Annual report and accounts for the period 1/4/2022 to 31/3/2023 relating to Trinity Baptist Church, Gloucester (CIO) (Charity Number 1193524)
1. Annual report
The CIO was approved by the Charity Commission on 12/2/2021 but the charity has not yet commenced operational activity as the first step required is to transfer the assets of the already existing charitable unincorporated organisation (CUA) of Trinity Baptist Church into the new CIO. This has proved to be a lengthy and difficult process as the church’s assets (Church building and manses) are currently held by the Baptist Union Corporation as holding trustees. This process was initially hindered by the Covid lockdown situation and limited access to legal resources and then through protracted negotiations during the current accounting period. Agreement has now been reached on how this asset transfer is to be done and how contact can be maintained to ensure that the Baptist Union Corporation’s rights under the Ultimate trust section of the existing charitable trust documents are maintained. The new CIO will now be started up on 1[st] April 2023.
As a result, all activities of the existing CUA have continued during this reporting period (from 1[st] April 2022 to 31[st] March 2023). The only financial activity that has taken place within the CIO has been (with the prior agreement of the Baptist Union Corporation) to transfer the cash proceeds of the sale of the CUA’s 50% interest in one of its manses at 181 Linden Road, Gloucester, GL1 5DU into a new bank account which the CIO opened with the Kingdom Bank. This transaction was agreed to avoid the need for a double transaction of first transferring the funds to the holding account of the Baptist Union Corporation (as would normally have happened with the existing CUA Trinity Baptist Church) and then transferring the funds to the new CIO one month later (on 1[st] April 2023) when all of the CUA’s other assets transfer.
2. Accounts
Because of the situation outlined above, the new CIO is reporting an income of £150,000 into its new Kingdom Bank account. The account was opened with an initial deposit of £100 on 23[rd] January 2023 and three transfers of £50,000 from the purchasers of the 50% of the property were made on 14,15 and 16[th] February 2023. No other income or expenditure took place, and therefore it has been considered unnecessary to produce more detailed accounts for this period. This situation will change for the next accounting period (1[st] April 2023 to 31[st] March 2024) as the new CIO will be operating and the existing CUA closed down and its assets transferred to the CIO.
Alan Gilmore
Trustee and nominated contact for the Charity Commission