Trustees Annual Report : 01/01/20 – 31/12/20 Charity Name : Ancoats Canal Project (ACP) Charity Number : 1163243 Address (c/o) : Appt 27, Junction Works, 40 Ducie St, Manchester M1 2DF Trustees and office : Hannah Neate Secretary Paul England Treasurer Chris Hawke Chair Michelle Wren Scott Grant
Bankers : Co-operative Bank PLC, PO Box 250, Skelmersdale WN8 6WT 08-92-99 65841628
Signatories Paul England, Hannah Neate, Chris Hawke.
Charity structure, governance and management :
Ancoats Canal Project is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, with a revised constitution adopted on 8[th] June 2015. The organisation has five trustees and is counting the 49 members (who attended events in 2019) and the 18 who attended at least three events in 2019 have voting rights at the 2020 AGM.
Trustees are appointed or reappointed annually at the Annual General Meeting held in January. Chris Hawke was confirmed as chair at the 2019 AGM, and all four trustees were re-elected. Scott Grant offered to retire at the 2019 AGM as he was expecting to move away in 2020, his membership was retained pending the date.
ACP works closely with the Canal and Rivers Trust (CRT) and with Manchester City Council and its partners. One of our ACP regular event managers Jon Stopp is a representative of CRT who provide ACP with tools and materials to help deliver the charity objectives.
The 2020 financial year has been affected by the pandemic such that plans agreed at the AGM haven’t been implemented and the year ahead remains unknown. The group were only able to run one formal event in February before lockdown.
All trustees deliver their time voluntarily and receive no remuneration or other benefits.
Objectives and Activities :
To encourage the use of the Rochdale and Ashton canals as a public and social space, primarily to the residents of local wards, residents of Manchester as a whole and visitors to the city.
All of our activities focus on the public benefits of the work undertaken, these include improvements to the visual aspect of the Rochdale & Ashton Canals, creation of extra amenities, encouragement of wildlife diversity and organisation of social events to bring different parts of the community together.
Achievements and Performance
ACP planned to hold monthly clean-up events on the last Sunday in each month but during 2020 only the February event was held at which twelve volunteers attended. At the January AGM the committee discussed the opportunity for purchasing two kayaks which would facilitate access to the water and to the opposite banks. The committee also saw the potential for encouraging access to the water for residents. The decision was made to approach Manchester City Council for funding of £1,000 to purchase the kayaks and to cover ongoing costs. MCC supported the bid in full and the money was received on 23[rd] February. The council are aware of the ACP circumstances and whilst we still have the funding the pandemic may yet impact on our plans.
This year we undertook litter picking at the February event and following lockdown several members have been out observing social distancing to perform litter picking, clearing buddleia from the brickwork and maintaining the planting beds. During the lockdown months a group of local volunteers set up an Instagram group to undertake regular litter picking. We have observed the Ashton canal in particular has become a very popular public space to exercise so the basic maintenance and tidying has had massive impact on the community.
As reported ACP received £1,000 in February and it was expected to spend all this amount in 2020. The outgoings have been limited, the financial review with details follows.
Financial Review
On 31/12/2020 ACP holds £1,817.35 in the current account, all of which is unrestricted funds available to finance projects in 2021.
Declaration
The trustees have approved the annual report and financial statement that follows.
Treasurer Paul England Chair Chris Hawke Signatures Date /xx/2021 xx/xx/2021
Ancoats Canal Project; receipts and payments for the period 01/01/20 – 31/12/20
| Receipts | 31/12/20 | 31/12/20 | 31/12/19 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester City Council Grant | £1,000.00 | £ 0 | |
| Bank Interest | £ | 0 |
£ 0 |
| Total income | £1,000.00 | £ 0 | |
| Expenditure | |||
| Community Engagement (festival etc.) | £ | 0 | £ 0 |
| Insurance | £ | 75.00 | £ 168.00 |
| Tools and Equipment | £ | 60.00 | £ 24.99 |
| Catering | £ | 12.75 | £ 113.49 |
| Planting Projects | £ | 0 | £ 76.69 |
| Postage, Stationery, Advertising | £ | 0 | £ 1.16 |
| Total Expenditure | £ | 147.75 | £ 291.33 |
| Current Assets | |||
| Cash at Bank | £ | 1,817.35 | £ 965.10 |
| Petty Cash | £ | 15.46 | £ 15.46 |
| Total | £ | 1,832.81 | £ 980.56 |
| Current Liabilities | £ | 0 | £ 0 |
| Net Assets | £ | 1,832.81 | £ 980.56 |
The accounts show the financial status of ACP compared to 2019, the net current account balance of £1,832.81 reflects an increase in capital of £852.25.
The plan for 2021, subject to discussions at the AGM and a review of the impact of the pandemic is to spend £500 on two kayaks, ropes, lifejackets, oars and other accessories. There is likely to be additional cost for insurance and licensing which will come from the MCC funding received February 2020. The RHS annual insurance premium is due for payment in Feb 2021, a renewal notice has already been received for the same premium.