2022-06-01-accounts

Knaresborough Museum Association

Charity No:1194614

Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts For the year ending 31 May 2022

Chair: Kathy Allday

Knaresborough Museum Association, 8 York Place, Knaresborough, HG5 0AA Email: [e-mail] Website: www.knaresboroughtownmuseum.org

1. Introduction

• 1.1 Knaresborough Museum Association (KMA) is a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO). It consists of a Board of six Trustees and a group of volunteers.

• 1.2 KMA was set up to plan and deliver the Knaresborough Town Museum project, and thereafter to manage the day-to-day operation of the museum and its continued development as a heritage asset. KMA plans to open Knaresborough Town Museum in summer 2023.

• 1.3 Knaresborough Town Museum is a heritage project that seeks to connect and engage with the wide range of people who live in the town and who visit the town each year. KMA feels strongly that enabling people of all age groups and interests to understand and appreciate the diverse and rich history of the town will generate positive outcomes and promote a feeling of wellbeing. The educational value of the Town Museum displays and narratives will enthuse and inspire visitors, and preserve our heritage for future generations.

• 1.4 This Annual Report documents the progress KMA has made this year, the first full year after KMA became a CIO. The objectives and activities undertaken which support KMA’s mission statement are listed below, and includes KMA’s annual accounts.

2. KMA’s Mission Statement

• 2.1 “To establish and run an independent town museum in Knaresborough for the benefit of the local community to advance public knowledge, appreciation and enjoyment of the rich history of Knaresborough and its surrounding area. We will achieve this by collecting, conserving, displaying, and interpreting a range of historical material which showcases social and industrial history, archaeology and geology, and provides an educational resource for local schools.”

3. KMA’s Objectives

• 3.1 The principal objectives are as follows:

• To build up, develop and support the KMA volunteers, bringing together people from the local community who have a range of interests, knowledge and skills, which will support the work of the museum. To engage with local people through community events, outreach work and social media.

• To put in place robust governance processes, procedures and policies to support the development of the museum. To forge long term alliances with stake holders to ensure the long-term sustainability of the museum.

• To put in place a fundraising strategy to raise the money KMA require for setting up and establishing the museum; and to manage KMA’s finances in a prudent and sustainable manner.

• To secure the tenancy of suitable premises in Knaresborough for the Town Museum, negotiating acceptable terms for renting the property from the landlord; to plan the refurbishment and modernisation required to make the building accessible to the public; and to plan how the stories of Knaresborough will be told through a series of specially designed interconnecting exhibition zones in the museum.

4. KMA’s Objectives: Achievements and Performance

This section is a resume of the activities undertaken by KMA in support of each objective in order to show what KMA has achieved in year.

4.1 Building Up and Developing KMA Volunteers

4.1.1 Building the KMA Volunteer Base

KMA believes our volunteers are our greatest asset. KMA seeks to enhance social interaction and volunteering opportunities for the local community. The number of volunteers has steadily increased month on month and currently stands at over fifty people, ranging in age between 16 and 93. KMA has succeeded in bringing together a cohesive and highly motivated team. Recruitment is done through holding a programme of well publicised events, social media, and by word of mouth.

4.1.2 Training KMA Volunteers

Training sessions have been held on safeguarding, health and safety and first aid. Volunteers also attended a presentation about future plans for the museum. They receive ongoing support from the trustees and have regular meetings with the Chair and the Volunteer Co-ordinator.

4.1.3 Research Projects

KMA volunteers have been actively engaged in carrying out research towards the planned exhibition narratives for the Town Museum. Current research topics include the development of the linen industry in Knaresborough, as well as the creation of a significant oral history archive created from interviewing local people about life in Knaresborough in the 1930s, 40s and 50s.

4.1.4 Holding Events to Engage with the Local Community and to Broaden and Increase the Future Audience Base

KMA held three Pop-Up events to encourage community engagement and widen support for the museum project. A three-day Community History Festival has been planned by KMA for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend in early June. KMA will showcase the latest plans for the eight exhibition zones

planned for the museum and seek valuable feedback from visitors. The event is family friendly and there will be themed activities for children. Local heritage groups will also be represented and artists will demonstrate heritage crafts. For KMA these community events have been well attended and have proved a successful steppingstone to engaging a wider and more diverse audience. KMA maintains a regular presence on social media to engage with supporters.

4.1.5 Collaboration with Local Schools, Colleges and Community Groups

KMA places great importance on this collaborative work. Presentations and artefact handling sessions were held with one school and six community groups and societies. KMA’s planned collaboration with King James’s School in Knaresborough was thwarted by Covid and will be rescheduled for the coming academic year. KMA has recruited several college students who have become volunteers, some on work experience and some working on research projects.

Discussions have taken place with ORB, a local mental health charity, and The Gift People, a social enterprise supporting adults with learning disabilities. KMA plans to hold workshops with ORB’s service users in order to engage them in creative outlets inspired by the stories and artefacts to be displayed in the museum.

Further outreach work is also being undertaken with a number of groups supporting people with a variety of disabilities. KMA aims to obtain views and fully engage participants in the development of the Access Strategy for the museum.

4.2 Governance Processes, Procedures and Policies

4.2.1 Governance and Policy Development

Expertise within the team of KMA Volunteers, together with external professional advice received from the museum sector, has enabled KMA to make significant progress. Policies developed to date or currently in progress for setting up and running the museum include: GDPR, Safeguarding, Health and Safety, Equality and Diversity, Access, Acquisition, Volunteer, Complaints and Whistleblowing, Finance and Digital Strategy. KMA’s Volunteer Handbook is being developed.

4.2.2 Consultation with Museum Development Yorkshire over

Museum Accreditation

KMA trustees have held preparatory discussions and received helpful advice from Museum Development Yorkshire. KMA trustees intend to apply for Accreditation after the lease for the Museum premises has been signed.

4.2.3 Marketing and Publicity for Town Museum

Press releases and articles about the Town Museum, for example in the Knaresborough Post, The Yorkshire Post and in interviews with Radio York, have helped to raise the profile of the Town

Museum project and to promote the work it does for the community.

4.2.4 Website Development

Developing KMA’s website was a key priority to give it an online presence. It has proved an invaluable means of communication with the wider community at a time when the Town Museum has been at the planning stage and has yet to open its doors to the public. Since the initial website was launched, further development has been ongoing as part of KMA’s digital strategy and it now includes a donation facility.

4.2.5 Museum Collection: Objects Offered to KMA

• KMA is indebted to its many supporters who have offered to donate over 1000 historic objects to the Town Museum. Objects include fossils, prehistoric tools, Roman artefacts, a comprehensive archive relating to Knaresborough’s last linen mill, and personal items from the Second World War.

4.3 Fundraising

• 4.3.1 KMA is a financially independent organisation and relies entirely on donations, grants and fundraising campaigns in order to generate the money required for establishing the Town Museum. Fundraising progress is as follows:

• 4.3.2 KMA has raised over £50k from council grants, local organisations, community donations and from a successful Crowdfunder campaign. KMA volunteers run regular community fundraising stalls at events.

• 4.3.3 KMA has received a pledge for up to £100k from a local charitable foundation.

• 4.3.4 KMA will continue to seek grant funding to ensure the viability of the museum project over the medium and longer terms.

• 4.3.5 In addition to raising funds, KMA has received support from many professionals, who have given their services either without charge or at reduced fees.

• 4.3.6 KMA is very grateful to all the individuals and organisations who have supported our fundraising campaigns for the Town Museum project.

4.4 Securing Suitable Premises in Knaresborough for the Town Museum

• 4.4.1 KMA has found suitable accommodation for the Town Museum. The ground floor accommodation of the former Castle Girls’ School is currently vacant and lease negotiations are ongoing.

The building is ideally located centrally in the town, opposite the historic Knaresborough Castle and near the council-run Courthouse Museum. It has two school rooms of generous proportions which are well suited for use as gallery space for the visiting public. There is also space for a museum office and small store for artefacts and materials. The building is owned by the Duchy of Lancaster, which leases it to Harrogate Borough Council.

4.4.2 Lease Negotiations for School Building

KMA trustees have spent many months negotiating the terms of the lease with Harrogate Borough Council and are grateful for the council’s support and for the concessions they have offered. Although delays have regrettably pushed back KMA’s projected start date for occupation, it is anticipated that the lease for the ground floor accommodation of the school building will be finalised and signed in early September 2022.

4.4.3 Proposed Programme of Refurbishment and

Modernisation for School Building

The ground floor accommodation needs significant refurbishment and modernisation in order to bring it up to a suitable standard for public access. KMA plans to create a wheelchair accessible public entrance at the rear of the building and upgrade the existing toilet facilities to make them DDA compliant, as well as carrying out essential repairs and redecoration to the interior of the building. KMA’s plans include the creation of an additional opening in the wall separating the two main exhibition spaces in order to promote visitor flow through the museum. KMA has secured planning and listed building consents for these works and initial planning is already underway for the building works to begin in either late 2022 or early 2023.

KMA’s proposed refurbishment and modernisation works to the building are estimated to cost £60k.

4.4.4 Proposed Fit Out of Town Museum

KMA has developed plans for eight interconnecting exhibition zones to be created within the two galleries of the museum. Each zone will have a separate storytelling narrative. Together, they will encompass the forming of the iconic Nidd Gorge 350 million years ago, to the rich history of the town and its people over many generations up to the modern day. An architectural designer has been chosen by KMA to produce the design for each of these uniquely different exhibition zones. Trustees have approved the designer’s outline designs, and he has been commissioned to produce detailed construction drawings for the modular display systems. The museum fit out works, which will begin once the refurbishment and modernisation works to the building are nearing completion, are estimated to cost £80k.

5. Financial Review

• 5.1.1 KMA’s Annual Accounts are in Appendix 1.

• 5.1.2 KMA’s Business Plan included a target budget of £140,000 for setting up Knaresborough Town Museum. The budget figure allowed for an estimated expenditure of £60,000 on the refurbishment and modernisation of the ground floor accommodation of the former Castle Girls’ School Building in Knaresborough, and a further estimated figure of £80,000 for fitting out the building as the Town Museum. KMA trustees considered that both figures, although modest sums for the labour and materials required, were sufficient when the estimates were drawn up at the start of the year.

• 5.1.3 KMA embarked forthwith on a fundraising strategy in order to meet the target budget of £140,000. Only after securing this budget would KMA be in a position to embark on the proposed programme of essential building and fitting out works.

• 5.1.4 KMA’s receipts at year end, which total £52,036, are the result of a combination of successful grant applications, donations, a Crowdfunding campaign, fundraising events and other income received.

• 5.1.5 In addition, KMA secured a pledge of up to £100,000 from a local charitable foundation.

• 5.1.6 KMA’s payments, which total £6,112, are significantly lower than the planned expenditure for the financial year. The reason for this is that the planned programme of building and museum fit out works, which should have been largely completed this year, has been delayed by over six months. This is due to the negotiations for the lease of the building taking significantly longer than expected. Although the effect of Covid was partly responsible, other factors contributed to the delay.

• 5.1.7 The total cash funds at year end of £45,924, when added to the £100,000 pledge, place KMA in a strong position to commence the programme of building and museum fit out works. KMA hopes that the lease will be signed in early September and that the building works will be undertaken between late 2022 and early 2023, with the museum fit out works following after, in order to achieve an opening date for the Town Museum of summer 2023.

• 5.1.8 As prices for both materials and labour have increased in recent months and may continue to do so, KMA trustees will continue to monitor the estimated costs and will keep the target budget under review during the new financial year. Further fundraising is ongoing.

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s)

Full name(s) Kathy Allday Malcolm Hay Position Chair Vice Chair Date 1stSeptember 2022	Kathy Allday	Malcolm Hay

----- Start of picture text -----
Dates acted if not for
Trustee name Office (if any)
whole year
Kathy Allday Chair
Malcolm Hay Vice Chair
Ruth Bulmer Volunteer Co-
ordinator
Suzanne Coulson Secretary
Bill Rigby Treasurer/Trustee Treasurer until 12 October
2021
Martin Brewer Treasurer Since 13 October 2021
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APPENDIX 1

KMA Annual Accounts

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KNARESBOROUGH MUSEUM ASSOCIATION

Charity no. 1194614

Independent Examiner’s Report to

the

Trustees of KNARESBOROUGH MUSEUM ASSOCIATION

I report on the accounts of the Knaresborough Museum Association, for the year ended 31 May 2022, which are set out on pages 1 to 9.

Respective responsibilities of the Trustees and Examiner

The Charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required this year undersection 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

• Examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act

• To follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioner (under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act, and

• To state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of the independent examiner’s report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items of disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a “true and fair” view, and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner’s statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

1. Which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in, any material respect, the requirements:

2. To keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act, and

3. To prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act have not been met: or

4. To which in my opinion, attention should be drawn to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Stephen M Day ATT

Nidd Business Services Ltd

20 Moorland View

Harrogate HG2 7EZ 18 August 2022