## **Alnwick Civic Society**
## **Chair’s Annual review for 2024**
The Society was founded in 1974 and in our 50th anniversary year we commemorated the work of members, celebrated what still makes Alnwick special, and strengthened the foundations for our work to continue in future.
In addition to helping with the refresh of the Neighbourhood Plan, members reviewed 178 planning applications and responded to 25. Welcome developments included work on the Borderline Greenway and refurbishment of the Cemetery Lodge. The most controversial was the new Garden Centre. Common issues include removal of historic features without justification, ill-considered choice of materials in the Conservation Area and inappropriate shopfront design. The programme of events had included talks on Alnwick's Shrovetide Football; Neighbourhood Planning; the Northumberland Coast National Landscape; the Housing Challenge and the future of Alnwick High Street. We commemorated the 200th anniversary of Alnwick Mechanics’ Institute, held an enjoyable Social Evening at Barter Books; a tour of Northumberland Archives; and a memorable Evening with John Grundy. Heritage Open Day was well supported, with record numbers visiting St Mary's Chantry House on Walkergate, General Lambert’s House on Narrowgate and other venues around town. We supported both the visit of 200 cyclists to Alnwick by the UK Tandem Club's National Rally and the Christmas Tree Festival at St Michael’s Church.
Heritage is a great way for young people to discover links between their surroundings and the wider world, so it was gratifying and enjoyable to work with St Michael’s (now Harry Hotspur) Primary School; the Duchess's Community High School, and to explore Alnwick’s built heritage with French Exchange Students and their hosts.
General Lambert’s House and Bondgate Tower both remain on Historic England’s list of Heritage at Risk, and the best we can say for now is that the assessment of their condition has got no worse. We continue to monitor other vulnerable heritage across the town, tracking some 80 issues with the Town Council. Some have been resolved, but a similar number added, so the list gets no shorter. Nevertheless, coverage is more complete and we are better placed to progress the more urgent issues.
During 2024 we reviewed our policies to stay in line with new recommendations from the Charity Commission. We like to think that our relationships are in good order with heritage organisations and other local stakeholders, with the wider Civic Movement and with elected members and officers in Alnwick Town Council and Northumberland County Council. So we look forward confidently to the year ahead with the support of the committee, trustees, members and friends of the society.
Financially the Society remains in good health. The treasurer's financial statement showed that assets at 31st December 2024 amounted to £6,204.13. For 2024 the committee determined that the society was in a financial position where it should support an increase in activities and commitments, for example by continuing to utilize the ring-fenced Heritage Awareness Fund for projects such as Heritage Open Day and a Woodhorn Archive visit. Overall, this meant that expenses for the year exceeded revenue by £1,394.78 leaving, in the committee’s view, a more appropriate carry forward figure.
The society continues to work towards rationalizing its banking arrangements to provide improved online banking facilities. As most members now pay their subs into the online account it should be possible to run down and close the old branch account in the foreseeable future. This year we welcomed 14 new members to the Society and continued the work to ensure our existing membership database was up to date. Overall, membership went up a little from 106 to 115 individuals in total, with members’ subs providing a significant proportion of our annual income (£786.50 out of a total of £1,561.37).
Following the annual election of trustees, four continue in post: Gill Parker, Sue Smith (Honorary Secretary), Tim Smith (Treasurer) and Pete Reed (Chair).
## **Peter Reed**
**12.03.2025**
## **Account Summary 31/12/2024**
|**Account Code**|**Account title**
**Balance**
_Assets_
£0.00
_Current Assets_
£0.00
_Cash in Wallet_
£0.00
_Classic Account_
£474.17
_Treasurers Account_
£6,204.13
_Liabilities_
£0.00
_Credit Card_
£0.00
_Income_
£0.00
_Donation_
£326.60
_Gift Aid_
£163.67
_Grant_
£250.00
_Historic Maps_
£480.20
_Subs 2023_
£702.50
_Subs 2024_
£794.50
_Subs 2025_
£8.00
_Expenses_
£0.00
_Bank Service Charge_
£0.70
_Donations_
£0.00
_Events_
£1,655.99
_Insurance_
£313.84
_Online Services_
£79.66
_Printing_
£1,637.88
_Refreshments_
£239.45
_Subscriptions_
£317.00
_Supplies_
£140.55
_Equity_
£0.00
_Opening Balances_
£8,337.90
_Imbalance-GBP_
£0.00|
|---|---|
_Edit Options Single Report_
## **Profit & Loss For Period Covering 01/01/2024 to 31/12/2024**
## **Revenues**
|**Revenues**|**Revenues**|
|---|---|
|_Income_
£0.00
_Donation_
£179.00
_Gift Aid_
£163.67
_Grant_
£0.00
_Historic Maps_
£424.20
_Subs 2023_
£0.00
_Subs 2024_
£786.50
_Subs 2025_
£8.00||
|
||
|**Total Revenue**
**£1,561.37**||
|||
|**Expenses**||
|_Ex_|_penses_
£0.00
_Bank Service Charge_
£0.70
£0.00|
|||
|
|_Donations_
_Events_
£1,216.99
_Insurance_
£168.36
_Online Services_
£0.00
_Printing_
£1,226.41
_Refreshments_
£93.64
_Subscriptions_
£182.00
_Supplies_
£68.05|
|---|---|
|**Total Expenses**
**£2,956.15**||
|Net loss for Period
£1,394.78||
_Edit Options Single Report_
## **Balance Sheet 31/12/2024**
## **Assets**
|Assets
£0.00
Current Assets
£0.00
Cash in Wallet
£0.00
Classic Account
£474.17
Treasurers Account
£6,204.13|Assets
£0.00
Current Assets
£0.00
Cash in Wallet
£0.00
Classic Account
£474.17
Treasurers Account
£6,204.13|
|---|---|
|Total Current Assets
£6,678.30||
|Total Assets
£6,678.30||
|Imbalance-GBP
£0.00||
|**Total Assets**
**£6,678.30**||
|||
|**Liabilities**||
|Liabilities
£0.00
Credit Card
£0.00||
|Total Liabilities
£0.00||
|**Total Liabilities**
**£0.00**||
|||
|**Equity**||
|Equity
£0.00
Opening Balances
£8,337.90||
|Total Equity
£8,337.90||
|**Retained Losses**
**£1,831.27**||
|**Total Equity**
**£6,506.63**||
|||
|**Total Liabilities & Equity**
**£6,506.63**||
|_Edit O_|_ptions_
_Single Report_|