2025-03-31-accounts - Havelock Community Centre

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Havelock Community Centres Annual Report

For the financial year 1 April 2024 - 31 March 2025

Location: Havelock Community Centre, 324 Fawcett Road, Southsea, PO4 0LQ Date of AGM: Monday 24th November 2025

Time: 6pm Charity Number: 299580

Centre Report

Havelock Community Centre presents their Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2025. This report is prepared in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 and the charity’s governing document.

Havelock Community Centre is a welcoming and well-established centre that continues to serve the residents of Portsmouth and Southsea, UK by providing affordable, inclusive community space and delivering a diverse range of activities that support wellbeing, community and social events, and lifelong learning.

Havelock Community Centre was established in 1988 with the goal of creating a dedicated space where residents could gather, participate in community driven initiatives and access essential services. Over the years, Havelock Community Centre has expanded its offerings to cater to the ever evolving needs of the community. Today the centre stands as a well loved and integral part of the community, right in the heart of Southsea.

Havelock Community Centre exists to provide facilities, activities, and support that benefit the local community. The trustees confirm that they have complied with the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit. Facilities include:

Main Hall: A large and versatile space suitable for meetings, events, classes, and social gatherings. The hall is often used for dance, exercise classes, parties, and public meetings.
Small, Large and Garden rooms: Smaller rooms that can be rented for workshops, support groups, and classes, offering an intimate environment for focused learning or discussion or gatherings.
Kitchen Facilities: Available for use during events or group gatherings, providing a space for catering and meal preparation.
Outdoor Area: The centre is also home to a garden that can be used with the hire of the adjourning rooms, it is also used for seasonal and community events, adding to the appeal of the venue for family-oriented activities.

The centre’s facilities are designed to be accessible to all members of the community, including those with mobility challenges, ensuring that the services offered are available to everyone, regardless of age or physical ability.

Throughout 2024-2025, the Centre delivered a wide range of community-focused activities and services such as:

Stay & Play Sessions - Funded by Tesco Stronger Starts

Thanks to £5000 funding from Tesco Stronger Starts, we delivered free Stay & Play sessions during school holidays for children aged 4-8. These included crafts, engaging activities, and a healthy snack. These sessions were very well received and provided a much-needed affordable family activity.

Craft Club at Havelock - Partnership Foundation

Our weekly Wednesday morning Craft Club started from the funding by the Partnership Foundation and offered free craft activities, social interaction, and a warm drink. This group has become a friendly and creative community space, and even contributed handmade decorations and crafts for themes at the centre such as Christmas. This programme grew from our Monday Warm Hearts initiative and continues to help reduce loneliness and isolation.

Warm Hearts Social Group - HIWCF

For winter 2024-2025, we received £317.62 from HIWCF to support gas and electricity costs, ensuring our Warm Hearts Social Group, run entirely by Havelock volunteers, could continue throughout the colder months. A place for people to keep warm, have a warm drink and company.

Southern Water Winter Support & Christmas Event

Southern Water generously provided £1,000 towards our winter utility costs, helping to keep the centre warm and operational. Their team also delivered a delightful community Christmas party, which was a highlight of the season.

Magic Little Grants - Garden Improvements

Funding from Magic Little Grants in 23/24 allowed us to purchase items to maintain and enhance our community garden, keeping the outdoor space attractive and welcoming.

Groundwork UK - Energy Efficiency Improvements

We secured funding through Groundwork UK which enabled CBS to install LED lighting across the building, supporting our long-term energy-saving goals following an earlier energy scheme questionnaire.

A new Centre Manager joined in May 2024 and has since introduced improvements that were made behind the scenes to customer interaction, administrative processes, and day to day office procedures. Whilst plans started for building connections with the wider community to support Havelock's growth and community focus.

In recognition of the hard work, dedication, and long standing service that Ken and Jenny Bennett have contributed to the centre since its earliest days, the Trustees proudly renamed the Main Hall to The Bennett Hall. This renaming stands as a permanent acknowledgement of their invaluable contribution to Havelock’s past, present, and future.

New Initiatives and Community Partnerships

The Hygiene Bank Portsmouth

This year we launched The Hygiene Bank Portsmouth, operating directly from Havelock as its local hub. This initiative enables us to provide essential hygiene products not only to individuals and families accessing the centre but also to our growing network of community partners across Portsmouth. This work ensures dignity, wellbeing, and support for those experiencing hygiene poverty.

We continued our strong working relationship with Hive Portsmouth, collaborating on several community focused projects. This included supporting volunteer recruitment and hosting a uniform drop off point at Havelock that enables Hive to redistribute school uniform throughout the city to families in need.

Fundraising & Income

In addition to grants, the centre generated income from: Room hire, Table top sales, Havelock-run trips, Raffle sales, Donations and memberships. Our Havelock run community trips remained popular and well supported, helping to bring people together and reduce social isolation. More trips are planned for the coming year, strengthening our commitment to affordable, inclusive community activities.

The centre continues to grow in popularity and community value, with 169 active members for 2024 membership. Membership growth demonstrates increasing local engagement and support for Havelock’s work.

Strategic Planning

The committee worked closely together during the year to consider the future of Havelock. One key area explored was developing a partnership with the University of Portsmouth to support an MBA course using Havelock as a case study, demonstrating exciting new potential for ideas and business planning at Havelock. With the light of this starting in June 2025.

We also trialled new initiatives, including hiring space to “The Fish Guy”. Although this specific venture did not continue due to low footfall, it helped spark new ideas for future income opportunities and partnerships.

Building Maintenance

During the year, the hall floor sustained damage requiring immediate repair. This incident prompted the committee to begin planning a full floor replacement and to explore funding options for the coming year.

Financial Review

Total income: £89,088.43
Total expenditure: £75,952.47

The trustees consider the year’s financial position to be stable, supported by successful grant applications and a range of community-funded activities. The priority for the coming year is to further strengthen income streams and secure funding for key building improvements.

The charity aims to hold at least 3-6 months of core operating costs in unrestricted reserves. This ensures financial stability, supports continuity of services, and enables the charity to respond to unexpected expenditure such as building repairs.

Risk Management

The trustees have reviewed major risks and put measures in place to mitigate them:

Rising utility and building costs - sought winter funding, invested in LED lighting, ongoing monitoring.
Reliance on variable room hire and activity income - exploring new hires/partnerships.
Building condition and ageing infrastructure - planning for full hall floor replacement and future building works.
Volunteer capacity - improving communication, support, and engagement with volunteers.

Trustees

Havelock Community Centre is governed by its constitution. The Trustee Committee meets bi monthly to oversee the charity’s direction. New trustees are appointed in accordance with the governing document and receive a full induction.

Day to day operations are managed by the Centre Manager with support from 3 other paid staff members and a group of volunteers.

Trustees who served during April 2024- March 2025:

Kevin Rough, Chair
Nita Cary, Vice Chair
Wendy Heyes, Treasurer
Trustees: Shirley Mundy, Belinda Locke, Jenny Bennett, Jennie Brent

The trustees are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and Financial Statements in accordance with the Charities Act 2011, maintaining proper financial records, safeguarding assets, and ensuring compliance with the governing document.

The financial statements are subject to independent examination by Salina Ali in accordance with the Charities Act 2011.

This report was approved by the Board of Trustees on 10th November 2025 and signed on its behalf by:

KRough

KRough, Chair of Trustees

The Trustees and the Havelock team would like to express our continued thanks to everyone who uses, supports, and contributes to the thriving life of the centre. From our community groups, partners, and volunteers, to the dedicated Havelock staff and Trustees your commitment and involvement make Havelock the warm, welcoming, and impactful place it is today.

Havelock Community Centre

Income & Expenditure - Year Ended 31st March 2025

Year to 31st March 2024 Actual	Year to 31st March 2024 Actual	Year to 31st March 2025 Actual	Year to 31st March 2025 Actual	Year to 31st March 2025 Actual

Income Expenditure Restricted		Income Expenditure Restricted		Notes
	Expenditure	Income
£ 15404.00	£ 15056.00	£ 8126.55	£ 7940.00

5206.00 2595.50 -1675.48 500.00 164.00 500.00 7290.02	3018.82 1508.18 8870.52 0.00 498.00 0.00	8785.12	8152.64

				[1]

				[1]





		5301.75	3941.75
1370.00 600.10 0.00	1650.00 600.10 0.00			[1]
				[1]


31954.14	31201.62	22213.42	20034.39


Income Expenditure Unrestricted		Income Expenditure Unrestricted
	Expenditure	Income		Notes
£ 46797.05 0.00 800.00 0.00 73.00 457.41 -11.50 168.50	£	£ 47576.66 12496.06 4520.36 806.00 513.25	£


	0.00		230.00 362.51	[2]



	0.00			[3]





48284.46	0.00	65912.33	592.51

Havelock Community Centre

Income & Expenditure - Year Ended 31st March 2024

Year to 31st March 2023 Actual	Year to 31st March 2023 Actual	Year to 31st March 2024 Actual	Year to 31st March 2024 Actual	Year to 31st March 2024 Actual

Income Expenditure Unrestricted		Income Expenditure Unrestricted		Notes
	Expenditure	Income
£ 48284.46	£ 0.00	£	£

	1248.87		3168.80 3261.61 5757.89 35289.83 7847.44	[1]
	0.00 0.00 0.00 1023.96 240.00 0.00 1183.57 1344.48 803.75 0.00 20.83 1109.36
		331.42 631.26		[4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
48284.46	6974.82	962.68	55325.57


	Unrestricted Funds	Restricted Funds	Total Funds
				Notes
	£ 962.68 55325.57	£ 22213.42 20034.39	£ 89088.43 75952.47





	-54362.89	2179.03	13135.96	[10]
		6335.13


			13135.96
			18364.00 35440.40

Cash-in-Hand

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53804.40
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Havelock Community Centre Income & Expenditure - Year Ended 31st March 2024

Notes:

[1] Restricted Income & Expenditure:

Centre Trips: Savill Gardens Milletts Falconery PCC Flooring Grant [Building Repairs] Coronation Party

Income	Restricted Expendiure	Actual Expenditure	Balance Charged to Community Centre
£	£	£	£
			0.00

Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees/ members of Havelock Community Centre On accounts for the year 31[st] March 2025 Charity no 299580 ended (if any) Set out on pages 1 and 2

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31 / 03 / 2025 .

Responsibilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation basis of report 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.

Date: Signed: 29/01/2026 Name: Salina Ali Relevant professional FCCA qualification(s) or body (if any): Address: University of Portsmouth Richmond Building Portland Street Portsmouth PO1 2DE

October 2018

IER

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 No items of concern to disclose. examiner wishes to disclose .

October 2018

IER