REGlSfERED CHARITY NUM8ER: 1196640 [4 KnightsLowe Chartered Accountants & Business Advisers Trust Unaudhed KnarKl•l Statements for th• Y•ar End•d 31 Marth Knlghts Lowe Chartered Accouniants Eldo House Kempson Way Suflolk Business Park Bury St Edmunds Suffolk IP32 7AR Eldo House,%empsonWay, S￿ffdk￿5lneSSpark Bury St EdmuTrlsSuffdKIP327AR 0128470131IJ ThèBu St Edmunds Sode ci Contents of the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 Page Report of the Trustees Independent Examiner's Report Statèment of Flnan¢lal Actlvltles Balance Sheet Notes to the Financlal Statements 8 to 13 Detalled Ststement of FSrtanclal Actlvltles 14 The Bu St Edmunds Soclet cio Re ort of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 1.0 INTRODUCTION AND HISTORY The Trustee5 of the Bury St Edmunds Society CIO (the Bury Sotietyl present their report together with the financial statements of the Society for the year ended 31 March 2025. The Trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charitie5-. Statement of Recommended Prartlce applicable to charities preparlng their accounts in accordancè with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic Of Ireland IFRS 1021 (effective l January 20151. On 18 November 2021, the Charity Commission authorised the formation of The Bury St Edmund5 Society CIO Ire815tered charity 11966401 to receive the assets of the 'old' Bury St Edmund5 Society Iregistered charity 2632301. Following confirmatory resolytions passed by the members of the Society, all assets, liabilities and undertakings of the 'old' Society were transferred to The Bury St Edmunds Society CIO on 31 March 2022. The Bury St Edmunds Society CIO commenced operatitsn5 on l April 2022 and this report dea15 Wlth the period from l Aprll 2024 to 31 March 2025. The 8ury Society was originally established in 1971 as a Civic Society dedicated to caring about Bury St Edmunds, its past, present and future. It aims to improve the enjoyment and appreciation of Bury Sl Edmunds for all those who use the town through fostering its heritsge and character, encoLtraging a balance of the new with the old and engaging communities on issues that lrnpact on our local environment. Bury in Bloom is that part of the Bury Society whose primary aim is to maSntaln its relaiionship with Anglia in Bloom and to Co-ordinate its presentation for thè annual Anglia in Bloom awards. Over the years, it has also asslsted in the organisaiion of the hanging basket display5 and many other schemes designed to maintain and improve the envlronment of the town. 2.0 OBJECTIVES AND POLICIES OF THE BURY ST EDMUNDS SOCIETY CIO 2.1 Objects of the Society These are set out In the Society's constitution as follows.. The CIO 15 established for the public benefit for the following purposes in the area of Bury St Edmund5 which shall hereinafter be referred to a5 'the Area of Benefit,: l To promote high standards of planning and architecture In or affecting the area of benefit 2 To educate the public in the geography, history. natural history, Culture and architecture of the area of benefit 3 To secure the prèservation, protection, development and improvement of features or areas of historic or public interest In the area of benefit, including through grant making 4 To promote horticulture and floriculture for the benefit of the public Benerally and particular those who live or visit thè area of benefit, by the provlslon of floral displays in places vlslble to the public and other activities which dlrectly promote horticulture and fltsriculture for the public benefit 2.2 General policies of the 50¢1ety 2.2.1 Risk Management In compliance with the principle5 of CC 26 Charities and Rlsk Management the Society has a polity of regularly assessing the risks that might affect it5 future operation. The trustees have determined that in addition to the lingerln@ rlsk of Covid disruption, the prlnclpal risks ai present are the potential loss of mernber5hip and sponsorship income through the challenging economic circumstances that affert ntst only the Society but UK in general. The trustees also believe that they should, a5 far as is practicable. be able to manage these risks in an appioprlate manner. 2.2.2 Reserves The Society operates a reserve policy to enable it to: o maintain its normal levèl of activitie5 when its income has been reduced for whatever reason o finance expenditurè on specific projects within its area of beneflt o maintain, replant and improve the roundabouts from which Bury in Bloom derlves a substantial part of its income In the Bury Society. funds have been earmarked for event failure and in Bury in Bloom, funds have been earmarked for the renovation of roundabouts, any potential 2025 hangine basket subsidy and additional installation costs etc. In addition, both the Bury Society and Bury in 81oom retain funds amounting lo one year's estimated fixed costs. All the Society's Teserves are either immediately accessible or held in interest bearing deposit accounts accessed on 90 days notice. Page I The Bu St Edmund Socl cio ort of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 2.2.3 Public Benefit The Trustees confirm that they have referred to the Charity Commi55ion's General Guidance on Public Benefit when setting objertives and designing future plans, events and activities. 3.0 ACTIVITIES OF THE SOCIETY 3.1 The Bury Society Maintainin8 the membership number5 during the past year has proved challenging. As of 31 March 2025 we had 534 members, a drop of some 54 Since the same time the previous year when there were 588 members. We have an agein8 demoEraphi¢ and in addition to natural attrition have noticed a significant number of members rèlocatin8 out of the area to be with family, particularly sin¢e Covid. Corporate memberships have dwindled due to financial lightening. The new rnember applications over the past year have not made up the shortfall despite efforts to promote The Society. Nevertheless 534 is a strong number to represent the interests of the town and the Committee will continue working hard to increase the slze of the membershlp body. The small increase in Subscriptions from l June 2025 may have a further negative effect on the membership total, although the uplift is largely to cover the increasing administrative expense5 like postage and printing. The trustees would again like to thank Sue Savage - the Membership Secretary - for all her efforts to maintain the membership in difficult circumstances. The Membership. Communication and Events IMCEI tommittee has continued its work to increase membershSp of the Bury Society. as well as ¢onnectin8 Wlth existing members and promoting engagement with the history and ¢ulture of our town. The MCE committee have been making vital improvements to the Bury Society websltes, Implementing online payment for memberships, and improving the user experience overall. In addition to OLgr popular members, Coffee Mornin8s and the Winter Lunch, we organised trips to the Textile Conservation Studlo and Blicklin8 Hall in Norfolk to learn about heritage and conservation, and to Saffron Walden in Essex to visit the Fry Art Gallery and Bridge End Gardens. Additionally. we hosted talk5 on the Earl's Summerhouse restoration project al Itkworth House and on the life and writing of Ronald BSythè. The committee would like to thank Sam Saloway-cooke and the other members of the MCE committee for all the hard work that was carried out in the organlsatlon of these events. These events were aided by the generous support from the Alfred William's Charitable Trust. which helped to make these events more affordable for member5 over the age of 60. for which the Bury Societv is Incredib￿ 8rateful.Donations were made towards the purchase of the Witch Tryals book by Moyse's Hall Museum, the 5t Edrnunds Church Herltage Vestments Project and to the Abbey Heritage Project (now The Abbey of St Edmund Reborn). To ensure that eomrnunlcatlons were malntalned with the society members and the public, the normal three issues of the Society's Review were published in 2024-25. Copies were hand delivered or posted by mail. Copies of the Review are available on the Society's website www.burysociety.com. The committee would like to thank Russell Cook and Alan Baxter for their help in producln@ the Review and to Sue Savage for organising its distributlon. Alan also continues his work to enhance the user Èxperience of the Society's website and the committee would like to especially thank him for hi5 efforts In this respect. Members of the Society re8ularly contribute articles to the Bury Free Press and other local and re8￿on81 newspapers and have appeared on Radio Suffolk to dlscuss and comment on the herltage nd economic development of the town. In accordance with Its objectives, the Society works to preserve and enhance the buildings and landscape in and surrounding the town. The Society monitors plannlng applications monthly and. if there 15 a consensus amongst committee members, submits reports to planning authorities. As a general rule, the Society's comments refer to the likely impact of any new development, paying particular attention to applications which are located in the conservation area. The Society ha5 always made special efforts to bring together the community and local policy makers through participation in public meetlngs and presèntations and it is hoped to continue this in the future. Thanks are due to the Soeiety's architectural team of Ed Thuell Itrusteel and Peter Riddington ladviserl. Pagt 2 TheBu Edmunds Soclet ci Re ort of the Trustee5 for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 3.2 Bury in Bloom Bury in Bloom is led by its Chairman, Robin Burnett, and its Co-ordinator, Chris Wiley. Whllst Its primary focus is on preparing the town's entry in the Anglia in Bloom and the Britain in Bloom annual campaigns, it also has a key role in stimulating and maintaining public inlerest in the town. The Anglia in Bloom judging criteria now places more emphasi5 on con5etvation and envlronmental sustainability and thi5 year the Society's activitie5 have been adapted to support these aims. A number of partly completed projects have been taken forward in 2024_25; these include the cornplètion of the ralnwater harvesting initiative to provide water for irrigating hanging baskets, plènters etc. Some earlier projects, including the 'willow crown, and 'crowning glo￿ were completed along with the crown celebrating King Charles Ill's coronation. The Green Nngèrs Scheme which encourages community partlclpation in small horticultural projects was also continued during 2024. This is almed at younger and older members of the community and culminated with a well-attende