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2023-12-31-accounts

LOW CARBON OXFORD NORTH ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2023

1 January to 31 December 2023

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Table of Contents

Reference and Administrative Details ..................................................................................... 3 Trustees’ Report .................................................................................................................... 4 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 4 Structure, governance and management ......................................................................... 4 Trustees’ responsibilities ................................................................................................ 4 Objectives ..................................................................................................................... 5 People ........................................................................................................................... 5 Achievements and performance in 2023 ............................................................................. 6 Our strategy ................................................................................................................... 6 Home energy ................................................................................................................. 6 Greener travel ................................................................................................................ 8 Community .................................................................................................................... 9 Fundraising .................................................................................................................. 10 Small company provisions ............................................................................................ 10 Financial Report .............................................................................................................. 11 Examiners Report ......................................................................................................... 11 Statement of Financial Activities ................................................................................... 12 Balance Sheet .............................................................................................................. 13 Notes to the Financial Statements ................................................................................ 14

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Reference and Administrative Details

Charity name Low Carbon Oxford North Charity registration number 1142169 Company registration number 07542380 Principal oVice 33 Beechcroft Road, Oxford, OX2 7AY Registered oVice 33 Beechcroft Road, Oxford, OX2 7AY Secretary M Simon (resigned 29[th] December 2023) Bankers Triodos Bank, Deanery Road, Bristol, BS1 5AS Trustees (During 2023) B M Boardman J Grindey C Newson M Simon

R Nestor (resigned 12[th] December 2023) S Edwards (resigned 5[th] July 2023) T Leonard (resigned 5[th] July 2023) R Aicheson (resigned 16[th] September 2023) A Evans (appointed 5[th] July 2023) G Hargreaves (appointed 11[th] July 2023) T Weiss (appointed 3[rd] October 2023) K Polgreen (appointed 24th November 2023) F Crosse (appointed 24th November 2023)

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Trustees’ Report

Introduction

The Trustees, who are also Directors of the Charity for the purposes of the Companies Act, submit their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2023. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out on pages 1619. An independent examination of the financial statements is currently underway as agreed at the last AGM.

The Charity is a charitable company limited by guarantee and was set up on 31 May 2011.

Structure, governance and management

The Charity was established on 31 May 2011 and assumed the assets and liabilities of the original company of the same name which was incorporated on 24 February 2011. The Charity is governed by a memorandum and articles of association which set out the powers and responsibilities of the Trustees in fulfilling the Charity’s objectives.

The Trustees when complete consist of at least four and not more than ten individuals. One third of the elected Trustees must retire at each AGM, with those longest in oVice retiring first. In addition, up to 3 trustees can be appointed by the elected trustees and trustees can also be coopted until the following AGM. New Trustees spend time with the existing Trustees to ensure they understand their responsibilities and the legal and financial framework in which the Charity operates. For reference all Trustees are issued with the Charity Commission’s publication ‘The Essential Trustee: What you need to know’.

Trustees oversee the Charity and provide direct governance over all LCON projects. Trustees plus volunteers directly manage all LCON projects. Some projects have short term contracted managers or administrators. When funds permit, LCON retains a freelance project manager to support communications, projects and meetings.

Trustees’ responsibilities

accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). Law applicable to Charities in England & Wales requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial period which give a true and fair view of the Charity’s financial activities during the period and of its financial position at the end of the period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

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The Trustees are responsible for keeping accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy the financial position of the Charity and which enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Trust Deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Objectives

The stated objects of Low Carbon Oxford North are to conserve, improve and protect the physical natural environment for the public benefit by promoting: the prudent use and sharing of resources; the reduction of waste through re-use reclamation, recycling, use of recycled products and use of surplus; the reduction in the consumption of fossil based fuels; the use of low carbon means of transport; the reduction of carbon emissions from the growing, transporting, purchasing and preparing of food; with the aim of reducing the carbon footprint of North Oxford by 80% by the year 2050.

In addition, its objects are to advance the education of the public in the protection, enhancement and rehabilitation of the environment and to promote the study and research in such subjects and dissemination of the results of such research and study to the public.

Our mission is to help the residents of North Oxford to reduce their carbon emissions.

People

LCON has been a successful charity since 2011 because of the amazing people who have put in hours and hours of unpaid work to do their bit under LCON’s umbrella to protect our futures. These include the hardworking trustees and all the amazing community volunteers.

We had a large turnover of trustees in 2023. Those who resigned did so having contributed hugely and each of them were looking to now apply their energies elsewhere, and are all still supporting LCON in various ways. We all owe them a huge debt of gratitude for what they have done for their community, our kids’ futures, and the planet.

Special mention must go to Rebecca Nestor who has nurtured and driven so much of what has happened up to and including 2023. Her eVorts on fundraising in particular have put LCON onto a strong footing and enabled the new trustees to move forward with their projects.

The outgoing group gave a fantastic handover to a batch of new trustees who have injected additional energy into LCON’s mission and projects, and initiated some new projects which we will report on for 2024.

LCON has thrived particularly because we have a pool of fantastic contractors to call upon who bring so much to the organisation.

Many people want to support LCON but don’t have time to get involved. Those who donate, who read the newsletter, who pass on information to friends and family, all play a vital role in supporting LCON’s purpose. The involvement of all the supporters in this way keeps the trustees buoyant and enables us to continue our work with LCON.

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Achievements and performance in 2023

Our strategy

In November 2022 we agreed priorities for 2023 and 2024. These relate to home energy and retrofit; greener travel; and building community. The report below covers each of these three areas.

Home energy

Objectives

To substantially reduce carbon emissions by 2030 through:

Housewarming

Following a successful fundraise (thank you to all who contributed), we launched the Housewarming programme in June 2022. Since then:

Our Housewarming Guides

Our Housewarming Group series

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mean that the group members themselves can interact and provide information between them. Since June 2022 73 people have attended our group sessions. We know anecdotally that many of them have gone on to retrofit their homes and we will be running a research exercise later this year to assess our overall impact so far.

“Thank you, it was really interesting and informative. I feel much more prepared for making decisions and prioritising what and how I change to become more energy e<icient.”

“Thank you. It has been incredibly empowering. I have enjoyed meeting many team members and participants and the sense of shared purpose.”

“Thanks very much for running this course. It has given me the incentive and support to get on with something that I have meant to do for a long time.”

Energy Saving Homes

Communities for Zero Carbon Oxford (CZCO), a pan-Oxford collective of Community Action Groups (CAGs) of which LCON is an active member, was funded for a second year with a grant from Low Carbon Hub to run two Energy Saving Homes events in 2023:

A professional project coordinator again managed and promoted the events, including promotion of the seven ‘Bite-Size Films’, short films on diVerent eco-renovation strategies made by Eleanor Watts (director) and Benedict Robbins (filmmaker) with the participation of Oxford residents in 2022.

We are again very grateful to all those who made Energy Saving Homes possible, particularly homeowners who generously opened their homes in the hope of inspiring others on their journeys to creating their own sustainable future-proofed homes.

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Preservation Trust for the excellent Oxford Open Doors programme which provides a highly complementary platform on which to run Energy Saving Homes.

Energy Saving Homes will again be in action in 2024, managed on a more voluntary basis by LCON and other CZCO members, and focused mostly on the Oxford Open Doors weekend. It is hoped that the excellent database of homes and goodwill built up over the last three years might also be harnessed to inspire Oxford homeowners in conjunction with other programs run by LCON such as Housewarming.

Greener travel

Objectives

To substantially reduce carbon emissions by 2030 through:

Oxon4Buses (O4B)

of the Build back better with buses report they produced in September 2021, after surveying North Oxford residents. They established O4B to represent the interests of bus users in Oxfordshire and held the first meeting in November 2022. O4B initially comprised the representatives of 18 diVerent groups of bus users (it has grown since) and the collective began to agree the group’s priorities. For instance, O4B is concerned that two-thirds of the bus stops in the county have no form of shelter. It is also strongly supporting the continued use of cash to pay for fares, whether before the journey starts or on the bus.

A major reason for establishing O4B was the opportunity to provide representatives of bus users to two of the Enhanced Partnership working groups set up by the County Council and the bus companies. These working groups started in January 2023 and during the year, O4B provided inputs, for instance through undertaking a critique of the facilities at the various Park & Ride site around Oxford. The meeting also enabled O4B to present the passenger viewpoint on the projects which the Enhanced Partnership developed to improve services and increase bus usage.

LCON supports O4B, by incorporating their activities into the LCON website and providing a small budget.

Coalition for Healthy Streets and Active Travel (CoHSAT)

LCON continues to be an active member of CoHSAT, in order to focus on better provision for people walking and cycling.

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Safe school streets

In March 2023 LCON secured a small grant (£500) from the Low Carbon Hub to gather and disseminate information on the benefits of, and opportunities for, active travel to and from north Oxford private schools, working alongside local residents, the city and county councils, local advocacy groups, and schools. LCON carried out research on existing school street schemes; and contributed to meetings of the local community stakeholder group (residents, councillors, school travel reps, advocacy and community groups), supporting information exchange between councillors and stakeholders. Building on this process, it developed plans for a special edition newsletter on local transport issues and a leaflet on air pollution and transport in Oxford, to be published and distributed in early 2024

Oxford Car Free Challenge

In 2023 we raised £20,000 to enable a new project, the Oxford Car-Free Challenge, to be developed in partnership with the national climate action group Possible and the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformation (CAST) at CardiV University with a view to running the Challenge in early 2024. We started work on the Car Free Challenge in November 2023, when we contracted two project oVicers to support participants in trying alternative travel.

Community

Objectives

To substantially reduce carbon emissions by 2030 through:

Climate Cafes

LCON Chair (until December 2023), Rebecca Nestor, continued to lead Climate Cafes, simple hospitable spaces where people can discuss their responses to the climate crisis without pressure or judgement. In 2022-23 the team of facilitators expanded, thanks to interest and support from members of the Climate Psychology Alliance and Extinction Rebellion in Oxfordshire. The team now has a separate Facebook page. It is oVering support for those wishing to run climate cafes around the county and beyond, for example in Reading, Wallingford and Abingdon; and in late 2023 a series of workshops on climate emotions began at the Old Fire Station. Thanks to the generosity of the North Wall Arts Centre, and Common Ground, Little Clarendon Street, LCON’s own climate cafes continue to run monthly, alternating between the North Wall Arts Centre, South Parade, and Common Ground, Little Clarendon Street. Because Rebecca is no longer an LCON trustee, a formal reporting arrangement has been established between LCON and the Oxfordshire Climate Cafes group.

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Working with Low Carbon Marston

We have continued to work alongside the newly-formed Low Carbon Marston to support them in developing work on energy eViciency. In May 2023, on Earth Day, we joined the group with an energy information stall at the Marston Eco Hub.

Jericho Fair

In June 2023 we had a stall at the Jericho Fair, mainly engaging with residents about energy saving in the home. Because of the large number of renters in the area we were able to give some people contacts with whom they could discuss any problems with paying their fuel bills.

Schools and young people

In 2023 we partnered with Cherwell School to oVer prizes for projects conducted by students in connection with their Science Fair. The two winning projects in 2023 were on Sustainable House and on recycling.

Informing and enthusing

LCON has continued to cover a breadth of carbon reduction topics through its website, newsletter, social media and events, with increasing reach (the mailing list and social media) over the year. In 2023 we benefited significantly from the work and expertise of two social media volunteers, Helen Stedman and Ella-Rose Gaskin.

Fundraising

In 2023, thanks to the generosity of LCON members and other local residents, from the City Council and Counsellors, we raised £20,000 to enable a new project, the Oxford Car-Free Challenge, to be developed in partnership with the national climate action group Possible and the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformation (CAST) at CardiV University.

We also continued to fundraise for our home energy-saving programme Housewarming.

We were particularly grateful for the continued mentorship and support provided by Sir Christopher Ball to Rebecca Nestor as Chair and lead fundraiser during 2023. Sir Christopher and Lady Wendy Ball were also major donors to our Car-Free Challenge project, as they had been to Housewarming in 2022.

Small company provisions

This report has been prepared in accordance with the small companies regime under the Companies Act 2006.

Approved by the Board and signed on its behalf by:

Kim Polgreen, Chair of Trustees Date: 3rd September 2024

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FinanciaL Report Examiners Report SUMMERS Chartered Certlfie(l Accountants Business Advisors Tax Consultants 42A Uppar High Street Thame Oxfordshlr• OX9 20W Phonè 01844 279340 Fax 01844 216092 rfsummers.co.uk Low Carl￿￿ Oxford North Inde end¢nt Examiners Re ort to the trustees for #n Inde Accounts for ¢ar ended 31" Deeember 2023. ndent Examinatloll of tb¢ IDdependellt Examiner's Statement I hav¢ completed my exalnination. T confirm that no material matters have Come to my attention in conn¢¢tion with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material aspect= l. Accounting r￿ordS were not kept in respect of the Low Carbon Oxford North as required by section 130 of the Act. or 2. The accounts do not accord with those r¢cords- or 3. The accounts do not comply with the applicable Tequirements concerning the form and content of aecounts s¢t out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the ac¢ounts give a 'trne and fair. view which is not a matter c4)Thsidered as part of an independent examination. I have no concems and hav£ ¢ome acTOSS no other inatters in ¢OTLnection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to ¢nable a prop¢r und¢T5tanding of the a￿Ount$ to bc reached. Based on our work and examination of your Ac¢ounts for the year ended 3151 1)ectmber 2023. noihing has com¢ to our attention ro Tefute the u￿Ste¢S, confimiaiion that the Accounts giv¢ a true and fair view of the state of affairs as ai 31, December 2023 and of its profIt for the yeaT then ended. Revi¢wed and Examined by R F Summers, FCCA on 09 Septernb¢r 2024 R••ULdfor•Thr4•4711nw4trnvnt￿￿InWa¢Uv￿￿1￿dInthO ¢4ndurtofaccwntlnu ndcQrAuha￿Y￿rk tho A%soclalon of ¢hwt•MdC•rdWAccounlantB RFSumwth BSG FCCA F¢IAI Ff

Statement of Financial Activities Low Carbon Oxford f4orth Statement of Financial ActiiTrtie5 for the year ended 31st December 2023 Unrestricte Restricted d fuDds runds Prior year funds Categories by activity Total funds Income (Note 2.2) Income and endowmettts from". Dollations alld legacies c.haritable activities Other tradLng activities Investments Other Total 624 26,699 27,323 47,887 1,245 485 485 8,835 8.835 7,604 9.459 27.184 36.643 56.736 Expenditure (Note 2.3) Eipenditure on: Raismg funds Charitable activities Other Total 1,633 6.804 8.437 14,488 16,121 6.804 22.925 35,151 6,978 42,129 14.488 P4et income/(eipenditure) before tax Tax payable Net income/(expenditure) after tax before investment gain51Oosses) Nel gainsl(losses) on investments Net incomel(expenditure) Transfers be￿een funds other gainsl{lossesl N8t mov8m8nt In fvnds 1.022 12,696 13,718 14,607 1,022 12,696 13,718 14,607 1,022 12,696 13,718 14,607 1,022 12,696 13,718 14,607 R8condllatlon of funds: Total funds brought fotward Total fur#Js ￿rrIed forward 13,979 15,001 22,085 34,781 36,064 49,782 21,457 36,064

BaLance Sheet Balan￿ Sheet 318t December 2023 Restrfcted income funds Unre8tricts d funds Total th18 year Total last year Flxed assets Inveslments Total fix&J a880ts Current a88ets (Nots 3) 5,110 5,110 5,110 5,110 5,361 5,361 {Note 4) Cash at bank and Sn hand (Note 7) Total current assots 41 15,115 15,156 41 49,896 49,937 41 35,206 35,247 34,781 34,781 Credit¢xs: ￿Tr)Unts falling du8 Within yo¥r (Nots 51 5,266 5,266 4,544 Net (JJrr8nt as88tsllliabilili88) 9,891 34,181 44,672 30,703 Tc*al net assets or liabilities 15,001 34,781 49,782 36,064 Funds of the Charity Restricted inwmo funds {Note 12) Unr8Stricted funds 34,781 34,781 15,001 49,782 22,085 13,979 36,064 15,001 15,001 Total fund5 34,781 The company was enti118d lo exemption from audit under $477 of the Compani8s Act 2006 relating to small companies. The members have not required the company lo obtain an audit in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Acl 2006. The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts. small companie5 subject to the small companies regime and in accordance with FRS102 SORP. Signed on behalf of all the Irusteesldireclors by.. Dale of approval.. Name..

Notes to the Financial Statements

Notes 1 - 2

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Note 2.2 Nots 2.2 Incom atyBW of inr fijnds TL*a furkts Prk¢ Oonauons and1g9ocio8: Donations and gifts Gift Aid Legacies General grants piovided by governmenvother charities Membership subscriptions and sponsorships which are in subslanee Donated goods. facilities and service5 other 124 21.699 21.823 47.887 500 5.000 5,500 624 26.699 27,323 47,887 Charitable Sale of energy Saving guides 485 485 1.245 Other Total 485 485 1.245 Olher tradlr¥J other TotAI Invjmè frMI Interest Income Dividend income Rental and leasing income Other 8,835 8,835 7,604 Total 8.835 8,835 7,604 TOTAL INCOME 9.459 27.184 36.643 56.736 Of the prior year income £7661 was unrestricted and £49,075 was restricted.

Note 2.3 N&A2.3 Thyo8r d frjr fijnd TLA fuTh d funds TL4A fuTh Incurr9d s99king doTbalv)n8 Incurred seeking granis Siaging fundraising events Adv&rtising. fflark8titbg. dir9cI mail and TalBl•xpenthTron r￿￿￿￿Jnth Prpjed wotkers 8.307 26.441 43 28.441 63 270 40 Advgrtising promobon Printed leaflets and guides Chantab19 donations Other 6,427 1,826 6.fj25 1.928 5.661 5.802 220 40 26 1.833 14.468 34063 35.151 1.OQ8 385 1.008 385 415 550 5,766 93 16 138 6,978 7,266 415 550 5,766 Governance Administraliyg aSSi¥lan¢* Telephone and In19fT￿l Bank lees Other 307 307 138 6,978 42,129 T(￿othere￿n￿￿Jr8 TOT￿ EXPEND￿vRE 6.804 8.437 6,804 ,925 14,488 34.863 TNI￿r Climate Caf&s Schow)Is Pro Housewarming Progratnm9 Carfre9 Iravgl Energy Sawng Homes Other 140 962 10.679 330 3.479 140 1,182 10,879 330 3,479 90 ramtne 220 17.930 4.654 12.278 149 35.101 17,930 4,654 12,278 149 35.151 15.901 220

Notes 3- 12 3 In￿sIMonts Fixed asset investments in quoted shares, traded bonds and similar investrnents are valued at in at cost and subsequently at fair value Itheir market valuel at Ihe year end. The same treatment applied to unlisted inve5tsllents Ljnless fair value cannot be measured reliabty in which case cost impairment is used. LCON'S investment is with the LDW Carbon Hub. and consists of a social investment in solar gen, projects which were transferred from LCON in 2018. Each year we are repaid a proportion ol our capital investsllent along with an interest paymenL 2023 2022 Initial Investment Less: Capital Repayments Investment at end of year 6.500 1,390 5,110 6,500 1,139 5,361 4 D•btors 2023 2022 Trade debtors Prepayments and accrued inry)me Other debtors 41 41 Total 41 41 There was one trad8 d8btor which was paid after the y8ar-8nd_ 5 Creditors 2023 2022 Trade cieditors Accruals Deferred income (Note 61 1.460 150 588 3,806 4,544 3,806 5,266 Total There were trade creditors of £1460, principally for work done by project consuliants. 6 Deferred Income LCON received two final payments from the Low Carbon Hub on the closure of ONCORE progra in 2017- one payment for work with schcx)Is and the other for general work relating to renewable energy- from which we draw agreed sums on an annual basis. There has been no expenditure li 2023 for either and therefore no change in deferred in¢ome. The deferred income amount remaii £3,806.

7 Cash at bank and in hand 2023 2022 Short lem dfr￿ts Cash at bank and on hand Other 12,176 8,029 Total 49.896 35.206 8 Trusto8s' remungratlon and 9xpen￿5 No trustees received any remuneration during the finanual year. 9 Toxatlon The cornpany 15 a registered charity and is exefflpt trotn taxation. 10 Mèmbtrs. liability The charity is a private company limited by guarantee and does not have share ¢apital. Ea¢h of members is liable to contribut8 an amount not exceeding £10 towards the charity in the event of 11 Controlllng •ntlty The charity is controlled by Ihe trustees who ar8 a11 Directors of the o)mpany. 12 Charity Funds Analysis of Ihe charitie5 fund5 are shown in notes 12.1 and 12.2.

Note12 Nots 12 Ch8 12.1 D￿LI rrfrrdwd fu￿ hBbJ Thm8ntsOJrfrHJ thè CURRENTrryrthg perlod ' Koy.. R. rgstyktsd 1rKXyT￿ Ind￿￿n9 8pod81 ofthg r8rfty,' and U. unregtrlrWfvnd• Fthd Fu￿j UR. FU￿ ur￿l￿ded Idnds UR Charl 13.979 18.644 3,219 222 8.437 10.679 330 15.002 11.450 21,588 Housewarmin ramme Low carb￿ homes pioject SustainablÈtravol 3.485 18.699 Carfree travel Ene Savln En0rgYr￿dUctlan proJ￿Ct 3.4BO 36,064 22,W26 49.782 12.2 thb PREVI(XJS r8wUrvJ PBrbJ FL Fund UR. eré wrfj FU￿ Unrestrid￿ funds Housewarmin Carfree travel Ene Savin UR Cha Low rArbon hornes 13.584 7.681 36.575 7.266 13.979 18.644 3.219 222 ramme ed eGI ect ro 7.873 4.6&1 12.278 Ener reduction 12.500 OtherfiJvJs IbdandNJ ur Nl8 Funds as rwb8kn¢•8h88t 21,457 56.736 42.12Y 36.064