MAIDSTONE BOROUGH COUNCIL

COBTREE MANOR ESTATE COMMITTEE

13^TH NOVEMBER 2013

REPORT OF THE HEAD OF FINANCE & RESOURCES

1              FINANCIAL POSITION 2013/14                                                                                                  

1.1        Issue for Decision                                                                                                          

1.1.1   To consider the current financial position of the Golf Course and Manor Park as at 30^th September 2013.                                                                                        

1.2        Recommendation of the Head of Finance & Resources                                                    

1.2.1   That the current financial position as at 30^th September 2013 is noted.       

1.3        Reasons for Recommendation                                                                     

1.3.1   Attached at APPENDIX A is the current financial position, including the projected outturn as at 30^th September 2013. If any significant financial issues arise during October these will be reported verbally to the meeting.                                                                                         

1.3.2   The report also includes details of capital expenditure and total investments held.                                                                                                                                        

1.4         Current Financial Position                                                                                     

1.4.1   The Golf Course is running within budget at 30^th September and at this stage there are no issues that need to be highlighted.                                                                                                            

1.4.2   The Manor Park is showing increased running costs of approximately £19,000 above those originally budgeted for. These are due in part to staff costs that have been incurred to ensure that there is a staff presence maintained in the park during opening hours now that there are a larger number of visitors. There are also £10,000 costs for professional advice that have been incurred in respect of the recent negotiations over the future of the Kent Life attraction.                                                                                  

1.4.3   The impact of these costs in the short term is that the net surplus for the operation of the estate for 2013/14 is likely to lower than initially forecast; however with the ongoing implementation of the master plan the opportunity exists for developing additional income streams to cover these extra costs.                                                                                                   

1.5         Investments

1.5.1    The market value of the investments held with Charifund has continued to rise following the dip in value in the recent past. The first withdrawal of £296,000 to fund the master plan has now been made, which is reflected in the market value shown below. The current value is shown in the table below.

1.6         Capital Expenditure                                                                                              

1.6.1    The budget for the Master Plan was agreed at £1.065m, to be funded by drawing down from the endowment funds invested with Charifund. However as reported elsewhere on this agenda additional funding of £0.3m from Cobtree Charity Trust Ltd for the visitor centre has now been agreed.

1.6.2    To date there has been expenditure of £637,506 on Phase 1 works in respect of the play area, car park and other associated works, and funding to the value of £296,000 has been drawn down from the endowment fund to cover the expenditure in the 2012/13 financial year. When the accounts for 2012/13 have been formally approved a further draw down will be made.                                                                                              

1.7        Alternative Actions and Why Not Recommended                                          

1.7.1    The Committee could not receive updates during the year on the financial position, but this would not be consistent with good financial management.                                                                                                                                                                                     

1.8        Impact on the Charity’s Objectives                                                              

1.8.1    The net surplus on the activities of the Golf Course and Manor Park are to be used to further the long term aims and objectives of the Trust, particularly the agreed Master Plan for the development of the Manor Park.                                                                                                                

1.9        Risk Management                                                                                                                     

1.9.1    Good financial management allows more informed decisions to be made regarding the ongoing activities of the Trust.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

1.10    Other Implications                                                                                                                                                                                       

1.11              Financial Implications                                                                                  

Financial Implications are detailed in the report above.