2023-12-31-accounts - Somerdale Shed And Community Garden

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Trustees' Annual Report					for theperiod
From	Period start date			To	Period end date
	Day 01	Month 01	Year 2023		Day 31	Month 12	Year 2023

Section A Reference and administration details

Charity name Somerdale Shed and Community Garden Somerdale Community Shed Other names charity is known by Somerdale Shed SSAGC Registered charity number (if any) 1198203 Charity's principal address C/O SOMERDALE PAVILION TIBERIUS ROAD KEYNSHAM, BRISTOL Postcode BS31 2FF

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12	Trustee name	Office (if any)	Dates acted if not for whole year	Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (if any)
	Christopher Paul Heard	Treasurer
	GEOFFREY DAVIS	Chair
	Victoria Madaline Merrill
	Matthew Edward Alan Prosser
	Royston Dennis Crew
	Kim Grant Watson

Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees)

	Name	Dates acted if not for whole year
	None

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information) NONE

Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information) NONE

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April 2024

Section B Structure, governance and management

Description of the charity’s trusts

Type of governing document Constitution (Charity Commission Model) (e.g. trust deed, constitution)

How the charity is constituted Charitable Incorporated Organisation

(e.g. trust, association, company)

Trustee selection methods Election by members at the Annual General Meeting;

(e.g. appointed by, elected by)

Additional governance issues (Optional information)

You may choose to include additional information, where relevant, about:

policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees;
the charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works;
relationship with any related parties;
trustees’ consideration of major risks and the system and procedures to manage them.

Policies and Procedures We review our policies and procedures each year, including our adult safeguarding policy with reference to the Charity Commission guidance on safeguarding, for the protection and well being of beneficiaries, staff, volunteers and others coming into contact with a charity.

Organisational Structure

The charity trustees delegate day to day management functions to committees. The committees consist of two or more members, and at least one member of each committee is a charity trustee; The committees at this time are:-

The Craft group
The Garden group, and
The Workshop group

Each is allocated a budget within which to manage their area of interest.

Relationships with other parties & Formal Agreements

As advised by the Charity Commission the use of our property is governed by an appropriate agreement for its use with the owner, Somerdale Pavilion Trust , which sets out the rights and responsibilities of each party, in order to protect the charity’s interests and not expose it to any unnecessary risk.

The Somerdale Community Garden manages a Community Tree Nursery in partnership with More Trees Bath & North East Somerset .

We have obtained grant funding from Keynsham Town Council, The National Lottery Community Fund, Tesco Community Grants, The Royal Horticultural Society, and The Quartet Community Foundation for the development and improvement of various specific aspects of infrastructure and facilities for the Charity.

We are Full members of the UK Men’s Shed Association. Consideration of Major Risks The Buildings and Grounds are owned by the Somerdale Pavilion Trust who have an Insurance Policy for all their buildings and grounds that includes those use by the Somerdale Shed and Community Garden under the above agreement.

We have in place standard Public And Employers’ Liability Insurance for £5,000,000 public liability cover.

We have in place a detailed Risk Assessment covering all activities and aspects of the Charity. This is reviewed on an annual basis by the Trustees.

We commissioned an annual Health and Safety Audit by an experienced retired Engineer. This has been carried out for 2023 and is due to be reviewed by the Trustees at their next meeting.

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April 2024

Section C Objectives and activities

Section C	Objectives and activities
Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects (include within this section the statutory declaration that trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit)	To provide or assist in the provision of facilities in the interests of social welfare for recreation or other leisure time occupation of individuals who have need of such facilities by reason of their youth, age, infirmity or disability, financial hardship or socialcircumstanceswiththe object of improving theirconditions of life.
	Public Benefit All the Charity’s activities are undertaken in the interests of social welfare, with the object of improving the conditions of life for those in need. Through our different groups we have a range of activities and events for our members, and membership is provided on the basis of a voluntary donation determined by what the member can afford. Access to our Garden is free for the public, all year round. The trustees, having regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission, are therefore satisfied that the Charity meets the public benefit test required of charities. Main Activities The Workshop group have three Workshops for Woodworking, Wood Turning, Metal work, and general Craftwork and the promotion of craftsmanship. The Quartet Community Foundation grant has helped to improve the environment with an effective heating system which benefits participation in these and other activities. The Garden group develop and maintain the Community Garden engaging in a wide variety of gardening, making produce available for the public, and for the promotion of horticulture. The Community Garden also provides a public Park for recreation, exercise and enjoyment by the wider public, typically residents of the nearby retirement apartments and care home, and parents and children from the neighbouring school. With the funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, and Keynsham Town Council we have introduced a Community Greenhouse to the Garden and this will widen opportunities for the above groups to take part. The Tesco Community Grant has facilitated the further improvements to accessibility for these groups throughout the Garden. It also benefits the Town of Keynsham by being involved in and working with the Keynsham in Bloom event. The Craft group use the Craft Room and general workroom for craft activities, producing a range of items for Craft Fairs and activities for the promotion of crafts and craftsmanship. Social Events take place in the meeting rooms and garden areas for the promotion of social welfare. All three groups recycle & re-use redundant materials, obsolete or broken items, for facilities and tools for our own use, or craft items and re-purposed objects for use by the wider public. The Royal Horticulture Society grant is facilitating community involvement in wider environmental projects on the Somerdale, and in partnership with Woodland Trust and B&NES More Trees organises regular planting events with good numbers of volunteers fromthelocalcommunity.

Section C

Objectives and activities

Summary of the objects
of the charity set out in
its governing document
Summary of the main
activities undertaken for
the public benefit in
relation to these objects
(include within this
section the statutory
declaration that trustees
have had regard to the
guidance issued by the
Charity Commission on
public benefit)

To provide or assist in the provision of facilities in the interests of social welfare for
recreation or other leisure time occupation of individuals who have need of such
facilities by reason of their youth, age, infirmity or disability, financial hardship or
socialcircumstanceswiththe object of improving theirconditions of life.

Public Benefit
All the Charity’s activities are undertaken in the interests of social welfare, with the object
of improving the conditions of life for those in need.
Through our different groups we have a range of activities and events for our members,
and membership is provided on the basis of a voluntary donation determined by what the
member can afford.
Access to our Garden is free for the public, all year round. The trustees, having regard to
the guidance issued by the Charity Commission, are therefore satisfied that the Charity
meets the public benefit test required of charities.
Main Activities
The Workshop group have three Workshops for Woodworking, Wood Turning, Metal
work, and general Craftwork and the promotion of craftsmanship. The Quartet
Community Foundation grant has helped to improve the environment with an effective
heating system which benefits participation in these and other activities.
The Garden group develop and maintain the Community Garden engaging in a wide
variety of gardening, making produce available for the public, and for the promotion of
horticulture.
The Community Garden also provides a public Park for recreation, exercise and
enjoyment by the wider public, typically residents of the nearby retirement apartments
and care home, and parents and children from the neighbouring school.
With the funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, and Keynsham Town
Council we have introduced a Community Greenhouse to the Garden and this will widen
opportunities for the above groups to take part. The Tesco Community Grant has
facilitated the further improvements to accessibility for these groups throughout the
Garden. It also benefits the Town of Keynsham by being involved in and working with the
Keynsham in Bloom event.
The Craft group use the Craft Room and general workroom for craft activities, producing
a range of items for Craft Fairs and activities for the promotion of crafts and
craftsmanship.
Social Events take place in the meeting rooms and garden areas for the promotion of
social welfare.
All three groups recycle & re-use redundant materials, obsolete or broken items, for
facilities and tools for our own use, or craft items and re-purposed objects for use by the
wider public.
The Royal Horticulture Society grant is facilitating community involvement in wider
environmental projects on the Somerdale, and in partnership with Woodland Trust and
B&NES More Trees organises regular planting events with good numbers of volunteers
fromthelocalcommunity.

Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)

Grant making Policy The SSAGC does not make grants and does not have a grant making policy. You may choose to Investment Policy include further The SSAGC does not hold any investments, with funds held in a Current Account. Contribution by Volunteers statements, where Our Volunteers provide all the labour for the equipping and setting out of the workshops relevant, about: and main meeting rooms.

	,	and main meeting rooms.
•	policy on grantmaking;	The Craft group volunteers assisted by others, design and produce the many items for Craft fairs which we attend. In the gardens, volunteers have carried out all the work needed in setting out the all of
•	policy programme	the accessible pathways, handrails, and the Greenhouse.
	related investment;	All of the routine planting, watering and cultivation throughout the garden is done by the
•	contribution made by volunteers.	volunteers, and this includes the care and maintenance of the Community Tree Nursery, and the preparation of the garden for Keynsham in Bloom. This year has seen the commencement of the regular tree planting events and some 20
		new volunteers have come forward from the local community to assist with this, planting
		inthe orderof500newtrees.

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April 2024

Section D Achievements and performance

Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year

The Somerdale Community Shed and Garden charity has continued to establish its reputation as a community organisation, involving itself in, and organising community events, such as a Heritage Open Day bringing members, volunteers and the community together improving social interaction and combatting isolation.
• This is reflected in the increasing Membership numbers, which are now 26 at the time of writing this report.
• The garden area has continued to develop from the original site of a derelict and then demolished building, and with the support of The National Lottery, Keynsham Town Council, and the Tesco Community fund has seen the completion of Accessible Pathways throughout the entire garden and the construction of a Community Greenhouse. General public visitor numbers to the Community Garden continue to significantly increase as a consequence of these achievements.
• Within the garden the wildlife pond and area together with the 45 metres of hedgerow continues to improve the bio-diversity as recorded in a BTO Garden Birdwatch linear survey.
• The partnership with B&NES More Trees, Woodland Trust, and funding from RHS has seen the development of the Community Tree Nursery with some 300 trees harvested and delivered out into the community for planting. The Woodland Trust provided over 400 trees such that some 500 have been planted in the Somerdale estate to improve the environment as part of an ongoing regular community activity.
• The workshops have continued to be developed, with new equipment, and improved benching.
• The Crafting and Workshop groups have participated in numerous Craft Fairs and Shows, providing many items for the general public, and being awarded prizes in several categories.
• The increasing membership is seen as the evidence of achieving the Object of our Charity and moves us towards our longer term goal of opening the Shed and Garden on multiple days and evenings in addition to those presently available on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday, with additional sessions on Thursday morning already taking place.

SSAGC

April 2024

Section E Financial review

We maintain and designate £1,500 as cash reserves for emergencies. Brief statement of the Where we received grants for a specific project these funds are held in a charity’s policy on reserves Restricted Reserve for use exclusively on the project costs agreed in the grant application.

Details of any funds materially in deficit

NONE

Further financial review details (Optional information)

Opening and closing balances Financial year 2023 started with an opening balance of £4,385.25. During the year we received income of £10,993.87 and had outgoings of £5,840.58. The year closed on 31st December 2023 with a balance of £9,538.54, of which £3,159.32 were restricted funds, £2,759.19 were designted funds, leaving £3,620.03 in unrestricted funds which form the operating budget for 2024.

You may choose to include additional information, where relevant about:

the charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising);
how expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charity;

Sources of funds

Our principal source of regular funding is through our membership
• investment policy and donations, which in 2023 accounted for £2,830 (26%) of our receipts. objectives including any ethical investment policy Receipts adopted. Voluntary income raised was £3,754.05 (34% of our receipts) which

Receipts Voluntary income raised was £3,754.05 (34% of our receipts) which includes the membership total above, plus a number of donations from external fundraisers and collections.

Additional income generated was £1,260.82 (12% of our receipts) which consisted of £782.41 raised through the sale of craft items at fairs and markets, and to visitors and members of the shed. £455 was raised through upcyling projects and the resale of donated items. We also received a small amount from Amazon’s purchase scheme ‘Amazon Smile’, and through the sale of surplus materials. Charitable Income received from successful grant applications was £5,979 (54% of receipts): St Monica Trust Coronation Fund - £200 Royal Horticultural Society - £2,500 Tesco Community Grants - £1,000 The National Lottery Community Fund - £2,279 We were also awarded a grant from Keynsham Town Council of £575 which will be claimed in 2024. Payments We spent £118.66 (2% of our payments) generating funds, primarily on craft fair table fees, plus small costs for upcycling project materials. We spent £1,492.52 (26% of payments) on charitable activities made up of £66.06 for the Craft Group, £231.42 for the Gardening Group, £979.20 for the Workshop Group, and £215.85 on facility development and maintenance. We spent £2,819.68 of the charitable activities restricted funds from the grants awarded (48% of our payments). Support Costs were £1,409.72 (24% of our payments) with £654.09 going to First Aid Training and Supplies, £403.52 to Insurance, and £149.96 on Electricity. The remainder accounting for refreshments, cleaning, domain name, marketing, and UKMSA membership.

Special Projects

We invested a large amount of funds on Health and Safety this year, with £516.82 of the Workshop budget spent on machine room emergency

SSAGC

April 2024

stop buttons, and £475.30 of general funds spent on Emergency First Aid at Work and Catastrophic Bleed training for 6 volunteers, plus £178.79 in First Aid equipment.

Investment policy

We do not currently have any investments and our Bank Account does not pay any interest.

Section F Other optional information

Trading

We have reviewed the guidance the commission has produced to help organisations understand this and are satisfied that the selling or letting of our donated goods is not considered as ‘trading’, and that where such donated items are repaired or altered prior to sale this does not make the profits obtained from their sale trading profits.

Membership

In December 2022 we had 20 subscribed members, and the year ended in December 2023 with 25 subscribed members – an increase of 25% since December 2022. As previously mentioned, membership subscriptions are our single source of regular funding, and it’s encouraging to see a continuing increase in numbers during the year.

The current target subscription level of £10 per person per month represents great value to members and brings in £120 per person per year for SSACG. Three sessions are currently run each week and using an average of four weeks in each month, if a member attends all three sessions each week, the cost per session is just 83p. For two sessions per week its £1.25 per session, and for one session its £2.50.

Section G Declaration

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

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees


GEOFFREY DAVIS		Christopher Paul Heard
	Chair	Treasurer
Date	29/04/2024
	29/04/2024

SSAGC

April 2024

CC16a

Charity Name No (if any) Somerdale Shed and Community Garden 1198203 Receipts and payments accounts For the period Period start date Period end date To from 01-Jan-23 31-Dec-23

Section A Receipts and payments

A1 Receipts	Unrestricted funds to the nearest £	Restricted funds to the nearest £	Endowment funds to the nearest £	Total funds to the nearest £	Last year to the nearest £
VoluntaryIncome	3,754	-	-	3,754	2,346
Income Generation	1,261	-	-	1,261	2,691
Investments Income	-	-	-	-	-
Charitable Income	-	5,979	-	5,979	1,400
Other Receipts	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
*Sub total*(Gross income for AR) A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table).	5,015	5,979	-	10,994	6,437

Sale of Investments	-	-	-	-	-
Sale of Assets	-	-	-	-	-
*Sub total* *Total receipts* A3 Payments	-	-	-	-	-

					6,437

GeneratingFunds	(119)	-	-	(119)	(906)
Charitable Activities	(1,493)	(2,820)	-	(4,313)	(3,599)
Support Costs	(1,410)	-	-	(1,410)	(521)
Other Payments	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
*Sub total* A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table)	(3,022)	(2,820)	-	(5,842)	(5,026)

Purchase of Investments	-	-	-	-	-
Purchase of Assets	-	-	-	-	-
*Sub total* *Total payments* *Net of receipts/(payments)* A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end *Cash funds this year end*	-	-	-	-	-

					(5,026)

					1,411

					-
					2,974

	6,378				4,385

CCXX R1 accounts (SS)

25/04/2024

Charity Name Somerdale Shed and Community Garden	Charity Name Somerdale Shed and Community Garden	Charity Name Somerdale Shed and Community Garden	No (if any) 1198203
Receipts andpayments accounts
For the period from	01-Jan-23 Period start date	To	Period end date 31-Dec-23

CC16a

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Unrestricted funds to nearest £	Restricted funds to nearest £	Endowment funds to nearest £
6,165	3,159	-
-	-	-
213	-	-
6,378	3,159	-
		OK

Details	Unrestricted funds to nearest £	Restricted funds to nearest £	Endowment funds to nearest £
	-	-	-
	-	-	-
	-	-	-
	-	-	-
Details	Fund to which asset belongs	Cost (optional)	Current value (optional)
		-	-
		-	-
		-	-
		-	-
Details	Fund to which asset belongs	Cost (optional)	Current value (optional)
		-	-
		-	-
		-	-
		-	-
Details	Fund to which liability relates	Amount due (optional)	When due (optional)
		-
		-
		-
		-
Signature	Print Name C HEARD (TREASURER) G DAVIS (CHAIR)		Date of approval
			29/04/2024
			29/04/2024

CCXX R2 accounts (SS)

25/04/2024