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Trustees of the Town Estate YARDLEYS CHARITY
Registered Charity number: 227363
Financial Report and Statements for the year ended 30th September 2023
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## YARDLEYS CHARITY
## Trustees of the Town Estate
## CONTENTS
|Legal and Administrative Information|Page 1|
|---|---|
|Report to the Trustees|Page 2|
|Statement of Financial Activities|Page 4|
|Balance Sheet|Page 5|
|Notes forming part of the Financial Statements|Page 6|
|ReportoftheIndependentAssessor|Page10|
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## YARDLEYS CHARITY
Trustees of the Town Estate
## Legal and Administrative Information
## Trustees
Robert Caton (Chairman) Philip Leeder (Vice-Chairman) Marion Jossaume Simon Latham Matthew Latham Miles Leeder Adrian Lowe Paul Meader (Churchwarden) Ann Pickhaver (Churchwarden) Jane Preslanc
Independent Assessor Thomas Johnson, Livermore House, High Street, Great Dunmow, Essex, CM6 1AW
Bankers Barclays Bank plc., 12a Market Place, Saffron Walden, Essex, CB10 2LA
Solicitors Tees, 68 High Street, SaffronEssex, Walden, CB10 1AD
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## YARDLEYS CHARITY
## Trustees of the Town Estate
Report of the Trustees for the Year 2022-23
## Constitution and Objects
The Charity is usually known as Yardleys Charity Town Estate and has been in existence since 1490 when it was known as Yerdeles.
The object of the Charity is the distribution of its nett income to the Town Estate Ecclesiastical Charity (one-third) and the Town Estate Non-Ecclesiastical Charity (two-thirds).
The Charity owns the freehold of Yardleys Farm, Thaxted and its income is derived from the rent of the farm, farm buildings and from investments.
## Organisation
The Trustees are set out in the Legal and Administrative Information appended to this report. The Trustees are appointed by the existing Trustees at such times as they deem necessary. The Vicar and the Churchwardens of the day automatically hold office. The Trustees meet at least twice a year, in July and December and at such other times as circumstances dictate. An annual inspection of the farm is also carried out.
The number of trustees is currently ten. Reverand Gerwyn Capon has been appointed as a trustee after joining Thaxted Parish in 2023.
The farming tennant, G A Wisbey and Son Ltd. have continued with their tenancy during the financial year.
The farmhouse remains let on a domestic tenancy and is managed by Mullocks (Land Agents) appointed by the Trustees to manage the letting of the property on their behalf.
The Trustees remain responsible for grass maintenance of the property and for general maintenance of all unlet buildings.
The small 'Atcost' Barn has been let on an annuai renewable basis to April 2020 at a rent of £3,600 per year.
A local photographer rents the smaller timber barn to use as a studio. After a change of use was obtained through the local authority he has carried out a conversion of the building to suit his purposes. A lease is being negotiated but is anticipated to include a rent free period to compensate for the renovation costs.
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The large grade 2 listed barn and the open cart shed have been retained by the Charity and it is hoped to convert them into domestic dwellings to be let under separate tenancies in the future when funds allow.
The maintenance of the unlet barns and the areas outside of the farmhouse and the areas of land outside of the farming tenancy is therefore the Trustees responsibility.
## Reserves Policy
It is the policy of the Charity to maintain a Farm Development Fund to finance any major structual repairs or improvements deemed necessary to the farm buildings. The amount retained for this purpose is reviewed annually by the Trustees. The majority of this fund is invested in the COIF Charities Investment Fund. In 2017 - 18 a significant proportion of this fund was expensed in the improvements of the farmhouse to bring it up to current standards necessary to let.
## Trustees’ responsibility in relation to the financial statements
The Law appliciable to charities in England and Wales requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the Charity's financial activities during the year and of its financial position at the end of the year. In preparing these financial statements the Trustees are required tc:-
1. select suitable accounting practices and to apply them properly and consistently;
2. make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
3. state whether applicable accounting standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed subject to any departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and;
4. prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume the Charity will continue in business.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy, at any time, the financial position of the Charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 1993. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by:-
R. D. Caton (Chairman Date AL AL Ch Ga |
## J P Date AL AL Ch Ga
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## YARDLEYS CHARITY
## Trustees of the Town Estate
## Statement of Financial Activities
For the Year Ended 30th September 2023
|i.|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|i.|||2022-23||2021-2022||||
||||Note|£||£|||||
|,|Incoming Resources:||||||||
||Rent||||||||
||a
a|**Farm**
house
Atcost Barn||**2**8**,**4**0**0**.**00
1 6 6 68
3,900.00|53,906.68|**2**8**,**400**.**00
1 755 88
3,300.00|=|53,455.88||
|-a
a|Alan HockleyBequest -FinalPayment
Wayleaves||66.02||66.02
-||||
||Bank interest||-||||||
|J=
=|Investment Income
Main Investment||4,637.88||4,305.63||||
|J=
=|A.H Bequest
FarmDevelopmentFund||4,623.32|9**,**327**.**22
63 233 90|4,303.43||8**,**675**.**08
62 130 96||
|.=
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=|Resources Used:
Insurance
Farm
Trustees Pl||4,096.98
325.74|4,422.72|3,408.75
__325.68||3,734.43||
||
|_a
|_a
a|Professional fees
Stipend|7
Ej|2,000.00||2,000.00||||
|_Z
|
Z|Legal fees
Accountancy
Other|7
7d|1,200.00
600.00|3,800.00|_ 1,200.00||3,200.00||
||Farm Repairs and Improvements|8|8,030.80||1,475.40||||
|_
|
™|Maintenance ofUnoccupiedFarmhouse
Accrued costs|9
6|7,000.00||-
12,434.60||||
||Farm and Barn Maintenance|10|5,231.97||1,238.80||||
|‘Ss
|
ia|Transferred toAlanHockleyBequest
TransferredtoFarm Development Fund||14,000.00|34,262.77|*
20,000.00
a||35,148.80||
|"Ss
["Ss
20,748.41
20,047.73
ss
Net Incoming Resources
20,748.41
20,047.73 **|**
:|||||||||
|*
Allocated as follows:
a4
Ecclesiastical Charity
6,916.14
6,682.58
Non-ecclesiasticalCharity
13,832.27
13,365.15|||||||||
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## YARDLEYS CHARITY
Trustees of the Town Estate
## Balance Sheet
For the Year Ended 30th September 2023
|||Note||2022-23||||2021-22|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|:|Fixed Assets
Freehold Property
investments at Cost
EDF
AH Bequest
FarmDevelopmentFund|2
2
2|||72,000.00
144,500.00
37,425.00||||72,000.00
144,500.00
37,425.00||
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||||
|:
2|Current Assets
Debtors
BankBalances
Barclays CurrentAccount
CO F Deposit Fund
Debtors|2|71,143.76
63,145.06|134,288.82
-
134,288.82||900.00
50,329.69
52,913.51||104,143.20
-
104,143.20||||
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|
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|||
|F
.|Less-Current Liabilities
Creditors failingduewithin
one year|3||69,748.41
64,540.41|64,540.41||_|54,482.33
49,660.87|49,660.87|||
|
|||
|4|TotalAssets lessCurrent Liabilities||||318,465.41||||303,585.87||**|**||
|||||||||||||||
|||||||||||||||
|||||||||||||||
|a||||||||||||||
|r
*|Funds - At Cost
CharityCapitalAccount
Farm DevelopmentAccount|4
5|||216,123.00
90,300.00||||216,123.00
56,299.78|||
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|||||||306,423.00||||272,422.78||||
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## YARDLEYS CHARITY
## Trustees of the Town Estate
Notes to the Financial Statements 30th September 2023
1. Accounting Policies i Income
Rental income is included in the accounts as due; interest receiveable and other income is dealt with on a cash basis.
ii Expenses Major costs outstanding at the year-end are provided for in the accounts; routine expenses are dealt with on a cash basis.
## iii Fixed Assets
The Charity owns the freehold of Yardleys Farm, Thaxted but the property is vested in the Official Trustee of Charity Lands which holds the property in trust for the Charity. No book value for the property is included in the financial statements, nor is any corresponding book value reflected in the capital account as the Farm was endowed in the Charity in 1490 ad has remained in its ownership ever since.
## 2. Investments Main Investment
|a|Main Investment|||
|---|---|---|---|
|a||2022 / 23|2021 / 22|
|F
i
£
£||||
|=
At cost:||||
||Charities Official Investment Fund|||
|_|8,482.96 income shares|42,000|42,000|
|a|Charishare Common Interest Fund|||
||19,354.839 income shares|30,000|30,000|
|_||||
|>||72,000|72,000.|
||Market value at 30th September 2023|||
|#|COIF Fund|158,748|154,732|
|aT
—|Charishare
BlackrockCOIFFund|136,853
63,145|128,980
52,914|
||||358,745|336,625|
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||2022 / 23|2021/22||
|---|---|---|---|
||£|£||
|Alan Hockley Bequest||||
|At cost:||||
|Charities Official Investment Fund||||
|10,145.77 Income shares|84,300|84,300||
|Charishare Common Interest Fund||||
|19,157.397 Income Chates|60,200|60,200||
||~144,500|144,500||
|Market value at 30th September 2023||||
|COIF Fund|189,865|185,062||
|Charishare|135,995|128,171||
||325,860|313,233||
|Farm Development Fund||||
|At cost:||||
|Charities Official Investment Fund||||
|3067.38 income shares|37,425|37,425||
||||.|
|Market value as at 30th September 2022||||
|COIF Fund|57,402|55,950||
|||;||
|3.
Creditors: amounts falling due||||
|within one year||||
|Owing to the Farm Development Fund|40,000|20,000||
|Owing to the Trustees of Yardleys|2,000|2,000||
|Ecclesiastical Charity|6,916|6,683||
|Non-Ecclesiastical Charity|13,832|13,365||
|Accruals|7,000|12,435—||
||69,748|54,482||
|4
Charity Capital Account||||
|Main Investment||||
|Balance as 1st October 2022|71,936|71,936||
|No change in the year||||
|Alan Hockley Bequest||||
|Balance as at 1st October 2022|144,187|144,187||
|Payments made into fund||||
|Balanceas30thSeptember2023|216,123|216,123||
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||2022 /23
£|2021/22
£|
|---|---|---|
|5
Farm Development Fund|||
|Balance at 1st October 2022|76,300|56,300|
|Allocated from income and expenditure account|14,000|20,000|
|Income from investment|-|-|
||90,300|76,300|
|Less Expenditure on Farmhouse Renovations|-||
|Balance at 30th September 2023|90,300|76,300|
|6
Accruals|||
|Church Hall Repairs|-|-|
|Farm Repairs|7,000|7,435|
|Storm Damage Grant|2|=|
|Photographic Studio Work|-|5,000|
||7,000|12,435|
|7
Professional Fees|||
|Stipend|2,000|2,000|
|Legal Fees|1,200||
|Accountancy fees|600|1,200|
||3,800|3,200|
|8
Farm Repairs and Improvements|||
|Improvements and refurbishment of Farmhouse|7,680|-|
|Electricity Meter in Atcost Barn|-|1,475|
|Sewage inspection|160|-|
|Shower replacement|191|-|
||8,031|1,475|
|9
Maintenance of Farmhouse|||
|Council Tax|-|-|
|Water Supply|-||
|Cleaning|-|s|
|Heating Oil|-|:|
|10
Barns and Unlet Areas Maintenance|||
|Grass cutting|1,440|640|
|Repairs|2,878|-|
|Water|408|509|
|Electricity|507|-|
||5,232|1,239|
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## 11 Farmhouse and Barns
Improvements to the Farmhouse were completed in April 2018 and the house was offered for let by Mullocks Land Agents. A one year renewable tenancy was agreed with a prospective tenant who took occupation in April 2019 at a rent of £1,995.00 per month. The Trustees engaged Mullocks to manage the tenancy on their behalf for a fee of 9% plus VAT.
The tenant that took occupation of Atcost Barn in April 19 continues their annual renewable tennancy at a rent of £300.00 per month.
The smaller timber barn was converted into a photographic studio by the tenant at their own expense. A lease is being negociated on the barn, and is anticipated to include a rent free period to compensate for the expenses incurred in the conversion.
The trustees have retained the other farm buildings for possible conversion to tenanted residential use in the future and have therefore taken responsibility for their care and maintenance and the maintneance of the areas outside the farmhouse garden which do not form part of the Farming Tenancy.
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# YARDLEYS CHARITY
## Trustees of the Town Estate
independent Examiner's Report on the Accounts For the year to 30th September 2023
## Responsibilities of the Trustees and the Examiner
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As the Charity's Trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts.
You consider that an audit is not required for this year under Section 43(2) of the Charities Act 1993 (the 1993 Act) and that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibility to:-
examine the accounts under section 43 of the 1993 Act
follow the procedures laid down in the general directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 43(7)(b) of the 1993 Act, and
state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
## Basis of the Examiner's Statement
My examination was carried out in accordance with the general directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes a consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you concerning such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair' view ofthe accounts and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
## Independent Examiner's Statement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in, any material respect, the requirements:to keep the accounting records in accordance with section 412 of the 1993 Act; and
to preoare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting records of the 1993 Act have not been met:
or 2. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
SionedProfessionalrtQuéalification:Name:Fireshomes eae. Date: 2bb/ab/202M Address: Liveemoss Wont GC SDowme, Cele aa Page 10
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