New Hartley Community Associaton Annual General Meetng. Wednesday 25 October 2023.
Chairs Report.
It has been fantastic this year to get back to normal after Covid and hold our regular events, including very successful Christmas and Easter and Summer fairs, all of which were well attended and enjoyed by the whole village.
The fairs in the Memorial Hall were complimented by activities in the village, including an easter egg hunt and the glam post competition and we once again teamed up with Seaton Valley Council so that the Christmas lighting celebrations followed on straight after our Christmas Fair.
In January, we remembered the victims of the Hester Pit Disaster with a moving service in the Memorial Garden, followed by refreshments and entertainment in the Hall. The Hall was decorated with project work produced by students from Astley High School and artwork made by New Hartley First School pupils. It was lovely to be joined by so many residents on this special day for the village and to be supported by local folk group, Beeswing who provided entertainment after the service. Amanda from Jack and the Bean Stark provided some beautiful flowers to decorate the Hall, which we then laid in the Memorial Garden.
In May we celebrated the Coronation of King Charles II with a celebration community picnic on the field and a special coronation afternoon tea, which was a sellout. The Hall was again decorated with art work produces by New Hartley First School pupils.
The Hall continues to be used by the Toddler Group, the Kid’s Club, Karate and Zumba classes and the now thriving Craft Group and WI. New Hartley First School continues to use the Hall for school performances, and we were delighted to be able to open to accommodate children during the recent teachers strike. We have also worked with Astley High School to provide historical information for their Y9 project on the Hester Pit Disaster and lent them several artifacts and the banners for the week and we are doing so again this week, which is why the banners are not on display tonight.
Committee member and one of the founders of the craft club, Michelle Williams, organised several high quality and very successful craft fairs and in August we held a coffee morning to raise funds for Hartley Court’s defibrillator appeal.
As well as maintaining the Memorial Hall to provide a base for local community groups and facilities for birthday parties and celebrations for residents of the village, the committee has also continued to support the community through the monthly Afternoon Teas, Lunch Clubs, and the weekly Food Pantry. For the past year we have provided hot lunches. We have had a community freezer donated through FareShare which enables us to sell food on, give out ready meals and batch cook to deliver as a hot meal for villager’s freezers. We now have money available to buy a new cooker. Seaton Valley Council also provide us with the funding to provide free lunches for children attending the free Holiday Sports Clubs. We also acted as a warm hub last Winter.
Following the publication of the Boundary Commission’s ridiculous proposal to divide New Hartley into two electoral wards, Seaton Valley Council used the Memorial Hall was used by Seaton Valley Council to host two consultation events for residents. The views of residents helped form the council’s response to the Boundary Commission and along with resident’s representations and one from the Community Association, we were successful in changing the proposal and the village will remain together in an unchanged Hartley Ward.
We are currently working with Seaton Valley Council and the other community associations in Seaton Valley to plug the gap left by Northumberland County Council’s decision to stop funding youth services. Working with Children North East we hope to secure funding to employ youth workers for a night every week, working outreach and having a base in our room upstairs. We are also looking for funding to refurbish the room and make it more welcoming for young people.
In other business, we have updated our Child Protection Policy and have appointed Helen Mathwin as our suitably qualified Safeguarding Officer to whom any concerns about children’s safety or welfare will be reported.
Grants successfully applied for by the committee and Food Pantry have enabled us to purchase a new dishwasher. We have also been able to buy additional tables (4 large and 4 small), another table trolley and table cloths, pans and chopping boards. We also got grants for the summer fair and Coronation celebrations.
We continue to press Northumberland County Council to sort out our lease, so that we can apply for grants to make structural improvements, with the priorities being improved toilet facilities and storage.
Unfortunately, our cleaner had to retire due to health reasons this year and we have had a new cleaner since January. We would like to thank them both for keeping our Hall so clean, hygienic and fresh.
The New Hartley in Bloom goes from strength to strength, with lots of new members whose enthusiasm and hard work keeps our village and the Memorial Garden looking beautiful and yet again this was recognised in the SVC Gardening and Britain in Bloom competitions. They also carry out monthly litter picks, which residents are welcome to join.
Looking to the future, we need to increase the usage of the Hall. Whilst we are incredibly successful in securing grant funding (mainly due to John and Chris Barrell), we do need to increase our income to cover our running costs, which are going up for us the same as anyone else. We had very few bookings during the summer holidays, when some of our regular bookings also take a break. We are planning to increase our publicity and will possibly have to raise our booking fees for commercial bookings. We have held several events to raise money including table top sales and pie and pea suppers with quizzes, but we are open to more ideas from residents please.
Events that we have already planned include:
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Craft Fairs on 4 and 25 November.
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Christmas Fair on Saturday 2 December, followed by the turning on of SVC Christmas lights.
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Glam Post competition with judging around 20 December – more details to follow shortly.
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Christmas lunch for 60 residents on 6 December
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Christmas Afternoon Tea.
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Hester Pit Disaster Memorial Service on the weekend of 13/14 January.
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Easter Fair.
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Summer Fair.
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Scarecrow competition in late Summer/early Autumn.
Details of all these events will be advertised around the village and in our wonderful regular newsletters, produced by Michelle and delivered, along with SVC Futures magazines, by committee members and volunteers to every house in the village.
Looking a bit further to the future, we are already planning celebrations for 2026, when the Memorial Hall will have been open for 100 years. It was built as a memorial for those villagers who lost their lives in the First World War and was funded by miners donating 2d a week from their wages! It also served as a soup kitchen during the General Strike. Ideas we have include restoring the prominence of the War Memorial in the Hall, a Community Quilt and setting up a group within the village to research the history of the Hall and try to contact descendants of those who lost their lives to produce a historic record of the Memorial Hall. We will involve the local schools as usual and of course it will all end with a village celebration in the Hall, decorated with their work! Let us know if you would like to be involved in this project.
Sadly, this year we have lost Maureen Pringle who was still an active member of the committee and Ruth King, who served as a committee member for many years, and we remember them fondly. There have been other changes during the year, with Steph Edusei moving out of the village and Cara Dickinson sensibly deciding to stop overcommitting herself, although we are sure she will be back one day. We wish them both well and thank them for their service. However, we were delighted to welcome Hazel Leaver back and to co-opt Dave Gibson onto the committee at the last meeting.
I would like to thank all the committee members, without whom none of this would be possible. Every member of the committee contributes to the success of the Community Association and the maintenance of our lovely Memorial Hall, so that we can serve all the residents of New Hartley, who are all members of the Association. Everyone comes with different skills and experience and our meetings are focussed, but fun, with lost of ideas and suggestions being thrown around and everyone rolls their sleeves up and gets stuck in to ensure that all our events are a huge success, and our Hall is looked after.
Karen Collier Chair.
NEW HARTLEY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MAY 2023
NEW HARTLEY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2023
| CONTENTS | PAGES |
|---|---|
| Independent Examiner's Report | 1 |
| Income and Expenditure account | 2 |
| Balance sheet | 3 |
Page 1
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF NEW HARTLEY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION
I report on the accounts of the Association for the year ended 31st May 2023, which are set out on pages 2 and 3.
Respecitve responsibilities of the Association and examiner
The Association's representatives are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. They consider that an audit is not required for this period and that an independent examination is required. It is my responsibilty to:
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Examine the accounts
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To ensure the accounts are prepared using generally accepted accounting priciples
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To state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of report
My examination was carried out in accordance with generally accepted acconting principles for the preparation of accounts. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the Association 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 you as representatives of the Association, concerning any such matters The procedures undertaken do not provide all the eveidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a "true and fair view" and the report is limited to those matters set out in the next statement.
Independent examiner's statement
In connection with my examination no matter has come to my attention:
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which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements to keep accounting records in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and to prepare accounts which accord with the 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.
Paul Connon FFA, FFTA Suite 24, Arms Evertyne House Quay Road Blyth Northumberland NE24 2AS
Date 5th October 2023
Page 2
New Hartley Community Association Income & Expenditure Account
| Year Ended | Year Ended | Year Ended | Year Ended | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31-May-22 | 31-May-23 | |||
| INCOME | £ | £ | £ | £ |
| Youth & Kids Club | 696 | 700 | ||
| Dancing | 2,460 | 1,687 | ||
| Lunch Club | 0 | 164 | ||
| Mother & Toddler | 740 | 750 | ||
| Klids Football | 1,050 | 432 | ||
| Exercise | 600 | 1,412 | ||
| New Hartley Crafts | 62 | 681 | ||
| Misc Income | 700 | 170 | ||
| Dancing School | 121 | 0 | ||
| Functions | 1,578 | 3,890 | ||
| Grants & Donations | 9,057 | 21,500 | ||
| Interest Received | 20 | 399 | ||
| Karate | 1,085 | 1,104 | ||
| Meetings & Parties | 1,319 | 84 | ||
| Photocopier, Ads etc | 0 | 600 | ||
| Total Income | 19,487 | 33,513 | ||
| GROSS SURPLUS | 19,487 | 33,513 | ||
| EXPENDITURE | ||||
| Water Charges | 826 | 1,034 | ||
| Lunch Club | 0 | 0 | ||
| Postage & Telephone Charges | 440 | 658 | ||
| Cleaning | 6,469 | 6,703 | ||
| Gas & Electric | 3,935 | 4,379 | ||
| Equipment & Stationery | 68 | 0 | ||
| Printing Newsletters | 97 | 355 | ||
| Repairs | 480 | 1,339 | ||
| Hall Expenses | 613 | 29 | ||
| Functions | 101 | 6,100 | ||
| Licences /Food Hub | 3,316 | 11,204 | ||
| Refurb Costs | 4,658 | 4,559 | ||
| Advertising | 132 | 0 | ||
| Audit & Accountancy | 112 | 138 | ||
| Insurance | 105 | 591 | ||
| Total Expenditure | 21,354 | 37,085 | ||
| TOTAL OPERATING COSTS | 21,354 | 37,085 | ||
| NET (DEFICIT)/SURPLUS | (1,867) | (3,572) | ||
| I&E Account B/Forward | 75,533 | 73,667 | ||
| I&E ACCOUNT | 73,667 | 70,095 |
Page 3
New Hartley Community Association Balance sheet as at 31 May 2023
| ASSETS | £ £ Year Ended 31-May-22 |
£ £ Year Ended 31-May-22 |
£ £ Year Ended 31-May-23 |
£ £ Year Ended 31-May-23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank & Cash Co-Op savings A/C Co-op Current A/C Cash in Hand |
60,128 13,538 |
60,468 9,627 |
||
| Current Assets | 73,667 | 70,095 | ||
| Less: Current Liabilities Creditors |
||||
| Current Liabilities | 0 | 0 | ||
| Current Liabilities | 0 | 0 | ||
| NET CURRENT ASSETS NET TOTAL ASSETS |
73,667 73,667 |
70,095 | ||
| 70,095 | ||||
| FUNDS I&E ACCOUNT C/Forward |
73,667 | 70,095 | ||
| FUNDS EMPLOYED Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds Operating Reserve (50% of past |
expenditure) | 45,597 17,393 10,677 |
36,480 16,072 18,543 |
|
| Total Funds Employed | 73,667 | 71,095 |
2022-23
Treasurer’s Annual Report
The accounts for the financial year ending on 31 May 2023 shows an overall deficit of £3,572 compared to a deficit of £1,867 in the year ending 31 May 2022 and a surplus of £30,083 the previous year ending May 2021. The main reason for this continuing deficit is the reduced usage of the hall for all uses following the lifting of COVID restrictions.
Prior to 2021 we had 15 regular sessions in the hall and numerous parties and functions nearly every weekend. We are now down to 9 sessions per week and reducing numbers of parties.
Therefore, the support of the of NCCs Small Business Grant Support received during COVID is now being used to support the increasing operating deficit. At the current rate this unrestricted support is likely to be exhausted over the coming years. In line with Charity Commission Guidance and the Association’s constitution, an independent examination has been completed on the accounts and no specific items were identified as needing particular attention to explain them.
Total income for the year was £33,513 was at was significantly higher than the previous year’s income of £19,487, while expenditure has increased to £37,085 compared with £21,354 previously. The movements in income & expenditure result from the timing of expenditure on projects for which the grants were received in different accounting periods and varying maintenance costs resulting from the County Council requiring the Association to meet the maintenance costs for the structure of the hall. Non COVID Grants are identified under Restricted Funds and as noted below, are still substantial this year, but need to be expended fully.
The restricted fund income and expenditure for 2022/23 were £21,500 and £22,621 respectively. This leaves an operating income of £12,013 compared with operating expenditure of £14,464- hence the increased deficit on the year.
The balance sheet for 2022-23 shows total retained funds of £71,095 as of 31 May 2023, compared to £73,667 in 2022 and £75,533 in the previous year. This can be further analysed into unrestricted or operational funds and restricted or project funds. Grants received for projects must be spent for the purpose for which they were given or otherwise returned and are hence restricted.
One Off events Summer Fair Jubilee Picnic Coronation
support from NCC, Seaton Valley Council, Ted Weekes Fund
Food Hub and Hope Lottery Scotmid (L&D) Rothley Trust Community Chest
There are also restricted funds held to support New Hartley Post Office operations and improvements generated from occasional surpluses over the years
The restricted funds balance has decreased slightly from £17,393 to £16,072, principally to support the Food Pantry and HOPE activities, mainly food and kitchen utensils but also including provision of major items that benefit hall users generally – new tables and fridges/dishwasher. This is a combination of drawdown on previous year grants together with receipt of new applications to continue these activities. The COVID 19 grants received are not included in restricted funds as they are general support for operating expenditure.
In line with good financial management, an Operating Reserve has been set at 50% of current expenditure. This would allow sufficient funds to meet expenditure obligations for 6 months without any income. This level will be reviewed throughout the coming year as expenditure levels are confirmed.
This leaves unrestricted funds of £36,480 for general use which is considered enough to provide cover for the coming year when the Association is expected to again make an operating deficit if the use of the hall continues with a reduction in the regular income due to limited use.
The management committee and Trustees have considered raising the hire charges for use of the hall from £12 to £15 per hour to try and offset this continuing deficit.
In the longer term, however, the Association must break even or make an operational surplus on a regular basis to continue its activities. The overall financial position will continue to be reviewed on a regular basis and further Grant funding opportunities explored in order to improve the building and maintain it as a valued facility for the community. These will be progressed once the long-term lease for the hall has been secured with Northumberland County Council.
John Barrell October 2023