RETREAT CHARITY (Charty registrathon nurn￿r 23871￿) ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2024 1. SUMMARY The Charilies Act. 2011. sel out a requirement for the Trustees of tharities to Prepa￿ an annual reP￿t of their activities and to txjblish a statement of its financial affairs. T Retreat has a tumover of more than £10,000 per annum and so is not exempt from this requirement. This means that there is a public record of Ihe finanaal activits'es of the Charity during the period 1st January 2024 to December 31 st 2024.This report covers the pericxl from 1st January 2024 to 31 st December 2024. Three full meetings of the trustees were hekl in the year. One Trnstee ￿Signed in September 2024. He held the p)st of Treasurer and kindly agreed to o)ntinue to oversee the accounts until a replacement was appointed. The Trustees are grateful to David Frost for his Serv1￿ and commrtnEnt over many years. There were no void ￿ri(KIS. and the same four Re&dents Oc￿pIed the prcp8rties thr(xJghout the year. In April 2024 an increase in Weekly Maintenance Contribution (WMC) was applied which raised the amount paid by each resident from £150.00 to £160. This increase was aimed at reducing the gap between the Charity's WMC and the Local Housing Allowance available to Ihose eligtble fcr soc4al housing. The need to complete all the works stated in the Quinquennial Inspection report has been the focus of attents'on throughout much of the year. The Charity conts.nues to enjoy a healthy balance in the current account and Business Reserve AcAx)unt. No transfer5 have been made to the Extraordinary Repair Fund as the pending refurbishment work meant that easy access to the current aCc￿nt would be the most convenient way to finance these. The financial reports appear at the end of this docun*nt. A more detailed report on ttr￿ alK)ve lopi￿ is contained on the following pages. but Ihe Iruslees are confidenl that the aims of Ihe Charity have been fulfilled. narnely:_ to run the Charity in accordance with the terms of the Trust Deed. to maintain, and wherever possible. improve the almshouses. to safeguard and strengthen the finances of the Chanty to supp)rt its adjectives. and to support Ihe resi(lents to live gcrf)d lives. Trustees 2.1 The Charity's Trust Deed drawn up in 1893 requires thal seven Trustees are aptK)inted (to include the Chairn￿n and Seuetsry) arKI that of this number four sI￿uld be male and three wjnen. T*Y> of seven $￿Uld be Members of the Church of England and the remainder should be in membership of one of the other Churches in Stony Stratford. It was agreed in 2018 that these stipulations with regard to gender and religious allegiance are nol considered acceptable in today's society and now the main qualities required of a Trustee stM)uld be d￿ndability, Integiity, arm1 a willingness to *cept the 2.2 A debt of gratitude is owed to each arKI every one of Trustees for the time. effort and skills freely donated to the Inte￿Sts of the Charity. As can be seen from the accounts. no Trustee receives any payment of any kind for serrfices rendered to the Charity, other than way of reimt)ursement for authorised expenses incurred on the charity's behalf. 2.3 After discusswjn with the Charity Commission. il appears that none of our residents would be considered vulnerable. However. the Trusiees agreed that it ￿)Uld be wise lo have all serving Truslees DBS checked. 2.4 A full list of the Trustees of the Charity who held office in 2024 is Sh￿ as an Appendix to this rep￿1. 3. Occu ants of the Almshouses Cottage No.1 Martha Keilty start date 1st July 2016 Cottage No.2 June Sanotra start date 2nd May 2022 Cottage No.3 David ClowEley start date 2nd May 2022 Cottage NkJ.4 Jennifer Pezzella stsrt date 21 st November 20￿ (previously at No.2) 3.1 There is one pernon on the waiting list. 3.2 The resident of number three made a number of complaints during the year relating to rM)ise ernanati￿j from Nmter four. t￿ring the year, the Trustees arrdnged for an Acxxjstic Supley to be (xyiiplebj. This re&8sured the Trustees Ihat the level of Sour￿ insulation bebNeen numbers three aThJ four is adequate and that no remedial w(￿k was recommended. V4• 4. Re airs and maintenance Bathrcxjm in number four converted to wet room Asbestos management survey (rK)thing of concem reported) 'nw maintenance wotk8 Two radiators replaced in number one. Replaced three radiator valves in number two Adjust tsp and replace shower valve in number three. Ease and adjust ffjar door on number four 5. Finance 5.1 The Weekly maIntena￿e Conlribution was raised from £150 to £160.00 with effect from 1st April 2024. This 6.7¥0 increase is part of a plan to dose the gap between WMC and the Local Housing Alkmance set for the ￿u1valent properties. 5.2 Three of the knr residents pay Weekly Maintenance COntrit￿li0n by bank Standing Order. One resident is in receipt of Mitton Keynes Local h￿sIr￿j AlkMar￿ which is paid directly into the Charity's bank account every four weeks. 5.3 The Charity's final accounts the year ending 31st December 2024 accompany Ihis report. The following explanations may lead to a fuller uThJerstanding of some of the fvJures. 5.4 The charity maintains two (2sh acc￿nts al the Natwest Bank for th8 day lo day (x>nduct of rts affairs. These are: 5.4.1 Current account inlo which the tenants. Weekly Maintenance CThitribulions and h￿SIng benefits are paid. The payments for heating oil, utility services. insurance premiums. minor rnaintenance an(1 repairs. and other auth(Kised expenses are made from this acc(xJnt. At the end of 2024 the balance in this account was £21.213.54 5.4.2 A Charities Reserve Account which is used as a repository for any access cAsh ￿ld in the current accwnL It is an interesl eamirvJ account all¢ywirKJ short term deposits and immediate withdrawals and is c¢Msidered as an extension of its revenue funds and not as an investrnent. The amount in the accounts al the end of 2024 was £18.417.33. 5.5 The Charity inveslments fall into one fijnd. This is: 5.5.1 Extraordinary Repair FurKI This reserve ftjnd can be drawn upon to meet mapr items of repair by application to tr fund managers without the prior consent of the Charity Commissbon. It is held in the National Association ofAlmshouses Comrnn Investment Fund (NAACIF) as accumulation shares ajministered by M&G Investments. During 2024 no transfers were made into this fvnd, preferring to hold readity ￿edible funds in the current account. The annual valuatlon of the fund has reflected the rise in equity investments and shows an increase of £2,636.85 on last year, to stsnd at £35,516.17 at the end of 2024. 5.6 Membership of the Almshouse Association continues to provide smaller tharities such as the Retreat, with representation at national level in discussion with Govemment and such bodies as the Charity Commission, whose decisions can have a major effect on the way that the business of all registefed charib'es Is conducted. The subscription not only covers regular bulletins ￿ events of interesl to almshouse &1ministrators bunl brings n0tffKats￿ of courses being run by the Association which are a benefft to Trustees. 6. In conclusion 6.1 The pasl year has seen all the properties occupied and a full quots of serrfing Trustees. The Chanty conb'nues to be in a FM)Sition where fundirKJ projects as above can be cfjns￿ered t￿t it is appropnale to review Ihe a￿trIbU￿.￿S made to the Extra(xdinary Repair Fund. 6.2 There are still major works lo be done as a result of the Quinquennial Inspection i.e. replace the roof on all four dwellings. This will involve considerable cost af)d drain the reserves. but the Trustees are already kx)king at the possibly of obtaining grants for this type of Wofk. Er&1 k £pRFr. cKtsr 3DI9125 APPENDIX to the Charity's Annual Report 2023 RETREAT CHARITY TRUSTEES 2024 Chairman: Mr Robert Scarff Elected 6th December 2018 147 High Street. Stony Stralford MK111AT 078834 902737 Treasurer and Secretary: Mr David Frost RETIRED SEPTEMBER 2024 3rd December 2009 34 Calverton Road, Stony Str8tford MK111 LE 07398 455684 Minutes Secretary.. Mrs Rebecca Rich Elected 1 st February 2023 13 Bunsty. Galley Hill, Milton Keynes MK111NJ 07749 240668 Maintenance and InspectDns: Mr Derek Beaumont Elected 1 st June 2020 1 Horsefair Green. Stony Stratford MK111JW 01908 562064 Applications and resident well4Jeing." Mrs Kate Willett Elected 19th November 2015 103 Clarence Road. Stony Stratford MK111JF 07753 257361 Resident well-beiThJ: Mrs Susan Stsrr Elected 1 sl February 2023 12 Market Square. Stony Stratford MK11 1 BE 07801930879 Trustee: Rev. CarK)n Professor Patrick Comerford Elected 1 st February 2023 51 a High Street. Stony Stratford MK11 1A 07578 186 I (HARITY IOIAMISSION ,' F￿1 AMD #IM Recei tsand rnents accounts CC16a To Section A Receipts and payments Unrostrlct•d Restricted Endowment Totsl fund8 Last year 2•342 1ti AR) 773 nj M&G A•*•t Bi•ckrock LW arvj h8&1 14.10fj 1A26 276 14.11 122 1.231 17 Sub total 22.114 22.164 12W8 Sub totsl 21161 22.1 12.838 10.M 11.52 39.631 39.•J1 CCXX R1 XC4XKth ISS) Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Unrestrictsd lunds Restrictsd Endowment fvwK ratOqOriO# 81 Ca•h fund8 21214 I•M17 6Ji fund* Detail Detsils B4 A•••ts r•tsln•d for th• charlty'B own u l)•tsi 85 Llablllllos truthe CCXX P2 ISSI ## **Independent examiner's report on the accounts** ## **Section A Independent Examiner’s Report** **Report to the trustees/ members of** Charity Name The Retreat Cottages **On accounts for the year ended** 31 December 2024 **Charity no (if any)** 238706 ## **Set out on pages** (remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets) ## **Responsibilities and basis of report** I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended **31/12/2024** . As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. ## **Independent examiner's statement** I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention (other than that disclosed below *) in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: - 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 concerns 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. * _Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply._ **Signed:** **Date:** 25/09/2025 **Name:** Julie Graham > 1 **October 2018** **IER** **Relevant professional qualification(s) or body:** ACCA **Address:** Connolly Accountants and Business Advisors The Stable Yard, Stony Stratford MK11 1BN **Section B Disclosure** Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners). **Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose** . 2 **October 2018** **IER**