INVERARAY BELL TOWER SCIO Scottish Charity No - SC050075 Annual Report & Financial Statements St For the Year Ending 31 December 2024
Trustees, Annual Report For th¢ Year ended 31. December 2024 The trustees have pleasure in presenting their report together with the fllTrncial statements for the year ended 31, De£embcr 2024. Reference and Administrative Information Charity Namt Inveraray Bell Tower SCIO Charity No SC050075 Addres5 Current TTilStees Secretary
Structure) GovernanLY & Management Constitution The Charity is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (a SCIO). It was registered &s a new entity on 8 April 2020 and lias a membership structure. Appointment of Trustees The founding trustees presently manage the charity and have the Wer to COwOPt two furth¢r trustees. subject to ratification by members at an Annual Meeting. Trustees are elected at the annual g¢neral meeting and all members are circulated with invitations to nominat¢ trustees prior lo the AGM advising them of the retiring trnstee5 and requesting nominations for the AGM. There is a minimum of three and a nXImuM of fiv¢ trustees. Objectives & Activities Charitabl¢ Purpos The advancement of the art& heritage and Culture. To advance heritage by preserving the historic Bell Tower for the benefit of the residents of Inveraray and the public in general as a place of historical and cultural significanc¢, particularly in the context of the Bell Tower's status as a World War One War M¢morial and it's internationally recognis¢d ring of b¢lls. To advance heritage and the arts by providing a fimctioning set of full circle change ringing bells for the benefit of bell ringers from across the UK and the world.
Activities The first event of the year was the annual maintenance weekend. This year all 10 bell whe¢ls were paintcd, the frame sections around four of the bells were wire brushed and - painted where coOsion was showing and th¢ 7 clapper was r¢moved and re-fitte(L Th¢ ¢xhibition display boards on the ground floor were re-painted and the tower tidied and cleaned ready for the summer season. Fifteen people volunteered a total of134 hours over the we¢kend. During the year new ropes wcr¢ d¢livcrcd Ld fittcd to the 9 and 10 b¢lls and a further two new ropes ord¢r¢d for the 7 and 8 bells. The ringing festival weekend was well attended at the end of July. This M'as the fiftieth ringing festival to be held at Inv¢raray. There was 8 hours of open rknging across the M¢¢k¢nd, availabl¢ to all ringers. (In the Saturday morning a quarter peal of Cambridge Suq)rise Royal Tung by a band of ten wom¢n. There were 9 peal attempts during the year and two groups of N'islting ringers who rang foi around an hour. There w¢rc two quarter peals for thc Scottish Association of Change Ringers quarter peal day. Half-muffled ringing was provided prior to a requieln for the departed held in All Saints Church. There was also ringing prior to thc Inveraray Carol Srrvice in thc run up to Christmas. All of these perfonnances were free for members of the public to listen to. The exhibition working group produced a report with recommendations to the AGM for improving the visitor experience. The working groiip was thanked for their Ork and asked to impl¢menl the ft phase oftheir reconunendations in titne for the 2025 tourist opening. At the cnd of August was Consecrated as the new Bishop of Argyll and the Isles. A peal of Kent Treble Bob Royal was n8 by members of the charity in November io welcome hlm. Two of the trustees rnet with him An Seplember to progrcss th¢ Licence for Use between All Saints Episcopalchurch and Inveraray Bell Tower SCIO. Further progress was made by the Èrustees towaTdg the end of the year with a final wording of the Licence for Usc agr¢d.
Finan¢ial Review & Financial Statements Inverarvdy Bell Tower SCIO Statement of R¢¢eipts and Payments for the year ended 31, December 2024 Year Ended Year Ended 3111212024 3111212023 Unrestricted Funds Receipts Subscriptions Ringing Fees Donations Total Receipts Expenditure Maint¢nan¢e 62 700 60 980 1,060 426 Surplus for the year Statement of Bslgnces - As at 31, December 2024 Opening cash at bank and in hand Surplus for year Closing cash at bank and in hand 3,115 1,408 Other Assets and Liabilities There were no other &ssets and liabilities Notes to the aceounts- for the year ended 31. December 2024 l. Basis of aecounting These accounts have been prepared on the receipts and Paym¢nts b&sis in accordance with the Charities & Tntee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). 2. Nature and purpose of funds Unrestricted funds ore thos¢ that may be used at the discretion of the trustees in th¢ fieranCe of the objects of the charity. The trustees makntain a singl¢ U[estrIcted fund for the operation of the Bell Tower 3. Ringing Fees Charges are made for use of the bells mainly for the activity of peal ringing perfornlances taking three and a half hours and for other ringing visitors who nY ring the bells for a lesser period.
- Donations Are largely from the community of ringers both in Scotland and further afield. A significant sum, £642 in 2024, was given at the time of the annual ringing festival held each year at the end of July.
- Expenditure Expenditure of £1,059 was made up of the expenses of the March 2024 maintenance weekend £373 and the purchase of two new ropes of £686. Otherwise there is no expenditle to rewrt pending the conclusion of th¢ licence agreement with the Diocese of Argyll & Th¢ Isles and All Saints Church Inverarny.
- Funds Funds are bank¢d in a current account with Virgin Money (Clyd¢sdale Bank). Ind¢p¢Dd¢nt Examiner?s Report to th¢ Tru$ttrs of Inveraray Bell Tower SCIO I report on the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2024 which are set out above. Respeetive r¢sponsibilities of trnstees and examiner The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the tern]s of the Charities and TnLStee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland} Regulations (as amended). The charity trustees consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10(I)(d) of the 2006 Account Regulations does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts as required under section 44(1)(¢) of the Act and to state whether particular matters hav¢ come to my attention My examination ts carri¢d out in accordance with Regulation I l of the 2006 Accounts Regulations. An examination includes a revlew of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeks explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audiL and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by th¢ accounts.
Independent exAmiDer'g gtatement. In the Course of my &XaminatiO matt¢r has come to my auentiorL which gives mc reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the r¢quiretnents". lo keep accounting recordg in accordance wtth S¢¢tion 44(1){a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 A¢counts Rcgulalions. Tv Ppare accounts which accord with the accounts'ng records and comply with Regulation 9 of the 2UIK> Accounts Regulations. have not been mel or 2. to whic]4 in my opinion. attention should be drawn in order lo enable a proper ndeandIng of the accounts to be reached. AssoLiate Chdrlered Inslitute of NIanagement .IcCountstY Ayr Date: Z i |?Izs Plans for Future Period Post Frriod-end a]icence foSe to occupy and The Bell Tower was sigled beiween All Saints Episcopal Church, Inveraray and Inveraray Bell Tower SCIO. Inverdray Bell Tower SCIO will operate the tower in 2025 for use by bell ringer3 and opening to th¢ public during the summer as set out in the business plan. The exhibition will be enhanced during the year and the tower opening advertised to ¢ncourag¢ visitors lo come and experienc¢ what the tower h&8 tr> offer. The intention is to tske on a temporary employee over the summer to open the tower every weekday. Approved by the Trust¢¢s on 22/07n025 and sibmed on their behalf by". Chair of the tnjslees