**Trustees’ Annual Report Leiston Town Pastors, 2023-2024** Charitable Incorporated Organisation No 1188933 Correspondence address: 11 Lime Tree Avenue, Leiston, IP16 4EH ## **Objectives and Activities** The objectives of the CIO are: - To advance the faith in Leiston, Suffolk and surrounding districts and in such other parts of the United Kingdom or the world as the Trustees of the Charity may from time to time think fit and to fulfil such other purposes which are exclusively charitable according to the law of England and Wales and are connected with the charitable work of the charity. - To promote safety and the prevention of crime for the benefit of the public by such means as the Trustees may consider appropriate, including but not so as to limit the generality of the foregoing by providing services for mediation and conciliation between persons involved in disputes or interpersonal conflicts which may lead to acts of nuisance, vandalism, racial abuse or breach of the peace in Leiston and surrounding districts and in such other parts of the UK or the world as the Trustees may from time to time think fit. - To relieve sickness and financial hardship and to promote and preserve good health by the provision of funds, goods and services of any kind including counselling and support in Leiston and surrounding districts and in such parts of the United Kingdom or the world as the Trustees from time to time think fit. ## **Main Activities** The main activities of Leiston Town Pastors for the benefit of the general public and local businesses are: - Patrolling the streets of Leiston in the night time economy on Friday nights in pairs of Town Pastors, in contact with and supported by two people in our Base in the United Church and a rota of people praying at home during patrols; - Providing a listening ear and practical help where needed, such as ensuring vulnerable people get home safely, supplying water and refreshments, removing dangerous or harmful substances from the streets and attempting to diffuse aggressive situations before they escalate; - Building good rapport and supporting the owners and workers in local businesses such as public houses, restaurants and takeaway establishments; - Rarely, but when necessary, summoning assistance from the emergency services. ## **Personnel** The Leiston Town Pastors Co-ordinator, Margaret Graver, leads a team of approximately 24 volunteers from local churches and reports to a Board of Trustees, currently comprising six members as follows: Julia Catterwell Carol Cotton (Chair) Adrian Neville (Treasurer) Paul Norrington (Vice Chair) Terence Smith Leiston Town Pastors is part of a wider organisation of Town Pastor Groups in Suffolk and Norfolk, overseen by Town Pastors Central who operate from Ipswich. ## **AGM/Annual Service of Thanksgiving** The Annual General Meeting of Leiston Town Pastors was held on Sunday 13 October 2024 followed by a service of thanksgiving to celebrate the ministry and recognise the selfless contribution of the volunteers to the work and services of the charity. ## **Achievements of the Charity** The town of Leiston has been steadily growing busier as new housing developments are built in the area. We continue to have music evenings on Friday nights in one of the public houses and the Skate Park remains popular with the youth. The construction of Sizewell C, just a mile or so from Leiston, is likely to bring an influx of new people, changes to the infrastructure and a busier night time economy. There are already signs of this happening. We are assured by the local constabulary, in particular the sergeant newly appointed to the town in connection with the development of Sizewell C, that our patrols continue to have a positive impact on the levels of antisocial behaviour in the town and reduce the number of occasions when emergency services might otherwise have been called upon to deal with non-urgent situations. Local people and those from surrounding towns and villages who use our night time economy continue to be supportive of our ministry, as do the local police. Our main focus has been on ensuring people under the influence of alcohol or drugs are able to get home, the safety of vulnerable lone women, diffusing difficult situations before they escalate and removing dangerous items from the street. ## **Training** Town Pastors undergo extensive training and during the period of this report training updates have taken place in areas such as safeguarding and first aid. Since the last report, one of our Trustees has resigned from the Board and three Town Pastors have taken non-public facing roles instead of patrolling the streets. We have, however, recruited one new Trustee, two new Town Pastors (with two further new recruits still undergoing training) and two home prayer team members. DBS checks have also been carried out and updated as necessary. ## **Accounts/Fundraising** Support from The Suffolk Police & Crime Commissioner and Clinical Commissioning Groups continues and additional grant funding is likely to be sought via the Sizewell C Community Fund in the near future. A generous donation was also received from a local church. The annual accounts of Leiston Town Pastors for the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 are available separately. **The Trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.** **Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees by:** Carol Cotton, Chair of Trustees Adrian Neville, Trustee & Treasurer Date __________________________________ Date ______________________________________ LEISTON TOWN PASTORS Summary Re￿iptS and Payments account 1st April, 2023 - 31st March, 2024 RECEIPTS PAYMENTS T¢)tsi Totsl Dunwlch PCC Church Donation8 Company Donats'on8 Suffolk PCC Lelston Town Coundl Suffdk Coastal District Council Clinical Commi58lonlng Group Sup8miarket Donation8 Radio r•fund Ip8wich CCG Fun(t8 Suffolk Communty 260 TravelliThJ £ 6,645 Unifonn8 £3JOOAI Training Base Costs Insuran Refreshn*nts 1,719.eo Rad￿re10p￿ 4rM)o,I £ 399.47 £ 349.04 33.02 £ 2x80 M*eellar*eou• TP Can PublkrtylPrinlftg TP KitlEquiprront 12.26 £ 294.00 Sub total Sub total £ 7,104.15 balances brought foThMrd 1st April, 2023 Current Account 8x52 Total 1410&12 £ 7,104.16 balance a8 of 31103r2024 £ 8.003.97 Prepared by Adrian Neville ffreasurerlTrustee) Accounts Audited and agreed