NORTH DOWN COMMUNITY NFfwoRK
ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST March 2024
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TRUSTEES
The trustees (who are also the directors of North Down Community Network for the purposes of company lawl are
responsible for preparing the Trustees, Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and
United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of
the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the
income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees
are required to:
select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; observe the methods and principles in the
Charities SORP 2015 IFRS102)'
observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
make judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent. state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards
have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements,"
• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable
company will continue in operation.
The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the
financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statement5 comply with the
Companies Att 2006. The trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for
taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
In so far as, the trustees are aware:
• there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company's auditor is unaware. and
the trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have to make themselves aware of any relevant accounts
information and to establish that the independent examiner is aware of that information.
By order of the board
Valerie Miskimmon
Director
Date: IQ
IL

NORTH DOWN COMMUNITY NETWORK
Company limited by guarantee..
Charity Commission registered:
HMRC registered
Company No.. Nl 050662, incorporated 13th May 2004
Number: NIC 102333
Charity Number.. XR 37170
Registered address:
North Down Community Network Resource Centre, 5 Castle Park
Road, Bangor, Co Down, BT20 4TF
ANNUAL REPORT 2023-2024
The Trustees, who are also directors for the purposes of company law. have pleasure in
presenting their report and the examined financial statements of the charity for the year I
period ended 31 March 2024. The trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of
Recommended Practice (SORP) "Accounting and Reporting by Charities" {FRS 102) in
preparing the annual report and financial statements of the charity.
Trustees of the charity
The directors of the charitable company are its trustees for the purposes of charity law. The
trustees who have served during the year and since the year end are as follows:
Peter Gay
Aaron Mcmahon
Robin Masefield
Resigned 25 April 2024
Valerie Miskimmon Chairperson
David Mcclarin
Treasurer
Maggie Boyle
Kirsty Richardson
th
Resigned 25 April 2024
th
Appointed 25 April 2024
Structure, governance and management
North Down Community Network (NDCN) is a company limited by guarantee. It has 56
paying members which are organisations operating in the community and voluntary sector in
or around the north of Down - and another 42 non-paying associates". The members elect a
board of up to 12 directors each of whom is recommended by a member organisation,
except for up to 3 independents who are selected because they bring particular skill or
knowledge. Its day-to-day operations are controlled by the Manager who reports to the
board.
As at 31 March 2024
Objectives and activities
NDCN exists because there are communities and individuals in Bangor and the wider north
of Down who need assistance. It seeks to help people to help themselves and its vision is
that communities in Bangor and the wider north of Down should be safe, peaceful, diverse,
inclusive, flourishing and economically vibrant- thus making the area one in which people
want to live.

In particular its charitable purposes include..
In particular its charitable purposes include-
promoting the efficiency and effectiveness of voluntary and community
organisations and projects in the north of Down by providing advice, information,
education and training, administrative support and practical assistance-
b. promoting or assisting in promoting capacity building programmes and projects for
the benefit of the people who have need of such assistance as a result of their
youth, age, disability or infirmity, or social and economic circumstances.
relieving poverty by the promotion, facilitation and organisation of adequate.
accessible and quality programmes of vocational and educational training.,
d. promoting or assisting in the promotion of cooperation and networking between
voluntary and community organisations and others in the area; and
identifying, and helping to address, the funding and policy needs of voluntary and
community organisations in the area of benefit.
NDCN acts as a focal point for the community and for community and voluntary sector
organisations in the north of Down. For them it delivers a range of regular andlor routine
services, it reacts where it can when it is asked and proactively it tries to identify issues
where it thinks it can make a difference for their benefit. Throughout 2021-2022 operations
were significantly affected both by the restrictions placed on them by the Covid-19 pandemic
and by the additional community needs that pandemic caused. Both these effects are
reflected in the following activity summaries:
Routine activities. In 2023-24 NDCN'S activities included.-
The operation of the accessible town centre drop-in space on Main Street Bangor.
the NDCN Wellbeing Centre & Community Hub.
A weekly programme of wellbeing activities Monday- Friday for people to access
towards supporting their physical and mental health and wellbeing, funded by the
Public Health Agency.
The provision of community outreach support and capacity building from the
Outreach Community Development Worker who is funded by the Nl Housing
Executive.
Supporting the provision of support for young people in four areas of Bangor funded
by The National Lottery Community Fund.
A range of information and support services to strengthen the infrastructure of the
Community and Voluntary sector across North Down.
Collaborative activities with a range of partner organisations.
Activities to support the health and wellbeing of people in need with signposting
services, group work sessions, a mental health forum and access to IT, funded by
the Dep of Health via CFNI.
Reactive res
onses. NDCN endeavours to respond to needs, such as those which create
a crisis andlor require an urgent response, as and when they emerge in communities.
During the year there continued to be a responsive approach to managing the impact of
the cost-of-living crisis and the pressures and challenges this placed on the most
vulnerable people in communities. We delivered services and support in communities on
an outreach basis with partners and the work with young people via weekly youth clubs

and tailored programmes. These challenges were also compounded by the ongoing
impact of the pandemic on the mental health of people, young and older.
Proactive initiatives. NDCN looks out for other opportunities to further tts work and
engage strategically for benefit of the people and groups it serves and support. For
instance, we conduct needs assessment to help identify needs and plan the most
appropriate response. we also continue to participate in a range of forums and
partnerships and facilitate the North Down Community Practitioners Forum to support
and co-ordinate volunteer lead community associations as they respond to needs in
their communities. NDCN participate in the Charity Commission Forum to represent the
needs of our member groups and partners. In addition, NDCN are members of the
Bangor Connects group, which includes representatives from local groups, businesses,
and organisations. We also continue to host the NDCN Community Matters podcast
which aims to explore important issues and needs in an informal and accessible way.
topics covered are in direct relation to need so have included the impact of cost of living,
housing shortages, political apathy in Nl and more.
Achievements, performance and public benefit statement
In addressing its objectives and declare purposes during the year NDCN delivered the
following benefits..
1. Sector su
ort. Promoting the efficiency and effectiveness of voluntary and community
sector in the north of Down:
201 occurrences of one-to-one support with community groups and organisations.
59 meetings to lobby for needs of community groupslareas.
Hosted 2 showcasing volunteer events.
Delivered 416 training, development or health sessions to participants.
Conducted 4 needs assessment suNeys in areas of disadvantage.
5856 people signposted to a range of information, services and support.
Supported groups with 48 applications for funding.
Signposted 46 people onto volunteering.
Issued 28 online magazines (e-zines) to 410+ contacts.
1000 social media posts promoting the activities and services of community groups.
Created and distributed 20,000 'information and support summary, booklets which
contained a wide range of information about member groups and many other sources
of support and information.
Created 12 NDCN Community Matters podcast programmes created.
Supported 2 new groups with the charity registration process.
2.ca
acit buildin
such assistance:
Promoting capacity building for the benefit of the people who need
Delivered youth clubs for 10-15 year olds with 1800 attendees over the year, to meet
their needs regarding safe, fun and welcoming spaces to build their capacity,
resilience, life skills and aspirations. This also include a Children In Need programme
to support career development and improve educational attainment of young people.

Created 2 volunteer showcasing and recognition events with 156 people attending.
Facilitated the Asylum Seekers support group consisting of partners from the statutory
sector, Mears Foundation, faith based and community and voluntary sector who were
collectively seeking to respond to the asylum seekers who were put in Bangor by the
Home Office after arriving in the UK.
3. Pove
relief. Relieving povety by accessible schemes and programmes of vocational
and educational training..
Provided one-to-one and small peer group training on 8 occasions build capacity,
skills and knowledge of local community group volunteers.
Made 189 foodbank referrals for people in povety who required food.
Distributed 112 warm packs of clothing for people on benefits or from vulnerable
groups.
Supported people in need and crisis with electric, gas. white-goods, and meal
vouchers as part of a 'hardship co-operative. with 5 other community partners.
Signposted 302 people on to Advice services.
Secured resources to help people at risk of homelessness remain in their homes and
maintain their tenancy.
Delivered Community Café in town centre for people in need.
4. Networkin
Promoting cooperation and networking between voluntary and community
organisations and others:
NDCN are members of the Borough Community Planning Povety Forum group,
members of Bangor Connects (stakeholders in Bangor exploring regeneration of the
town), and the Charity Commission Nl Forum.
Hosted 7 Community Practitioner meetings consisting of 5 volunteer led Community
Associations from areas of need.
NDCN attended 4 regional meetings with Network Organisations across Northern
Ireland.
Hosted 2 Mental Health Forum meetings to share best practice and collate
information to maximise the ability of member groups to signpost people on to
support and services.
5. Or
anisational hel Helping to address the needs of voluntary and community
organisations:
Supported groups with 47 applications for funding.
Supported 13 groups with Charity Commission returns to ensure regulations were
met.
Conducted examination of accounts for 18 groups and organisations.
Conducted 80 Access Nl checks for groups and organisations.
On 325 occasions met with community groups and organisations for training. support
and capacity development.
Supported community groups with applications to support their activities in responding
to communities and residents and their needs emerging from the cost-of-living crisis,

ongoing impact of mental health issues and concerns about the uncertainty of Nl
political situation.
Financial review (including reserves policy)
NDCN can do all this because it receives funding from the Department for Communities, the
Public Health Agency, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, The National Lottery
Community Fund, Dept of Health via Community Foundation for Nl, Children In Need, Ards
and North Down Borough Council. It is thus dependent on these funders for its ability to
operate. NDCN also has a small income via donations which are used to top-up and cover
unfunded costs.
NDCN has established the minimum the level of free 'special' reserves that the charity ought
to have. This is the level of unrestricted general funds which should normally be at least
enough to cover the cost of closure (which would include the next three months of the
estimated running costs for committed overheads plus that amount of money which would
cover staff redundancies). After being reviewed last year. the 2023-24 this resenie amount
was set at £26,000. This will be reviewed again in the coming year.
Goin
concern note. Due to the challenges of funding pressures within the Community and
Voluntary Sector, NDCN has made a deficit in the year. However, the organisation has
shown an improvement from the prior the year. They will be continuing these efforts to
achieve and maintsin financial sustainability.
Plans for future periods
NDCN'S future plans are to continue to deliver appropriate routine. reactive andlor proactive
services and, in order to be able to do this, to continue to source support where it can but to
work as efficiently as possible within the limits of the funding it manages to obtain.
Disclosure of information to the examiner
We, the directors of the company who held office at the date of approval of these Financial
Statements as set out above each confirm, so far as we are aware, that..
there is no relevant accounting information of which the company's auditors are
unaware., and
we have taken all the steps that we ought to have taken as directors in order to make
ourselves aware of any relevant accounting information and to establish that the
company's examiner are aware of that information.
In approving the Trustees, Annual Report. we also approve the Strategic Report included
therein, in our capacity as company directors."
On behalf of the board
Valerie Miskimmon MBE
Chairperson