Nottingham Civic Society (Registered charity, number 504768) Financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024
| Page | Contents |
|---|---|
| 2 - 5 | Trustees’ annual report |
| 6 | Independent examiner’s report |
| 7 | Receipts & payments account |
| 8 | Statement of assets & liabilities |
| 9 | Notes to the accounts |
Nottingham Civic Society Trustees’ annual report for the year ended 31 December 2024
Full name Nottingham Civic Society
Registered charity number 504768
Principal address c/o 4A Kelvin Road, Thorneywood, Nottingham, NG3 2PR
Trustees
Graham Woodward, Chair Hilary Brindley, Vice President Kurt Hatton, Vice Chair Hilary Silvester, Vice President Ian Wells, Secretary Nicola Pink Christopher Weir Jackie Morris Nicholas Max David Franklin Paul Collins David Needham Becky Valentine Kevin Powell, until 18/11/24 Angela Pratten, from 21/05/24 Alan Marshall, until 08/07/24 Cherry Knight, from 21/05/24
Independent examiner
John O’Brien, employee of Community Accounting Plus, Units 1 & 2 North West, 41 Talbot Street, Nottingham, NG1 5GL
Governance and management
The charity is operated under the rules of its constitution adopted 14 October 1975 and most recently amended 12 December 2023.
Trustees’ recruitment is undertaken among the membership of the Society and also from other members of the community whose personal or business interests may encompass those similar to the interests of the Society.
Objectives and activities
The Society is established for the public benefit for the following purposes in the area comprising the City of Nottingham (“the area of benefit”):
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To promote high standards of planning and architecture in the area of benefit;
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To educate the public in the geography, history, natural history and architecture of the area of benefit;
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To secure the preservation, protection, development and improvement of features of historic or public interest in the area of benefit.
Public benefit statement
The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit, 'Charities and Public Benefit'.
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Nottingham Civic Society
Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit
The Society seeks to maintain and encourage interest in good design within the city and to encourage the maintenance of the historic fabric and natural environment of the city for its present and future citizens and others visiting and working in the city.
The Society’s education remit requires it to provide public lectures and also to publish books and leaflets which seek to encourage understanding and knowledge of the city. There is also the offer of educational activities, lectures, etc., for educational establishments within the city.
The Society works with many departments of the City Council to influence design and approaches to the built historic townscapes, open spaces, transport, economic wellbeing and cultural environments of the city and its citizens. Consultations and negotiations with the City Council and other relevant bodies and individuals form an important part of the Society’s work.
The Society also provides funding for a number of projects to benefit the city.
The Society works with other amenity societies locally, regionally and nationally in a co-operative and advisory capacity.
Summary of the main achievements during the period
With the postponed 2023 AGM taking place in mid-December of that year, the Board of Trustees was in place for the start of the January-December 2024 financial year. In the course of 2024 however we recorded the retirements of Kevin Powell and our treasurer Alan Marshall from the Board.
We also record that at the May 2024 AGM, which proceeded as planned, Chris Weir retired as Vice Chair but remains on the Board. With Chris Weir’s retirement the post of Vice Chair was taken by Kurt Hatton. With Alan Marshall’s retirement Ian Wells, who had fulfilled this function before, took on the additional role of Acting Treasurer. We also record the retirement of our Webmaster, Mike Astill. His successor is Alistair Webster, who has set up a new website for the Society.
Board meetings took place face-to-face on a regular basis, as did a meeting of the Environment Committee to discuss the plans for the Broad Marsh area.
On management issues, two new policy documents for Board members were introduced. A Code of Conduct policy was adopted to ensure that Board meetings were always conducted to the highest standard, and a Conflict of Interest document was adopted to ensure that Board decisions were always taken in the best interests of the Society.
The year’s very varied lecture programme began on 16 January, Paul Elliott, professor of Modern History at the University of Derby began the year with a talk on Nottingham’s Historic Green Spaces: Learning from the Past in an Age of Climate Emergency and presented us with copies of his associated book.
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Nottingham Civic Society
On 20 February recently-retired trustee Felicity Whittle, under the title 'House-work: 29 years in the House of Commons Library' shared recollections from a career spent amongst the books, the buildings and the people in the Palace of Westminster, giving a fascinating account of working in Pugin and Barry’s astonishing building.
On 19 March Martine Hamilton Knight gave the Ken Brand lecture 'Meet the Neighbours: Photographing Staffordshire for the new edition of Pevsner's Buildings of England.’ Staffordshire was the final Pevsner that Sir Nikolaus produced, thus completing the series that he had begun in Nottinghamshire a quarter of a century before, and our onetime Board member showed us with her customary verve how she approached the illustrations of what, by a neat symmetry, became the final Pevsner to be revised in the new format: a pocket-sized volume turned into a weighty tome.
On 16 April: Chris Matthews, city conservation officer, explored 'Twentieth Century Nottingham' with us.
The Annual General Meeting took place on 21 May, followed by a talk from Graham Woodward about Nottingham Cinemas.
On Tuesday 15 October, under the title Nottingham East and West, Tom Huggon and Andrew Hamilton took us to the extremities of the City to describe the historic settlements of Sneinton and Wollaton.
On 19 November: Board member and former vice chair Chris Weir told us about Nottingham in Byron’s time, a suitable commemoration of the two-hundredth anniversary of the poet’s death.
On 10 December James Knight talked to us on Buildings and Myths in Nottingham.
The walks programme was highly successful with 18 walks attended by a total of almost 500 people. The walks included the Park Estate, Lace Market, Civil War, two Cemeteries, Theatres of Nottingham, Nottingham Canal, Watson Fothergill, Georgian Nottingham, Crime and Punishment, and Beer and Bible topics. Income raised from non-member attendance amounted to £1,217 from the walks led by Graham Woodward, Graham Clarke, Kurt Hatton, and Kevin Powell.
Newsletters, emails and – where necessary – postal communications have kept us in touch with members. There has been some reduction of renewals of subscription, although the introduction of payments via the website was already proving popular by the end of 2024. However, the amnesty of the previous year regarding subscriptions remained in place since Ian Wells, who would have been conducting this “purge”, assumed new duties as acting treasurer, a role he had filled before. While it was easy for him to resume working with CA Plus, negotiations with NatWest Bank and COIF became extremely complicated and making this transition took priority.
We continue to be charged a significantly higher fee than before for room hire at the Nottingham Mechanics, but unfortunately there is no way round this.
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Nottingham Civic Society
Meanwhile our casework has continued apace, our Vice President (Planning) regularly meeting with the new conservation officer and having dealt with a number of cases running well into three figures.
Regular communications and other involvement continues with local media outlets, with very frequent consultations from and appearances in the Nottingham Post and several appearances on Notts TV, ITV and BBC news programmes. Two trustees serve on the Nottingham Park Conservation Trust and two on the Binns Organ Trust, while the Society is to be represented on the newly-formed Nottingham City Historic Buildings Trust.
Financial review
The most significant development has been a bequest of some £44,000 from a former member, a most welcome development. This has enabled grants to St Mary’s Church and St Barnabas’s Cathedral for major and essential repairs, while grants were planned for Green’s Windmill and a scheme for the major refurbishment of the People’s Hall in Nottingham. In each case these grants were for £15,000.
The charity’s policy on reserves
Reserves are held:
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To ensure continued successful running of the society;
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As a contingency fund against unexpected expense;
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To fund society projects and grants to outside bodies;
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To fund future publications.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees:
Signed ______ Date _ Graham Woodward, Trustee
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Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of Nottingham Civic Society for the year ended 31 December 2024
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Nottingham Civic Society (the charity) for the year ended 31 December 2024.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the trustees of the charity you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’). I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examiner’s statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
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accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or
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the accounts do not accord with those records.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Signed ____ Date _______ John O’Brien MSc, FAIA, FCIE Employee of Community Accounting Plus
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Nottingham Civic Society Receipts & payments account for the year ended 31 December 2024
| 2023 £ Note Receipts 1016 Grants & donations 2 3029 Annual subscriptions 364 Publication sales 5401 Interests & dividends 1041 Private walks & talks 290 Corporate subscriptions - Life membership 6 Sundry income 11147 Total receipts Payments 534 Accountancy & bookkeeping - Bank charges 15000 Donations & sponsorship - Insurance 125 Lectures 531 Newsletter, printing & stationery 40 Publications & subscriptions 1000 Room hire 480 Storage 98 Sundry payments 208 Telephone & postage 127 Travel 36 Website & IT costs 18179 Total payments (7032) Net receipts/(payments) 48781 Cash funds at start of this period 41749 Cash funds at end of this period |
2024 £ 45230 3072 144 5247 1055 40 250 - |
|---|---|
| 55038 | |
| 620 3 30000 888 100 602 65 899 480 500 91 - 2871 |
|
| 37119 | |
| 17919 41749 |
|
| 59668 |
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Nottingham Civic Society Statement of assets and liabilities at 31 December 2024
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2023 2024
£ Cash assets Note £
41749 Bank accounts 59668
41749 59668
Other monetary assets
163054 Investments at market value 3 166685
163054 166685
Assets retained for the charity’s own use
General equipment.
Laptop, cost £529, purchased November 2024.
Liabilities
(522) Creditors - Independent Examination fee (540)
(522) (540)
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These financial statements are accepted on behalf of the charity by:
Signed _____ Dated _____ Ian Wells, Trustee
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Nottingham Civic Society Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024
1. Receipts & payments accounts
Receipts and payments accounts contain a summary of money received and money spent during the period and a list of assets and liabilities at the end of the period. Usually, cash received and cash spent will include transactions through bank accounts and cash in hand.
2. Grants & donations
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£
Legacy 44480
Donation 750
45230
3. Investments at market value
£
COIF Charities Short Duration Bond Fund 9796
COIF Charities Property Fund 7273
COIF Charities Investment Fund 149616
166685
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3. Investments at market value
4. Trustees’ remuneration
Trustees received no expenses, remuneration or benefits in this period.
5. Related party transactions
A gift of £500 was given to a volunteer during the period for webmaster work carried out for the group.
6. Glossary of terms
Creditors: These are amounts owed by the charity, but not paid during the accounting period.
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