## **CEFN FFOREST MINERS WELFARE HALL** Charitable Incorporated Organisation (Association Model) **REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 1191718** ## **ANNUAL REPORT 2022** ## **CEFN FFOREST MINERS WELFARE HALL** ## Charitable Incorporated Organisation (Association Model) ## **REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 1191718** ## **ANNUAL REPORT 2022** ## **CONTENTS** 1. Introduction 2. Charity’s structure, governance and management 3. The Story So Far 4. Future Plans 5. Thank Yous 6. The Financial Bit 7. Can You Help? ## **1. INTRODUCTION** This annual report is intended to bring the community up do date on progress so far on our project to restore Cefn Fforest Miners Institute and bring it back into use for the community as a hub to facilitate social, educational, recreational and cultural activities and enhance the lifestyles and personal development of members of our community. We will look at what has been achieved so far, what we aim to do in the future and how we plan to achieve our aims. ## 2. **CHARITY’S STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT** Charitable Incorporated Organisation – Association model **Trustees (as of 31/09/22)** 1. Terence Evans 2. Ronald Stoate 3. Howard Thomas 4. Ian Thomas 5. Dean Jones 6. Amanda Thomas 7. Marina Charcon Dawson 8. Thomas Williams We have several vacancies for new trustees. Trustees are appointed based on their skills and experience any new appointments would be made in accordance with our governing document. Membership – as of 31/09/22 **52** ## **3. THE STORY SO FAR** After opening in 1931, built with funds from local miners, The Stute was at the centre of the community, providing a library, reading room, facilities for local sports, social and educational events. In the 1960s, as the mining industry was going into decline, the ownership of the building was transferred to the local authority. In the 1980s, the council signed over the lease of the land to Cefn Fforest RFC, which saw the building flourish for many years until the rugby club eventually folded in the 2010s. In 2019 the Miners Institute featured on a short BBC documentary about Cefn Fforest. Seeing the once magnificent building abandoned and unloved, prompted a group of local people come together to bring the building back to life and restore it as a central part of our community. ## **The Legal Hurdles** The first months of the project were a steep learning curve with many frustrating hurdles to clear. None of us had done anything like this before, but we had a lot of support from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust. Without them we would never have got off the ground. For us to be able to do any work on the building, we needed to actually own it. But who exactly is ‘we’? For us to be able to own the building, we needed to be a legal entity. Initially we met as a group ‘The Friends of Cefn Fforest Miners Institute’. But after much discussion and advice, we decided the best way forward was to form a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (Association Model) – which meant if things went wrong, no individual would be liable. This turned out to be far more complicated than any of us had anticipated, it took several months of drafting our constitution agreeing what our aims would be. It did not help that Covid came along, resulting in all our meetings having to be held online. Then after submitting our application to the Charity Commission, and several changes to our application following advice from the commission, we eventually secured charitable status in October 2022. ( _Technical point, we were not allowed to register as an ‘institute’, hence becoming registered as ‘Cefn Fforest Miners Welfare Hall’_ ) Achieving charitable status was just the first hurdle. The building was owned by Cefn Fforest RFC, and we purchased the building for a token fee. However, we still had to get the lease for the land on which the building stands transferred from the RFC to the new charity. This took an eternity, covid meant that solicitors were all working from home, but we eventually secured the lease of the building in May 2021. ## **The ‘Sleeves Rolled Up Getting Dirty Bit’** Whilst all this technical stuff was keeping some of the committee busy, we also had a number of volunteers rolling up their sleeves and doing jobs on the building that didn’t require significant financial outlay. The following is a list of some of the jobs our volunteers have done on the building. The list is not exhaustive, but most of the major tasks are included. - **Clear the building of eighty years of clutter.** We have rescued minutes books going back to the 1930s, sports trophies and photographs. We will display many of them when the building is up and running. - **Ripping out rotten woodwork.** Much of the floor inside had rotted due to lack of ventilation, our volunteers removed the rotten timbers and ripped up the patio to the front of the building which had been built over the air vents. - **Lifting of old patio to front of building.** - **Removal of old bar from former reading room.** - **Removal of false ceiling in bar.** - **Repairs to celling.** - **Partial plastering of ceiling in Main Hall.** - **Repairs to the roof** . We have carried out a number of repairs to the roof fallowing a combination of weather damage, lead theft and vandalism. More work needs to be done. - **Removal of old kitchen.** - **Removal of old toilets.** - **Inspection of and making safe electrical wiring.** - **Clearance of rubble and waste from around the building.** - **Removal of ivy and overgrowth.** - **Creation of a wildflower garden to the side of building.** - **Replacement of damaged windows.** Throughout this, volunteers have put in an estimated 5,000 hours grafting on the building. On top of this the trustees have held 71 meetings, totalling approximately 600 volunteer hours. That’s not including the hours spent filling in application forms, responding to e- mails, meeting other organisations, meeting contractors, selling raffle tickets doing the accounts and even, in one case, jumping out of an airplane! Chris Williams, one of our volunteers, was recently given an award by GAVO, for his dedication to the community and his work on the Stute. ## **4. FUTURE PLANS** ## **Phased approach** We had originally hoped to apply for funding to refurbish the whole building in one go. However, with inflation running at historic high levels, the cost of work in six months time is difficult to predict. To avoid receiving grant funding, then finding it is not enough, we have been advised by the lottery commission to work in phases. We have decided that the most sensible option will be to start with the main hall. It is our intention to refurbish the hall then open up to the community. This will serve several purposes. It will provide facilities for the community. If this is successful, it will demonstrate to funders that there is a demand within the village for the facilities we are aiming to provide. It will also provide us with a space that can be utilised for fundraising activities to raise money for the charity. ## **Funding** Trustees have been working closely with Gwent Association of Voluntary organisations (GAVO), The Lottery Commission, Coalfields Regeneration Trust and Wales Co-op. We have received advice and guidance, not to mention some funding through these organisations. Our main goal is to apply for funding from the Lottery People and Places fund. We are looking at the Medium sized grant, which awards between £10,001 and £100,000. Obviously, they don’t just give this money away, they need a lot of information from us. Trustees are working with GAVO on the application to improve our chances of being successful. We are also exploring other avenues of funding – it is important to not put all our eggs in one basket. ## **Delivery** We have appointed Hughes Architects of Newtown to work on designs and, once funding is secured, to put the major work out to tender and project manage the successful contractor. We have been clear all along that where possible and appropriate, we aim to use as many local contractors and workforce as possible. ## **Finance** A full financial report will be presented to members of the charity at our AGM and to the Charity Commission (Attached). However, some of the ‘headline’ items are listed below (list not exhaustive) ## **Major Income Sources** - South Wales Miners trust Fund (£10k) - Coalfields Regeneration Trust (£3k) towards solicitor’s fees - Persimmon (£1k) - Caerphilly Council (£2,500) towards new windows - GAVO (£1K) towards plastering - Youth Service (£2k) for creation of wild flower garden - Asda (200?) - Raffles, membership fees and miscellaneous donations ## **Major Outgoings** - Solicitors fees (transfer of lease) - Insurance - Materials for work carried out by volunteers - Utility bills - New windows It has been frustrating that a significant amount of money has been paid out on items that have not resulted in any work on the building, such as insurance and solicitors fees, but without these items we would not have been able to secure the lease of the building, would be in branch of the lease and we would not be able to have volunteers working in the building. ## **THANKYOUS** The trustees would like to thank all of the community that has helped, whether it be buying raffle tickets, becoming members, making donations or rolling up your sleeves and getting dirty. The list below is not exhaustive, but we think they deserve singling out for a special mention - Natalie Sargent and the Coalfields Regeneration Trust for getting us off the ground, turning up to meetings in evenings and generally putting up with our lack of knowledge. - All the volunteers that have been breaking sweat in the building, special mention going to Ian Thomas, Dean Jones and Chris Williams - The Family of Nat Thomas for donating to the charity in lieu of flowers at his funeral - The family of Mary Evans (from Mary’s Garage) for donating to the charity in lieu of flowers at her funeral - Jenny Davies, for donating to the charity in lieu of flowers at her brother Tommy’s funeral - Ginger John for volunteering his services repairing the roof - Kris Meredith for providing free scaffolding - Simon James builder/ businessman, for two lorry loads of rubble removed from side (free probable £1.5-2 k if we had to hire), - Tanya Jones and youth services for removal of old tump, planting of wildflower meadow and now trees (free again probably 2-3K) - Terence the plasterer from college for main hall ceiling, - Valleys Underground for several visits labouring and groundwork - Gina Jones and all at GAVO for their help and guidance - Simon Giles repairing lock for free - Tyrone Price for tapping gas and water off - Wallace and Wyatt (Tomas) paid electrical job though in addition free advice to volunteers re removing wires, running cables etc - Claire Potter for her publicity work, getting us in the papers and on TV - The children of Cefn Fforest Primary school for producing and amazing video for us - Sue at the community centre for helping us and providing space for the Argus to meet members of the community - And last, but by no means least, The Late Colin Nat Thomas who inspired us to get started on this project. Without him we might not be here at all. He sadly passed away this year. He will be missed by the community, and we hope we can deliver what you dreamed would happen to the Stute. ## **CAN YOU HELP?** There are several ways you can help us push this project forward - **Become a member of the charity.** Members support the charity financially through their subs, they get to vote on issues that come up at the AGM and are eligible to put their names forward to be Trustees. - **Make a regular donation.** Setting up a standing order to the charity, no matter how small, helps us plan financially and moves us one step closer to opening the building back up. - **Become a trustee.** We have a board of trustees, with a maximum number of twelve in our constitution. We have a number of vacancies and are particularly keen to work with people who have experience of running voluntary organisations and working on building projects. Please contact us if you are interested. To contact us by e-mail, cefnfforestminiers@yahoo.com _Report prepared by Terence Evans, Secretary, Cefn Fforest Miners Welfare Hall CIO. October 2022._ CHARITY COMMISSION FO(t ENGLA140ANO WALES efn Flore51 Miner5, INllare Hall CIO Charity No 1191718 Annual accounts for the To eriod J112022 Section A Statement of financial activities R•¢omrn•nd•d ut•oorfH ty Prfory•ar fun T•l•l fund* Incomlng INot• 3) F01 F02 F03 F04 F05 I￿0￿• •ndo¥ffli•nts Irom: 13.545 18.379 Total R•sourco8 *Xp•nd￿ (Not• 61 011: 19225 Z618 810 864 Tot•1 S12 618 Net Incomdl•xp•ndltur•) bofov• Inv••tm•nt g•1nslll￿5•s) S13 4.687 2,216 6,903 Nol Incom•llexp•nditur•} Extraordlnary It•ms Transfgrn b•tw••n fund• Oth•r r•cognlMd gilMl(l¢)s￿). S15 4.687 2.216 6.903 816 $17 $19 Ro¢on¢llla¢lon ollund&' Total funds caffl•d forward 18 6.903 Seclioii C Notes to the accounts Nots3 •lb7h of Inco Donal1c￿8 ￿ ' Gift Ahj 13,035 ati8s 510 510 11S45 1&379 Chvlab Totsl Olh•riradkng Td*l In¢•ar. Impalrm•ntlo 15.0 ft•valu•tl*in Th1•> Last th• moth•ds •p 1S.7 Oth•r dls¢lo•ur•• (O Myourlnlanglble asset was acqulred by w•y of of the 4sseL (H) O•t•ll$ of th• ¢••rylng •mounts off •nylntsnWe pl¢dgod •$ se¢urfty for Ilabllido& {IllJ Pl•as•provth the amount oleontraelual {Iv) St•t• lh• wnountof rn8w¢h •nd (vj Pl•As• d•t•rt Ih IM•dirws In lh• SthtA In a ' Tho 7ransfers.row is for movements bghwen fixedassetcateoThs. fvduurw balance). Also please Ihe rnle ofll8prnuetA￿.' fty￿ra&h[ is Ihe anti¢w￿l￿O CC17? (Excol) Section C Notes to the accounts Icontl Not• 14 Tanglbl• ffix•d 4•¥ots 14.1 Co•t orvalu•llon Frn•hold Iw¥l & Tolal Idlnq¥ fflKhln•ry and moior •qulwn•rt At th• baginmg ￿the Re¥alual￿* Di5PD8815 Trnn61wg' At •ThJ oflh• y 142 O•pr•¢lall¢Jn •nd Imp•knwts SL or RB (Straw Lkn• c¢ R•d SLryR (rRB SLNRB SLorRB At begInn￿ of tho ya Disp)8as Depreciatsjn Impaim*nt Tr8n8f•rn' AtoThJ of the year 14.3 N•t book ￿lu• Nel bDuk atlha betyn￿9 dthe year Net book Vats althB 8NI ollh•y•ar CL178 IEx¢ol) 14.4 Inylrni•nt 14,5 Rw•luall¢>n Thkn 14.6 OUwdKI••u Thhy•Af Last y••r x8dass01 CC17a IEKdl Section C Notes io the account5 Iconll Not• 16 H•rltag• aB#•ts 16.1 G•n•ral wr (D Explaln th• n4￿rn and •¢al• of her1tA￿ as••ts h•ld. (HI Expl•ln th• polky f¢rlh• a¢quhltlon, WO••fvatlon. mar￿•m•nt and dl•po•al of h•rttag• 1U Cost or valu•tlon Total At beginThng of the year Addltlons Disposals Revaluatlons Translers" At end oflhè yo¥ 16.3 D•procl•tlon and Impalrm•nts Stra*2ht Lina rsL'I or Reducing Balanr - Rat• At beglnnkng of Ihe year Disposals Depr8ci8tion Invim￿ Transfers" Al and d year 16A Net book v•lu• Nel bwk at Iho beginning of Ihe year Nat book value atthe end ofthe y4ar CC17a IExc•ll 16.5 Impalmi•nt Thls y•ar Last y• 16.8 R•valuatlon Th1* y Last > Atv•luallon Group A a colt Gftwp ca￿￿j amount at tho of AthJIUorks Disposals Revaluatk CarnWr¥J Anmjunt at th8 end ol perKKJ La•t (11 Expl•ln th• r•*•on t*hy hwXag• th• balanc• sh••L (111 D•Krib• th• •ignTff¢anc• •nd natur• of h•Fllag• Ms•ts. {111) Dls¢l¢xo Infomiatlon that l• helpful In aM•Mlng the nlu• of h•rltag• us•ts. cct7a {Excd) {Ivl Explaln th• r•a•on why h l• nol pr•ctlcabl• to oblaln • valuallon ¢ CC174 IEkr•ll 2015 2013 2012 2011 Pur¢ha•o• Group A Group 8 Group C l>on•llon• Gr￿P A Group B Group C 11 Chwg• lor knpalrnKgrt Grwp A Gr¢wp B Group C Total ch•ry• for Impalffli•nt DI•p04• Grtyjp A- caryny 8m¢x•il Gr￿Jp B- Gr￿p C Total dl¥pM•l• CC178 IEx•ll Section C Plates lo the ￿1ccOUnt5 Not• 17 17.1 Flx•d ￿￿•ts Inb•th•¥ts {pl••w for•Kh da•• TW Ihlr)vduoot r Addld•dtsdi.' Ir*h￿•r imwtlinll Carryirv (tsrlvknaiend of thrwh IMJBIMM E4Mnblnalan& ly Llit•d InvMlm•n Totsl Cuhov GMh•qth•l• Tolal C¢17A I&•ii d•t•Mdnkn•th• ldr¥•￿• olln4wlThrt w•p•rtyh•Td ch• fvl Explaln*y#th)tr•¢bAI ¢*lI￿On•t•1￿• pw¢lw• Total 17.5 •knrartw• or M b•hallola piity Cc17alEv￿I 17.6 con￿#10￿1ry IDHn T•l•l pMvld•d b••n IA*nottkn upatth• mp•rf* Ilmncld p￿100￿ orp•rf•nM￿•g. t•rn* •nd Forall Inw$b￿ m•ww•d •tl•lrvalu•. bJ•l•fgrd•tymitnlng lh• v41u•. In¢tyJthn9 •ry 4B•urnpkn •ppU•d • v41¥•ll•D Inch￿qUI. Aforni olM¢urfty, th• •mo**ofth• CC17• IEX Section C Notes to the accounts Icontl Not• 18 Stocks 18.1 Pléat• stat• the earrykng amount of stock and work In wow088 anatysod botw••n actMtIo8. Stock Donated 9¢x￿$ Work In prngrn For resale For rnsalo dlstrfbutkni dlstrlbutlon Charllable xllvltlos: Openlnq Added In p•rfod Othor trndlng xtlvllloj: Openlnq Added In p•rlod E¥pens•dln pertod Closlnp Total th18 year rotal prevlous y•ar Thls Last y￿r CC17a {Excel) 18.2 Plèa80 speclfy tho carrylng amou￿ of any stocks plodged as securfty for Ilabilitles CC17a (Excol) Section C Notes to the accounts Ico nt) Noto 19 Debtors and prepayments Please complete Ihls note If th• charfty has any debtors 0rprepaYn￿ts. 19.1 Anatysls of dèbtors ThlB year Last yur Undeposited mom￿r$hiP Fees Trade deblors 100.0 Pr•payments and accru•d Income Oth•r d•btorg 100.0 Pl￿8• compl•t• 19.2 whern a matertal dobtorls morn than a yearafter the reporthg d•te. 19.2 Analy8ls of debtors r•¢ovorabl• In mor• than 1)w OnClUd￿ Sn d•btors abov•) Thls year Last y•ar Trade debtors Prepayments and accrued Incom• Other debtors CC178 (Excel) Section C Notes to the accounts Icontl Note 20 Credltors and accn*lB 20.1 Anal￿¥ of ¢r•dltorn Amwnts falllng vAthln one TN8 y•ar Amounts f*lllng after morg than yoar Thls yoar Last ￿ar Accruals lor grants payabl• Bank loans and ov•rdraft* Trada ¢roditorJ Paym•nts rKelv•d on accownt for ¢onlra¢ts or perforniancoarolatod gr cruals and dthrrnd Income Taxadon and w¢lal 8•¢urlty Othor credltOTS 124 150 20.2 Deferr8d income Last Pl•as• •xplaln th• rn•sons wty lft¢om• Is d•f•Thad. Thls y•ar Last y•ar Balance at the start of th• r•portlng perlod Amounts add•d In ¢fftnt porlod Amounts rnl•as•d to Incom• from pr•vlous pwlods Balanc• ai th• end of th• r•pc*tlng p•rlod CC17a (Excell Section C Notes to the accounts Icontl Note 24 Cash at bank and In hand Thls ￿Or Short lorn1 cash Inv•slm•nts Il••s than 3 month• mAturfty dato) Short lerni depojl Cash at bank and on hand othor Totsl 7.077 CC17a {Excd) 111111111111 IiiiiiiiiJiJ 111111111111 111111111111 111111111111 Iiiiiiiiijii