The trustees, who are also the directors for the purposes of company law, present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2025.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in the notes to the financial statements and comply with the Companies Act 2006 and "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)" (effective 1 January 2019).
The charity’s objects (“the Objects”) are for the public benefit and are restricted to the following:
To advance the Christian faith in accordance with the Statement of Beliefs in the schedule to the Articles.
To relieve sickness and financial hardship and to promote and preserve good health by the provision of fund, goods or services of any kind, including through the provision of counselling, training in life skills and support in such parts of the United Kingdom or the world as the Trustees from time to time may think fit.
To advance Christian education in such parts of the United Kingdom and the world as the Trustees may from time to time think fit.
To provide or assist in the provision of facilities in the interests of social welfare for recreation or other leisure time occupation of individuals who have need of such facilities by reason of their youth, age, infirmity or disability, financial hardship or social circumstances with the object of improving their conditions of life.
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.
Introduction
As a congregation of believers, we gather as followers of Jesus to fulfil our objects with the mission statement:
Declaring and demonstrating the Kingdom of God in our community.
All that we do flows from this commitment.
Christian Education and Spiritual Support
Over the past year WACC/ West Auckland Vineyard Church has met weekly for public worship and the preaching of the scripture. There is a weekly CAYOS group for primary school children and younger teens.
Six home groups have provided pastoral care, fellowship, Bible study and prayer.
Other churchwide prayer meetings take place regularly on Zoom and in person.
We ran an Alpha course in the Spring, and joined 24/7 Prayer with their week of global prayer in September.
We have celebrated with public services and events at Easter, Harvest and Christmas.
Pastoral Care
We believe that the church is family and therefore much of the care of the congregation takes place by our members supporting each other, particularly through the home groups. In addition to this, there are several members who will provide home and hospital visits, assisting with meals, prayer and listening. Mrs Hazel Charlton oversees the coordination of pastoral care and Rev Bethany Burrage is always on hand for those who need further support.
Community Engagement
The Well is our community-based café and continues to spearhead our work of supporting local people and the community as per the objects. In November 2025 we were able to return to 4 days of operation, made possible because of the committed support of our core volunteer team, along with funding from Believe Housing’s Community Grant.
The Trussell Trust Foodbank has provided 337 food parcels, supporting 396 Adults, 230 Children and 626 people in total.
The hospitality of the Foodbank was further enhanced with the support of our partners Greggs, Shildon Alive and Little Chefs Big Chefs CIC and the generosity of The Well Café, which over the year donated 204 pots of tea, 705 cups of coffee and 26 cups of hot chocolate to our foodbank clients.
Our meeting room is used by organisations which offer free support to our community. This year we have hired that space to Mental Health Matters, Community Money Advice County Durham, Rape and Sexual Abuse Counselling Centre (RSACC), Wellbeing for Life, Hiyed and Gentian Counselling. The local policing team, Shildon Alive, Believe Housing’s Employability Team, Durham County Council’s Employability Team, The Pioneering Care Partnership and Durham County Council Social Services have used our café to meet with local people.
This year we hosted a group of three young people from The Kings Trust for a 2-week work placement. We also offered a supported internship via Bishop Auckland College and a supported volunteering role through Hiyed.
The Well in The Community is a West Auckland Vineyard Church community project supporting those in need as per our objects.
In 2025 we have been involved with 51 clients in the community, some with immediate needs and some needing longer term helps. We have a team of 10 people each using their gifts in various ways and we have done 472 visits and many supporting phone calls during the year.
A lot of our referrals are from professional organisations e.g. Social workers, Social Prescribers and GPs and Mental Health Teams with whom we have a good relationship.
At the Vineyard Centre we currently host the following community groups:
Rainbows and Brownies
Beat Café (open mic night)
Weekly games afternoon
Bethany Burrage has been invited to share in the assemblies and lessons of the two local primary schools.
Charity and Mission Support
We are committed to supporting charities and missions both in the UK and overseas. Each month we financially support the following charities:
Tearfund
World Vision
MAF
Release International
In 2025 we also provided 180 packed shoe boxes to Samaritan’s Purse and supported St Cuthbert’s Hospice in Durham.
Church Family
2025 began with several members of our congregation being bereaved. We have sought to support each other through these challenging times. Our congregation continues to grow slowly through the addition of new attendees and families. We were thrilled to hold a baptism in September.
Ecumenical Relationships
WACC/WAV is affiliated to the Vineyard Churches of UK and Ireland. We are a member of the local Bishop Auckland Fellowship of Christian Churches.
During the year we joined the other local churches and the Parish Council for the village Remembrance Service.
Employees
In 2025 Adrian Hancock retired and Bethany Burrage replaced him working full time at 38 hours per week as the pastor.
Samantha Townsend works part time at 21 hours per week as The Well Manager.
Rachelle Woollard was employed until December 2025, part time at 10 hours per week as Finance Manager. She was replaced in January 2026 by Kate Foster.
The financial statements on pages 6 to 18 show the performance and current position of the company which the trustees consider to be satisfactory. The company has a formal reserves policy whereby the trustees would ideally like to hold free reserves to cover three months core costs expenditure which is currently estimated at approximately £26,500. The company currently has free reserves of £6,824, however, if long term liabilities are excluded this figure would increase free reserves to £143,545, which would be in excess of the level set in the reserves policy. The trustees are forecasting to achieve a surplus in the forthcoming year so believe the shortfall in unrestricted free reserves will be reduced in the forthcoming year.
WACC is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 27th July 2009. The company was established under a Memorandum of Association which established the objects and powers of the company and is governed under its Articles of Association.
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:
Trustee recruitment and appointment
All trustee appointments will be by joint decision by the current trustees at the AGM.
Induction and training of new trustees
The charity trustees are currently one of the two senior leaders of the church plus three other church members. The trustees are familiar with the Charity Commission support material for trustees and they are open to undertaking further training as considered necessary.
Risk management
The trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error. The risks have been reviewed by the trustees and systems established to mitigate those risks.
General Data Protection Regulations
In compliance with the GDPR we maintain good practice and follow our policy with regard to the signed agreements from all our members regarding the use of their personal data. The use of Churchsuite software permits the receiver to ‘unsubscribe’ as they choose.
People join the WhatsApp groups as their personal choice.
Safeguarding
WACC is a member of the advisory service ThirtyOne:Eight and receives regular updates and news. All policies and procedures have been reviewed and updated where required. All our volunteers have received safeguarding update training and those who require a DBS check have one. We work alongside local partners to provide a network of preventative care and where there is a concern we report it to Durham County Council’s First Contact. There have not been any serious incidents that need to be reported to the Charity Commission.
This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies entitled to the small companies exemption.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of WACC (the charity) for the year ended 31 December 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.
Included in the comparative figures above is income totalling £11,581 and expenditure totalling £21,438 from discontinued activities.
WACC is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is The Well, 46 East Green, West Auckland, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, DL14 9HJ.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) 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)" (effective 1 January 2019). 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.
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).
Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and estimated selling price less costs to complete and sell. Cost includes all costs of purchase, costs of conversion and other costs incurred in bringing the stock to its present location and condition.
Net realisable value is the estimated selling price less all estimated costs of completion and costs to be incurred in marketing, selling and distribution.
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 has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
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.
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
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 charity is a company limited by guarantee, there being no issued share capital, and as such is not under the direct control of any individual but by the board of directors as a whole. At 31 December 2025 there were 6 members, each of whom had undertaken to contribute an amount not exceeding £5 in the event of a winding up.
Raising funds
Church Activities
The Well
Church Activities
The Well
Spiritual Development
Donations & Sponsorship
Outreach
Other costs
Mr A C Hancock, trustee, received remuneration totalling £6,983 during the year in his role as the church pastor prior to his retirement. His replacement, Ms B Burrage, trustee, received remuneration totalling £15,899. This remuneration was considered allowable under the company's articles of association which state that a trustee can be remunerated providing it is authorised by a resolution of the trustees and the trustees are satisfied they are the best person for the job.
No remuneration or other benefits from employment with the charity or a related entity were received by the other trustees.
No trustee expenses have been incurred.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The remuneration of key management personnel was as follows:
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
£13,693 and £9,226 were transferred from Helping Hands Donations & Well Ministry Donations restricted funds respectively into unrestricted funds as it's believed the donations can be used towards the general running costs of The Well. £626 was transferred from the Believe Housing restricted fund to unrestricted funds to cover the contribution from the grant to the general running costs of The Well.
The remaining term of the bank loan as at 31 December 2025 was 18 years and 9 months. The loan is repayable by instalments and the interest rate as at 31 December 2025 was 6.46%.
The bank loan is secured against the property held by the company.
The bank loan is secured against the property held by the company.
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.
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.
Purpose of restricted funds:
Garfield Weston Foundation - To fund the capital expenditure on the Vineyard Centre project;
Donations for specific use - To fund specific church activities and the Vineyard Centre project;
Durham County Council - To fund the capital expenditure on The Well project;
All Churches Trust - To fund the capital expenditure on the Vineyard Centre project;
Foodbank Donations - To fund purchases for the foodbank;
Gaunless Gateway Small Grants Fund - To fund the running of a holiday club;
Pastoral Aid - To fund help to any church member in crisis;
Helping Hands Donations - To fund outreach work;
Alpha Course Donations - To fund an Alpha away day for spiritual development;
Arnold Clark - To fund activities undertaken at The Well;
Succession Planning - To fund the cost of appointing a new pastor;
Well Ministry Donations - To fund the Well Ministry work;
Ladies Day Donations - To fund a ladies day;
Believe Housing Food Project - To fund a food project at The Well;
Believe Housing - To fund the running costs of The Well;
Asda Grant - To fund the running costs of The Well.
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).