The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" and the Charities SORP "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)".
To promote the benefit of the inhabitants of Newington and the neighbourhood without distinction of sex, sexual orientation, race or of political, religious or other opinions, by associating together the said inhabitants and the local authorities, voluntary and other organisations in a common effort to advance education and to provide facilities in the interests of social welfare for recreation and leisure- time occupation with the object of improving the conditions of life for the said inhabitants.
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.
Throughout the past year the trustees are once again pleased to report that the Lonsdale community centre has continued to play a key role in our local community by providing a broad range of activities and services to our members and beneficiaries as embodied within our charitable objectives. In addition to our core activities, we once again successfully operated a varied programme of funded projects to target specific needs within the community.
Services & Activities Report
We are proud of the fact that some of our affiliated groups have been running activities for well over forty years, notably our art group and drama group the Chameleon players who this year staged two productions at the Northern Academy of Performing Arts. Our programme of regular activities continues to change reflecting the needs of the locality with a broad mix on offer including recreational and educational groups such as Tai Chi, Latin Line Dancing, Card making and Craft Clubs, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and Smoke Free Hull offering smoking cessation sessions all of whom are now well established. Through the year Narcotics Anonymous expanded their provision and the ‘Waffle’ pay-what-you-can-afford restaurant run by Co-operation Hull providing nutritious vegetarian food to fifty plus diners every Tuesday evening also became an established thing. We again continued to host two Lithuanian groups ‘Tricolour kids’ Lithuanian culture and language club and the Linas Lithuanian Club and with the support of additional funding we were able to expand the activities of the ‘REACH’ Romanian support group. Additionally, we continued to support ‘Community Triumph’ who run a programme of Children’s activities over the school holidays and the Magic Basket Catering Company who ran a kid’s cooking club. Finally, as ever, we are indebted to the Lonsdale community shop team of volunteers who continued to earn valuable income to support the centre's many activities.
Funded Projects Report
Funded projects during the year included the second and final year of our ‘Community Fabric’ project which funded by the National Lottery through the ‘Know Your Neighbourhood Fund’ supported over two hundred beneficiaries including twenty-five volunteers who were involved in running sewing workshops, jumble sales and a programme of celebratory events and taster craft sessions. With support from the Two Ridings Community Foundation, we were able to extend our food bank provision to two days per week and as well as this we were able to offer a range of free clothing and footwear. In June 2024 we collaborated with TimeBank Hull & East Riding to run a ‘Wellness Weekender’ to run a packed programme of interactive health promoting activities, including stalls, information and healthy buffets and menus.
In September through the Two Ridings Community Foundations Emergency Community Response Fund we supported our affiliated Romanian group to provide support to the Roma community affected by the anti-immigration riots in July and August and over the winter months we once more signed the Hull City Council Warm Space Charter and with funding from the ‘Affordable Warmth Small Grants Fund’ provided a free hot meal at our weekly ‘Warm welcome’ lunch club, as well as a family recreation and dinner club run by ‘REACH’ for the Romanian community and a new food bank and lunch club on Mondays run by local group ‘Women Accede’. Linked to this fund we were again able to offer energy advice and one-off grants to people struggling with their amenity bills through the Household Support Fund.
This year we benefited from several capital projects which enabled us to fit a new state of the art CCTV system funded through the Police and Crime Commissioner Fund with match support from the Hull CVS UKSPF project which also funded the provision of a new roller shutter, double glazed windows in the meeting rooms and new flooring including carpets, and commercial quality vinyl.
In 2025 in collaboration with the ‘Live Like Legends’ graffiti art initiative we ran our own ‘Lonsdale Legends’ project which involved repainting the back wall with graffiti art with workshops, exhibitions and events involving over 150 local people including children and young people who co-created the design for a graffiti mural on the wall painted by local graffiti artists. We are grateful to our Ward Councillors who co-funded the project through their Community Initiatives Budget.
And finally, towards the end of the year with support from the James Reckitt Foundation we were able to guarantee the continuation of both our popular ‘Sew it All’ group and our two food banks.
Newington Neighbourhood Plan
Over the course of the year as the lead organisation for the Newington Neighbourhood Plan, we worked with our local Ward Councillors too in representing the interests of local people in face of ambitious proposals from the Stadium Management Company who were seeking to extend their holdings into West Park at the expense of much needed green space. And in October in partnership with local housing charity Giroscope we hosted a ‘Live project’ run by architecture students from Sheffield University to explore ways to develop a new inclusive prospectus for West Park supporting the Newington Neighbourhood Plan.
And to conclude, we are indebted to our may funders and supporters and to our fantastic volunteers who continue to provide their time and effort in order to make the Lonsdale community centre such an invaluable hub of support to our local Newington community.
It is the policy of the charity to maintain liquid unrestricted funds, which are the free reserves, at a level sufficient to cover costs for a period of no more than 12 months.
The charity is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee. In accordance with the memorandum of articles of the company, every member undertakes to contribute such amount as may be required (not exceeding £1) to the company's assets if it should be would up.
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
None of the trustees has any beneficial interest in the company.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Lonsdale Community Centre Limited (the charity) for the year ended 31 March 2025.
Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the charity are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act 2011.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 386 of the Companies Act 2006.
the financial statements do not accord with those records; or
the financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 other than any requirement that the financial statements give a true and fair view, which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
the financial statements have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their financial statements in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.
FCCA
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Lonsdale Community Centre Limited is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Lonsdale Community Centre, 8 Lonsdale Street, Anlaby Road, Hull, HU3 6PA, United Kingdom.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" and the Charities SORP "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)". The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities not to prepare a statement of cash flows.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors or grantors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges are allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.
Capital grants received are credited to a restricted fund against which the depreciation of the relevant asset is charged.
Items costing below £250 individually are not usually capitalised.
An annual impairment review is carried out to ensure that all fixed assets still have a useful life.
At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
The charity is exempt form corporation tax on its charitable activities.
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
The income from fundraising ventures is shown gross, with the associated costs included in fundraising costs.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
Deferred income is included in the financial statements as follows:
The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used.
The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2024 - none).