12[th] May 2025 ORC AGM Chairman’s Report for the year 2024
Good evening everyone and welcome to our Overton Recreation Centre Annual General Meeting for the calendar year 2024. Many thanks to all of you for setting the time aside for this evening’s meeting.
The purpose of this meeting is to offer some insights into what happened during the last calendar year of 2024 so that we can review 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 2025 and beyond. After I have finished I’m happy to take questions from the floor.
Our treasurer Ian Clarke will review our financial position in a little more detail later.
It is worthwhile at the outset to remind us all what we, as an organisation, are trying to achieve overall. Strategically, the ORC is a facilities business that is a sports charity. We are trying to provide good quality playing fields and pavilions that offer the local community the opportunity to organise and play sports and activities that lead to a healthy outcome for our participants. And at a price that is fair and allows us to reinvest so that we can make improvements. We actually manage 30 acres of playing fields on three different sites around the village! Exceptional green spaces where thousands of people enjoy themselves!
2024 proved to be another very wet year which created challenges for grounds management throughout. Teams were faced with rescheduling fixtures in the winter and loss of play in the summer. The golf course at Town Meadow had to place limitations on where golfers could play as some holes were too wet for a considerable period of time, naturally impacting membership.
In spite of this we managed to improve the usage of facilities by 7% overall at last exceeding pre-pandemic levels. Use of the facilities by the young continues to develop successfully with a special mention for youth football where we run seventeen teams. A fantastic achievement for our local community, where the volunteers deserve a special mention.
Our grounds machinery was kept in good order under the careful eye of Dennis Rowles and we only needed the addition of one specialist mower at Town Meadow Golf Club. Many thanks to John Troman, a local retired engineer, for his diligence and repair work to our equipment through the year.
Bridge Street Pavilion’s roof needed some attention during the summer which had not been planned but were able to address the issues from our healthy bank balance.
Berrydown however has thrown out a challenge that we are still trying to determine the best course of action. The 13 year old outdoor heat source pump system is in need of replacement and we expect to implement a solution some time in 2025.
The actions we took in 2023 to improve the security of our facilities seemed to be effective as we did not suffer any losses as in previous years.
I am pleased to report that the health of our groundsman has settled down and he has returned to full duties. And we have allocated a part time grounds support person to each ground for the spring/summer months in order to improve the quality of our offer. This approach seems to have been effective as we have received positive feedback from the users of each location.
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.
BDBC kept their promise of providing a significantly higher annual grant for 2024-6 which has helped us to meet the challenges of higher costs without raising club levies or pavilion usage prices. However, a significant analysis of income and expenditure per ground by our colleague Andy Galvin showed that pricing needs to be addressed in 2025.
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.
The development of an appropriate 25 year lease for Town Meadow continues as an ongoing discussion with BDBC as both parties negotiate mutually acceptable terms and conditions,
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. This year has been a little more
onerous as we have had to operate without an Administrator (no-one has come forward to take the role) and the role of Treasurer was over to Ian Clarke at the end of the year.
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 our team of part time workers during Spring/Summer
A special thanks must be extended to Andy Galvin and his friends at the cricket club who worked tirelessly through their season to manage the standards of the cricket squares at both Bridge Street and Berrydown.
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
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.
This year we have been very grateful to Ian Clarke who took on the important role of Grounds Liaison Manager improving communications between the clubs and the grounds team. And then later added Treasury to his workload.
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 2025 we will continue to focus on cost management as demand for our facilities grows due to local population growth. Our pavilions will require maintenance and upgrading but we will find grants to support our activities.
As I’ve said before we must keep working together, keep helping each other – you may be in a separate club but you’re trying to help the local community enjoy their sports and activities. To become healthier and enjoy more from life! When you have the opportunity to cooperate with your colleagues be helpful & please always be kind!
And now I’m pleased to hand over to our Treasurer, Ian Clarke who will review our financial position with you.ENDS
Charity Name Overton Recreation Centre
CC16a
No (if any)
Receipts and payments accounts
For the period Period start date Period end date To from 1st January 2024 31st December 2024
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 | 83,441 | - | - | 83,441 | 82,501 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golf Membership& Fees | 13,692 | - | - | 13,692 | 23,730 | |||||||||
| Section Levies | 12,839 | - | - | 12,839 | 10,952 | |||||||||
| Hire | 17,598 | - | - | 17,598 | 10,432 | |||||||||
| Car Parking | 2,488 | - | - | 2,488 | 2,624 | |||||||||
| Grants | 20,000 | - | - | 20,000 | 13,333 | |||||||||
| Other Income | 3,312 | - | - | 3,312 | 54,992 | |||||||||
| Insurance Claims | 3,011 | |||||||||||||
| UtilityRebates | 5,158 | - | - | 5,158 | - | |||||||||
| Sub total(Gross income for AR) | 161,538 | - | - | 158,527 | 198,563 | |||||||||
| A2 Asset and investment sales, | ||||||||||||||
| (see table). | ||||||||||||||
| - | - | - | - | |||||||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | ||||||||||
| Sub total | - | - | - | - | - | |||||||||
| **Total receipts ** | 161,538 | - | - | 158,527 | 198,563 |
A3 Payments Grounds Care
| A3 Payments Grounds Care |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wages - Grounds care | 45,264 | - | - - - - |
45,264 | 39,627 | |||
| Machinery Purchase Service and Repair | 6,190 | - | 6,190 | 14,562 | ||||
| Fuel Costs - Grounds Care | 3,455 | - | 3,455 | 2,248 | ||||
| Consumables - Grounds Care | 19,211 | - | 19,211 | 12,497 | ||||
| Other Grounds Care Expenditure | 2,331 | - | - | 2,331 | 8,241 | |||
| Buildings | ||||||||
| CleaningConsumables | 1,120 | - | - | 1,120 | 873 | |||
| Wages - Cleaners | 16,270 | - | - - |
16,270 | 9,941 | |||
| Utilities - Gas, Elec, Water & Waste | 32,763 | - | 32,763 | 28,885 | ||||
| Maintenance and Repair | 28,420 | - | - | 28,420 | 10,849 | |||
| Other expenditure | ||||||||
| Draw | 24,600 | - | - | 24,600 | 23,540 | |||
| Bank Charges | 274 | - | - - - - - |
274 | 274 | |||
| Printing | - | - | 270 | |||||
| Golf Tags | - | - | 1,260 | |||||
| Insurance | 732 | 9,037 | ||||||
| LevyRebates | 1,552 | |||||||
| Other Expenditure | 4,230 | - | 4,230 | 5,146 | ||||
| **Sub total ** | 186,412 | - | 184,128 | 167,249 |
| A4 Asset and investment | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| purchases, (see table) | |||||||||||
| - | - | - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | - | - | ||||||||
| **Sub total ** | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| **Total payments ** | 186,412 | - | - | 184,128 | 167,249 | ||||||
| **Net of receipts/(payments) ** | - 24,874 | - | - | - 25,601 | 31,314 | ||||||
| A5 Transfers between funds | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| A6 Cash funds last year end | 48,911 | 75,000 | - | 123,911 | 92,597 |
Cash funds this year end 24,037 75,000 - 98,310 123,911
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 Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees |
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 Signature Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) |
to nearest £ to nearest £ 7,388 - - 75,000 15,922 23,310 75,000 Agreement Error OK to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - Cost (optional) Unrestricted - Unrestricted - Unrestricted - Unrestricted - Unrestricted - Unrestricted - - - - Unrestricted - - - - - Print Name Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which liability relates 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) |
|||
| Date of 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 2024 .
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
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to prepare accounts which accord with these accounting records have not been met; or
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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 02 July 2025