
## **Charity Commission** 

## Charity Commission Annual Return 2023 

## **NEW MILTON COMMUNITY GARDEN** 

Charity registration number: 1202782 

**Most of the information you give in this form will become publicly available on the Register of Charities. Any field that the Charity Commission will not display will be clearly marked. This document is a record of the information provided in the Annual Return 2023.** 

## **Financial period** 

## **Financial period start date** 

20/04/2023 

## **Financial period end date** 

31/12/2023 

## **Income and spending** 

## **Income £** 

£36,514 

## **Spending £** 

£2,108 

## **Number of contracts from government** 



**How many contracts (other than grant agreements) did your charity receive from central government or a local authority during the financial period for this return?** 

0 

## **Number of grants from government** 

**How many grants did your charity receive from central government or a local authority during the financial period for this return?** 

6 

## **Value of grants from government** 

**What was the total value of the grants received from central government or a local authority during the financial period for this return?** 

£12,500 

## **Income breakdown** 

## **Donations and legacies (excluding Endowments Received)** 

£36,491 

## **Charitable activities** 

£0 

## **Other trading activities** 

£0 

## **Investments** 

£23 

## **Other** 

£0 

**Recipients of grants** 



## **Please round all figures to the nearest pound (do not enter decimal points or commas).Individuals** 

£0 

## **Other charities** 

£0 

## **Other organisations that are not charities** 

£0 

## **Trustee payments** 

**Excluding out of pocket expenses, for what were any of the trustees paid during the financial period for this return?** 

⊠ e. None of the trustees have been paid 

**Did any of the trustees resign and take up employment with your charity in the financial period of this return?** 

No 

## **Income from outside the UK** 

**Did your charity receive income from outside of the United Kingdom in the financial period of this return?** 

No 

## **Delivering activities outside the United Kingdom** 

**Did your charity deliver charitable activities outside of the United Kingdom in the financial period of this return?** 

No 

## **Spending outside England & Wales** 



**Did your charity spend funds outside of the United Kingdom in the financial period of this return?** 

No 

## **Trading subsidiaries** 

## **Does the charity have any trading subsidiaries?** 

No 

## **Charity contact details correct** 

## **Is the contact address displayed from the Register of Charities, correct?** 

Yes 

## **Charity headquarters details correct** 

## **Is this the same address that you use as your charity's administrative headquarters?** 

Yes 

## **Charity contact address** 

3 Lake Grove Road 

New Milton 

BH25 5LA 

## **Charity Headquarters address** 

3 Lake Grove Road 

New Milton 



BH25 5LA 

## **Membership type** 

## **Is the charity part of a wider group structure with a parent body and subsidiary bodies?** 

no, the charity is not part of a wider group structure 

## **Employment contract types** 

## **People were permanently employed by your charity** 

0 

## **People were on fixed-terms contracts with your charity** 

0 

## **Self-employed people were working for your charity** 

0 

## **Governance policies** 

## **Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures** 

Yes 

## **Safeguarding policy and procedures** 

Yes 

## **Financial reserves policy and procedures** 

No 

## **Complaints policy and procedures** 

Yes 

## **Serious incident reporting policy and procedures** 

Yes 

## **Internal risk management policy and procedures** 



Not applicable 

## **Trustee expenses policy and procedures** 

Yes 

## **Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures** 

No 

## **Investing charity funds policy and procedures** 

Yes 

## **Campaigns and political activity policy and procedures** 

Not applicable 

## **Bullying and harassment policy and procedures** 

Yes 

## **Social media policy and procedures** 

No 

## **Engaging external speakers at charity events policy and procedures** 

No 

## **Serious Incidents** 

**Has your charity reported all Serious Incidents (including any historical incidents) that the charity became aware of during the financial period of this return?** 

There were no incidents to report 

## **External risk and impact** 

## **Donations,** 

Unknown/No Change/Not Applicable 

## **Other income - grants** 

Unknown/No Change/Not Applicable 

## **Other income - contracts** 



Unknown/No Change/Not Applicable 

## **Other income - investment** 

Unknown/No Change/Not Applicable 

## **Expenditure on charitable activities** 

Unknown/No Change/Not Applicable 

## **Expenditure on overheads** 

Unknown/No Change/Not Applicable 

## **Number of volunteers** 

Unknown/No Change/Not Applicable 

## **Number of employees** 

Unknown/No Change/Not Applicable 

## **Number of trustees** 

Unknown/No Change/Not Applicable 

## **Fundraising activities** 

Unknown/No Change/Not Applicable 

## **Capacity to deliver services** 

Unknown/No Change/Not Applicable 

## **Total service demand** 

Unknown/No Change/Not Applicable 

## **Volunteers** 

**Excluding trustees, provide an estimate of the number of volunteers who carried out charitable activities on behalf of your charity in the United Kingdom during the financial period of this return?** 

30 

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**Declaration** 

|**Your role at the charity (select one):**|**Your role at the charity (select one):**|
|---|---|
|⊠Trustee||
|**Given names**|Steven|
|||
|**Family name**|Sinyard|
|||
|**Telephone**|07445929006|
|**number**||
|||
|**Email**|sbsinyard@aol.com|
|||
|**Date submitted**|25/07/2024|



**It is a criminal offence under section 60 of the Charities Act 2011 for anyone to knowingly or recklessly provide false or misleading information to the commission; this includes suppressing, concealing or destroying documents.** 




**Annual Report & Accounts for the year ended 31[st] December 2023** 



This Report has been compiled by the Trustees of the New Milton Community Garden in accordance with our Constitution and in compliance with the regulations as set out by the Charities Commission. 

**Trustees:** Julia Stamper Angela Jackson Steve Sinyard Alan Watson Paul Brockman 

**Charity Number:** 1202782 

**Registered Office:** Grove Cottage, 3 Lake Grove Road, New Milton, Hants. BH25 5LA 

**Financial Examiner:** David Shores & Co. 

## **Objects:** 

The objects of the CIO are to provide facilities for recreation or other leisure time occupation by providing an area for use as a community garden for individuals in the New Milton Parish who have need of such facilities by reason of their youth, age or disablement, financial hardship or social and economic circumstances or for the public at large in the interests of social welfare and with the object of improving the condition of life of the said inhabitants. 

## **Report & Accounts approved at our General Meeting, 4[th] July 2024** 



## **Overview & Activities** 

In January 2023, after two years of planning, we had secured land for the Community Garden at Fawcetts Field in New Milton, granted on a ten year rolling user licence from New Milton Town Council. Our application to register as a CIO was approved by the Charities Commission. 

Work then began to put together our committee, to design the garden, to secure interest and support from our community, to seek and apply for funding and to find a contractor to build the hard landscaping. 

In May 2023 we were pleased to eventually ‘put spades in the soil’ to establish the boundary of the garden, assisted by volunteers and New Milton Town Council. 


The event was covered in the local newspaper, the Advertiser & Times. 

In June 2023 construction began on the hard landscaping which included long, curved pathways, a large gazebo, two pergolas and ten large raised beds. 



We would particularly like to thank our team & volunteers, the New Milton Residents’ Association, the Friends of Ballard Water Meadow, New Milton Town Council, New Milton Sand & Ballast, the Men’s Shed and G. Farwell for their help and support. 

Later in June we were especially delighted to meet with Joe Swift, the celebrity gardener often seen on television, who had taken an interest in our project. (We would like to thank NMSB for the introduction). Joe spent almost three hours with us, on and off site, to discuss our plans, and to give his advice and ideas for planting, layout and events. He was impressed with our design and he is a firm fan of community gardens and the benefits they bring. It was a real pleasure to meet him and he confirmed he would like to be kept informed of our progress. 

During the time since January we were very pleased to receive interest in our project from significant groups and organisations in our area. Following meetings and discussions the Arnewood senior school, together with the Eaglewood school for special needs, they confirmed they wanted to use the garden as part of their formal education programme for selected students, leading to an accredited award scheme. The Coastal Medical Partnership, comprising a number of GP surgeries, confirmed the garden would be part of their Social Prescribing programme to benefit the physical & mental health & wellbeing of their patients. Other groups such as caring organisations, SSAFA, infant & junior schools, dementia friends and family hubs had also confirmed their interest. 

Construction of the garden progressed through July, August and September and the hard landscaping was completed in early October. We were then about to commence the planting of trees, shrubs, raised beds, sensory areas and ground beds. Unfortunately, we discovered in mid October that the rear of the garden had been damaged by excavations being carried out by developers working on a small housing development on NFDC land which is sited behind the garden. 



Work at the garden had to be suspended from November whilst discussions and negotiations were held with our Town Council, NFDC and the developers. It was eventually agreed that work could be recommenced when the developers had confirmed the correct rear boundary line and their new fence erected between the two sites. It was hoped this would be done by early 2024 and the Town Council confirmed they would help to make good any lasting damage that had been done to the garden. 

Despite this setback we were able to plant, with the help of our team and volunteers, over 200 mixed hedging whips at the end of November. The whips were kindly donated by the Woodland Trust and will form a natural, wildlife friendly boundary to the community garden. 

During the year we were very pleased that our applications for funding from a variety of sources were successful and these are listed in the financial section of this report. 

The Trustees are looking forward to successfully completing the work at the garden with a planned grand opening in Spring 2025. 



## **FINANCIAL REPORT** 

We would like to thank the following organisations for their valued help and support with funding during 2023. 

New Milton Residents’ Association 

New Milton Town Council 

Hampshire County Council 

New Forest District Council 

Hampshire & Isle of Wight Community Fund (Charles Burnett Memorial Fund) 

National Lottery Fund, Awards for All 

The Coastal Medical Practice 

The Barker Mills Foundation 

The National Garden Scheme 

New Milton Sand & Ballast 



## **Accounts & Balance Sheet (Approved by David Shores & Co. dated 17 April 2024)** 

## **Profit & Loss Account** 

## **Balance Sheet** 

|**Income**<br>Donations<br>Sponsorship<br>Interest<br>Total<br>**Expenses**<br>Hard Landscaping<br>depreciation<br>Tools depreciation<br>Tree Support depn.<br>Sundry Tools<br>Plants<br>Plant sundries<br>Sundry Materials<br>Trees<br>Tree Supports<br>Insurance<br>Printing & Stationery<br>Advertising<br>Meeting<br>Accounting Costs<br>Other costs<br>Total<br>Surplus|**£**<br>36492.02<br>0.00<br>22.80||Fixed Assets<br>Cash<br>Total Assets<br>Creditors<br>Accruals<br>Accum.<br>Surplus<br>Accum. Funds|**£**<br>14282.61<br>26102.21|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**36514.82**||||
||**£**<br>998.58<br>0.00<br>27.50<br>0.00<br>0.00<br>0.00<br>8.99<br>0.00<br>0.00<br>157.00<br>120.41<br>411.19<br>60.00<br>300.00<br>25.00|||**40384.82**|
|||||5678.67<br>300.00<br>34406.15|
|||||**40384.82**|
||||||
||**2108.67**||||
||**34406.15**||||





## **Accounting Policies** 

## **Depreciation** 

Depreciation of hard landscaping is straight line 10% per annum. Depreciation of soft landscaping is straight line 50% per annum. Depreciation of tools is straight line 20% per annum. 

## **Income** 

Unless for a specific future event or project all income is reported at the time of receipt. 

## **Staff** 

The Charity does not currently have any staff therefore does not have a pension policy. 



## **Notes to the Accounts** 

|**Income**<br>All sources<br>**Fixed Assets**<br>Assets<br>Brought forward<br>Purchases<br>Disposals<br>Totals<br>£|Unrestricted Restricted<br>Total<br>£36492.02<br>Nil<br>£36492.02<br>Hard<br>Landscaping<br>Soft<br>Landscaping<br>Tools<br>Totals<br>0.00<br>0.00<br>0.00<br>0.00<br>14978.67<br>330.02<br>0.00<br>15308.69<br>0.00<br>0.00<br>0.00<br>0.00<br>14978.67<br>330.02<br>0.00<br>15308.69|
|---|---|



|Depreciation<br>Brought forward<br>Purchases<br>Disposals<br>Totals<br>£<br>Net Values<br>Brought forward<br>Purchases<br>Disposals<br>Totals<br>£|Hard<br>Landscaping<br>Soft<br>Landscaping<br>Tools<br>Totals<br>0.00<br>0.00<br>0.00<br>0.00<br>998.58<br>27.50<br>0.00<br>1026.08<br>0.00<br>0.00<br>0.00<br>0.00|
|---|---|
||998.58<br>27.50<br>0.00<br>1026.08|
||Hard<br>Landscaping<br>Soft<br>Landscaping<br>Tools<br>Totals<br>0.00<br>0.00<br>0.00<br>0.00<br>13980.09<br>302.52<br>0.00<br>14282.61<br>0.00<br>0.00<br>0.00<br>0.00|
||13980.09<br>302.52<br>0.00<br>14282.61|



## **Creditors** 

All creditors are due to be paid in full within 12 months of the accounts. 



New Milton Community Garden
Asat
31-Dec.23
Profit & Los5 Account
Balance Sheet
Income
Donations
Sponsorship
Interest
otal
36492.02
Fixed Assets
14282.61
22.80
36514.82
C8sh
26102.21
Total Assets
40384.82
Expenses
Hard Landscapln8 depreciarion
Tools depreciatlon
ree Support depn.
Sundry fools
P14nts
Plant sundries
Sundry Materials
Trees
T￿e Supports
InSura￿e
PrintirE & Staiionerv
Advertising
Meetlng
ccountin8 C05t5
Other cost5
oral
998.58
0.00
27.50
0.00
Creditors
5678.67
Accruals
300.00
Accum. Surplus
34406.15
8,99
0.00
0.00
157.00
120.41
411.19
60.00
300.00
25.00
2108,67
Accurn. Funds
40384.82
Surplus
344Q6.15

NEW MILTON COMMUNITY GARDEN
Independent Examiner's Reportto the Trustees of New Milton Community Garden
I report on thè accounts of the Trust for the year ended 31￿ December 2023 which are set out on the
attached.
Respectlve responslbllitle8 of trustees and examlner
The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's twstees
consider that an audit Is not required for this year lunder section 144121 of the Charity Act 2011 Ilhe
2011 Act) and that an independent examination is required.
It 1$ my responsibility lo..
examine the accounts (under section 14S of the 2011 A¢tl',
lo follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commission
(under section 14515llbl of the 2011 Acll, and
lo slate whether particular matters have oome to my allenlion
Bas18 of Indepondent examln$r'8 report
My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity
Commissioners. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a
comparison of the accounts presented with those records. 11 also in¢lude5 consideration of any unusual
items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as Iruslees concerning any
such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an
audit, and consequently no opinion is given as lo whether the accounts present a true and lair view
and the report is limited lo those matters sel out Sn the statement below.
Independent oxamlnor'8 8tatom•nt
In connection with my examination no matter has come lo my attenlion'.-
which gives me reasonable cause lo believe that in any material respect the requirements to
prepare accounts which accord with the accounting re¢ords and ¢omply with the accounting
requiremenls of the 2011 Act have not been mel
to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding
of the a¢¢ounls lo be reached.
Terence L Smlth CA
38a Statlon Road
New Mllton
Hampshlre
BH25 6JX
15 Aprll 2024