Bradninch Town Trust Report of the Trustees for the year ending 31 December 2023. Charity number 200847. Current Correspondence Addre55: Springfield, Millway Bradninch Exeter EX5 4NL The Trustees of Bradninch Town Trust present their annual report and independently examined accounts for the year ended 310ecember 2023. The Trust was created by a scheme of 1889 to take over the assets of the former Corporation of the Borough of Bradninch which had been dissolved by the Municipal Corporations Act of 1883. The principal asset was and is the Guildhall ir¢ Bradninch and the principal duty of the Trust is to maintain the Guildhall as a reading room and a place of recreation and assembly for the inhabitants of Bradninch. To this end. the Trustees hire out the various rooms and facilities in the Guildhall for a range of organisations and individuals. These are overwhelmingly used by local residents. The Trustees had regard to the Charity Commission'5 guidance on'Public Benefil. Other assets are= a house which is let on a commercial basis; a small piece of land attached to the Guildhall which is rented as a garden to a neighbour,. an endowment fund held in a portfolio of investment funds and a general fund also held in a portfolio of investment funds. The Trustees of thls Trust are also Trustees of Bradninch Parochial Charities12014961. George Pearse's Educational Foundation13068501 and the Roger Hepburn Educational Foundation13069231. The full complement of trustees is four Representative Trustees who are appointed by Bradninch Town Council and five Co-optstive Trustees who are appointed by the trustees. Trustees for 2023 were.. (Margaret) Jane Webber, Chalr.. Town Council Appointee. Term ended in November. Philip Chambefs, Contact.. Town Council Appointee. Jenny Richards: Co-opted by the Tnjstees. Resigned in June. Martin White.. Co-opted by the Trustees. Resigned in May. Nigel Coveney.. Appointed by Bradninch Town Council Anne Porteus (from 13th June).. Appointed by Bradninch Town Council Ronald Purcell Ifrom 21" July): Co-opted by the Trustees Anthony Richards Ifrom 12 December): Appointed by Bradninch Town Council Sally Livsey Ifrom June 23rd).. Co-opted by the Trustees Jim Buxton Ifrom December Ilthl: Appointed by Bradninch Town Council The Clerk's position was vacant and Trustees shared her responsibilities between themselves (see below). During this time the Trust did not have an explicit policy on reserves but did maintain a separate account holding funds not involved in the Guildhall lettings income and expenditure which is used for buildin8 repairs where giants cannot bè obtained. An endowment fund is held in an investment account with the aim of providing a small income while maintaining its real value in the long term. Another non-endowment fund 15 held in an investment account with the aim of maintainin8 its value in the long term. Lettings income is returnlng to normal. with regular events including Saturday coffee mornings raising valuable funds for community organisations and some new events. It became clear that the stair-lift was no longer fit for purpose. Planning approval had been achieved in 2022 to upgrade mobility actess, intluding installing a platform lift, 50 It was decided that the lift element of the plans should be brought forward. Until that could be achieved, so as to maintain disability access for the Town Council meeting, a temporary replacement for the stair-lift was installed on a rental basis. I wish to record here my thanks to the trustees Isee the list above) for the work undertsken alongside me as a committed team, all of whom are volunteers, working according to the Governlng Schemes of the Trust. All have given many hours of their time and expertise to great effect. The Russion invasion of Ukraine and other world factors had resulted in very large increases in the cost of Gas and Electricity. These are a substantial part of the cost of runnin8 the Guildhall and the Trust could see at the beginning of the year that the Lettings Account would be in deficit by the end of the year. This made it clear that it would not be possible to appoint a paid Clerk. So, the Trust continued without a Clerk and Phil Chambers continued with finaTr￿ and laptop administration and was on call with practical help: Jenny and Ron ran the on-line lettings system between them and Jenny continued to take minutes alongside other tasks. Nigel continued to assists with working on the lease of the electricity substation site at the rear of the Guildhall and progressing the Trust application for C.l.O. status. Ron oversees heating systems, promotion of the guildhall and lendin8 a practical hand. Anne took the lead in updating policies and took over from Jenny takin8 minutes of monthly meetin85. No small grants were offered to local organisations this year owing to lack of income and upcoming project needs. We rely upon our charitable statu5 and lettings for income, and our policy is to keep Guildhall charges at an acceptable level. The fvture- Towards the end of the year energy prices had started to fall, making the situation for 2024 look less stark. The TrLtStees continue their wish to consult with the community and listen to ideas and comments to improve the facilities and activities at the Guildhall and these can be made as above or to any Trustee. We depend on local support. Thank you to the community of Bradninch for their generous sUPPOrt once again over the last year. We are proud of the service which our Guildhall provides and of the achievements in the past year and we look forward to a successful year ahead. Signed on behalf of the Trustees: Chair of Trustees Town Trygl YJ23 Trnvn Tru•t ￿610(￿￿*¥1 >)22 £8.010 4 t15.79 £7.￿¢0 t￿?.C R￿Pt0 £8.4104£Y) f60 £1x)or £OAJ) £oc t60r £33201 £0 £250r ai £1.M65 8 & £0 £2M152 t70£ £110 £1.701 37 £175C £1 340 12 102.1 T