2023-03-31-accounts

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Annual Report 2022/23

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Low Carbon Day
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A Message from David Matthews, Chair

The United Nations Environment Programme recognises three existential threats to life on earth; the Climate crisis, the Biodiversity crisis, and Pollution. These are inextricably linked, and all are driven by our actions as human beings.

With respect to the Climate Crisis, scientists tell us that we are rapidly running out of time to address the issues, and the decisions we take during the next seven years are critical. Despite the dire warnings, the UK is not making the progress needed to secure a healthy future. Locally, our councils have declared climate emergencies but are not acting accordingly. What’s stopping us?

Most of our problems stem from the continued use of fossil fuels and overconsumption of resources. On fossil fuels, we already have the technologies in place to make the transition to a clean-energy future, and this would create positive economic opportunities too. Reducing our use of fossil fuels would lead to a better quality of life as we reduce the associated pollution and negative impacts on nature and health.

While there are important solutions to the use of resources such as the development of a circular economy, over-consumption is positively encouraged by our current economic model. This promotes “growth” (Gross Domestic Product (GDP)) failing to consider the value of nature, well-being, and resource limits. We need to consider alternative models and ways of thinking such as Doughnut Economics and the Human Capital Index (HCI).

Resolving our problems requires all of us to change behaviour. Sadly, there’s little to inspire us from a government that states it wants see fossil fuels phased out, but then approves a new coalmine. Nor can we take a lead from a County Council that declares a climate emergency but seeks to plough ahead with an environmentally damaging road scheme. And we can hardly take a lead from large corporates that advocate “carbon neutrality” by offsetting all their carbon emissions.

The truth is we can’t afford to wait for others to set the right example and act. We all need to take action, however inconsequential that may seem. A recent House of Lords report suggested that over a third of the changes required to address the climate crisis require individual action. We can start by calculating our own carbon footprint.

We can use the power of our own voices and consumer choices too. We can lobby our politicians to act; switch to a bank that doesn’t lend to polluters; review where our savings and pensions are invested; consider the impact of our diet on carbon emissions and nature. We can also review the way we travel and heat our homes. We can discuss our findings with friends, family and work colleagues, who will listen to those they trust rather than outsiders.

Stretton Climate Care believes that we can all take a lead through action. That’s well illustrated through our regular advice drop-in sessions, our thermal imaging surveys for local householders and our repair café. What can you do to help?

Review: April 2022 to March 2023 - Our Key Activities

We provided extensive advice on retrofit of houses. Solar PV was much sought after mainly as a response to the rise in energy costs but also recognizing the environmental benefit of renewable energy. Many installations included a battery pack. Contacts were made through our website, on our phone and through our weekly attendance at the Health and Wellbeing Centre.

We elected a new Treasurer, Phil Walker, to replace Chris George who served us excellently for 15 years.

We held a Green Homes event when 9 houses were opened to visits from the public. 120 visitors gained an insight into a range of retrofit measures.

We supported South Shropshire Climate Action Group with membership of the Steering Group, the Retrofit Group and the Communities and Education Group.

We helped develop in particular the Future Ready Homes Project managed by Marches Energy Agency which will support training for retrofit.

We have welcomed the initiatives promoted by Zero Carbon Shropshire.

We held a talk on Retrofit with James Smith explaining key principles that should be followed.

We also held a meeting in which Simon Ayres of Lime Green explained the benefits of lime plaster and wood fibre wall insulation products

We supported Church Stretton Town Council in drawing up actions to achieve net zero emissions and with the recycling page on their website. We were disappointed the Town Council decided not to adopt the Community Led Plan which had involved a huge effort from many local organisations.

James Smith with David Howard & Jon Cooke

Simon Ayres at Lime Green’s premises

Review: April 2022 to March 2023 - Our Key Activities

We held 10 Repair Cafes during the year and we successfully repaired 171 items (83%) of the 206 presented to us .We had 15 volunteer Repairers who demonstrated their wide ranging versality and expertise. We featured in local media.

We submitted articles and press releases on many topics to Stretton Focus and the Shropshire media

We carried out a further 17 surveys with our thermal imaging camera which illustrates where heat loss is occurring. It involves a significant commitment as pictures have to be taken very early on a cold morning. We have established links with an experienced insulation company for our community to use with confidence.

We held a plastic recycling awareness event at The Mid-counties Coop store to encourage recycling of soft plastics in particular.

We visited St Lawrences School who had particularly requested the attendance of “cardboard box man” who gave a talk on recycling arrangements. We also donated multiple copies of our Cookbook for pupils.

We visited local businesses to discuss reduction of single use plastics and carbon footprint evaluation

We donated 3 copies of Greta Thunberg’s The Climate Book to Church Stretton School.

Our website continued to attract attention. We were active on Twitter and our facebook and Instagram sites continued to grow .

We held our Annual Duck Race in May, with just sufficient water in the stream to make it viable. We had very good support and involvement from the public.

We met Philip Dunne MP to explain our concern about the lack of action to reduce carbon emissions

We expected to provide evidence at the Examination into Shropshire’s Local Plan but the strategic stage, with which we are not involved, has still not been completed.

Review: April 2022 to March 2023 - Our Key Activities

We participated in Strettfest, parading through the streets of Church Stretton promoting reuse, waste reduction and recycling. We created a mini-beast trail around the town’s shops and children were invited to spot them with prizes for most completed sheets.

We also participated in the Next Generation Fair at Craven Arms promoting action to address climate change.

We held a meeting examining the benefits of Doughnut Economics which challenges conventional accounting which ignores the limits of natural resources.

Our Trustees adopted a Code of Conduct and Register of Interests as recommended by the Charity Commission.

We published 3 editions of our Newsletter delivered to all Church Stretton households and many of the houses in the surrounding area. These publicised our activities and reported on climate change issues.

We decided not to hold a Low Carbon Day which includes renewable energy, electric bikes and other eco-activities as electric cars were in such short supply because of shortage of microchips.

We originally hoped to progress a Project to support low income households but concluded that we did not have adequate resources to carry out such a Project. We continue to signpost people in fuel poverty to appropriate organisations and make other organisations aware of the support that is available to improve the energy efficiency of properties and other resources.

Our final meeting of the year was a presentation about onshore wind power by Gerry Jewson, Chairman of Wind 2, based in Mold. He drew on his extensive experience and knowledge of the development of wind power, currently mostly taking place in Scotland.

Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

		Independent examiner's re- port on the accounts	Independent examiner's re- port on the accounts
Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees/ mem- bers of	STRETTON CLIMATE CARE

On accounts for the year ended	31stMARCH 2023	Charity no (if any)	1159816

Set out on pages	7 & 8

Responsibilities and basis of report	I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/03/2023. As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation of the ac- counts 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 applica- ble Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examin- er's statement	I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention 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 ex- amination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understand- ing of the accounts to be reached.

Signed:		Date:	9thSeptember 2023

Name:	Graham Eric Vince

Relevant professional quali- fication(s) or body (if any):

Address:	4 Alison Road
	Church Stretton
	Shropshire, SY6 7AT

Charity Name No (if any) Stretton Climate Care (CIO) 1159816

Receipts and payments accounts

CC16a

Period start Period end date For the period To from 1st April 2022 31st March 2023

Section A Receipts and payments

A1 Receipts	Unrestricted funds to the nearest £	Restricted funds to the nearest £	Endowment funds to the nearest £	Total funds to the nearest £	Last year to the nearest £ 676 558 1,532 341 31 100 45 3,283
Membership fees	736	-	-	736	676
Donations	1,477	-	-	1,477	558
Local fund raising	542	-	-	542	1,532
Book sales	30	-	-		341
Bank interest	51	-	-		31
Referrals	150	-	-	150	100
Gift Aid refund	-	-	-	-	45
*Sub total*(Gross income for AR)	2,986	-	-	2,986	3,283

A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table).

*Sub total*(Gross income for AR)	2,986	2,986	2,986	2,986	2,986
A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table).
	-	-		-
*Sub total*	-	-	-	-	-
*Total receipts* A3 Payments
	2,986	-	-	2,986	3,283

Website	831	-	-	831	529
Printing, postage, stationery & misc.	468	-	-	468	1,135
Accommodation & rentals	357	-	-	357	173
Goods & equipment	101	-	-	101	446
Repair café	42	-	-		113
School books	93	-	-
Insurance	630	-	-	630	685
Other costs & fees	453	-	-	453	1,042
*Sub total*	2,975	-	-	2,975	4,123
	-	-		-
A4 Asset and investment pur- chases, (see table)
	-	-		-
*Sub total*	-	-	-	-	-
*Total payments* *Net of receipts/(payments)* A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end *Cash funds this year end*
	2,975	-	-	2,975	4,123

	11	-	-	11	-840
	-	-	-	-	-
	9,794	-	-	9,794	10,634
	9,805	-	-	9,805	9,794

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

B2 Other monetary assets

B3 Investment assets

B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use

B5 Liabilities

Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees

Details	Unrestricted funds to nearest £	Restricted funds to nearest £	Endowment funds to nearest £ - - OK Endowment funds to nearest £ - - - - - Current value (optional) - - - Current value (optional) - - - - - - - When due (optional) Date of ap- proval 11 Oct 2023 11 Oct 2023
TSB Current Account	750	-
TSB Savings Account	9,055	-
	-	-	-
*Total cash funds* (agree balances with receipts and pay- ments account(s)) Details Details Details Computer equipment Display boards Exhibition equipment Energy meters Thermal camera Details Signature MJ Hymas P M Walker	9,805	-	-
	OK OK Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) Gen capital fund- Gen capital fund- Gen capital fund- Gen capital fund- Gen capital fund- - - Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) - - - Print Name M.J. Hymas P.M. Walker
			Date of ap- proval
MJ Hymas	M.J. Hymas		11 Oct 2023
P M Walker	P.M. Walker		11 Oct 2023

Stretton Climate Care: Organisation and other Facts

Charity Name and Number and address

Stretton Climate Care is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). Registered charity number 1159816. It was established in 2015, replacing a charity of the same name which was established in 2008.

Address: Mayfair Community Centre, Easthope Road, Church Stretton, Shropshire, SY6 6BL email: info@strettonclimatecare.org.uk Website www.strettonclimatecare.org.uk Tel 07528 493181

Finance

We have adequate funds although these have been depleting over successive years and the Trustees have taken action to reduce our annual losses by raising more funds in a variety of ways. Although our funds have maintained their level this year , this has arisen partly because we have not yet received an invoice for use of premises for the Repair Café.It is the policy of Stretton Climate Care to operate with a financial reserve equivalent to at least 9 months of our annual expenditure, and we exceed that. The Committee receives a Report analysing expenditure and income at each of its meetings and controls expenditure accordingly. We do not undertake any significant fund raising and we are compliant with Charity Commission Fund Raising Guidelines and do not need to register with Fund Raising Regulator. We comply with Charity Commission guidelines for our financial controls.

Summary of Charitable Objects

for the benefit of the public in the Church Stretton area: a) the conservation, protection and improvement of the environment b) education about use of energy to reduce or eliminate carbon dioxide emissions c) the relief of fuel poverty by promoting the efficient use of energy

Public Benefit

The Trustees of Stretton Climate Care have had regard to providing public benefit in delivering our services in accordance with advice from the Charity Commission. In particular our main service is to assess and advise on the carbon footprint and energy use of households and provide advice where appropriate on reducing this. This includes information on the choice of transport modes and vehicles and diet. And we have also supported the development of renewable energy in our area. We encourage reuse and recycling and the Repair Café continues to be successful. Our services are provided free of charge to any household in the community and we do our best to give priority to households in fuel poverty. We provide subsidiary activities and services, such as lectures and talks that are either free or subject to a small charge to cover costs. Other activities such as the duck race are intended to attract additional households to our service although there is small charge for entry to the duck race. Our activities also generate opportunities to advance education about conserving, protecting and improving the environment.

Trustees

The new Constitution provides for the election or appointment of up to 12 trustees. The current 7 Trustees are Marcus Cash, Jon Cooke (Publicity Officer), Mike Hymas (Secretary), David Matthews (Chair), Lorna Taylor, Phil Walker (Treasurer) and Jane Wrench. Our Trustees are elected annually at the Annual General Meeting.

Other Information

We are dependent upon our dedicated and enthusiastic Volunteers who undertake all the functions of the organisation. There are no employees. We continue to review our data security arrangements in the light of the General Data Protection Regulation. Our Privacy Policy is on our website and we have registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

We have reviewed our Organisation against the Charity Commission’s Governance Code and are addressing a number of issues raised. In particular some Trustees have served for more than 9 years and our Board is not as diverse as it should be.

Structure of Stretton Climate Care

Our Board of Trustees makes the key decisions for the organisation and comprises all our Trustees. It has delegated many of its responsibilities to the General Management Committee which comprises all of our 7 Trustees and Mike Bourke, Becca Cartwright, Sally Farrell. Rachel Foster and David Howard.

Our Volunteers

are an essential element of our organisation. Without them we could not deliver our services. So here we list the names of those who are not Trustees who made Stretton Climate Care effective during the last two years :

John Annetts, John Bennett, Wally Blake, Liz Bourke, Mike Bourke, Brian Bradley, Richard Briggs, Isabel Carter, Becca Cartwright, Ann Cooke, Sally Farrell, John Garnett, Barry Gwynne, Chris Head, David Howard, Trish Howard, Rob Humperson, Victoria Hurn, Andrew Middleton, Moira Matthews, Valerie Morris, David Newbrook, Sandy Ogden, John Ramage, Helen Sansom, Liesa Shigan, Derrick & Julie Tapscott, Roger Thorpe and Christine Shipman, Mark Tocknell, Richard Walker, Ken White & Jamie Wrench, plus many other occasional volunteers who make our services happen.

We are very grateful for their actions, support and dedication.

Our Supporters and Funders

We are very grateful to the numerous individuals and bodies who helped achieve our work, especially our volunteers, funders and donors.

We also received funds and/or support from a number of companies and organisations, including Agilent Technologies, Ambercouch, Burway Books, Chocolate Haven, Energy Zone, Go Green Systems, Kaboodle, Jemima’s Kitchen, Marshbrook Print, Mid-Counties Cooperative, Rainbow’s End, Salts, Shropshire Green Energy Centre, Stretton Print, The National Trust & Vine & Co We are grateful to all these bodies and people for their support

Our Mission Statement:

To advance environmental protection and improvement by reducing the carbon footprint of the local area.

Aims

 To raise awareness of issues concerning climate change and the need for action
2 To promote a culture of climate care through reducing energy consumption, encouraging the generation of local energy, and advancing a more sustainable lifestyle
3 To support local people in reducing emissions, and eliminating fuel poverty

Annual Report Supported by