BRAZIER TRUST ACCOUNTS YEAR ENDING 31st MARCH 2023 REGISTERED AS'LANDAT THE eAU$EWAY' REGISTERED CHARITY ￿). 302330 Brazler Trust Trusts88 Annual Report for the Year Endlng 311t March 2023 Referonce and Admini$tr*tlon Detalls Charity Name Brazier Trust {Registered a$'L•nd •1 the Caus•way'l Charity Numbar 302336 Charity Address The Old Monastery, Wndhill, Bishop'8 Stortford. Herts. CM23 2ND The Trustee serviTYJ during the year and slnce the year end was as follows.. Bi$hop'$ Stortford Town Council structure, Governance and Managem•nt Brazler Trust 1$ govomed by Conveyance and Deed of Exchange. The Trustee admlnistsis the charity and meets quarterfy. Objects and A¢tfvitles The gift of a piece of land to the Urban District Council in 1928 by Jog Brazier fomis what 1$ now the Link Road Car Park {leased lo East Herts Council) and part of the Town Meads in Bi$hop'$ Storiford. The grfi ereated a charitable Irusl, which Is adminlslergd by the Town Council. The object of the Irust is to apply the income of the Charity in Ihg mainlenanco and upkeep of the property of the Charity and apply any excess as seen fil for the general benefft of the inhabrtants of Bishop's Stortford. Achlév•m•nts and P•rfornianc• This is detsiled In the attached report by the Chi8f Executive Officer of Bishop's Slortford Town Council, the Sole Corporate Trustae. Flnanclal R•vl•w Brazbr Trust maintains r6serves in 8n Instant access savlng$ acoount In ordgr to fund its day to day op8ratlon, wtth the balancg hèld In a 90 day notice accourbt achieving a higher r8te of interest. No funds are in dor￿lt. Pag82of5 Independent Examlners Report to the Trusteeg of Brazier Trust I report on the a￿Unts of the Tru￿ IGharity No. 302336) tor the year ending 31 st March 2023, whKh are $et Lwt on pages 4 and 5. R￿PectiVe r8sponslbillliès of Trustsg and Examiner The Charty'g trustees are responsible for the preparab.on tsf thtr accounts. The Charrty's irustees consider Ihat an audlt is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charitie$ Act 2011 Ith• Charities Aetl and that an independent examinatbn is needed. It is my r¢spon$ibilrty to.. exarnine the aCLOUllts undgr section 145 ol the Charitles Act. le folltsw the procedure5 laid down in the general Dire¢tions given by the Chafty Cornmi6sK)n (under se¢tion 14515}Ibl of the Charities Act,. and to state whether particular matters have ¢ome to my attention. easis of Indepond?nt ExamingT5 Report My examination was carrièd out in accordance with tl)e General Dire¢tlon3 gNen by th8 Charity Commission. An examination indudes a review of the accounting records kept by the Charity and a compari50n of Ihe accounts present with Ihose records. 11 also indudes consideration of any unusual iterns or disclosure$ in the a¢eounls, and seeking explanations from you as Trustees con¢ernlng any Such matters. The procedures undertaken do ntst provide 811 the evidence that would be requirèd in an audit, and consequently no opinion is glvèn as to whether the 8CLounts present a 'true and faiT' view 8nd the report is limrted to those rnatt8rs s•t out in the statemgnl below. Indopendent Examlnèr8 Statement In connection with my examination, no material mattors have eom? to my attenti¢)n whieh gives me caus& to believe that in, any mateTial respe¢t'. accountin9 records were not kept in a￿ordan￿ with section 130 01 tne charib.es Acl or tho accounts do not accc*d with the accounting records I have come 8GTOS$ no other mattèrs in connectioj) with the examination lo whSch attention should btr drawn in order to enable a proper understsnding of unts to be reached. Sign¢d Dgted 2q Print Name St W J Wilbur Add￿8$ 10 Downland Road Calne Wtttshire SN11 OET Page3of5 Brazier TnBI Recoipts and Payments For the Year Endlrig 31st March 2023 2023 2022 Restricted Unrestricted Total Funds Total Funds Fund Fund Ro¢olpts Rent Receive(I Interest Recelved Donation VAT Receipts 42,495 2,533 42,495 2,533 10.500 8,499 38,986 829 10,500 7.797 10,500 8.499 Total Rec8ipls 10,500 53,527 64.027 58,112 Payments Alocatgd Staff Costs Maintenance of Grounds P18y Area Maintenance Trge Works Professional Fees Grants VAT Payments 13,581 3,979 2,123 1,500 60 68,345 8,324 13.581 3.979 2,123 1,500 60 78,845 8,324 13.081 5,429 6.744 10.500 16,573 7.769 Total Payments 10,500 49.656 N•t R•c•lpt￿{PayM¢ntsI 144,36SI {44,3851 8.456 Cash Funds from Last Year End 126,899 126,899 118,443 Cash Funds thls Year End 82,514 82,514 126,899 Page4of5 Brazier Trust Slatement of Assets and Liabilities For tho Year Endlng 31st March 2023 2023 2022 R8slrided Unresbicted Total Funds Totsl Funds Fund Fund Ca$h Funds Lloytls Bank Saffron Building Society ,751 73,763 82,514 8,751 73,763 82,514 54.776 126.899 Other Mon•tsry Assets Monies Du8 to Charity 8131103 Llabllltles Monies {￿ed by Charity al 31103 8.688 7.342 Investment Assets None Approved for and on Behaw of Brazier Trust o behaW of the Trustee Dated O Signed Print Name Signed Dated Q6/IMiJ.as..._ Pdnt Name Page5of5 ## **ANNUAL TOWN MEETING 2023** ## **BRAZIER TRUST** ## **REPORT BY THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER** The gift of a piece of land to the Urban District Council in 1928 by Joe Brazier forms what is now the Link Road car park and part of the Town Meads. The gift created a Charitable Trust, which is administered by the Town Council. The object of the Trust is to maintain the open space for the benefit of the public; any surplus income is distributed for the general benefit of the inhabitants of Bishop’s Stortford. Neither the expenditure nor income of the Trust forms part of the Town Council’s overall finances. The Trust benefits from the rent derived from the lease of the Link Road Car Park to the District Council. The fee is index linked and for the 2022-2023 year stood at £42,495 (excluding VAT). Following the disruption caused by the Covid pandemic, activities on the field have returned to normal. The summer 2022 Carnival/Fun day was very popular, and several other events took place. ## **FUNDS** The Trust commenced the year with a fund balance of £126,899. During the year it reimbursed the Town Council for the maintenance of the land carried out on its behalf, which included grass cutting, adventure playground and skate park maintenance and litter picking. At the time of writing the year end bank balance is projected to be approximately £87,115, of which £50,000 is committed to a contribution to the improvements at Sworders Field which form part of the ‘Castle Park’ project. ## **DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS** The Trust awards grants to voluntary and charitable organisations and set aside £41,500 for this in 2022-2023. In addition, it received a donation of £10,500 from the Town Council to top up the ‘grants budget’ for a total of £52,000. This donation from the Town Council substitutes for a grant allocation of the same size which, in former years, was distributed directly by the Town Council and the effect is to bring together the two allocations into a single fund which can therefore award larger grants and deal with applications more effectively. The grants policy and an application form are available from the Council website: www.bishopsstortfordtc.gov.uk/grants. A number of applications were received during the year and a total of £39,865 was awarded, since the previous report in 2022, to: Bishop's Stortford Arts Society Bishop’s Stortford District Scouts Bishop's Stortford Youth Project Bishop's Wellbeing East Herts Community Safety Partnership Isabel Hospice Bishop's Stortford Social Club Clock Cricket Company at Christmas Grange Paddocks Junior Parkrun Herts and Soul Choir Stortford Archery Club 1st St Michaels Scout Troop Aspects Herts Musical Memories SOSA St Michael's Society of Change Ringers ## **RECENT DEVELOPMENTS** The Brazier Trust land is immediately adjacent to Sworders Field and to Castle Gardens (the latter owned by East Herts District Council). Since 2016 the Town Council has been working with East Herts District Council and the Countryside Management Service (CMS) on an ambitious plan to improve the facilities on these linked pieces of land. The application for lottery support was successful and a grant of approximately £M2.54 has been secured for the implementation phase. The estimated total project cost is £M3.8, the balance is made up by contributions from the project partners, S106 funds and a contribution of £50,000 from Brazier Trust. The project will provide a major enhancement to the park, and to the Brazier Trust land, whilst retaining its character and use. The works on site commenced late in 2022 with the rebuild of the skatepark. Unfortunately, the appointed contractors went into liquidation part way through the work, causing a delay. New contractors have been selected, the works are progressing at speed, and it is hoped that they will be complete around the end of March 2023. Throughout the build the skating community has been involved; the Trust and Council thank them for their valuable contribution. In addition, work has commenced on the path around the field, which includes the Brazier Trust land, and the construction of the new tennis courts, a corner of which is on Brazier Trust land, has been completed. Other parts of the project, not affecting the Brazier Trust land, are also progressing well; landscaping around the war memorial has largely been completed and the conversion of the Toilet Block on the Causeway into a community centre is underway. The works overall will continue into the early part of 2024. Preparations for the planned BMX track, to be sited adjacent to the tennis courts, have continued. The drainage design (which is key and which links to the drainage for the skate park) has been completed as has the detailed design of the profiling required to create the track. Because the design has changed to accommodate the drainage requirements and the consultation responses, a revised planning consent will be required. The application will be submitted early in 2023. Until this has been considered by the District Council it is not possible to give a date for the commencement of the build. **James Parker Chief Executive Officer**