Meersbrook Park User Trust CIO
(Charitable incorporated organisation)
Charity number 1199091, Company number CE029257
Annual report for the period 1[st] October 2023 to 31[st] December 2024
Meersbrook Park User Trust
Legal and administrative information
Trustees
Neil Parry Elizabeth Martinez Sarah Peck (resigned 22/10/2024) Andrew Kershaw Kathryn Morrell Terry Scully Mich Culloden (appointed 23/01/2025, resigned 16/06/2025) Rhiannon Thomas (appointed 24/07/2025)
Charity number
1199091
Company number
CE029257
Principal Address
215 Shirebrook Road Sheffield S8 9RF
Bank
The Co-operative Bank PO Box 250 Skelmersdale WN8 6WT
Meersbrook Park User Trust CIO
Trustees report for the period 1st October 2023 to 31st December 2024
The trustees are pleased to present their annual trustees’ report together with the financial statements of the charity for the period 26 May 2022 to 30 September 2023.
Chair’s Report
It has been another great year in the trust. We have worked in partnership with our local partners Heeley Farm, Sheffield City Council, The local councillors, The bowling Green, Gleadless Valley Wildlife Trust, Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust, Small Park Big Run, Heely Trust the Bishops House and more.
We have a committed and growing number of Walled Garden volunteers that are continuing to make the garden look amazing. Lead Walled Garden volunteers such as Kath, Liz, Joyce, Jill, Pete, Richard and others have been key at liaising with new volunteers and coordinating regular meetings to plan work, events and improvements in the garden.
We have had successful events again including Easter day, Small Park big run, Piff Paff Sculpture, Moth Watch and the Printers fair bringing in money to the garden and the Sunday opening has had numbers of around 25-50 visiting the garden each week. We have sold countless plants and worked on a zero-waste campaign. We have transitioned to electronic payments at events thanks to our treasurer and lead volunteers and this is meaning more money coming in.
We sadly said goodbye to our former vice chair and Sunday opener Julia Haseldine who is moving to be with family in London. We would like to say a very very big thank you to her for years of commitment to the trust.
We are still hosting outdoor playgroup and Meersbrook Bank School and are newly hosting Woodcraft folk who are enjoying the space.
Plans are looking at improving the buildings in the garden and Terry and Andy K are working hard to secure plans for this as well as a lease agreement. Looking forwards we will need to be fundraising for the buildings.
We have made progress in the ravine with the Eco volunteering and attended the council’s Eco volunteering celebration evening representing the trust. We are partnering with SCC and RSWT and have had over 50 new volunteers attend days. We sadly lost the city ecologist and friend Gus Hunter who died of cancer in February, our thoughts are with his family. We had an open meeting in February about ecology and the park attended by about 40 people and solidified stronger links with the bowling green as a result.
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Shaun Whitwam, working with the Sheffield River Rangers, has been doing water surveys and the River Steward Company have done some removal of the holly and all the laurel in the lower ravine. We have put in 9 leaky dams and 6 dead hedges to improve and protect wildlife. We have a series of dates over this autumn to continue the work and hope to raise more money for holly removal. This work was made possible through the hard work of the volunteers and a £3,000 grant from Sheffield City Council (Community Interest Levey Funds).
Neil and Jim have continued the fortnightly session helping the parks department over this past year and it has been a real improvement as well as creating stronger links with SCC. We are working on SRWT producing an Eco – plan for the park and ravine in the future that the group and SCC can both work from.
In October we spent £1,878 on cleaning and improving the multi-use games area. We have continued our sports session in the park and hoping for further funding this year for that. The tennis team have put on an all-age cardio tennis session afterwards which is proving popular for families. On the committee we sadly say goodbye to Mich who was a trustee and welcome Rhian onto the board. Friends of Meersbrook Hall is now coming under the MPUT and Rhianne who has been involved with the hall and is chair of trustees at Heeley Trust is a very welcome addition to our team.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone in the committee, the garden and all the projects who are helping to build a better park for people and nature.
Liz Martinez, Chair, September 2025
Governance and management
The charity is operated under the rules of its constitution which was adopted on 26/05/2022.
The Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) was established to take over the affairs of Meersbrook Park Users Trust, an organisation that had been in existence since 1998. The new organisation structure was needed to ensure that the group could properly engage with Sheffield City Council, the formal managers of the park, and in order to raise charitable grants and donations.
The affairs of the trust are managed by the trustees who meet on a regular basis. Trustees are appointed by the trustees for a period of three years.
The objects of the CIO are;
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to assist in the protection, conservation, promotion and development of Meersbrook heritage park in Sheffield for the leisure, recreation, enjoyment and benefit of the people of Sheffield;
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the care, maintenance, development and management of the Victorian walled garden in Meersbrook park, Sheffield and its enjoyment and development as an ornamental leisure garden and for growing food, for the benefit of the public.
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Financial Review
The organisation was founded in 2022 in order to take over the activities of Meersbrook Park user trust and enable those activities to benefit from charitable status. All assets from the former organisation were transferred to the CIO on 1[st] November 2023 including a sum of £28,444. It was agreed that those funds would be used as follows:
A designated fund of £240, would be set aside to enable the playgroup to buy new toys and equipment as required
A designated fund of £20,734 would be set aside for the development of the Walled Garden to ensure that there are sufficient funds to carry out emergency building repairs and to support future development of the walled garden.
A designated fund, of £4,470 would be set aside to support continuing sports activities such as the Tennis in the park
The remaining £3,000 would be held in a general reserve to ensure that the CIO could continue if there was an interruption to its main income stream, fundraising events in the Garden.
During the period under review, we were able to add £2,138 to our Walled Garden Development fund and £315 for the playgroup. The majority of the fund for the Sports Activities was spent and we will need to secure additional funding in 2025.
The Walled Garden Development fund now stands at £22,872. This is considered to be necessary as the CIO would to make funding applications for the development of the buildings in the walled garden and will need this to use as match funding.
The trustee have agreed to maintain general reserves of £3,000
Income for the year, other than the transfer from the former organisation, was £8,650 and expenditure was £10,284
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Meersbrook Park User Trust CIO
Independent Examiner Statement
For the period 1st October 2023 to 31st December 2024
I report on the accounts for Meersbrook Park User Trust CIO which are set out on pages 6 to 9.
Responsibilities of the management committee and the examiner
As the management committee you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts.
It is my responsibility to state whether matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent examiner's report
The examination included a review of the accounting records kept by the group and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration
of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as concerning any such matters
The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an
audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.
Independent examiner's statement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
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1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
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a to keep appropriate accounting records
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b to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records
have not been met; or
- 2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Signed: Susan Groves
Date: 02 October 2025
Susan Groves
Independent Examiner Bookkeeping & Training Services
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Meersbrook Park User Trust CIO Statement of Financial Activities For the period 1 Ocotober 2023 to 31 December 2024
| Unrestricted funds Notes £ Incoming Resources 1 Events 2,592 Garden Sales/Donations 2,216 Donations 527 Grants 4 - Other Income 28,759 34,094 Resources Expended 1 Events / Activities 116 Garden repairs and maintenance 1,182 Garden materials 669 Sports activities 4,087 Park development 490 Insurance 157 Administration 363 Volunteer costs 220 Accountancy - 7,284 Surplus/(Defecit) 26,810 Total funds brought forward - Total funds carried forward 26,810 |
Restricted funds £ - - 3,000 - 3,000 - - - - 3,000 - - - - 3,000 - - - |
Total 2024 £ 2,592 2,216 527 3,000 28,759 37,094 116 1,182 669 4,087 3,490 157 363 220 - 10,284 26,810 - 26,810 |
Total 2023 £ - - - - - |
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Meersbrook Park User Trust CIO Balance Sheet At 31 December 2024
| Meersbrook Park User Trust CIO Balance Sheet At 31 December 2024 |
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| note Current Assets Balance at bank and Cash Current Liabilities Creditors 3 Net current assets Net Assets Funds Restricted Unrestricted Total Funds |
2024 £ 30,085 30,085 (3,275) (3,275) 26,810 26,810 - 26,810 26,810 |
2023 £ - |
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Approved by the Trustees on 18th September and signed on their behalf by Terry Scully, Treasurer:
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Meersbrook Park User Trust CIO Notes to the Financial Statements For the period 1 Ocotober 2023 to 31 December 2024
1 Accounting Policies
(a) Basis of preparation
These accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant note(s) to these accounts.
These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) issued on 16 July 2014
and with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)
and with the Charities Act 2011
The Charity meets the definition of a public benefit entity as defined under FRS102.
(b) Income
Grant donations and Income from charitable trading activities are recognised in full in the statement of financial activities in the year in which they relate. Any income received in advance is accounted for on an accrual basis.
(c) Resources expended
Resources expended are recognised in the period in which they are incurred, and include attributable VAT which cannot be recovered. The analysis follows a natural classification
(d) Allocation of costs
Costs directly related to an activity are allocated to that activity. Support costs, which are necessary to deliver an activity but do not themselves deliver the activity, are allocated in proportion to the benefit attributable. Governance costs are those costs incurred in meeting statutory and constitutional requirements.
(e) Restricted funds
Funds are identified as restricted where they are received for a specific purpose or project and where the donor may require repayment if the conditions are not met
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Meersbrook Park User Trust CIO Notes to the Financial Statements - continued For the period 1 Ocotober 2023 to 31 December 2024
| eersbrook Park User Trust CIO otes to the Financial Statements - continued or the period 1 Ocotober 2023 to 31 December 2024 |
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| 2 Debtors Trade debtors 3 Accruals These are expenses that have been incurred but have not been paid or invoiced for during the accounting period. Trade Creditors Accruals 4 Grants Unrestricted Restricted £ £ SCC SIL - 3,000 - - - 3,000 5 Restricted Funds Balance at Incoming Resources 1/4/2021 resources expended Sheffield City Council - CIL - 3,000 (3,000) - - - - 3,000 - Restricted funds were received for the following purposes: Sheffield City Council - CIL This grant was for the development of the Trusts ravine project 6 Fund Balances Restricted Funds Designated fund - Walled garden Development Designated fund - Playgroup Designated fund - Sports Activities General unrestricted funds |
2024 £ - - 2024 £ 3,275 - 3,275 Total 2024 £ 3,000 - 3,000 Transfers - - 3,000 2024 £ - 22,872 555 383 3,000 26,810 |
2023 £ - |
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| Balance 31/3/2024 - - |
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| 2023 £ - - - - - |
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