MILL ARTS CENTRE TRUST

Registered charity 1165998 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

Opened in 1990 The Mill is a multi-function arts centre and the only dedicated arts provision in the busy market town of Banbury in Oxfordshire. We have audiences of around 5,000 people per year buying 17,000 individual performances, events, classes and workshops.

Objects

THE OBJECTS OF THE CIO ARE TO BENEFIT BOTH THE YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULTS OF BANBURY AND THE SURROUNDING REGION SERVED BY THE TOWN OF BANBURY ("THE AREA") AND ALSO PEOPLE AT LARGE, WITHOUT DISTINCTION OF SEX, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, RACE OR OF POLITICAL, RELIGIOUS OR OTHER OPINIONS, BY FURTHERING THE FOLLOWING CHARITABLE PURPOSES (RECOGNISED UNDER ENGLISH LAW):• TO PROMOTE THE ARTS FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT; • TO ADVANCE EDUCATION FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT; • TO PROVIDE (AND ASSIST IN THE PROVISION OF) FACILITIES FOR RECREATION AND OTHER LEISURE-TIME OCCUPATION IN THE INTERESTS OF SOCIAL WELFARE WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF IMPROVING THE CONDITIONS OF LIFE FOR THE RESIDENTS OF THE AREA; AND• TO FURTHER SUCH OTHER CHARITABLE PURPOSES AS THE TRUSTEES SEE FIT FROM TIME TO TIME IN THE AREA FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT.THE CIO’S CHARITABLE PURPOSES WILL BE FURTHERED AT OR DIRECTED FROM THE MILL ARTS CENTRE BANBURY ("THE MILL").

Area of benefit: LOCAL

The charity’s charitable objects and area of benefit, quoted from its governing document as held on the Charity Commission register.

Causes: Education/training · Arts/culture/heritage/science · Recreation · website · Get email alerts

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity ended the year with a net deficit of £112,012, resulting in a combined negative fund balance of £66,931. Per the trustees' report, unrestricted reserves of £(79,991) are well below the stated policy target of approximately £90,000, though the trustees maintain a going concern basis citing strong cashflow and expected stabilization in the coming year.

Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Accounts independently examined (not a full audit). Discloses 5 of 6 completeness components.

Policies the charity declares

In its annual return the charity told the Commission that it has the policies listed below. This is self-declared: it is not verified by the Commission or by this site, and it is not evidence of how a policy works in practice.

• Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
• Complaints handling
• Complaints policy and procedures
• Conflicting interests
• Financial reserves policy and procedures
• Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
• Internal risk management policy and procedures
• Investment
• Paying staff
• Risk management
• Safeguarding policy and procedures
• Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
• Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
• Social media policy and procedures
• Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
• Trustee expenses policy and procedures
• Volunteer management

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/03/2025)

Reported reserves equal ~0.0 months of spending — in the bottom quarter for charities its size (median 5.2 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (45% of income) — components as reported reconcile to the return’s total income; not from the accounts narrative.

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 10.1% of total income — above the median for charities its size (4.9%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

• Barbara Baseley-Smithchair
• Al Miller
• Andrew McHugh · trustee of 2 other charities
• Annalysa Godin
• Catherine Richeldis Snelling
• Karen Warren
• Katalin Lacey
• Rafael Oliveira Lima
• Robert Pattenden
• Sarah Louise Norton

Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).

Operates in: Buckinghamshire · Northamptonshire · Oxfordshire · Warwickshire

Income and spending

Common questions

Known funders

Grants to this charity found in funders’ own accounts filings.

Government & lottery funding

Grants to this charity published as open data by government and lottery funders (360Giving).

Funders of similar charities

Funders whose accounts show grants to charities similar to this one (and no recorded grant to this charity) — a starting list for fundraisers.

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with THE TOWN MILL TRUST LYME REGIS.

• THE TOWN MILL TRUST LYME REGIS income £244k
• NEW MILLS ART THEATRE LIMITED income £124k
• MILLAN CENTRE income £121k
• MILLGATE ARTS CENTRE LIMITED income £160k
• THE MILLER CENTRE TRUST income £116k
• MIDLANDS ARTS CENTRE income £5.8m

Side by side with its peers

Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.