Trustees’ Annual Report for Pitstone Recreation Ground Charity for the period:

From 	1-4-18       	 To	   31-3-19           

Reference and Administration Details

Charity name:  Pitstone Recreation Ground Charity

Charity registration number:  1094867

Principal address: 9 Warwick Road, Pitstone, Beds, LU7 9FE

Sole Trustee: Pitstone Parish Council, as a corporate body

Name and address of Advisers: 
			
Solicitor	John Reddington 
Partner	Horwood & James
7 Temples Square, Aylesbury, HP20 2QB	

Structure, Governance and Management

Description of charity’s trusts:		Charity Commission Sealed Scheme of 29/12/1922, and Sealed Scheme of 20/6/1973.	
Type of governing document	Para 1.25
	Trust deed	
How is the charity constituted? 
(e.g. unincorporated association, CIO)	Para 1.25	Unincorporated Trust	
Trustee selection methods including details of any constitutional provisions e.g. election to post or name of any person or body entitled to appoint one or more trustees	Para 1.25	As the Parish Council, as Corporate Body, is Trustee, the trustees are selected via local government election every four years.  Where a casual vacancy occurs during the 4 years, a new member is co-opted.  

Central Government postponed the election from May 2019 to May 2020, to align with the elections for the new unitary council for Buckinghamshire being created in 2020, therefore members will serve an additional year in office.

Additional information (optional)
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
Policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees
	Para 1.51	All councillors joining the parish council (sole trustee) are provided within information about the charity and Charity Commission guidelines such as The Essential Trustee.  

The clerk has undertaken the SAVO trustee e:learning course, and council is willing to fund training for any further members willing to undertake this commitment.
	
The charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works

	Para 1.51	Pitstone Parish Council, as Corporate Body, is the Sole Trustee.  

Meetings of the charity are always separate from meetings of the council and are separately documented.
	
Relationship with any related parties

	Para 1.51	Not applicable.	

Objectives and Activities

	SORP reference		
Summary of the purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document	Para 1.17	The aim of the Recreation Ground Charity, as defined in the sealed scheme, is to provide facilities and open space, on the appointed Recreation Ground land, for the inhabitants of the parish of Pitstone and the surrounding areas to freely enjoy for leisure, recreation and sport.
	
Summary of the main activities in relation to those purposes for the public benefit, in particular, the activities, projects or services identified in the accounts.	Para 1.17 and 1.19	The charity:

•	Maintains and develops the recreation ground, and land it manages under licence, to ensure it provides a safe, pleasant and fit-for-purpose space.
•	Grants permission to local football and cricket clubs to use the recreation ground land for matches and training purposes and manages occupational licences to those bodies.
•	Grants permission to other local bodies for occasional recreation/sporting activities to take place on the recreation ground, such as Aylesbury Vale District Council’s Play around the Parishes or the local community Party in the Park.
•	Works with local community groups to ensure that recreation and leisure provision and opportunities within the village are maximised.
•	Seeks to provide excellent facilities that encourage as many residents as possible to benefit from the village green space.
	
Statement confirming whether the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit	Para 1.18	Pursuant to Section 17(5) of the Charities Act and the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 the Charity Trustee has taken due regard of the guidance on public benefit issued by the Charity Commission when exercising its duties.

Additional information (optional)
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
	SORP reference		
Policy on grant making
	Para 1.38	Not applicable, this charity does not provide grants.	
Policy on investment	Para 1.38	Not applicable, this charity does not make investments.	
Contribution made by volunteers	Para 1.38	All members of the Parish Council are volunteers.  None claim an allowance or refund of any expenditure.

The Charity is extremely grateful to the groundkeeper, Mr J Groom, for the significant amount of voluntary hours contributed (on top of commissioned times) to the upkeep of both the football and cricket pitches on the Charity site.	

Achievements and Performance

	SORP reference		
Summary of the main achievements of the charity, identifying the difference the charity’s work has made to the circumstances of its beneficiaries and any wider benefits to society as a whole.	Para 1.20	•	Pitstone, Ivinghoe & Cheddington United Football Club plus the Ivinghoe & Pitstone United Cricket Club (both seniors and colts) were granted permission to use the recreation ground as their respective home sites.    
•	Pitstone Parish Council funded several Play around the Parish sessions that were held on the Recreation Ground.   These sessions are primarily aimed at attracting families with children under 11 years of age and are provided free to the residents, with dozens of local families attending.
•	The area has been suitably maintained with remedial works carried out as necessary.    
•	Two years ago the Recreation Ground charity noted that the Parish Charity intended to revoke the licence to manage a parcel of land under licence.   This revocation has not yet occurred.  The charity continue to work closely with the Parish Council and the Parish Charity to seek no loss of leisure space within the community.  
•	The Recreation Ground charity is delighted to be working with the Parish Council and District Council on the plans to replace the outdated playground equipment (over 25 years old) with an exciting and challenging new play space.   The specification has been determined.  Planning permission has been granted and planning conditions discharged.  The plans can be progressed as soon as the land issues regarding the parcel of land managed under licence are resolved.
•	In March 2014, the Ivinghoe & Pitstone United Cricket Club advised that they wished to continue to use the Recreation Ground as their home site.   The cricket club would like to see several improvements to the cricket square, and the Recreation Ground Charity is working with the cricket club to ensure the ground is developed in line with requirements, to achieve improved playability and safety for the cricket club without limiting access to the general public.
•	The charity is progressing a prior lease of a small section of land to the Memorial Hall charity which does not appear to have been correctly administered; and is also seeking advise from the Charity Commission as to whether the charitable status should be removed as this parcel of land is also designated as a Registered Village Green and all day-to-day management is carried out and funded by the parish council open spaces program.	

Financial Review

Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period	Para 1.21	The Recreation Ground Charity operates a dedicated bank account to receive receipts (operational since 2016) eg through hire of the football pitch

Following receipt of advice during 2016, the parish council resolved to undertake day-to-day ground maintenance of the Recreation Ground Charity land (part Village Green and part managed under licence) as part of its open spaces policy.  The Recreation Ground Charity may, from time to time, resolve to pass any held funds over to the Pitstone Council as a contribution towards the costs incurred.

At the year end, the Recreation Ground Charity holds £1,784.16.  Receipts in the year were £450  (pitch hire) and payments were just £72 of bank charges.  

The parish council insurance specifies the trustees of this charity and their work as part of its policy.  The Recreation Ground Charity land is listed on the parish council’s asset register.

The charity has no debtors or creditors and no outstanding loans.	
Statement explaining the policy for holding reserves stating why they are held	Para 1.22	Not applicable at present, no reserves	
Amount of reserves held	Para 1.22	Zero	
Reasons for holding zero reserves	Para 1.22	The charity has limited financial standing, primarily just land ownership, and relies heavily upon the parish council	
Details of fund materially in deficit	Para 1.24	Not applicable, no deficit	
Explanation of any uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern	Para 1.23	Currently seeking legal advice relating to the validity and requirement for charitable status.  Ground management is undertaken by the parish council.  The land is protected under Village Green status and legislation.	

Additional information (optional)
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
The charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising) 	Para 1.47	The principal source of funds comes from the limited hire of the football pitch.	
Investment policy and objectives including any social investment policy adopted	Para 1.46	Not applicable at present	
A description of the principal risks facing the charity 	Para 1.46	Ongoing management of conflicts of interests.  	
Any funds or assets held on behalf of another charity		Not applicable	

Other optional information

History
As part of the 1856 Enclosure Award, the land that the recreation ground sits upon was vested in Wibraham Egerton & James, Earl of Powis as recreation ground.     The area in question relates to the grassed surface you can see at present and doesn’t include the Memorial Hall land/car park or the land at the far end which houses the cricket nets and play equipment.   In 1922, the Charity Commission vested the land in the Parish Council and in 1973 it was officially registered as a Village Green in the “Registrar of Common Land or Village Greens”.  The Recreation Ground was officially registered with Land Registry in 2010.
Children’s Playground and Future Leisure Development
In the 1970’s the Charity Commission granted permission for the Recreation Ground Charity to manage an additional neighbouring strip of land belonging to the Pitstone Allotments for the Labouring Poor under licence.    This additional land enabled the recreation and leisure facilities to be extended, including the provision of children’s play equipment.   Pitstone Parish Charity has not charged rental to the Recreation Ground charity but receives the benefit-in-kind of all expenditure related to the land being borne by another body.
In April 2013 Pitstone Recreation Ground Charity received notice from Pitstone Parish Charity that they intended to revoke the licence to manage this parcel of land.   The Parish Charity were following advice from the Charity Commission that the entirety of the land owned should be disposed to maximise the benefit to the Parish Charity.  

Pitstone Recreation Ground Charity is aware of, and supports, the aspirations of the Parish Council to upgrade the current provision to a Neighbourhood Equipped Area of Play (NEAP) from a Local Equipped Area of Play (LEAP) with an exciting new play space, skate park and multi-use games area to improve the asset for the community and attract more usage of the Recreation Ground.  Some of this development will take place on the land currently managed under licence, and some on the surrounding land.   
The Pitstone Recreation Ground Charity continues to work closely with members of both the Pitstone Parish Charity and Pitstone Parish Council to try and identify the most advantageous solutions going forward to protect leisure provision within the community.

Declarations

               The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above. 

              Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees:
	
Signature(s)		
Full name(s)		    Position (eg Chair)	
		Date