engaged with support from the Heritage Fund for Culture Recovery. The Management Risk assessment is updated annually. A further review of the Business Plan will be conducted when an Agreement to Lease the dilapidated stone buildings on site is agreed and signed.

2. Objectives and Activities

The object of the CIO is to advance the education of the public in the subject of horticulture and horticultural practices.

In addition we aim to:

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Activities included:

January 2022

February 2022

March 2022

April 2022

May 2022

June 2022

July 2022

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August 2022

September 2022

October 2022

November 2022

December 2022

January 2023

February 2023

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March 2023

Volunteer Hours on site

2019-2020 2020-2021 2021-2022 2022-2023
Volunteers and
Gardenisers		 Visitors
April 309 184.5 178 286 -
May 471 194 315 532
June 452 177.5 335 350.75 30
July 397.5 220.75 288.25 322.75 215
August 244.5 230 212.75 305.75 39
September 331 209 270 301.5 22
October 421 226 244.5 391.5 24
November 242 240.25 163 260.25
December 218 153 68.25 124.75
January 294 111.25 127.75 179.5 5
February 212 140.5 180 242.5
March 172 304.5 196 233.25 8
Total 3764 2391.25 2074.75 2875.25 330
Gardenisers 690
Volunteer Total 3764 2391.25 2074.75 2185.25 330

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3. Achievement and performance 2022 / 2023

Volunteers contributed 2,184 (2075 in 2021-2022) hours over the year in registered attendance on site. In addition unregistered, but highly appreciated, hours were invested off site on administration, publicity, planning and practical gardening enriching cultivation of a range of produce. We thank our team of volunteers for their ongoing commitment. Many go well beyond what is asked of them: supporting events, creating posters and labels, growing at home on windowsills, investing time and thought in the garden and the organisation, supporting our community in Buxton and the High Peak.

3.1 Education

We advance education in the science, art and practice of horticulture. The teaching and learning is not externally accredited but has its foundation in the authoritative gardening and horticultural advice provided by the Royal Horticultural Society. There is a particular focus on organic gardening methods based on the principles of organic gardening promoted by Garden Organic (previously the Henry Doubleday Research Association). In an informal setting, we work with volunteers to identify the skills they bring and the knowledge and skills they wish to develop. More formally, we offer regular training workshops and courses to consolidate and extend learning. All ages are covered with interventions modified to meet age and experience and to take in to account such factors as learning or social disabilities.

We promote active use of our facilities by local educational and therapeutic providers. The Growing Well programme is used and valued by local GPs, a local care home provider and a borough-wide team of CVS social prescribers. Our National Lottery Community Fund award supports continuation and programme development for three years from 1 April 2022. We plan to embed the provision as a valued local service with sustainable funding thereafter.

We are making a contribution to citizen science in a number of fields and with different audiences. A long term soil analysis and phytoremediation project is supported by HPBC Climate Change and Nature Recovery funding. We support activities in Science Week and Wild Weeks for school children and college students.

3.2 Children and Young People

Formalising the relationship with our partners who work directly with young people (children’s nurseries, child minder groups, schools and colleges) through the provision of a range of services and experiences enables the charity to introduce more young people to the site, allowing them to experience not only food growing, cooking and crafts, and all the associated benefits, but being part of a community space that they can feel a part of. A Saturday programme - Give Peas a Chance - ran for 18 months until July 2022 supported by funding from Cadent - gas infrastructure providers. Two of our members funded a continuation summer programme in 2023 and have pledged the same support for 2024 with the comment: ‘It was good to see the children develop and learn. There’s nothing else like this in Buxton.’

A Nature Tots programme and family fun days are also attracting great interest and healthy numbers. A local nursery school brings groups in weekly through the summer as an element of their curriculum exploring nature.

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3.3 Culture

Art and culture remains a developing strand of SCG volunteer interest. We work with locally based voluntary organisations and individual artists. The site is valued by artists as inspiration and as a welcoming space for direct interaction with communities. The site has the potential to play a significant role in delivery of a thriving cultural life in the town as a space where the public and creatives can interact and collaborate on joint projects, often bringing more investment in arts and culture to the local area in the process. We are already recognised as an excellent informal performance space and a great setting for external artworks. Community arts activity within the Community Fund will be developed for the two year period 2023-2025.

3.4 Organisation

Work on securing the future of the project continues. Our landlords, High Peak Borough Council, approved in principle the terms of two 25 year leases, one on the land, the second on the land to include stone store buildings erected in 1898. Detailed negotiation with council officers began in January 2020. The lease on the land was finally signed on 8 February 2022. Agreement to separate the two strands of the lease allowed the land lease to progress, which in turn confirmed the Charity’s eligibility for the National Lottery Community Find revenue award.

Discussions over the status of dilapidated buildings on the site continue to edge forward. In principle HPBC agreed that the terms and conditions should enable the charity to apply for capital funding. However, the detailed schedule proposed by the Council included compliance with tight time deadlines. There is a risk to the charity and to potential funders of loss of investment should deadlines be unavoidably missed. A new draft has been submitted to HPBC for consideration, focused on resolving remaining issues, protecting the rights and obligations of both parties so that the intention of the agreement in principle may be honoured.

Local press and social media were used effectively. Weekly working notes are circulated to all members and volunteers. Each month an update is circulated to all supporters.

Onsite activity has increased markedly with opening to volunteers and visitors on four weekday mornings plus Sundays and booked sessions for groups on a further day, early morning and after-school hours. The structure for sustaining growing on site and facilitating communication between the various user groups is proving robust. We work towards a consensus model for decision making and a dispersed ‘management and supervision’ model.

Links with other community groups have been strengthened. Following a consultation process initiated with volunteers about the extent and pace of steps, the Garden is now for larger numbers of visitors, individually and in groups.

4. Financial review

Income for the third year as a charity totalled £37,389, made up of £32,870 in grant awards (four awards), £4,324 in donations including associated Gift Aid and £195 in membership subs.

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The National Lottery Community Fund award of £96,000 for revenue costs over three years covers consolidation of initiatives in the Community Garden and further development of the Growing Well programme. A high proportion of the funding is devoted to payments of freelance staff. The profile of spending is heaviest during the late spring and summer but in-house reserves maintain a cash cushion reserve at all times.

There is good potential for a significant capital funding award once the terms of the Agreement to Lease the dilapidated stone store buildings on site are finally agreed. An initial £10,000 is pledged to be released by a local charitable trust when the Agreement to Lease is signed and discussions have been progressed with the National Lottery Heritage Fund. A renewed Expression of Interest has been supported and an invitation to submit (within 12 months) a full application for the funding tranche supporting projects between £250,000 and £10m issued.

5. Evaluation

We adopt a logic model for evaluation as outlined below:

6 . Risk management

As Trustees, we are responsible for overseeing the charity's risk management activities. The Trustee Board manages and monitors SCGS’s risks through a Strategic Risk Register which is incorporated in the Annual Business Plan. Strategic Risks are identified following

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the Annual General Meeting of members, drawing on response to the annual Future Strategy briefing paper.

Risk management of high-level risks that could prevent SCGS from meeting its objectives and of more routine operational matters are kept under regular review. For 2022-2023 trustees will focus particularly on reviewing good practice and policies for working effectively with people.

Engagement of trustees and a committed volunteer cadre and membership supports ongoing review which is both sensitive and robust.

6. Future Plans

Our plans for 2023/2024 involve continuing to build on the foundations laid before and since registration as a charity and the experience of working through the challenges, and unexpected opportunities, of response to the global pandemic, to sustain our focus on growing plants and growing people.

We believe that the Serpentine Community Garden can become a centre for sustainability and community development in Buxton, with regional reach and national recognition. The site will provide multiple benefits to the town through the services it provides, contributing to learning and helping to raise the profile of the town and its heritage. Our application for a Heritage Fund capital grant will include a focus on involving more people in heritage. We are working with the Buxton local History Group to explore partnership activity in raising awareness of Buxton’s horticultural heritage. (Our site is adjacent to Lismore Fields - a scheduled Heritage ancient monument where archaeological digs uncovered evidence of Mesolithic and Neolithic agriculture - the earliest known seed use for crop production in the UK.)

We will continue to develop our profile and external-facing activities; improve our internal systems and processes; develop our strategy for measurement of impact in use of the logic model of evaluation; reappraise organisational risk; and plan to grasp opportunities to extend our community reach.

Trustees Simon Fussell (Chair) Madeline Hall (Treasurer) Pete Brown Carole Garner Derek Bodey

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Serpentine Community Garden Society CIO
Charity 1188016
Financial Accounts
Period from 6 April 2022 -5 April 2023
Contents
Trustees’SummaryReport 1
SummaryIncome andExpenditureAccount 2
Balance Sheet 3
Notes andAccountingPolicies 4
1 Period from 6 April 2022 -5 April 2023
Thetrusteeshave pleasureinpresentingtheir reportand unauditedfinancialstatements of the charity.
Principal Activities
Serpentine Community Gardenaimstorestorethe derelictCouncilgreenhouse areain Buxton for
community useinproductionand education.
Mission statement
We aim totransform the SerpentinePlant Nursery and old Council Depot.Serpentine Community Gard
for localpeopleto develophorticulturalskills, grow foodintensively butsustainablyinarange of micro-
environments, andwillbe avenuefor formalandinformal trainingfor thewhole community.
Whencompletethe project willshowcase allaspects of the sustainablefood cyclefromgrowing,to
preserving,to cooking andfinallyto dealingwith waste.
Trustees
Thetrusteeswho servedthe charity duringthe periodwere asfollows:
6April 2022 -5April 2023
MadelineHall
Simon Fussell
PeteBrown
Carole Garner
Derek Bodey
These accountshave beenpreparedinaccordancewith the provisions applicableto companies
subject tothe smallcompanies' regime andinaccordancewith theFinancial Reporting Standardfor
Smaller Entities (effectiveApril 2008).
Registered Office: Signed by orderof thetrustees
39Park Road

Serpentine Community Garden Society CIO Charity 1188016 Financial Accounts Period from 6 April 2022 - 5 April 2023 Contents Trustees’ Summary Report 1 Summary Income and Expenditure Account 2 Balance Sheet 3 Notes and Accounting Policies 4 1 Period from 6 April 2022 - 5 April 2023 The trustees have pleasure in presenting their report and unaudited financial statements of the charity. Principal Activities Serpentine Community Garden aims to restore the derelict Council greenhouse area in Buxton for community use in production and education. Mission statement We aim to transform the Serpentine Plant Nursery and old Council Depot. Serpentine Community Garde for local people to develop horticultural skills, grow food intensively but sustainably in a range of microenvironments, and will be a venue for formal and informal training for the whole community. When complete the project will showcase all aspects of the sustainable food cycle from growing, to preserving, to cooking and finally to dealing with waste.

1

Buxton s
Derbyshire
England
SK176SQ
MadelineHall
Trustee /Treasurer
2 Period from 6 April 2022 -5 April 2023
2021-2022yearend balance £14,838
Income Notes Restricted Unrestricted Total
(NLCF)
Donations £2,937 £2,937
Grants 4.5a £30,870 £2,000 £32,870
Membership subs £195 £195
Gift Aid £1,387 £1,387
Total incoming resources £30,870 £6,519 £37,389
Expenditure
AdministrativeExpenses £1,119 £1,119
Insurance £355 £355
Staffing 4.5b £25,145 £1,388 £26,532
Sundriesnon-horticultural £3,400 -£576 £2,823
Horticulturalsupplies £2,397 £878 £3,275
Depreciation 4.6 £700 £700
Total expenditure £30,942 £3,864 £34,805
Net income/expenditure -£72 £2,655 £2,583
Net income/expenditure adjusting charity funds to cover National Lottery Community Fund over
£0 £2,583 £2,583
Lessliabilities (see below) -£2,460
Surplus for the year £123
3 5 April 2023
Fixed Assets
Polytunnel3- 2021 £2,100
Current Assets
Cashatbankandin hand £15,321
TotalCurrent Assets £17,421
Current Liabilities (funding carried forward) -£1,960
-£500
-£2,460

2

Total assets less current liabilities Total assets less current liabilities Total assets less current liabilities £14,961
Capital and reserves
2021-2022year end balance (cap'l& reserves, inc poly tunnel) £14,838
Surplusforyear £123
Total capital and reserves £14,962
For the period ending 05/04/2023the companywas entitledto exemption fromauditundersection 477
the CompaniesAct 2006relatingto smallcompanies.
Themembershavenot requiredthe companyto obtainanaudit inaccordancewithsection 476 of the
CompaniesAct 2006.
TheTrustees acknowledgetheir responsibilitiesforcomplyingwith therequirements of theAct with
respect to accountingrecords andfor the preparationofaccounts.
Thesefinancialstatementshave beenapprovedfor issue bytheBoard of Trustees and signed on its
behalfby
M A Hall
Trustee /Treasurer
4 Notes and Accounting Policies
Period from 6 April 2022to 5 April 2023
1 Accounting Policies
(a) Basis of preparation
Thefinancialstatementshave beenprepared under thehistoricalcostconvention, andinaccordance
with theFinancial Reporting StandardforSmaller Entities (effectiveApril 2008)
(b) Turnover
Turnover representsthefair value ofconsideration receivablein the ordinary course ofbusinessfor
services provided.
(c) Fixed Assets
All fixed assets areinitiallyrecorded atcost.
(d) Depreciation
Depreciation is calculated so astowrite off the costofanasset,lessits estimatedresidual value, over
the usefuleconomiclife of thatassetasfollows:
Polytunnels 20% straight line
2Company limited by guarantee
The CharitableIncorporated Organisation islimited by guarantee andthereforehasno share capital. T
theTrustees upon winding upthe companyislimitedto £1.
3 Administrative expenses
Total assets less current liabilities Total assets less current liabilities Total assets less current liabilities £14,961
Capital and reserves
2021-2022year end balance (cap'l& reserves, inc poly tunnel) £14,838
Surplusforyear £123
Total capital and reserves £14,962
For the period ending 05/04/2023the companywas entitledto exemption fromauditundersection 477
the CompaniesAct 2006relatingto smallcompanies.
Themembershavenot requiredthe companyto obtainanaudit inaccordancewithsection 476 of the
CompaniesAct 2006.
TheTrustees acknowledgetheir responsibilitiesforcomplyingwith therequirements of theAct with
respect to accountingrecords andfor the preparationofaccounts.
Thesefinancialstatementshave beenapprovedfor issue bytheBoard of Trustees and signed on its
behalfby
M A Hall
Trustee /Treasurer
4 Notes and Accounting Policies
Period from 6 April 2022to 5 April 2023
1 Accounting Policies
(a) Basis of preparation
Thefinancialstatementshave beenprepared under thehistoricalcostconvention, andinaccordance
with theFinancial Reporting StandardforSmaller Entities (effectiveApril 2008)
(b) Turnover
Turnover representsthefair value ofconsideration receivablein the ordinary course ofbusinessfor
services provided.
(c) Fixed Assets
All fixed assets areinitiallyrecorded atcost.
(d) Depreciation
Depreciation is calculated so astowrite off the costofanasset,lessits estimatedresidual value, over
the usefuleconomiclife of thatassetasfollows:
Polytunnels 20% straight line
2Company limited by guarantee
The CharitableIncorporated Organisation islimited by guarantee andthereforehasno share capital. T
theTrustees upon winding upthe companyislimitedto £1.
3 Administrative expenses

3

Insurance £355.20
Sundry expenses £2,823.47
Adminexpenses £1,119.38
Depreciation £700.00
**Total ** £4,998.05
4Other operating income
Donations £4,321.59
Membership £195.00
Grants £32,870.00
Sales £0.00
**Total ** £37,386.59
5a Project Funding
NLCommunityFund £30,870.00 restricted
Waitrose £500.00 unrestricted
Arnold Clark £1,000.00 unrestricted
HPBCNatureRecovery £500.00 unrestricted
Total £32870.00
5b Staffing
NLCommunityFund £25144.50
GivePeas a Chance £1387.50
Total £26532.00
6 Tangible Fixed Assets
Cost Depreciation
Year 1 Year 2 Year3
Polytunnel £3,500.00 £700.00 £700.00

4

REPORT ON THE 2022-2023 ACCOUNTS PRODUCED BY SERPENTINE COMMUNITY GARDEN SOCIETY

Registered Charity number - 1188016 Registered office - c/o 39 Park Road, Buxton, SK17 6SQ

Dear Madeline and Simon,

I have not conducted an audit but the cashbook examination and sampling exercise I have completed were satisfactory. As you have informed me that there have been no material changes made to the medium term Business Plan and Strategic Risk Assessment I examined last year, I am pleased to provide a positive opinion on the accounts I have seen.

As I illustrated last year, an auditor will look to see if there are controls in the accounting system that ensure the completeness and accuracy of the accounting records and the validity of entries made in those records. This is often done by asking questions about what could go wrong at the time data is recorded:

What Could Go Wrong Controls Expected
Validation of purchase
invoices may be lax		 1.
Purchases are for legitimate expenses and are
authorised by a responsible person.
2.
A control to ensure that proper invoices are kept to
support the entry.
3.
The original invoice can be produced on demand.
Lack of controls may
lead to multiple entries
for the same supply.		 1.
Each purchase invoice is given a unique reference
number to avoid duplicated postings.
The invoice may be
entered in the wrong
accounting period.		 1.
The purchase invoice date or the date of payment
consistently determines the period in which the invoice
is posted.
Sales invoices are not
accounted for at the
correct time.		 1.
The invoice date is recorded on all sales invoices and
posted in the appropriate accounting period.
2.
Sales invoices have a sequential and unique number.
3.
A copy sales invoice is filed and available on demand for
inspection.
4.
There is a sequence check (carried out by a responsible
person) to ensure all sales invoice numbers are posted.
Cash sales may not be
accounted for at the
correct time if at all.		 1.
Cash sales are recorded in the appropriate accounting
period according to the date of sale.

I suggest only that you continue to ensure that controls expected are in place. In particular, continue with the good practice of regular internal audits.

Yours sincerely,

Michael Wilde ISEB 27/09/2023