## **MURSTON ALL SAINTS TRUST** ## **ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024** |**INDEX**|**1**| |---|---| |**Officers and Advisers**|**2**| |**Formation**|**3**| |**Objectives**|**3**| |**Trustees’ Report**|**3**| |**Independent Examiner's Report**|**8**| |**Statement of Financial Activities**|**9**| |**Balance Sheet**|**10**| |**Notes to accounts**|**11**| **- 1 -** ## **MURSTON ALL SAINTS TRUST** **Charity Trust Number 273395** **Website: MurstonHeArt.org Facebook: murstonHeArt Twitter: @murstonHeArt** ## **Trustees** John Nightingale (chair) Colin Barnard (resigned 1 October 2024) Lyn Newton (appointed 12 October 2024) Alexander Nightingale Nong Priestley Andrew Erskine Michael Haywood 25 West Square London SE11 4SP ## **Bankers** HSBC Bank Ltd 1-5 Week Street Maidstone Kent ME14 1QW ## **Independent Examiner** Simon Bass Yew Tree Farmhouse Wormshill Nr Sittingbourne Kent ME9 0TU **- 2 -** ## **MURSTON ALL SAINTS TRUST** ## **Formation and Objectives** ## **Formation** The Trust was established by a conveyance and declaration of Trust dated 9 April 1976, which was amended by schemes of arrangement dated 25 January 1994 and 6 December 2014, and is registered as a charitable trust, no: 273395. Under the 1976 conveyance the former church of All Saints Murston and surrounding graveyard were transferred to the Trust by the Church Commissioners. In 1978 two small strips of land abutting the North and East sides of the graveyard were donated to the Trust by Blue Circle Industries Ltd. Whereas the Trust was managed from its conception by the Kent Archaeological Society and from 1994 by the Cromarty Trust, the 2014 scheme of arrangement established it as an independent stand-alone charity, with the Cromarty Trust appointing two of its trustees (John Nightingale and Alexander Nightingale). ## **Charitable Objects** The 2014 scheme of arrangement established the following charitable objects for the public benefit: 1. to advance the arts, culture, and heritage; and 2. to advance the education of the general public in the understanding and appreciation of the arts, culture and heritage; and 3. to advance the education of the public in the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment; and 4. to promote for the benefit of the public the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment; including through (1) the conservation of such historical, architectural, archaeological and natural heritage as may exist in and around the former Church of All Saints, Murston, Kent in the form of buildings or other remains and (2) the building, establishment or running of a centre or other facilities for the arts, culture, heritage or conservation of the environment. ## **Trustees’ report for the year ended 31 December 2024:** The Trustees present their report for the 12-month period ended 31 December 2024 **Trustees and Advisors:** These are shown on Page 2. The Trustees held two formal trustees’ meetings during the year to review activities and set strategy; Trustees agreed other matters by correspondence and met informally at regular intervals to take forward the Trust’s programme of activities. The Trust is committed to equal **- 3 -** ## **MURSTON ALL SAINTS TRUST** opportunities. The Trustees maintain a risk register which is subject to regular review and have a safeguarding policy for keeping vulnerable beneficiaries and volunteers safe while taking part in activities organised by the Trust. No notifiable events arose during the period under review. The Trustees were very sad that Colin Barnard stepped down as a Trustee on 1 October 2024. Colin and his partner Sioux Peto originally proposed the idea of establishing the chancel as an arts hub for Sittingbourne right back in 2010 and in the years that followed they worked tirelessly to bring this dream to fruition; in the years before the creative community hub was established they demonstrated the potential of the site as a community and creative hub by organising fun days, land art festivals, and other events including a wonderful poppy festival in November 2018. In addition, Colin’s insights and advice as a trustee and his willingness to roll up his sleeves and solve all sorts of electrical and technology problems have been truly invaluable. Murston Heart would not have come into being without Colin and Sioux and the Trustees are enormously grateful to Colin for his service as a Trustee. The Trustees welcomed Lyn Newton as a new Trustee from 12 October 2024. In her position as Swale Borough Council’s long-standing Economy and Community Services Manager (Culture and Places), Lyn had been involved with the Murston Heart project from its inception, providing a constant source of advice and encouragement until her retirement from Swale Borough Council in the summer of 2023. The Trustees were therefore delighted that she has agreed to become more closely involved as a Trustee. ## **Review of activities:** Murston Heart creative community hub is based around the remains of the medieval church at Murston was opened in 2023 by acclaimed Swale based artist Rose Wylie R. During the year it continued to develop and establish its position as a major contributor to community well-being. Its history is described below but further detail can also be found on the Trust’s website www.murstonheart.org. The Trust’s original purpose was to preserve the surviving chancel (dating back to the twelfth century) and churchyard of Murston’s medieval church. Murston is amongst the most deprived communities in south east England and the surviving chancel, along with its churchyard, had long been plagued by vandalism and fly-tipping, and are now largely surrounded by sprawling industrial units. The chancel, which is designated as a scheduled monument along with the churchyard, was on Historic England’s Buildings at Risk register in view of its parlous state. But it was precisely for these reasons that the Trustees sought to safeguard the future of the historic chancel and put it back at the heart of Murston in a way that contributes to the wellbeing of the community as a whole and gives it a pride in both its past and present. In 2014 the Trustees formulated the vision of establishing a creative community hub, working in conjunction with members of the local community, the conservation architects Sell Wade, and the arts consultants Tom Fleming Associates. The hub consists of a new building housing a café, Wcs, community education room and six studios in the corner of the churchyard, while the restored chancel building is a space for exhibitions and music, and the surrounding churchyard is a little pocket park to be enjoyed as a peaceful haven by the residents of Murston and the people who work on the surrounding industrial estates. **- 4 -** ## **MURSTON ALL SAINTS TRUST** Scheduled monument consent and planning permission were both secured by December 2018. Getting to this point took many years due to the scheduled monument status of the site. Over £1,100,000 was then raised for the capital building costs and an initial three-year programme of activities with local schools and the community. This included substantial grants from the the National Lottery Heritage Fund, English Heritage, Swale Borough Council, the Colyer Fergusson Charitable Trust, the Cromarty Trust, the Henry Oldfield Trust, the Mohn Westlake Foundation, and the Wolfson Foundation as well as numerous other charities and individual donors. It need hardly be said that the Trustees are enormously grateful to all of them for making it possible to turn their vision into a reality. Some first-rate craftsmen worked on the restoration of the chancel which is now probably in a better condition than it has been since the 15th century. We have a much better understanding of its history, having uncovered evidence of 12th century lancet windows (which had wooden shutters rather than glazing) in the East Gable and characteristic 12th century pointing to the surrounding wall (using a mix of lime and seashells to bed in a motley of Roman bricks, quern stones and flints). The new studio and café building sits harmoniously in the corner of the churchyard and has secured the highest energy efficiency ratings. The quality of design, choice of materials and craftsmanship have exceeded expectations and are a huge credit to the main contractor Gransdens, to the architect John Sell CBE, who designed the new building and prepared all the specifications, and to James Ford of Clagues who took over as project architect midway through the project following the retirement of John Sell at the end of December 2021. With the restoration complete another chapter started. With the aid of project funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, a lively programme of school and community activities was delivered starting with art workshops with Rodmersham Primary School followed by an exhibition of all their work. This set the model for other local schools over the subsequent months; of particular note was a project on medieval church grafitti led for the Trust by Dr Philippa Mesiano which involved every class from the neigbouring Sunny Bank Primary School. After studying the grafitti on the medieval columns moved from the old church to the new Murston Church in the 1870s, each child made their own grafitti tiles, which were fired and then displayed in the Chancel. In addition to the Schools programme, a programme of activities was launched for adults, including art classes and a reminiscences project with a weekly drop in session. Regular volunteer days devoted to maintaining the green area around the buildings were also initiated, helping to ensure that the local community had a real sense of ownership. By the end of the 2023 calendar year a rich array of community events had been delivered – over 100 tours, school workshops, family programmes, exhibitions and events; over 4,000 adults and children were engaged through the lottery sponsored activity plan and the number of volunteer hours supporting this were ten-fold what was planned. The café, became a go-to place for the local community, thanks to the wonderful welcome offered by its operators, Lenny Andreou and Lisa Burke. All the studios were let by the end of 2023, including one to a voice coach and another to a CIC, Nurture for All, established by a group of primary school teachers to run after school clubs and other activities for young children. In 2024 Murston Heart continued to flourish with the studios occupied by a variety of artists, craftspeople and local creative businesses, alongside the two mentioned above. Special events included exhibitions and concerts in the chancel, a programme of theatre and workshops for children throughout the summer holidays and some wonderful open mic perfomances by the talented tenenagers tutored by the voice coach Harriet Drury. The way in which the studio **- 5 -** ## **MURSTON ALL SAINTS TRUST** occupants started to host their own creative programme of events and workhops once the Trust’s lottery-funded programme came to an end provided a wonderful endorsement of the original vision. Following Lyn Newton’s appointment as a Trustee in October 2024 she began to work closely with Kite College, a specialist post 16 education provider for young people with complex social, emotional and mental health needs, based close to MurstonHeart on the Eurolink estate. During its term times she met up with a group of its students weekly at Murston Heart in order to work on gardening and other maintenance tasks. The Trust successfully brought its National Lottery Heritage Fund Project to a close in early 2024, receiving the final tranche of its grant in March 2024, after preparing an evaluation and completion report which chronicled just how much had been achieved, notwithstanding the challenges of the covid pandemic. Thanks to a grant from Swale Borough Council using UK Shared Prosperity Funding in June 2024 the Trust was able to make some further small enhancements, including the addition of wooden picnic tables and seating, bicycle racks and a community notice board. In both April 2023 and again after the year end in April 2024 the Sittingbourne Society honoured MAST with its rose bowl award for the project that had made the largest and most positive difference in Sittingbourne during the year. Looking forward the Trustees will continue to use income from the hub to maintain the chancel and churchyard and will seek to retain a good mix of studio occupants and a flourishing café, so that the hub continues to play an important part in the life of the community, contributing to its well-being. The Trustees will also be looking at ways in which they may build up and extend the hub’s activities, building on the track record of what they have achieved to date. ## **Summary of results** The financial statements show income of £64,203 and expenditure of £38,890 on the furtherance of the objects of the Trust, leaving a surplus of £25,313 for the year. The statement of financial activities (SORP) and Balance Sheet show total funds of £1,031,623. Of this total £985,580 represented fixed assets equating to the sums spent on restoring the chancel, constructing and fitting out the studio building and undertaking other site works, leaving net current assets of £46,043. Going forwards income from letting the studios and café is expected to cover running costs in accordance with the Trust’s business plan. ## **Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities** Law applicable to charities 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 Financial Statements giving a true and fair view, the Trustees are required to: - select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; - make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; - state whether applicable accounting standards and statements of recommended practices have been followed subject to any departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; **- 6 -** ## **MURSTON ALL SAINTS TRUST** - prepare the Financial Statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Charity will continue in operation. The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records, which disclose with reasonable accuracy the financial position of the Charity and which enable them to ensure that the Financial Statements comply with applicable law. 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. ## **Signed on behalf of the Trustees** **John Nightingale 27 October 2025** **- 7 -** MURSTON ALL SAINTS TRUST Ind•p•Trdert Ex•mln•rf• Report Independent Examinerfs Report to the Trustees of the Hu￿10ft All Saints Trust I rep)rt ttythe charity Tr￿ on my txaminatkon of the RccouDts ofthe Trust forthe yearetw 31 Decemb¢r2024. Rupe¢tlYe rt8￿￿51bIlitie8 of Tnuttt4 xtsd esHminer As the TnLStets of the clwity you wtwllsible foTth¢ prepwxtiort of the ￿u￿t$ ul awoTdaJKe with the tvquiretDents of the Cl￿tieS Act 2011. Having satisfied myself t1￿ the accouttis of th¢ charity are not requittd lo be audKted utthr sectio 144 of the Charittes Act 20119nd are eligible for independent ¢xamiiiatioll. I re￿>rt in respectof my exami[￿lOn of the srna's a¢tounts carried out under seciion 145 of the Charities Ath 2011 {'Ihe 2011 Acffl. In win8 Out my exBrnination I hav¢ folloived the directions given by theChaTity Commissioll undersxtion 14515Mb) of the 2011 A¢t. lttdepEMdent eLqmTrD¢r'$ 8tatemettt I hav¢ ¢ompl¢rtd my exaTnination. I ci)nfum that no mattets have cojne to my attcntÉon in ¢onn¢ction with the exgjniiiation ￿ving me caus¢ to believe.. l. accounting Te¢ords were llotkept in resm of th¢ ¢hgsity L8 fty4uired by section 130 of th¢ Chariti¢s 2. the &ccounts do ￿¢￿rd with those [Ecor￿. or 3. th¢accounts do not wmply wtih the applicable requir¢m¢nts¢on¢erttin8 the fom] and content of accounts set out in the Charities {Ac¢ounts and Reports) Regulatii)ns 2008 oth¢r than any rcquitEmellt that the atrounts ￿ve faiff view which isnot a mattereonsid¢reJ as pan of an indepmdent ¢xaminatii)n. which atteniion should in thi5 retth to ¢nabl¢ a proper undetstanding of the accowjts to b¢ tea¢h¢d. Signed Dated 27 O¢tob¢r2025 MURSTON ALL SAINTS TRUST statement of flnanclal actlvltle* for the year ended 31 Decernber 2024 Unrestrfrted R•slwkted Er¥&y*8d Tolal 2024 2024 1024 2024 202J Grants th)naUor 2.750 37.017 21915 25,665 37,017 70,221 16,844 Rentsl irmne Irfi*stmènt Ir￿me 1.520 1,520 1,301 Totsl Ir*an• 41.188 Il915 54203 88,367 awrltable artl￿tIeS 38.781 38,781 73,976 Ir￿StMente￿P￿dIture 109 Ic8 161 74,138 N•t lneomrf(•Xp￿dIturnl lorth• r•pwtlng p•rfod 2.398 21915 25,313 14,228 Yrar6fer tse￿een fLf 22.915 122.9151 Net la1￿/11C6Se5} on In￿trntnts 25.313 25,313 14,228 Totsl furhts brov4ht forward 943.310 968,623 63,IKiI I,(￿,510 63,MO I.OJI,623 992,081 I,(*)6,310 CZX4TINUING I)PERATIONS ￿1 5ncome aTrJ exyndiiure has arfsen from continung acti¥qties. ## **MURSTON ALL SAINTS TRUST** Signed on behalf of the Trustees John Nightingale, 27 October 2025 **- 10 -** MURSTON ALL SAINTS TRUST Notes to the Accounts For the year ended 31 Oecernber 2024 l) A¢¢ouhtlng Pokl•$: fdlow1￿ is a summary of sl%nSfSt4nt acco￿￿￿ pdltlts= 1.1 8•sls ot pr•par*tlDn The atcotsnts ha%* prepared undÈr historital cost con¥*niion wlth iioms recogrAsed at cost cf trar6action ¥•lue ￿￿esS otherwlse stated in the relevant Tr)ielsl io these accNnts. The acctyjnts ha¥e been wepared in acccrtance with the 'Statement of Recommended Practice". Accountlng and Reportin8 ty tharlties preparing their accounts in ac£c￿dèrKe wlth the FIna￿la1 Re￿rtl[l StaTrJard aP￿1¢3￿e in the UK and Republic ol Ireland IFRS 1021.. the FInar￿la1 Repxting StsTrJard aprdlutde L•￿ted Klryth)m and RepublSc of Irelarnj IFRS 1021 and the Owrities Act 2011. 1.2 ¢ots¢•rn r&ewed ￿ charlty's fina￿131 fore¢asts and expeeied I￿Ure ¢ash flow. the Try￿lee$ ha¥e a ￿•s01￿ble that compary athquate resources to Contin￿ in oyratlonal txistence the f￿￿Se￿a￿le futsjre a for a yrlcoj of at least 12 rnonths following apW¢y￿al of these financial statements. Thus the 8¢xw cOr￿ern ￿sIS has been athpted in Wepar1￿ these fi￿￿1￿1 siaiÈments for the ￿ar ended 31 December 2024. 1.3 lts¢om• r•¢o•nlilon All Irthmlw reswrces are irKluded in ihe Statemem ol Financial Aciiwties when the Trust is eniitled to the I￿crfne and arnwnts can be quantlfled wSth reasonable accuracy. Inccrne fr¢￿ listeé in¥*stments and fixed Interest Iiiit5tments s ret￿nISed w￿n It Is reCeS￿ble aThJ the 8rnount tan be measured reliably ty Ihe TrusL This is M*mally upon )tlflutlon Ir•￿stment of the WÈld of ihe In¥estmeni portf¢Yio. IntÈrÈsi on fU￿S ￿ld at bank is included when it is recèlvable and the amount can bo rneasured reliably ty ihe Trusi.. Ihis is t￿M￿lIV I￿rication of the interest paid ￿ yyable ty the bank 1.4 Fund• Unrestrirted fur#Js are t1￿* wNch tan ￿ ustd for the Rtneral aokncement of tht ¢bTrecifves of ihe charity. C*si¢nated W￿rt $￿vn are t￿e desSgnated for • spttific purpose by Tnjstees. Restsi¢ted fu￿$ are th)se whereiry the e Is restrirted by the d0Th￿. ENknved funds are prothded ty ihe CxfffiartyTrust and the Trttstees ha¥* the to conwrt fuThJ from uoital to irthme at their discreiion. l.S Exp•ndltur• r•winlllon All expethjlture 1$ ateounted fly on an accn41s basss. 1.4VAT The Trust Is re8lstered for VAT. f￿r1r% the cor6tructlon phase no tsxalAe oulput5 were being made tmrt since wactical (ompletSon, rental aTrJ ot￿r Irovice5 are beinE rèlsed which w511 Include VAT at the aFyrowiate rate. The Tr￿t has opted to tsx the constnjctlon of the bulldlng wo**s and so expenditure on construLfjon Is shown Tret of VAT. 1.5 Flx•d ••Mts No value has bEen accrffdEd to the charKel t￿IldI￿ surrr*jnd5￿ land al Mur5ton 51nce these are held sc4elytofwther to fUrt￿r the Tru5Ys charStab1e oblerts. Practlc31 Com￿ellOn of the rnaln contrartors w¢ykwas ¥the￿d n December 2022 some work was stlll requlred before the proie¢t was ready IN use. T¢)tal ¢0r6tr￿t￿oTh Costs have allfXatÈd by the Trustees between the ch•pel the new studio PAJil(*ne based ¢ tèNler prite as adjusted for agreed ¥ariations. The fomier Is treated as a Hedta8e Asset and ￿l￿ed in accordance wlth Ffts 30'Herftage hssets.. The r*w St￿￿10 lyJildlr*. the café arnl 5eThlce5 wlthln the thapel ore held as OFerating assets and depreciated their expected useful 1Sfe os follrr*s'. StLdo buildir Flxture5 aThJ fittlws 50 ￿arS on a straightline ba51S 5 yars on a siraightline ba51s li- MURSTON ALL SAINTS TRUST Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024 (contlnued). In thE appllcatlon d the charlws acc¢xmtin8 pollcies, thE Tru5tee5 are required to make ILh*ements, estlrnaies ind assumptions the ca￿1n8 Wal￿ d assets Ilablllties thatbare nrA readily apparent from ot￿r sources. Tho estymate5 355ociated aSswnto￿s a￿ based m historical e￿ene￿e facrors thètare cor6idered to te relevant. Artual results m8¥difler frr#n these ￿[SMateS. ThÈ estlmates are r￿*wÉd on an bèsls. R￿S￿Or￿ to •cc(yJ)tlng estlmatts art ft££*hlstd tht perfod In whlth the estimate is rew5e, if the re￿510n only affects that ￿rfOd. or In ihe perlod of the re￿510Th and future perlod5 if ihe r￿sIr￿￿ affect5 both CLYreM and ful￿ por1￿. 2024 2024 2024 2024 2023 Swale Bor•u9h CourrtYI Natlonal Lottery￿￿ta$t Fur NightI￿ale Tru51 Historic Er*land Fa%*rsham S￿1¢￿ Crctharty Trust 5.157 17.758 5,157 17,758 44,421 S,OC 10.B(M) Z50 25) 10.0 T•t*l Incom• 2,750 22,•10 25.665 70.821 Restrtrted tunds have rectlved for tho comple￿on of thapel wjlert. workshDp5 ano ofé. Not• 3. Exp•ndltur• on 2024 2024 2024 2024 2024 2024 2023 and e¥enis Malnrerta￿e and Lxher slte costs OepreeSatl 4,25Z 12.742" 4,252 IZ,742 17,229 4.352 12.742 17.229 30.6( 9.850 17.112 17.229 T¢tsl dr•ct cwts 16.994 17.229 34224 34.224 57,S61 Professlonal fees LeÉal tosts •nd Insur•Ne iio 4.447 iio 4.447 iio 4,447 9,569 6.839 T•t•l support coots 4J57 4557 4.SS7 16,4rA T4>t•l ch•fft•b￿ •xp•ndltur• I1￿57 17.119 38.781 73,976 All supportcosts are in f￿herartt d the tharttable ActiMtie5 Thè Trust nrA emplw stsff so ltsre were M ornpliype ¢yn5e5. 12- MURSTON ALL SAINTS TRUST Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024 (contlnued), Not• 4- Ftx•d •M•ts 20Z4 Assets In R•rtor•tkn Worksly. fOUW5e of ol herfwe r•fé bulk4ry •nd SeNS￿5 Flxttns *NI Illllr*s Totsl Openlrq assets Addltlcrf Tra￿fer5 DisFQ5a15 assèts 218.$00 788,879 5.871 6.671 1,014.OSO 5.871 218.500 794.750 6,671 1.019,921 Openiw balar Additior Diss*)5als 0051rq assets IS.77B 15.89S 1.334 1.334 17.112 17.229 31.673 34,341 Net Lx**wdl 218.500 763.078 4,003 985,580 Assets In Rertornilon Worftsly. OUW5e ol d herf¢4t ufé bullth •$s•t Flxvrn and Illllrys Toial Openlry assets AddItIc￿5 Trarfjfer5 DlsFosals ac6Iw assets 9J8.783 2.146 4,525 910.928 103.121 98,596 690.283 gX.783 218.500 218,500 788.879 6,671 1,014,050 Openiw balarte Addltlcrf DiSFQ5als 005Ir¢ a55*ts 15.778 1.334 17.112 15.778 1,334 17,112 Net trA)okval 218.500 773.101 5.337 996,938 As exr4alr*d In 1.5, deweclatlcffl commerKed on the studlo complex. flxtures aThJ fittirys and seThices from I January 2023. N¢t• 5. D•btys All dÈbtors are trade debtors and arÈ due wltNn 12 M£￿thS ball￿e sheei datè. Cre¢Itc￿S are all trade credtors arnl are due within 12 month5 01 the balance sheet date. 1024 2023 Trade credtws Accruals DeFKsits 8.S16 4.496 8.970 774 8.09) Totsl 8.864 21,983 13- MURSTON ALL SAINTS TRUST Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024 (contlnued), Noi• 7 ol fuNIs A%ati Intr*4sttkn DAtt•as•skn 133,8811 41,288 121.6611 114,2541 De*n•tsd funth Flxed asset rtse 977,191 117,2291 22.915 982,877 wnstrlct•d funth 943,310 41.288 I38.8￿)) 22.91S ,623 Restrkted funth 22.915 122.9151 63,tsJO 63,C£O Tot￿ feMrwes Im6310 64.203 138A9)1 1,031,623 IIM•strfcl￿ fwmls are available fcf 8eneral all(xatlon as ihe TNstees See flt, Flxed ￿+1$ desluMt•d rewesent the book value of fixed assets fuThJed ty the Naiional Lcttery. Ewlish Herltage. other funders or intemally generated fund5. Restrktsd fund5 have been transferred to designaied rese￿$ £￿￿equent u￿n COM￿￿10Th of ihe wciect for which thi5 fundlng was received, Operational managernent of the Mur5tc• Chapel 51te and bJ"Id1￿5I5 Yer tl* ¢ontr