2024-08-31-accounts

Trustees’ Annual Report for the period 1 September 2023 to 31 August 2024

Charity name : Riding Mill Village Halls Charity registration number: 501316 Address : Riding Mill Parish Hall, Millfield Road, Riding Mill NE44 6DJ

Objectives and Activities

	SORP reference
Summary of the purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document	Para 1.17	The provision and maintenance of two village halls for the use of the inhabitants of the Parish of Broomhaugh and Riding Mill and visitors to the village (without distinction of political, religious, or other opinions) for meetings, lectures and classes and for other forms of recreation and leisure-time occupation, with the object of improving their quality of life.
Summary of the main activities in relation to those purposes for the public benefit, in particular, the activities, projects or services identified in the accounts.	Para 1.17 and 1.19	Our village halls are used both daily in the week and regularly at weekends. The activities span all age groups and include Cubs & Scouts, Karate; Youth Theatre; Yoga and Pilates; Badminton; Choral; Art; Bridge, Carpet Bowls, and Seated Exercise. Monthly social events include Pot Luck Lunch and Film night. Valuable opportunities to meet are provided by the twice weekly Café in the Foyer and the weekly Drop In event. The daily Market Table at the Parish Hall provides a service to the wider community. The halls have also been used for private events and celebrations throughout the year. Drama Club productions are a twice-yearly popular event attracting the wider community.
Statement confirming if the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit	Para 1.18	Trustees have been mindful of their duty to have due regard to the Charity Commission’s public benefit guidance when exercising any powers or duties to which the guidance is relevant

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:	Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:	Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
	SORP reference
Policy on grant making	Para 1.38	Not applicable
Policy on social investment including program related investment	Para 1.38	Not applicable
Contribution made by volunteers	Para 1.38	The charity is managed by 5 Trustees who are all volunteers however the halls could not operate without our generous volunteers. In excess of 50 volunteers are involved in some way or another – some regularly and some for one-off events eg jumble sales, garden parties. Our ‘Garden Invaders’ maintain the considerable grounds at the Parish Hall and our Market Table team puts out eggs, locally made preserves, and other items such as plants for sale daily with money going into an honesty box and profits going into hall funds. Café in the Foyer opens up on a Monday and Friday morning.
Other		The charity lets out a 2-bedroomed flat on the first floor of the Parish Hall the rent from which contributes significantly towards hall cleaning costs. Managing the tenancy this year has been a considerable drain on Trustee time.
Achievements and Performance
	SORP reference
Summary of the main achievements of the charity, identifying the difference the charity’s work has made to the circumstances of its beneficiaries and any wider benefits to society as a whole.	Para 1.20	When we reported last year, we anticipated that our transition to a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) would be complete. Disappointingly, this has not been the case due to delays in getting the Parish Hall lease reassigned to the CIO. We have progressed our aim of ensuring legal compliance with eg updated fire risk assessments and an asbestos management plan. A food hygiene rating of 5 was awarded to the halls. One of our main objectives was to improve communication with hall users and interested parties in the community

by way of regular Newsletters, User Group meetings, and an annual open meeting. This was achieved with 8 Newsletters; 2 User Group meetings and an Open Meeting in June 2024. Hall users provided valuable feedback to our work revising the hall hire package ie Booking Form, Terms & Conditions and Hall Hire Charges. Hire charges had not previously been ‘published’ and were not on our website. They were published on 1 Sept 2024 - a big step towards providing transparency and consistency. We looked at ways to reduce our energy costs with the help of Community Action Northumberland (CAN) who carried out a free energy audit identifying some energy saving areas. Double glazing was completed in the Parish Hall and destratification fans fitted. Networking with other village halls local to Riding Mill has been useful in sharing ideas and confirming that we are not alone in the challenges that we face running 2 village halls. The Parish Hall is a designated Warm Hub and both halls are community resilience hubs. We are extremely grateful to everyone who contributes their time to help the halls to thrive and we will continue to actively seek to increase our trustee and volunteer teams.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

Achievements against objectives	Para 1.41	Intentionally blank
Performance of fundraising activities against objectives	Para 1.41	Intentionally blank
Investment performance against objectives	Para 1.41	Intentionally blank

Financial Review

Financial Review
Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period	Para 1.21	The charity aims to fund its running costs from its income. Hall hire charges and rent from the flat plus periodic fund- raising events and the market table income, made it achievable.
Statement explaining the policy for holding reserves stating why they are held	Para 1.22	General reserves are held in a separate interest-bearing account in the bank.
Amount of reserves held	Para 1.22	£75K
Reasons for holding zero reserves	Para 1.22	N/A
Details of fund materially in deficit	Para 1.24	N/A
Explanation of any uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern	Para 1.23	N/A

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:	Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:	Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
The charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising)	Para 1.47	The principal source of funds is the revenue from hall charges. These had not been increased for two years; they were reviewed and increased from 1st Sept 2024 after discussions with the User Groups. The other significant source of income is the rent from the flat which had not been increased since 2020. It was increased by £100 p/m from April 2024 to bring it closer to market rent. We have not had the ‘head room’ to proactively seek grants this year but have benefited from a grant from the Parish Council and a grant from Community Action Northumberland (CAN) towards heating costs.
Investment policy and objectives including any social investment policy adopted	Para 1.46	Not applicable
A description of the principal risks facing the charity	Para 1.46	1) we lease the Parish Hall on a full maintain and repair lease and as it approaches its centenary, we are likely to face significant refurbishment costs; 2) we are finding it difficult to recruit more Trustees to share the workload; 3) we need to supplement our existing

pool of volunteers; 4) we are at an early stage of knowledge capture and sharing which is essential to provide a good foundation for the future; and 5) the existing heating system in the Parish Hall is not capable of providing adequate heating during cold periods and will require remedial action.

Structure, Governance and Management

Description of charity’s trusts:
Type of governing document (trust deed, royal charter)	Para 1.25	Charity Commission Scheme
How is the charity constituted? (e.g unincorporated association, CIO)	Para 1.25	Unincorporated Association
Trustee selection methods including any constitutional provisions e.g. election to post or name of any person or body entitled to appoint one or more trustees	Para 1.25	We constantly seek additional Trustees with skills and experience complementary to the team.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

Policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees Para 1.51 The charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the Para 1.51 charity works Relationship with any related Para 1.51 parties

Reference and Administrative details

Charity name	Riding Mill Village Halls
Other name the charity uses	n/a
Registered charity number	501316
Charity’s principal address	Riding Mill Parish Hall Millfield Road Riding Mill NE44 6DJ
email	[e-mail]
website	www.ridingmillvillagehalls.org

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

1 2 3 4 5 6	Trustee name	Office (if any)	Dates acted if part of the year	Name of person/body) entitled to appoint trustee (ifany)
	Adrian Banger	Chair & Treasurer
	Judith Wilthew	Secretary
	Kathleen Fadden
	Chris Higgins
	Pam Waldron
	Jennifer Brydie		Resigned 17thDec 2023

Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity: None

Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others

Description of the assets held in this capacity	N/A
Name and objects of the charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects	N/A
Details of arrangements for safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets	N/A

Additional information (optional)

Names and addresses of advisers (optional information) N/A

Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (optional information) N/A

Exemptions from disclosure

Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details - N/A

Other optional information

Declarations

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above. Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s) Full name(s) Position (eg Secretary, Chair) Date
	JUDITH WILTHEW
	SECRETARY
	13.06.2025
	13.06.2025

RIDING MILL VILLAGE HALLS TRUST

INCOME & EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT

YEAR ENDING 31 AUGUST 2024

INCOME Hire Of Halls Affiliation Fees Grants & Donations Riding Mill Parish Council 2,500 Energy Grant 900 Special Events Jumble Sale 1,003 Table Top 437 Café, Pot Luck Lunch and Film Club Market Table Flat Rental Bank Interest Sundries EXPENDITURE Halls Cleaning 7,414 Utilities 12,819 Repairs 4,186 Insurance 2,704 Landscape & Maintenance 1,057 Improvements Windows 6,160 Fan 840 General Booking Services 3,000 Legal Charges 3,340 Market Table 5,342 Sundries 3,097 SURPLUS FOR THE YEAR SURPLUS BROUGHT FORWARD 88,905 Less DEBTS AT 31/8/2023 Written off 4,372 SURPLUS AT 31 AUGUST 2024	2023/24 29,275 390 3,400 1,440 5,839 8,238 6,325 130 250 £ 55,287 28,180 7,000 14,779 £ 49,959 5,328 75,031 84,533 -- £ 89,861	2022/23 26,671 420 6,270 425 3,151 7,837 5,225 -- 4,278 £ 54,277 32,006 8,397 £ 40,403 13,874 75,031 £ 88,905

RIDING MILL VILLAGE HALLS TRUST

BALANCE SHEET

31 AUGUST 2024

CASH AT BANK Deposit Account Current Account CASH IN HAND DEBTORS CREDITORS GENERAL FUND As at 31 August 2024	£		2024 75,130 14,503 89,633 -- 228 89,861 -- 89,861 89,861	£	2023 -- 84,305 84,305 52 5,057 89,414 509 88,905 88,905
	£			£

UTILITIES

YEAR ENDING 31 AUGUST 2024

PARISH HALL

Gas Electricity MILLENNIUM HALL Gas Electricity WATER TELEPHONE/BROADBAND LICENCE	5,785 2,213 7,998 1,416 1,090 2,506 661 1,584 70 £ 12,819

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO

RIDING MILL VILLAGE HALLS TRUST

(CHARITY NO. 501316)

YEAR ENDED 31[ST] AUGUST 2024

_______________________________________________________________________

I report on the accounts of Riding Mill Village Halls Trust   for the year ended
31[st] August 2024.

Respective responsibilities of Management Board and Examiner

As the Management Board you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts;
you consider that the audit requirement of s144(2) of the Charities Act 2011
(the Act) does not apply.  It is my responsibility to state, on the basis of
procedures specified in the General Directions given by the Charity
Commissioners under s145(5)(b) of the Act, whether particular matters have come
to my attention.

Basis of Independent Examiner's report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given
by the Charity Commissioners.  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 the seeking of explanations from you
as the Management Board concerning any such matters.  The procedures undertaken
do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and,
consequently, I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the
accounts.

Independent Examiner's statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that, in any material respect the requirements:

to keep accounting records in accordance with s130 of the Act; and

to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and to
comply with the accounting requirements of the Act

have not been met; or

2. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a
proper understanding of the accounts to be reached, apart from the
information included in Note 1.

David L Kilner
Chartered Accountant
7 Eldon Square
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 7JG

15 April 2025