2025-03-31-accounts - The Buckden Recreation Ground And Village Hall Trust

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.


Trustees' Annual Report					for theperiod
From	Period start date			To	Period end date
	01	October	2024		31	March	2025

Section A Reference and administration details

Charity name Buckden Recreation Ground and Village Hall Trust

Other names charity is known by Buckden Village Hall Trust (“BVHT”)

Registered charity number (if any)[1203696 ]

Charity's principal address Buckden Village Hall

Burberry Road Buckden St Neots Cambridgeshire Postcode PE19 5UY

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

Trustee name	Office (if any)	Dates acted if not for whole year
Kevin Loakes		23/06/2023
TonyCook		23/06/2023
Trevor Mews		23/06/2023
Cynthia Alers	Treasurer	23/06/2023
Hamish Masson		23/06/2023
Michael Lander		23/06/2023
Matthew Beldam	Chair	23/06/2023
Catherine Beldam		23/06/2023
Marie McIntyre		23/06/2023

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

Name	Dates acted if not for whole year
Buckden Parish Council(Custodian Trustee)	1 Oct 2024 to 31 March 2025

March 2024

TAR

1 of 6

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)	Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)	Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)
Type of adviser Name Address

Accountants	Streets	Potton House, Wyboston Lakes, Great North Road, Wyboston, Beds, MK44 3BZ
Bankers	Unity Trust Bank	4 Brindley Place, Birmingham B1 2JB
Solicitors	HCR Hewitsons	Lancaster House Nunn Mills Road Northampton Northamptonshire NN1 5GE

Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)

Matt Beldam, Chair Cynthia Alers, Treasurer

Section B Structure, governance and management

Description of the charity’s trusts

Type of governing document (eg. trust deed, constitution)

Constitution granted by the Charity Commission June 2023

Charitable Incorporated Organisation How the charity is constituted

(eg. trust, association, company)

Elected at the Annual General Meeting Trustee selection methods

(eg. 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.

This year the Trust transitioned from an unincorporated charity to a charitable incorporated organisation. We were granted a new constitution by the Charity Commission with a new registration number. All assets were transferred from the old charity to the new legal structure. For this reason, separate financial accounts have been prepared for the old and new charity entities. Please refer to Buckden Recreation Ground and Village Hall Trust, charity number 302629 for financial information for the first half of the year up to 30[th] September 2024. The accounts filed as a part of this return reflect the transfer of monies from trust 302629 to this trust on 1[st] October 2024.

Recruitment and Appointment of Trustees :

The Board of Trustees are volunteers that offer themselves as trustees at each Annual General Meeting. The trustees are all village members. On appointment, each Trustee is provided with a Charity Commission information leaflet outlining the role of a charity trustee and given an induction to the BVHT’s work by one or more of the Trust’s officers. It is expected that Trustees will execute their duties with a view to the greater good of the viability of the Trust, and not their particular interest.

Trustees are encouraged to participate in training seminars and webinars. The Trust subscribes to the government body ACRE (Action with

March 2024

TAR

2 of 6

Communities in Rural England) for training and updated guidance on best practice and regulation.

The Hall Manager maintains an agreed risk register and records any accidents. Regular regulatory maintenance checks are also carried out by either the Hall Manager or specialist accredited contractors.

The Trust takes corporate governance and risk assurance very seriously, and during the year renewed its Hallmark 1 excellence rating (administration and management), as judged by the government body ACRE (Action for Communities in Rural England), a government advisory body under DEFRA promoting management excellence and best practice in village halls.

The Trust also achieved Hallmark 2 accreditation for excellence in HSE, security and licences.

The Trust is currently working toward Hallmark 3 accreditation for community involvement, social awareness and strategic planning.

Section C Objectives and activities

The object of the CIO are: a. The provision and maintenance of recreation grounds and a village hall for the use of the inhabitants of the Parish of Buckden and Summary of the objects of surrounding area without distinction of political, religious or other the charity set out in its opinions, with the object of improving the conditions of life for the governing document inhabitants, including use for: i. meetings, lectures and classes, and ii. other forms of recreation and leisure-time occupation. The facilities are used by a wide range of organisations within the village, including the Parish Council’s offices, county library, village social club, preschool and various sports clubs for which there are Summary of the main activities undertaken for the appropriate leases and/or hire agreements in place. public benefit in relation to these objects (include within Other groups and individuals hire the hall and grounds for this section the statutory conferences, dances, receptions and performances. As a charity, the declaration that trustees Trust offers competitive hire rates for residents (who qualify for modest have had regard to the discounts) and non-residents. guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit) The Trustees confirm that they have acted in accordance with the requirements of the Public Benefit guidelines without favouring any specific group or people.

Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)

March 2024

TAR

3 of 6

You may choose to include further statements, where relevant, about:

policy on grant making;
policy programme related investment;
contribution made by volunteers.

We continue to work with national and local funding bodies to raise money for building improvements and upgrades to our facilities. Over the financial year, we raised c. £25,000 in grant funding which was used to fund healthy living programmes for people with dementia and improving the energy resilience of our facilities by converting to LED lighting and increasing insulation levels. We were also the beneficiary of a legacy which is being used to upgrade our facilities with new carpeting, refurbished soft furnishing and external maintenance.

Section D Achievements and performance

Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year

Conversion to CIO

Review of legal and governance frameworks Renewal of various leases with inflationary cost increases Enhanced pitch maintenance Successful fund-raising for various projects Accreditation as ACRE Hallmark 1 and 2

Strong working relationship with the Parish Council on joint objectives for Buckden residents

Section E Financial review

It is the policy of the charity to maintain sufficient unrestricted funds to Brief statement of the cover the day to day running costs of the charity and to respond to charity’s policy on reserves specific expenditure requirements as considered necessary. The trustees consider that the minimum level of reserves should be equivalent to three months average expenditure and should maintain free reserves of £30,000. This amount is under regular review.

Due to the change in legal structure over the year, from unincorporated charity to a CIO, the financial performance of the Trust must combine the results under this charity 1203696 with the unincorporated charity 302629.

Total revenues for the combined Trusts rose 5%. Income from leases fell 10% due to timings on lease renewals which in some cases are not annual. Hire income rose strongly by 33% due to increased corporate hires, regular events and Buckden Parish Council’s activity programme for young adults and healthy living classes. The weekly class of activity Staff and utility costs continue to be our major categories of expenditure, with operating costs continuing to increase, primarily due to market factors beyond our control. Staff and utility costs continue to be our major categories of expenditure, with operating costs continuing to increase, primarily due to market factors beyond our control. Utility costs (gas, electrical and water rates) again increased 10% and are the largest cost item at c. 43% of operating income. Staff costs rose by 14% due to increase in the National Living Wage and the addition of one part time staff member to 28% of operating income. Set against an increase in operating income of 5%, this demonstrates the challenge small charities are facing.

March 2024

TAR

4 of 6

Repair and maintenance costs increased substantially by 70% but were almost totally funded by grants and legacy donations. Our main building dates in parts back to the 1970s with many repairs necessitated by ageing infrastructure. Our fund-raising, which has been very successful, focused on upgrading our climate resilience, with roof insulation and conversion to LED lighting throughout, enabling the Trust to pass these savings on to tenants and hirers. A programme of refreshed interior decoration, including painting, carpeting and soft furnishing replacement was entirely funded by a generous legacy. As much of our income is derived from conference and event hire, these repairs were deemed essential by the Trustees. Solar panels, installed almost ten years ago, continue to reduce our energy consumption, with these savings passed on to tenants and major event hirers.

Professional fees, the other major item of expense, related to the ongoing conversion to a new CIO legal structure, increases in our property valuation, insurance increases and lease negotiations.

The accounts filed as a part of this return reflect the transfer of monies from trust 302629 to this trust on 1[st] October 2024.

The Trust closed the year with total cash balances of just over £150,000 between the current account, project account (works in progress and restricted funds that transfer to the main current account to pay for works) and CCLA deposit account. Cash balances increased by 9%, due to unspent restricted grants, work in progress, legacies and deposit insurance.

Details of any funds materially in deficit

The Trustees continue to monitor all areas of the Trust’s activities but are comfortable that the current level of reserves is appropriate. The Trust manages its finances in a conservative and prudent manner and has remained solvent for over 30 years.

Further financial review details (Optional information)

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;
investment policy and objectives including any ethical investment policy adopted.

The principal source of funding is rental and hire income which has been spent on improving the sustainability of our facilities and maintaining a high-quality venue for conference hire, special performances and event hire.

Revenues from leases and hires increased 5%, underpinned by inflationary increases in leases and hire rates and increased corporate hires and event bookings.

Staff costs rose 14% in line with increases in the National Living Wage, overtime costs and the addition of one part time member of staff. Utility costs again remained our largest expense at over £45,000. We review our utility contracts on a regular basis and use energy brokers to secure the most advantageous pricing.

March 2024

TAR

5 of 6

Repair and maintenance costs increased substantially in the year, in part due to legacy and grant income which was used to upgrade our conference facilities and repair ageing infrastructure.

The rise in professional fees reflect continued legal work on lease renewals and conversion to a new legal structure as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation.

We actively fund raise to undertake projects requiring larger capital expenditure and which will enhance our facilities for tenants, hirers and residents in line with our Trust objectives. Over the year, we secured grant funding to:

Convert all lighting to LEDs to reduce energy costs. Savings are passed on to tenants (Green Business Impact Programme).
Enhance insulation installed in all roof cavities to improve heat retention. Savings passed onto to tenants (Green Business Impact Programme.
Maintain the playing pitches (Buckden Parish Council).
Initiate a dementia activity and social weekly class (Huntingdon District Council with the Parish Council).
Improve plantings in the nature area (Huntingdon District Council).
Replace derelict public footpath (FCC Landfill).

Some of these projects are still in progress and will complete in 2026.

Section F Other optional information

Risk Management

The Trustees are aware of the major strategic, business, and operational risks which the charity faces. We confirm that systems have been established to enable regular reports to be produced, so that necessary steps can be taken to lessen these risks.

Section G Declaration

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

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s) Cynthia Alers Matt Beldam Cynthia Alers Full name(s) Matt Beldam Treasurer Position(s) Chair 2 September 2025 Date(s) 2 September 2025

March 2024

TAR

6 of 6

Streets. Independent examinerfs report to the Trustees of The Bkden Recreotion Groundand Vlllage Hall Trust I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Buckden Recreation Ground and Village Hall Trust (the Trust) for the period ended 31 March 2025. Responslbllltles ond basis of report As the charity trustees of the Trust you are responslble for the preparation of the accounts In accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 {'the Act'}. I report In respert of my e¥amlnatlon of the Trust's accounts carrled out under sertlon 145 of the 2011 Act and in Carrying out my examination I have folk)wed all the applicable Directlons given by the Charity Commisslon under sertion 14515llbl of the Act. Independent exomlnerfs ststement I have completed my examination. I confirni that no materlal matters have come to my attention in connertlon with the exarnlnatlon 8lvln8 me cause to belleve that In any materlal respect: accountin8 record5 were not kept in respect of the Trust as requlred by 5ectlon 130 of the Act; or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records. I have no concerns and have come across no other matters In connectlon wlth the examlnation to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understandlng of the accounts to be reached. Linda J Lord FCA Streets Chartered Accountants Potton House, Wyboston Lakes, Great North Road. Wyboston. Bedford. MK44 38Z Date.. 14January 2026 01480 3730)0 I bedfordcstreets.uk l ¥JvM.5IYeets.[

CHARITY WMMISSION -1 FOR ÉNGLANO AMD WAIES Rocol ts and ments accounts CC16a To 01I1Dr2O24 31103Q02S Sectioii A Receipts aiid payinei)Is fund• nds fuTrd• Iw•J• L•rty••r A1 R•c•l l Hq# n>J$ ARJ F¥doe•i•or w4ncow•l 17V41 173,W 3.7 17WJ trf•i A4 A•••t •nd Inv••tm•nt Sub tot 93.814 19.IY) l.S32 A• Calh fund• y••r•nd 166 165.32 C¢XX fl1 ISSI LW12029

Section B Statemeiit ol assets aiid liabilities at tlie end of the period R••irk hbnd EftdoTh•nt fund• e.attrqors Deialls lund# h•r•itt 81 CA•h fund• Lthty8 lJ•.410 T4it•l e••h fund• 18S,32$ Unmtrlct•d lund• RMtrtct•d lund¥ lunda ooiai15 FuThd 10 C•M{OMlon•ty wlu• 83 Inv••tm•nt ••••ts B4 A•••t• r•t•ln•d lor th• ¢h•rity• own u•• 8y(dryn V••y H 4,SOQ,OOQ P¥tyl. Ckn d C I,OQO,DOi F¥Thd 10 85 Llblllll 3.180 Sqn•d ty one Ifue* c haw rh• truil•es tur• Prlnt Name Dale ol rovHI T) 11 FOSL&(I CCXX R2 accoun15s) 0510812025