## **Welford Sportsfield Association**
## **Charity Registration Number: 295158**
## **Trustees Annual Report**
## **For The Year Ended 31 December 2024**
1. Legal and Administrative Information
- a. Constitution
The Welford Sportsfield Association is established under a constitution dated 28 October 1985, subsequently amended in February 2002, for the purposes of promoting the benefit of the inhabitants of Welford and the neighbourhood by providing facilities in the interest of social welfare for recreation and leisure-time occupation with the objective of improving the conditions of life for the inhabitants and in particular by creating, improving and extending existing playing and recreational facilities and by encouraging all forms of recreational activity.
The association was granted registration as a charity under the provisions of the Charities Act 1960 on 9 September 1986.
- b. The Officers of the Management Committee, who are the Trustees, who served during the year were as follows:
|Chairperson:|James Bland|
|---|---|
|Vice Chairperson:|Adrian Scullion|
|Secretary:|Adrian Bott|
|Treasurer:|Julian Howell-Jones|
- c. The address of the principal office is:
Welford Sportsfield Association Newlands Roads Welford Northampton NN6 6HR
- d. Public benefit
The charity provides public benefit by providing facilities and access to organised sport for all age groups.
The Trustees have had regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit. Financial review
- e. Financial review
The statement of financial activities shows income of £31,131 (2023: £8,789) and expenses of £30,601 (2023: £17,038) resulting in net incoming resources of £530 (2023: net outgoing resources of £8,249).
The charity has a strong balance sheet, with net current assets of £32,763 (2023: £30,939) and total funds of £142,993 (2022: £142,463).
All of the charity’s reserves at 31 December 2024 are unrestricted. The building contingency fund of £8,000 is composed of appropriations by the Management Committee to cover unforeseen building repairs.
During the year the charity received a grant of £16,139 which was designated for use towards the cost of replacing and improving the patio area outside the clubhouse. The total cost of these works is just over £20,000, the majority of which was paid during the 2024 financial year.
- f. Structure, governance and management
The Association is managed by a committee, composed of the Management Committee, set out above, and representatives of the club using the facility and the other elected members. Committee meetings are held quarterly or as issues arise.
The Association does not employ staff.
2. Review of the Year
2024 represented another busy year for the Association, with the long-awaited commencement of external work starting at the end of the year following the award of a s.106 grant in the summer. This work is the second phase of the refurbishment of our clubhouse facility to provide a better user experience to our groups and hirers. After having updated the interior last year, we will soon have a new, expanded patio area as well as a “players’ pathway” to ensure muddy boots go directly to the changing rooms without cutting through the bar. A fence between patio and field will also provide a revenue opportunity through the ability to sell advertising space to sponsors, and the addition of a dart board and games console will allow us to offer additional indoor recreational activities to the people of Welford and surrounding villages.
At the start of the year, with new volunteers joining the committee, we re-organised our group to create four sub-committees each responsible for a specific area of the work we do (Field, Facilities, Fundraising, Finance & Compliance). This new structure means that full committee meetings (we now number nearly 20) need happen only once per quarter, with smaller groups able to respond to emerging issues in a more agile fashion.
We’ve had another pleasing year for fundraising, with all four quizzes selling out and raising money, plus a European Championship sweepstake and two raffles boosting the monies raised from our 100club. The stand-out, however, is the event we organised jointly with Welford Victoria Football Club, which raised a total of £5,000 shared between two external charities, the football club itself
and the Association. In total, we recorded a small surplus for 2024, which is excellent considering we incurred significant repair costs for our mowing equipment as it limps towards the end of its useful life.
Going into 2025 there is a lot to be done, but also a lot to be excited about. In the early part of the year we will spend several thousand pounds upgrading our electrical infrastructure, while – as this report is being typed – we are potentially just days (or maybe hours) away from receiving an offer of a Football Foundation Grant to allow us to acquire a new compact tractor (and other assorted maintenance paraphernalia). This investment is designed to reduce our annual repair bill and also the hours required to mow the field, since the cutting deck will be significantly wider than our existing equipment. Although not yet spent, the funds for these activities have been approved and allocated by the committee, and once completed, we will continue to hold about a year’s worth of expenditure as our contingency fund in case of a rainy day (or a leaky roof).
We then move on to whatever comes next in the required upgrade… but that’s likely to be a discussion point for the middle of the year.
James Bland, Chairperson Approved by the Management Committee on XX February 2025
## **Welford Sportsfield Association Year Ended 31 December 2024 Statement of Financial Activities**
|**Incoming Resources**
Grants
Donations and Sundry Sales
Profits from Fundraising Events
Bank Interest
**Total Incoming Resources**
**Expenditure**
Ground Expenses
Repairs and Renewals
Light & Heat
Internet
Water Rates
Licence Fees
Business Rates
Insurance
Cleaning
Depreciation
Waste Collection
Sundry Expenses
**Total Expenditure**
**Net Incoming / (Outgoing) Resources**
**Accumulated Fund**
Fund balance at start of year
Net incoming / (outgoing) resources
Transfer between funds
Fund balance at end of year
**Balance Sheet at 31 December**
**Tangible Fixed Assets**
**Land & buildings**
At cost
Less: Grants received
**Equipment**
Cost brought forward
Less: Accumulated depreciation
Add: Cost of additions
**Current Assets**
Bank current accounts
Bank deposit accounts
**Current Liabilities**
Creditors
**Net Current Assets**
**Total Assets Less Current Liabilities**
**Represented by:**
**Total Funds**|2024
2024
2024
2024
2023
Unrestricted
Designated
Contingency
Total
Total
Funds
Funds
Funds
Funds
Funds
£
£
£
£
£
0
16,139
0
16,139
0
6,460
0
0
6,460
2,051
7,619
0
0
7,619
6,473
913
0
0
913
265|2024
2024
2024
2024
2023
Unrestricted
Designated
Contingency
Total
Total
Funds
Funds
Funds
Funds
Funds
£
£
£
£
£
0
16,139
0
16,139
0
6,460
0
0
6,460
2,051
7,619
0
0
7,619
6,473
913
0
0
913
265|2024
2024
2024
2024
2023
Unrestricted
Designated
Contingency
Total
Total
Funds
Funds
Funds
Funds
Funds
£
£
£
£
£
0
16,139
0
16,139
0
6,460
0
0
6,460
2,051
7,619
0
0
7,619
6,473
913
0
0
913
265|
|---|---|---|---|
||14,992
16,139
0
31,131
8,789|||
||2,567
0
0
2,567
4,338
2,109
16,139
0
18,248
5,744
1,312
0
0
1,312
1,068
396
0
0
396
560
192
0
0
192
267
370
0
0
370
379
181
0
0
181
161
1,156
0
0
1,156
1,131
1,809
0
0
1,809
1,287
1,620
0
0
1,620
1,764
764
0
0
764
0
1,986
0
0
1,986
339|||
||14,462
16,139
0
30,601
17,038|||
|||||
||530
0
0
530
(8,249)|||
||134,463
0
8,000
142,463
150,712
530
0
0
530
(8,249)
0
0
0
0
0|||
||134,993
0
8,000
142,993
142,463|||
|||2024
2024
2023
2023
£
£
£
£
200,244
200,244
(104,596)
(104,596)
95,648
95,648
49,004
41,259
(34,748)
(33,128)
326
7,745
14,582
15,876
2,513
1,665
30,250
29,274
32,763
30,939
0
0
32,763
30,939
142,993
142,463
142,993
142,463||
|||||
||||142,463|
|||||
||||142,463|
## **Welford Sportsfield Association**
## **Charity Registration Number: 295158**
## **Trustees Annual Report**
## **For The Year Ended 31 December 2024**
1. Legal and Administrative Information
- a. Constitution
The Welford Sportsfield Association is established under a constitution dated 28 October 1985, subsequently amended in February 2002, for the purposes of promoting the benefit of the inhabitants of Welford and the neighbourhood by providing facilities in the interest of social welfare for recreation and leisure-time occupation with the objective of improving the conditions of life for the inhabitants and in particular by creating, improving and extending existing playing and recreational facilities and by encouraging all forms of recreational activity.
The association was granted registration as a charity under the provisions of the Charities Act 1960 on 9 September 1986.
- b. The Officers of the Management Committee, who are the Trustees, who served during the year were as follows:
|Chairperson:|James Bland|
|---|---|
|Vice Chairperson:|Adrian Scullion|
|Secretary:|Adrian Bott|
|Treasurer:|Julian Howell-Jones|
- c. The address of the principal office is:
Welford Sportsfield Association Newlands Roads Welford Northampton NN6 6HR
- d. Public benefit
The charity provides public benefit by providing facilities and access to organised sport for all age groups.
The Trustees have had regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit. Financial review
- e. Financial review
The statement of financial activities shows income of £31,131 (2023: £8,789) and expenses of £30,601 (2023: £17,038) resulting in net incoming resources of £530 (2023: net outgoing resources of £8,249).
The charity has a strong balance sheet, with net current assets of £32,763 (2023: £30,939) and total funds of £142,993 (2022: £142,463).
All of the charity’s reserves at 31 December 2024 are unrestricted. The building contingency fund of £8,000 is composed of appropriations by the Management Committee to cover unforeseen building repairs.
During the year the charity received a grant of £16,139 which was designated for use towards the cost of replacing and improving the patio area outside the clubhouse. The total cost of these works is just over £20,000, the majority of which was paid during the 2024 financial year.
- f. Structure, governance and management
The Association is managed by a committee, composed of the Management Committee, set out above, and representatives of the club using the facility and the other elected members. Committee meetings are held quarterly or as issues arise.
The Association does not employ staff.
2. Review of the Year
2024 represented another busy year for the Association, with the long-awaited commencement of external work starting at the end of the year following the award of a s.106 grant in the summer. This work is the second phase of the refurbishment of our clubhouse facility to provide a better user experience to our groups and hirers. After having updated the interior last year, we will soon have a new, expanded patio area as well as a “players’ pathway” to ensure muddy boots go directly to the changing rooms without cutting through the bar. A fence between patio and field will also provide a revenue opportunity through the ability to sell advertising space to sponsors, and the addition of a dart board and games console will allow us to offer additional indoor recreational activities to the people of Welford and surrounding villages.
At the start of the year, with new volunteers joining the committee, we re-organised our group to create four sub-committees each responsible for a specific area of the work we do (Field, Facilities, Fundraising, Finance & Compliance). This new structure means that full committee meetings (we now number nearly 20) need happen only once per quarter, with smaller groups able to respond to emerging issues in a more agile fashion.
We’ve had another pleasing year for fundraising, with all four quizzes selling out and raising money, plus a European Championship sweepstake and two raffles boosting the monies raised from our 100club. The stand-out, however, is the event we organised jointly with Welford Victoria Football Club, which raised a total of £5,000 shared between two external charities, the football club itself
and the Association. In total, we recorded a small surplus for 2024, which is excellent considering we incurred significant repair costs for our mowing equipment as it limps towards the end of its useful life.
Going into 2025 there is a lot to be done, but also a lot to be excited about. In the early part of the year we will spend several thousand pounds upgrading our electrical infrastructure, while – as this report is being typed – we are potentially just days (or maybe hours) away from receiving an offer of a Football Foundation Grant to allow us to acquire a new compact tractor (and other assorted maintenance paraphernalia). This investment is designed to reduce our annual repair bill and also the hours required to mow the field, since the cutting deck will be significantly wider than our existing equipment. Although not yet spent, the funds for these activities have been approved and allocated by the committee, and once completed, we will continue to hold about a year’s worth of expenditure as our contingency fund in case of a rainy day (or a leaky roof).
We then move on to whatever comes next in the required upgrade… but that’s likely to be a discussion point for the middle of the year.
James Bland, Chairperson Approved by the Management Committee on XX February 2025