Acting Chair’s Report (2021-22) - given by JS
It is no overstatement to say that this has been a difficult year for the Centre: it has been a difficult year for everyone. We began the year as the country was coming out of lockdown. We had managed to keep the Centre open for exempt groups – mother and baby, and supervised sporting activities for young people – by following the guidelines, with only one hiring group at a time, reporting advice, social distancing measures and hand sanitisers, so, as restrictions were lifted, we were able to open our doors wider. As the year progressed we found we had lost some of our long-term bookers (like the Auction), retained several (some of whom, like the Art Groups, changed their bookings to make social distancing easier), and gained some new ones because we had remained open when their regular venues had had to close. And I’m happy to report that we issued invoices for over £2,400 for May this year, which is back up to pre-Pandemic levels. When the Centre first opened, 50 years ago, the principle was that the regular income from hirings and other rents should cover our regular running costs, and that fund-raising income should cover improvements. For some time now our fundraising income has been considerably reduced in line with the diminishing number of events which we organise, and over the last two years, in spite of our best efforts, our regular income has also been well down. In this difficult context I would like to commend our Treasurer who has sought out and secured Government financial support, which has enabled us to continue to meet our running costs, including the support our Caretaker and Cleaner on 100% of their salaries.
Unfortunately, as the Government grants have tailed off and our hiring income is not yet back up to full speed, we have had to access some of our invested reserves to meet the important and urgent maintenance needs of what is now an ageing building. However, we hope we have now eradicated the Main Hall roof leaks, we have repaired the Main Hall heaters, and we have fixed the problems with the Library electrics. We have also brought the Centre into the 21st century by installing highspeed internet, and our new booking system – which is being operated by James, the Caretaker – is working well and is integrated with our website. CCTV in the car park is installed and running – the one-year review reported that the recordings had been required following two incidents. Anecdotal evidence has shown that anti-social behaviour has not stopped completely, but there have been no incidents reported to the police so no further access to the recordings have been requested. Arkenstall’s Centre: Registered Charity 300394 page 2 Fundraising events have not really been possible because of the unpredictability of the imposition of restrictions. Our attempt to have a Winter Concert as a Pantomime substitute raised no interest – however there is a pantomime on the horizon for 2023. And we have had two fundraisers since the Covid restrictions have been lifted: A Jolly Good Yarn, which was a lot of work, but which was successful both financially and socially; and a film showing which was reasonably well attended under the circumstances and which made a small profit. It is clear to see that this has been a difficult time for the Centre, and with the changing wants and needs of the local community, it is becoming obvious that we are in a time of transition. While we can be optimistic about an increase in income from hiring, maintenance costs are going up rapidly, and the original plan of meeting the costs of improvements through fundraising seems unachievable. To address this, a review of the management of the Centre has been instigated. It is to look at our business model to examine how it can be updated to ensure the viability of the Arkenstall Centre into the future.
Arkenstall Village Centre
Receipts & Payments for the period to 31st March 2022
| Receipts | actual | budget | variance | variance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Room hire | 13,747.50 | 20,000.00 | ( | 6,252.50 ) |
||
| Library Rent | 3,200.00 | 3,200.00 | - | |||
| Flat Rent | 1,500.00 | 1,500.00 | - | |||
| interest | 168.76 | 220.95 | ( | 52.19 ) |
||
| Precept | 2,500.00 | 2,500.00 | - | |||
| Donation | 70.19 | 280.76 | ( | 210.57 ) |
||
| Recycling Credit | - | - | - | |||
| Panto | - | - | - | |||
| Ceilidh | - | - | - | |||
| Fund raising | 785.86 | - | 785.86 | |||
| surplus on sale of COIF units | 4,419.94 | - | 4,419.94 | |||
| Grant | 12,607.80 | 9,345.00 | 3,262.80 | |||
| JRS Grant | 445.64 | 445.00 | 0.64 | |||
| Insurance Claim | - | - | - | |||
| Total Receipts | 39,445.69 | 37,491.71 | 1,953.98 | |||
| Payments | ||||||
| Salaries | 14,758.38 | 15,000.00 | 241.62 | |||
| cost of fundraising | - | - | - | |||
| Telephone | 546.11 | 546.11 | - | |||
| IT | 788.79 | 3,155.16 | 2,366.37 | |||
| Promotion | - | - | - | |||
| Cleaning materials | 2,124.05 | 500.00 | ( | 1,624.05 ) |
||
| Rubbish collection | 978.72 | 678.74 | ( | 299.99 ) |
||
| Building maintenance | 2,125.67 | 8,902.68 | 6,777.01 | |||
| Boiler maintenance | - | 300.00 | 300.00 | |||
| Equipment maintenance | 1,121.46 | 602.84 | ( | 518.63 ) |
||
| Building repairs | 21,474.00 | 21,500.00 | 26.00 | |||
| Electricity | 3,034.77 | 3,166.72 | 131.95 | |||
| water | 800.76 | 835.58 | 34.82 | |||
| Oil | 2,905.50 | 5,177.22 | 2,271.72 | |||
| Gas | - | - | - | |||
| Insurance | 2,213.09 | 2,500.00 | 286.91 | |||
| Licence | 308.40 | 850.00 | 541.60 | |||
| Sundry | 60.00 | 240.00 | 180.00 | |||
| Fire Alarm | - | - | - | |||
| subscription | 162.00 | - | ( | 162.00 ) |
||
| CCTV | 1,964.81 | 1,964.81 | - | |||
| - | - | - | ||||
| Total spend | 55,366.51 | 65,919.84 | 10,553.33 | |||
| Surplus/ (Deficit) | ( | 15,920.82 ) |
( | 28,428.13 ) |
( | 12,507.31 ) |
Arkenstall Village Centre
Balance Sheet as at 31st March 2022
| Balance Sheet as at 31st March 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 31st | March 2022 | |
| Bank Balances at 31st Mar 2022 | ||
| COIF Shares at cost | 10,783.70 | |
| COIF Charity Funds | 68.58 | |
| Lloyds TSB Account | 6,222.96 | |
| Santander | 493.16 | |
| 17,568.40 | ||
| - | ||
| - | ||
| 17,568.40 | ||
| Bank balances at 1st April 2021 | ||
| COIF Shares at cost | 11,363.76 | |
| COIF Charity Funds | 999.82 | |
| Lloyds TSB Account | 20,632.48 | |
| Santander | 493.16 | |
| 33,489.22 | ||
| Surplus/(Deficit) for period | ( | 15,920.82 ) |
| 17,568.40 | ||
| Represented by | ||
| Restricted reserves | ||
| Salaries reserve | 3,000.00 | |
| Repairs reserve | 6,000.00 | |
| Bookings reserve | 3,300.00 | |
| 12,300.00 | ||
| Unrestricted reserves | 5,268.40 | |
| 17,568.40 | ||
| Value of COIF shares at 30th December 2021 | 86,688.90 | |
| Increase from 31st March 2021 of | 14,413.31 |
Gareth Wilson
19-Apr-22
CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trusteesl members of On accounts for the year ended CharSty no {If any) Qrt SooSq4 Set out on pages I report lo the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (Ihe Trust.) for the year 8nded3j 03 £ulL Responslbllltles and As the charity trustees of the Trust. you are responsible for the preparation basis ol report of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (Yhe Acr). I report in respèct of my examination of the Trusfs accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examinalion, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charty Commission under section 145{5){b) of the Act. I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attenlion in connection wth the examination which gNes me cause lo believe that in, any material respect.. accounting records were not kept in accordance wrth section 130 of the Act or the accounts do not accord with the accounting records Independent examiner's statement I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examinalion to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. ' Please delete the woKls in the brackets rflhey do not apply. Signed: Date.. Name.. Relevant professional qualtflcatlonls) or body (if any).. Address: IER October 2018