– Charity Commission Report 2023 Lancashire Mining Museum Ltd – (previously The Red Rose Steam Society Limited) charity no. 513511
The year ending 30 June 2023 was an extremely busy one and the recent AGM has dealt with a couple of vacancies to our Trustees. Our long-standing Chairman has retired as is another 2 Trustee, Gary Green who has been with us for over 3 years and been particularly involved in matters relating to mining museum having previously being a miner. As well as Sam Reynolds who has also been involved for over 3 years on the committee and has been involved in all matters relating to many of our projects for the museum. Committee have made both, Trevor Barton and Gary Green, Honorary Life presidents.
As regards the Chairman’s vacancy, Trevor Barton MBE has been a member of the management team for the past 7 years and has played a massive part in not only the financial wellbeing of the charity but also the force behind our improvement in our volunteer numbers and working on our Heritage and Lottery bids, which we are hoping to apply for our at-risk items.
Our website is at www.lancashireminingmuseum.org. The Facebook entry has grown from about 100 followers, 7 years ago to over 25,000 followers now.
The overall turnover of the charity has grown from £6,907 in 2017 to £168,805 for year ended 30 June 2023.
At the same time the small number of volunteers who were actively involved seven years ago has now grown to over 100 and they hail from diverse sections of society, our members have also grown to over 200.
Ken Joshi, a qualified accountant, who had been auditing our financial reports for previous years was elected Treasurer. He has made significant improvements by registering our Charity for VAT so that we were able to claim a significant refund for VAT paid on purchases over the last 4 years. The charity was also registered for Gift Aid. The interest earning bank accounts were created earning us significant interest.
Our Secretary Sue Kedward was also re-elected. Nicola Vivash did not need to stand down and continues to be a committee member.
At the AGM we elected 5 committee members, Alan Wossick was re-elected, as well as new committee members Tim Haigh, Tom Hampson, Rose Mockridge, and Diane Herring. The first new committee meeting is to be held on 22[nd] November 2023.
In summary we have continued to increase our financial position and invested in some major items of infrastructure such as marquees and have carried major refurbishment as regards to the railway in providing a new home for a vintage steam locomotive ‘Utrillas’, and ongoing projects for a Mining Experience, and a new Lamp and Training Room and plans are under consideration for improvements to the Shop. We have continued to maintain and upgrade some of the equipment needed for our winding engine. The railway continues to attract large number of visitors. Our recent events such as the steam rally, car boot sale, scare fest, Santa specials and Fireworks display have attracted record crowds.
The events team is now busy preparing a varied calendar of events for 2024 which will attract even more people from different backgrounds and age groups. Our education team this year has been much more effective, and the number of school visits has grown considerably. The number of visitors continues to grow, and we remain open to the public, free of charge, on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
In accordance with the conditions of our 25-year lease we maintain an excellent relationship with our three Wigan MBC councillors and keep them and senior officers of the council informed of developments. We work with the council in particular as regards museums and cultural activities which will include our Heritage and Lottery bid in February 2024 and our Museum accreditation review in 2024.
There are various aspects of our charity to mention in a report like this, but space dictates it can only be a summary of the various occurrences. We won yet another Gold Award in the ‘Northwest In Bloom’ competition. We are part of a strategy group consisting of Historic England, the National Heritage Lottery, and the Council in order to submit of a bid for the refurbish of the Headgear, which like the Winding Engine House is a monument, on the ‘at risk’ register. We also have 6 volunteers who are paid members of the Museum Association who regularly visit other museums to review how these conducted and we have introduced ideas seen on these specific visits, it has also allowed us to make good relationships with a number of museums that we can call on for help and advise as we try to improve our museum experience for our visitors.
The railway group have now mastered the skills required to drive a steam locomotive as well as Diesel engines and they have trained drivers, guards, and managers to allow us to offer the railway rides on a more regular basis as this is proving to be a great attraction to the public and we are now looking to the future about extending the railway to the edge of our leased land.
We have relocated one of the Lancashire boilers and managed to sell the other two boilers for scrap after retaining any parts needed which has given more space for the museum site layout.
The number of volunteers has grown to 100 and the recruitment, induction, training and retention of volunteers has been introduced as we deal with this process in a more professional manner. We have also introduced role criteria as we advertise for volunteers in specific areas of need for the museum. Similarly, we have completed a series of policy documents and the latest one which is of high quality and produced with expert help relates to Safeguarding, which has recently been reviewed and updated on its annual cycle. The other policies introduced, and training given to the volunteers relate to Risk Assessment, Equality and Diversity, and social media.
The risk management team that looks after security including locks and alarms, CCTV and Health and Safety has provided training to all our volunteers. Our events’ planning team is now better structured and through better intelligence can prepare us for our regular events and supply our insurers with first class data on the risks to be covered.
We have upgraded our toilets as regards disability access, that has been able to address the age of the site and the methods of entry to our buildings which are over 110 years old.
We maintain good relationships with our surrounding community and landowners such as Peel and have strong links with the local tenant’s association, Rotary, and other charities. We are members of various groups such as the ‘Association of Independent Museums’ and the ‘Heritage Railway Association’.
The membership of the society remains at £10 pa for a single member - we currently have 30 life members, 2 international members, 86 family members and 86 single members making a total of 204. With free entry for visitors, we can only estimate the total number of 10,000 visitors a year.
We are delighted to end the report by announcing that our volunteers were awarded the last “Queens Award for Voluntary Service” and this saw two of our volunteers going to the Buckingham Palace Garden party where they discussed our museum with the Queen Consort.
Signed:
Trevor Barton MBE - Chairman
Dated: November 2023
Lancashire Mining Museum Ltd Registered Company No. 1682997 Registered Charity No. 513511
Year Ended 30 June 2023
| Profit & Loss Account | 30-Jun-2023 | 30-Jun-2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Income | ||
| Donations and legacies | £17,446 | £19,082 |
| Subscriptions | £1,956 | £3,084 |
| Trading activities | £31,835 | £42,941 |
| Railway Income | £12,614 | £9,520 |
| Events held | £71,091 | £60,004 |
| Site Visits & Rental | £2,549 | £6,984 |
| Grants | £2,775 | £5,611 |
| Scrap Sales | £1,360 | £5,387 |
| Miscellaneous | £5,821 | £2,192 |
| Historic VAT claimed | £20,731 | £0 |
| Interest Received | £626 | £0 |
| Total | £168,805 | £154,804 |
| Expenditure | ||
| Events | £39,181 | £41,403 |
| Winding Engine Costs | £3,891 | £4,063 |
| Railway | £10,498 | £11,757 |
| Site Utilities | £14,631 | £7,620 |
| Site Refurbishment | £13,900 | £32,841 |
| Insurance | £2,949 | £0 |
| Office Equipment | £5,043 | £3,894 |
| Administration costs | £8,292 | £12,171 |
| Woodland | £0 | £9,352 |
| Other trading activities | £22,715 | £15,718 |
| Cleaning & Rubbish | £10,286 | £0 |
| Removal & Transport | £10,003 | £0 |
| Total | £141,388 | £138,818 |
| Operating Surplus | £27,417 | £15,986 |
| Loan & Bank Interest | £2,163 | £1,545 |
| Depreciation | £7,090 | £7,090 |
| Surplus before Taxation | £18,164 | £7,351 |
| Taxation | £0 | £0 |
| Surplus after Taxation | £18,164 | £7,351 |
----- Start of picture text -----
Lancashire Mining Museum Ltd
Registered Company No. 1682997
Registered Charity No. 513511
Year Ended 30 June 2023
Balance Sheet 30-Jun-2023 30-Jun-2022
Fixed assets
Tangible assets £35,450 £35,450
Depreciation -£18,390 -£11,300
Investments
Total fixed assets £17,060 £24,150
Current assets
Stocks £3,342 £7,680
Other Debtors £3,350 £0
Nat West £56,117 £48,195
Deposit Account 35 Days £30,039 £20,323
Paypal £34 £9,032
Cash £4,056 £4,480
VAT £7,693 £0
Total current assets £104,631 £89,710
Accrual electricity £2,267 £0
Loan GMCVQ £0 £12,600
Loan SE £0 £0
Total current liabilities £2,267 £12,600
Total assets less current
£119,424 £101,260
liabilities
Funds of the Charity
Restricted income funds £0 £0
Unrestricted funds £101,260 £93,908
Current Year Surplus £18,164 £7,351
Total funds £119,424 £101,260
----- End of picture text -----
CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examinerfs report on the accounts Section A Independent Examine$ Report Report to the trusteesldirectorsl members of Lancashire Mining Museum Limited On accounts for the year ended 30 June 2023 Charfty no.: 513511 Company no.: 1682997 Set out on pages Pages 1 and 2 I report to the charrty tTUStees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 30 106 12023. Responsibllftles and basls of report As the charty's trustees of the Company (who are also the directors of the company for the purposes of company law), you are resFonsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirem8nts of the CoMpanS Act 20CE (Ihe 2006 Act"). Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited for this year under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination. I report in respect of my examination of your chanty's accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 {'the 2011 Acf). In carrying out my examination, I have followed the Directions gNen by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(bl of the 2011 Act. Independent examiner's ststsment I have completed my examination. I confim that no material matters have come to my attention (other than that disclosed b8low ") which gives me cause to b81ieve that". • accounting records were not kept in accdance with section 386 of the Companies Act 2CI%; or . the accounts do not accord with such records, or . the accounts do not comply wrth levant a¢¢ounting requirements under section 396 of the Companies Ad 2006 other than any requirement that the accounts give a Irue and fairf view %*thich is not a matter considered a8 part of an independent examination" or •the accounts have not been prepared in accordan with the Charities SORP {FRS102).
with the examinalM)n to whth attention should be drawn in thk* Port in order to enth a derStaJIng of the accounts to be reathed. aJ-/g I5 01 2022 slgned: Name: Relevant professlonal qualification(s) or body {If any): Address: Ajlo Section B Disclostire Onty complete rf the examiner needs to hhlIght material matters of ¢onc8m (see CC32. Independent examinatKJn of charty oUn.. directions and guidwce for exaniners). Glv• hero brlef detsll• of any item8 that thg examiner wl8hes to dlsclo8e. none