## **Ground Floor** ## **Charity no. 515918** # **41[th] Annual Report 1981 – 2024** ## **What is Ground Floor?** ## **Organizational structure** Ground Floor is a registered charity (No. 515918) and a company limited by guarantee (No. 01867571). Ground Floor was set up to provide community facilities for disadvantaged groups living in Calder Valley, Luddendenfoot and Todmorden wards of Calderdale. Based in the centralized town of Hebden Bridge Ground Floor has developed a special and enduring relationship with the town. As well as being a prime site for developing centralized resources for the region. The town was severely under resourced in community amenities, something that Ground Floor has managed to remedy over the years. Ground Floor is run by voluntary Council of Management, which consists of the following members (correct as of November 2022) ## **Board of Council of Management and Trustees representatives** Alan Sladic Ben Oubridge Peter Manning Alice Horner Richard Goodwin ## **About Ground Floor (a potted history)** In 1981 in response to a lack of adequate community provision in the Hebden Bridge area, particularly for young people, a body of local people came together with the aims to create youth provision. Soon the aims grew to encompass other disadvantaged groups, including the elderly, unwaged, single parents and people with both physical and learning disabilities. Securing a lease on the rear ground floor of the Trades Club building Ground Floor was born and in the autumn of 1983 the Ground Floor Centre was officially opened. In 1984 Ground Floor became a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee and is now established as one of Calderdale’s longest serving charities. The move to charity status led to a change in direction for Ground Floor who went throw a period of consolidation where it focused the majority of it’s energy into developing new facilities and groups within the community. The charity moved to its current premises Salem Community Resource Centre, adjacent to Co-Operative Food, in 1998. In partnership with local community groups, Ground Floor was instrumental in developing a variety of independently run community initiatives. One such was the first ever after schools Club - Hebden Bridge Schools Out - an umbrella group that developed out of school provision and resources throughout the whole Upper Valley. Ground Floor was also the major force behind the establishment of a number of organization in the Calder Valley including the first Credit Union, Pennine Play & Leisure Library and recycling projects as Pennine Magpie, Kerbside Recycling and The Alternation Technology Centre. It also created the first ever Yorkshire Car Share Scheme - the well known Hour Car and set up the first ever Calderdale Computer Recycling Refurbishing and reissue of computers to the disadvantaged, unemployed and students - the equally well known Dot Communications/3RiT. Both these latter Groups are still based at Salem Community Resource Centre. Ground Floor is controlled by a management committee of trustees and representatives from its user groups and is currently home to over 40 such user groups including Dog and Puppy Training, Yoga, Ballet, Flamenco Dancing and other Dance Group, AA and NA Groups and a number of Social Welfare Organizations. For the last 30 years it has the Annual Toy Appeal and hosted Les Dansants Panard and other festivals. In conjunction with the Charities information bureau, West Yorkshire Community Work Training and the local job Centres. Ground Floor has won many awards including being given the Duke of York Community Initiative Award, Ground Floor begin the only charity to win this award three times in a row 2007, 2013 and 2015 and in 2013 became the first recipients of the Duke of York Community Leadership Award that included funding. In 2010 the Charity was given the Queens Award for Voluntary Service (The MBE for Volunteer Groups). ## **This Financial Year.** This financial year, we managed to stay afloat with the electric prices going up and things are looking up financial. Over the year we have had volunteers from the Halifax Job Centres. However during the course of the year a number of new groups joined the Ground Floor family including the Liz and Ash and Chris. Despite the many accolades Ground Floor has received it does not currently receive any grant funding on a regular basis and relies entirely on donations from the groups and the hire of it’s premises to thrive. However the future of Ground Floor looks bright which makes the long term future of the Centre look good. ## **Mission Statement** **Ground Floor** aims to promote positive community action that increases opportunities and benefits for all disadvantaged people living in the Calder Valley. To this end, **Ground Floor** is actively involved in providing, developing, supporting and sustaining a wide range of community-led and self-help initiatives within the region. ## **Charitable Aims & Objectives** ## **The primary objectives of Ground Floor, are:** To promote the advancement of education, the relief of the need and the provision of facilities and other leisure-time occupations in the interests of social welfare among young and other unemployed people residing within Upper Calderdale (comprising Calder Valley, Luddendfoot and Todmorden). To promote the protection and preservation of the environment for the public benefit by: a) educating the public in the benefits to the environment of sustainable waste management and energy practices, b) conducting research into sustainable wast management and sustainable energy and disseminating the useful results of that research and c) developing and encouraging sustainable waste management and sustainable energy practices. In this clause ‘sustainable waste management and energy practices’ shall mean waste miniaturization, minimization of pollution and harmful waste, reuse of waste, waste recovery activities and clearance of pollutants from contaminated land. In this clause ‘sustainable energy practices’ shall mean the practical creation of energy from waste and renewable sources in such a way as to minimize pollution from the same. To promote any charitable purpose for the benefit of the aforesaid community and in particular the advancement of education, the protection of heath and the relief of poverty, distress and sickness, to promote and organize co-operation in the achievement of the same and to that end to bring together in council representatives of the voluntary organization and statutory authorities within the area of benefit. - To promote the integration of the disadvantaged groups within the general community and to stress the importance of importance of self-help amongst such disadvantaged groups. ## **In order to achieve these aims the council of management is empowered to do the following:** To create links and contacts both inside and outside the area of benefit. To establish, maintain and manage any work centres, projects or activities in furtherance of the objectives. To arrange and provide exhibitions, meetings, lectures and classes concerned with the education of the public. To enter into partnership or into arrangement for shared of mutual promotion of any of the objectives. ## **The Staff** ## **Ground Floor** Fran Tidswell Centre Manager **Volunteers** Alan Sladic Painting Melissa Meadows Cleaning Darryl Tidswell Odd Jobs Arron Owens Odd Jobs ## **Job Placements (Job Centre Plus)** 20 individuals were placed with us for work experience over the year Together with other volunteers from our user groups. Fit￿l¢la] Accounts of Ground Floor NuttJl¢t 1167571 For the year ended 31° March 2024 The attached accounts have been prepared from the books, records and explanations ￿e1Ve4 and are in accordance therewith. Lord & Swain Acwuntants HaM'kswne Hous¢ Valley ko HEBDEN BIUDGE HX7 78L Ground Floor Independent examinerfs report on the accounts of Ground Floor for the year ended 31. March 2024 I report on the accounts of the company attached herewith. I have examincd the books, re¢ords. other inforniation and explanations supplie41 by the compan￿$ administrators without ￿rfOrn￿1ce of an audit and prepared accounts therefrom. The accounts are in accordance with the record5 as supplied. which I believe give a true and fair view of the ￿mpanY'S fu)ancial affairs for the period utwjer examination. No rnatter has come to my attention thai gives me cause to believe that the requirements to keep proper accounting records and pr¢pare accounts whicll accord with them have not been meL Gareth Swain MA.A.T. 16 O¢tober 2024 GrO￿￿d Floor Ststement of fmancial aetiwitios for the year eDded 31° M#r¢h 2024 Income and Expenditsre Account Grdnts & donations Resource Income 44387 36932 45387 36932 Salarics & C&sual tAlx)ur Rent. rates & water 11040 9802 5895 10312 835 3810 938 48 98 3651 737 2(H) 85 Light & he 20394 911 1548 766 35 InsuTan¢e$ Repairs & Improvements Communitatiotts Sllndry expenditure Voluntecrs, Expenses Cleaning Security Accountanvs ExaMi￿tiOn Depreciation 2882 174 200 68 44865 3&111 Surplus l-Deficit for the year Fund balance brought forward Fund balance carried forward 522 521 79 600 Ground Floor St*tem¢n¢ orrinalleial *etivitie5 for the year ended 3141 March 2024 B414u¢e Sheet as xt 314 March 2024 FIX￿ Assets (per Schedule) 274 342 Prepaid Electricity Balan¢e ai Bank Cash in Hand 43 961 1048 966 TOTAL ASSETS 1322 1308 CurreDt Liabilities Creditors, Ledg¢r Accrued Liabilities 508 200 2(M) 2¢M) 708 Lollg Term Liabilities Loan account 1122 Finan¢ed By Fund balance bmught fonyard Surplus l-Deficit for the year Fund balance carried forward 79 521 522 1122 Fortheyear enditig 3l* March 2024 thecompany was ¢thitied to eXem￿lOn from UtvJer￿1l0Th 477121 of the CoJnpanie5Act 2006. The member5 have notYequir<he ¢ompaThy toobtain an audit in accoTdance with section 476 of the Compani£sAd 21N>6. Th¢ tn￿lee5 acknowledgc their r￿￿nsibility for. ¢nsurinE the compatty kttp5 acwunting records wbich comply with Settion 386; aNI lll prepmring accounts which giye a true and fair view of the 513ie of a[r￿r$ of the c0[np￿Y as at th¢ end of the futhn¢ial yw, and of its profit or loss forth¢ financial year, in a¢0)r￿ ￿ryth the Tequiretnents of Section J93, and which otherwise ¢omplv with the T¢quirernents of the Companies Aa relating tt> 50 far ts appli￿1¢ to the company. awounts tjave been pRp*ed in aco)Tdanc¢ with the wvisions applicable v) cornpatiies subject tothe st￿1 cfjmpaJJies' T¢girNe. The foregoing finao¢iaJ sw¢ments were approved by th¢ board and haye k¢n Signed their behalf ￿.14￿￿l......￿￿M￿..}.￿..... this..F.s-. ..day of .ocLL4x.:-.2024. TryLStee. Ground Fl(M)r Statement of f￿#￿£1￿1 #etivities for the year ended JI* March 21124 Sehedule of moyements of r￿ed ￿fjets Fixed Assets Balance forward 95677 2972 98649 Additions Depr¢¢iaiion at Start -95500 -2807 -98307 Deprc£iation for Period -35 -33 142 132 274 Value at Start 177 165 342