Cuckmere Haven SOS
Charity's principal address: The Sanctuary, Winton Street, Alfriston, East Sussex, BN26 5UL
Charity Commission Registration Number 1161529
Trustees' Annual Report
For the year ended 31 December 2023
Names of the charity trustees who managed the charity:
Trustee name Office Professor Michael Davies Chair Daniel de Belder Rodney Castleden MA MSC (Oxon) Crispin Freeman FCA Sir Alan Moses Charles Peck
Structure, governance and management
The charity’s governing document is its constitution adopted 5 May 2015, and it is constituted as a charitable incorporated organisation. New trustees may be appointed to serve for a term of two years by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees. Each of the trustees shall retire at the end of their term of appointment but shall be eligible for re-appointment.
The trustees review the skills and competencies required for the board of trustees, and where a requirement is identified they initiate a recruitment process. New trustees receive training from the existing trustees. There is no formal training programme.
The charity holds its bank account with Barclays Bank Plc, and has a donation facility with CAF Donate.
Regular trustee meetings are held, and the trustees met six times during the year.
Objects and activities
The charity’s objects are to promote for the benefit of the public the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment of the Cuckmere Haven west beach and cliffs.
When planning and carrying out their activities, the charity trustees have complied with the duty in section 4 of the 2011 Charities Act, to have due regard to Public Benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission.
The charity last year had appointed Whaleback Ltd, the chartered town planning consultancy to co-ordinate the assembly of the necessary design and reports to enable a fresh planning application to be submitted for a scheme to protect the eastern end of the Cuckmere Haven west beach and cliffs. Whaleback issued tender applications to professional consultants for each aspect of the project, reviewed the responses and put forward shortlists to the trustees for their consideration. The trustees selected the professionals to appoint, and Whaleback then issued instructions and oversaw the production of the initial design and the various reports. Whaleback initiated the drafting of a pre-application statement for submission to South Downs National Park Planning Authority (SDNPA). All this work was ongoing at the year end, and the pre-application statement was completed and submitted to SDNPA in late January 2024.
The charity’s website continued to attract donations from the public.
Cuckmere Haven SOS Charity number 1161529 Trustees' Annual Report For the year ended 31 December 2023 Continued
Achievements and performance
The website has been maintained which has details of the history of the Cuckmere Haven area, the erosion problems, and an outline of the proposals for the protection of the west beach and cliffs. It includes a donation facility through CAF Donate. Donations during the year, including gift aid, were £4,226 from the general public together with marvellous donations from Celebrate Cuckmere of £10,000 from their 2022 event, and £9,000 from their 2023 event. In addition, Seaford Town Council kindly made a grant to the charity of £149 from donations from the general public in the collecting box at Seaford Head Barn. The trustees are most grateful for all these generous contributions.
The charity incurred professional fees of £44,930 on work on the design and reports required for the planning application, £443 on publicity, £144 on website maintenance and £222 on bank charges and donation platform commission. In accordance with section 189 of the Charities Act 2011 the charity purchased trustee indemnity insurance £592.
The deficit for the year was £22,956 which was deducted from the charity’s reserve.
No trustee received any remuneration or benefits.
Financial review
It is the reserves policy of the charity that funds will be built up to finance the protection scheme for the Cuckmere Haven west beach and cliffs. This is a large project and it is anticipated it will take time to achieve the necessary funding. At 31 December 2023 the charity held £33,188 in reserve for this purpose.
Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above and the receipts and payments accounts below.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
Signature Michael Davies
Full name Professor Michael C R Davies
Position Chair
Date 19 February 2024
Cuckmere Haven SOS
Charity number 1161529 Receipts & Payments Accounts For Year to 31 December 2023
| Receipts and payments |
Unrestricted funds £ |
Designated funds £ |
Restricted funds Total funds £ £ |
|---|---|---|---|
Receipts Donations - non-gift aid Donations - gift-aided Gift aid tax recovery Event receipts Grants Other receipts Total Receipts Payments Conservation Fundraising Publicity Website Postage, stationery, computer Donation platform commission Insurance Bank charges Total Payments Net of receipts/(payments) Transfers between funds Cash funds last year end Cash funds this period end |
|||
| 20,467 | 0 | 0 20,467 |
|
| 2,234 | 0 | 0 2,234 |
|
| 525 | 0 | 0 525 |
|
| 0 | 0 | 0 0 |
|
| 149 | 0 | 0 149 |
|
| 0 | 0 | 0 0 |
|
| 23,375 | 0 23,375 |
||
| 44,930 | 0 | 0 44,930 |
|
| 0 443 144 |
0 | 0 0 |
|
| 0 | 0 443 |
||
| 0 | 0 144 |
||
| 0 | 0 | 0 0 |
|
| 120 592 102 |
0 | 0 120 |
|
| 0 | 0 592 |
||
| 0 | 0 102 |
||
| 46,331 (22,956) 0 56,144 |
0 0 0 0 |
0 46,331 |
|
| 0 (22,956) 0 0 0 56,144 |
|||
| 33,188 | 0 | 0 33,188 |
|
| Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period | |||
| Unrestricted funds Designated funds £ £ Cash funds Bank account 33,188 0 |
Signed on behalf of all the trustees on 19 February 2024
Michael Davies
Professor Michael C R Davies
Cuckmere Haven SOS Charity number 1161529 For Year to 31 December 2023
1 Accounting policies
Charity information
Cuckmere Haven SOS is a charitable incorporated organisation set up to meet the charitable objectives detailed in the Trustees' Report.
1.1 Accounting convention
The accounts have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis.