2024-03-31-accounts - Friends Of Page Park

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FRIENDS OF PAGE PARK REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR FINANCIAL YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2024

Charity Number 1158230

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Status

Friends of Page Park was registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) on 13 August 2014 with charity number 1158230

Members of the Board of Trustees

The trustees who served during the period were as follows:

	Office (ifany)	F year acted if not for whole	Name of person (or body) entitledtoappointtrustee (if an
,		Lorna Marie Carter-	Chair Stevens

Independent examiner

Lloydbottoms Limited Registered in England and Wales No: 06433276 Registered Office: 118 High Street Staple Hill Bristol BS16 5HH

Bankers

Lloyds Bank plc

The Trustees have pleasure in presenting its report of the Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) for the period ended 31 March 2024.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT Appointment of trustees

Apart from the first charity trustees, every appointed trustee must be appointed, by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the C/O. In selecting individuals for appointment as charity trustees, the charity trustees must have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the CIO.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Charitable purposes

The objects of the CIO are

A) to assist with the preservation, restoration, maintenance and improvement of Page Park for the benefit of the public; B) to promote the benefit of the residents of Staple Hill, South Gloucestershire and the surrounding areas by associating with South Gloucestershire Council and inhabitants in a common effort to provide and improve facilities at Page Park in the interests of social welfare for recreation, sport, education and leisure time activities with the objects of improving their conditions of life; and C) to promote horticulture and floriculture for the benefit of the public generally and in particular those who live near to or visit Page Park and the surrounding area of Staple Hill by the provision of floral displays, shrubs, trees and landscapes in places visible to the public in and around Page Park and Staple Hill for improvement of the environment.

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Review of activities

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| Wardens to encourage dog walkers to pick up after their their pets. | This year we made a donation towards the celebration of Chinese New Year in the park organised by the Bean Tree Café, which included crafts workshops, M-pop music, performances by dance troupes

Chairman's report

All members of the Friends of Page Park are volunteers and we encourage both regular and occasional volunteers to spare time towards helping with the upkeep and improvement of the park.

The park has had its Green Flag’ status renewed again this year (see httos:/Awww.greenflagaward.org/how-it-works/judging-criteria/) and there is flagpole advertising the park as a Green Flag park at the the front of the the park. Some details of this award appear on the website here: Page Park - Park Summary Details Park Summary Details Summary Details Details - Green Green Flag Award. Award.

| park as a Green Flag park at the the front of the the park. Some details of this award appear on the website | here: Page Park - Park Summary Details Park Summary Details Summary Details Details - Green Green Flag Award. Award. | Our group was set up over 25 years ago to promote the improvement of the maintenance of the park | and to make it a welcoming space for local residents and the ever-increasing number of visitors coming | to Staple Hill to visit Page Park as a destination park. To this end, some of our trustees are active members of the South Gloucestershire Council Green Spaces Forum, which has met in the park and | promotes best practice among other friends and volunteer groups across the local area and, alongside our regular communications with South Gloucestershire Council members, is a chance to understand some of the policy issues at Council level which have in recent years had significant constraints to budgets connected with the upkeep of Page Park and other green spaces. Following the completion of the Heritage Lottery Project in 2020 it is of paramount concern to the group that this legacy is protected and the legal requirements for upkeep of Page Park continue to be met by South Gloucestershire | Council. More details are set out below and please take a look at this fantastic review in the Bristol Post: The award-winning park with an idyllic bandstand, aviary, cafe, play areas and sports pitches - | Bristol Live.

Our volunteers have continued to support the parks team with care of the Sensory Garden and one-off volunteering activities such as planting groups (more information on this below). There are weekly volunteer groups who work in the Sensory Garden, which for most of the year is ablaze with seasonal colour from the shrubs and annuals planting. The group comprises around 15 individuals who enjoy the camaraderie, fresh air, sense of achievement and learning about the plants and the pleasure that this space brings to the public at large as an intended quieter space in the park, for families and individuals to enjoy as a picnic area, venue for our summer yoga as well as peaceful contemplation. We thank all our regular volunteers for their care of this special space and park visitors in helping to keep this space “wheels-free” from bicycles and scooters for the protection of the plants, and those enjoying this very special space.

Volunteers also assist with litter picking and our members who are dog walkers supporting the Dog Wardens to encourage dog walkers to pick up after their their pets.

and a tai chi demonstration. Some pictures can be seen here: Downend Voice March 2024. It was attended by over 300 people.

Visitor numbers in the park have remained high following the Covid pandemic and we have continued to see and support the return of regular sporting, musical and other community events, some of the highlights of which are set out below. There are counters on the gates to the park which monitor visitor numbers, and these have increased by just over 10,000 during this period.

Our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/FriendsofPagePark/) is the primary way we share information about the park and the group’s activities. We currently have c. 6500 people following us (up from 5,900 last year) and our page was visited over 40,000 times over ihe year. Many of our individual posts on the page are viewed by over 10,000 people. Page ‘reach’ over the 2023/24 year was 85,000, a significant increase on the previous year.

Our website (http://Awww.irlendsofpagepark.co.uk/) continues to store detailed information about our projects and activities as well as galleries of pictures showcasing completed projects and the array of events which have taken place in the park. We have a comments section and pride ourselves in listening to feedback and responding wherever possible to those who take the time to get in touch with us. Our website also includes a detailed section on leaving a legacy to The Friends of Page Park. Gifts in wills have a huge impact on our fundraising as a small charity and we are very grateful when people consider including us in your plans. If you have remembered The Friends of Page Park in your will, are planning to leave a gift or would like to find out more about how a gift in your will could help Page Park flourish, we would be delighted to hear from you via our website. Knowing your intentions can help us to plan for the future, but also gives us the opportunity to update you about important developments and, most importantly, thank you for your generosity. We extend our thanks again to all of our members and all those who have either donated to us or given volunteering help, as well as everyone else involved with the park at South Gloucestershire Council. Please keep an eye on our Facebook page or send us an email via the website if you would like to get involved!

Participating Organisations

South Gloucestershire Council Staple Hill, Mangotsfield and Downend Residents South Gloucestershire CVS Staple Hill & Mangotsfield Ward Councillors Staple Hill Runners Downend Councillors Avon & Somerset Police Page Park junior parkrun Page Park Nordic Walkers Staple Hill Community Hub

Finance

For this financial year, our expenses were approximately £15,000 more than our receipts due (primarily) to the large donation to South Gloucestershire Council towards refurbishment of the toilet block, for which we have raised funding and have been anticipating over the last two financial

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years. Whilst we have minimal recurring costs (website, insurance and accountancy fees), our income continues to vary from year to year depending upon fundraising success, support from partner organisations and the projects with which we are involved. We have adequate remaining funds coming into the next financial period for all regular costs and it is likely that our attention will turn again to new fund-raising for future identified projects including an additional of a second tin storage shed in the Sensory Garden as well as looking at the provision of play equipment in the park, especially for children with disabilities.

Volunteers

We have a reliable long-standing group of volunteers who participate in the activities of the CIO, | litter-pickers who help supplement the work of the Council’s park team and volunteers who tend | weekly to the Sensory Garden. Additionally we have many volunteers who help with one-off events in the park including planting sessions or when promoting our work through the local area from our | red gazebo. As the core group is getting significantly older, we welcome new volunteers and can help find opportunities to suit the time they have to spare and give to the park so that we can continue with this important work.

Projects and main activities

Sensory Garden and other planting

Our fabulous group of sensory garden volunteers have continued to make this special space look beautiful. The Council only assists with grass cutting and with the trees in the sensory garden and all other gardening upkeep is done by volunteers.

We have spent over £2,000 of funds during this period on plants and park upkeep more generally and have fully refurbished the much loved “boat” in the Sensory Garden.

| Bee Bold Staple Hill Project This project, funded from an £800 grant from WECA, and Ied by the Staple Hill Community Hub, was a / significant investment in community planting and horticulture in the Staple Hill area. One aspect / involved working with the Friends group to establish a wild flower meadow and add pollinator friendly | plant species to existing planters in two areas of the park. A planting session also took place involving / members of the Staple Hill Hub’s Sprouts gardening club. The project ended with a celebration event in the park where over 200 people attended. The public took part in gardening workshops such as ‘build a bug hotel’ and heard from a guest Ecologist from Avon Wildlife Trust

A further £750 from Wessex Water was received towards plants, as well as a woodchip path to and increasing the size of the mounds around the park’s Celebration Bench.

Aviary

The aviary, which was fully renovated in the financial year 21/22 with volunteer help is now being managed by the new aviary team including trustee Tom Beard, Joe Chorley, members of park staff and other volunteers with specific interest and experience with caged birds and with much dedication they have continued to improve the quality of life for the birds and coordinate re-homing of birds where we are able to do so on requests from the public. The aviary is now home to over 50 budgerigars and zebra finches — even more than you can see on this short video: Birds in the aviary, at Page Park in Staple Hill - video Dailymotion.

Toilets project and storage

The major project we worked on this financial year with the Council were the plans to have additional toilet facilities in the park, which are open for longer hours than the existing toilets (tied to the café and only open during the hours the café is open). This might not be the most glamourous project we have assisted with, but it is high on the wishlist of many visitors to the park. The project includes a “Changes Places” toilet plus additional provision, which will improve access to the park for those with severe disabilities. We have donated £20,000 of restoration funds raised from a combination of grants and public donations to go towards this project which was led by South Gloucestershire Council. Several of our members participated in a steering group with the council relating to this project. The overall cost of the project was £245,000. The Friends have lost some of storage space for our equipment, which will need replacing — we have now obtained planning permission to install a second tin shed in the Sensory Garden to house this equipment and further fund-raising will now be needed for this next smaller project.

Walking Well

We had previously raised £1,344 of funding from Sport England and continued to use this to support the hire of the community room in the Bean Tree café to provide refreshments after the Walking Well walks which start in the park. There are usually 15 to 25 people taking part in the twice weekly walks. For more information on how to register please see Walking |One You South Gloucestershire (southglos.gov.uk).

Refugee festival The second Refugee Festival, which took place in the park in June 2023 was again organised by the Bean Tree Café. We provided volunteers to help with set up of the festival, which is going from strength to strength and draws in lots of visitors from the wider Bristol area and beyond: Bristol Refugee Festival 2023 - Movema.

Page Park Calendar

We launched our photographic competition in early 2023 for our charity calendar for 2024. Sales raised over £6,000 (with surplus above our costs being approximately £4,200). Thank you very much to all the volunteers who have assisted Colin Bracey with sales of the calendar throughout

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the autumn. We sold calendars in the park, at two local supermarkets and also at Christmas on the Hill. We also extend our thanks to all the local businesses who sold calendars on our behalf during autumn 2023. -

Plant Sales

We were able to hold several plant sales with fantastic donations from our regular growers and raised c.£1,387 from these sales and hopefully provided some much-needed colour to many gardens.

Park cleaning

We organised a volunteer session, attended by around 25 people aged 6-75(!), including some drop-ins on the day, to clean signage, railings, litterboxes and picnic benches in the park. It was a great opportunity for a natter and a catch up alongside the hard work.

Summer yoga in the park

We supported once more the outdoor yoga on Sunday mornings during the summer months again | run by Pippa, and this attracted well over 100 participants each week (this year’s record was 239}), | who really look forward to taking part and some exploring yogafor the first time (Yoga in Page Park | 2023). It runs after the junior parkrun in the park, and means summer Sunday mornings in the park and in the café are hive of activity and wellbeing for our local community. The Friends were | able to fully fund these sessions this year, with the costs being covered by donations from the | community. Just bring along a mat/towel and some water to keep yourself hydrated.

Liaising with other organisations/Signposting

We continue to grow our list of members and our vice chair sends out regular updates on what is happening in the park and in the local community as well as chairing the South Gloucestershire Green Spaces Forum. We continue to update our members on the activities of various local organisations including the Salvation Army and the Staple Hill Community Hub and also help other friends’ groups which are applying for Heritage Lottery or other grant funding to share in our experience.

In Conclusion

We have increased our interactions with South Gloucestershire Council to ensure that the legacy of the Heritage Lottery improvements and park maintenance/action plan, which the council adopted, is respected and carried out to full effect and to ascertain how best we focus our fund-raising efforts going | forward. With the end of the Heritage Lottery Project we are turning our intention to additional much ; needed improvements in the park, attracting a younger set of volunteers to help with the CIO and using | our resources, both pecuniary and human manpower, to best effect to improve the park and lives of a | local residents.

Reserves policy

No specific reserves are held. The trustees consider that we have minimal ongoing commitments (these are limited to payments for services of our accountant, our public liability insurance and our website) and we only spend monies we have been able to raise.

Organisational structure

The charity is run by the Trustees who are in contact on a regular basis. Powers are delegated to volunteers as and when appropriate.

Responsibilities of the Trustees

The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

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 state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

® select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; . observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP; e make judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; ° State whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to anymaterial ° departuresprepare thedisclosedfinancial andstatements explainedonin thethe financialgoing concernstatements,basis andunless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business.
The trustees are responsible for keeping sufficient accounting records that disclose with reasonable that accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and
Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of 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.

Approved by the annual general meeting on 21 Novermber 2024

Trustee

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Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees/ Charity Name members of Friends of Page Park

On accounts for the year 31 March 2024 ended Set out on pages CC16a 1 and 2

Charity no 1158230 (if any) (remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31 March 2024 DD / MM / YYYY .

Responsibilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation basis of report of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed 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 ~~(other than that disclosed below *~~ ) in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or
the accounts do not accord with the accounting records

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

~~Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply~~ .

Signed:

Date: 16/10//2024 ~~|~~

Name: ~~Cs~~ Susan Rickerby Relevant professional ACA qualification(s) or body (if any):

Address:

118 High Street

Staple Hill

Bristol BS16 5HH

October 2018

IER

Section B Disclosure

Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).

Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .

October 2018

IER

Frfends of Page Park Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For the perlod from To 0110412023 3110312024 Section A Receipts and payments Unrestricted funds lo th• n1•$1 Restricted funds Endowment funds Total funds Last y8ar to the nr•s1£ lo th• near•st£ to th• nearest £ to th• n•ar•st £ A1 Recelpts Bank Int8resl Donations & clactionS Walkers S Glos Bilty Kart Plant S8les Wessex Waier Yog8 Geneial Fundralslng Evenl Funding General exps reirnbur3ed Calgndaf Prtiiect'22 Calendar ProI8ct'23 Avlary project Resloralion fijnd 421 49 1,506 500 1.387 500 1.387 1.161 750 78 703 4.250 r8nt. wild Ilowèrs and ants 1.792 1.792 4.254 4,254 5.548 6.013 6.013 780 1.873 780 1.873 Sub total (Gross income forAR) A2 Asset and Invostmont sales, (sefr tabl8). 14.448 3.512 f7.960 16.789 Sub total 14,448 3,512 17,960 16.789 A3 Payments PlanlslPark Upka•p Rtpaymanl to donor unable to fulfil wish Websiie InsvTance Accountants Fèè Contribution to SGC tollet prolecl Sundry & Admin Expenses The Nest Billy Kart pioject Events'2>24 Yoga in tha Park Avlary Refurblshment Walkers fvnd Calendar Project'22 C8lèndar PrcdècI'23 2.303 2.303 651 1.000 345 275 210 173 138 210 20.000 342 soo 3.797 173 138 210 20,000 342 500 3.797 1.400 9fj9 1,459 290 7.516 1.350 207 562 1MOO 969 1,459 1.821 1.821 1.575 Sub total 29.2B4 3,828 33,112 13.981 A4 Asset and Investment purchases. (see table Sub total 29,284 3,828 33,112 13,981 Net of recelpts/(payments) A5 Transfer5 between funds A6 Cash funds last year end Cash funds this year end 14,836 316 15,152 2.808 25.811 10.975 2.615 2.299 28.426 13.274 25,618 28,426 CCXX R1 accounls (SS) 3010912024

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Unrestricted funds to nearest £ Restricted funds to nearest £ Endowment funds to n•ar•st£ Categorios Detail- B1 Cash funds Lloyds 0288 1.310 Uoyds 4460 1.920 Uoyds 32 dayalc 7.745 2.299 P&tiycash Total cash funds 10.975 2.299 auxxw(S)) Unrestrlcted funds lo nearest£ Restrlcted funds to n•arest £ Endowment funds to néar•st£ Detalls Fund to whl¢h asset belo Currènt valuè tlonal Detalls Cost {optlonal) Fund to whlch ¥8t bglon Current valu• Ilona Details C<>st loptlonal) B4 Assets retalned for the charity's own use Fund to whleh Ilabll relales Amount duè onal Whèn due tlonal Details B5 Liabilities Signed by one or trusl8es on behalf of all the Iruslees Signature Print Name Date of roval CCXX R2 accovnts (SS) 3010912024