## **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|RMvillagehalls@gmail.com| |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 ```