YDSWG AGM
Trustees Report
Saturday 26[th] October 2024
1. Attendees and absentees
Present. J Pridmore, S Wright, E Hopkins, , Steve Bostock, B Wood, D Leedale, B Cowling, A Gudgeon, M Dalton, P Targett, D Garbutt, S Crane,
Apologies. K Ledger, G Selby, G Brown, Megan Jefferey, J Garwell, M Booth, A Bailey
2. Minutes of the 2022 AGM
These were reviewed by the Chairman. Steve Bostock proposed and Andy Gudgeon seconded these were accurate.
3. MATTERS ARISING
There were no matter arising and the minutes were unanimously passed.
4. PRESIDENTS COMMENTS
Bill Cowling congratulated the Guild on their continued progress. He thanked them for the work they do in supporting farming communities commenting on the sustainability and longevity of walls and their benefit to farms. He also mentioned the importance of recruiting younger wallers to keep the craft alive
5. COURSE COORDINATORS REPORT
I would first like to thank instructors for the short notice changes I had to make. This was due to the unfortunate withdrawal for the season, of Dave and Geoff. We hope to see them back with us in 2025.
The nine courses held all ran smoothly. Though only two were filled, Fountains with 20 and Burniston with 17, feed back was very good. Steve hosted two American visitors from Kentucky, and I think he has plans to take his walling skills across there. Of a potential 156 places, I have 119 recorded.
There were a number of transfers across courses due to last minute family bereavements and illnesses, including COVID. That meant some courses were severely depleted and instructors had to be stood down. I thank those who were for understanding the need.
Burniston has already confirmed their agreement to run next year and I am waiting mostly now for returns from practice meeting hosts
Fountains Abbey and Yate House may not go ahead, or if they do, only as practice meetings – walls are mostly complete and taking down good wall for the sake of
practice is not what we do.
I understand that Cloughton attendances were into double figures and that is pleasing, suggesting that we may have an untapped audience on the east coast. It may also be that it allowed people to spend the weekend in Scarborough and Surrounding areas. Perhaps another course location is on the cards as there is plenty of walling to fix.
Three young men who attended Yates House course went on to complete their basic certificate with Steve at Holmefields. They wanted to take the intermediate certificate at Meggans on the 6 th , but a master waller is not available. They will take it next year.
There were no courses in October, and that is something I will try to correct. If it can planned perhaps around half-term, then Cloughton might be possible to maximise east coast holiday visits.
Practice meetings generally were well attended, many attendees not giving notice. Where they did, I tried to make sure they were aware of accurate locations. W3W is still the best identifier of sites and liked by most....I think.
Over the quiet period of courses I will be bringing together the risk assessments needed for our charitable status and may ask our instructors to review these. Honest comments will be expected.
6. CHAIR/SECRETARY REPORT
The 2024 has been successful albeit challenging in one area (more about that later) We are now fully functional as a charity so are free of the risks of corporation tax. Administering the charity is similar to that of the limited company although it has made us look at some operational functions such as policies and procedures. These are being developed and will be refined over the next few years
Looking back over the year its been a busy and successful one.
Courses were successful again and a major source of income. We increased the cost slightly to 130 per course and even with the recent cost of living crisis demand has still been strong. The venues we all our usual ones however Fountains and Yate House are now struggling to find walls that need repairing and the Guild has repaired most of their walls over the last few years. On the courses I attended I was really please with the quality of the walls that were constructed (and also the amount of wall that was rebuilt). I know build quality is something we always talk about so its great to see things improving. Something that may have helped there is instructors making a effort to wall less and teach more on courses
Practice meets were on the whole very well attended this year. We started the year with a new venue and collaboration. This was with The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust at a venue near Huddersfield. Members from both organisations repaired various sections using flat, thin sandstone which is common to that area. The next venue was Cropper Fold where we rebuild and slightly mover a corner curve. Further meets followed at Daggerstones and Winsbury House however the meet after that had to be cancelled. Luckily now we have bulk email so communicating with members is much easier now. Knab Farm was next, a beautiful day with superb views over the vale of York. Another new venue at Cloughton on the east coast was well attended. Early October saw us visit Steves farm at Homefields. Very well attended again with a nice section where a Hawthorn tree had been repaired. Also congratulations to Oliver Kitching, James Titterington Colman & Tom lodge who all passed their basic certification at the meet. As usual there is one more meet remaining at Cropper Fold on Sunday 3rd November
We attended our usual show at Duncomber, GYS and Ripley. At the GYS we have an ongoing project that we started this year. It’s a wall with seats cut into the length. Each section will be topped off in a different style to showcase the variety on methods available. Unfortunately, the first day was lost to rain however we did get in the remaining 3 days. Many thanks to all the attended to help out.
Id finally like to thank the trustees for helping to run The Guild this year. Special thanks go to Euan for looking after all the tech stuff, Ed who has picked up the course coordinator role really well from a standing start and to Andy who has got all the financial reporting into a good place since taking over
Membership currently stands at 428 which is up from the previous year at 423 so quite stable year on year. We are now back to purging the list removing all members that don’t renew. The 428 is made up of 17 honorary, 26 life and 217 paid members and 167 that have not renewed. We have also purged all members that have not renewed for 2 years as part of our GDPR rules.
We wouldn’t be able to operate or survive without our website so a big thank you to Euan who looks after that and all our technical requirements. He also administers our bulk emails which is a great help in communicating to our members.
All of our charitable submissions can be done online so managing the charity admin is not too
onerous
We also welcome anyone looking to get involved and become a trustee
7. TREASURERS REPORT
This is the Treasurers Report for the 12-months ending 30 th September 2024, the first full year under
Charitable status.
Objectives and activities
The Guild’s main activity is the preservation and promotion of the craft of dry stone walling. It is a member organisation offering training courses, practice days and levels of accreditation. It is also involved in promoting the craft at country shows.
Policy on Reserves
Under the requirements of charity law, the Trustees are obliged to define the charity’s policy for holding reserves. The policy will enable the charity to meet its legal obligations, provide confidence to donors seeking to give support to a prudently controlled charity and to ensure that the reserves are at a level sufficient to discharge all the charity’s obligations in the event that it should cease its operations.
The Guild’s principal financial assets are bank balances. In order to maintain liquidity to ensure that sufficient funds are available for ongoing and future requirements the Guild maintains a reasonable level of funds in an instant access account with Lloyds Bank. Any surplus funds not required for short-term working capital are (or will be) invested in a deposit account with Lloyds Bank to earn interest.
The Guild does not aim to make a profit on activities but to ensure that all costs are met and an adequate surplus is maintained to invest in future activities and any new equipment required. 2024 Financial Review
For the year ended 30 th September 2024 the Guild’s income was down slightly from £21,970 in 2023
to £19,261 in 2024. Income (net of refunds) from Training courses and Gift Vouchers totalled £16,200 which was down from £17,580 in 2023. Income from Membership Subscriptions and Taster Courses totalled £1,310, down from £1,480 in 2023. Income from book sales was £880 which was an increase on the £740 in 2023. The Guild purchased books totalling £797 in the year.
Course costs totalled £12,770, which was slightly lower than £12,934 in 2023. Payments to Euan for website admin and electronic newsletters totalled £1,120, higher than the £912 paid in 2023. The Guild purchased some new equipment in 2024 – Flags & Pavement Signs, Gazebo Bag and new clothing totalling £1.200.
The Guild also incurred some one-off costs relating to the court case to recover funds from Bona Vacantia and reinstatement of the Limited Company for this purpose. These costs totalling £624 will not be repeated going forward. In addition, the Guild suffered from a loss of interest on the money held by Bona Vacantia. It is impossible to put an exact figure on this but is probably in the region of £600-£700.
Despite the additional one-off costs I am pleased to report that the Guild did make a surplus of £1,170 in the year. At 30 th September 2024 the Guild had net funds of £22,451, represented by £3,289 held in the Lloyds current bank account, and £19,162 held by Bona Vacantia which we expect to recover soon.
In summary, the Guild had a satisfactory financial year and is well placed to continue the good work going forward.
8. ELECTION OF OFFICERS
CHAIRMAN- John Pridmore was elected as Chairman
SECRETARY- Sarah Wright was elected as secretary.
TREASURER- Andrew Gudgeon was elected as Treasurer
COURSE COORDINATOR- Ed Hopkin
The above were proposed by Steve Bostock and seconded by Brian Wood. All attending voted in favour.
ELECTION OF CHARITY TRUSTEES
Paula Gittings has stood down as a trustee
JP proposed Stuart Grainger and Peter Targett as trustees. These were seconded by Andy Gudgeon and unanimously confirmed by all attending.
The following were elected as trustees of the Charity and voted in unanimously by all attending
Ed Hopkin
Sarah Wright
Andrew Gudgeon
John Pridmore
James Garwell
Mary Dalton
All members were voted in ‘in block’ unanimously by all attending
9. AOB
EH suggested allowing U18 and U16 a free charity place on courses. A discussion too place around the challenges of CRB checking. The conclusion was that we would have no objection to this however the minor would need to be accompanied by an adult.
EH also requested that the lead instructors confirm all attendees as they are sometimes different to the bookings. To be emphasised at the breakfast meet.
SB suggested maybe finding another historical site if we lose Fountains (such as English Heritage or the Woodland Trust)
PT to approach Yorks Water for potential venues in the future
SG asked about getting another gazebo and base it in the N Dales.
SG suggested putting time capsules in the wall. EH to add to his attendee information
SW mentioned instructors missing the first aid course should refund the Guild unless they have a valid excuse
AG requested an up to date list of trustee emails
JP mentioned the lack of master wallers. To bring up at breakfast meet. Suggested entry is free to encourage more people taking the test
JP mentioned about a clothing order. To email out to all instructors with price list
JP mentioned tasters & that they should be increased. It was agreed to increase the cost to £50
Saturday 1[st] Feb agreed for the breakfast meet & Sat 18[th] Jan for first aid training
SG suggested that we maybe produce trifold flyers. This is something that could be progressed in next years trustee meeting
Meeting Closed at 16.30PM
YORKSHIRE DRY STONE WALLING GUILD Income and Expenditure YTD 1st Oct 23 to 30th September 2024
| Balances at 1st October 2023 Current Account Savings Account Stripe Uncleared cheques |
£ 1,188.38 19,964.01 29.15 100.00 |
|
|---|---|---|
| 21,281.54 | ||
| Income for the period Bank Interest Book Sales Clothing sales Donations Compensation from HSBC Stone Sales English Heritage contribution to Training Course Membership/Taster Sessions Training Courses (net of refunds) Expenditure for the period Refreshments AGM Advertising Bank Charges Book Purchase Breakfast Meet Clothing Purchase Companies House Course Costs Court Fee to reinstate Limited Company Euan website Digital Newsletters Euan website & Admin Flags and Pavement Signs Gazebo bag Insurance Hire Charges Instructor Travel Expenses Postage Refunds Stationery Zoom Licence Stripe Fees Closing Balance for the period |
YTD £ | |
| 22,450.84 | ||
| Account Balances at 30th September 2024 Savings Account HSBC * Current Account Lloyds |
19,161.77 3,289.07 |
|
| 22,450.84 |
*unable to verify HSBC Account balance as money moved. Balance take from last available statement
NB - Payments are only recognised in the period they are received into the bank. Any payments received in Stripe but not yet transferred are recognised in the next month's accounts.
The following transactions occurred towards the end of the financial year but are not reflected in these accounts as the money received/paid was after the year-end - Books sold £30.00 Course Fee refunded (£130.00)