Trustees Annual Report : 01/01/25 – 31/12/25 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 : Marta Tibiletti Secretary Paul England Treasurer Chris Hawke Chair Brian Barton Trustee
Bankers : Co-operative Bank PLC, PO Box 250, Skelmersdale WN8 6WT 08-92-99 65841628
Signatories Paul England, 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 four trustees ratified at the 2024 AGM and is counting 17 members who attended events in 2025. Three members in addition to the four trustees attended at least three events in 2025 and have voting rights at the 2025 AGM.
Trustees are appointed or reappointed annually at the Annual General Meeting held in January. Chris Hawke was confirmed as chair at the 2024 AGM, Paul England was re-elected as Treasurer and Marta Tibiletti stepped forward to act as Secretary for the short term. Brian Barton stayed on the board of Trustees.
ACP works closely with the Canal and River Trust (CRT) and with Manchester City Council and its partners. In 2025 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 2025 held events in February through to November. At the January AGM the committee agreed to use the February event to outline plans for 2025 which were largely to focus on maintenance, greening and litter picking rather than larger projects.
In 2025 we undertook litter picking at each of the ten events held where we covered both the Ashton and Rochdale canals and surrounding landscape. Closure of the Ashton towpath limited access for two months. 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 added more soft fruits to 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. After feedback from MCC waste operatives we are now using Keep Manchester Tidy pink waste bags to dispose of all waste collected.
Further organisational changes within the Canal & River Trust led to a lack of CRT support through to May 2025, since when Mark Woodcock and other CRT employees have been very supportive with time and tools.
Financial Review
On 31/12/2025 ACP holds £1,289.17 in the current account, all of which is unrestricted funds available to finance projects in 2026. We also hold £13.87 in petty cash.
In December we were contacted by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) asking for ACP bank details. After investigation we decided this was not a scam and on 12[th] December an amount of £74.77 was received from the CAF. Although we have not been provided with any information regarding the benefactor we really appreciate the donation and have reported this as income on the accounts.
Declaration
The trustees have approved the annual report and financial statement that follows.
| Treasurer | Paul England | Chair | Chris Hawke |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signatures | |||
| Date | 25/01/2026 | 25/01/2026 |
Ancoats Canal Project; receipts and payments for the period 01/01/25 – 31/12/25
| Receipts | 31/12/25 | 31/12/24 |
|---|---|---|
| Manchester City Council Grant | £ 0 | £ 0 |
| Donation | £ 74.77 | £ 0 |
| Total income | £ 74.77 | £ 0 |
| Expenditure | ||
| Community Engagement (festival etc.) | £ 0 | £ 0 |
| Insurance | £ 80.00 | £ 80.00 |
| Tools and Equipment | £ 0 | £ 0 |
| Catering | £ 14.00 | £ 24.05 |
| Planting Projects | £ 24.50 | £ 0 |
| Sundries (refuse sacks) | £ 1.59 | £ 0 |
| Total Expenditure | £ 120.09 | £ 104.05 |
| Current Assets | ||
| Cash at Bank | £ 1,289.17 | £ 1,332.90 |
| Petty Cash | £ 13.87 | £ 15.46 |
| Total | £ 1,303.04 | £ 1,348.36 |
| Current Liabilities | £ 0 | £ 0 |
| Net Assets | £ 1,303.04 | £ 1,348.36 |
The accounts show the financial status of ACP compared to 2024, the net current account balance of £1,303.04 reflects small reduction in capital of 45.32 due to expenditure in 2025 as listed above offset against the donation of £74.77.