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2025-12-31-accounts

Trustees Annual and Financial Report of the Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Peter’s Church, Westhampnett, for the Year ended 31[st] December 2025

St Peter’s Church, Stane Street, Westhampnett, Chichester, PO18 0NT

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL REPORT 2025

Westhampnett St Peter

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Westhampnett St Peter TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL REPORT 2025 Page | 2

CONTENTS

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Trustees Annual Report 5
Financial Report 18
Report of the Independent Examiner 27
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St Peter’s is part of the United Benefice of St Paul, Chichester with St Peter, Westhampnett

Website: www.stpeterswesthampnett.uk

Rector of the United The Revd. Canon, Paul Doick, The Rectory, Tower Close, Chichester, Benefice: PO19 1QN

Associate Rector of The Revd. Rachel Hawes, Downcote Cottage, Summersdale Road, Chichester, the United Benefice: PO19 6PN

Independent Rachel Bryan, 22 Maplehurst Road, Summersdale, Chichester PO19 6QL Examiner:

Bankers : HSBC, 94 East Street, Chichester, PO19 1HD

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St Peter’s Westhampnett: Trustees Annual Report for 2025

Our aims and purposes as a charity

The Parochial Church Council (PCC) has the responsibility of co-operating with the Rector and the Associate Rector, in

Registration

Until 2020 we were an Excepted Charity as our annual income did not exceed £100,000. In 2020 however, we successfully applied for voluntary registration. We did this in preparation for the fundraising we are undertaking for our Re-Ordering Project.

What we planned to do to achieve our charitable objectives

When planning our activities for the year, the Rector, the Associate Rector and the PCC have had regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit and, in particular, the specific guidance on ‘charities for the advancement of religion’.

For 2025 we discussed and planned the following objectives and activities to fulfil our aims:

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Our vision for the future in our Mission Action Plan

Our work throughout the year, both within our church community and within the wider community that we serve, continues to be underpinned and inspired by the vision of our 5-year Mission Action Plan, agreed in 2017 and reviewed and readopted in 2021. This Plan draws upon both theological and practical ideas, as well as on existing St Peter’s statements and documents and is inspired by the siting of our church on Stane Street – the ancient Roman road from Chichester to London. As a church community we identify ourselves as being on a journey and part of God’s pilgrim people and we identify pilgrimage with three elements: companionship with God; companionship with each other; and companionship with those we meet along the way.

What we achieved and how we affected beneficiaries’ lives

New Rector

On 23 April 2024 the Revd Canon Paul Doick was installed as Rector of the United Benefice at a service in St Paul’s. We have been very glad to welcome Fr Paul and have enjoyed working with him in the first full year of his ministry in the Benefice.

Attendance at worship and our services

The church family welcomes visitors from within as well as outside the parish boundary. Visitors attend by personal choice and it is our great pleasure to welcome everyone to take part in the life of the church. We contend that voluntary attendance at Christian worship is a major demonstration of the public benefit of our activities.

We keep St Peter’s open daily. We feel strongly that the role of the Church (in both meanings of the word - as a sacred building and as a worshipping community) is to be open, visible and functioning. We are aware that, whether they attend regularly or not, it matters to many people, especially in times of trouble, to feel that the Church is still there for them. Those who visit the church are able to leave prayer requests and light candles and we have found that many do this and obviously find it helpful.

A new Church Electoral Roll was produced in April 2025. On revision, there were 59 names on the Roll. This was significantly lower than the figure of 88 recorded in the previous year’s Annual Report and reflects the fact that a number of those on the Roll had moved away or sadly died in the last few years. By the end of the year, the number had risen only slightly to 60. Of these, 28 were not resident within the parish.

The average regular weekly attendance, counted during October, was 44 (broadly the same as in 2024, when it was 46). We are noticing an increase in numbers in the last 2 years, attributable to

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the numbers of young families attending our regular Family Service on the first Sunday of the month. The completion of the Madgwick Park estate in Westhampnett is the major factor in this increase as it has brought a large number of new families into the village. We are delighted to welcome them, and they are enriching our worship.

Our children’s ministry is especially important to us. Throughout 2025 we have continued with the Family Eucharist, on the first Sunday of every month. We design this service to ensure participation by children of all ages. Children read the lessons, give presentations based on the Lectionary theme for the Sunday and write and lead the prayers. We believe that participating and ‘performing’ in church helps to grow children’s confidence in a way which feeds into all other parts of their lives, including school. At a time when the mental health and

“She is so excited to be able to read in church. Thank you so much for encouraging her.”

A parent by email

“ I think he is ready to read now. Could you maybe find him a few lines just to start with….”.

“He loved it!”

A parent on WhatsApp

well-being of children have given cause for concern, this was never more important. It was lovely to see children, who had been initially reluctant to take part, suddenly engaging and blossoming as a result. We were also very pleased to be able to offer Sunday School for the increasing number of very young children who are now attending St Peter’s. This has been ably led by one of our Churchwardens, Jane Stone, who is a former teacher.

Our children’s Serving Team continued to support the liturgy in 2025. Theirs in an important role in our worship and it is a delight to see how enthusiastic they are about it.

Our Church Year began as usual, with a well-attended Family Service for Epiphany, in which the children read the lessons, delivered the prayers and gave a presentation on the meaning of Epiphany and the gifts of The Magi. Our beautifully decorated Kings (from our Nativity set) were then processed to the Crib for Epiphany season.

As always, in the weeks before Easter, we sought to make the village aware of the events and services in Holy Week and to encourage them to attend. We produced a leaflet and posters which we distributed to local businesses and to key points in the village such as the Community Hall, giving details of the services and a simple explanation of their meaning. We began Holy Week with a Palm Sunday procession, which started on the village green at Westhampnett and processed to the church, singing Easter hymns. The dramatised Passion Gospel during the Eucharist service was movingly performed by members of our congregation.

Holy Week at St Peter’s included a full observance of the Triduum with the traditional services of Maundy Thursday; Good Friday; and (the high point of the sequence) the Easter Vigil, in which the Easter fire is lit outside the church and the paschal candle (a symbol of the light of Christ) processed into the darkened church for the first Eucharist of Easter. Holy Week concluded with the Parish Eucharist on Easter Sunday and an Easter Egg hunt for the children. In total 86 adults and children

We are approaching the holiest point of the Christian year, when the services are varied and beautiful and speak to us of the depth and richness of our Christian faith. The period from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday (‘Holy Week’) is an important spiritual journey and I warmly encourage you to make time to experience that journey for yourselves.

The Associate Rector - Easter Services Leaflet

attended St Peter’s on Easter Eve and Easter Day. This is the most profoundly joyful point of the Christian year and a time for celebration, and we did indeed celebrate on Easter Sunday with prosecco (and delicious cakes!).

We continue to celebrate a Eucharist on the first Wednesday of each month. The service is followed by coffee and, although numbers remain very small, there are some regular worshippers who clearly find the simple

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weekday service helpful. We have also been very glad to see residents from the two Nursing Homes in Westhampnett attending this service.

During the year we held three joint services with our sister church, St Paul’s. On 29 May their congregation came to us for an evening Eucharist for Ascension Day. On our patronal festival - St Peter and St Paul, on 29 June - we went to them. We went again on 23 November for the Feast of Christ the King and our Associate Rector preached. It was lovely, as ever, for our two congregations to be able to worship together.

The Advent and Christmas seasons saw some very special services for children and adults alike. Our Advent Evening Service of Light was well attended, and we were delighted to welcome a choir from the University of Chichester to sing for us. Again, this year, s everal of our children read lessons at this service - a mark of how much their active involvement in church services has improved their confidence. We were delighted to welcome many people from the village of Westhampnett and surrounding villages, who were not regular worshippers.

Our Crib Figures continue to be a source of delight to the younger children. We set the Nativity at the focal point of the church within the open altar – treating it as the ‘stable’. We use these figures to ‘tell the story’ of Advent and Christmas for the children in Services in a way which fully engages their imaginations. The leader of our Open the Book team led a charming Crib Service play in which our children acted the story of the Nativity. The main characters in the story were ably supported by a host of very convincing shepherds, angels and sheep - and one donkey! Our Rector was also to be seen at this service sporting a silver halo and (it is understood) wings!!

Our Advent Travelling Crib (a beautiful miniature crib with all the Nativity figures, carved in olive wood by Christians in Palestine) made its journey round the Parish again this Advent. This is a wonderful way for young and old within the church community to meet each other (especially, to meet those they may not know well) and to share fellowship. The Crib is accompanied by a simple Order of Service, suitable for all ages. Many

young families, who had just moved into the “Here’s the Crib! They all loved it. Thank you so much!” village, hosted the Crib for the first time and loved it. They sent photos of their children A parent by text around the Crib. Amazingly, all the Nativity figures came back and none were lost!

We held the traditional Service of Nine Lessons and Carols again, just before Christmas. This year we were delighted to welcome again some of the choir from our sister church, St Paul’s, led by one of our organists, Charles Gauntlett. They delighted us with a beautiful selection of music. This is a wonderful service, and a time when our ancient church, lit entirely by candlelight, really comes into its own.

We again noticed some changes in patterns of attendance at Christmas. Many more young families with children came to the Crib Service on Christmas Eve, rather than attending on Christmas Day. Anecdotally, this seemed to be because people were travelling on Christmas Day to be with family. This year all who attended on Christmas Day, children and adults alike, enjoyed participating in the ‘Christmas Star Hunt’; discovering the painted stars that had ‘fallen from the sky’ on Christmas Night. Everyone went home with a pocket full of stars to hang on their Christmas tree.

In total 258 adults and children attended our special services during the Advent and Christmas period and 103 attended on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We were delighted to welcome, the Rotary Club again this year for their Christmas Carol Service.

In 2025 we said a final goodbye to the Reverend Anthony Freeman (our Honorary Assistant Priest with PTO). He has decided to step down from regular involvement at St Peter’s. Over the past 5 years he has assisted the Associate Rector in conducting services each month. He has also helped with pastoral work, including Nursing Home Communions; in the training of the team of lay intercessors; and in our Mission Giving and Stewardship programmes. We have greatly valued everything that he has done for the Parish and are glad that he is still worshipping with us on an occasional basis.

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Teaching, baptising and nurturing new and existing believers

We continued to welcome new members of the Christian community in Baptism. This year we baptised 20 infants and children and 4 adults. The increase in the number of new families now settled in Westhampnett (as a result of the recent housing development in Madgwick Park) is reflected in the significant rise in infant Baptisms over the last few years. It has been a real pleasure to see so many more young families coming to St Peter’s.

It is the policy of the United Benefice to admit baptised children to Holy Communion (after preparation) and this year we prepared 8 children for their First Communion. They were admitted in in December 2025. This was a most joyful occasion and we broke our Advent fast to celebrate with the children and their families.

We seek to encourage the participation in worship of all members of the church community, through readings and intercessional prayers and in the administration of the chalice.

We continue to encourage the study of, and reflection on, our faith through our Teaching and Nurture programme. In Lent this year we followed the Diocesan Lent Course, I Believe – a study of the Nicene Creed, marking the 1700th anniversary of the first Ecumenical Council at Nicaea in 325 . Following on from the Diocesan Year of the New Testament in 2024, the Course invited us to continue to reflect upon the mystery of faith as set out in the Nicene Creed. The Course was delivered on Zoom and was well attended.

Socialising, sharing food and company and celebrating together

We believe very strongly that social events play an important role in the life of the parish, providing a way of meeting others, avoiding loneliness and learning to live together. In 2025 we were able to hold a number of social events.

In January we held a Keats Evening at the Westhampnett Community Hall, with a talk on Keat’s poem The Eve of St Agnes by Nigel Gossop and a display of sculptures by the sculptor Vincent Gray, whose beautiful sculpture of Keats is at the end of east Street in Chichester. In March we held another event at the Community Hall – Pancakes and Story Telling. The younger children were perhaps more interested in the pancakes than the stories (!) but it was a delightful afternoon. On Mothering Sunday (30[th] March) we again celebrated at the Parish Eucharist - everyone in the congregation received beautiful posies of daffodils distributed by the children. In preparation for Easter, our children were invited to decorate the windowsills of the church, and they did so beautifully, with flowers and with a delicate Easter Garden in the north aisle. We celebrated the joy of Easter, with drinks (and cakes for the children!) on Easter Sunday. We also celebrated after the Ascension Day Service in May. During the summer, we had several informal ‘bring and share’ picnics on our paddock behind the church and a rounders event. It was lovely to sit on the grass and watch the children playing.

Again, this year members of our congregation were busy making jams and marmalades. By popular request our produce was also shared with the congregation of our sister church St Paul's.

Some of the events we held contributed to our fundraising for the mission of St Peter’s and some to our Re-Ordering Project. In 2024 we were delighted to see a major expansion of our Events Team. This enabled us, for the first time, to tackle holding several more major events and we continued with these events in 2025. We held a hugely successful Annual Raffle with the prizes drawn after the Family Service on 1 June. We also held a Bingo Evening in the Westhampnett Community Hall. It was organised by some of the new members of our Events Team and impressively compered by one of their number. People of all ages came and the children, in particular, proved both competitive and successful!

We again held a Summer Fête, on 2 August, in our paddock to the north of the church. The weather stayed fine and the event was a huge success, with numerous individual stalls, a barbeque and a bouncy castle. One of the star attractions of the day was Cuddle a Rabbit for £1 (!) The rabbits (who were sweet and placid and very cuddly) belonged to one of the church families who live in the village. One of the aspects of the Fête which most pleased us was the fact that many people who attended were new to the village and had never visited the church or its grounds before. The event proved an ideal

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context in which to connect with people and it was good to see, subsequently, some of the young families, who had come to the Fête, attending services at St Peter’s.

In September we hosted an organ recital by Charles Gauntlett, one of our organists from St Paul’s. This was an interesting programme and well-attended. We hope very much to be able to host similar concerts in the future, especially when our Re-Ordering Project is complete, and we have more flexibility on how we can use our building.

In September members of the congregation again took part in Ride and Stride - a one-day event in which participants visit local churches either on foot or by bicycle. We were delighted to welcome our Bishop Martin, who was also taking part in the event. Ride and Stride is a lovely way to get to know some of the beautiful churches in our area. Half the proceeds go to support the Sussex Historic Churches Trust and the other half go to the individual churches.

In October, inspired by the success of the first one, we held another Bingo evening in the Westhampnett Community Hall, with refreshments and prizes. It was well attended and, again, enthusiastically competitive!

We celebrated Harvest Festival on 5 October with a Family Service and a church beautifully decorated by adults and children. We collected food and other essentials for the local Food Bank at the service and were glad to be able to make a significant donation.

Another new event (introduced in 2024 by our hugely committed Events Team), was a Christmas Market held in the Westhampnett Community Centre on 29 November. Stalls selling wonderfully enticing potential Christmas presents made the day a real success, as did a repeat of Cuddle a Rabbit for £1. The rabbits, who were, again, amazingly relaxed about all the attention, proved very popular with young and old alike (and especially with the Associate Rector!).

We would like the people of the village, whether they worship regularly at St Peter’s or not, to feel that the church is ‘theirs’ and that they can use it. For this reason, we have been particularly pleased to be able to host the Madgwick Park Book Club, which continues to meet regularly in the church on Friday evenings. The Associate Vicar attends this Club whenever she can and is delighted at the opportunity it gives her to get to know people through it.

“So great to see you all! I loved the book. Really looking forward to the next one.”

In addition, this year, one of our Churchwardens has started a monthly early Coffee Drop-In on Wednesdays. This is open to everyone, but particularly aimed at families dropping off children at school. The numbers

A Book Club member

are small but we are nevertheless very glad to be able to offer this to the community.

Evangelism and outreach

The Pastoral Offices (Baptism, Marriage and Funerals) are particularly the place where the church community reaches out to the parish it serves. Wedding numbers still remain lower than before the pandemic, with only 2 weddings in 2025. Baptism numbers, however, continue to increase. With 24 Baptisms in 2025, of which 20 were infants or young children and 4 were adults. 1 funeral was conducted in church and 1 interment of ashes, as well as a further 2 services at the local crematorium.

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We continue to nurture our ties with The March Church of England Primary School. The Associate Rector (who is also a School Governor) takes Assemblies there every other week, alternating with our Open the Book team who present dramatised versions of Bible stories. Through this we ensure we have a weekly presence in the school. In addition, the Associate Rector also conducts a termly Eucharist there and the school comes to St Peter’s for the key festivals such as Harvest and Christmas.

We also continue to visit both Nursing Homes in Westhampnett and to take Holy Communion regularly to those who are housebound.

Provision of the church building for people to enjoy

It is important to us that our historic church is available, not just to the Church family, but also to the wider community. We wish it to be appreciated as sacred space (a place for prayer and contemplation);

“What a beautiful medieval Church!” “Thank you so much for keeping the church open. It is wonderfully peaceful.” Entries in our Visitors’ Book

community space (a place where the events of life are celebrated); and historic space (a place that connects people to their past as well as giving them hope for the future). To this end, the church building has always been kept open from 9am to 4pm and the entries in the Visitors’ Book have testified to how much people appreciate this.

Safeguarding

The PCC takes its Safeguarding responsibilities seriously and seeks to ensure that children and vulnerable adults within the church community are protected at all times. The PCC has complied with the duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 to have ‘due regard’ to guidance issued by the House of Bishops on matters relating to the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults and has adopted the House of Bishop’s Promoting a Safer Church; Safeguarding Policy Statement.

We have completed the Diocesan online programme Simple Quality Protects , which is a tool designed to help PCCs achieve the best standards of Safeguarding in a focussed way. This tool has enabled us to review and revise our Safeguarding Policies and process documents in the light of the most recent guidance.

All PCC members and volunteers working with children or vulnerable adults have undergone the following Safeguarding Training:

Safeguarding - Basic Awareness

Safeguarding - Foundations

Clergy have, in addition, undergone:

Safeguarding - Leadership

Safeguarding is a standard item on all PCC Agendas and our Parish Safeguarding Officer reports regularly. We had two Safeguarding incidents in the period covered by this Report. Both were reported to the Diocesan Safeguarding Team who advised us appropriately. Neither incident required further action.

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Current and future projects, including spatial reordering of the church building

Graveyard maintenance

Our church has a highly successful relationship with the Kent and Sussex Probationary Service and, in particular, the Community Payback Team. A team of unpaid workers under the supervision of the Community Payback Team work on the maintenance and upkeep of the graveyard. This relationship is a very special one - there are benefits on both sides. The church graveyard is beautifully kept and the unpaid workers have commented on their sense of being valued and of worth for a job well done.

This year members of the Team also helped with the cleaning of the church, which has eased the burden on the small group of volunteers who normally clean it.

Re-Ordering the church

The church is currently without any basic facilities (such as toilet or kitchen). This limits the use of the church for the type of community activity which the PCC sees as an important part of its mission in the growing community of Westhampnett.

In accordance with the vision outlined in our Mission Action Plan, the PCC agreed a scheme for the complete re-ordering of the church. This Re-Ordering Project involves the installation of a small teapoint and an accessible toilet in the south-west aisle corner of the church; the removal of the existing fixed pews to provide flexible floor space (replacing them with moveable pew benches); the refurbishment of radiators and the installation of radiant heating; the provision of a glassed-in meeting room in the north-west aisle corner; the re-location of the font to the aisle crossing; the creation of a sacrament chapel; the replacement of the existing wooden south door with a glass door; the installation of decorative wrought iron grilles on the exterior entrance of the porch; the re-decoration of the interior of the church and the installation of a new lighting scheme.

Detailed final plans for all these works were originally prepared and submitted to the DAC in May 2019. The DAC indicated that it was in sympathy with our proposals, although it deferred our application for answers on a number of minor technical points. It also advised us that we should wait before re-applying until we have been able to raise at least 60% of the overall costs of the project. We had intended to begin work on fund-raising and grant applications in 2020 but the Covid pandemic unfortunately forced us to delay this.

We began our fundraising again at the end of 2022, having, as a preliminary, conducted a Community

“This seems to us a great idea to bring this beautiful old church into the 21[st] century. Westhampnett is growing quickly. Let’s hope the people of Westhampnett get behind you.”

“Thank you. We really appreciate this and value our community and would love to have opportunities to get involved/meet people.”

“A great idea to make the church more available – I agree with all your objectives.” Responses to the Community Questionnaire

Survey to find out what the growing community at Westhampnett wanted from their church. We distributed 600 questionnaires and had just over a 10% response rate. The response was overwhelmingly positive, with 55% of contributors adding additional suggestions and comments.

We used this data from our Questionnaire to support the grant applications we made for our Re-Ordering Project.

By mid-2024 we had raised sufficient funds to re-apply to the DAC for its September Meeting. We decided to divide the Project into 3 phases and so the application was for Phase

1 only – the re-ordering of the west end of the church. Again, we were referred on minor details but responded and were finally able to proceed to faculty in March 2025. This was duly granted and building work finally began in August 2025. Since then we have operated with half a church – the west end

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being boarded off. It has not been easy, but we have managed and we look forward to the completion of the project, hopefully by May 2026.

Provision of tangible support to the poor and needy

In September 2023 it became public that the Government had leased the Chichester Park Hotel, situated in the Parish and very close to the church, to house asylum seekers. We were glad to be able to assist these people in practical ways by donations of clothing and children’s toys and we have continued this assistance into 2025. The Associate Rector has visited the hotel regularly and linked up with The Sanctuary in Chichester, a registered charity which supports refugees and asylum seekers. Through the expertise of The Sanctuary staff, we were able to ensure that those who needed, e.g. legal advice, had access to it. We have also been very glad to welcome the residents of the hotel to worship with us at St Peter’s.

Again this year, we also supported our local Food Bank by regular monthly food collections and an additional special collection at Harvest Festival.

Other charitable giving

“Thank you so much for your continued support for the Food Bank.”

Food Bank Co-ordinator

This year we have supported The Bell Tower Drop-in Centre; The Bible Society - Bible a

Month; Sussex Historic Churches Trust; the Myanmar Earthquake appeal and the Friends of the Holy Land appeal. We have also continued to deposit Funds with Boom, the West Sussex Credit Union and we have paid our Parish Share in full.

Financial Review

In 2025 total receipts amounted to £113,402 (compare £132,760 in 2024). This figure includes grants and donations for the Re-ordering Project; income derived from placing these funds on deposit pending disbursement and an Archdeacon’s Loan of £50,000. The latter is interest free and repayable by 31 August 2032. Total payments amounted to £136,243 (£39,189 in 2024). The increase in payments is largely due to the long-awaited commencement of the Re-Ordering Project in August 2025. As a consequence, overall assets fell by £22,841, the majority of which relates to the Restricted Re-Ordering Fund.

Perhaps a better comparison of the results for 2025 and 2024 is achieved by distinguishing between general funds, designated funds and restricted funds. The PCC are free to spend general funds as they think fit to promote their charitable aims and objectives. Broadly speaking the General Fund covers the day to day running of the church and promotion of its mission. The designated funds, the Designated Reordering and Hardship Funds, have been earmarked for specific purposes but may be returned to the General Fund at some future date if the PCC so decide. Restricted funds, including the Restricted Re-Ordering Fund, may only be used to fulfil the purpose for which they were donated.

The General Fund produced receipts of £35,487 and payments of £36,396 resulting in net expenditure of £909 (compare net income of £1,758 in 2024). General Fund receipts fell by 5% while payments increased by 2.4%. The fall in receipts is largely because 2024 receipts were inflated by delayed receipts from 2023 and is not indicative of a reduction in giving. There were no legacies in 2025, but we were once again fortunate to receive support from the congregation, a substantial donation from the Goodwood Estate and a Parish Council grant for the upkeep of the churchyard. The events committee put on several events which raised, net of costs, £3,327 for the General Fund (see note 12 to the Accounts). Costs were controlled carefully. Insurance costs increased more than expected due to the commencement of the Re-Ordering Project. There was an increase in the cost of utilities that was largely due to a second delivery of heating oil.

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Designated funds produced receipts of £490 and payments of £4,237 resulting in net expenditure of £3,747 (net income of £366 in 2024). There was a small payment from the Hardship Fund and the remainder of the payments related to the Re-Ordering Project.

Restricted funds produced receipts of £77,425 and payments of £95,610 resulting in net expenditure of £18,185 (net income of £91,447 in 2024). Most of the income and payments related to the ReOrdering Project. Income includes several grants both for quinquennial repairs and the Re-Ordering Project (see note 11 to the Accounts). We successfully applied for an Archdeacon’s Loan of £50,000 which is intended to cashflow the project while we are aiming to raise another £45,000 in grants from various foundations and further sums from the Listed Places of Worship Scheme (LPWS) to complete Phase 1. Unfortunately, the planned closure of the LPWS will affect how much we can claim from that source. In addition, the events committee raised £4,947 net of costs for the Reordering Fund (see note 12 to the Accounts). The Chair Appeal has been particularly successful and, taking into account grants and donations, stood at £7,792 at year end. Payments for the ReOrdering Project, £92,000, are detailed in note 26 to the Accounts. The only other payment from restricted funds, £5,460, related to quinquennial repairs to the plastering of the north wall.

The PCC is grateful for the continuing generosity of the congregation and other donors who fund the maintenance of the church and our mission. The PCC also wishes to extend its thanks to those involved in fundraising activities on its behalf and to the organisation that supplies gardeners who maintain the churchyard so beautifully. The latter organisation kindly waived its fee again this year. Finally, the PCC wishes to thank the organisations that are supporting our Re-Ordering Project (see note 11 to the Accounts), which will ultimately assure the long-term viability of St Peter’s.

At the year-end total funds, excluding debtors and liabilities, amounted to £119,166 of which £12,551 is held in the General Fund, £6,919 in Designated Funds and £99,696 in Restricted Funds (see Statement of Funds, note 4 to the Accounts).

Why we hold some money in reserve

It is PCC policy to maintain a balance on the general unrestricted funds (excluding property) which equates to approximately three months’ worth of unrestricted payments as contingency against unforeseen situations. An additional £5,000 is reserved to cover expenditure involved in carrying out the works required by the last quinquennial inspection.

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Structure, governance and management of the Charity

The Parochial Church Council (PCC) is a Registered Charity, Number 1191476. Its governing document is the Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956. During the year the following served as members of the PCC:

Ex Officio members:
Rector The Reverend Canon Paul (Installed 23 April 2024)
Doick
Associate Rector The Reverend Rachel Hawes (Installed 6 September 2017)
Chair
Churchwardens: Mrs Jane Stone (First elected 8 April 2018. Re-
elected by Resolution – 14 April
2024)
Mrs Hazel Bate (First elected 14 April 2024. Re-
elected 11 May 2025)
Elected members:
Safeguarding Officer Mrs Laura Bradley (First elected 18 April 2021.
Re-elected 14 April 2024)
Mrs Val Edwards (First elected 18 April 2021.
Re-elected 14 April 2024)
Mrs Rosemarie Scott (First elected 27 September 2020.
Re-elected 23 April 2023)
Mrs Ann Kent (First elected 14 April 2024)
Mrs Tara Atkins (First elected 14 April 2024)
Mr Mark Leyland (First elected 14 April 2024)
Secretary & Electoral Roll Mrs Rachel Tout (First elected 14 April 2024)
Officer
Mr Peter Davison (First elected 11 May 2025)
Deanery Synod Rep Mr Gerald Bate (First elected 23 April 2023)

The PCC was assisted by the following, not a member:

Appointed under CRR 2025 Rule M20 (3)(b) Treasurer Mrs Carol Wadsworth-Jones (First appointed 7 April 2019)

Membership of the PCC is determined under the Church Representation Rules and consists of certain ex-officio members (the incumbent/priest-in-charge, curate, lay readers licensed to officiate in the church), the Churchwardens and members of the Deanery, Diocesan or General Synods and members of the church who are elected at the APCM. Members are warmly encouraged to stand for election to the PCC and we try to ensure a balance of skills and experience where possible.

This Trustees’ Annual Report was approved by the Parochial Church Council and signed on its behalf by the Revd Rachel Hawes (PCC Chair).

Signed:

Date: 17 March 2026

Westhampnett St Peter TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL REPORT 2025

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Westhampnett St Peter TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL REPORT 2025 Page | 16

Financial Report of the Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Peter’s Church, Westhampnett, for the Year ended 31[st] December 2025

CONTENTS
Page
Summary of Financial Receipts and Payments 18
Statement of Assets and Liabilities 19
Notes to the Financial Report 20
Report of the Independent Examiner 27

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Westhampnett St Peter TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL REPORT 2024

St Peter’s Church, Westhampnett

Summary of Financial Receipts and Payments

The financial effect of our activities during the year can be summarised as follows:

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Westhampnett St Peter TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL REPORT 2024

St Peter’s Church, Westhampnett Statement of Assets and Liabilities

Our financial position at the year-end was:

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Westhampnett St Peter TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL REPORT 2024

St Peter’s Church, Westhampnett Notes to the Financial Report

  1. The financial statements of the PCC have been prepared in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 and current Church Accounting Regulations, using the Receipts and Payments basis.

2. Analysis of total received:

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Westhampnett St Peter TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL REPORT 2024

3. Analysis of total paid

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Westhampnett St Peter TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL REPORT 2024

4. Statement of funds

Endowed Funds are required by donors to be invested and the income spent on specific objectives. There are no endowed funds.

Restricted Funds are not invested permanently but are to be spent within reasonable timescales for specific purposes. The restricted funds existing at the start of the year comprise the Fabric Fund (to maintain the fabric of the church), the Reordering Fund (raised to finance the reordering project), the Gilbert Trust (for the maintenance of certain graves), the Chancel Trust (to receive grants for the maintenance of the chancel) the Soloist Fund (to pay for soloists to perform at the Parish Eucharist and other key services) and the Refugee Fund which was formed in 2023 in response to a small donation received for the support of refugees.

Unrestricted funds are not subject to any donor restrictions and can be spent as the PCC decides. The unrestricted funds comprise the General Fund, a designated fund to finance the reordering project and a newly created Hardship Fund to be distributed at the discretion of the churchwardens to those in need.

Fund receipts, payments and final balances are as follows:

This table excludes debtors and liabilities.

Transfers between funds were as follows:

General
Fund		 Designated
Funds		 Restricted
Funds		 Purpose
£ £ £
444 - (444) Balance on Chancel Fund to General Fund to contribute
to insuringthe chancel
444 - (444) Total

  1. The Gilbert Trust Investments were revalued as at 31 Dec 2025 having fallen in value by £412.

  2. The Archdeacon’s loan was taken in August 2025 to cashflow the Reordering Project. It is interest free and repayable within 7 years, that is by 31 August 2032.

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Westhampnett St Peter TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL REPORT 2024

  1. Planned Giving refers to payments received by standing order and bank transfer into the Treasurer’s Current Account, including Parish Giving Scheme but excluding the Gift Aid element.

  2. Collections include weekly cash collections, gift aid envelopes and other irregular collections.

  3. Gift Aid recovered includes the Parish Giving Scheme element of £2,758 plus claims for direct donations in the year ended 31/12/24 and GASDS for the year ended 5/4/25.

  4. Other donations relate to voluntary giving outside the context of services or fundraising events but includes specific appeals. It includes a large donation by the Goodwood Estate, donations from individuals (including £2,742 for the Chair Appeal) and donations received from retailers via Easyfundraising. A large individual donation was made as a contribution to the cost of Quinquennial Repairs with particular reference to the war memorial.

  5. The grant income was as follows:

Provider Purpose General
Fund		 Chancel
Trust		 Reordering
Fund		 Fabric
Fund
WesthampnettParishCouncil Churchyardupkeep £1,200
Chichester Boardof Finance Chancel Insurance £181
BeatriceLaingTrust Reordering project £5,000
The John BoothCharitableTrust Reordering project £1,000
The Spiller Trust Reordering project £500
TheP.RoutledgeFoundation ChairsAppeal £5,000
Sussex Historic ChurchesTrust Quinquennial repairs £2,000
**Total ** £1,200 **£181 ** £11,500 £2,000

In addition to grants already received The Hobson Charity have agreed in principle to make a grant of £10,000 towards the Reordering Project and we expect to receive a grant of £2,710 from the Diocesan Minor Repairs and Improvement Fund on completion of quinquennial repairs.

We have also applied to the Listed Places of Worship Scheme for grants to cover VAT on the reordering project building works and to various foundations for further grants towards the reordering project.

12. Fundraising Activities

Fundraising activities either result in voluntary donations or are classified as trading activities because they involve the exchange of goods or services for money.

Net proceeds of Fundraising Activities Fund Allocation
Event (Net proceeds) **General ** Reordering
Sales of jams etc. £ 75
Keats evening £ 539
Pancake event £ 175
Raffle £ 1,267
Bingo event 1 £ 182
Summer Fête £ 1,204
Rounders event (Chair appeal) £ 50
Ride&Stride (sponsored event)* £ 569
Organ recital £ 362
Bingo event 2 £ 360
Christmas Market £ 699
Chair Appeal(individual responses)** £2,792
Totals £3,327 £ 4,947

*The proceeds of Ride&Stride are shared equally with Sussex Historic Churches Trust

**In addition to the individual responses to the Chair Appeal a grant of £5,000 was obtained (see note 10 above).

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Westhampnett St Peter TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL REPORT 2024

  1. Weddings & funerals (other) relates to receipts over and above statutory fees (for flowers, orders of service, bells, verger etc.).

  2. Other Receipts – £280 relates to the sale of pews removed in preparation for the Reordering Project and £50,000 relates to an Archdeacon’s Loan taken for the purposes of the Reordering Project. The loan is interest free and repayable by 31 August 2032.

  3. Cost of raising funds where no consideration is provided – i.e. the cost of promoting voluntary giving. This includes the cost of a professional fundraiser who assisted with grant applications.

  4. Charitable grants and donations include The Bell Tower Drop In Centre, the Bible a Month Scheme, the Sussex Historic Churches Trust, the Myanmar Earthquake Appeal, the Friends of the Holy Land Appeal and a grant paid out of the Hardship Fund.

  5. Honoraria relate to ex gratia payments made to the person acting as verger or bell ringer for weddings/funerals/baptisms.

  6. Clergy expenses amounted to £520 relating primarily to postage, stationery, printing, office sundries and a subscription to Zoom.

  7. Cost of services includes sacristy supplies, service hospitality, flowers, children’s participation, service music, music licenses/subscriptions and banners promoting special services.

  8. Administrative costs include web presence, financial costs (bank charges and card reader), office supplies, printing (pewsheets, Orders of Service, newsletters), and sundries.

  9. Church Utilities

Utilities 2025 2024
Electricity £1,398 £1,212
Water £ 93 £ 77
Oil £1,046 £ 608
Total £2,537 £1,896

The large increase in oil costs is due to having taken a second delivery of oil in September. St Peter’s is in the Parish Energy Scheme which appointed Ecotricity, a green energy supplier, as its electricity supplier with effect from 1 October 2025.

  1. Other church running costs include, cleaning, pest control, organ tuning and repair, and fire extinguisher maintenance.

  2. Church maintenance includes routine testing, maintenance and minor repairs usually paid out of the General Fund. More substantial repairs, in this case plastering of the north wall by the vestry, were paid from the Fabric Fund.

  3. Churchyard includes gardening fees, the cost of purchasing and repairing gardening equipment, the hire of the container which houses it, the cost of planting and of maintaining the graves. The organisation which provides the gardeners has once again kindly waived its fee.

  4. Fixtures & Fittings – the purchase of tables, chairs and items for the vestry.

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Westhampnett St Peter TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL REPORT 2024

  1. Reordering costs – the reordering project commenced on 13 August 2025. Costs paid during 2025 are set out in the table below.
in the table below.
Item Amount
£
Facultyfee 343
Architect’sfees 3,831
BuildingRegulation fees 1,118
Builders 85,685
Other 1,023
**Total ** 92,000

  1. Trading costs represent the cost of raising funds where there is an exchange of goods or services for money. This includes printing and flowers for weddings and funerals, the costs of running events and the purchase of raffle tickets and the gambling licence.

  2. Other payments – In 2024 architects fees in connection with the reordering project were shown under this heading. In order to provide a proper comparison with 2025 they are now shown under Charitable costs as Reordering costs.

Approved by the Parochial Church Council and signed on its behalf the Revd Rachel Hawes (PCC Chair)

Signed:

Date: 17 March 2026

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Westhampnett St Peter TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL REPORT 2024

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Westhampnett St Peter TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL REPORT 2024

St Peter’s Church, Westhampnett

Re ort of the Inde endent Examiner p p

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

PCC of St Peter’s Church, Westhampnett Report to the trustees On accounts for the year Charity no (if 31 December 2025 1191476 ended any) Set out on pages 18-25 Responsibilities and basis I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity of report (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/12/2025.

As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

I report 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 Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner's I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come statement to my attention in connection with the examination ~~(other than that disclosed below *)~~ which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

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 enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Date: 29 March 2026 Signed: Name:[MRS RACHEL BRYAN ] Relevant professional qualification(s) (if any): Address:[22 Maplehurst Road, Chichester, PO19 6QL ]

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Westhampnett St Peter TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL REPORT 2024

Section B Disclosure

Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).

Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .

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TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL REPORT 2024

Westhampnett St Peter