NTH AGM Chairs Report 30/06/24 for Year End 31[st] December 2023
Welcome back everyone and welcome to our AGM. I am going to start with a very heartfelt apology for the delays; the delay in the AGM and the delays in receipt of the Traffic Notice, of which I am slowly catching up upon. I realise it’s not the service you would expect for your membership money and I am sorry. As editor and writer I accept full responsibility. I have alluded to it before, and it is simply that we have a full on diary, that means not just attending events but it’s the preparation of vehicles as well, before we get to the events. We have a small crew on maintenance days and some weeks we have three or four vehicles to prepare. I also have other commitments with other charity and community groups, as well as full time work and family commitments where I am often firefighting with incoming, unplanned issues to deal with. We have plenty of those with NTH too! So, the logistics mean that if my allotted time slots are interrupted with issues that simply need dealing with there and then, it is difficult to get back on track. In addition, I have also been struggling with health issues, mainly in my back which resulted in sugery last October, I had put the operation off so as to be able to help with the seasons events which are some of our flagship events and our main fundraisers. I then had a long period of recovery time, which also meant I could not spend long periods at the computer, if at all. So, they are my humble offer of excuses which can be put down, to lack of volunteers (in some departments) that could free me up a bit and health both metal and physical, we cannot do everything!
This has also meant that the AGM was put back, in line with our constitution, inf act it was moved twice due to commitments of other committee/trustee members.
So, here we are then! Though you have not received Traffic Notices on time, the ones you have received thus far I hope have been enjoyable?
Volunteers and Committee/Trustees
I mentioned lack of volunteers in some departments, and we could always do with more, in the main on event days we have been steady and on some events we have been blessed but its always behind the scenes that we struggle, whether it is at the barn on cleaning and maintenance or with more mundane, practical matters, such as administrative work, this all creates a work load for the existing committee members which at some points are quite demanding and stressful.
Taking of volunteers, we are grateful to all of you who give up their time so freely to assist us in deliverance of our charitable articles and that of the public benefit. Thank you, we could not do anything without you. On a plus note we have recruited a volunteer for the all important role of Treasurer. Sas you know Andy Rhodes as covered this post in an acting capacity for a number of years until we could find someone with the skills to take it on. We thank Andy for keeping it running and we now also welcome Karl Tecklenberg, who came forward to offer his services to the cause. Karl cannot be with us today as he has prearranged commitments, namely his holidays. Karl has a good pedigree within the preservation movement, as well as in his professional capacity, albeit now retired and very much has the skills to oversee the accounts and budget of NTH. Once back from his holidays, Karl will be very much involved with committee matters and that of account maintenance.
We are also talking to one or two other people that could slot into different departments. It is important that we try to find the right opportunity for interested folk so that they can be a happy and we can best utilise and target their particular expertise or interest.
So, we have one addition to the committee and remain steady but stretched in other areas.
Finance
Financially, we remain solvent but could always, always do with more resources in the form of donations and grants. We rely almost universally on public, freewill donations. This is mainly from collections at events but we do receive occasional personal donations. We do apply for grants occasionally that we think we might fit the criteria for. It is not easy to get general funding for our activities as whole, they have to be applied for under the banner of a “project”. So, we will always be careful with money, we have to as we only need to have one vehicle problem and it could be all used up. We set up various donation “pots” online via the “Give As You Live” platform, where you can direct your money to a project of your choice, whether it be a vehicle or general items like storage and other running costs. You can also raise money for us with this platform whilst shopping online at no additional costs to the purchaser. We also use PayPal giving, the charitable arm of PayPal. Other fundraising can be form Ebay where people can have to option of donating at the checkout to a charity of their choice and we are registered for this. Other platforms include the Northampton Lottery which brings in a miniscule amount but it all adds up.
So, you will have read the accounts for a more detailed look but overall we are okay and within our budgets.
Vehicles
Our main offering! We currently stand at some eleven vehicles with the possibility of more acquisitions this year. They all continue to run well overall, those that are on the road with some relatively minor issues and servicing being the only items requiring attention. Whilst 154 and 267 (and of course 197) run and “look” presentable we are acutely aware that they will need further attention/restoration in the not so distant future, in fact possibly the next three years or so, it could be as soon as that particularly in the case of 154 where the body shows signs of age. Certainly inside, the upstairs roof needs attention – rubbing down and repainting. We still have the ambition of not only restoring them all, but are particularly keen to have “Mavis” MV02 VBZ on the road, as it is PSVAR compliant and we are keen to be inclusive so that everyone can truly take part in our activities, this needs inspection and an MOT before it can hit the road as well as some obvious repairs such as sidelights. It probably doesn’t need that much but we have to factor into the cost of possible transportation to a workshop.
As always, they continue to need maintenance and money! They will not run themselves. At the time of writing we do have an eye on other acquisitions and these will be communicated if and when acquired. As a collection, we are always keen to have representative examples of type and operator with a county connection.
Events:
We continue to provide, what we think is a good variety of events amongst our flagship events and are always keen to listen to sensible suggestions for members trips. However, it must be caveated that members must support events as more often than not (and apart from generous individual donations) many do not cover the cost of fuel. So, please use or lose your trips!
What we might term as “private” bookings continue to grow, by this we mean attendance or visits to schools, community events and shows or taking part in events with other local organisations. The events report will showcase the variety.
We continue to strengthen our ties with other organisations and local authorities, building upon the relationships we have. They seem to appreciate our way of doing things, which is a what you see is what you get approach, in a friendly, open but professional manner. Daventry and Wellingborough Town Councils, particularly have been good to work with. Our relationship with West Northamptonshire Council looks to be improving after the last three years since the creation of the Unitary Authority, where they had difficulty in deciding whether they wanted a Heritage offer or who was to pay for it all. We are now confident things are moving in the right direction with a fresh approach.
Interest remains strong for our vehicles
Archives and Heritage
Since the sale of St James Garage last year we have amassed more archive documents of Northampton Transport that we rescued from the loft of the office building. You can read more about this in the Traffic Notice. We continue to lobby and discuss with the council the future of St James and are determined to influence the outcome. We have submitted, and worked very hard on a listing designation application with Historic England and this the outcome will be known around July time. We continue to report any incursions on to the site and have a reasonably open dialogue with the council officers with responsibility for enterprise and planning. We have, and continue to make the case for adaptive reuse of the building with our preference being the creation of a visitor attraction that includes some sort of transport or large exhibit museum that can show case our vehicles. There is along way to go with this but the authority is committed to maintaining security and upkeep until a final decision is made. They currently have no budget for demolition or site clean up. A lot will be determined by the result of our listing application.
We continue to have a seat at the heritage table in the form of the Heritage SubCommittee of Northampton Forward, an organisation that informs and decides on improvements to the town centre and surrounding areas. The sub-committee informs this body. We are also in discussions with others about a more robust committee that will inform council on heritage matters and will have a place in this forum. So, we are well represented at heritage forums as well as being members of the
Northamptonshire Heritage Forum itself and well placed to inform and fight our own corner.
Our arching project took a step forward with the hire of an office to store and sort our growing collection of documents and equipment. Our archiving officer has been sifting through this with the assistance of some volunteers when required. We have this office until April 2025 and will be looking to procure more funds to extend that. It is our aim to be able to have this facility open to the public by appointment. Having this facility, it is hoped, is also a stepping stone to bigger things as part of our ambition for a museum. We can hopefully grow from this office to larger accommodation that can then lend itself to a museum as well as accessible archive storage. This will all require careful management and plenty of funding.
In Conclusion
Our committee and trustees remain strong and committed, if a little overworked at times, to the cause but I will repeat that we need to welcome more committee members to assist with projects. This will be particularly important if we are successful with our archives centre of which we will again be making a funding application for. So, we still need a secretary, a technical officer to oversee the maintenance schedule and vehicle projects. Also, we need a person to take over as a stockkeeper and fundraiser to oversee and develop our sales stall offer.
Volunteers are always welcome to assist with maintenance and cleaning and of course, crewing.
Our “brand” is well respected and recognised locally, and nationally in some cases, with good relationships built with local authorities, other charities, preservation groups, community groups and schools.
Our collection continues to grow in a representative way in line with our policy and are very popular with enthusiasts and the public alike and we are more than delivering on our charitable articles for the public benefit.
We will always have to be mindful and careful of finances but if we can recruit more volunteers with the skills that we require then we are well placed to develop further into the future.
As always, we are continually grateful for your support, it is very much appreciated, and we look forward to hopefully another good, exciting and prosperous year.
It has been my honour and pleasure to serve the charity as Chair and I further place myself, once again, at your service should you request it.
Graham Croucher,
Chair NTH 30/06/24
NORTHAMPTON TRANSPORT HERITAGE- 1194533 rt5torni Ltd Independent Ac¢ountsnt Office I, 10 Earlstrees CLWrt Earlstrees INlustrlal E5t•te Northamptonshlre NN17
NORThAMFryON TRANSPORT HERITAGE- 1194533 Contents Page I Independent Examinerfs Report Receipts and Payments Account- General Funds Statement of assets and liabilit*s
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRusfEES OF NORTHAMwfoN TRANSPORT HERITAGE. 1194533 I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Northampton Transport Heritage for the year ended 31° December 2023. which are set out on pages 2 to 3 Respective responsibilities of trustees and examinef As the chariVs trustees of the Company (who are also the directors of the company for the purposes of company lawl, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Att 26 1.the Acfl. Basis of examlnerfs rtport Having satlsfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited for thi5 year under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eli8ible for independent examination. I report in Spert of my examination of your tharws accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 20111.the 2011 Act"l- In carrying out my examination, I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commi55ion (under section 14515llbl of the 2011 Act. Independent examlnerfs ststement I have completed my exarnination. I confirm that no material matters ha come to my attention which gtves me cause to believe that: • accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 386 of the CompaniesAtt 2006; or • the accounts do not accord with 5uth record5; or the accounts do not Comp with relevant occounting requirement5 under 5ertion 396 of the Companie5 Act 2rx)6 other than any requirement that the accounts give 'true and fairf view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. or •the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the Charits SORP IFR51021. Donna Urquhart- ITStomi Ltd Independent Accountant OlCe l. 10 Eaflstrees Courr Ear15trees Industrial Estste Corby, Northamptonshire NN17 4x Date.. 9" CJe¢ember 2024 Pa8e I
P40RIHAMPTON TAAPISPORT HÉftITA6E. 11945J3 Rett5pts •nd Payrnents kcount ForThe Ye•r Ended 31st Detember 2023 GENERAL FUND5 AECEIPTS Mernbersh Donatths spo$$hIP Gift Aid North•nwtOh Lottery 235 2.6ao 23.022 1,941 1.778 79 670 52 29.151 29.450 Sè L832 21 510 2,175 121 2.395 sknp lundrai5W Mlsc ifitomt 4.691 31514 34.141 PAYMEpirs Fund5 Makntenante ahd restcwth ¢0515 Otber ¥*hiclè c05t5 IngJranc• Fuel 8,263 5,938 1,311 3.517 1,520 4.ISO 126 1313 3.765 3X¢29 VehFde Stor Office Rent OffirelNAlmin cosrs 567 133 1.798 1.428 1.676 Mi 25.135 28.449 25.235 28,449 6.279 17.189 5M2 IL493 Cashfvr#ts thls ye¥ •xl 23,464 17.185
ForThe Year Ended aist Detembef 2021 Genernl Funds 23.422 17.143 42 Petty cath 17.185 23.464 17.185 Rostriaed UrwestrKttd 17.824 14.194 2.991 23A64 17.185 Hewitage Vehith5 71.iKiI 58,CTh) S*ned on behalf trnstees
NORTHAMPTON TRANSPORT HERITAGE- 1194533 rt5torni Ltd Independent Ac¢ountsnt Office I, 10 Earlstrees CLWrt Earlstrees INlustrlal E5t•te Northamptonshlre NN17
NORThAMFryON TRANSPORT HERITAGE- 1194533 Contents Page I Independent Examinerfs Report Receipts and Payments Account- General Funds Statement of assets and liabilit*s
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRusfEES OF NORTHAMwfoN TRANSPORT HERITAGE. 1194533 I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Northampton Transport Heritage for the year ended 31° December 2023. which are set out on pages 2 to 3 Respective responsibilities of trustees and examinef As the chariVs trustees of the Company (who are also the directors of the company for the purposes of company lawl, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Att 26 1.the Acfl. Basis of examlnerfs rtport Having satlsfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited for thi5 year under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eli8ible for independent examination. I report in Spert of my examination of your tharws accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 20111.the 2011 Act"l- In carrying out my examination, I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commi55ion (under section 14515llbl of the 2011 Act. Independent examlnerfs ststement I have completed my exarnination. I confirm that no material matters ha come to my attention which gtves me cause to believe that: • accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 386 of the CompaniesAtt 2006; or • the accounts do not accord with 5uth record5; or the accounts do not Comp with relevant occounting requirement5 under 5ertion 396 of the Companie5 Act 2rx)6 other than any requirement that the accounts give 'true and fairf view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. or •the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the Charits SORP IFR51021. Donna Urquhart- ITStomi Ltd Independent Accountant OlCe l. 10 Eaflstrees Courr Ear15trees Industrial Estste Corby, Northamptonshire NN17 4x Date.. 9" CJe¢ember 2024 Pa8e I
P40RIHAMPTON TAAPISPORT HÉftITA6E. 11945J3 Rett5pts •nd Payrnents kcount ForThe Ye•r Ended 31st Detember 2023 GENERAL FUND5 AECEIPTS Mernbersh Donatths spo$$hIP Gift Aid North•nwtOh Lottery 235 2.6ao 23.022 1,941 1.778 79 670 52 29.151 29.450 Sè L832 21 510 2,175 121 2.395 sknp lundrai5W Mlsc ifitomt 4.691 31514 34.141 PAYMEpirs Fund5 Makntenante ahd restcwth ¢0515 Otber ¥*hiclè c05t5 IngJranc• Fuel 8,263 5,938 1,311 3.517 1,520 4.ISO 126 1313 3.765 3X¢29 VehFde Stor Office Rent OffirelNAlmin cosrs 567 133 1.798 1.428 1.676 Mi 25.135 28.449 25.235 28,449 6.279 17.189 5M2 IL493 Cashfvr#ts thls ye¥ •xl 23,464 17.185
ForThe Year Ended aist Detembef 2021 Genernl Funds 23.422 17.143 42 Petty cath 17.185 23.464 17.185 Rostriaed UrwestrKttd 17.824 14.194 2.991 23A64 17.185 Hewitage Vehith5 71.iKiI 58,CTh) S*ned on behalf trnstees