## **SWALCLIFFE VILLAGE CHARITY**
## **Registered charity number 1209392**
## **TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] MARCH 2026**
## **Registration and Objects**
Swalcliffe Village Charity was registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation on 1[st] August 2024. The objects of the Charity are:
(1) the provision and maintenance of a village hall for the use of the inhabitants of Swalcliffe without distinction of political, religious or other opinions, including use for: (a) meetings, lectures and classes, and (b) other forms of recreation and leisure-time occupation, with the object of improving the conditions of life for the inhabitants.
(2) to advance such charitable purposes (according to the law of England and Wales) as the trustees see fit from time to time by the provision of grants to other charities or organisations furthering charitable purposes for the benefit of the inhabitants of the village of Swalcliffe and the surrounding area.
## **Trustees**
The trustees who have served during the year are:
Nico Borkmann (resigned 31[st] March 2026)
Martin Collett (chair)
Kate Foley
Stephen Gandy
Laura Holloway
David McLindon
Peter Morgan (treasurer)
Ian Purvey
The Revd. Emily Robottom-Scott was co-opted as a trustee on 1st April 2026.
## **Address of the Charity**
The Charity’s address is Swalcliffe Village Charity, Swalcliffe Village Hall, Green Lane, Swalcliffe, Banbury, OX15 5EQ. (www.swalcliffe.org)
## **Structure, governance and management**
The Charity’s Constitution is based on the Charity Commission’s foundation model constitution for a Charitable Incorporated Organisation and the trustees are responsible for controlling the work, management and administration of the Charity on behalf of its beneficiaries. The trustees, one of whom may be nominated by Swalcliffe Parish Council, elect the chair and the treasurer, and hold regular meetings in person or electronically. Written policies have been agreed for key areas of the Charity’s activity and trustees’ responsibilities and conduct.
## **Activities**
The Charity teams up with residents and community groups to help raise funds that can be allocated to benefit the village and those that live in it. It aims to complement existing volunteering and fundraising in the village but also to enable further benefits available to registered charities such as the collection of gift aid on some types of donations and by acting as a vehicle for local grant applications. It also assists community groups through the provision of infrastructure such as website and other publicity, invoicing and financial record keeping, ‘Sum-up’ machines etc.
A major aim of the Charity was that it should become the new custodian of Swalcliffe Village Hall. Following consultations with the local community and Parish Council, the Hall has now been leased by the Charity on a long-term lease with effect from 1[st] April 2025 and oversight of management of the Hall has passed from the Parish Council to the Charity. This effectively replaces a 100-year-old charitable trust with another more modern and better suited arrangement that should also allow the Hall to access more grant opportunities to cover the cost of the ongoing renovation and maintenance work.
## **Achievements and performance**
The trustees met a number of times in the period, supplemented by electronic discussion, to run various community and fund-raising events and to assist other community organisations similarly. It has ensured a smooth transition of the Village Hall to its oversight. Grants have been made to various village organisations.
The largest fund-raising event for the Charity was the organisation of a Harvest Supper in the Village Hall which raised £3,250, 40% of which was passed to Swalcliffe Church, 20% to Swalcliffe Playpark, 20% to the Village Hall, the remaining 20% being retained to boost the Charity’s reserves. Other events benefitting the Charity are noted in the Receipts and Payments Account.
Whilst the Village Christmas Market in 2025 was run under the auspices of Swalcliffe Church and the proceeds are not therefore included in the Charity’s accounts, the Charity did assist in the event by invoicing and collecting receipts from stall holders and has also helped the Church with other fundraising through the use of its Sum-up machines.
The trustees are grateful to the trustees of the Reverend John Loggins Charity who have agreed that the portion of the annual funds of that charity that are allocated to Swalcliffe should be made over to the Swalcliffe Village Charity. The Loggins Charity owns 20 acres of land in Sibford Gower, the rent from which is used to provide financial support to seven villages in Warwickshire and Oxfordshire of which Swalcliffe is one. The amount due to Swalcliffe is about £200 a year and a £600 backlog was transferred to the Swalcliffe Village Charity in May 2025, and a further payment of £200 in February 2026. The aims of the Loggins Charity are the prevention or relief of poverty and to help the elderly, those with disabilities and the residents of the community. The bulk of the initial receipt was used to help pay for road speed signs. This was seen as fitting use of such funds because, as well as being of
general benefit to the community it will also be especially helpful to the older or disabled who might find crossing the Main Road in the face of fast traffic more difficult than others.
The Charity has distributed funds in the period in accordance with its objects as follows:
|Swalcliffe Play Park
St Peter and St Paul Church
Expenses of the Christmas carols event
Speed signs
Christmas events (Parish Council)
|£
1,050
1,300
285
500
250
_____
£3,385|
|---|---|
The Charity has also decided that £650 (20% of the Harvest Supper proceeds (see above)) should be designated for Village Hall purposes.
## **Financial review for the year**
Surplus receipts before distributions were £6,923 and amounts distributed by the Charity were £3,385 leaving an excess of receipts over payments of £3,538 that represents the increase in accumulated distributable funds.
Total reserves carried forward are £12,686, but much of this (£10,529) is represented by the Village Hall bank balance which has been designated as solely for the use of the Village Hall. A high level of such reserves is considered prudent given the periodic need for repair or refurbishment of the Hall. Other than this, the Charity intends to build up a reasonable level of freely usable reserves over time to be available for payment should the need for payments or distributions exceed the available income in any particular year.
## **Declaration**
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the trustees:
Martin Collett
Date: 21[st] April 2026
## **SWALCLIFFE VILLAGE CHARITY**
## **ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2026**
## **RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT**
|
**RECEIPTS**
Village Hall hire income
Return of Village Hall reserves from Parish Council
Transfer of funds from previous Village Fund
Grant from Parish Council to the Charity
Grant from Parish Council towards Hall insurance
Christmas Market net proceeds
Egg rolling donation
Loggins Charity donation
Harvest supper net proceeds
Oktoberfest donation
Guess the Sound of Music net proceeds
Pub quiz proceeds
Other donations
**_Total Receipts_**
**PAYMENTS**
Village Hall running expenses
Acre Village Hall Advisory Service
Land Registry fee for Village Hall
Website costs
Lottery fee
Charity annual insurance premium
Cost of Sum Up machines
Other
**_Total Payments_**
**SURPLUS RECEIPTS BEFORE DISTRIBUTIONS**
**DISTRIBUTIONS**
Play Park
Church
Village Hall (before Swalcliffe Village Charity ownership)
Christmas carols event
Speed signs (Parish Council)
Christmas events (Parish Council)
**_Total distributions_**
**NET INCREASE IN FUNDS**|**Year ended 31/3/2026**
**£**
**£**
4,098
980
20
0
685
0
406
800
3,250
706
482
110
37
**11,574**
4,135
50
45
302
20
99
0
0
**4,651**
**6,923**
1,050
1,300
-
285
500
250
3,385
3,538|**8 months ended 31/3/2025**
**£**
**£**
-
-
500
500
-
4,169
0
0
0
500
0
0
66
**5,735**
-
0
-
0
20
96
284
9
**409**
**5,326**
1,449
1,390
1,390
200
0
0
4,429
897|**8 months ended 31/3/2025**
**£**
**£**
-
-
500
500
-
4,169
0
0
0
500
0
0
66
**5,735**
-
0
-
0
20
96
284
9
**409**
**5,326**
1,449
1,390
1,390
200
0
0
4,429
897|
|---|---|---|---|
||||4,429|
||||897|
## **SWALCLIFFE VILLAGE CHARITY**
## **STATEMENT OF ASSETS AS AT 31ST MARCH 2026**
|**Bank and cash balances at start of year / period**
Swalcliffe Village Charity NatWest
Swalcliffe Village Charity Cash
Swalcliffe Village Charity Paypal
Swalcliffe Village Hall NatWest
**_Total brought forward_**
Add receipts less payments for the period
**Bank and cash balances at end of year / period**
Swalcliffe Village Charity NatWest
Swalcliffe Village Charity Cash
Swalcliffe Village Charity Paypal
Swalcliffe Village Hall NatWest
**_Total carried forward_**|**31/3/2026**
**£**
**£**
696
201
0
8,251
9,148
3,538
1,919
201
37
10,529
**12,686**|**31/3/2025**
**£**
**£**
0
0
0
-
0
897
696
201
0
-
**897**|**31/3/2025**
**£**
**£**
0
0
0
-
0
897
696
201
0
-
**897**|
|---|---|---|---|
|||||
||||**897**|
## **RESTRICTED AND DESIGNATED FUNDS AT 31ST MARCH 2026**
Amounts of the balances above that are restricted or designated for specific purposes are as follows:
Amounts received from the **Rev John Loggins Charity** that are **restricted** for use in the prevention or relief of poverty and to help the elderly, those with disabilities and the residents of the community.
|||**£**|**£**|
|---|---|---|---|
|**Balance at 1st April 2025**|||**0**|
|Receipts during the year|||800|
|Utilised for:||||
|Grant towards cost of road safety speed signs||500||
|Grant towards community Christmas carols event||100||
||||600|
|**Balance at 31st March 2026**|||**200**|
|Amounts paid into the**Swalcliffe Village Hall**bank account that are**designated**for use for Village|||Hall|
|purposes.||**£**|**£**|
|**Balance at Village Hall bank account at 1st April 2025**|||**8,251**|
|Hire income received during the year||4,098||
|Return of Village Hall reserves from Parish Council||980||
|Grant from Parish Council||685||
|Payments (grant) from Village Charity bank account to Village Hall bank account||650||
|||6,413||
|Less: Utilised for payment of Village Hall running expenses||4,135||
||||2,278|
|**Balance at Village Hall bank account 31st March 2026**|||**10,529**|
|Signed||||
|P Morgan, Treasurer|Date|21st April 2026||
## **SWALCLIFFE VILLAGE CHARITY**
## **NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS**
## **1 Donations**
Donations include any associated Gift Aid receipts.
## **2 Village Hall**
The Charity took over Swalcliffe Village Hall by a long term lease with effect from 1st April 2025. The receipts and payments of the Village Hall are thus included in these accounts as from 1st April 2025. The Village Hall retains its own bank account for its hire income, running costs, grant receipts etc as detailed further under the _Restricted and Designated Funds_ analysis on the previous page of these accounts.