The Trustees Report
The trustees, who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2020. The trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” (FRS 102) in preparing the annual report and financial statements of the charity. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in notes to the accounts and comply with the charity’s governing document, the Charities Act 2011 and 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 published in October 2019.
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Staff and volunteers and the support of national CPRE helps us build on our established reputation for professionalism and expertise. Our impact is disproportionate to our small membership base and income. Our volunteers include 5 trustees, but want to increase that, a treasurer, over 20 “eyes and ears “planning volunteers, our West Lancashire and Liverpool districts volunteers and a student intern. We are recruiting 2 “youth ambassadors” to join the team too – under 25 year olds, a photography volunteer and an events volunteer. The team are highly valued and appreciated for the time and devotion they give. We need more of them as our ambition and our work load rises, notably because of the intense political pressure to build, build and build.
Governing document.
The charity is controlled by its governing document, the Memorandum and its Articles of Association and constitutes a company limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.
Organisational structure
The Executive Committee (Board) comprises 5 trustees who are also directors as we are both a charity and a limited company. All these trustees were elected and serve a three-year term, but are eligible for election for a further three year term. The trustees who have served during the year and since the year end are shown on page 1. The directors and trustees are responsible for and have control of the activities of CPRE Lancashire, Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester (the Group).
We have only one employee - our Planning Manager, Jackie Copley MRTPI., MA., BA. (Hons), PgCert. We have one Consultant, Becca Nelson who manages our website, social media and publicity and a contracted Branch Administrator, Debbie Janney - who is the main contact for the charity.
External trustees are selected through outside agencies, are interviewed by at least 2 trustees and appointed by the Board. Induction and training is provided by CPRE National as and when required.
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
Aims and achievements
CPRE Lancashire, Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester covers a significant part of the north west of England. It is part of the national CPRE, the Countryside Charity. It aims to achieve the best use of land by influencing landuse planning policies and planning decisions taken at national, local and neighbourhood level including:
-
reducing our carbon emissions;
-
avoiding the use of Green Belt, the countryside and other designated landscapes for inappropriate development. This is largely through campaigning, education and objecting to and supporting the objections of local residents’ groups to inappropriate development;
-
advocating “brownfield first” in land use;
-
campaigns focused on food and farming, affordable rural housing, transport, energy (shale gas fracking and renewables), and waste and as major issues for and relating to environmental protection;
Campaigning aims for 2021 will continue to be:
-
the protection, promotion and enhancement of the countryside and green space including in urban settings. Most of our members live in Lancashire and many have access to the countryside. Members also live in Greater Manchester and the Liverpool City Region where access to the countryside is more problematic. We continue to respond to emerging spatial development strategies at the Greater Manchester and Liverpool City region scale - especially the defence of the countryside from damaging development;
-
the climate emergency;
-
truly affordable housing with a blend of tenures including housing for social rent;
-
housing design and build quality as described in national CPRE’s Housing Design Audit for England 2020. The nation is blighted by poor house and housing estate design and build quality with insufficient action on carbon neutrality;
-
objections to inappropriate development of rural places and elsewhere. We contribute to Councils' Local Plans emphasising positive protection of the beautiful countryside of our region as well as protecting green spaces within our urban environments. CPRE supports appropriate developments of the right quality in the right places.
Public benefit
We regularly respond to the many requests made by both CPRE members and the public for help with their concerns over loss of agricultural land, trees, hedgerows and threats to the countryside character, including intrusive developments of large housing developments adjacent to small villages and in sensitive rural environments.
Objecting to planning applications is made all the more difficult when local Councils have failed to keep their Local Plan policies updated, as in the NPPF renders the policies silent and land in the countryside is under increasing threat from speculative development. We input in nearly every Local Plan consultation. We also assist in the creation of Neighbourhood Plans which similarly frame the use and purpose of land but at an even more local level.
We contribute to objection to inappropriate major residential development applications. In 2020 following Jackie Copley and a trustee giving evidence ( in support of the local residents’ action group) at the Secretary of State call- in of the planning application to develop the Hulton Park Estate, Bolton , much of which is in Green Belt, (golf course – for which a bid for the Ryder Cup would be made - hotel and conference facilities, car park, golf academy and 1,200 homes) the local planning authority gave permission, subject to a successful bid for the Ryder Cup with no development to occur until and if the award is made. As it is unlikely the bid will be successful this was considered an excellent result. Golf courses are carbon intensive and a mechanism to get houses built – the golf course is closed, the site is then brownfield and the owner sells the land for housing, a potentially highly profitable plan and with less controversy than selling a green field or Green Belt site. None of the 1,200 homes were affordable. There was also significant local opposition to the development of a much loved and much used area of green space.
We also consult on nationally significant major Infrastructure projects eg e.g. fracking, HS2 rail, National Grid proposals, and we work in liaison with many other groups, e.g. Parish Councils and Civic Trusts, often along with other environmental protection groups, in particular with Friends of the Lake District and Friends of the Peak District. We give the public expert advice to enable them to engage positively to protect their environment and respond appropriately to complicated planning applications. We have substantially enhanced our website and ecommunications to give CPRE members and especially the public greater information and guidance. We are very active on social media. We 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. In particular, the trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives they have set. Unfortunately, the effects of the Covid 19 pandemic have severely restricted some of our work and activities.
TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING
Central government published its “Planning for the Future” White Paper which outlined fundamental long-term reforms to the planning system including moving from our discretionary system to a zonal planning. The former enables community participation and objection; zonal planning is more limiting: the ability of the public to input on planning g applications is reduced. Its aim is to “simplify” planning and make it easier and quicker for houses to be built. CPRE nationwide and may other non- governmental organisations are strongly opposed to the “reforms” as it is considered they will do nothing to solve the crisis in the supply of truly affordable homes and may jeopardise protection of our green spaces including Green Belt and the countryside. A comprehensive and detailed “One CPRE” response has been submitted to Government and our Group is campaigning on social media and in the press. The concerns of CPRE
were repeatedly mentioned in parliamentary debate on the matter; Our Chair, Debbie McConnell was similarly quoted in an article by Rob Booth of The Guardian.
The Environment Bill is being slowly progressed and its ambitions for protection of the countryside appear to have been significantly reduced.
We have contributed to a number of Local and Neighbourhood Plans and planning documents including:
-
Local Plans: Central Lancashire (Preston, South Ribble, and Chorley’s joint Local Plan Core Strategy), Salford, St Helen’s and Lancaster and the revision of it to incorporate management of the climate emergency, Liverpool and Fylde (Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre)
-
;
-
Greater Manchester Spatial Strategy and the effect of Stockport’s withdrawal form that plan;
-
Housing numbers and “scoping” reports for Sefton Council (Liverpool City Region);
-
West Lancashire call for development sites and brownfield register expansion; and
-
Melling Parish Council Neighbourhood Plan.
We have made written representations on unjustified development within the Green Belt and AONBs and subsequent release and inappropriate development in the countryside and semi-rural area including:
-
extensive advice to and representation of members and the public by Jackie Copley and trustees on small to medium scale applications (nearly all housing) throughout the north west;
-
a mixed-use development including 6,000 new houses at Carrington Moss, Trafford. The latter is rich in peat bog, a very important biodiverse and ecological habitat;
-
Parkside Application, a B8 Logistics and warehousing development covering parts of Wigan, Bolton and Haydock and of over 1 million M[2] of which a significant proportion is Green Belt;
-
Extension into Green Belt of Bredbury Industrial Estate near Stockport;
-
Omega B8 Logistics and warehousing development– another large and controversial application on Green Belt in St Helens; and
-
We continue to work with Friends’ of Rimrose Valley near Crosby and Friends of the Earth to object to the construction of a major road and associated infrastructure through Rimrose Valley to facilitate HGV traffic and to connect Liverpool Superport to the motorway network. The Park is in the Green Belt, is significant ecologically and is a much-loved beauty spot, green space and wildlife habitat.
We have also sought and inputted on unlawful planning activity including the erection of a house that did not conform to the planning application.
NATIONAL CAMPAIGNS
National CPRE has launched nationwide campaigns that affect the north west and many other regions including:
-
“Transport Deserts 2020” – a report on the dearth of viable public transport in rural areas;
-
“Housing Design Audit for England 2020”- an examination of house design and build quality which highlights the very poor house design and build quality generally across the property industry; and
-
State of the Green Belt 2020- a statistical analysis of the loss and gain of Green Belt nationwide. Overall, there was a significant net loss.
EVENTS , WORKING FROM HOME AND WORKING WITH THE NETWORK AND NATIONAL CPRE
2020 has been a very difficult year for events and because of the pandemic referred to earlier. We have :
-
held a “star count” event for members and supporters to do from their homes ;
-
(when not in lockdown) held 2 walking events;
-
held an online webinar on “Soils and farm ponds” led by Chris Molyneux, a Lancashire arable farmer and Helen Greaves, a PHD student whose dissertation is on farm pond management;
-
CPRE, the network and us have also held webinars on specialist topics such as climate change, brownfield land and town and country planning.
-
All trustees and colleagues continue to work well from home. There is much sharing of resources, knowledge and expertise between us and our fellow CPRE Groups in England; and
-
our relationship with the whole of the CPRE network and National CPRE has been enhanced because of our good, positive reputation. We are regarded as a very active and proactive Group. Our Chair Debbie McConnell attends and speaks regularly at the National County Group Forum (representatives from each Group in the network throughout England meet twice yearly online) and at the Chairs’ Forum led by national trustee, Simon Murray . Debbie is also a member of several National “project teams” including on renewables (energy), training of volunteers and trustees, diversity and inclusion and “ways of working.” Des Brennan, trustee, is the national expert on fracking and his advice has been sought by National Office and other CPRE Groups.
NET ASSETS
Operating Financial Review Total NET ASSETS for the year amounted to £120,232 (£141,787 y/e 31/12/19).
Company No. 05291461 Charity No. 1107376
CPRE Lancashire, Liverpool City Region & Greater Manchester
(A registered charity and company limited by guarantee)
Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2020
CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER CONTENTS
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Charity Information | 1 |
| Trustees’ Report | 2 |
| Independent Examiner’s Report | 7 |
| Statement of Financial Activities | 8 |
| Balance Sheet | 9 |
| Notes to the Financial Statements | 10 |
CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER
CHARITY INFORMATION
Mrs D G McConnell - Chair and Company Secretary Trustees and Directors: Mr C N Thompson - President Ms L Beaton - vice chair Dr D Brennan Mr A C Forman Treasurer: Ms Sukhwinder Jhallii Website and social media manager: Ms Becca Nelson Administrator: Ms Debbie L Janney Patron: Stephen Lowe Contact address: CPRE Lancashire Acres Brook, Sabden Road, Higham, Lancashire BB12 9BL Registered office: Richard House Winckley Square Preston PR1 3HP Company Number: 05291461 Charity Number: 1107376 Independent examiner: Nicola Mason FCA, DChA MHA Moore and Smalley Richard House Winckley Square Preston PR1 3HP
Page 1
TRUSTEES’ REPORT
CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
The trustees, who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2020. The trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” (FRS 102) in preparing the annual report and financial statements of the charity.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in notes to the accounts and comply with the charity’s governing document, the Charities Act 2011 and 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 published in October 2019.
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Employees and Volunteers
Staff and volunteers and the support of national CPRE helps us build on our established reputation for professionalism and expertise. Our impact is disproportionate to our small membership base and income. Our volunteers include 5 trustees, but want to increase that, a treasurer, over 20 “eyes and ears “planning volunteers, our West Lancashire and Liverpool districts volunteers and a student intern. We are recruiting 2 “youth ambassadors” to join the team too – under 25 year olds, a photography volunteer and an events volunteer. The team are highly valued and appreciated for the time and devotion they give. We need more of them as our ambition and our work load rises, notably because of the intense political pressure to build, build and build.
Governing document
The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, its Memorandum and its Articles of Association and constitutes a company limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.
Organisational structure
The Executive Committee (Board) comprises 5 trustees who are also directors as we are both a charity and a limited company. All these trustees were elected and serve a three-year term, but are eligible for election for a further three year term. The trustees who have served during the year and since the year end are shown on page 1. The directors and trustees are responsible for and have control of the activities of CPRE Lancashire, Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester (the Group).
We have only one employee - our Planning Manager, Jackie Copley MRTPI., MA., BA. (Hons), PgCert. We have one Consultant, Becca Nelson who manages our website, social media and publicity and a contracted Branch Administrator, Debbie Janney - who is the main contact for the charity.
External trustees are selected through outside agencies, are interviewed by at least 2 trustees and appointed by the Board. Induction and training is provided by CPRE National as and when required.
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
Aims and achievements
CPRE Lancashire, Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester covers a significant part of the north west of England. It is part of the national CPRE, the Countryside Charity. It aims to achieve the best use of land by influencing land-use planning policies and planning decisions taken at national, local and neighbourhood level including:
Page 2
CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER
TRUSTEES’ REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
Aims and achievements (continued)
-
reducing our carbon emissions;
-
avoiding the use of green belt, the countryside and other designated landscapes for inappropriate development. This is largely through campaigning, education and objecting to and supporting the objections of local residents’ groups to inappropriate development;
-
advocating “brownfield first” in land use;
-
campaigns focused on food and farming, affordable rural housing, transport, energy (shale gas fracking and renewables), and waste and as major issues for and relating to environmental protection;
Campaigning aims for 2021 will continue to be:
-
the protection, promotion and enhancement of the countryside and green space including in urban settings. Most of our members live in Lancashire and many have access to the countryside. Members also live in Greater Manchester and the Liverpool City Region where access to the countryside is more problematic. We continue to respond to emerging spatial development strategies at the Greater Manchester and Liverpool City region scale - especially the defence of the countryside from damaging development;
-
the climate emergency;
-
truly affordable housing with a blend of tenures including housing for social rent;
-
housing design and build quality as described in national CPRE’s Housing Design Audit for England 2020. The nation is blighted by poor house and housing estate design and build quality with insufficient action on carbon neutrality;
-
objections to inappropriate development of rural places and elsewhere. We contribute to Councils' Local Plans emphasising positive protection of the beautiful countryside of our region as well as protecting green spaces within our urban environments. CPRE supports appropriate developments of the right quality in the right places.
Public benefit
We regularly respond to the many requests made by both CPRE members and the public for help with their concerns over loss of agricultural land, trees, hedgerows and threats to the countryside character, including intrusive developments of large housing developments adjacent to small villages and in sensitive rural environments.
Objecting to planning applications is made all the more difficult where local Councils have failed to complete their Local Plans; land not covered by a Local Plan is under threat from speculative development. We input in nearly every Local Plan consultation. We also assist in the creation of Neighbourhood Plans which similarly frame the use and purpose of land but at an even more local level.
We contribute to objection to inappropriate major residential development applications. In 2020 following Jackie Copley and a trustee giving evidence ( in support of the local residents’ action group) at the Secretary of State call- in of the planning application to develop the Hulton Park Estate, Bolton , much of which is in green belt, (golf course – for which a bid for the Ryder Cup would be made - hotel and conference facilities, car park, golf academy and 1200 homes) the local planning authority gave permission, subject to a successful bid for the Ryder Cup with no development to occur until and if the award is made. As it is unlikely the bid will be successful this was considered an excellent result. Golf courses are carbon intensive and also a mechanism to get houses built – the golf course is closed, the site is then brownfield and the owner sells the land for housing, a potentially highly profitable plan and with less controversy than selling a green field or green belt site. None of the 1200 homes were affordable. There was also significant local opposition to the development of a much loved and much used area of green space.
Page 3
CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER
TRUSTEES’ REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
Public benefit (continued)
We also consult on nationally significant major Infrastructure projects e.g. fracking, HS2 rail, National Grid proposals, and we work in liaison with many other groups, e.g. Parish Councils and Civic Trusts, often along with other environmental protection groups, in particular with Friends of the Lake District and Friends of the Peak District. We give the public expert advice to enable them to engage positively to protect their environment and respond appropriately to complicated planning applications. We have substantially enhanced our website and ecommunications to give CPRE members and especially the public greater information and guidance. We are very active on social media. We 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. In particular, the trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives they have set. Unfortunately the effects of the Covid 19 pandemic have severely restricted some of our work and activities.
TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING
Central government published its “Planning for the Future” White Paper which outlined fundamental long-term reforms to the planning system including moving from our discretionary system to a zonal planning. The former enables community participation and objection; zonal planning is more limiting: the ability of the public to input on planning applications is reduced. Its aim is to “simplify” planning and make it easier and quicker for houses to be built. CPRE nationwide and many other non- governmental organisations are strongly opposed to the “reforms” as it is considered they will do nothing to solve the crisis in the supply of truly affordable homes and may jeopardise protection of our green spaces including green belt and the countryside. A comprehensive and detailed “One CPRE” response has been submitted to Government and our Group is campaigning on social media and in the press. The concerns of CPRE were repeatedly mentioned in parliamentary debate on the matter; Our Chair, Debbie McConnell was interviewed by Rob Booth of The Guardian for an article on it.
The Environment Bill is being slowly progressed and its ambitions for protection of the countryside appear to have been significantly reduced.
We have contributed to a number of Local and Neighbourhood Plans and planning documents including:
-
Local Plans: Central Lancashire (Preston, South Ribble, and Chorley’s joint Local Plan Core Strategy), St Helen’s and Lancaster and the revision of it to incorporate management of the climate emergency, Liverpool and Fylde (Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre);
-
Greater Manchester Spatial Strategy and the effect of Stockport’s withdrawal from that plan;
-
Housing numbers and “scoping” reports for Sefton Council (Liverpool City Region);
-
West Lancashire call for development sites and brownfield register expansion; and
-
Melling Parish Council Neighbourhood Plan.
We have made written representations on unjustified development within the Green Belt and AONBs and subsequent release and inappropriate development in the countryside and semi-rural area including:
-
extensive advice to and representation of members and the public by Jackie Copley and trustees on small to medium scale applications (nearly all housing) throughout the north west;
-
a mixed use development including 6,000 new houses at Carrington Moss, Trafford. The latter is rich in peat bog, a very important biodiverse and ecological habitat;
-
Parkside Application, a B8 Logistics and warehousing development covering parts of Wigan, Bolton and Haydock and of over 1 million hectares of which a significant proportion is green belt;
Page 4
CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER
TRUSTEES’ REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING (continued)
-
Extension into green belt of Bredbury Industrial Estate near Stockport;
-
Omega B8 Logistics and warehousing development– a large and controversial application on green belt in St Helens; and
-
We continue to work with Friends’ of Rimrose Valley near Crosby and Friends of the Earth to object to the construction of a major road and associated infrastructure through Rimrose Valley to facilitate HGV traffic and to connect Liverpool Superport to the motorway network. The Park is in the Green Belt, is significant ecologically and is a much loved beauty spot, green space and wildlife habitat.
We have also sought and inputted on unlawful planning activity including the erection of a house that did not conform to the planning application.
NATIONAL CAMPAIGNS
National CPRE has launched nationwide campaigns that affect the north west and many other regions including:
-
“Transport Deserts 2020” – a report on the dearth of viable public transport in rural areas;
-
“Housing Design Audit for England 2020”- an examination of house design and build quality which highlights the very poor house design and build quality generally across the property industry; and
-
State of the Green Belt 2020- a statistical analysis of the loss and gain of green belt nationwide. Overall, there was a significant net loss.
EVENTS, WORKING FROM HOME AND WORKING WITH THE NETWORK AND NATIONAL CPRE
2020 has been a very difficult year for events and because of the pandemic referred to earlier. We have:
-
held a “star count” event for members and supporters to do from their homes;
-
(when not in lockdown) held 2 walking events;
-
held an online webinar on “Soils and farm ponds” led by Chris Moyneux, a Lancashire arable farmer and Helen Greaves, a PHD student whose dissertation is on farm pond management;
-
CPRE, the network and us have also held webinars on specialist topics such as climate change, brownfield land and town and country planning.
-
All trustees and colleagues continue to work well from home. There is much sharing of resources, knowledge and expertise between us and our fellow CPRE Groups in England; and
-
our relationship with the whole of the CPRE network and National CPRE has been enhanced because of our good, positive reputation. We are regarded as a very active and proactive Group. Our Chair Debbie McConnell attends and speaks regularly at the National County Group Forum (representatives from each Group in the network throughout England meet twice yearly online) and at the Chairs’ Forum led by national trustee, Simon Murray. Debbie is also a member of several National “project teams” including on renewables (energy), training of volunteers and trustees, diversity and inclusion and “ways of working.” Des Brennan, trustee, is the national expert on fracking and his advice has been sought by National Office and other CPRE Groups.
Page 5
CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER
TRUSTEES’ REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
FINANCIAL REVIEW AND RESERVES
Total net assets and free reserves for the year amounted to £122,544 (£141,787 y/e 31/12/19). Unrestricted reserves are closely monitored by the Trustees. The reserves policy is to ensure that the unrestricted reserves cover at least 6 months worth of core costs. The charity is meeting this policy. Beyond that limit, the Trustees look at the potential to invest surplus reserves into strategic projects that contribute towards the mission and/or the long-term sustainability of the charity. The current focus is to recruit an additional part-time planning manager to strengthen the network of planning volunteers across the region. This should significantly increase our capacity to respond effectively to planning issues, enabling us to build greater levels of awareness, supporters and members over the longer term.
Small company provisions
This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
Approved by order of the board of trustees on 2021 and signed on its behalf by:
…………………………………. D G McConnell – Trustee
Page 6
CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2020 which are set out on pages 8 to 16.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity’s trustees of the charity (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (‘the 2006 Act’).
Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the charity are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5) (b) of the 2011 Act.
Independent examiner's statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe in any material respect:
-
accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or
-
the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination;
-
the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in the report in order to enable a proper understanding of the account to be reached.
Nicola Mason FCA, DChA
MHA Moore and Smalley Chartered Accountants Preston
06/08/2021 Date .....................................................................
Page 7
CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
| Income from: Note Donations and legacies 2 Charitable activities 3 Investments 4 Total income Expenditure on: Raising funds 5 Charitable activities 5 Total expenditure Net income/(expenditure) for the year Net gains/(losses) on investments 9 Net income/(expenditure) for the year after net gains/(losses) Transfers between funds Net movement in funds Reconciliation of funds Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward 12 |
Unrestricted funds £ 616 31,115 2,020 33,751 (273) (50,877) (51,150) (17,399) 2,702 (14,697) - (14,697) 137,241 122,544 |
Restricted funds £ - - - - - (4,546) (4,546) (4,546) - (4,546) - (4,546) 4,546 - |
Total funds 2020 £ 616 31,115 2,020 33,751 (273) (55,423) (55,696) (21,945) 2,702 (19,243) - (19,243) 141,787 122,544 |
Total funds 2019 £ 46,755 65,058 3,347 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 115,160 | ||||
| (2,358) (55,594) |
||||
| (57,952) | ||||
| 57,208 2,322 |
||||
| 59,530 - |
||||
| 59,530 82,257 |
||||
| 141,787 |
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses in the year. All incoming resources and resources expended derive from continuing activities. The notes on pages 10 to 16 form part of these accounts.
Page 8
CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER
BALANCE SHEET
AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2020
| Note Fixed assets Investments 9 Current assets Debtors 10 Cash at bank and in hand Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year 11 Net current assets Net assets Funds 12 Unrestricted – general Restricted Total funds |
Unrestricted funds £ 84,207 4,402 36,557 40,959 (2,622) 38,337 122,544 122,544 - 122,544 |
Restricted funds £ - - - - - - - - - - |
Total funds 2020 £ 84,207 4,402 36,557 40,959 (2,622) 38,337 122,544 122,544 - 122,544 |
Total funds 2019 £ 81,505 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4,560 57,528 |
||||
| 62,088 (1,806) |
||||
| 60,282 | ||||
| 141,787 | ||||
| 137,241 4,546 |
||||
| 141,787 |
For the year ended 31 December 2020 the company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
Directors’ responsibilities:
-
The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its accounts for the year in question in accordance with section 476;
-
The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small charitable companies.
06/08/2021
These financial statements were approved by the trustees and authorised for issue on ……………2021 and are signed on their behalf by:
................................................................ D G McConnell – Trustee Company number:
Page 9
CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
1 Accounting policies
Basis of preparation
CPRE Lancashire, Liverpool City Region & Greater Manchester. is an incorporated charity registered in England. In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1 per member of the charity. 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 and principal activities are explained in the Trustees Report.
The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with 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 issued in October 2019, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006* and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.
The financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention. The financial statements are prepared in sterling which is the functional currency of the company and rounded to the nearest £.
The significant accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all years.
Going concern
The trustees assess whether the use of going concern is appropriate i.e. whether there are any material uncertainties related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the ability of the company to continue as a going concern. The trustees make this assessment in respect of a period of at least one year from the date of authorisation for issue of the financial statements and have concluded that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future and there are no material uncertainties about the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, thus they continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
The Trustees and Directors have considered the potential impact of Covid 19 and concluded that any financial impact would not have a material effect on the company’s ability to operate as a going concern. In coming to this conclusion, the Trustees and Directors have relied upon regular financial reviews and close monitoring of performance against budget.
Incoming resources
All incoming resources are included on the Statement of Financial Activities (“SOFA”) when the charity is legally entitled to the income, the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy and it is probable that the income will be received.
Grants are recognised in the SOFA when receivable. When donors specify that grants given to the charity must be used in the future financial years, the income is deferred until that year. Assets and investments donated to the charity are included as donation income at market value at the time of the receipt.
CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER
Page 10
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
1 Accounting policies (continued)
Incoming resources
For legacies, entitlement is the earlier of the charity being notified of an impending distribution or the legacy being received. At this point income is recognised. On occasion legacies will be notified to the charity however it is not possible to measure the amount expected to be distributed. On these occasions, the legacy is treated as a contingent asset and disclosed.
No amount is included in the financial statements for volunteer time in line with the SORP (FRS 102).
Resources expended
The charity is not registered for VAT. All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings, they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity on delivery of its activities and services, including those costs of any indirect nature necessary to support them.
Investments
Current asset investments are measured at market value and any changes are recognised in ‘net gains/(losses) on investments’ in the SOFA.
Taxation
As a registered charity, the society is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects.
Fund accounting
Unrestricted funds 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 cost 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
Judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty
There have been no significant judgements made in the process of preparing the financial statements.
There have been no key assumptions concerning the future and other key sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year.
Page 11
CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
2 Donations and legacies
| Donations and legacies | ||
|---|---|---|
| Donations and legacies | 2020 £ 616 616 |
2019 £ 46,755 |
| 46,755 |
Donation and legacy income is all unrestricted income for the current and previous year.
3 Income from charitable activities
| Income from charitable activities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Membership fees Grants (restricted) Other income Lottery Consultancy fees |
2020 £ 14,625 - 45 - 16,445 31,115 |
2019 £ 19,305 9,566 3,052 428 32,707 |
| 65,058 |
Unrestricted income £31,115 (2019: £55,492). Restricted income £nil (2019: £9,566 grants).
4 Investment income
| Investment income | ||
|---|---|---|
| Other fixed asset investments Deposit account interest |
2020 £ 1,978 42 2,020 |
2019 £ 3,296 51 |
| 3,347 |
Investment income is all unrestricted income for the current and previous year.
Page 12
CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
| 5 Charitable activities Costs of raising funds Advertising and publicity materials Charitable activities Lottery Administration fees Wages and social security Pension Telephone Liverpool Green Wedge (2020 restricted) Urban Network project (2019 restricted) Postage and stationery Sundries Independent examination fees Rent Computer costs Insurance Subscriptions Travel expenses Professional costs Split: Unrestricted expenditure Restricted expenditure |
2020 £ 273 273 100 5,363 35,050 4,171 195 4,546 - 976 201 1,716 85 - 664 628 884 844 55,423 55,696 51,150 4,546 55,696 |
2019 £ 2,358 |
|---|---|---|
| 2,358 350 5,168 34,414 4,185 189 - 2,720 568 119 1,506 674 - 570 764 4,161 206 55,594 |
||
| 57,952 | ||
| 55,232 2,720 |
||
| 57,952 |
Page 13
CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
6 Net income/(outgoings) resources
| Net income/(outgoings) resources | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2019 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Net incoming/(outgoing) resources are stated after charging: | ||
| Independent examiner’s fees (Including VAT) | 1,716 | 1,506 |
7 Trustees’ remuneration and expenses
There have been no costs during the year ended 31 December 2020 to cover travel expenses and subsistence during conferences for the Trustees (2019: £1,541, three trustees).
The trustees neither received nor waived any emoluments during the year (2019: £nil).
8 Staff costs and employee benefits
There was 1 employee during the year (2019: 1)
| There was 1 employee during the year (2019: 1) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Wages and social security Pension costs |
2020 £ 35,050 4,171 39,221 |
2019 £ 34,414 4,185 |
| 38,599 |
No employees received total employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) of more than £60,000.
9 Fixed assets investments
| Market value at 1 January 2020 Change in market value Market value at 31 December 2020 |
2020 £ 81,505 2,702 |
|---|---|
| 84,207 |
Investments in COIF charities fixed interest funds.
Page 14
CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
| 10 Debtors: amounts falling due within one year Prepayments and accrued income 11 Creditors: amount falling due within one year Other taxes and social security Accruals and deferred income 12 Funds Current year Brought forward at 01/01/20 Incoming resources £ £ Restricted funds: Liverpool Green Wedge 4,546 - Total restricted 4,546 - Unrestricted funds: General reserve 137,241 33,751 Total unrestricted 137,241 33,751 Total funds 141,787 33,751 |
Outgoing resources £ (4,546) (4,546) (51,150) (51,150) (55,696) |
2020 £ 4,402 4,402 2020 £ 657 1,965 2,622 Investment gains/ transfers £ - - 2,702 2,702 2,702 |
2019 £ 4,560 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4,560 | |||
| 2019 £ - 1,806 |
|||
| 1,806 | |||
| Carried forward at 31/12/20 £ - |
|||
| - | |||
| 122,544 | |||
| 122,544 | |||
| 122,544 |
General reserve
The General reserve represents the free funds of the charity which are not designated for particular purposes.
Page 15
CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
12 Funds
Restricted funds
There have been no receipts of restricted income in the year. £4,546 was received in 2019 as a contribution towards legal costs to save the Green Wedge in South Liverpool.
Restricted funds
| Prior year Restricted funds: Liverpool Green Wedge Urban Network Demographic survey Total restricted Unrestricted funds: General reserve Total unrestricted Total funds |
Brought forward at 01/01/19 £ - - - - 82,257 82,257 82,257 |
Incoming resources £ 4,546 2,720 2,300 9,566 105,594 105,594 115,160 |
Outgoing resources £ - (2,720) - (2,720) (55,232) (55,232) (57,952) |
Gains / (losses) on investment £ - - (2,300) (2,300) 4,622 4,622 2,322 |
Carried forward at 31/12/19 £ 4,546 - - |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4,546 | |||||||||
| 137,241 | |||||||||
| 137,241 | |||||||||
| 141,787 |
13 Contingent asset
At the year-end there was a donation in a will still pending and due to the uncertainty of the amounts, the income will be recognised in the year in which the donations are either received or the amounts can be determined with reasonable certainty. The value of such donations in wills to which the charity can put a value was confirmed in April 2021 and is £2,750.
Page 16
Company No. 05291461 Charity No. 1107376
CPRE Lancashire, Liverpool City Region & Greater Manchester
(A registered charity and company limited by guarantee)
Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2020
CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER CONTENTS
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Charity Information | 1 |
| Trustees’ Report | 2 |
| Independent Examiner’s Report | 7 |
| Statement of Financial Activities | 8 |
| Balance Sheet | 9 |
| Notes to the Financial Statements | 10 |
CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER
CHARITY INFORMATION
Mrs D G McConnell - Chair and Company Secretary Trustees and Directors: Mr C N Thompson - President Ms L Beaton - vice chair Dr D Brennan Mr A C Forman Treasurer: Ms Sukhwinder Jhallii Website and social media manager: Ms Becca Nelson Administrator: Ms Debbie L Janney Patron: Stephen Lowe Contact address: CPRE Lancashire Acres Brook, Sabden Road, Higham, Lancashire BB12 9BL Registered office: Richard House Winckley Square Preston PR1 3HP Company Number: 05291461 Charity Number: 1107376 Independent examiner: Nicola Mason FCA, DChA MHA Moore and Smalley Richard House Winckley Square Preston PR1 3HP
Page 1
TRUSTEES’ REPORT
CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
The trustees, who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2020. The trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” (FRS 102) in preparing the annual report and financial statements of the charity.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in notes to the accounts and comply with the charity’s governing document, the Charities Act 2011 and 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 published in October 2019.
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Employees and Volunteers
Staff and volunteers and the support of national CPRE helps us build on our established reputation for professionalism and expertise. Our impact is disproportionate to our small membership base and income. Our volunteers include 5 trustees, but want to increase that, a treasurer, over 20 “eyes and ears “planning volunteers, our West Lancashire and Liverpool districts volunteers and a student intern. We are recruiting 2 “youth ambassadors” to join the team too – under 25 year olds, a photography volunteer and an events volunteer. The team are highly valued and appreciated for the time and devotion they give. We need more of them as our ambition and our work load rises, notably because of the intense political pressure to build, build and build.
Governing document
The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, its Memorandum and its Articles of Association and constitutes a company limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.
Organisational structure
The Executive Committee (Board) comprises 5 trustees who are also directors as we are both a charity and a limited company. All these trustees were elected and serve a three-year term, but are eligible for election for a further three year term. The trustees who have served during the year and since the year end are shown on page 1. The directors and trustees are responsible for and have control of the activities of CPRE Lancashire, Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester (the Group).
We have only one employee - our Planning Manager, Jackie Copley MRTPI., MA., BA. (Hons), PgCert. We have one Consultant, Becca Nelson who manages our website, social media and publicity and a contracted Branch Administrator, Debbie Janney - who is the main contact for the charity.
External trustees are selected through outside agencies, are interviewed by at least 2 trustees and appointed by the Board. Induction and training is provided by CPRE National as and when required.
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
Aims and achievements
CPRE Lancashire, Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester covers a significant part of the north west of England. It is part of the national CPRE, the Countryside Charity. It aims to achieve the best use of land by influencing land-use planning policies and planning decisions taken at national, local and neighbourhood level including:
Page 2
CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER
TRUSTEES’ REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
Aims and achievements (continued)
-
reducing our carbon emissions;
-
avoiding the use of green belt, the countryside and other designated landscapes for inappropriate development. This is largely through campaigning, education and objecting to and supporting the objections of local residents’ groups to inappropriate development;
-
advocating “brownfield first” in land use;
-
campaigns focused on food and farming, affordable rural housing, transport, energy (shale gas fracking and renewables), and waste and as major issues for and relating to environmental protection;
Campaigning aims for 2021 will continue to be:
-
the protection, promotion and enhancement of the countryside and green space including in urban settings. Most of our members live in Lancashire and many have access to the countryside. Members also live in Greater Manchester and the Liverpool City Region where access to the countryside is more problematic. We continue to respond to emerging spatial development strategies at the Greater Manchester and Liverpool City region scale - especially the defence of the countryside from damaging development;
-
the climate emergency;
-
truly affordable housing with a blend of tenures including housing for social rent;
-
housing design and build quality as described in national CPRE’s Housing Design Audit for England 2020. The nation is blighted by poor house and housing estate design and build quality with insufficient action on carbon neutrality;
-
objections to inappropriate development of rural places and elsewhere. We contribute to Councils' Local Plans emphasising positive protection of the beautiful countryside of our region as well as protecting green spaces within our urban environments. CPRE supports appropriate developments of the right quality in the right places.
Public benefit
We regularly respond to the many requests made by both CPRE members and the public for help with their concerns over loss of agricultural land, trees, hedgerows and threats to the countryside character, including intrusive developments of large housing developments adjacent to small villages and in sensitive rural environments.
Objecting to planning applications is made all the more difficult where local Councils have failed to complete their Local Plans; land not covered by a Local Plan is under threat from speculative development. We input in nearly every Local Plan consultation. We also assist in the creation of Neighbourhood Plans which similarly frame the use and purpose of land but at an even more local level.
We contribute to objection to inappropriate major residential development applications. In 2020 following Jackie Copley and a trustee giving evidence ( in support of the local residents’ action group) at the Secretary of State call- in of the planning application to develop the Hulton Park Estate, Bolton , much of which is in green belt, (golf course – for which a bid for the Ryder Cup would be made - hotel and conference facilities, car park, golf academy and 1200 homes) the local planning authority gave permission, subject to a successful bid for the Ryder Cup with no development to occur until and if the award is made. As it is unlikely the bid will be successful this was considered an excellent result. Golf courses are carbon intensive and also a mechanism to get houses built – the golf course is closed, the site is then brownfield and the owner sells the land for housing, a potentially highly profitable plan and with less controversy than selling a green field or green belt site. None of the 1200 homes were affordable. There was also significant local opposition to the development of a much loved and much used area of green space.
Page 3
CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER
TRUSTEES’ REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
Public benefit (continued)
We also consult on nationally significant major Infrastructure projects e.g. fracking, HS2 rail, National Grid proposals, and we work in liaison with many other groups, e.g. Parish Councils and Civic Trusts, often along with other environmental protection groups, in particular with Friends of the Lake District and Friends of the Peak District. We give the public expert advice to enable them to engage positively to protect their environment and respond appropriately to complicated planning applications. We have substantially enhanced our website and ecommunications to give CPRE members and especially the public greater information and guidance. We are very active on social media. We 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. In particular, the trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives they have set. Unfortunately the effects of the Covid 19 pandemic have severely restricted some of our work and activities.
TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING
Central government published its “Planning for the Future” White Paper which outlined fundamental long-term reforms to the planning system including moving from our discretionary system to a zonal planning. The former enables community participation and objection; zonal planning is more limiting: the ability of the public to input on planning applications is reduced. Its aim is to “simplify” planning and make it easier and quicker for houses to be built. CPRE nationwide and many other non- governmental organisations are strongly opposed to the “reforms” as it is considered they will do nothing to solve the crisis in the supply of truly affordable homes and may jeopardise protection of our green spaces including green belt and the countryside. A comprehensive and detailed “One CPRE” response has been submitted to Government and our Group is campaigning on social media and in the press. The concerns of CPRE were repeatedly mentioned in parliamentary debate on the matter; Our Chair, Debbie McConnell was interviewed by Rob Booth of The Guardian for an article on it.
The Environment Bill is being slowly progressed and its ambitions for protection of the countryside appear to have been significantly reduced.
We have contributed to a number of Local and Neighbourhood Plans and planning documents including:
-
Local Plans: Central Lancashire (Preston, South Ribble, and Chorley’s joint Local Plan Core Strategy), St Helen’s and Lancaster and the revision of it to incorporate management of the climate emergency, Liverpool and Fylde (Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre);
-
Greater Manchester Spatial Strategy and the effect of Stockport’s withdrawal from that plan;
-
Housing numbers and “scoping” reports for Sefton Council (Liverpool City Region);
-
West Lancashire call for development sites and brownfield register expansion; and
-
Melling Parish Council Neighbourhood Plan.
We have made written representations on unjustified development within the Green Belt and AONBs and subsequent release and inappropriate development in the countryside and semi-rural area including:
-
extensive advice to and representation of members and the public by Jackie Copley and trustees on small to medium scale applications (nearly all housing) throughout the north west;
-
a mixed use development including 6,000 new houses at Carrington Moss, Trafford. The latter is rich in peat bog, a very important biodiverse and ecological habitat;
-
Parkside Application, a B8 Logistics and warehousing development covering parts of Wigan, Bolton and Haydock and of over 1 million hectares of which a significant proportion is green belt;
Page 4
CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER
TRUSTEES’ REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING (continued)
-
Extension into green belt of Bredbury Industrial Estate near Stockport;
-
Omega B8 Logistics and warehousing development– a large and controversial application on green belt in St Helens; and
-
We continue to work with Friends’ of Rimrose Valley near Crosby and Friends of the Earth to object to the construction of a major road and associated infrastructure through Rimrose Valley to facilitate HGV traffic and to connect Liverpool Superport to the motorway network. The Park is in the Green Belt, is significant ecologically and is a much loved beauty spot, green space and wildlife habitat.
We have also sought and inputted on unlawful planning activity including the erection of a house that did not conform to the planning application.
NATIONAL CAMPAIGNS
National CPRE has launched nationwide campaigns that affect the north west and many other regions including:
-
“Transport Deserts 2020” – a report on the dearth of viable public transport in rural areas;
-
“Housing Design Audit for England 2020”- an examination of house design and build quality which highlights the very poor house design and build quality generally across the property industry; and
-
State of the Green Belt 2020- a statistical analysis of the loss and gain of green belt nationwide. Overall, there was a significant net loss.
EVENTS, WORKING FROM HOME AND WORKING WITH THE NETWORK AND NATIONAL CPRE
2020 has been a very difficult year for events and because of the pandemic referred to earlier. We have:
-
held a “star count” event for members and supporters to do from their homes;
-
(when not in lockdown) held 2 walking events;
-
held an online webinar on “Soils and farm ponds” led by Chris Moyneux, a Lancashire arable farmer and Helen Greaves, a PHD student whose dissertation is on farm pond management;
-
CPRE, the network and us have also held webinars on specialist topics such as climate change, brownfield land and town and country planning.
-
All trustees and colleagues continue to work well from home. There is much sharing of resources, knowledge and expertise between us and our fellow CPRE Groups in England; and
-
our relationship with the whole of the CPRE network and National CPRE has been enhanced because of our good, positive reputation. We are regarded as a very active and proactive Group. Our Chair Debbie McConnell attends and speaks regularly at the National County Group Forum (representatives from each Group in the network throughout England meet twice yearly online) and at the Chairs’ Forum led by national trustee, Simon Murray. Debbie is also a member of several National “project teams” including on renewables (energy), training of volunteers and trustees, diversity and inclusion and “ways of working.” Des Brennan, trustee, is the national expert on fracking and his advice has been sought by National Office and other CPRE Groups.
Page 5
CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER
TRUSTEES’ REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
FINANCIAL REVIEW AND RESERVES
Total net assets and free reserves for the year amounted to £122,544 (£141,787 y/e 31/12/19). Unrestricted reserves are closely monitored by the Trustees. The reserves policy is to ensure that the unrestricted reserves cover at least 6 months worth of core costs. The charity is meeting this policy. Beyond that limit, the Trustees look at the potential to invest surplus reserves into strategic projects that contribute towards the mission and/or the long-term sustainability of the charity. The current focus is to recruit an additional part-time planning manager to strengthen the network of planning volunteers across the region. This should significantly increase our capacity to respond effectively to planning issues, enabling us to build greater levels of awareness, supporters and members over the longer term.
Small company provisions
This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
Approved by order of the board of trustees on 2021 and signed on its behalf by:
…………………………………. D G McConnell – Trustee
Page 6
CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2020 which are set out on pages 8 to 16.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity’s trustees of the charity (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (‘the 2006 Act’).
Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the charity are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5) (b) of the 2011 Act.
Independent examiner's statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe in any material respect:
-
accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or
-
the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination;
-
the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in the report in order to enable a proper understanding of the account to be reached.
Nicola Mason FCA, DChA
MHA Moore and Smalley Chartered Accountants Preston
06/08/2021 Date .....................................................................
Page 7
CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
| Income from: Note Donations and legacies 2 Charitable activities 3 Investments 4 Total income Expenditure on: Raising funds 5 Charitable activities 5 Total expenditure Net income/(expenditure) for the year Net gains/(losses) on investments 9 Net income/(expenditure) for the year after net gains/(losses) Transfers between funds Net movement in funds Reconciliation of funds Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward 12 |
Unrestricted funds £ 616 31,115 2,020 33,751 (273) (50,877) (51,150) (17,399) 2,702 (14,697) - (14,697) 137,241 122,544 |
Restricted funds £ - - - - - (4,546) (4,546) (4,546) - (4,546) - (4,546) 4,546 - |
Total funds 2020 £ 616 31,115 2,020 33,751 (273) (55,423) (55,696) (21,945) 2,702 (19,243) - (19,243) 141,787 122,544 |
Total funds 2019 £ 46,755 65,058 3,347 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 115,160 | ||||
| (2,358) (55,594) |
||||
| (57,952) | ||||
| 57,208 2,322 |
||||
| 59,530 - |
||||
| 59,530 82,257 |
||||
| 141,787 |
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses in the year. All incoming resources and resources expended derive from continuing activities. The notes on pages 10 to 16 form part of these accounts.
Page 8
CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER
BALANCE SHEET
AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2020
| Note Fixed assets Investments 9 Current assets Debtors 10 Cash at bank and in hand Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year 11 Net current assets Net assets Funds 12 Unrestricted – general Restricted Total funds |
Unrestricted funds £ 84,207 4,402 36,557 40,959 (2,622) 38,337 122,544 122,544 - 122,544 |
Restricted funds £ - - - - - - - - - - |
Total funds 2020 £ 84,207 4,402 36,557 40,959 (2,622) 38,337 122,544 122,544 - 122,544 |
Total funds 2019 £ 81,505 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4,560 57,528 |
||||
| 62,088 (1,806) |
||||
| 60,282 | ||||
| 141,787 | ||||
| 137,241 4,546 |
||||
| 141,787 |
For the year ended 31 December 2020 the company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
Directors’ responsibilities:
-
The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its accounts for the year in question in accordance with section 476;
-
The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small charitable companies.
06/08/2021
These financial statements were approved by the trustees and authorised for issue on ……………2021 and are signed on their behalf by:
................................................................ D G McConnell – Trustee Company number:
Page 9
CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
1 Accounting policies
Basis of preparation
CPRE Lancashire, Liverpool City Region & Greater Manchester. is an incorporated charity registered in England. In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1 per member of the charity. 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 and principal activities are explained in the Trustees Report.
The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with 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 issued in October 2019, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006* and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.
The financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention. The financial statements are prepared in sterling which is the functional currency of the company and rounded to the nearest £.
The significant accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all years.
Going concern
The trustees assess whether the use of going concern is appropriate i.e. whether there are any material uncertainties related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the ability of the company to continue as a going concern. The trustees make this assessment in respect of a period of at least one year from the date of authorisation for issue of the financial statements and have concluded that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future and there are no material uncertainties about the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, thus they continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
The Trustees and Directors have considered the potential impact of Covid 19 and concluded that any financial impact would not have a material effect on the company’s ability to operate as a going concern. In coming to this conclusion, the Trustees and Directors have relied upon regular financial reviews and close monitoring of performance against budget.
Incoming resources
All incoming resources are included on the Statement of Financial Activities (“SOFA”) when the charity is legally entitled to the income, the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy and it is probable that the income will be received.
Grants are recognised in the SOFA when receivable. When donors specify that grants given to the charity must be used in the future financial years, the income is deferred until that year. Assets and investments donated to the charity are included as donation income at market value at the time of the receipt.
CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
1 Accounting policies (continued)
Incoming resources
For legacies, entitlement is the earlier of the charity being notified of an impending distribution or the legacy being received. At this point income is recognised. On occasion legacies will be notified to the charity however it is not possible to measure the amount expected to be distributed. On these occasions, the legacy is treated as a contingent asset and disclosed.
No amount is included in the financial statements for volunteer time in line with the SORP (FRS 102).
Resources expended
The charity is not registered for VAT. All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings, they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity on delivery of its activities and services, including those costs of any indirect nature necessary to support them.
Investments
Current asset investments are measured at market value and any changes are recognised in ‘net gains/(losses) on investments’ in the SOFA.
Taxation
As a registered charity, the society is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects.
Fund accounting
Unrestricted funds 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 cost 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
Judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty
There have been no significant judgements made in the process of preparing the financial statements.
There have been no key assumptions concerning the future and other key sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year.
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CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
2 Donations and legacies
| Donations and legacies | ||
|---|---|---|
| Donations and legacies | 2020 £ 616 616 |
2019 £ 46,755 |
| 46,755 |
Donation and legacy income is all unrestricted income for the current and previous year.
3 Income from charitable activities
| Income from charitable activities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Membership fees Grants (restricted) Other income Lottery Consultancy fees |
2020 £ 14,625 - 45 - 16,445 31,115 |
2019 £ 19,305 9,566 3,052 428 32,707 |
| 65,058 |
Unrestricted income £31,115 (2019: £55,492). Restricted income £nil (2019: £9,566 grants).
4 Investment income
| Investment income | ||
|---|---|---|
| Other fixed asset investments Deposit account interest |
2020 £ 1,978 42 2,020 |
2019 £ 3,296 51 |
| 3,347 |
Investment income is all unrestricted income for the current and previous year.
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CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
| 5 Charitable activities Costs of raising funds Advertising and publicity materials Charitable activities Lottery Administration fees Wages and social security Pension Telephone Liverpool Green Wedge (2020 restricted) Urban Network project (2019 restricted) Postage and stationery Sundries Independent examination fees Rent Computer costs Insurance Subscriptions Travel expenses Professional costs Split: Unrestricted expenditure Restricted expenditure |
2020 £ 273 273 100 5,363 35,050 4,171 195 4,546 - 976 201 1,716 85 - 664 628 884 844 55,423 55,696 51,150 4,546 55,696 |
2019 £ 2,358 |
|---|---|---|
| 2,358 350 5,168 34,414 4,185 189 - 2,720 568 119 1,506 674 - 570 764 4,161 206 55,594 |
||
| 57,952 | ||
| 55,232 2,720 |
||
| 57,952 |
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CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
6 Net income/(outgoings) resources
| Net income/(outgoings) resources | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2019 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Net incoming/(outgoing) resources are stated after charging: | ||
| Independent examiner’s fees (Including VAT) | 1,716 | 1,506 |
7 Trustees’ remuneration and expenses
There have been no costs during the year ended 31 December 2020 to cover travel expenses and subsistence during conferences for the Trustees (2019: £1,541, three trustees).
The trustees neither received nor waived any emoluments during the year (2019: £nil).
8 Staff costs and employee benefits
There was 1 employee during the year (2019: 1)
| There was 1 employee during the year (2019: 1) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Wages and social security Pension costs |
2020 £ 35,050 4,171 39,221 |
2019 £ 34,414 4,185 |
| 38,599 |
No employees received total employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) of more than £60,000.
9 Fixed assets investments
| Market value at 1 January 2020 Change in market value Market value at 31 December 2020 |
2020 £ 81,505 2,702 |
|---|---|
| 84,207 |
Investments in COIF charities fixed interest funds.
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CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
| 10 Debtors: amounts falling due within one year Prepayments and accrued income 11 Creditors: amount falling due within one year Other taxes and social security Accruals and deferred income 12 Funds Current year Brought forward at 01/01/20 Incoming resources £ £ Restricted funds: Liverpool Green Wedge 4,546 - Total restricted 4,546 - Unrestricted funds: General reserve 137,241 33,751 Total unrestricted 137,241 33,751 Total funds 141,787 33,751 |
Outgoing resources £ (4,546) (4,546) (51,150) (51,150) (55,696) |
2020 £ 4,402 4,402 2020 £ 657 1,965 2,622 Investment gains/ transfers £ - - 2,702 2,702 2,702 |
2019 £ 4,560 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4,560 | |||
| 2019 £ - 1,806 |
|||
| 1,806 | |||
| Carried forward at 31/12/20 £ - |
|||
| - | |||
| 122,544 | |||
| 122,544 | |||
| 122,544 |
General reserve
The General reserve represents the free funds of the charity which are not designated for particular purposes.
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CPRE LANCASHIRE, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION & GREATER MANCHESTER NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
12 Funds
Restricted funds
There have been no receipts of restricted income in the year. £4,546 was received in 2019 as a contribution towards legal costs to save the Green Wedge in South Liverpool.
Restricted funds
| Prior year Restricted funds: Liverpool Green Wedge Urban Network Demographic survey Total restricted Unrestricted funds: General reserve Total unrestricted Total funds |
Brought forward at 01/01/19 £ - - - - 82,257 82,257 82,257 |
Incoming resources £ 4,546 2,720 2,300 9,566 105,594 105,594 115,160 |
Outgoing resources £ - (2,720) - (2,720) (55,232) (55,232) (57,952) |
Gains / (losses) on investment £ - - (2,300) (2,300) 4,622 4,622 2,322 |
Carried forward at 31/12/19 £ 4,546 - - |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4,546 | |||||||||
| 137,241 | |||||||||
| 137,241 | |||||||||
| 141,787 |
13 Contingent asset
At the year-end there was a donation in a will still pending and due to the uncertainty of the amounts, the income will be recognised in the year in which the donations are either received or the amounts can be determined with reasonable certainty. The value of such donations in wills to which the charity can put a value was confirmed in April 2021 and is £2,750.
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