Annual Report April 2023 to March 2024 BANN PIAINE WEST COMMUNITY CLUSTER Buildirt9 Br￿ge5 Togerhèr ## **TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] MARCH 2024** The Trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31[st] March 2024. Northern Ireland Charity Number: NIC 100828 ## **CONTACT DETAILS** Norman Worthington Bann Maine West 86 Main Street Cullybackey Ballymena County Antrim BT42 1BW ## **TRUSTEE BOARD** Mr.Norman Worthington Chair Mrs Teresa Graham Mr.James Alan Nicholl Mrs Margaret Murphy Mr.Thomas Derek Simpson Mr.Kieran Augustine Adams Mr.Hubert Nicholl Mr.John Scullion Mr.Dessie Dixon Mr.Damien Clarke ## **INDEPENDENT EXAMINER** Laureen Cuckson LC Accountancy Services 10 Phoenix Fields Ballymena Co. Antrim BT42 2BF ## **GOVERNING DOCUMENT** The Charity is governed by its constitution. Bann Maine West Community Cluster, 86 Main Street, Cullybackey BT42 1BW Tel: 07821260158 ## **CHAIRMAN’S REPORT** I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the committee of Bann Maine West who continue to work together, learn from each other and help each other when needed. It’s great to see the Cluster growing and delivering a wide range of projects and securing five year funding from Lottery to run the main projects such as Lunch & Learn, Men’s Breakfast, workshops and The Hub. We also intend to continue with the very successful Exploring Other Cultures project. Before I finish, it would be remiss not to thank all of our other funders and supporters throughout the year which have included the Lottery Community Fund, Inter Ethnic Forum, the Northern Trust and in particular Mid & East Antrim Borough Council for their continued support for our Cluster. I very much look forward to continuing to work with the Cluster, and assisting all of us getting stronger together. ## _**Norman Worthington**_ ## _**Chair**_ Bann Maine West Community Cluster, 86 Main Street, Cullybackey BT42 1BW Tel: 07821260158 ## **THE HUB** The Hub continues to grow and develop including:- - An increased range of stock, attracting more people through the door - An information area kept up to date with BMW and other projects going on in our areas. - Knitting classes every week with an average of 9 people attending. - Card making classes every week with an average of 6 people attending. - Tech Tuesdays with people calling each week for advice on technology. ## **LUNCH & LEARN** An average of 50 older people from across our areas attended 10 monthly sessions and 2 trips which included topics such as Energy Efficiency, Air Fryer Demonstration, Healthy Lifestyle and Genealogy. The trips were to Glenarm Castle and Belfast. Bann Maine West Community Cluster, 86 Main Street, Cullybackey BT42 1BW Tel: 07821260158 ## **MENS BREAKFAST** Monthly events were held at Glarryford Young Farmers Hall and The Wild Duck and an average of 30 men enjoyed a breakfast, chat and speakers which included the Consumer Council, Chest/Heart & Stroke and Colin Urwin Storyteller. There were two trips – one to the Clogher Valley Show and the other was to Whitehead Railway Museum. An additional event was held in partnership with the Northern Trust to celebrate the launch of a Men’s booklet. ## **WORKSHOPS** Workshops which took place included a Box Frame making workshops and Flower Arranging. Between 10 and 15 people attended these workshops. ## **CULTURE EVENTS** We held monthly culture events which included Japanese culture and cookery, Polish culture, Indian culture etc. There was also a trip up to the Chinese Welfare Centre when we were provided with some traditional food and a very interesting talk. ## **PHARMACY** We delivered in partnership with Tullygarley Pharmacy a year long project delivering health sessions every two weeks in partnership with the pharmacist. This project was funded through the Building the Community Pharmacy Partnership. Bann Maine West Community Cluster, 86 Main Street, Cullybackey BT42 1BW Tel: 07821260158 ## **OTHER PROJECTS** ## **Kings Coronation Event Aug 2023** We held a fantastic celebration event at Arthur Cottage to celebrate the Kings Coronation. This was funded through Mid & East Antrim Borough Council. ## INDIVIDUAL MEMBER ASSISTANCE Individual group members received assistance from both each other through shared information and also through the Development Worker. Examples of that assistance can be seen below:- - Assisting to complete funding applications - Assessing viability of potential social enterprise including business plan and financials - Good practice - Record Keeping - Generating ideas for sustainability - Individual action plans and setting targets/goals - Marketing ## FUNDING SUMMARY Funding came from a variety of sources including Mid & East Antrim Council, Lottery People & Communities Fund, Awards for All and the Community Foundation. Total income amounted to £101, 254 and total expenditure is £88,670 giving a surplus of £12,584. ## PRIORITIES MOVING FORWARD The key priorities moving forward are as follows:- - Secure additional funding to ensure the continued success of the Cluster. - Sustainability – a key priority is to take every opportunity to look at a wide range of different projects to help to secure a future for the Cluster and its member groups. - Continue to build on the networking and learning from each other. - Continue to build on the excellent relationships with other Clusters to develop more joint Cluster projects. Bann Maine West Community Cluster, 86 Main Street, Cullybackey BT42 1BW Tel: 07821260158 ## STATEMENT OF TRUSTEE RESPONSIBILITIES The trustees are responsible for preparing the annual report and the financial statements of the Charity in accordance with applicable law and generally accepted account practice. As the total income does not exceed £250,000, the Trustees have elected under Section 64(3) of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2018 to prepare a receipts and payment account and a statement of assets and liabilities. The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Charities transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time its financial position. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention of fraud and other irregularities. The Annual Report was approved by the Trustees on Tuesday 3[rd] December 2024 and signed on its behalf by …………………………………………………….. N Worthington Chairperson Bann Maine West Community Cluster, 86 Main Street, Cullybackey BT42 1BW Tel: 07821260158