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THE CITY OF WINCHESTER TRUST LIMITED
REPORT OF THE COUNCIL AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED
31 MARCH 2016

Chairman's Report

First of all, and probably the most important in my role as Chairman, is to thank all those Members of the Trust Council who do so much behind the scenes for the City of Winchester Trust and its aspirations. l am going to single out one or two who go well beyond the call of duty.

John Beveridge who willingly steps into many a breach; Michael Carden who, despite attempting a sabbatical, is always there as a support and guide; lain Patton and Sue Owers who have organised very successful outings; Mary Tiles who is responsible for co-ordinating the PAG deliberations and issuing our findings on planning applications to the Planning office; Patrick Davies for chairing the Policy Group and reading through and understanding policy documents issued by the City Council; and Judith Rich who looks after the membership lists. All our activities are supported by Janet Wiles and Mollie Francis; as you can imagine, this is not always an easy task.

Walks

Paul Williams has organised some interesting and inspirational walks. We have been doing this for a number of years now and it is always a popular part of the Trust's activities. lt is not always eay to organise, there are crises that cause problems, so thank you, Paul, for undertaking this task.

Civic Voice

As you are all no doubt aware, Civic Voice is a national organisation representing bodies like us and is able to open important doors which, as a small organisation, we are unable to do. Belonging to such an organisation allows us to network with other similar sized towns and cities and learn about their problems and their successes. Civic Voice also provides us with up-to- date, useful information. John Beveridge liaises and reports to Council on these activities.

Trust Award Scheme

Last year we only awarded one full Design Award, and that was to T2 Architects. This scheme was put forward as an application for a national award run by Civic Voice. The scheme was successful. The judging panel praised the scheme, stating that it was rare to see well designed housing in this country that made a contribution to the context in which it has been placed.

Trust Website

Barrie Brinkman has spent a considerable amount of time updating the website. We are trying to make certain that he has the up-to-date news. l think it is a big improvement. Barrie is always ready to accept new ideas and critiques if it helps to improve the website.

Outings

So far this year we have had one outing to the Watts Gallery in the Guildford area. lain Patton organised the visit to the Gallery which is devoted to the great Wctorian painter, George Watts. Apart from the paintings, the modern extension added to the Arts and Crafts house is a lesson in how to handle a sensitive addition with total conviction. As l write this, we are about to embark on a visit to Sherborne organised by Sue Owers.

Accounts

As many of you are aware, Nick Gibbins volunteered to take over the accounts from Peter Radcliffe. Nick has already been a tower of strength in this department, and l know Peter is pleased that the handover has been so smooth. One of the items we have been discussing is to raise the annual subscription. lt has been kept at the £10 level for individual members for many years and we are now using our reserves. More importantly, it is impeding our ability to undertake tasks which we could do far more successfully with more authority and impact. Coupled to the annual subscription we, as always, do need more Members. More Members, more clout!

Plans for the future

Many of our activities are on-going:

In addition we plan to:

Public Benefit

In setting objectives for the year, the Trust Council has given careful consideration to the Charity Commission's general advice on public benefit and is mindful of the need to report on how its aims have been achieved during the year. The Trust was founded in 1957 for the purposes and objects set out later in this report, and continues to carry out its work in serving the public interest.

Governing Document

The City of Winchester Trust Ltd. (the Trust) was founded in 1957 and incorporated as a company limited by guarantee in 1958. As such it has no share capital. The liability of individual members is limited to a sum not exceeding £10. It is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association, which was last amended in 2000. The Trust is registered as Company number 00609812 and Charity Number 251798.

Organisational Structure

The Council has responsibility for the management and control of the Trust. However certain financial functions are delegated to the Finance and Resources Committee and other panels and groups are formed and their leaders appointed by Council for specific purposes, projects and continuing activities. Council members are elected for three years at the Annual General Meeting but may stand for re-election at the end of their term.

Council members act as trustees of the charity and directors of the company limited by guarantee.

The Objects of the Trust

The Trust's objects are fully described in the Memorandum of Association. They can be summarised as follows:

Investment Objectives. Powers and Policies

The investment powers of the Council are given by the Memorandum and Articles of Association. The investment objectives of the Trust are to preserve and enhance the Trust's assets to allow the charity the ability to finance its activities both in the short and longer term.

The majority of the Trust's investments are managed on a Non-Discretionary basis by Rathbone investment Management in consultation with representatives of the Trustees, with the Honorary Treasurer as the primary point of contact at the Trust. In addition the Trust also has investments which it manages directly in a number of COIF charity funds and part of the Trust's leasehold property, the flats at 30 Upper Brook St, is held for investment purposes, the rental income representing the main element of the Trust's annual income.

The investment objective for the Trust’s investments in financial instruments is to achieve a balance between capital growth to secure the Trust’s longer term objectives and income generation to provide income, in addition to membership subscriptions, to finance its current charitable activities. The Trust’s policy is to seek to achieve a medium risk profile within its investment portfolio, aiming over time to achieve returns above the rate of inflation, while accepting that a significant exposure to equities will result in fluctuations in the value of the portfolio as the major equity markets fluctuate, as the Trust has the capacity to accept temporary capital losses. The Trust's investments are confined to listed investments and are primarily of a collective nature, in order to achieve diversification. which reduces the risk of permanent capital loss arising from the failure of a particular company or sector.

Property Revaluation Policy

The Trust adopts the policy of revaluing its property every five years, commencing 31 March 2003.

Reserves Policy

The annual accounts show the assets and liabilities attributable to the funds by type and which are approved by the Council. The Council plans its expenditure within available resources whilst maintaining reserves which gives the Trust flexibility to achieve its aims for the foreseeable future.

Risk Management

The Council has reviewed the major risks to which the Trust is exposed, as identified by the Council, and is satis?ed that systems are in place to mitigate those risks.

Council Responsibilities

It is a requirement of company law for the Council to prepare financial statements for each accounting period. They must give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Trust and of the surplus or deficit for that period. The Council must: