JUBILEE INSTITUTE ROTHBURY
CHARITY No 227913
ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24
1. ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS
1.1 Address Jubilee Institute Bridge Street Rothbury Morpeth Northumberland NE65 7SD
1.2 Trustees during 2023-24
Paul Cramman Chair, Projects & Grants Fred Bogyor Vice-chair & secretary Ian Webber Minutes secretary & Security Shona Walker Treasurer Christine Abbs Invoicing treasurer Pat Moloney IT & Security Jaime Atkinson Storage mgt & Security Andy Baugh Website and social media Steve Brown Facilities Management Graeme Leck Cinema Robert Mills Warm Hub
1.3 Employees
The charity has one paid employee, acting as part time caretaker and booking clerk.
1.4 Governing document
The governing document under which the charity operates is a Scheme (Trust Deed) adopted on 15[th] October 2009 prepared with the guidance of the Charity Commission. Title to the land and property covered by the Scheme is vested in the Official Custodian for Charities. The Scheme specifies that the Trustees should be elected each year at the Annual General Meeting, and their number should be between 10 and 15. This document was varied at the AGM in 2023 and subsequently placed with the Charity Commission in November, 2023. The Trustees subsequently elect the chair, secretary, and treasurer from among their number. On appointment Trustees are provided with copies of the Scheme and relevant Charity Commission guidance concerning their duties and responsibilities. Ten meetings of Trustees are normally held each year. All Trustee time is given voluntarily, and no Trustee receives any remuneration or other financial benefit.
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2. PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND
2.1 Object of the Charity
This is stated in the Scheme as follows:
The object of the charity is the provision and maintenance of the Jubilee Institute, Rothbury, for use by the inhabitants of the area of benefit without distinction of political, religious, or other opinions, including use for:
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(a) meetings, lectures, and classes; and
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(b) other forms of recreation and leisure-time occupation
with the object of improving the conditions of life for the inhabitants.
2.2 The Jubilee Institute, its use and financial support
The Jubilee Institute is a large building with a variety of rooms and facilities, ranging from the 250seater Angus Armstrong Hall through three meeting rooms for up to 50 people down to several smaller rooms and storage areas. There is a kitchen and further kitchen facilities in two other rooms. The main hall has a stage, film projection and surround sound and another ground floor room has a large screen TV. The building is located in a central position of Rothbury and has provided a social centre for the area for many years. The premises are licensed for public entertainment and the licence also currently covers the sale of alcohol.
The building continues to be used as a command, control and welfare centre for the emergency services as demonstrated on 21 October 2023 when heavy rain and subsequent flooding caused by storm Babet resulted in some residents having to be evacuated.
The main source of income comes from hiring rooms to individuals and organizations for a wide variety of purposes. All room hire is covered by contracts agreed between the Trustees and the user or user group. Users with long-term contracts normally include the Scouts, a club for the over 60s, and the Coquetdale Amateur Dramatic Society. Also, in normal times, there is a wide range of 20 to 30 other regular users covering such activities as Keep Fit, the study of local history, Council meetings, U3A sessions, a craft market, Cinema holding two showings per month, music rehearsals, and wildlife groups, as well as the Parish Council. Individual bookings include uses for wedding celebrations, music festivals, dances, parties, and local and national elections. Occasionally
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commercial organizations hire the facilities, but preference is always given to non-profit making organizations.
The Patrons Scheme, through which local inhabitants make regular donations to the Institute, is a valuable contribution to finances. This, with associated Gift Aid receipts, is applied to long term and capital expenditure aiding the Trustees to make improvements to the premises that might otherwise not be possible. Our thanks go to the Patrons for their continued support.
The Trustees also run social events of various types to raise funds.
Grants for capital expenditure are obtained whenever possible.
To help keep on top of occasionally complex administration, the Trustees receive regular advice on charitable operation from CAN (Community Action Northumberland) for which we are most grateful.
We are currently working towards our Hallmark 3 in the quality standards scheme for village halls.
3. MANAGEMENT REPORTS FOR 2023-24
3.1 Activities and Progress (Paul Cramman)
This report covers the period April 2023-March 2024. The Financial Reporting Standard 102 requires that this report should show evidence of what the Rothbury Jubilee Institute is set up to do, how it does it, and what is achieved as a result of its work. Ultimately it is the users of the Hall, and the people of Coquetdale who must judge if we have met our purpose as set out in the Constitution (see Section 2.1 of this report: Object of the Charity).
The monthly management meetings have continued to be well supported by the eleven Trustees, where all management and financial matters are discussed. A quarterly Newsletter is now in production and has been well received. A new simplified website has been created that is easier to maintain, keep up to date and provide links to other applications such as room booking.
After listening to feedback from some of our existing users and reviewing the booking process of other halls it was decided to trial the Hallmaster Room Booking System. If implemented it should remove the risk of double bookings, allow customers to book on-line, simplify invoicing, improve reporting, align heating with room booking and provide a central point for customer contact details.
Our environmental and financial savings initiatives have progressed well with the LED lighting and smart heating controls completed. The solar panel and battery contracts have been signed with Flowing Energy Solutions All these initiatives will make us a greener building while also reducing costs and our total reliance on grid services.
Paul Cramman and Fred Bogyor attended the CAN village hall week at Morpeth County Hall to interact with other hall Trustees and listen to presentations on how halls can go green. It was reassuring to get confirmation that we are on the right track for making the Jubilee Institute as environmentally friendly as we can.
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This year the Trustees have worked closely with the Christmas lights committee and were delighted to have Christmas lights on railings outside the hall and the “Welcome to Rothbury” lights on the side of the building. The larger lights will be stored in the Howarth room until Christmas.
More usable space has been created in the Simonside room by removing unused cabinets and relocating them in the Howarth room for secure storage for the repair café. All unused items have been removed from the Howarth room creating a safer environment.
This year’s green projects have largely been financed by grants and donations secured by the chairman.
A new amp and cinema screen were purchased this year replacing end of life equipment.
The Warm Hub continues to support the local community with energy saving advice and free products to assist with energy saving. Notice boards and leaflet drops in meeting rooms have kept the halls customers informed of Warm Hub services. A Warm Hub energy grant of £1200 was gratefully received helping towards our winter energy costs. Pottery classes funded by the Warm Hub proved to be a great success.
Administration documents are now stored in the Cloud cutting down the amount of paperwork that necessarily accumulates with the running of such an enterprise as the Jubilee Institute.
At the time of writing this report one of our long serving Chairman and Trustees of 14 years has advised us he plans to step down. Pat Moloney’s dedicated service to the Hall has been exemplary as a Trustee and then chair. Pat has been selfless in his service to the community by keeping the hall in good order for local residents. In true Pat fashion he will continue to be involved with the cinema and has offered to still share his extensive expertise and knowledge of all things Jubilee Institute with existing Trustees.
Finally, I would thank to thank all the Trustees for their dedicated contributions to the running of the Jubilee Institute.
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3.1.1Fund Raising and Other Events
The Duck Race was again very successful but sales were affected by the only cash machine in Rothbury being out of Service. We hope to sell all our ducks in the coming event by acquiring card reading facilities.
Quarterly u3a and Trustee quiz nights have proven very popular and provided additional funds for the hall. Attendance at cinema has picked up in the last few months of the year and new equipment (new amplifier, DVD and screen) were installed.
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3.1.2 News of Users and Usage
We value all our customers and we are grateful for their support.
The Hall continues to be well used for a variety of activities; our top 10 customers are listed below
The table below shows our other regular customers and those that book between 1 and 5 sessions in the Hall.
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3.1.3Maintenance and Improvement
The kitchen has been painted and the oven has had a deep clean.
Damp has been discovered in the bridge street entrance. A blocked drainpipe may be the cause and damp proofing may be required.
Generally, the Hall is in very good condition for its age, in no small way due to the continued hard work put in by our caretaker, Fiona Foreman, to whom yet again we owe a large debt of thanks for the care and effort she puts into her responsibilities, both as caretaker and booking clerk.
3.2 Priorities and Objectives for the coming year.
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Perform painting of the rooms as per this year’s schedule.
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Investigate if grants are available for a new kitchen and floor sanding.
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Install a new more efficient boiler in the kitchen.
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3.4 Treasurer’s Report for the Year ended 31 March 2024 (Shona Walker)
These accounts cover the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. They have been agreed by the Trustees, audited by an Independent Examiner and will be submitted to the Charity Commission. Trustees authorised to carry out online transactions are Shona Walker, Pat Moloney and Christine Abbs, who are also cheque signatories on the Institute’s bank accounts.
Summary ( 2022/23 figures in italics, in brackets )
We returned a revenue surplus (increase in current reserves) for 2023/24 of £1,420 ( 2022/23 deficit £7,545 ). Investment reserves increased by £1,732 (£855).
This is a good financial performance, given the level of price increases sustained, and our reserves position remains healthy. However, there are significant price increases in the pipeline, and we face many budgetary pressures in 2024/25.
Income
The 2023/24 accounts reflect healthy demand for community spaces and the return of most groups that had been affected by Covid. In anticipation of inflationary price increases, we reluctantly increased room hire charges at the start of the financial year. However, room hire revenue was 11.4% up on the 2022/23 figure and covered cost increases.
The only major change from the previous year was in the level of grant income for capital projects, £6.5K (£10k) . This reflected the fact that we had moved on to Phase II of the Edison Energy Project (LED Lighting and installation of heating controls) and this was 100% funded by the National Lottery through CAN . We continued to receive a Warm Hub grant of £1.2k (£1.2k ) toward energy costs.
Fundraising (mainly through the annual Duck Race) and Cinema gave us profit of £3k. Funds were further boosted by Susan Barwood, who kindly donated all the profits from her calendar sales, and regular quizzes held in conjunction with the u3a.
Our Patrons continued to support us through their generous donations, contributing £1806 to our funds earmarked for capital spending.
Expenditure
Revenue expenditure was stable in most areas, but increases in the costs of maintenance contracts and their renewal were a concern. Our costs for Telephony and broadband have been kept down because of hosting the Alncom technology, and we have benefitted from continuation of fixed price energy contracts for a significant part of the year. However, the latter are under renewal and will require marked additional budget for 2024/25. Energy costs for 2023/24 appear lower than 2022/23, but in 22/23, although subject to subsidy, were also significantly affected by emergency usage during the storms of that year.
Capital & Non-current Spend
Expenditure on Edison, and grant funding has been mentioned above. In addition, our own reserves were applied to completion of Phase 1 of Edison (£2K) and the replacement of aging cinema and speaker equipment (£2.2k)
2024/25: we face the full year impact of increases in our energy prices, and many demands on our replacement and renovation budget. Phase III of Edison (replacement solar installation) will not be fully grant-funded, and cost of living pressures continue to hit our users. However, we have taken the decision NOT to increase prices in 2024/25, believing this is the best way to serve the community.
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| 3.4.1 | 2023/24 2022/23 Revenue Account £ £ Income Room Hire 19,503 17,506 Cinema & Fundraising 4,637 5,074 Insurance & Utilities 679 315 Admin & Misc 74 518 Interest savings accounts 129 25 Gift Aid &GASSD 988 726 Patrons Donations 1,806 1,834 Grants 7,659 11,200 Gifts & Donations 340 37 Income derived from Activities 35,815 37,234 Total Income 35,815 37,234 Expenditure Room Hire 0 0 Cinema & Fundraising 1,692 1,470 Insurance & Utilities 10,242 11,404 Admin & Misc 4,721 5,376 Gifts & Donations 203 50 Maintenance: major 10,744 20,402 Maintenance: minor 6,795 6,076 Operating costs 34,396 44,778 Net Operating Surplus/(Deficit) 1,420 (7,545) Transfers in Patrons A/c Funding for Major Works 3,042 6,420 Transfers out Allocation to Patrons Account (1,806) 1,834 Net Transfers to Fundraising (3,600) 1,348 Allocation of interest (129) 25 Total Expenditure 42,844 46,637 Gen A/c Movement foryear (1,073) (1,635) Movement on other Accounts Patrons A/c Income 1,806 1,834 Patrons A/c Expend 3,042 6,420 Patrons A/c change (1,236) (4,586) Fundraising A/c Income 11,229 13,700 FundraisingA/c Expend 7,500 15,023 Fundraising A/c Change 3,729 (1,323) Net Revenue Surplus/(Deficit) foryear 1,420 (7,545) Investment Income CCLA a/c Income 1,732 855 CCLA a/c Change 1,732 855 Net Surplus/(Deficit) for year 3,152 (6,690) The Jubilee Institute Rothbury Registered Charity: 227913 Income and Expenditure Account for the year ended 31 March 2024 |
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| Balance Sheet for theyear ended 31 March 2024 | |
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| Cash at Bank & Investment Account |
3.4.2
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Independent ExamIne8 Report Jubll•o Insti1• Aeeounts for the year end•d 31 March 2024 I have ccrfnF4eted my examination. I confimi that no matenal matters have come to my attenti¢)n In connethon V•rth the examination whith gives me cause to beIve that, In any matenal resp•a, aCcntIj record5 nol kept in accordane• ¥th $ects" 130 of the cttarrt Act I have no corKems and have come across no thr matters in connection wrth the examinatton to attenlion should be drawn in order to enable a proper underslandirKJ of Examln•r Sn•d: i l L4£gL- L. A. LhNfetr Dats: N•rr: Jubll•• IMtltut• Trna•ur•r snI. Ily 2a2 li
3.5 Trustees Roles and Res onsibilities 12
4. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES FOR 2024-2025
These specific objectives are intended to be supplementary to the underlying overall objectives of maintaining the Jubilee Institute facilities, attracting and serving the community needs of Coquetdale through our users, and ensuring financial stability. They require confirmation by the new management committee of Trustees for 2024-25 after election and are inevitably dependent upon available finance.
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Publish the full history of the Rothbury Jubilee Institute in a format that will be readily accessible to the people of Coquetdale.
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2.Complete the installation of Solar Panels and batteries.
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Apply for Hallmark 3 Status
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Paint Simonside room and skirting of the Armstrong Hall.
Apply for Hallmark 3 status.
- Create an operational and maintenance manual for the institute.
Report signed on behalf of the trustees .
Signature:
Name: Paul Cramman Position: Chair of Trustees Date: 23[rd] May 2024
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