Trustees Annual Report : 01/01/24 – 31/12/24 Charity Name : Ancoats Canal Project (ACP) Charity Number : 1163243 Address (c/o) : Appt 27, Junction Works, 40 Ducie St, Manchester M1 2DF Trustees and officers : TBA Secretary Paul England Treasurer Chris Hawke Chair Brian Barton, Sue Pritchard
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 constitution adopted on 8[th] June 2015. The organisation has five trustees (to be discussed/ratified at the 2024 AGM) and is counting 12 members who attended events in 2024. Four members attended at least three events in 2024 and have voting rights at the 2024 AGM.
Trustees are appointed or reappointed annually at the Annual General Meeting held in January. Chris Hawke was confirmed as chair at the 2023 AGM, Paul England was re-elected as Treasurer and Hannah Neate offered her resignation as Secretary with plans to replace her in 2024. Brian Barton and Sue Pritchard stayed on the board of Trustees having been elected in 2022.
ACP works closely with the Canal and River Trust (CRT) and with Manchester City Council and its partners. In 2024 we operated without seeking any additional funding and we ran regular volunteer events throughout the year.
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 schedule regular clean-up events on the last Sunday in each month and during 2024 held events in March through to November. At the AGM in January the committee developed outline plans for 2024 which were largely to focus on maintenance, greening and litter picking rather than larger projects.
In 2024 we undertook litter picking at each of the nine events held where we covered both the Ashton and Rochdale canals and surrounding landscape. The Rochdale canal towpath re-opened beyond New Union Street bridge facilitating better access but additional building works around Navigation Street have changed the landscape there. We had the benefit of the CRT workboat on one event so we were able to clear the litter from the offside banks on the Ashton. We undertook some landscaping and greening and re-planted the fruit beds at Bridge 5 on the Ashton. Once again buddleia had taken control in some areas and hard pruning has been a regular task.
Early in 2024 we had great CRT support from Chris Bird the regional co-ordinator but organisational changes within the Canal & River Trust led to staff changes and no support since July 2024. Leon Edmonson the CRT Area Operations Manager has apologised for the oversight and wishes to reengage in 2025 and will be invited to the AGM. Peter Beswick and Mark Woodcock are the new CRT operational leads on the Ashton and Rochdale Canals.
Financial Review
On 31/12/2024 ACP holds £1,332.90 in the current account, all of which is unrestricted funds available to finance projects in 2024. We also hold £15.46 in petty cash.
Declaration
The trustees have approved the annual report and financial statement that follows.
| Treasurer | Paul England | Chair | Chris Hawke |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signatures | |||
| Date | 26/01/2025 | 26/01/2025 |
Ancoats Canal Project; receipts and payments for the period 01/01/24 – 31/12/24
| Receipts | 31/12/24 | 31/12/24 | 31/12/23 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester City Council Grant | £ | 0 | £ 0 |
| Bank Interest | £ | 0 |
£ 0 |
| Total income | £ | 0 | £ 0 |
| Expenditure | |||
| Community Engagement (festival etc.) | £ | 0 | £ 0 |
| Insurance | £ | 80.00 | £ 75.00 |
| Tools and Equipment | £ | 0 | £ 0 |
| Catering | £ | 24.05 | £ 17.00 |
| Planting Projects | £ | 0 | £ 0 |
| Sundries | £ | 0 | £ 11.97 |
| Total Expenditure | £ | 104.05 | £ 103.97 |
| Current Assets | |||
| Cash at Bank | £ | 1,332.90 | £ 1,436.95 |
| Petty Cash | £ | 15.46 | £ 15.46 |
| Total | £ | 1,348.36 | £ 1,452.41 |
| Current Liabilities | £ | 0 | £ 0 |
| Net Assets | £ | 1,348.36 | £ 1,452.41 |
The accounts show the financial status of ACP compared to 2023, the net current account balance of £1,348.36 reflects small reduction in capital of 104.05 due to expenditure in 2024 as listed above.