AUGUSTA NONA HUNT for ALMSHOUSES Known as ST. MARY'S HOMES (Registered Charity No. 206075) ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS Year Ended 31$t December 2024
POR The Tnjs8 present their annual report and the flnancial statements for Augusts No Hunt for Almshouses, known St Mary's Homes Godstone for the year ¢nded 31 December 2024. The financlal statemcnts have ell prepared in &¢ordance the attounting policies and comply with tpie ChItICS Act 2011 and the Charities Sial¢m¢nt of ReConmllded Practic¢ {s¢cond addition) and Financial Reportitig Standard FRS 102. TrUSTEES Rev P¢t¢r O'connell (¢x officio) Chaim]&n Gra1ll Millar (r¢slgwl 22. Febrnary 2024) J0arll Gre80ry Nicholas Barker Kalhorine Christmas Louise Case Jonathan Oaks (tesigned 26th of September 2024) Michael CoJ)neely (appointed 22nd of February 2024) ADDRESS St. Mary's Ilomes Cburch Lane Godstone Surrey RH9 8BW HISTORY St. Mary's Home8 were founded in 1872 in the quiet and pleasant Lhurch 1 own aTea of Godston& They were dcyigncd by Str Georg¢ Gilbert Scolt and comprise eiglit residential units and a small oh4ipel. Each of the units. consists of at1¢48t a sitting roo bedroom, bathroom and kitchen, Th¢ buildiiigs are twranged amund three sides of a courtyatd In the centre ofwhlch standg aft old ii'ell. The Homes w¢r¢ founded throu&4 Ihe sole g¢nerosity of Mrs. Augusta Nona Hunt Ivho moired Éo Wonham House in thc parish of Godstone with her infant daughter, Mabel Fanny, having been suddenly. wrydowed at a young age. Contenlporaries record the p¢rsonalAty and piety of the young widow and describe her as being "of a singularly lovable nature, devot to everything that is pur¢ and beautiful alld given to good Tragically Mabel Fanny dled (m 271k Jun¢ 1872 shortty aft¢r her eighteenth birthday and Mrs. Himt resolved lat¢r that yearto commemoTate her daughter by e5tablishins SL Mary's Homes. Over the years accommodation his been provided for many IOCAI people in TRed. It was not originally necessary forthe reskdents to contribu1¢ to the running of the Hom¢8
but. du¢ to increased nwlntenanc¢ costs and in particular, the rising pri¢¢ of fuel and other public ultlities, the Sidents hav¢ been required to make weekly contributions since 1971. When they were bviftt the standard of the Homes was basic but ¢onstdered acceptable for the times. In order to keep up with th¢ rising standards expected fro thi8 type of aCmMOdatiOn suc¢es$iv¢ g¢n¢rations of ttvstees have carried out improvements to enhance the comfort and am¢nitles of the accommodation. Strueture, Governane¢ ind Management After Mr5. HuDt's death in 1878. tbe Homes were maintain¢d by her fthiily until 1901 when their administration was taken over by Trust¢e8 app)int¢d from th¢ parish of Godston¢ und¢¥ a Deed Poll dat 4 January 1901. This ststes that the Homes should be used to accon)modate people in financial need who are "aged or infirni persons of good ohara¢ter" preference king given lo those applicants residing in th¢ parish of Godslone or having som¢ longstanditig conneetion with it. The Homes are a Registered Charity (no. 206075), a member of The National Association of Almshouses and Englisb H¢ritsge. The Homes h8v¢ also histori¢ally be¢n known as Augusta Nona Hunt for Almshouses. The chairn)An of Trustees is designated to be the Rector for the Parish of (jOdOne and IN)th the Rector and the churChwaS) of th¢ Parislj arc app)int¢d ex-officio. (hher new tnleeS are appointed at the discr¢tion of the curent trustees. The InteeS recognise the need for the appropriate induction of new tteeS and the training of existing tntee8. Th¢ oryanisational structure ofihe charity is that the tTrle¢S are responsible for Tuuning of the Homes on a volunt¢er basis. There are no employees. Th¢ trustees m¢¢t at leasi twice a year to approve the budgeL set maintenance eontributions and approve the financial a¢¢ounts. The trustees revi¢w the risks to which the charity is eXsed and se¢k& to mitigats t1¢ risks. The trustees comiDi&sAoned 3 Fire Risk Assessment in September 2022 and are currently ithplementing the recommendations wet out in the report. It is ¢onsider¢d thal th¢ primary economic risk facing the Home$ is the likeliho(xl that due to the limiteil size and current layout of some. of the flats that Jn the future it will b¢ difficult to fllJd suitable r¢sidents who will regard the Homes as an attradiv¢ place to reside. This would have a profound impact on ihc viability of the Homes. Objeetlves and Aetlvltles In accordance with the spirit of the founding dUrnellts. the objects of the charity Jre to Provide a11)mOdatiOn to single perso$ or couples, who ar¢ eith¢t ag¢d ot infirnied. in ftharEcial n¢cd and who are able to l(K)k a themselves. Wherever p055ible preference will be given to applicants who hav¢ a connection with Godstone and its environs.
Achlevement gud Perfonknittee The Homes have been fully occupied for whol¢ yeor. Work ha5 been pMSSed ontbe improvement plans dev¢loped following the Fitt Risk Assessment. The remaining work wil& be planned to coordinate with the uylated ating syst¢m. In May 2024 the Valuation Offiee Agency revaluated the ¢quival¢nt fair r¢nts of lh¢ home& The results were as follows; Flats land 2 Flats 3,4,5,6 Flat 8 Flat 9 £155 per week £145 weck £195 per week £235 per week The cotttributions CUErently paid by residents renMin b¢low this level. FlnanelAI Revlew The Homes's receives income from beneficiaries, weekly maintenance ¢ODtrlbulions int¢rest ld dividends arising from th¢ investment portfolios and cash baIau¢¢s and donations and legacies. The financia] positton of the Hotnes as at 31 D¢c¢mb¢r 2024 was satisfa¢tory with a surplus in the gveneral fulld of £12.554, aftertransfers to reserves and b¢fore revaluatio of the investment assets, as shown in the accounts. The ¢o$ts of energy is a signifi¢ant numing costs of the homes. As utilities are included in the resident's weekly nIntenance contributlon there is little incentive for residents to mindful of their heating usage and th¢ heating and ¢l¢ctri¢ity Costs ar¢ very higb for th¢ siz¢ ofAats. The investtnent assets held by the ¢Ilty comprise the Endowment Fund and Ihe General Fulld together with two Reserve Funds which have been builtup 8nd authorised at tates approved by the Almshouse Association and the Charity Commission. These reserve fimds ¢omprisc an ExOrdinary Repair Fund ("ERF'? and a CycliLal Maint¢Dance Fund ("CMF'). Although the fully authorised arnount capable oftransfer to the ERF has aivRys been achieved. thig has not always been possible for the CMF th* to limii¢d resources. It 1$ th¢ policy of th¢ Trnste¢s to roaximisc availabl¢ rerVeS con)mensurate with, firstly, likely tUre maintenance requ1Mellts und, SL%ondly, keeping residents, weekly contributions at an acceptable level. Investm The investment policy adopted by the I1¢eS is to seek to secuffj a balance betwee Mlmis1g income to supplement residents, weekly contributions thilst maintaining and enhancing capital vatues to keep with inflation and the likely future cosis of ensuring the obje¢ts of the charlty are achievable and sustainable in the futuK. PSe 6
Rathbone Investment Managem¢Tht Ltd manage the Homes investhient wjrtfolio on behalf of the trustees. Th¢ itivestments are SUMSed in the accoimts and shown at the mark¢1 value at 31 December 2024. Plans for Ihe Futhre Th¢ Trust¢¢s are awar¢ of the need for continual improv¢m¢nt to the stsndard of a¢commodation in order to maintain a hisb occupancy level thereby ensurlng the viabllity of th¢ Hom¢s. The truste¢s ar¢ exploring heAting options that will enable each flat to be heated Separately enabling beneficiaries iiill become Eesponsible for paying for the heat they use. The kn]stees are also investigating possible impTov¢thents to the insulation of the flats. The trustee r¢port was approved by the trustees by the clwity on 28 of February and Signed on its behalf by: ChaiThan ?(Lge 4
CHARITY COMMISSION I FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the tru5teesl embers of Augusta Nona Hunt tor Almhouses On accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024 Charity no (if any) 206075 Set out on pages I report to the trusteos on my examination of the accounts of the above charity I'fhe Tnjst") for the year ended 3111212024 Responsibilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation basis of report of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 {llhe Acr?. I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145{51(b) of the Act. I have completed my examination. I confirm Ihat no material matters have ome to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect.. Independent examiner's statement accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or the accounts do not accord with the accounting records I have no concems and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Signed: Date: Is/ L ?Oz Name: Barbara Palricia Kite Relevant professlonal qualification(s) or body (if any): Fellow Chartered Accountant and Business Finance Professional - Institute of Chartered Accountsnts in England and Wales Chartered Tax Adviser- Instituie of Taxation Address.. 4 The Waldrons, Oxled, Surrey. RH8 9DY P&fje S
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