2021-01-31-accounts - The Ashover Light Railway Society

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Charity No. 1129958

THE ASHOVER LIGHT RAILWAY SOCIETY

Annual Report and Financial Statements Of the Trustees

For the year ended 31[st] January 2021

THE ASHOVER LIGHT RAILWAY SOCIETY

ANNUAL REPORT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] JANUARY 2021

The Ashover Light Railway Society was registered with the Charity Commissioners (No. 1129958) on 3[rd] June 2009.

The Trustees who served during the period from February 1[st] to 31[st] January 2021 were: -

Mr D Barnsdale Mr R Booth[] Mr A Eyre Mr J Green[] Mr C Goodman Mr T Gosling[*] Mr J Green Mr M Lawton Mr P May Mr R Prince Mr S Westbury Mr D Willmott

Mssrs Booth, Gosling and Green were all due to stand down by rotation at an AGM scheduled for April 2020. This meeting was postponed due to the Covid lockdown and did not ultimately take place until September 2020. With only a few months to go to the next scheduled AGM, and with the three having indicated their willingness to serve again, a resolution was put to the meeting, and carried unanimously, that they should continue in their posts until the pandemic situation had normalised and an AGM or EGM could be arranged in 2021 to reconsider their position.

The Trust Objects and Purposes are the preservation of any remaining artefacts, track infrastructure, buildings, locomotives, rolling stock, and written and photographic records of The Ashover Light Railway with the intention of promoting and displaying them in order to preserve the memory of the organisation and its social history. It has always been a primary objective of the Society, should the opportunity present itself, to re-lay a part of the line on the original track-bed, and use it to demonstrate the part played by narrow-gauge industrial railways in the winning, beneficiation, and transportation of minerals in Derbyshire, and how they also helped open up access to the villages in rural areas by joining them into the country’s growing transport network.

After being unsuccessful over many years in their attempts to regain a presence on the original track-bed the Society resolved, in 2015, that until such times as this could be overcome, they would attempt to deliver the same objectives by developing a “tribute” railway on a different site, at Rowsley South, where they could connect onto, and utilise, an existing narrow gauge line.

During the period 1[st] February 2020 to 31[st] January 2021 the charity worked towards the objectives in the following ways: -

The Society has, in cooperation with the Landowner of the Butts Pastures and Quarry site at Ashover, (where the railway used to terminate), prepared detailed proposals to be submitted to the local authority as a formal planning application to change of use of his land there. The proposals would require the current landowner to cease his MotoCross Activity (which has attracted considerable opposition from some of the villagers), and to replace this with a small development of holiday lodges, serviced by a reception building/museum utilising the Society’s Where the Rainbow Ends Café. A feature of this holiday complex would be a reconstructed turning triangle, Butts Station, connecting tracks to Butts Quarry, and a length of running line down the Amber valley towards Salter Lane, thus reproducing almost exactly the scene which one would have found there back in the 1930’s.

This project was temporarily halted in December 2020 when the long-running dispute over the Motocross Activity was suddenly escalated by the imposition of a noise abatement order onto the landowner and judicial review launched against the local authority. The Society deemed it prudent to keep at arms’ length until this was resolved, and thus stop any further planning work, and not enter any financial or legal commitments, until the outcome was known. Whilst this has put an indefinite hold on the possible delivery of a key objective the Society is watching the situation closely and will, if the outcome is favourable to it, re-launch their attempt to acquire access to the Butts site.

The charity has, traditionally attended several village fetes and shows where, along with photographic display boards it also features a range of leaflets, books and brochures telling the story of the Ashover Light Railway from its conception and throughout its working life. Sadly, because of the Covid Pandemic all such shows were cancelled during this year, as were three scheduled lectures where the Chairman would have given illustrated talks on the subject.
The Society has a range of informative leaflets, calendars, Christmas cards, books, walking leaflets and other merchandise which it promotes via its website and through a presence on the internet. This activity has continued, successfully through the whole of the year.
The Society produces four editions of its quarterly Magazine “Where the Rainbow Ends” each year which is circulated to all members to keep them up to up to date with Society activities and news, as well as publishing general articles of Railway and narrow-gauge interest submitted by members, or members of the public. The year ending 31[st] January 2021 was no exception and for further magazines were circulated. Mindful of the objective to make the Railway and its history known to the wider public, rather than just the membership, this is also made available for sale on the website and other social media outlets.
The charity owns a workshop at Peak Rail’s Rowsley South site where a small number of volunteers have laid sidings and a running line, as well as refurbishing railway wagons, coaches and industrial narrow-gauge locomotives.

When breaks between Covid lockdowns permitted the team occupied themselves during the year by re-locating containers and rails left behind after the demise of a previous site railway (The Derbyshire Dales Narrow Gauge Railway), by connecting sidings and feeder lines to these, and extending and converting a concrete garage from a crude locomotive shelter into a tool store and messroom, so as to free up room in the main workshop. A further primary task was to conclude the buttressing, levelling, and ballasting of our main running line in order to gain ORR approval to operate passenger services in a future year.

In line with our objective of educating and involving members of the local communities such volunteer work is open to all who wish to join us, subject to them becoming Society members in order to comply with our insurer’s requirements.

Structure, Governance and Management

The charity is governed by a board of Trustees who are elected by the membership at an AGM. Any member of the Society may express an interest in joining the board and, subject to their being nominated and seconded by two other Society members their names will be put forward for election

The trustee board normally meets 4 times a year, nominally on the quarter days, but the pandemic curtailed such activity during the year to 31[st] January 2021 to just one face to face meeting and one virtual Zoom meeting.

Other Matters

The trustees of the charity are aware of their responsibilities for ensuring compliance with Health and Safety Regulations within their workshop and on their railway complex, and have a written H&S policy and formal arrangements to ensure that this is followed. Over the last year such policies have been extended to include Safeguarding Matters, particularly as we have been successful in attracting two to three minors to join our group of volunteers. Any Safeguarding matters which arise, as well as nonSafeguarding serious incidents, must be brought to the attention of the Trustees, and are recorded and investigated, and would, where appropriate, be reported to the Police. There were no such matters, or any serious incidents, in the year ending January 31[st] 2021, and the Trustees believe, to the best of their knowledge, there have been none in any previous year.

THE ASHOVER LIGHT RAILWAY SOCIETY INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] JANUARY 2021

This report is to the members of the Ashover Light Railway Society (Charity No. 1129958) on provisional accounts for the year ended 31[st] January 2021.

Respective Responsibilities of Trustees and Examiner

The Charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 43(2) of the Charities Act 1993 (the Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

Examine the accounts (under section 43 of the Act)
To follow procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 43(7)(b) of the Act),
and
To state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of Independent Examiner’s Statement

My examination was carried out in accordance with General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and of seeking explanation from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the accounts.

Independent Examiner’s Statement

In the Course of my examinations no matter has come to my attention:

Which gives me reasonable cause to believe that, in any material respect, the trustees have not met the requirements to ensure that:
Proper accounting records are kept (in accordance with section 41 of the Act); and
Accounts are prepared which agree with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Act; or
To which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

……… W Owen ……

Signed W Owen , FCA, FCCA 477 Stafford Road Oxley Wolverhampton WV10 6RR

……23[rd] February 2021 Date

Statement of Financial Activities

12 Months to 31st January 2021

The Ashover Light Railway Society

A company limited by guarantee

Statement of financial activities (incorporating the income & expenditure account)

Total £ 26789.80 2485.81 231.31 29506.92 330.94 12447.16 12778.10 16728.82 77284.33 94013.15 £ 48633.68 46461.47 -1082.00		January 2020 *Total* £ 6889.12 2491.79 159.06
		9539.97 671.38 16337.75
		17009.13
		-7469.14 84753.47
		*77284.33*
		£ 52831.37 488.29 1951.04 20.00 7079.65 15281.02 965.96 40.00
		25825.96 -1373.00
94013.15		*77284.33*
transfers between funds £ 10000.00 10000.00	expenditure £ -2569.17 -2216.19 -4785.36	balance 31.01.21 £ 951.16 824.32 855.00 8182.59 14378.21 1025.00 10000.00 428.30
		36644.58

Prepared by : Trevor L Gosling (Treasurer) Independent Examiner : W Owen, FCA, FCCA

The Ashover Light Railway Society

A company limited by guarantee

Notes to financial statements

	for the year ended 31st	January 2021		January 2020
		Restricted /
	Unrestricted	Designated	Total	*Total*
1. Voluntary Income:	funds	funds
	£	£	£	£
Annual membership subscriptions	2226.00		2226.00	2241.00
Donations	2903.10	20500.00	23403.10	3559.21
Gift Aid	1160.70	0.00	1160.70	1088.91
	6289.80	20500.00	26789.80	*6889.12*
2. Activities for generating funds	Unrestricted funds		Total	*Total*
	£		£	£
Sales of merchandise	1200.11		1200.11	1279.85
Postage charged for mail order	225.05		225.05	81.57
Tote Income	660.00		660.00	684.00
WTRE magazine advertising income	240.00		240.00	240.00
Recycle 4 Charity	53.75		53.75	77.00
Easyfundraising	44.15		44.15	99.57
Sundry income	62.75		62.75	29.80
	2485.81		2485.81	*2491.79*
	Unrestricted		Total	*Total*
3. Fundraising trading	funds
	£		£	£
Cost of merchandise sold	265.20		265.20	605.20
Sales stand fees	0.00		0.00	42.50
Ebay & Paypal fees	65.74		65.74	23.66
	330.94		330.94	*671.36*
		Restricted /
	Unrestricted	Designated	Total	*Total*
4. Other resources expended	funds	funds
	£	£	£	£
General Insurance	1260.00		1260.00	1356.65
Postal charges	618.92		618.92	358.58
Printing & Stationery	22.93		22.93	108.15
Tote prizes and licence fee	218.45		218.45	323.75
WTRE magazine printing costs	829.00		829.00	630.00
AGM costs	0.00		0.00	33.75
Workshop expense	514.54		514.54	414.47
Infrastructure		2216.19	2216.19	8752.28
Donation to Peak Rail PLC	500.00		500.00
Jaywick Loco		2569.17	2569.17
Ashover Butts Project		0.00	0.00	600.00
Depreciation of Fixed Assets	3463.29		3463.29	3536.73
Sundry costs	234.67		234.67	223.39
	7661.80	4785.36	12447.16	*16337.75*

5. Tangible Fixed Assets ALR Bogies Where the Rainbow Ends Café Spondon Electric Loco Jaywick Sentinel Loco Stock of Rail ex Bolton Fell Rowsley loco shed 40ft Storage Container Stretton 'for Ashover' Sign Peterman Pallet Truck Replica works plate Infrastructure	Cost or Valuation 01.02.2020 £ 600.00 1.00 10000.00 5.00 1680.76 32000.00 1188.00 441.90 189.00 100.00 6625.71 52831.37	Disposals 2019/20 -734.40 -734.40	Cost or Valuation 31.01.2021 £ 600.00 1.00 10000.00 5.00 946.36 32000.00 1188.00 441.90 189.00 100.00 6625.71 52096.97	Depreciation 2020/21 Net Book Value 31.01.2021 £ £ 600.00 1.00 10000.00 5.00 -264.76 681.60 -2000.00 30000.00 -216.00 972.00 441.90 -36.00 153.00 100.00 -946.53 5679.18 -3463.29 48633.68

The Ashover Light Ralway Society is a registered charity no 1129958 Registered as a company limited by guarantee in England no 06877968 Registered address : 165 Longedge Lane, Wingerworh, CHESTERFIELD, Derbyshire, S42 6PR