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2022-12-31-accounts

The Friends of Richmond Park

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 December 2022 Charity number: 1133201

The Friends of Richmond Park

31 December 2022

Trustees’ Report

Introduction

The Trustees of the Friends of Richmond Park present their report and accounts for the year ended 31 December 2022. The Trustees confirm that the Trustees’ report and financial statements of the charity comply with the current statutory requirements, the requirements of the charity’s governing document and the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102) (effective 1 January 2019).

The Trustees have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the objects and activities of the Friends and in planning its future activities. In particular, the Trustees have considered how planned activities will contribute to the objects and activities they have set.

Structure, governance and management

The Friends of Richmond Park is an unincorporated association which is governed under a Constitution dated 12 November 2009, which sets out its objects and powers, and under Rules made by the Trustees on 13 May 2010 pursuant to paragraph 29 of the Friends’ constitution.

The Trustees are elected in a general meeting of the charity. The Trustees may also appoint any person who is willing to act as a Trustee. New Trustees are recruited and appointed from within the membership. As part of their induction, they receive a copy of the Constitution and Rules, the latest annual report and financial statements, the Charity Commission guidance “The Essential Trustee” and relevant management papers. Trustee meetings are held every two months.

Reference and administrative details

The charity is registered and known as The Friends of Richmond Park (Registration number: 1133201). The principal and registered address of the Friends is 21 Ormonde Road, East Sheen, London SW14 7BE.

The Trustees, all of whom served throughout the year except as noted, are set out below:

Janet Bostock Nick Coleman Dr Hugh Deighton Treasurer Helene Feger Trustee from 20 January 2022 Roger Hillyer Chairman Max Lankester Secretary and Trustee until 20 January 2022 Chris Mason Judith Pearson Secretary and Trustee from 20 January 2022 Dr Vivienne Press Dr Monique Sarkany Nigel Sherwin Lucy Tarleton Trustee from 20 January 2022

The Trustees, having managed the Friends during periods of lockdown using Zoom for their regular meetings, have returned to in-person meetings. The Friends’ AGM was held online.

Patrons

We are grateful for the continued support of our patrons: Sir David Attenborough, Clare Balding CBE and Baroness Susan Kramer.

Charity number: 1133201

1

The Friends of Richmond Park

31 December 2022

Trustees’ Report (continued)

Objects and activities

The objects of the Friends, in summary, are to:

To achieve these objects, the Friends carries out the following activities:

The Friends communicated with the public and its members through a website, a magazine published three times a year, a monthly electronic bulletin, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and attending public events.

The Friends is run on a voluntary basis and has no paid members of staff.

Achievements and performance

Richmond Park – weather and climate

Storm Eunice, which hit the UK on Friday 18 February, led to Richmond Park being closed for three days to ensure the safety of visitors and then to allow staff to assess the damage and make the most dangerous trees safe. About 50 trees were lost in Richmond Park and about another 50 trees were substantially damaged but should survive.

In the summer, a prolonged spell of hot and dry weather was a challenge for Richmond Park. The full impact of that may take some time to assess.

In February we held a Zoom talk for members with Tom Jarvis, Director of Parks at The Royal Parks, on the implications of climate change on Richmond Park and The Royal Parks’ response.

The Royal Parks Movement Strategy

In October, The Royal Parks announced that it had decided to make permanent the traffic restrictions that had been trialled. These restrictions are the closure to vehicles of the road between Sheen Gate and Sheen Cross, the road between Robin Hood Car Park and Broomfield Hill Car Park and at weekends and public holidays the road between Richmond Gate and Roehampton Gate. The Friends were pleased that the restrictions were made permanent.

We support pedestrian priority in Richmond Park, so we emphasised the importance of pedestrian safety and have continued to press The Royal Parks for improvements to the existing ‘raised-table’ crossings and the introduction of additional crossings.

Charity number: 1133201

2

The Friends of Richmond Park

31 December 2022

Trustees’ Report (continued)

New Park Manager

In May, Simon Richards retired as Park Manager after 25 years in the role. We appreciated Simon’s generous support for the Friends and co-operated with him on many conservation projects, campaigns and events.

We have welcomed his successor, Paul Richards, including his attendance since his appointment, at a Trustees’ meeting and at a Zoom Question and Answer session for our members.

Protecting skylarks

In March we edited and re-released our film which highlights the importance of skylark protection. In this film Clare Balding asks visitors in skylark protection areas: " Please keep your dogs on leads, stick to the main footpaths and respect the wildlife – it’s their Park ”.

Signage

The Friends continued to work with The Royal Parks on developing improved signage to encourage better visitor behaviours. At the start of the year, 30 Friends volunteers conducted a survey we had developed with The Royal Parks into trial signage among visitors to the Park. The results of this and other research have contributed to the improved signage that appeared in the Park from late 2022.

Publications

For the past 10 years, our monthly email bulletin has provided our members with news about the Park and our activities. Meanwhile, our tri-annual ‘Newsletter’ has evolved to concentrate on articles about the Park’s wildlife, projects and challenges, becoming a magazine. To reflect this, in 2022 we gave it a new design and a new title - Park Life. The new look, particularly the covers, has been appreciated by members.

In September, we published our second ‘Let’s Discover’ booklet for children – this time about the Park’s history, entitled Stories from Ancient Oak Trees. It again features Olly the owl, now with his new family.

Once again, we produced the Richmond Park Calendar, as well as packs of Christmas cards, individual greeting cards and post cards.

Discoverers

Discoverers is our activities programme for families with school age children. Events take place on a number of weekends throughout the year and during school holidays. During 2022, its activities expanded significantly with 22 events (10 walks and 12 events). They included a Platinum Jubilee Teddy Bears’ Picnic held in the Isabella Plantation attended by 120 children and their families, and a half-term History Trail to launch our new Let’s Discover booklet.

Events

After a gap of a few years, we attended public events to publicise our work for Richmond Park, including the Ham Fair and the Duathlon in Richmond Park.

Litter picking

Our Adopt-an-Area litter-picking programme continues to thrive and has nearly 200 volunteers, including young people volunteering as part of the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme. This is the largest number of volunteers of any of our activities. Some volunteers adopt one of 29

Charity number: 1133201

3

The Friends of Richmond Park

31 December 2022

Trustees’ Report (continued)

areas and others are roaming litter-pickers. Together they make a significant difference to the appearance of the Park.

Conservation volunteering

Our conservation volunteers continue to provide valuable and effective support for conservation within the Park, with about 25 people attending our Saturday morning sessions of practical conservation work. In 2022 this included much clearance of rhododendron, coppicing of gorse enclosures and planting of hedges. We now also have a team caring for the small meadow /orchard in Holly Lodge.

The Visitor Centre - information and sales - and the online shop.

Following the end of Covid restrictions, in April the Visitor Centre returned to opening every day with the help of our 60 volunteers. With the Visitor Centre open throughout the year, visitor numbers were the highest since before the pandemic and takings were at a record level.

This was the third year of our online shop. We offered for sale our Calendar, Christmas cards and the Royal Oak print. This made a useful contribution to our income, although sales were lower than in the previous two years.

Flight paths

While Covid and its impact on the aviation industry has delayed Heathrow expansion and the planning process for a third runway, a separate process to re-configure flight paths has begun. Heathrow Airport Limited has begun the process to redesign flight paths as part of the Civil Aviation Authority’s UK Airspace Modernisation Programme. We consider that there is a real prospect of flights directly over Richmond Park, which would threaten the survival of Richmond Park as an iconic place, renowned as a haven of tranquillity for people and wildlife. During the year we actively engaged with Heathrow Airport in meetings and workshops and in responses to their design analysis, as well as providing our preliminary assessment of the environmental implications for Richmond Park.

We produced a short film Richmond Park - the quietest and darkest place in London so that the unique beauty and tranquillity of Richmond Park can be celebrated and appreciated.

Grants

We were pleased to contribute over £29,000 to fund 70 climate-resilient native trees, for a new tranquil woodland close to Ham Cross as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy. This nationwide initiative was created to mark the Platinum Jubilee of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and has been extended to plant trees in memoriam to honour Her late Majesty. The trees to be planted include oak, Dutch Elm-resistant elm, small-leaved lime and sweet chestnut.

We also donated over £27,000 for veteran tree conservation.

Members and volunteers

At the end of the year, we had about 3,700 members. This includes about 300 volunteers who together work about 15,000 hours, which is worth over £160,000 to the Park (valued at the London Living Wage).

We thank all our volunteers for their hard work, which contributed so much during the year.

For more detailed information about the Friends and our activities, please see our website: www.frp.org.uk.

Charity number: 1133201

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The Friends of Richmond Park

31 December 2022

Trustees’ Report (continued)

Plans for the future

The Friends plans to maintain its activities broadly along the present lines.

The Friends will continue to campaign strongly to protect Richmond Park against threats to its peace, natural beauty and wildlife, in particular from new flight paths and developments, in or on the periphery of the Park, that could have an adverse impact on the Park.

Financial review

Membership income has continued at a similar level to 2021, with member numbers remaining almost constant.

Our publications and merchandise sales through the Visitor Centre continued throughout the year and our online sales resumed for the Christmas period through our online shop. Both our 2023 Calendar and our Christmas cards provided significant contributions to our income.

We made grants of £56,368 to The Royal Parks for conservation projects in the Park and we funded an electric bicycle to help the Parks Police with their work.

The financial position of the Friends continues to be healthy and current balances stand at £153,500. The restricted fund balance has reduced to zero after the grants made to The Royal Parks for tree fencing and for the Queen’s Green Canopy project.

Our balances at the end of the year were higher than required by our reserves policy so the charity is well placed to continue to fund projects which further our objects.

Reserves policy

Within the unrestricted funds is a designated amount of £25,000 that has been set aside to cover potential urgent campaign expenses (which could support the Charity’s activities, without recourse to campaign funding and the delays which might result). In addition, the policy of the Trustees is to maintain other reserves at more than six months and less than twelve months of general expenditure, which corresponds to £34,000 for 2023.

Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities

The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the Friends’ financial activities during the year and of its financial position at the end of the year. In preparing financial statements giving a true and fair view, the Trustees should follow best practice and:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Friends and which enable them to ascertain its financial position and to ensure that the financial statements comply with the

Charity number: 1133201

5

The Friends of Richmond Park

31 December 2022

Trustees’ Report (continued)

Charities Act 2011, the applicable Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations and the provisions of the constitution of the Friends. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Friends and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Independent Examiners

The Independent Examiners, Feltons, will be proposed for reappointment.

Approval

Approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by:

Roger Hillyer Chairman

Date: 5 March 2023

Charity number: 1133201

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31 December 2022

The Friends of Richmond Park

Report of the Independent Examiner to the Members of the Friends of Richmond Park

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of The Friends of Richmond Park (the “Charity”) for the year ended 31 December 2022 which are set out on pages 8 to 13.

This report is made solely to the Charity's Trustees, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. My work has been undertaken so that I might state to the Charity's Trustees those matters I am required to state to them in an Independent Examiner's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, I do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the Charity and the Charity's Trustees as a body, for my work or for this report.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees of the Charity you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).

I report in respect of my examination of the Charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

  3. the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 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.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Richard Rhodes Chartered Accountant Feltons, Independent Examiners 1 The Green, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1PL

Date:

Charity number: 1133201

7

The Friends of Richmond Park

31 December 2022

Financial Statements for the calendar year 2022

Statement of financial activities for the year ended 31 December 2022

Unrestricted
funds
Note
£
Incoming Resources
Subscriptions
2
30,859
Donations
9,496
Gift Aid
3
7,172
Interest
238
Sponsorship
5,000
Publications & VC Sales
15,382
Merchandise (Online)
4,479
Total incoming resources
72,626
Resources expended on charitable activities
Magazine & Newsletters
(7,179)
Governance & administration
(2,879)
Discoverers
(180)
Light and Sound Surveys
-
Adopt An Area
(300)
Walks, talks & films
(2,600)
Other volunteering
(1,453)
Website hosting and maintenance
(2,875)
Website development
-
Heathrow campaign
(443)
Merchandise & publications
(12,583)
Grants
(14,765)
Total resources expended
5
(45,257)
Net incoming / (outgoing) resources
27,369
Total funds brought forward
126,131
Total funds carried forward
153,500		 Restricted
funds
£
-
1,300
-
-
-
-
-
1,300
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
(43,693)
(43,693)
(42,393)
42,393
-		 2022
Total
2021
£
£
30,859
30,034
10,796
4,464
7,172
6,096
238
301
5,000
5,000
15,382
12,615
4,479
11,535
73,926
70,045
(7,179)
(7,275)
(2,879)
(2,266)
(180)
-
-
(24,163)
(300)
(1,417)
(2,600)
(2,226)
(1,453)
(598)
(2,875)
(1,829)
-
(805)
(443)
-
(12,583)
(12,330)
(58,458)
(42,895)
(88,950)
(95,804)
(15,024)
(25,759)
168,524
194,283
153,500
168,524

The notes on pages 10 to 13 form part of these financial statements.

Charity number: 1133201

8

The Friends of Richmond Park

31 December 2022

Financial Statements for the calendar year 2022 (continued)

Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2022

Note
Fixed assets
6
Total fixed assets
Current Assets
Stock
7
Debtors
8
Other prepayments
9
Cash at bank and in hand
10
Total current assets
Current liabilities
11
Total Current Liabilities
Net assets/(liabilities)
Funds of the Charity
12
Unrestricted funds
Brought forward
Current year
Total Unrestricted funds
Restricted funds
Restricted general income fund
Restricted merchandise fund
Year of the Tree fund
Total Restricted funds
Total charity funds		 2022
£
7,500
7,500
1,488
6,000
-
138,512
146,000
-
-
153,500
£
126,131
27,369
153,500
-
-
-
-
153,500		 2021
£
7,500
7,500
1,980
5,000
820
153,224
161,024
-
-
168,524
£
119,107
7,024
126,131
35,367
5,817
1,209
42,393
168,524

The financial statements were approved by the Trustees on 27 January 2023 and were signed on their behalf by:

Dr Hugh Deighton Honorary Treasurer

The notes on pages 10 to 13 form part of these financial statements.

Charity number: 1133201

9

The Friends of Richmond Park

31 December 2022

Notes to the Financial Statements

(* indicates a general note whose number is not included in the Financial Statements above)

1* General information and basis of preparation

The Friends of Richmond Park is a UK registered charity, number 1133201, and governed by its constitution dated 12 November 2009.

The address of the principal office of the charity is given on page 1 of this report.

The nature of the charity's operations and principal activities are detailed in the Trustees' Report above.

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 (FRS 102)” - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)) and in accordance with the Charities Act 2011. The Friends of Richmond Park meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s).

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity, and are rounded to the nearest £.

2 Incoming resources - subscriptions

Incoming resources from regular subscriptions are considered as gifts and therefore recognised on receipt.

3 Gift Aid

Tax credits receivable from Gift Aid donations are recognised in the same period as the gift to which the claim relates.

4* Donated services and volunteer help

The value of donated services and volunteer help is not included in the financial statements but is described in the Trustees’ report above (in the section on “Members and volunteers”).

Other income is recognised in the period in which it is receivable and to the extent the goods have been provided.

5 Resources expended

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis.

Grants payable are recognised in the financial statements when a commitment has been made and there are no conditions to be met relating to the disbursement of that grant which remain in the control of the charity.

No Trustee received any remuneration during the reporting period. The Trustees were able to recover reasonable expenses incurred by them wholly, necessarily and exclusively for the Friends: these included the purchase of equipment to support volunteering activities as well as stationery and software supplies for newsletters and membership activities. The total cost reimbursed to trustees in respect of such expenditure during the year amounted to £3,661 paid to nine trustees (2021: £2,393 paid to six trustees). There were no related party transactions.

Charity number: 1133201

10

The Friends of Richmond Park

31 December 2022

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

The independent examination was conducted on a pro-bono basis by Feltons and all other services were provided on a voluntary basis by Trustees and volunteers.

6 Fixed asset investments

Fixed asset investments are a form of financial instrument and are initially recognised at their transaction cost and subsequently measured at fair value at the Balance sheet date, unless fair value cannot be measured reliably, in which case it is measured at cost less impairment. Investment gains and losses, whether realised or unrealised, are combined and shown in the heading “Gains/(losses) on investments” in the Statement of financial activities, if applicable.

Fixed asset investments comprise the original artwork of the Royal Oak drawn by Mark Frith. The trustees reviewed the valuation of the artwork at the year end and believe that there has been no change in the fair value since it was acquired.

7 Valuation of stock

Publications, comprising books and prints for sale, are valued at the lower of the cost of production and net realizable value. The cost of publications sold is charged to the statement of financial activities, together with any royalties paid or payable on sales, for all copies sold or provided on a complimentary basis.

300 copies of the small Royal Oak print by Mark Frith were bought in 2021 in the expectation that they would sell over several years. The purchase price of unsold copies is included in the unsold stock amount.

The costs of leaflets and booklets for free distribution are included in full in the statement of financial activities as they are incurred.

8 Debtors

The only debtor is the repayment of tax due from HMRC in Gift Aid, which has been accrued.

9 Other prepayments

Other prepayments in 2021 comprised the remaining stock of postage stamps purchased in advance of an increase in rates. All remaining stamps brought forward from 2021 were used in 2022 and there is no intention to buy further stamps in bulk in future.

10 Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

11 Liabilities and Creditors

The charity’s policy is to pay creditors in a timely manner and there are no outstanding creditors or other liabilities at the year end.

Charity number: 1133201

11

The Friends of Richmond Park

31 December 2022

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

12 The analysis of total funds as at 31 December 2022 is shown below:

Total fixed assets
Total current assets
Creditors falling due within one year
Total Funds		 Restricted
Total
Designated
Other
Funds
Funds
£
£
£
£
-
7,500
-
7,500
25,000
121,000
-
146,000
-
-
-
-
25,000
128,500
-
153,500
Unrestricted Funds
2022		 2021
Total
Funds
£
7,500
161,024
-
168,524

Unrestricted funds are represented by general funds which are expendable at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the objects of the Friends. These arise from the net surplus generated on ordinary activities during a financial year.

Within unrestricted funds, there is a designated balance of £25,000 set aside for immediate access to provide funding for any campaign in respect of which the Charity could be required to provide support, without recourse to campaign funding.

The restricted funds represent amounts received, granted, donated or bequeathed to the Friends for specific purposes, primarily for conservation projects.

The restricted general income fund represents specific small or general donations and other income received in respect of, or to be applied to, conservation projects.

The restricted merchandise fund represents the net surplus realised by the Friends on the sales to the Visitor Centre and other third parties of the range of merchandise specially designed, or produced, for the Friends for specific projects. This excludes the Year of the Tree fund which was concluded in 2022.

The movements in the restricted funds for the year ended 31 December 2022 are shown below.

Restricted general income fund
Restricted merchandise fund
Year of the Tree fund
Total Funds		 Opening
Additions
Payments
Closing
Balance
Balance
£
£
£
£
35,367
1,300
(36,667)
-
5,817
-
(5,817)
-
1,209
-
(1,209)
-
42,393
1,300
(43,693)
-

Charity number: 1133201

12

The Friends of Richmond Park

31 December 2022

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

The comparable movements in the restricted funds for the year ended 31 December 2021 are shown below.

Restricted general income fund
Restricted merchandise fund
Year of the Tree fund
Elm Walk appeal fund
Total Funds		 Opening
Additions
Payments
Closing
Balance
Balance
£
£
£
£
25,086
10,281
-
35,367
5,986
8,915
(9,084)
5,817
37,721
-
(36,512)
1,209
6,383
-
(6,383)
-
75,176
19,196
(51,979)
42,393

13* Financial instruments

Except for fixed asset investments, the Charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments, which are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.

End of Notes to the Financial Statements.

Charity number: 1133201

13