8[th] April 2024 ORC AGM Chairman’s Report for the year 2023
Good evening everyone and welcome to our Overton Recreation Centre Annual General Meeting for the calendar year 2023. Many thanks to all of you for setting the time aside for this evening’s meeting.
This is a short formal review of what happened during the last calendar year of 2023 so that we can remember what we achieved, look at our key challenges and how we have dealt with them, then convey what plans we have set in motion for 2024. After I have finished I’m happy to take questions and then I have a couple of presentations to make.
Our new treasurer Jonty Spaul will review our financial position in a little more detail later.
2023 proved to be a very wet year! In fact our friends at Test Valley Golf Club advised that we experienced as much rain during the period September to December as we had in the whole of 2022. In spite of this we managed to improve the usage of facilities by 18% overall reaching 98% of pre-pandemic levels. On a very encouraging note we can see a significant development in the use of facilities by girls and women of all ages. Congratulations to both Youth Football and Cricket for their initiatives.
During the year we faced a significant uplift in energy costs but we continued our policy of not changing levies and this will continue until it is appropriate to do so. The committee genuinely believe that we offer very good facilities at a fair price
Once again a conservative financial plan was developed based on the careful project ideas of Dennis Rowles to whom we are very grateful.
The main project for the year was undertaken by the cricket club who relocated their net practice area from north east corner of Bridge Street to the area on the south side of the ground adjacent to their new club house. This required planning permission and significant investment which was successfully achieved on plan – and managed independently for which they must be congratulated.
As we all know the recreation facilities we offer are made available to enhance the health of the community and we are always pleased to see wedding and musical events whenever possible. This year we had our first major challenge as during the evening of the Wheelbarrow Race we had the misfortune to experience the arrival of more than 10 caravans and cars of the Traveller community at Berrydown. Thanks to the prompt action of the police and our volunteers they were gone in 36 hours but left a lot of mess to clear up. Many thanks to everyone involved.
We continue to be a target for criminals as our valuable equipment is easy for them to move on. This year Berrydown Storage Container was broken into and more than £4,000 of machinery stolen. We have taken action to create a more robust locking mechanism and hope that this will be a suitable deterrent in the future.
Our biggest challenge of the year however presented itself in the middle of the summer when our groundsman was diagnosed with an illness that had a serious impact on his ability to manage his job. Thankfully we had a tremendous response from clubs, our part time workers John Bird and Dave Pyle and the team at Test Valley Golf Club – and of course the diligent planning of Dennis Rowles – and the help of many other volunteers = thank you to all involved it was much appreciated. I am pleased to report that the groundsman is beginning to manage his condition much better and is returning to work on a part time basis at the moment.
Our plans for 2024 are once again conservative as in order to facilitate any significant growth we need a relevant, constructive marketing plan. But I am pleased to report that we have engaged the help of a local marketing specialist who has promised to facilitate a process in 2024 so as to help create & write our first marketing plan. Our goals will be governed by what budget we can make available but key to success will be raising awareness within the community of what we do and what we have available and then a drive to increase membership. It’s worth remembering that in spite of the pandemic we have managed to hold a steady membership of approximately 2000 people that buy 3500 numbers every month for our Prize Draw lottery!
In the meantime we will focus our efforts in presenting our grounds to the best of our ability mindful of the fact that there are a number of things we can do to improve conditions without spending a lot of money.
I am pleased to report that BDBC will increase our grant significantly for the period 2024-6 which will help us to manage our budget more effectively.
Under careful consideration and in long term discussion with BDBC is the possible development of an All Weather Facility at Berrydown – this is a long term project and dependent on their willingness to award us the location.
On a separate subject I anticipate the creation of a new 25 year lease for Town Meadow which should materialise early in the new year of 2024. I do not anticipate there being change to the financial requirements i.e. it will be provided on a peppercorn rent basis
Once again this year it’s good to remember that the success of the ORC is due to the continuous efforts of a large number of dedicated and hard working people virtually all of whom are volunteers. Our management committee of more than twelve people who meet every month to discuss relevant matters keep their clubs engaged in developments. And of course there are a few people who are worthy of a special mention:
The Grounds Team – Kevin Ratcliffe dedicates his time every day to making our facilities as good as they can be – ably supported by John Bird at Berrydown and Dave Pyle at Town Meadow.
Membership & Prize Draw – every month we see Emma and her team manage the prize draw effectively and efficiently distribute the winning monies of £2050. Membership is stable and continues to hover around 3500
Sarah Pallister has done a fabulous job with the ORC Admin but now has to step away to focus on her family health challenges = very good luck Sarah.
Many thanks to Dennis Rowles who continues to provide energy and support for the variety of projects that are necessary to maintain the three sites we operate – his experience and advice is invaluable. He was able to engage the voluntary services of John Troman locally who undertakes machinery repairs for which we are extremely grateful.
This year we have been grateful of the help and support of Jonty Spaul who is new to treasury management but has diligently and actively worked his way through the challenges presented.
Finally it’s important to understand and remind ourselves that as a charity we have an obligation to set aside a fund of money which is ring fenced - £75,000 – for stability and financial security.
During 2024 I expect participation and usage of our grounds and clubhouses to continue to grow in spite of the economic pressures. More than ever before people of all ages want to involve themselves in healthy activities – and we have a lot to offer together with the enthusiastic and talented support of club volunteers. We are a multi-purpose organisation supported by a large cohort of volunteers trying to create health and happiness for those that want to get involved. Let’s keep working together, let’s keep helping each other and always remember we are actually on the same side – you may be in a separate club but you’re trying to help the local community enjoy their sports and activities. When you have the opportunity always be kind!
And now I’m pleased to make a couple of presentations:
Brian Shadwell – 60 years of continuous service!! And still helps with the monthly prize draw – fantastic!
Colin Phillimore – many years of diligent treasury management – and continues to help behind the scenes at BDBC!
ENDS
Charity Name Overton Recreation Centre
No (if any)
CC16a
Receipts and payments accounts
For the period Period start date Period end date To from 1st January 2023 31st December 2023
Section A Receipts and payments
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total funds Last year funds funds funds to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £
A1 Receipts
| ORC Membership | 82,501 | - | - | 82,501 | 81,027 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golf Membership& Fees | 23,730 | - | - | 23,730 | - | |||||
| Section Levies | 10,952 | - | - | 10,952 | 12,285 | |||||
| Hire | 10,432 | - | - | 10,432 | - | |||||
| Car Parking | 2,624 | - | - | 2,624 | - | |||||
| Grants | 13,333 | - | - | 13,333 | 21,334 | |||||
| Other Income | 54,992 | - | - | 54,992 | 47,498 | |||||
| Rates relief | - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| Sub total(Gross income for AR) | 198,563 |
- | - | 198,563 | 162,224 |
| A2 Asset and investment sales, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (see table). | ||||||||||
| - | - | - | - | |||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| Sub total | - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| **Total receipts ** | 198,563 | - | - | 198,563 | 162,224 |
A3 Payments Grounds Care
| Wages - Grounds care | 39,627 | - | - | 39,627 | 40,601 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MachineryPurchase Service and Repair | 14,562 | - | - | 14,562 | 14,073 | |||||
| Fuel Costs - Grounds Care | 2,248 | - | - | 2,248 | - | |||||
| Consumables - Grounds Care | 4,256 | - | - | 4,256 | 8,431 | |||||
| Other Grounds Care Expenditure | 8,241 | - | - | 8,241 | 11,660 | |||||
| **Sub total ** | 68,933 | - | - | 68,933 | 89,444 | |||||
| Buildings | ||||||||||
| CleaningConsumables | 873 | - | - | 873 | - | |||||
| Wages - Cleaners | 9,941 | - | - | 9,941 | 11,899 | |||||
| Utilities - Gas, Elec, Water & Waste | 28,885 | - | - | 28,885 | 14,448 | |||||
| Maintenance and Repair | 8,003 | - | - | 8,003 | - | |||||
| **Sub total ** | 47,702 | - | - | 47,702 | 33,295 | |||||
| Other expenditure | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| Draw | 26,520 | - | - | 26,520 | 25,130 | |||||
| Bank Charges | 274 | - | - | 274 | 278 | |||||
| Printing | 270 | - | - | 270 | 277 | |||||
| Golf Tags | 1,126 | - | - | 1,126 | - | |||||
| Other Expenditure | 2,518 | - | - | 2,518 | 6,154 | |||||
| **Sub total ** | 147,343 | - | - | 147,343 | 122,739 | |||||
| A4 Asset and investment | ||||||||||
| purchases, (see table) | ||||||||||
| - | - | - | - | |||||||
| - | - | - | - | |||||||
| **Sub total ** | - | - | - | - | 14,111 | |||||
| **Total payments ** | 147,343 | - | - | 147,343 | 136,850 | |||||
| **Net of receipts/(payments) ** | 51,220 | - | - | 51,220 | 25,374 | |||||
| A5 Transfers between funds | - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| A6 Cash funds last year end | 48,568 | 75,000 | - | 123,568 | 110,950 | |||||
| **Cash funds this year end ** | 99,788 | 75,000 | - | 174,788 | 136,324 |
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
| Categories B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets B3 Investment assets B5 Liabilities B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use |
Details HSBC Current Account/Cash HSBC Money Santander Details Details Details Bridge Street Buildings Bridge Street Stock and Machinery Town Meadow Buildings Town Meadow Stock and Machinery Berrydown Buildings Berrydown Contents Details HMRC/PAYE Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) |
to nearest £ 21,814 - 25,393 47,207 Agreement Error to nearest £ - - - - - - Unrestricted Unrestricted Unrestricted Unrestricted Unrestricted Unrestricted Unrestricted Unrestricted funds Unrestricted funds Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which liability relates |
to nearest £ - 25,556 49,444 75,000 OK to nearest £ - - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Restricted funds Restricted funds Amount due (optional) |
to nearest £ Endowment funds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| OK | ||||
| to nearest £ Endowment funds |
||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| Current value (optional) |
||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| Current value (optional) |
||||
| 635,950 | ||||
| 97,450 | ||||
| 267,950 | ||||
| 23,000 | ||||
| 770,500 | ||||
| 50,600 | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| When due (optional) |
||||
| HMRC/PAYE | Unrestricted | - | ||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - |
Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees
Signature
Date of Print Name approval
Examination Statement
Independent Examiner's Report to the members of the Overton Recreation Centre
I report on the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2023 .
Respective responsibilities of the Overton Recreation Centre and Independent Examiner
The Overton Recreation Centre considers that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to:
-
examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act;
-
follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act; and
-
state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of Independent Examiner's Statement
My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission.
An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the management committee concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in a full audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the accounts.
Independent Examiner's Statement
In connection with my examination, no matters have come to my attention
-
which give me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements • to keep accounting records in accordance with s.130 of the 2011 Act; or
-
to prepare accounts which accord with these accounting records have not been met; or
-
to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Tim Light FMAAT Licence Number 8057 Lightatouch 7 Hodder Close Chandlers Ford Hants SO53 4QD 05 April 2024