**Registered number: 04214547 Charity number: 1092754** # **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **UNAUDITED** **TRUSTEES' REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** WARLEY WOODS COMMLJNITY TRUST LIMITED (A company limlted by guarante0} CONTENTS P89e Refvrence and admfnlstratlvp d9talls of the charfty, tt8 Trustèè$ and adv19•r8 Chalr's statement Trvstefys. r•port Ind•pèndgnt oxamln8f8 rèport Statèmèht of finan¢lal actSvStl•s 3-23 24 25 Balance sheat 28 Stoternent of cash Ilow¥ 27 Notes to th* flnancial statemgnts 28-44 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS OF THE CHARITY, ITS TRUSTEES AND ADVISERS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** |**Trustees**|Steven Eling, Chair| |---|---| ||Katherine Slade| ||Alan Reynolds| ||Elizabeth Coleman| ||Arthur Ward| ||Barbara Platts| ||Christopher Ashford| ||David Read| ||Michael Talbot| ||Lisa Burrows (Resigned 25 June 2024)| ||John Newman| ||Lynda Wagstaff| ||Clive Heywood (Resigned 4 February 2025)| ||Tom Keir Grosvenor (Resigned 3 January 2025)| ||Dr Emma Louise Login| |**Company registered**
**number**
04214547
**Charity registered**
**number**
1092754
**Registered office**
The Pavilion
Lightwoods Hill
Smethwick
West Midlands
B67 5ED
**Company secretary**
Michael Talbot
**Trust Manager**
Vivienne Cole
**Accountants**
Crowe U.K. LLP
Chartered Accountants
Black Country House
Rounds Green Road
Oldbury
West Midlands
B69 2DG
**Bankers**
Unity Trust Bank
Birmingham
B1 2HB|| Page 1 WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED IA company ltmited by guarant•&) CHAIR'S STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 Thè chHir presents his 8t8tèm8nt for the year. 2024125 marked 20 years of the Trust tslfing over the full responsibilty of running the park. Incredibly, we 8re still the only park of an￿h1 ng like this sizè bÈ iny by 4 conimunity organisalion. This 1$ 8 test8mant to the foresight and d ete￿1 nation of th& m&rn bers at the beginning, and the d8d icatiorb to m¥ke it a Success ¢ver the long term. I would say, we go from strength to strength. I w88 pl&a8ed that we were able to chart thè progress over thè 20 years in a new book, still 8vailable at Just £15. We also gol to celebrate r8c•iving the King's Awarcl for Volutttary Sèrvicè towards the end ol the yèar. SpeGial recognFt40n i ndeed for the m any ways volunteers their l¢xa I community at Warley Wo¢xl6 over such a long time frarne. Wè have fgced Many challènyès over tPte years, and this year. just whpn it 311 seemed to be going so well, 810 ng ame thg Stomis. A chan9ed wind direction brought massive dama9e, troeg lost, r8illn9s destroyed and path8 bloGKecl and wa had lo Gancel S8nla coming th rouyh the wciods. With th8nks from our m8mbers a nd th6 br08der communFty. a fantasti¢ sum wag raised to r8pair Ihe da mage_ Wa were 8180 lucky with our tree contractots bei ng on sitè very quickly to st8rt tha Job ol clearing the debris. Thank you avtryone who helped us through that drfiGult time. Yh• Bosrd and 5ubgroup8 coveTiThg 8Rè, communitres. comrnunications, 8Mviftshthent gnd resourc88 have contin ued to rneet on e monthly bas5$. The 808 rd also held its annu81 bus ines5 plan ning day to Lipdate our five year man8g8ment plan and work through our bLtdget. The TIu5tees and m 8mb8rs of the Skjbgroups continu8 to 81J be volu nteer5, giving their time for the Wood5, VQe h8we had a bpt of a win with HMRC too over our status with VAT, Thi¥ will help us with our future plans: especially affording rnajor renawals 2nd working towards our much neaded nèw buitdirjg. EventE and regula r adivty b ring the park to lif8. The golf course is alway5 busy, Wlth people comm8nting on tle qv?[ity oompared to Dther plaGe5, The add ition of th8 Artisan Market has be&n a hit with trader5 and customais. Having a Tw51 stall ther8 has helped u 5 make further conl&ct with thè cornmu nity too. Thre8 trustee5 have rÈsign8d from the board durFng the year. Li$a Burrows, Clive Heywood Tom Grosvenor. I woulL1 like to thank them for the ir Ser￿¢6 8$ trustees and ongoing supporl for tha Trust. As ever. tha wotk of our dedicated staff arFd volunteers has kept Warlay Wood$ as one of th8 bast parks in tho country with our continued 'Gfften Flag. status and voted in tht top ten pa rks. Finally. l fflust 8xpra8s my appreciation and thahkÈ tb everyone who has help8d with Warley Woods over the y88r with speGial lh3 nks lor genfrrosity of eve ry one who contnbuted following the storms. Chair Ostè,. Ls, P8g¢ 2 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** The Trustees present their annual report together with the financial statements of the charity for the year 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025. The Annual report serves the purposes of both a Trustees' report and a directors' report under company law. The Trustees confirm that the Annual report and financial statements of the charitable company comply with the current statutory requirements, the requirements of the charitable company's governing document and the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102). Since the company qualifies as small under section 383, the strategic report required of medium and large companies under The Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report and Director's Report) Regulations 2013 is not required. ## **Objectives and activities** ## **Policies and objectives** The charitable objectives of the Trust are as follows: To promote the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical, natural and historic environment of the area known as Warley Woods. ## **Vision** The vision of Warley Woods Community Trust Limited is: - To ensure the long-term restoration and sustainability of Warley Woods Park and to develop its facilities and events as a central focus for the local community, thus encouraging greater numbers and diversity of people to enjoy this unique environment. The Trustees have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing our aims and objectives and in planning our future activities. The rest of this report demonstrates the many works delivered by Warley Woods Community Trust for the public benefit. Warley Woods is free to enter, open to all, 24 hours a day, every day of the year. In setting objectives and planning for activities, the Trustees have given due consideration to general guidance published by the Charity Commission relating to public benefit, including the guidance 'Public benefit: running a charity (PB2)'. One of the key objectives of the Trust is to achieve Green Flag Award each year. This award covers so many aspects of green space management that working on performance to this standard and being judged to have reached it is an important measure of success. While less directly under the Trust’s control, achieving a high ranking in the UK’s Top Ten Parks award gives reassurance the park users themselves are happy with the standard of care. One of the Trust’s key long term goals is to replace the Trust’s current aging and limited Pavilion building with an iconic new building in a central location in the parkland – able to serve both park and golf visitors better serve the local community with services and which will provide additional income to the Trust to ensure long term economic sustainability. ## **ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE REVIEW OF ACTIVITIES** It has been another busy year at Warley Woods Community Trust. Many of the Trust's activities fall under the responsibility of one of the subgroups, whose reports follow, but there are some things which are solely undertaken by the Trust's staff teams and these first reports share some aspects of this work in 2024-25. Page 3 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **Report from the Trust Manager** The office takes care of a lot of the communications and marketing of the Trust. This includes updating and creating material for our website. We look after the official Facebook groups and page, and now Instagram and Twitter/X– these latter two were new to us this year, and had previously been managed by volunteers. We create posters for all of our events, activities and our fundraising initiatives. We manage the fundraising and membership administration, which thanks to our supporters generosity is very time-consuming. Thank you for keeping us so busy. We keep gift aid records and submit claims. This particular year was a year of many appeals and individual fundraising efforts. Our appeals were a High Standards Appeal, Buy a Bluebell, Repair Abbie Bear, Picnic Stars and Storm Darragh. We were blessed with Greg Lynch taking on the Birmingham 10K, John Finnegan walking the South West Coastal Path and I completed a Half Iron Triathlon distance; all activities were fundraisers for the Trust and we promoted them. Alongside the fundraising for Storm Darragh repairs there was a lot of media work, dealing with organising repair and tree work and public engagement around information, new Community Oaks plantings and memento woodcarvings. We submit funding applications and run appeals for support and we write reports to funders on the work that has been achieved with their grants. This wasn’t a year of great success with this kind of fundraising with the majority of our grants coming from long term supporters when we asked again. In particular the Turner Trust and a second grant from the Severn Trent Community Fund. Some applications done in the year have paid dividends in the new financial year which is a good place to be. I undertook some special training around engaging with Major Donors which is likely to be a key success route to fund the new Pavilion. It is amazing to realise that Mae Eastwood has already been with us two years and she has continued to amaze us with her efficiency, productivity and can-do attitude. Delivering many ideas entirely on her own, she has also freed up my time, to enable me to focus on new developments and ideas of my own too. With this year being our 20th anniversary of managing Warley Woods this was the theme behind many of the things the staff team were involved in. There were some special awards at the annual Volunteer Thank you Night, along with press launches, media interviews, including a special long form piece for ITVX, the production of badges and a new history book and working with a volunteer to take specific aerial photographs to record the changes in the landscape under the Trust’s care. We made and maintained new partnerships, by following up offers of help from community groups and organisations and individuals who want to use the park for their own events. These have become increasingly important to the Trust to increase what is on offer in Warley Woods without increasing our need to directly create and manage things. They do need liaison and comms which we are able to do. We have many meetings with local groups, partners and potential partners – some of which come to nothing and some of which lead to long term partnerships. In the last year this has been with Women and Theatre, Bayliss Garages, several schools and charities, with the Probation Service, the CBSO, Rainbow Pooch Pride, about a poetry trail and munzies trail (something between geocaching and pokemon). We do a lot of the background, but essential work. We sort out insurance, refuse, dog bin emptying service level agreements, card processing contracts and negotiate energy contracts. We open and manage bank accounts. We are our own IT department and this year we had to set up and network three replacement computers. Page 4 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** Alongside the general financial management we had two major tasks this year. One was a significant proposed change to our VAT regime which required looking at again, with our accountants, at the past four years of accounts in microscopic detail. The eventual outcome was a significant rebate from HMRC and then the need to institute the new regime for our future accounting processes. A lot of work, but a high value piece of work for the long term. We also had dealings with HMRC on another matter, when we discovered we had overclaimed gift aid for the last five years, due to a faulty report, written by a third party supplier. We declared this, future proofed the report and repaid the sum to HMRC which they accepted as an honest error and did not impose any penalties. We deal with many of the health and safety issues and with complaints – which are often about the behaviour of third parties. We had the support of local people and the council’s ASB (antisocial behaviour) team and the police to deal with a problematic dog owner, whose daily walks were not positive experiences for the others they met. Sadly, the police were not able to help us when we had to deal with some particularly belligerent golfers who refused to pay to play. I’ve challenged many people over the years and most are at least embarrassed when caught. These were different and completely brazen and insulting. Happily we have not seen them since. Staff are often the people to work on the creation or review of policies and this year we altered our Safeguarding Policy on two occasions. The first was a full-scale review and update, including external support. Safeguarding is an area where best practice is constantly changing and experts easily adapt practice, while those organisations for whom it is only a very minor part of their responsibilities are often playing catch up. Mae and I undertook formal in person training to refresh our knowledge. Towards the end of the year, we made smaller changes to the policy but they reflected a larger change in practice as we recognised the specific risks around the popularity of volunteering for the Trust as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme. It had been over a decade since it was appropriate or legal to undertake DBS checks on staff or volunteers because of the low incidence of young people volunteering without family members. It was agreed to undertake these again, on a limited number of individuals who have a particular role with Sunday volunteering sessions. Our policy was amended to acknowledge this and a number of guidance leaflets for volunteers and parents of volunteers were produced. Ongoing work has been more project management role for the new Pavilion project and in particular the finances for this. An approach to a major potential funder took significant time and was ultimately unsuccessful, but this has only focused efforts on other potential routes to funding the work. We have engaged with professional specialists in this field and we also commissioned a report into the vat implications of the build – how vat is involved can make the cost of the project 20% more expensive (or cheaper). We have had more success in our relationship with Sandwell MBC this year – with a true new sense of partnership with a number of key officers, including at Director and Chief Executive level. This has been most welcome in terms of positiveness and the reduction in organisational stress. Our grant has stabilised, although there are no promises about the long term future. Because of these previous issues though, we have been looking at our long term tenure of the site and we engaged solicitors to look at our potential options. They have reported back to the Board and in the new financial year, I will hopefully be working through their decisions with staff at Sandwell MBC. I am sure others will also have mentioned the Kings Award for Voluntary Service and there were genuine celebrations at this recognition. I will just say that dealing with royal connections is quite admin heavy. We helped moved forward two new projects this year which needed planning, engaging volunteers and ongoing support to ensure momentum. These were our time lapse photography project which Mae is now taking care of, and our History Research group which falls to me. It feels great to know that, largely thanks to Mae’s super efficiency, we have the capacity to take on new work and feel we will be able to sustain the ventures. Viv Cole, Trust Manager Page 5 **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED (A company limited by guarantee)** ## **TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **Golf Reports** The golf course is not managed separately to the rest of the site and is mentioned throughout the rest of the report, but with the golf course being a significant part of our operation we feel it should have a special focus in our annual report. We have asked the Golf Course and Park Manager and Retail and Golf Development Manager to share some of their last year with you. Like all staff, they work on both park and golf aspects of our work, but in this section, they will just cover golf related work in 2024-25 ## Working on The Golf Course ## Greens The planned drainage works on the 3rd green had to be cancelled last winter owing to the amount of fallen trees on the park due to storm Darragh and storm Eowyn. A large majority of our time was spent cutting and removing the fallen trees, repairing fences, and repairing park furniture. This has been replanned for winter 2025. We over seeded twice this year, once in the spring and once in the autumn, with fescue seed as this is cheaper than bent grass seed. They were aerated every 3-4 weeks which helps getting water and air to the roots – happy roots happy greens. We only fertilise twice a year to give them a kick start in the spring then once the greens are growing. I keep them healthy with seaweed, iron and then wetting agents to stop the greens from getting dry patches. We carry out major greens maintenance twice a year to remove as much thatch as possible with a tractor mounted scarifier. Thatch is a barrier between the grass and the soil which can stop air and moisture getting to the roots, leading to an unlevel playing surface. The pin positions on the greens are moved once a week to spread the wear and give golfers variety. Forty tons of sand are applied to the greens each year to improve drainage and trueness. Greens are mowed daily during the growing season at 4mm and up to 7mm in wetter conditions. ## Bunkers These are edged, strimmed and weeded once a month during the growing season. They are raked four times a week unless it’s raining heavily on those days and stones removed. The bunkers will often have a lot of paw prints in them from dog walkers and continues to be a problem. They are topped up using 10-20 tons of sand each year. ## Fairways These are mowed once a week during the growing season at 17mm. We would like to mow them twice a week but fuel costs, environment (diesel emissions) and staff time are all factors. We use a slitter once a year to improve the drainage. ## Tees and collars We mow the collars twice a week as these can grow very fast during the growing season as they get overspray from the maintenance of the greens. Tees are mowed twice a week during the growing season at 12mm – 15mm and are mowed with a pedestrian mower during the wetter months as they become too boggy for a rideon mower. Tee markers are painted twice a year and are moved twice a week to spread the wear across the tee. We use a slitter 3-4 times a year to improve the drainage. ## Rough Mowed once a week during the growing season at 70mm unless there is a drought. Page 6 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## Irrigation The system is primed up in-house in the spring and drained down in the autumn. Small repairs are also carried out by me. These are often the irrigation heads on the greens. We have bought 36 brand new irrigation heads (4 per green) and replacing these is ongoing. One part of the system that is still not working is the 7th green which does not come on automatically and must be switched on manually which can be a pain on some days. The putting green outside of the Pavilion does not have irrigation heads so this also must be done manually. During a drought we have to water around all the greens with a hose pipe and water the dry areas on the greens as we don’t get 100% coverage from the irrigation. ## Trees We prune the lower branches so golfers can play their shots from under trees and a mower can safely mow around the tree without causing harm to ourselves. Around the base of the tree, we spray weed killer once a year to kill the grass, so this does save us a lot of time during the year and it does stop any damage to the bark from the strimmer. It also saves us fuel and the emissions that come out of the strimmer. Fallen trees and branches are cleared by staff. We have a tree safety survey every few years and any large work is contracted out to Midland Forestry. In the autumn most of our time is taken up by leaf blowing and clearance. ## Future improvements - Install drains on the 3rd green. - Make some of the bunkers deeper so they are harder to play out of and will retain the sand better in dry - and windy conditions. - More thatch removal from greens will help drainage, and trueness, will decrease pests and diseases. - Repair the 7th irrigation and install heads on the putting green. - Expand the path on the first tee. Alan Merricks, Head Greenkeeper and Park Manager ## Inside the Shop at The Pavilion Following on from the success of last year 2024/25 did not disappoint. We reported a record number of rounds played, in excess of 28,000 rounds, many compliments were received due the quality of the course, especially the greens which is thanks to Alan and the groundstaff team. We know that the customers would not be so keen to return if the course wasn’t in the condition it is kept in. Each of the shop staff play their part to welcome and serve these customers each day and the team remains the same as last year but we were sorry to lose Nick Burrows at the end of March 2025. In February 2024, I presented the Board a proposal following a review of the green fees for the annual planning day. The Board agreed a 4% increase to take effect from 1st April. As an incentive for players considering an unlimited golf subscription, a “Beat the Increase Offer” was advertised. The offer was for golfers signing up before 7th April could benefit from a price freeze. This was a successful incentive which attracted 5 Season Tickets sold and 23 Pay Monthly subscribers. Through the year a total of 58 golfers purchased the Annual Season Ticket and 278 Pay Monthly Direct Debits collected. The number of subscribers peaked in July with 35 players subscribing and reduced to 11 players in December when fewer play as frequently and cancel their direct debits for the winter. The relationship with the Golf Club continues to develop with membership growth thanks to staff attracting new members and members making them welcome. Warley Day 2024 was a day of mixed weather conditions with heavy rain at times but the day was enjoyed by members and guests who took part. A few changes to the club committee took place through the year but new members have joined the committee at the AGM in January 2025 and fresh ideas will help the Club to prosper and grow. Page 7 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED (A company limited by guarantee)** ## **TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** Greg Lynch continues to offer group and individual coaching alongside coaching in local Sandwell and Birmingham schools providing an excellent pathway to golf for local juniors where the aim is to get them playing on the golf course and entering the Luke Reid Foundation fixtures run in conjunction with the Golf Club and sponsored by Nic and Maureen Reid in memory of their son Luke. The Shop at the Pavilion acts as reception for the Trust and for golfers arriving to play and pay green fees. There are a range of snacks and hot and cold drinks and ice-creams. As we head to the summer we are planning on introducing a Doggy Ice-cream for our many furry friends. For a small area the shop offers many items for gifts or treats and frequently gets compliments for the range on display. To celebrate the 20th Anniversary we had a range of limited edition items to sell as mementos with a new Anniversary logo. A Facebook poll chose the photo to be used on the Anniversary Mug, and 4 of the poll entrants were used to create open gift cards. A special edition pin badge and an Anniversary Bear also featured on the shelves. Alan Reynolds led a group of volunteers to create a book covering the history of the site including a special focus on the last 20 years. Copies of the book are on sale in the shop and on the Trust stall at the monthly Artisan Market. Sharon Simpson, Retail and Golf Development Manager ## **Site Subgroup** The Site Subgroup members are staff, trustees and volunteers: Diane Douglas, Alan Merricks, Mick Guy, John Reeves and Arthur Ward (Chair). The group supports the Trust in meeting its strategic objectives, one of which is the attainment of Green Flag status, by the active management of the Trust’s physical resources. The Subgroup met monthly to discuss the management of the park, woodland, and golf course areas. The group supports and plans significant projects together with other subgroups and the Trust Manager. Very sadly Steve Cemm one of our founding Trustees passed away in November. He had been an active member of the Site Subgroup since its inception. He is very much missed. The Site group would like to express their great appreciation to all those who supported the Community Trust to care for the site over the last year and in particular all those who donated to the Storm Darragh appeal. Storm Darragh occurred in December and was the most destructive storm to hit the woods in the Trust’s history felling many trees across the site and doing considerable damage to infrastructure including the tree nursery, fencing and gym equipment. The planned Christmas Santa event had to be partially cancelled as a result. **1. Pavilion and Car Park:** We continued to replace worn out Pavilion light fittings with LED alternatives. We undertook many routine repairs around the building such as adjustments to guttering, lock repairs and external boarding. We considered options for resurfacing the car park because of its deteriorating condition but given the considerable expense (£45K) and the possibility of our new building in the not too distant, future we decided to continue patching up the potholes as needed. **2. Woodland Management:** Our biennial tree safety inspection occurred this year with Chris Shortis reporting back in September. Its highlights included: 73 trees needing attention (height and limb reductions, braces, crown lifts etc). Nine trees to be felled with 25% of the work due to squirrel damage. He noted that our six young adopted trees in the beech circle in the Winter Garden have been severely damaged by squirrels stripping the bark from large areas of the trunks and branches. This level of damage to young trees is often fatal or severely stunts their growth such that they will never grow into the large mature trees we and their adopters were hoping for. We are monitoring them and considering possible replacements. Page 8 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** Storm Darragh struck the woods on the weekend of the 7/8th of December forcing us to severely restrict our Santa event and doing considerable damage to the site. We lost many significant trees along the main drive, winter garden, ice house paths and meadow. Two large trees fell into our tree nursery doing considerable damage to the fencing and water collection system. Our groundstaff team and Midland Forestry were exceptional in their response to this crisis and we are very grateful to them for responding so quickly and efficiently. Within a week we were able to reopen the main drive but it took a further four months to clear most of the fallen timber and undertake the repairs to fencing and the tree nursery. Storm Darragh completely disrupted the groundstaff winter works program which had to be significantly adjusted. For safety reasons all areas and trees adjacent to the fallen trees were reinspected by Chris Shortis in January as the storm damaged trees had often fallen into their neighbours. As a result of this second inspection fourteen more trees had to be felled and many more required remedial works. This year has been a very expensive year for planned and unplanned tree work across the site. As the storm damage was being registered on 8th December many members of the public asked us if there would be an appeal to help with the cost of the clear up and repair. This was launched within an hour and over the next two weeks raised over £24K to support the Trust in the clear up and repair. This allowed us to undertake the remedial work with confidence and was so very much appreciated by the staff and Trustees. ## **A very big thank you to all who gave. You truly are a remarkably supportive community without whom we could not care for Warley Woods as we do.** Fifteen large container grown trees (beech oak lime and sweet-chestnut), adopted by supporters and members of the public, were planted out on site in late January mostly along the skyline path. This event continues to grow in popularity and significance. Two “community” oak trees were ceremoniously planted in the meadow to acknowledge the loss, during the storm, of one of our oldest and much loved oak trees that had stood next to its partner in the meadow for hundreds of years. The improved ecology of the site continues to be a significant area of volunteer and staff directed work. Laying dead hedges, removing invasive and non-natural species and replanting with woodland flora such as bluebells and wild garlic. Meadow creation and management in various areas of the site continues. **3. Tree Nursery** : Thirty Scots pine and Larch whips were added to the nursery and volunteers continued the programme of watering and potting up. The nursery suffered severe damage due to Storm Darragh – see 2 above. Fortunately, we only lost two small trees with the fence and rainwater roof taking the brunt of the damage from the tree falls. By the end of the financial year most of the repair work was complete thanks to groundstaff and volunteers. Hedge whips were again planted this year along the golf course edge. **4. Golf Course:** The planned drainage work on the golf course had to be postponed this year because of storm Darragh. However, the groundstaff continued with their planned maintenance and care of the greens and fairways. We receive many compliments about the condition of the course which is a credit to the groundstaff care. **5. Park:** Twenty tons of gravel were added to the perimeter path at the top of the golf course to fill in some very worn areas that become particularly muddy in the winter. Part of the gulley along the main drive was infilled with crushed brick and stone to slow its erosion by run off from the woodland and reduce the hazard. The adopted trees along the skyline path were positioned partly to help redefine the path which had become much wider after Covid-19. Litter and dog bins were repaired as needed. **6. Wilderness:** Management of The Wilderness continues with the support of volunteers. Cutting back of brambles and buddleia and planting natural species continues. The pond continues to attract water dependant wildlife. The boardwalk is showing its age and will be considered for replacement over the next couple of years. Page 9 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** **7. Health and Safety and Staffing:** There have been a small number of minor H&S issues this year. We continued with our fourth, part time, member of staff this year which enabled the groundstaff team to respond so well to Storm Darragh as well as accomplish so many other tasks on site. This post was made permanent and full time at the Board planning day this year. **8. Compound and Equipment:** The compound was regravelled this year. The team continue with all machine maintenance in house which significantly reduces downtime and saves a significant amount of money. **9. Play Area and Gym Equipment:** The play area is inspected by staff daily and annually by an external company. All the recommended repairs are undertaken. The fence to the play area is often subject to vandalism and needs frequent repairs by the team. **10. Volunteers:** As in previous years volunteers have been extremely active in helping to care for the site. The usual Sunday and Monday groups have met regularly and larger corporate groups have offered a significant number of all day sessions throughout the year. We regularly support young people undertaking the Duke of Edinburgh Award in their volunteering element who join us on our Sunday sessions. Tasks have been very varied ranging from hedge planting to litter picking, bluebell planting to cutting back overgrown vegetation to tidying our many entrances to the site. We are extremely grateful to all our volunteers who make such a big contribution to the care of Warley Woods. ## Arthur Ward Page 10 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **Communications Subgroup** Members of the Group: Viv Cole; Katy Holmes; Debra Howls; Sue Maguire (resigned March 2025); Kate Slade; Jane Taylor; The group remained stable throughout the year but sadly Sue left the area in March 2025 and is no longer able to play an active part in the Trust. We’d like to thank her for her commitment to the Trust and particularly her work on the application for the Kings Award. The ongoing activities of the group include - Production of the quarterly Leaflet newsletter - Scrutiny of publications - Website, Facebook, Twitter (X), Instagram and notice boards - AGM - Annual Report - Recruitment of Members and Volunteers The priorities for the year 2024-2025 included the following: ## **1. Increase both membership and volunteer numbers** The group devised a postcard to be dropped to all the houses nearest Warley Woods where the occupiers were not members. It was difficult to know who joined as a result of this because it coincided with Storm Darragh appeal but there was some indication of a rise in membership in those streets after the drop. Both membership and volunteering opportunities were flagged up regularly on social media, usually in response to a question or comment raised by a member of the public, and this constant reminder we hope pays off in the long run. **2. Encourage one-off fundraising initiatives** This largely fell to Viv to do and included the Buy A Bluebell appeal, Repair Abbie Bear, Storm Darragh appeal and individual fundraising by John Finegan, Greg Lynch and Viv. Music groups (Ceilidh band, the Big Band and Dynamix) have also put on performances and raised money for the Trust. ## **3. Undertake the biennial visitor survey** This was done in September and October by a group of volunteers and the results analysed by Community First Partnership. It is an observational survey and count. It indicated a change in activities undertaken with slightly more people walking without a dog than those walking with a dog, which is a change from two years ago; more women than men were using the park, but more men playing golf; the site was busier during the weekdays than at weekends; approximately 10% of the visitors appeared to be of Asian origin; the amount of golfing activity had increased from the last survey. **4. Reviewing the Website** This is an ongoing piece of work by the group, mainly checking for accuracy, updates and broken links but also considering whether a section should be amended more broadly. This work continues and will probably just become circular. ## **5. Broadening audiences** This is being done in conjunction with the Communities Subgroup and is aiming to try and ensure that particular groups from within the community feel welcome on the site and free to participate if they wish to do so. The Trust has offered support to the Borough of Sanctuary initiative and has met with users at The Bearwood Hub to encourage their users to come and visit. Page 11 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED (A company limited by guarantee)** ## **TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **6. Promotion of the 20th Anniversary of the Trust running the site** This took place at different times throughout the year by way of promotional items for sale in the shop, special activities added to one event each quarter. The production of a new book about the last 20 years was also completed and went on sale in November 2024. Jane Taylor created a series of centrespread retrospectives for our LEAFlet newsletter; each of which showcased the highlights of news from each quarter decade. ## **Other activities** Other work undertaken has included consideration of revising the History Trail, both by adding QR codes to the signs already there, adding to/changing where the current signs are and amending the information on the website to link to the QR codes. This was not taken forward during the year but will be worked on in the future. The establishment of the History Research Group will hopefully provide new information which can be included in any future leaflets, blogs, publications etc. Also, the group along with the Communities Subgroup, has been monitoring the Trust presence at the monthly Artisan Market. Although at first we had not thought a regular presence was needed it has become obvious what an important communications tool the stall provides and how much it has provided opportunities to tell visitors about our work and to encourage membership and volunteering in the wider community. We reviewed our social media activity. Facebook is by far the most used (and for the Trust the most useful) social media. We have not actively promoted Twitter/X and considered whether we should join Bluesky, but for the moment have decided to leave things as they are. It was during this year that the Trust heard that it had been awarded the King's Award for Voluntary Service. Although all the work on the application was done in the previous year it was a long wait to hear if we had been successful and it was gratifying to see that the work of all the Trust volunteers had been recognised on a wider platform. Kate Slade Page 12 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **Resources Subgroup** Members: David Read (Chair), Steve Eling, Mike Talbot, Arthur Ward, Viv Cole. Resources is a subgroup which meets as and when to discuss organisational and financial matters. It met eight times during the financial year 2024/2025. We keep a keen eye on our revenue accounts, reporting back and advising Board so that all Trustees are fully aware of the situation on a month by month basis. Throughout the financial year, we have, after the resignation of an officer at Sandwell MBC, been able to start rebuilding our relationship with the Council. We hosted a visit from the Council and had a walk around the site with the Chief Executive and several officers. There was an opening of minds and those who attended were advised of the problems we face and the way that we are addressing these. We are discussing with them the current lease and are requesting changes to enable us to operate more efficiently. We are also looking for the Council to approach Birmingham City Council with a view to the lease or freehold to be transferred to either SMBC or ourselves. We also commissioned a solicitor’s report to help us understand these alternatives and to enable us to speak more confidently about these items. We were also notified that SMBC were appointing external advisers to look at the provision of grant aid across the Borough. There have been some proposals and we await Council decisions to see how this may affect the Community Trust. We have continued to have contact with our officer at the Council and reports have been sent. Within the year we reviewed several policies, recommended changes to the Board and carried these forward as revised policies. The policies were – Safeguarding; Lettings; Sickness and Harassment. Our new funding agreement with SMBC also requires us to have a Whistle-blower Policy and this was formulated and agreed by the Board. When our long-serving cleaner retired, we realised that we did not do enough to recognise long service. When the Trust was formed, service was naturally short and we felt that we should formulate a process to honour long service. We felt that financial awards were not appropriate and recommended to the Board that our policy should be to award 1 extra day holiday for each 5 years of service and that, at 20 years’ service, a tree would be planted in recognition of this milestone. To ensure fairness, the Board also agreed to make this policy retrospective. We requested a report from our external accountants on VAT implications on the new building and there are several different possibilities from full VAT to partial or even exempt VAT. As there is so much uncertainty about where the project sits, it was agreed to base fund-raising to include for VAT in full. Further to this, it is obvious that we will need help in the process of obtaining grants and large donations to further the new build and we agreed to request Board approval to appoint Capital Appeals to assist. They will create a fundraising brochure, investigate and map major donors and research corporate business donors. Viv will receive additional training and support in the process and this would cover a period of 12 months. The Board agreed this expenditure. Discussions were held around the draft budget for 2025/6 and changes incorporated before presenting to Board at the Annual Planning Day. A significant increase in costs was both the increase in the level of the minimum wage and the knock-on effect for staff over this level and the effect of the increase in the level of National Insurance to be paid by the Trust. The agenda for Planning Day was discussed and agreed. The Contracts for Wild Lives, Happy Coffee Man and Pepe’s Ice Cream were all due for renewal and these were discussed and small increases in the cost of the respective licences were made. All were renewed with the contractors. Many other items were discussed including DBS checks; Manual Handling courses and the new Smethwick Town Fund and how we might be able to access this, resolved and submitted to Board over the year with all meetings being fully reported to Board at the next monthly Board Meeting. Page 13 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** As always, a close watch was kept on finances on a monthly basis and significant variances highlighted to Board. David J Read ## **Communities Subgroup** Communities Subgroup Members: Kate Slade, Liz Coleman (Chair), Barbara Platts, Chris Ashford, Pat Marsh, Lynda Wagstaff, Mae Eastwood. The key focuses of the group are: 1. Planning and Organising events including vetting external requests 2. Schools Liaison 3. Community Engagement The Trust offered a varied programme of events throughout 2024-2025. Mae Eastwood, Trust Administrator, is now well established in her role after 2 years in post. She works closely with the Communities Subgroup, attending Subgroup meetings as well as planning and coordinating events. Easter Monday saw the return of the Easter Egg Roll and Trail which was well-attended, providing a fun activity for families. Liz Coleman led a Dawn Chorus Walk on International Dawn Chorus Day 5th May with support from two volunteers from the Breeding Bird Survey group. This was followed by the volunteer-led Bring-and-Buy Plant Sale on May 18th. Thanks to the generosity of donors and purchasers this event once again raised over £2,000 for the Trust. The Trust’s flagship event Picnic in the Park took place on 7th July with a record number of 85 stallholders and a new sponsor, Bayliss Garages. Chris Ashford once again booked and compered a talented programme of music and dance, providing local acts the opportunity to perform on the solar-powered stage. A heavy downpour later in the afternoon was enlivened by a high-energy performance from Bhangra Smash-Up which kept the party going and got people dancing in the rain. Thousands of visitors experienced free live music, a range of craft and food stalls, games, children’s activities, Forest School activities and, of course, the Dog Show, delivered by Pawmasters and Linella Dog Grooming. Folksy Theatre provided the live theatre with a musical twist on the Shakespeare classic As You Like It on 31st July. This was Folksy Theatre’s first show at Warley Woods, enjoyed by an audience of over 200. Chris Sherlock from Brum Bats led the ever-popular Bat Walk in mid-August. The Communities Subgroup, Trust staff and volunteers support with the planning of these events and staffing on the day. October saw the return of the ever-popular Halloween Spooky Trail. Children and adults alike, dressed up in fantastic Halloween costumes and braved the Woods at night, meeting a host of gruesome and ghoulish characters offering hands-on activities. Volunteers from Sandwell Lions as well the Trust, played the roles enthusiastically. St Hilda’s Church Hall was the venue for the volunteer-led Fundraising Quiz in November. Both events help to generate income for the Trust. Storm Darragh caused devastation in the woods, which has been reported elsewhere. With very high winds and trees coming down Santa In the Woods and Christmas Artisan Market/Craft Fair were cancelled for safety reasons. However, children were able to enjoy the magic of meeting Santa in his fabulous grotto in the Pavilion on 7th December. Starting us off in January the annual Big Garden Bird Walk was led by Doug with support from Alan Reynolds and we welcomed back Birmingham Astronomical Society on 7th February for an evening of stargazing, talks and telescopes. Despite cloudy skies, the event was well-received by society experts and novices alike. Page 14 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** Warley Woods Artisan Markets are going from strength to strength. This has now become a regular monthly event with local traders offering quality products including handmade jewellery, gifts, crafts, garden products, dog accessories, decorative art and a wide range of delicious food and, of course, the Happy Coffee Man, Morris dancers and occasional buskers. The Artisan Markets are held on the first Sunday of every month March – December. There is always a Trust Stall at the Artisan Market which helps raise awareness of the Trust’s role in managing Warley Woods as well as gaining new members, volunteers and supporters. November’s market was filmed by Lucy Kapasi and shown on ITV. ## **2. Schools Liaison** Ongoing liaison has continued with local schools many of which the Trust has close relationships with. Members of the Communities Subgroup have communicated with different local schools about events, information and opportunities to be involved in, competitions, Wild Warley information and volunteering. Doug and Viv also offer a short Q&A session to schools on request. ## **3. Community Engagement** The Communities Subgroup were pleased to be able to work once again with two local music groups this year who generously offered to run fundraising gigs for the Trust. Bearwood Ceilidh Band organised a New Year’s Eve Dance which was a sell-out and much enjoyed. Warley Woods Patron, author and broadcaster, Stuart Maconie, hosted a popular Fundraising Quiz at Thousand Trades to raise money for Warley Woods. Trust Manager Viv Cole, together with Liz Coleman, visited Bearwood Community Hub and Sandwell Borough of Sanctuary events to deepen connections and learn more about possible opportunities for working together. Conservation Manager, Doug Barber, has continued to deliver training in wildlife surveying, tree ID and runs regular group practical habitat management sessions. The Communities Subgroup has worked closely with him to provide support and promote further community engagement. Warley Woods continues to benefit from working with over 50 other groups in the community including community and voluntary groups and local businesses, sports and cultural organisations. Liz Coleman ## **Environment Subgroup** Members: Liz Coleman (Chair), Alan Reynolds, Lynda Wagstaff, Emma Login, Jo James, Annie Brighton and Doug Barber. . Kate Slade, Lise Burrows and Clive Heywood stepped down from the Environment Group during 2024-2025. We thank them for their time and contributions over the last few years. We welcomed Annie Brighton as a new member; Annie has volunteered for the Trust for several years and has an interest in wildlife. It is also good to have someone under 30 as part of the team. Doug Barber, Conservation and Wildlife Engagement Manager at The Trust, works closely with the Environment Group, attending monthly meetings to report on his work and plan future activities. The Environmental Subgroup was formed in 2020 to carry out an overview of the Trust’s environmental policies and procedures following the guidance in the Green Flag Handbook. The group meets monthly with a focus on biodiversity the environmental impact of projects, reducing energy and chemical use and promoting good management of waste. In 2024-5 the group continued to seek ways to reduce waste and single-use plastic. Sharon Simpson, Golf Development and Retail Manager, ensures that the Trust Shop stocks a range of sustainable products such as wooden golf tees, compostable cups and bamboo products. Plastic packaging is kept to a minimum. The Trust Shop also stocks locally produced items from small independent businesses. The Trust staff have also reduced paper-usage by moving towards more online communications. Page 15 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** Members of the group worked closely with the Communities Subgroup to audit current practice at Trust events and to find ways to reduce their environmental impact. Emma, Lynda and Liz carried out a thorough Environmental Impact Audit (EIA) for The Picnic. Positives were the use of solar-powered stage, range of locally produced products and sustainable packaging, 97% of the 88 stallholders were local, travelling from within 10 miles. Stallholders had been given information about legal requirements to avoid single-use plastics and recycle waste as part of the booking process. The impact of this was evident in the 2024 survey, with almost all stalls using alternatives to plastic bags. When the same EIA was carried out in 2023, there were no stalls from environmental organisations. In 2024 we were pleased to welcome the RSPB and Sandnats. Volunteer litterpickers separated waste for recycling on site but this continues to be challenging, as members of the public did not separate waste when putting their own rubbish in the bins. At all events volunteers collected waste or encouraged attendees to take it home to recycle. The Environment Subgroup worked with the Trust Manager and Communications Subgroup to continue to share information about biodiversity and conservation issues. This ranged from photos about wildlife sighting to important messages about issues such as the unprecedented tree loss caused by Storm Darragh, protecting areas of wildlife and the impact of squirrel damage. The Trust is actively collaborating with a specialist advisor to identify areas and projects for Biodiversity Net-Gain. Doug has produced plans for possible projects in the Woods and shared these with trustees as part of the annual Board planning day. Doug ‘Wild Warley’ Barber organised regular walks and talks about the flora and fauna of Warley Woods, throughout the year. This included Moth Nights, Fungi Walk and Winter Tree Identification Walk. He also delivered talks on conservation issues and their impact on Warley Woods. Doug organises a team of conservation volunteers who carry out work across the site. This has included planting projects, cutting back invasive species, creating beetle habitats and managing meadow areas. Funding from Severn Trent was used to train volunteers in hedge-laying. They then carried out hedge-laying work and planting around The Wilderness. Management of Warley Woods for biodiversity and climate change benefits has also been part of the group’s discussion and planning. Last year’s decision to fence in the pond, to reduce disturbance to the eco-system from dogs, had a positive impact. The pond now has more plants, insects and invertebrates, and provides a source of water for birds and mammals. A survey by Melissa Norton from the Environment Agency in June 2024 found newts, iris sawfly and crane-fly larvae amongst many other species. The second ‘Buy a Bluebell Appeal’ was a great success, with sufficient funds donated to enable the Trust to plant 3,000 bluebells and other woodland species including ransomes, wood anemone and sweet woodruff. Dead-hedging and signs have been put in place to protect newly planted species. Areas designated for meadow creations have been managed to allow grass and native flowers to grow. This has some success and further monitoring and trials of this approach are part of future plans. It is important for the Trust to have up-to-date information on the flora and fauna of Warley Woods. Volunteers carried out a Breeding Bird Survey during March to June. Doug analysed the data, noting trends such as fewer Parakeets and reduction in numbers of Nuthatch. New species observed were Red Kite and Mallard (walking towards the pond). The bat survey confirmed that there were Soprano Pipistrelles on site as well as Common Pipistrelles. It was a disappointing year for moths, with only 15 species recorded on the Moth Night, compared with 40 in 2023. This was partly due to a cold and wet spring and in line with trends observed locally. Data from the 2024 tree survey indicated a number of trees needed work due to visible damage from squirrels. It costs the Trust around £4,000 to remedy this. The Trust continues to monitor squirrel damage and seek solutions to this problem. Page 16 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** Members of the Environment Subgroup carried out a visual survey of informal paths in the woodland area adjacent to Barclay Road. The number of such paths has increased, meaning that there is more disturbance to the flora and fauna in the woodland areas. Too much disturbance can have a negative impact on numbers of plants, insects, mammals and birds. Our findings were shared with Site Subgroup and ground staff resulting in an active management plan using fallen trees, dead-hedging and tree-planting to define paths and protect woodland areas. The Environment Subgroup continues to work with other subgroups and staff teams to oversee progress on environmental issues. We continue to liaise with the Golf Course and Park Manager on sustainable practices for golf course management. Environment Champions in each of the sub-groups have been effective in ensuring environmental considerations are a part of continued best practice. Liz Coleman Page 17 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **New Building Group (NBG)** Members: Arthur Ward (Chair), Emma Login. Tom Grosvenor, Ron Williams, Alan Reynolds, John Newman and Viv Cole. The NBG is made up of trustees, volunteers, and staff. The group met frequently throughout the year and reported to Board regularly. The NBG produced and submitted a pre planning application to SMBC in May and received a broadly positive response subject to consultation with the Gardens Trust, the statutory consultative body for historically listed sites. The Gardens Trust response when it arrived was limited and further consultation will need to be had. A quantity surveyor was appointed to cost our proposals for the new building, compound, car parking and other infrastructure costs whilst the group worked on our expression of interest to the NHLF and project management risks. Other costs for the project included a project manager, fund raiser, site and ecological surveys, rewilding, golf course changes and security. The final sum exceeded £8 million. Our submission of interest was put to National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) and Viv and Arthur met with them via Teams in December. We decided after considerable discussion that we would not be able to meet their criteria and given the cost of the project we would be in a national competition with many other projects taking precedence. NLHF much prefers restoration projects not new builds. We have begun work on reducing the overall value of the project from £8 to around £5 million. Scaling back our aspirations is prudent in the current economic climate. Other funding options are now being explored such as the Smethwick Town Fund and a fundraising consultancy company has been appointed to work with us on fundraising feasibility. We also began work on changes to our lease because any new building will require approvals from Birmingham and Sandwell and this is a complex legal area. We hired specialist solicitors who presented an options paper and attended a Board Meeting. The broad outcome is that we are hoping to negotiate the freehold transfer of the leased part of the site to the Trust as our first preference and a transfer of Trusteeship of the charity land. This is the simplest way to remove any obstacles going forward. Viv and Trust officers met with Sandwell’s Chief Executive Shokat Lal, Assistant Director Ben Percival, and Sunish Patel, Green Spaces Project Manager from Sandwell MBC in January. They were very positive about their visit including a walk across the site and were keen to reset Sandwell’s relationship with the Trust. The Chief Executive offered to help with director-to-director contact regarding our lease to speed things up with Birmingham when needed. They were very positive about our need for a new building and they understand our funding difficulties and are keen to help. The group completed a benefits mapping exercise that will be required by potential funders and link to their funding criteria. It is designed to show funders the outcomes our new building will deliver against their funding objectives. This may need the Trust to review and possibly adjust its charitable objectives as need be. Arthur Ward Page 18 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **Wild Warley and Conservation Work** ## **The Wilderness** The floristically diverse grasslands within the Wilderness were cut and the arisings removed at the end of the summer. These areas have been responding well to the cutting regime and further improvements to the diversity are expected as the nutrient levels drop. Of note, the brambly bank at the back edge of the area has seen a big reduction in the vigour of the brambles after the winter cut, this allowed it (without the risk of disturbing nesting birds) to be cut at the end of the summer with the other finer portions of the grassland. Bramble is still present on the bank, but grasses and other flowering plants are starting to colonise due to the extra available light and their resistance to the annual cut. It is hoped that it can be returned to a flower rich condition and the mix of knapweed, oxeye daisy, yarrow, yellow rattle etc. that is behind the pond will extend along the whole back edge. This year work started to reduce the coverage of field horsetail within the Wilderness. This plant is a lover of damp grasslands. Whilst it is native it is also a bit of a bully and in some areas makes up 80% of the ground coverage leading to a significant loss of diversity. Our options for managing the plant are limited, and without the use of chemicals the only viable option for the most part is hand-pulling which over successive years should weaken the plant. It should be noted that total eradication is not the end goal (nor is it feasible), but reduction of prevalence is a desirable outcome. Several sessions were spent pulling the plant up and removing it from The Wilderness. Next year we plan to use it as a Corporate Volunteering task as many hands will make this job more manageable. The annual reduction/coppicing of portions of the scrub within The Wilderness has been carried out over the 2024/2025 Winter, including clearing off the bank behind the pond. This reduces shading and also leaf-drop which would lead to premature silting up and the addition of unwanted nutrients to the waters. It also will allow more light to wildflower mix (mentioned above) on the bank behind the pond. This year the winter works included opening more of the banks to the edge of the path. The previous area that had this treatment responded well with cinquefoil and speedwells making use of the lack of competition. Thanks to funding from the Severn Trent Community Fund, we were able to deliver the ‘Healthy Hedges’ project in February 2025. The project allowed us to buy the necessary tools and plants to allow us to diversify the hedgerow. The money also allowed us to bring in a professional and accredited hedgelayer, Julian, to train 10 of our volunteers in the craft of hedgelaying. During the training and the subsequent sessions after we managed to make a good start laying The Wilderness hedge before the onset of bird nesting season, managing to get the first 40m laid. The laid section was the ‘gapped-up’ planting tree species used by moth and butterflies as a larval foodplant such as wych elm (white-letter hairstreak), wild privet (privet hawk moth), alder buckthorn (brimstone), spindle and climbers such as honeysuckle (white admiral). Hops were planted outside the palisade fencing of the irrigation pumphouse as a climber is it hoped it will mask the ugly fencing whilst also again being a foodplant of butterflies such as Comma, Peacock and Red Admiral. It should be noted that the volunteers took to hedgelaying like ducks to water, performing to a level you would not have expected from people new to the craft. Work on the remaining portion of The Wilderness hedge will be the priority for the 2025/2026 winter works. ## **Woodland Thinning in Glades** Sadly, since the last report some of the previously thinned glade areas in W4-A (by the school) and W4-B (Upper St. Marys entrance) suffered from extensive squirrel damage (often leading to mortality) to the diligently thinned areas around beech and oak trees. It was an especially bad year for squirrel damage which has prompted much discussion around the issue of urban grey squirrel populations within Warley Woods. On a more positive note, the ground flora has taken advantage of the reduction in bramble cover and extra light from reduction in tree cover with foxgloves, wood avens and cleavers coming in their stead. Page 19 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** Over the 2024/2025 winter the Wild Warley Conservation Volunteers (WWCV) thinned an area of woodland in a glade within W4-B. Normal thinning protocol was followed removing dominant, sick or invasive trees in preference and using the cut material to create a dead hedge marking the perimeter. Future canopy trees (in this case mainly lime) were thinned around giving them space to grow. As we had the Healthy Hedges project coming up, we also coppiced several hazel stools, which provided us with over 100 hedging stakes. This illustrates that with careful management conservation activities need not incur cost as one practice (coppicing) can then provide the materials for another (hedgelaying). This newly thinned location, free from bluebells (hybrid or otherwise) was deemed a good spot to be recipient of the 2024/2025 Buy a Bluebell (BaB) plants. ## **Buy a Bluebell (BaB)** After the success in its inaugural year, we set the target for this year’s Buy a Bluebell (BaB) campaign a bit higher, aiming for £1,000 this year £200 more than in 2024. In total we managed to raise £1,085 (£1,338 with gift aid) once again surpassing our set target. The BaB campaign was highlighted not only through our usual means (email, facebook & website) but also in the Wild Warley Wildlife Corner (in the café). This display allowed us to show off what we achieved the previous year as well as delivering the important message that goes with the campaign about the effect of trampling and disturbance on woodland plants. Reassuringly during the community planting day members of the public seemed to know what we were doing and why. It is useful to get this feedback from the community, seeing that the understanding behind the process is starting to percolate into the general community. This initial groundwork will hopefully mean that the public will be on board if in the future we do fence off carefully selected portions of the woods, making them ‘out of bounds’ to allow trample free environments, ones free from the disturbance of both people and dogs. Doug Barber, Conservation and Engagement Manager Page 20 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **Financial review /reserves policy** The Trustees have undertaken an analysis of future needs, opportunities and contingencies or risks, which could not be met out of income when and if they arise. It has also taken account of forecasts for income levels in future years, on the basis of planned activity and the reliability of various income streams, and made forecasts of future expenditure. Accordingly the management committee has developed a policy on reserves for the following reasons:- - To respond to changes or loss of generated income or grants. - To invest in advance in potential new areas of work such as training or other new sources of income. - To enable the community trust to honour its contractual obligations to staff, contractors, suppliers and funders. The Trustees have considered the level of reserves that it needs in order to ensure the long term sustainability of the organisation and the work that it delivers. The Trustees are aware of the large liability of a site open for public use 24 hours a day and the potential expense which might arise through vandalism. It also has many aspirations for future investment. The charity's current reserves are considered adequate for the sustainability and operation of the organisation, but the Trust would like to increase these to provide a stronger financial buffer for the organisation. Each year the Trust plans a budget to ensure reserves are not needed for general expenditure and with the hope that with prudent financial management reserve levels can be increased slightly. Reserves are only drawn upon to meet an emergency, unforeseen need which goes beyond any contingency in the budget, or to make an investment in equipment or facilities for which grant funding could not be secured. In order to plan responsibly for future needs, since 2022-23 some of the unrestricted cash reserves are now being held in designated funds, beyond the levels needed to ensure the general financial viability of the organisation. One fund has been allocated to support the long term aspiration of the Trust to replace its aging building and to allow for development work to take those plans forwards. This will be added to and drawn from within a two year timescale. A second fund has been created to allow for the uninsurable risks of property within the site which could be damaged by third parties/natural disasters and allow for timely replacement without the need for delays through needing to specifically fundraise. This fund also includes savings towards replacing the fleet of vehicles (mowers, utility vehicles and specialist golf and woodland management equipment) which need replacing on a 4-6 yearly basis. A third fund has been created to hold any funds left as legacies to the Trust to ensure that they are used, as mentioned by the Trust in its legacy promotions materials, towards improvement works on site and kept separately from general expenditure. It is the Trust’s intention to use these as match funding, whenever possible, for grant funding bids, to maximise the gifts that have been given. The Trustees feel that the use of these three designated funds is the right course of action for a small charity with potential heavy liabilities and a mission to be custodians of Warley Woods for the long term. The current funds stand at £597,896 (2024: £449,068) of which £1,115 (2024: £90) is restricted, £176,617 (2024: £112,901) is designated and £420,164 (2024: £336,077) is general unrestricted funds. ## **Structure, governance and management** ## **Constitution** Warley Woods Community Trust Limited is registered as a charitable company limited by guarantee and was set up by a Memorandum of Association. Page 21 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **Methods of appointment or election of Trustees** The charity was established under a Memorandum of Association which established the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed under its Articles of Association. Under those rules, the Board has a membership of between 10 and 15. Members are appointed for a three year term and can restand again at the end of this term. Up to 4 members can be co-opted. Trustees are asked to submit a resumé of their interests and abilities in support of their election, and on appointment are supported through induction to help them become fully effective. Trustees are encouraged to attend seminars and training events to update their skills and knowledge. All Trustees participate in monthly business meetings, and an annual planning and team building day, to agree the strategy and priorities for the forthcoming year. Trustees also take part in sub-groups described elsewhere in this report, and from time to time the board will hold additional meetings for planning and training. ## **Organisational structure and decision-making policies** The role of the Board is to give direction and guidance to paid staff and volunteers and to take strategic and resource decisions to ensure the Trust is effective. The Board takes responsibility for all strategic management issues and operates through sub-groups who carry out the implementation of strategy and report back to the Board on progress and make recommendations to inform future decisions. Day to day operational management of the Trust falls to the Trust Manager overall and to the Golf Development and Retail Manager for the operation of the shop and the Head Greenkeeper and Park Manager for the operation of the site team. The remuneration of these key staff was initially worked to local government pay grades but roles and responsibilities have evolved as the Trust has evolved and the Trust has looked to the market to ensure staff pay recognises any new levels of responsibility. Should there be a vacancy in one of these roles, it would be market tested. For specific projects, including the Picnic in The Park, working or task groups are convened to manage and monitor the progress of the specified project. At least one member of the Board is involved in these groups and reports regularly to the full Board. Some Board Members take on particular roles which can give a level of responsibility outside of the subgroup structure. These are the Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer, Company Secretary, Health and Safety Manager. One Trustee is nominated by the Chair as the line manager for the Trust Manager. Page 22 WARL8Y WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED {A Company limltsd by guarante•} TRUSTEES. REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 Future Plans The Bosrd ot rrustees m&t in February 2028 to 29ree the detail of thè ahead. This gives guidanTr to staff and t() subgroups. Some of the key area5 of Y￿rI{ planned are: Achieving Gfgen Flag Award A lull programme of event5 ¢ontiny ing to progress our plans for a new buifding, en Suring value for money and beginning I n earThe$t the plan to r8186 the funds needed C•lèbr8tory Tr?e Planting, incl uding usirkg our own trees from our tree nursery Investirig in improvernent on the goll cou rse over the winter p8fioLI includi ng drain8 on tha Jrd gre8n. Continuing our con86rvation work and making improvemerbts for hu mans and wildlile and approve projeGt sre88 for offering 8i(Kliv8rsty Net Gain oredits. Plan ahead to r3ise fu nds to repl8ce the Wilderness Board W81k and tarmec the paths i n the Winter G8rdon D8valop our historical researGh grou p and rework the History Tigil Establish the routi nè of ou r new pholography ti**Income from:**
Donations and legacies
3
Charitable activities
4
Other trading activities
Investments
Other income
5
**Total income**
**Expenditure on:**
Raising funds
Charitable activities
6
**Total expenditure**
**Net income**
Transfers between funds
14
**Net movement in funds**
**Reconciliation of funds:**
Total funds brought forward
Net movement in funds
**Total funds carried forward**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**2025**
**£**
**188,034**
**260,995**
**64,611**
**16,406**
**106,821**
**636,867**
**10,427**
**478,727**
**489,154**
**147,713**
**90**
**147,803**
**448,978**
**147,803**
**596,781**|**Restricted**
**funds**
**2025**
**£**
**31,258**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**31,258**
**-**
**30,143**
**30,143**
**1,115**
**(90)**
**1,025**
**90**
**1,025**
**1,115**|**Total**
**funds**
**2025**
**£**
**219,292**
**260,995**
**64,611**
**16,406**
**106,821**
**668,125**
**10,427**
**508,870**
**519,297**
**148,828**
**-**
**148,828**
**449,068**
**148,828**
**597,896**|_Total_
_funds_
_2024_
_£_
_208,531_
_209,598_
_54,697_
_16,854_
_-_| |---|---|---|---|---| |||||_489,680_| |||||_12,580_
_469,694_| |||||_482,274_| |||||_7,406_
_-_| |||||_7,406_| |||||_441,662_
_7,406_| |||||_449,068_| The Statement of Financial Activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. The notes on pages 28 to 44 form part of these financial statements. Page 25 WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED {A company Ilmlt8d by guaranteg) REGISTERED NUM8ER: 04214547 8AL4NCE SHEEr AS AT 31 PAARCH 2025 2025 2024 Noto ' Flxèd assets Tangible assets ¢urr8nt asstrts 10 37,600 3& 735 Stocks Debtors C88h at bank and in hand 11 12 15,532 77,402 514,fj24 8,621 52,009 392, 665 607,558 453,295 Cyrr¢nt1Sabllttlo8 CTeditors: amounts fairing du 8 Wlthin one yeBr 13 {47,2S2) {39.962} N•t currént assets 560,296 413,353 Total net as¥8tg 597.896 449,068 Charlty funtls Re5trictecl funds Unreslricted funds 14 14 1.115 696.781 448,978 Total lunds 97,B96 449,068 Thè charity was entitled to exemption from audit under sectron 477 of the Companias A¢t 2006. The members hava not re4uired the company to obtain an audit for the year in qu8Stlon In ac¢ord8nce with section 476 of CDrnpanie5 Act 2006. The Trustees 8cknowl8dg6 their responsibilities for complying Wrth th8 requirernents of the Act respect to occounti ng records and preparalion of financi81 ststem8nts. The financial statements hava beèn prepgre(l in accordance with the provisions applicable to ent4tie8 subject to the sm811 compani66 regim8. The financial 8t approved and 8Lrthoris•d for i8$ue by the Tiu¥tees and Signed on thelr behalf by= Stovon Ellng ChaEr D8t8'. The note$ on page5 28 to 44 form part of these fin8￿cial statements. Pa9e 26 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** |**Cash flows from operating activities**
Net cash used in operating activities
**Cash flows from investing activities**
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
**Net cash (used in)/provided by investing activities**
**Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year**
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
**Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year**
The notes on pages 28 to 44 form part of these financial statements|**2025**
**£**
**135,940**
**(13,981)**
**(13,981)**
**121,959**
**392,665**
**514,624**|_2024_
_£_
_6,579_| |---|---|---| |||_-_| |||**-**| |||**6,579**
_386,086_| |||| |||_392,665_| |||| Page 27 **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED (A company limited by guarantee)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **1. General information** Warley Woods Community Trust Limited is a charitable company limited by guarantee in England and Wales. The address of the registered office is given in the charity information on page 1 of these financial statements. The nature of the Charity's operations is to restore and sustain Warley Woods Park and develop its facilities and events for the use of the local community in the interests of social welfare and to promote education. ## **2. Accounting policies** ## **2.1 Basis of preparation of financial statements** The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) - 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 Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements are presented in British pound sterling and rounded to the nearest £. Warley Woods Community Trust Limited meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy. ## **2.2 Income** All income is recognised once the charity has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably. Grants are included in the Statement of financial activities on a receivable basis. The balance of income received for specific purposes but not expended during the period is shown in the relevant funds on the Balance sheet. Where income is received in advance of entitlement of receipt, its recognition is deferred and included in creditors as deferred income. Where entitlement occurs before income is received, the income is accrued. Gifts in kind donated for distribution are included at valuation and recognised as income when they are distributed to the projects. Gifts donated for resale are included as income when they are sold. Donated facilities are included at the value to the charity where this can be quantified and a third party is bearing the cost. No amounts are included in the financial statements for services donated by volunteers. Income tax recoverable in relation to investment income is recognised at the time the investment income is receivable. ## **2.3 Expenditure** 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. All expenditure is accounted for on an accrual basis. All expenses including support costs and governance costs are allocated to the applicable expenditure headings. Page 28 **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED (A company limited by guarantee)** **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **2. Accounting policies (continued)** ## **2.3 Expenditure (continued)** Expenditure on raising funds includes all expenditure incurred by the charity to raise funds for its charitable purposes and includes costs of all fundraising activities events and non-charitable trading. Expenditure on charitable activities is incurred on directly undertaking the activities which further the charity's objectives, as well as any associated support costs. All expenditure is inclusive of irrecoverable VAT. ## **2.4 Interest receivable** Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the institution with whom the funds are deposited. ## **2.5 Tangible fixed assets and depreciation** Tangible fixed assets costing £1,000 or more are capitalised and recognised when future economic benefits are probable and the cost or value of the asset can be measured reliably. Tangible fixed assets are initially recognised at cost. After recognition, under the cost model, tangible fixed assets are measured at cost less accumulated depreciation and any accumulated impairment losses. All costs incurred to bring a tangible fixed asset into its intended working condition should be included in the measurement of cost. Depreciation is charged so as to allocate the cost of tangible fixed assets less their residual value over their estimated useful lives as shown below . Depreciation is provided on the following basis: |Plant and machinery|-|25% Reducing balance| |---|---|---| |Fixtures and fittings|-|33% Straight line| |Other fixed assets|-|10% Straight line| ## **2.6 Stocks** Stocks are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value after making due allowance for obsolete and slow-moving stocks. Cost includes all direct costs. ## **2.7 Debtors** Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due. ## **2.8 Cash at bank and in hand** Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and short-term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account. Page 29 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **2. Accounting policies (continued)** ## **2.9 Liabilities and provisions** Liabilities are recognised when there is an obligation at the Balance sheet date as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required in settlement, and the amount of the settlement can be estimated reliably. Liabilities are recognised at the amount that the charity anticipates it will pay to settle the debt or the amount it has received as advanced payments for the goods or services it must provide. Provisions are measured at the best estimate of the amounts required to settle the obligation. ## **2.10 Financial instruments** The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value. ## **2.11 Pensions** The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme and the pension charge represents the amounts payable by the charity to the fund in respect of the year. ## **2.12 Fund accounting** General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity and which have not been designated for other purposes. Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the Trustees for particular purposes. The aim and use of each designated fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements. Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the charity for particular purposes. The costs of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements. Page 30 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **3. Income from donations and legacies** |**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**2025**
**£**
**Grants**
Sandwell MBC
68,864
Other
8,225
**Subtotal**
77,089
Donations
110,945
**Total 2025**
188,034
_Unrestricted_
_funds_
_2024_
_£_
**Grants**
Sandwell MBC
_72,488_
Other
_16,725_
**Subtotal**
_89,213_
Donations
_115,318_
_Total 2024_
_204,531_|**Restricted**
**funds**
**2025**
**£**
-
2,059
2,059
29,199
31,258
_Restricted_
_funds_
_2024_
_£_
_-_
_-_
_-_
_4,000_
_4,000_|**Total**
**funds**
**2025**
**£**
**68,864**
**10,284**| |---|---|---| |||**79,148**| |||**140,144**| |||**219,292**| |||_Total_
_funds_
_2024_
_£_
_72,488_
_16,725_| |||_89,213_| |||_119,318_| |||_208,531_| Page 31 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **4. Income from charitable activities** |**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**2025**
**£**
Golf and green fee income
260,995
_Unrestricted_
_funds_
_2024_
_£_
Golf and green fee income
_209,598_|**Total**
**funds**
**2025**
**£**
**260,995**| |---|---| ||_Total_
_funds_
_2024_
_£_
_209,598_| There has been a general increase in golf income in 24-25 but the value has been materially increased by the new arrangements where vat is no longer payable on our income from green fees which would create a year on year increase of 20%, if the rate of play had been static. ## **5. Other incoming resources** ||**Unrestricted**|**Total**|_Total_| |---|---|---|---| ||**funds**|**funds**|_funds_| ||**2025**|**2025**|_2024_| ||**£**|**£**|_£_| |VAT refund from historic claims|106,821|**106,821**|_-_| ## **6. Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities Summary by fund type** ||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|| |---|---|---|---| ||**funds**|**funds**|**Total**| ||**2025**|**2025**|**2025**| ||**£**|**£**|**£**| |Charitable Activities|478,727|30,143|**508,870**| Page 32 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **6. Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities (continued)** ## **Summary by fund type (continued)** ||_Unrestricted_|_Restricted_|| |---|---|---|---| ||_funds_|_funds_|_Total_| ||_2024_|_2024_|_2024_| ||_£_|_£_|_£_| |Charitable Activities|_458,444_|_11,250_|_469,694_| ## **7. Analysis of expenditure by activities** |Charitable Activities
Charitable Activities|**Activities**
**undertaken**
**directly**
**2025**
**£**
414,269
_Activities_
_undertaken_
_directly_
_2024_
_£_
_407,309_|**Support**
**costs**
**2025**
**£**
94,601
_Support_
_costs_
_2024_
_£_
_62,385_|**Total**
**funds**
**2025**
**£**
**508,870**| |---|---|---|---| ||||_Total_
_funds_
_2024_
_£_
_469,694_| Page 33 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **7. Analysis of expenditure by activities (continued)** ## **Analysis of direct costs** |Staff costs
Property and accomodation
Shop stock
Site maintenance and upkeep
Other projects
Direct support costs|**Total**
**funds**
**2025**
**£**
**273,401**
**9,904**
**13,465**
**100,863**
**9,834**
**6,802**
**414,269**|_Total_
_funds_
_2024_
_£_
_260,730_
_10,217_
_3,890_
_108,594_
_16,150_
_7,728_| |---|---|---| |||_407,309_| ## **Analysis of support costs** |Depreciation
Recruitment and training
Insurance
Finance
Office costs
Independent examination
Volunteer expenses
Irrecoverable VAT|**Total**
**funds**
**2025**
**£**
**12,116**
**415**
**9,711**
**30,232**
**25,570**
**4,017**
**1,530**
**11,010**
**94,601**|_Total_
_funds_
_2024_
_£_
_11,603_
_1,662_
_9,110_
_6,110_
_28,556_
_4,575_
_769_
_-_| |---|---|---| |||_62,385_| Included within Finance costs are one off professional fees related to VAT and building project/lease advice. Page 34 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **8. Staff costs** |Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Pension costs|**2025**
**£**
**248,007**
**15,361**
**10,033**
**273,401**|_2024_
_£_
_238,285_
_11,685_
_10,760_| |---|---|---| |||| |||_260,730_| The average number of persons employed by the charity during the year was as follows: ||**2025**|_2024_| |---|---|---| ||**No.**|_No._| |Employees|**13**|_13_| No employee received remuneration amounting to more than £60,000 in either year. The aggregate cost to the charity of Key management personnel in the year (being inclusive of employer national insurance and employer pension) was £132,823 (2024: £134,634). Key management personnel are considered to be the trust, retail and golf and park management. ## **9. Trustees' remuneration and expenses** During the year, no Trustees received any remuneration or other benefits _(2024 - £NIL)_ . During the year ended 31 March 2025, no Trustee expenses have been incurred _(2024 - £NIL)_ . Page 35 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **10. Tangible fixed assets** |**Cost or valuation**
At 1 April 2024
Additions
At 31 March 2025
**Depreciation**
At 1 April 2024
Charge for the year
At 31 March 2025
**Net book value**
At 31 March 2025
_At 31 March 2024_
**11.**
**Stocks**
Finished goods and goods for resale|**Plant and**
**machinery**
**£**
**172,806**
**12,846**
**185,652**
**153,647**
**6,712**
**160,359**
**25,293**
_19,159_|**Fixtures and**
**fittings**
**£**
**42,696**
**1,135**
**43,831**
**37,525**
**3,091**
**40,616**
**3,215**
_5,171_|**Other fixed**
**assets**
**£**
**91,443**
**-**
**91,443**
**80,038**
**2,313**
**82,351**
**9,092**
_11,405_
**2025**
**£**
**15,532**|**Total**
**£**
**306,945**
**13,981**| |---|---|---|---|---| |||||**320,926**| |||||**271,210**
**12,116**| |||||**283,326**| |||||**37,600**| |||||_35,735_| |||||_2024_
_£_
_8,621_| Page 36 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **12. Debtors** |**Due within one year**
Other debtors
Prepayments and accrued income|**2025**
**£**
**64,849**
**12,553**
**77,402**|_2024_
_£_
_41,405_
_10,604_| |---|---|---| |||| |||_52,009_| ## **13. Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year** |Trade creditors
Other taxation and social security
Other creditors
Accruals and deferred income|**2025**
**£**
**9,394**
**4,603**
**11,962**
**21,303**
**47,262**|_2024_
_£_
_15,554_
_9,290_
_10,046_
_5,072_| |---|---|---| |||| |||_39,962_| Page 37 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **14. Statement of funds** ## **Statement of funds - current year** |**Unrestricted funds**
**Designated funds**
New building development
Uninsured risks/capital
equipment replacement
**General funds**
General Funds
**Total Unrestricted funds**
**Restricted funds**
Golf
Community projects - Healthy
hedges
Specific fundraising appeals
**Total of funds**|**Balance at 1**
**April 2024**
**£**
**22,901**
**90,000**
**112,901**
**336,077**
**448,978**
**90**
**-**
**-**
**90**
**449,068**|**Income**
**£**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**636,867**
**636,867**
**-**
**2,059**
**29,199**
**31,258**
**668,125**|**Expenditure**
**£**
**(11,034)**
**-**
**(11,034)**
**(478,120)**
**(489,154)**
**-**
**(2,059)**
**(28,084)**
**(30,143)**
**(519,297)**|**Transfers**
**in/out**
**£**
**80,000**
**(5,250)**
**74,750**
**(74,660)**
**90**
**(90)**
**-**
**-**
**(90)**
**-**|**Balance at**
**31 March**
**2025**
**£**
**91,867**
**84,750**| |---|---|---|---|---|---| ||||||**176,617**| ||||||**420,164**| ||||||**596,781**| ||||||**-**
**-**
**1,115**| ||||||**1,115**| ||||||**597,896**| Page 38 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **14. Statement of funds (continued)** Designated funds have the following purposes: ## **NEW BUILDING DEVELOPMENT** There is a long term aspiration to replace the current aging building. This fund, which is expected to be drawn on over the next two years, is to allow for development work to be undertaken to take those plans forward. ## **UNINSURED RISKS/ CAPITAL EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT** This fund is to ensure that uninsured risks of damage to the site caused by third parties or natural disasters can be rectified on a timely basis. It is also includes funds towards the replacement of major plant and equipment which generally has to be replaced every 4-6 years. Restricted funds have the following purposes: ## **SPECIFIC FUNDRAISING APPEALS** Specific fundraising appeals represents funds raised in response to specific appeals. In 2024/25 this included funds raised in response to Storm Darragh and the bluebell appeal. ## **GOLF** Golf camps delivery - none in current year, transferred to unrestricted funds per Trustee discussion. ## **There were the following transfers in the year:** £90 was transferred to unrestricted funds from the Golf fund following a discussion with the trustees. £5,250 was transferred to unrestricted funds from the uninsured risks/capital equipment replacement fund as a road sweeper was purchased and capitalised using restricted funds. £80,000 was transferred to the new building development fund as the Board decided to allocate the VAT repayment into long term value. Page 39 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **14. Statement of funds (continued)** ## **Statement of funds - prior year** |**Unrestricted funds**
**Designated funds**
New building development
Uninsured risks/capital equipment
replacement
Park development
**General funds**
General Funds
**Total Unrestricted funds**
**Restricted funds**
Golf
Community developments
**Total of funds**|_Balance at_
_1 April 2023_
_£_
_26,102_
_90,000_
_33,000_
_149,102_
_285,220_
_434,322_
_90_
_7,250_
_7,340_
_441,662_|_Income_
_£_
_-_
_-_
_-_
_-_
_485,681_
_485,681_
_-_
_4,000_
_4,000_
_489,681_|_Expenditure_
_£_
_(3,201)_
_-_
_(33,000)_
_(36,201)_
_(434,824)_
_(471,025)_
_-_
_(11,250)_
_(11,250)_
_(482,275)_|_Balance at_
_31 March_
_2024_
_£_
_22,901_
_90,000_
_-_| |---|---|---|---|---| |||||_112,901_| |||||_336,077_| |||||_448,978_| |||||_90_
_-_| |||||_90_| |||||_449,068_| Page 40 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **15. Summary of funds** ## **Summary of funds - current year** |Designated funds
General funds
Restricted funds|**Balance at 1**
**April 2024**
**£**
**112,901**
**336,077**
**90**
**449,068**|**Income**
**£**
**-**
**636,867**
**31,258**
**668,125**
_Balance at_
_1 April 2023_
_£_
_149,102_
_285,220_
_7,340_
_441,662_|**Expenditure**
**£**
**(11,034)**
**(478,120)**
**(30,143)**
**(519,297)**
_Income_
_£_
_-_
_485,681_
_4,000_
_489,681_|**Transfers**
**in/out**
**£**
**74,750**
**(74,660)**
**(90)**
**-**
_Expenditure_
_£_
_(36,201)_
_(434,824)_
_(11,250)_
_(482,275)_|**Balance at**
**31 March**
**2025**
**£**
**176,617**
**420,164**
**1,115**| |---|---|---|---|---|---| ||||||**597,896**| ||||||_Balance at_
_31 March_
_2024_
_£_
_112,901_
_336,077_
_90_| |**Summary of funds - prior year**|||||| |Designated funds
General funds
Restricted funds|||||| ||||||_449,068_| Page 41 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **16. Analysis of net assets between funds** ## **Analysis of net assets between funds - current year** |**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**2025**
**£**
Tangible fixed assets
37,600
Current assets
606,443
Creditors due within one year
(47,262)
**Total**
596,781|**Restricted**
**funds**
**2025**
**£**
-
1,115
-
1,115|**Total**
**funds**
**2025**
**£**
**37,600**
**607,558**
**(47,262)**
**597,896**| |---|---|---| ## **Analysis of net assets between funds - prior year** |Tangible fixed assets
Current assets
Creditors due within one year
**Total**|_Unrestricted_
_funds_
_2024_
_£_
_35,735_
_453,205_
_(39,962)_
_448,978_|_Restricted_
_funds_
_2024_
_£_
_-_
_90_
_-_
_90_|_Total_
_funds_
_2024_
_£_
_35,735_
_453,295_
_(39,962)_
_449,068_| |---|---|---|---| Page 42 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **17. Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net cash flow from operating activities** |Net income for the year (as per Statement of Financial Activities)
**Adjustments for:**
Depreciation charges
(Increase) in stocks
Decrease/ (increase) in debtors
Increase/(decrease) in creditors
**Net cash provided by operating activities**
**18.**
**Analysis of cash and cash equivalents**
Cash in hand
**Total cash and cash equivalents**
**19.**
**Analysis of changes in net debt**
**At 1 April**
**2024**
**£**
Cash at bank and in hand
**392,665**
**392,665**|**2025**
**£**
**148,828**
**12,116**
**(6,911)**
**1,703**
**(19,796)**
**135,940**
**2025**
**£**
**514,624**
**514,624**
**Cash flows**
**£**
**121,959**
**121,959**|_2024_
_£_
_7,406_
_11,603_
_(4,412)_
_(18,529)_
_10,511_
_6,579_
_2024_
_£_
_392,665_
_392,665_
**At 31 March**
**2025**
**£**
**514,624**
**514,624**| |---|---|---| Page 43 ## **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED (A company limited by guarantee)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **20. Pension commitments** The company operates a defined contributions workplace pension scheme through The People's Pension. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the company in an independently administered fund. The pension cost charge represents contributions payable by the company to the fund and amounted to £5,908 (2024: £6,841). Employer contributions to staff personal pensions were £4,125 (2024: £3,919). Contributions totalling £Nil (2024: £957) were payable to the fund at the balance sheet date and are included in creditors. ## **21. Related party transactions** No Trustees were paid during the year. (2024: One Trustee was paid £7,590 for architect services) Page 44 **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED (A company limited by guarantee)** ## **INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** |**2025**
**£**
**Income**
Grant received
**79,148**
Donations received
**122,582**
Gift aid - tax recoverable
**17,563**
Fundraising activities
**64,610**
Golf income
**260,995**
Bank interest
**16,406**
VAT refunds due to irrecoverable VAT
**106,821**|**2025**
**£**|2024
£
89,213
97,000
22,318
54,697
209,598
16,854
**-**|2024
£| |---|---|---|---| |**Gross income in the reporting period**|**668,125**||489,680| |**Less: Expenditure**
Staff costs
**273,401**
Recruitment and training
**415**
Park improvements
**3,261**
Park maintenance (incl essential safety tree works)
**43,559**
Golf course materials & maintenance
**13,408**
Golf shop supplies
**13,231**
Events
**6,802**
Golf buggies
**234**
Community projects
**2,059**
New Building projects
**5,784**
IT support & projects
**7,982**
Wild Warley
**879**
Fundraising supplies
**10,427**
Volunteer expenses
**1,530**
Insurance
**9,711**
Water rates
**1,774**
Light/heat
**8,130**
Refuse
**10,484**||260,730
1,662
48,025
14,600
17,459
3,125
7,728
764
1,469
12,982
11,974
-
12,581
769
9,110
2,685
7,532
9,824|| **Page 44** **WARLEY WOODS COMMUNITY TRUST LIMITED (A company limited by guarantee)** ## **INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** |Repairs and renewals
Telephone
Advertising/promotion
Postage and stationery
Health and safety
Sundry
Depreciation
Independent examination
Accountancy
Legal and professional fees
Bank charges and interest
Partial exemption VAT disallowed
Irrecoverable VAT expense
**Total expenditure**
**Net income for the reporting period**
**Surplus/deficit for the reporting period**
**Funds brought forward at 1 April**
**Funds carried forward at 31 March**|**2025**
**2025**
2024
2024
**£**
**£**
£
£
**30,599**
19,427
**1,859**
1,703
**3,001**
3,187
**3,990**
4,251
**883**
987
**1,757**
1,292
**12,116**
11,603
**4,017**
4,575
**4,262**
3,289
**23,882**
424
**6,350**
5,686
**2,500**
2,831
**11,010**
-
**519,297**
482,274
**519,297**
482,274
**148,828**
7,406
**148,828**
7,406
**449,068**
441,662
**597,896**
449,068| |---|---| **Page 45**