ARMSTRONG HALL. THORNBURY (REGISTERED CHARITY NO. 272883)
ANNUAL REPORT 2020-21
The Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 1995
CHARITY NAME: ARMSTRONG HALL, THORNBURY ADDRESS: TOWN HALL, OLD POLICE STATION, HIGH STREET, THORNBURY, BS35 2AR TRUSTEE: THE SOLE TRUSTEE IS THORNBURY TOWN COUNCIL MANAGEMENT (a) Appointed by Thornbury Town Council COMMITTEE: 1. Jayne Stansfield (Chair) 2. Chris Davies (Vice Chair of Trust) 3. Clive Parkinson (Secretary) 4. Guy Rawlinson (Treasurer) 5. Ashley Bijster 6. Angela Symonds 7. Shirley Holloway 8. Maggie Tyrrell (b) Appointed by Armstrong Hall (Users) Advisory Committee 9. Gill Dunkley 10. Barbara Ray (c) Appointed by the Armstrong Trust 11. Vacant AIMS & OBJECTS: To promote the use of the Armstrong Hall in the interest of social welfare for use as a public hall, community and recreation centre with ancillary uses for the recreation and leisure time, occupation of the inhabitants of Thornbury and the neighbourhood. This use to include meetings, lectures and classes without distinction on Political, Religious, or other opinions with the object of improving the condition of life of the said inhabitants. TRUST FUNDS: The Charity is not endowed with funds and the Trustee holds only the buildings and the land upon which they stand. LAND & BUILDINGS: The Charity owns the Freehold of the following buildings known collectively as the Armstrong Hall Complex: (i) The Armstrong Hall, Chapel Street, Thornbury (ii) The Cossham Hall, Chapel Street, Thornbury (iii) Miss Saise's Cottage, adjoining 67 High Street, Thornbury (iv) 4 Chapel Street, Thornbury
| (i)-(ii) | are fully used for the purposes of the charity. |
|---|---|
| (iii) | is a storage space only which is surplus to requirements and is under |
| review | |
| (iv.) | was purchased with future development and expansion of the |
| complex in mind. It is currently let to another local charity (The | |
| Thornbury and District Heritage Trust), for use as a museum. This | |
| building is currently closed. |
| STAFF: | Due to covid-19 restrictions the Hall Complex closed in March 2020. In May |
|---|---|
| 2020 the Trust conducted a review of the Complex and its situation and | |
| concluded that the complex would not be able to reopen for the reasonably | |
| foreseeable future. The staff employed solely at the Hall and their | |
| employer, the Town Council, were informed of this decision. The Town | |
| Council therefore started redundancy consultations with these members of | |
| staff. The consultation concluded that there was no reasonable alternative | |
| work to offer them and consequently they were declared redundant | |
| and left their employment during the summer 2020. This situation did not | |
| affect the Town Hall based staff, who performed Armstrong Hall duties, but | |
| whose main role was for the Town Council. | |
| In addition, following a review in early 2020 by Town Council auditors of the | |
| relationship between the Town Council and the Armstrong Hall Complex, | |
| the Town Council was advised that they could no longer support the AH | |
| Trust. This separation was completed on 31st March 2021 and there no | |
| employed staff supporting the AH Complex. The complex is now run by | |
| Town Councillors on a voluntary basis. | |
| OPERATIONS: | The Charity's aims and objects are to provide a facility for use as a public hall |
| for recreation and leisure time occupation for the inhabitants of Thornbury | |
| and the neighbourhood with the object of improving the conditions of life | |
| for the said inhabitants. | |
| ANCILLARY | The various ancillary operations have ceased due to the closure of the |
| OPERATIONS: | Hall. |
| ARMSTRONG: | The fund is currently kept in the bank account and earning no interest. |
| HALL | It has agreed by the Trust that the Redevelopment Fund should be |
| REDEVELOPMENT appropriately invested in accordance with Charity Commission guidelines for |
|
| FUND: | managing such funds. At the time of submitting the accounts suitable |
| investment companies are being considered. | |
| ACCOUNTS: | Income and expenditure accounts, together with balance sheet and profit |
| and loss account are incorporated within this report. |
Chairs Statement
This year has been a challenging one for the Trust and all those involved with the Armstrong Hall Community Complex.
Following the national lockdown at the end of March 2020, the start of the year was challenging for the whole nation. The Armstrong Hall faced the same issues all community facilities faced. With the Hall being closed, all revenue ceased, whilst the costs of running the Hall continued.
When it became clear that the Hall would not be able to reopen for some considerable time, the Trust decided that it was not possible to employ the staff. All the staff were employed by the Town Council and engaged by the Hall on an agency basis. Consequently, the Trust made the decision to inform the Clerk. In turn the staff were informed that their roles were at risk of redundancy. As the Town Council were not able to offer comparable roles to them, they were made redundant in August.
In addition, in the early part of 2020, the Trust was informed by the Town Council that the arrangement of the Council staff providing administrative support, would not continue beyond the end of the accounting year. This was deemed necessary by external auditors who had concluded that the Town Council had to separate themselves in all respects from the Trust.
During the year the Trust made the decision to conduct several condition surveys to ascertain what would be required to reopen the Hall complex safely. The surveys, conducted by Chartered Surveyors, Health and Safety Surveyors and Electrical Surveys highlighted significant issues. The estimates provided showed significant costs to conduct the work required to bring the Hall up to the level of being safe to reopen. The Trust reviewed the surveys and together with the prospect of receiving no income, either from hire or receiving the Town Council grant and a diminishing bank balance, made the extremely difficult decision in March to close the Hall permanently.
Finally, all administrative activities, Treasurer, Secretary and related activities are now being conducted by Town Councillors who are responsible for the Armstrong Hall Complex Trust and all its activities.
However, there is some light at the end of the tunnel. The Trust has begun discussions with South Gloucestershire Council and the Thornbury Community Trust, who run the Turnberries community buildings, to explore the possibility of a new building extension to accommodate a performance space.
Jayne Stansfield
Chair, The Armstrong Hall Trust
C H A R ITY C O M M ISSIO N ----- & y FOR ENGLAND AND WALES
Independent examiner's report on the accounts
Section A
Independent Examiner’s Report
Report to the trustees/ members of -fa t A*H5rT7to<OG- HALL , -TVotfrtdO *** y On accounts for the year Charity no ended 31 HAACH _:jl c x z _ (if any) 0 .1 2 6 % 3 Set out on pages** » - 3
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended Responsibilities and As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the basis of report 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 all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent [The charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000 and l am qualifiedTo examiner's statement undertake the examination by being a qualified member of [insert name-of applicable listed body]]. Delete [ ] if not applicable.
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I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination (other than thafr disclosed below-A) which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: • the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
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• the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or • the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report 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: 3 . ii. xoat Name: Relevant professional A *T i qualification(s) or body
IER
Oct 2018
1
Section B Disclosure Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material 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.
IER
Oct 2018
2
ARMSTRONG HALLTHORNBURY REGISTERED CHARITY
BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 MARCH 2021
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2021 2020
LONG TERM ASSETS
Land & Buildings £ 2,697,718 £ 2,619,143
Plant, Furniture, Equipment & Stock £ 53,795 £ 56,036
TOTAL LONG TERM ASSETS £ 2,751,513 £ 2,675,179
CURRENT ASSETS
Trade Debtors £ - £ 2,388
Bank Current A/C £ 35,357 £ 23,724
Bank Misc A/C £ - £ 248
Bank Instant Access A/C £ 123,293 £ 123,766
Petty Cash £ 107 £ 61
Cash Floats £ - £ 400
VAT Control £ 1,101 £ 913
£ 159,858 £ 151,500
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Trade Creditors £ - £ (1,002)
Sundry Creditors £ - £ (560)
Agency Wages Due to Town Council £ - £ (31,177)
£ 0 £ (32,739)
TOTAL NET CURRENT ASSETS £ 159,858 £ 118,761
TOTAL ASSETS £ 2,911,371 £ 2,793,940
NET ASSETS REPRESENTED BY
Long Term Assets £ 2,751,513 £ 2,675,179
General Fund Balance £ 36,565 £ (5,005)
Earmarked Reserves £ 123,293 £ 123,766
£ 2,911,371 £ 2,793,940
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CERTIFICATION
The above Statement represents fairly the financial position of the Charity as at 31 March 2021 and reflects its Income & Expenditure during the year of account.
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2021
ARMSTRONG HALL THORNBURY REGISTERED CHARITY
MOVEMENT OF LONG TERM ASSETS AS AT 31 MARCH 2021
LAND & BUILDINGS (At Insurance Valuations)
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Armstrong Hall £ 2,387,364
4 Chapel Street £ 226,799
Miss Saises Cottage £ 83,555
£ 2,697,718
Insured Value 31.3.20 £ 2,619,144
Increase in Value during 2020-21 £ 78,574
Armstrong Hall B/fwd £ 55,644
Additions
Disposals
Depreciation £ (2,226)
£ 53,418
4 Chapel Street B/fwd £ 392
Additions
Disposals
Depreciation £ (15)
£ 377
£ 53,795
TOTAL LONG TERM ASSETS £ 2,751,513
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PLANT FURNITURE & EQUIPMENT
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ARMSTRONG HALL THORNBURY REGISTERED CHARITY
INCOME & EXPENDITURE FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
| 2021 | 2020 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| INCOME | ||||
| Complex Hire | 533 | 47,424 | ||
| Raised Seating Hire | - | 2,822 | ||
| Rent 4 Chapel Street |
3,450 | 3,450 | ||
| 4-7 Chapel Street | - | 3,120 | ||
| Bank Interest | 123 | 422 | ||
| Donations/Grants Received | 25,000 | 7,106 | ||
| CIL Grant | - | 32,391 | ||
| Bar Sales | - | 17,155 | ||
| Bar Purchases and Expenses | * | (8,559) | ||
| Town Council Grant | 80,000 | 80,000 | ||
| TOTAL INCOME | 109,106 | 185,331 | ||
| EXPENDITURE | ||||
| Rates & Water | 1,339 | 2,693 | ||
| Insurance | 2,966 | 3,380 | ||
| Telephone | 518 | 1,445 | ||
| Heat & Light | 1,411 | 20,731 | ||
| Cleaning | 125 | 980 | ||
| Health and Safety | 1,426 | 4,230 | ||
| Licences & Fees | (20) | 1,940 | ||
| Accountancy | 1,295 | 1,275 | ||
| Trade Refuse | 817 | 2,807 | ||
| Repairs & Maintenance | 4,542 | 13,140 | ||
| Printing & Stationery | 22 | 93 | ||
| Wages & Superannuation | 45,507 | 131,766 | ||
| Professional Fees | 4,194 | 11,874 | ||
| Equipment Purchased | - | 3,689 | ||
| Bank Charges | 185 | 233 | ||
| Sundry Expenses | 3,209 | 373 | ||
| TOTAL EXPENDITURE | 67,536 | 200,649 | ||
| EXCESS OF INCOME OVER EXPENDITURE | 41,570 | (15,318) |
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