2024-03-31-accounts

WORLD HERITAGE UK

Trustees Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31[st] March 2024

Contents

A: Reference and Administrative Detail	2
B: Structure, Governance and Management	2
C: Objectives and Activities	3
D: Achievements and Performance	3
E: Treasurers Report	7
F: Independent Examiners Report	9
G: Accounts	11
Appendix 1: WHUK Membership	13

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A: Reference and Administrative Detail

Trustees During 2023-24: Teresa Anderson – (resigned as Chair May 2023) Max Bryant Amanda Chadburn Tony Crouch – Vice-Chair Barry Gamble (appointed December 2023) Lesley Garlick Jane Gibson (resigned December 2023) Brandi Hall-Crossgrove (appointed December 2023) David Holroyd (resigned December 2023) Henry Owen-John (appointed December 2023) Stephen Ratcliffe Sam Rose (resigned December 2023) Justin Scully Paul Simons – Chair (appointed July 2023) Ashleigh Taylor Ian Wray – Vice-Chair (resigned May 2023)

Charity Registration Number: 1163364

Registered Office: c/o The Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust Coach Road Coalbrookedale TELFORD Shropshire TF8 7DQ

B: Structure, Governance and Management

Type of Governing Document: Constitution

How the Charity is Constituted: Charitable Incorporated Organisation

Trustee Selection Methods: Elected by the Membership at AGM

Governance Policies:

World Heritage UK has a number of governance policies in place in accordance with the guidance from the National Council for Voluntary Organisations for small charities. These include:

• Conflict of Interest Policy

• Data Protection

• Ethics Policy (including Donations, Gifts and Hospitality) – in draft

• Employee Handbook incorporating HR Policies

• Expenses Policy

• Financial Management and Controls – in draft

• Health and Safety Policy

• Reserves Policy

• Safeguarding and Protecting People

• Volunteering Policy – in draft

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• C: Objectives and Activities

Objects and Aims

To promote the conservation and protection of the UK’s World Heritage Sites for the benefit of the public, defined as those places considered by the United Nations Educational Cultural and Scientific Organisation (UNESCO) as having such Outstanding Universal Value that they warrant being inscribed on the World Heritage List through the powers of the international Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, 1972, in particular but without limitation to the following:-

• Supporting for the benefit of the public the development of World Heritage Site nominations for the UK’s Tentative List Sites, defined as Sites on the UK Government’s official Tentative List for nomination for World Heritage Status;

• Advancing the education of the public in general in respect of the significance and values of the UK’s World Heritage Sites and Tentative List Sites, as defined above;

• Undertaking effective advocacy at all levels for the joint benefit of the UK’s World Heritage Sites and for the World Heritage Convention;

• Facilitating and encouraging networking between organisations and individuals that play a role in the management of the UK’s WH Sites, and Tentative List Sites (as defined in the objects) be that at the Site, agency, NGO, government, corporate or individual level, for the collective benefit of the Sites’ management. This may involve: bringing people together; sharing good practice; exchanging information;

• Dissemination of information;

• Undertaking joint projects and initiatives;

• Providing a platform for partners to access the UK World Heritage Community;

• Linking internationally, where appropriate; and

• Promoting the UK’s World Heritage Sites, in collaboration with key partner agencies, to a national and international audience so as to allow more people to experience the Sites in ways that are appropriate to their different situations and pressures, and which enable the general public to better find out about, experience, access and enjoy them.

Public Benefit

The Trustees confirm that they have referred to the Guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the Trust’s aims and objectives and in planning future activities. In particular, the Trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives they have set.

The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the requirements of Section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission.

• D. Achievements and Performance: World Heritage UK’s Year – April 2023 to March 2024

Advocacy

WHUK works internationally, nationally and locally to build awareness, understanding and valuing of WH, WHSs and OUV, with key stakeholders, communities, and audiences:

• WHUK’s President Chris Blandford worked with and supported the European Network of World Heritage Associations (ENWHA) in establishing a governance model and working framework, as well as representing WH in the UK and WHUK at the ENWHA stand at ITB Berlin, one of the world’s largest travel and tourism trade fair.

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• WHUK’s President has been working with the National Trust and its internal WH group of senior managers, raising the profile of WH within NT strategies and operations.

• WHUK’s President met with UNESCO’s WH Centre Director Lazare Eloundou Assomo and Head of European & North American WH Unit Berta de Sancristobal, to update them on WH in the UK and WHUK. Both expressed their continued interest and support for WHUK and its activities.

• WHUK’s President has continued to work on the Republic of Ireland’s ambitions for WH, including supporting its newly established WH Unit, developing guidance for Ireland’s revised WH Tentative List, refining its national WH strategy, and at a site level, advising the Sligo Neolithic Passage Tombs on its journey to WHS status.

• WHUK continued to work in partnership with Historic England, Historic Environment Scotland, Cadw, Northern Ireland Environment Agency, ICOMOS-UK (working to a Memorandum of Understanding), IUCN, ICCROM and the UK National Commission to UNESCO on World Heritage issues.

• Supported Heritage Alliance through participation on their specialist working groups – Spatial Planning Advisory Group and the International Advisory Group.

• WHUK is now a member of the Historic Environment Forum (HEF), working with other senior heritage leaders, to foster research, conservation and presentation of, and political engagement with, all aspects of the heritage environment in England.

• WHUK is a member of DCMS’ World Heritage Advisory Group (WHAG), to advise and steer the State Party in all aspects of delivery of the WH Convention, starting with the coming implementation of the UK’s Tentative List. WHAG comprises leaders and decision makers from NDPBs (heritage and environment) and Governmental departments.

Sector Development

WHUK works on behalf of the UK’s 33 WHSs. It delivers a key hub role, linking the frontline with Government and heritage NDPBs. It provides knowledge, training and networking opportunities for WH professionals to share and learn from each other. This year WHUK delivered:

• “World Heritage and Nature” was the theme for the summer workshop in the English Lake District WHS in July; held at Cumbria University’s Centre for National Parks and Protected Areas, delegates enjoyed two days of talks and site visits into the WHS. 56 delegates attended in person, and the workshop benefitted from sponsorship from Lake District National Park Authority, United Utilities, the Environment Agency and Windermere Lake Cruises.

• “Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity in World Heritage” was the theme for the 2023 annual conference, held at Stirling’s Engine Shed with support from Historic Environment Scotland (HES). Over the two days in October, delegates heard from experts from heritage and beyond, on topics such as youth audiences, community engagement, accessibility in the workforce, socio-economic inclusivity, disability within heritage interpretation and more. A packed programme was supplemented with field trips to the Forth Bridge and Antoine Wall WHSs, plus a social night hosted by HES in their role as conference sponsors. 94 delegates attended in person.

• New for 2023-24, WHUK developed and hosted a Series of Online Webinars exploring WH across the UK. Available to all and designed to grow WH awareness, the first series focused on Natural WHSs (Giant’s Causeway, the Jurassic Coast and St Kilda) while the second showcased a number of the new Tentative List Sites (Birkenhead Park, Gracehill Moravian Church Settlement, York, and the East Coast Flyway). These webinars have built their audiences, both domestic and international, with the latest series which focuses on Industrial Heritage, drawing a series audience of over 100 and income exceeding £1500. All are recorded and made available via YouTube to delegates unable to make the live talk.

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• In September and November, WHUK in conjunction with ICOMOS-UK, hosted two webinars on Heritage Impact Assessments (HIAs). The first was aimed at WHS coordinators and managers, and local authority planners; the second was aimed at the private sector (eg consultants, architects etc). Both had explanations of HIAs and their importance from Susan Denyer and were complemented with real-world case studies. Both webinars were well attended; 95 at the first and 66 at the second. Income from both was shared between ICOMOS-UK and WHUK.

• WHUK hosted four WHS Coordinators’ Forums (in May, September, November and February), providing Site coordinators and managers the opportunity to hear the latest from Government, NDPBs and their peers; average attendance was over 30.

• WHUK hosted one WHS Chairs Meeting in November, with updates from NDPBs and discussions on resource and engagement levels at WHSs. The number of actual Chairs attending continues to be frustratingly low. Professor Barry Gilbertson also announced his retirement as Chair of this group.

• WHUK has continued to support Special Interest Groups and Site projects, including Industrial Heritage, Climate Emergency, WH and Peace, the north of England WHS cluster, and Learning and Engagement.

Projects

• WHUK undertook a pilot research project “Realising the Benefits of World Heritage for Local Communities” (RtB) exploring the level of community engagement within eight pilot WHSs, with support, including funding, from Historic England. Findings from the project have identified differing levels of engagement and gaps in engagement skills and knowledge across the pilot sites. WHUK is exploring with HE how this project should be evolved further.

Engagement and Communications

WHUK’s communications is primarily aimed at the UK’s WH sector although the social media activity has reach beyond this audience.

• Website – additional resources were added to the site during the year, primarily the 2022-23 WHUK Review, WH in the UK 2022-23 Review, details on the new Tentative List Sites, and videos from events; 71 articles for the News section were added on a variety of topics including WHUK events, Intangible Cultural Heritage, Climate Change toolkit, IUCN WH strategy, and job and Trustee opportunities across the UK amongst others.

• Database – WHUK’s database of regular contacts stands at 750 (WH stakeholders and commercial, up 6% on the previous year.

• E-Communications – 15 e-newsletters were sent out to the database during the course of the year, reaching around12k in total, with an average open rate of 27% (last year’s figure was 22.6%) and average click through of 10% (the industry norm is 3-5% and WHUK was 8.3% last year).

• Social Media – X (formerly Twitter) followers are currently 358 (the same as last year) and Facebook has around 2100 followers (an increase from 1900 the previous year); WHUK welcomed volunteer Millie who uploads, monitors and interacts on behalf of WHUK on the social channels.

• Print – work commenced on a ‘WHS by Rail’ map, being produced by Hadrian’s Wall YAMs and Tyne Valley Community Rail Partnership, to be ready for 2024’s WH Day in April.

• External Activity - WHUK has given presentations on WH to Durham, Bangor and King’s College London universities; has spoken at Hadrian’s Wall annual networking event and Canterbury’s “Re-Awakening WHS” symposium and facilitated Stonehenge and Avebury’s governance workshop. WHUK’s President chaired and presented to Garden Trust members on WH gardens in the UK.

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Membership

WHUK’s membership remains relatively stable although it was with regret that Canterbury and Great Spa Towns of Europe decided not to renew membership and Jurassic Coast, Orkney, Shetland and Devon County Council down-graded from Voting to Associate membership. However, English Heritage joined as a full Voting Member and Redhills Durham Miners Hall and St George’s Foundation joined as Associate Members during the course of the year.

Following the successful recruitment in June of Bangor University as an Academic Member with a three-year membership package, a direct mail campaign, supported by Steps to Sustainability, has approached 40 other Higher Education institutions offering heritage-based courses with a potential membership package.

WHUK’s members are listed in Appendix One, but in summary:

• Voting Members = 33 (down five on 2022-23)

• Associate Members = 9 (up six year on year)

• Individual Members = 71 (up eight or 13% year on year)

• Academic Member = 1 (up one year on year)

Governance and Management

• The WHUK Chair, Teresa Anderson from Jodrell Bank WHS and Manchester University, who took over at the start of 2023 was unable to continue as Chair due to personal reasons and stepped down. Paul Simons, a Heritage consultant and Great Spa Towns of Europe’s original WHS coordinator, was appointed as a Trustee and Chair by the Board in July 2023.

• 2023-24 also saw changes within the Board of Trustees; Sam Rose, David Holroyd and Jane Gibson all retired and will be sadly missed, though Jane will continue to support WHUK and has been co-opted onto the Board. The new Trustees elected were Brandi Hall-Crossgrove (from Ironbridge WHS and ICOMOS), Barry Gamble (WH consultant) and Henry Owen-John (formerly Head of the International and World Heritage Team at Historic England) who had previously been co-opted onto the Board last year.

• In the New Year’s Honour’s List, WHUK President Chris Blandford was awarded the OBE for services to World Heritage in the UK.

• Beth Thomas left WHUK for the Churches Conservation Trust and Natashia Mattocks became the new Finance Manager. Natashia brings a wealth of financial management across a number of charity sectors.

• The 2023-24 online AGM saw finances of the previous year agreed and new membership rates for 2024-25 also agreed; 2023-24 saw WHUK make a small profit following from a successful year of events and membership retention.

• A review of WHUK’s Business Plan started this year and will be finalised in early 2024-25

Declaration

The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees Annual Report at its Board Meeting on 25[th] July 2024.

Signed on behalf of the Charity Trustees:

Full Name: Paul Simons

Position: Chair

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E. Treasurer’s Report

• 1.0 Introduction

• 1.1 World Heritage UK is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) and was registered with the Charity Commission (charity number 1163364) on 1 September 2015.

• 1.2 This report details the Income and Expenditure Account from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024.

• 1.3 An Independent Examiner’s report has been carried out by Andrew Chappell FCA MIMgt of Chappell Associates Ltd as required by the Charity Commission for those charities with gross incomes greater than £25,000 per annum.

• 2.0 Income and Expenditure Account from 1 April 2023 - 31 March 2024 Income

• 2.1 World Heritage UK received £29,985 in subscription income during the year. There was fluctuation in membership with an overall increase in income; voting members decreased, associate members increased, and the category of academic member was introduced.

• 2.2 We generated £22,139 income for our in-person and online events which represents an increase upon last year. We ran two in-person events; a summer workshop in Ambleside that generated £8,575 and a conference in Stirling that generated £4,475. We continued to deliver online webinar events which generated £2,589. We also received £6,500 in meeting support (sponsorships) towards our in-person meetings. Our sponsors were: United Utilities, Environment Agency, Lake District National Park, and DCMS.

• 2.3 We received a grant of £1,197 from the Social Enterprise Academy for their ‘Steps to Sustainability Stepping On Funding’ Programme. This was used for a direct marketing campaign, to build awareness of WHUK’s academic membership offer. We also received a grant of £26,400 from Historic England for our project “WHUK Realising the Benefits of World Heritage to Local Communities.” This was used to undertake research with a pilot number of WHSs, to understand their current levels of community engagement.

• 2.4 The Trustees of WHUK continue to seek ways to make the Charity sustainable and diversify its income streams so it can continue to serve its members and fulfil its charitable objectives.

• 2.5 The Trustees would like to thank all their members and supporters for their contributions throughout the year.

Expenditure

• 2.6 The majority of expenditure continues to be for the small administrative team consisting of a General Manager (0.6 FTE) and Finance Manager (3 days per month).

• 2.7 The cost of meetings and conferences decreased during the year due to receiving in-kind support from partners and stakeholders towards our events. This support was provided by:

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• 2023 Annual conference: in-kind support received from Historic Environment Scotland (venue and catering).

• Heritage Impact Assessment Webinars: in-kind support from ICOMOS-UK (speaker and admin support)

• Autumn Webinars: in-kind support from RSPB, Wirral Council, York City Council and Gracehill Moravian Church (webinar speakers)

• 2.8 The grant funding received during the year was fully utilised with £21,993 spent on direct project costs and £5,757 allocated towards WHUK overheads and staffing.

• 2.9 Bank charges increased during the year due to how payment processing charges for PayPal, Stripe and GoCardless are allocated within our accounts system so we can better monitor these costs. These were previously deducted from the income received, rather than logged as an expense.

• 2.10 Insurance costs increased during the year due to moving our payments from monthly to annual upon renewal. Cost savings were made during our insurance renewal.

• 2.11 As a remote organisation without any premises, other overheads are kept to a minimum and mostly relate to digital provision and business software.

Balance

• 2.9 At the end of the financial year 2023-24 WHUK held total funds of £29,516.

• 3.0 Reserves Policy

• 3.1 The Trustees of World Heritage UK have reviewed their financial commitments and have agreed to designate a reserve sum of £21,147 for wind down costs should the charity cease operations. This is the equivalent of approximately 5 months core operating costs plus redundancy costs.

• 3.2 In the event of an unexpected loss of income or the trustees determining that WHUK is no longer a going concern, this sum would provide the funds to continue paying the monthly operating costs until either the CIO is wound up or alternative sources of funding are found.

Ashleigh Taylor Treasurer

Approved by the Trustees at its Board Meeting on 25[th] July 2024

Signed: Paul Simons Chair of Trustees

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WORLD HERITAGE UK

Independent Examiners Report

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Independent examiner's report to the Trustees of World Heritage UK

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of World Heritage UK for the year ended 31 March 2024.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees of World Heritage UK you are responsible for the preparations of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Act').

I report in respect of my examination of the Trustee's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examinations I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner's statement

I have completed my examinations. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

• (1) accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or

• (2) the accounts do not accord with those records.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signed

Andrew Chappell - FCA

Chappell Associates Ltd Chartered Accountants Westfield House Bratton Road Westbury Wiltshire BA13 3EP

01/07/2024

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World Heritage UK Income & Expenditure Account 1 April 2023 - 31 March 2024

Expenditure Staff costs Recruitment Board member and meeting expenses Volunteer appreciation Conference expenditure Meeting expenditure Insurance and accounting Marketing and publicity Office expenses Other professional expenses Membership Charitable Activities Research Agenda Miscellaneous Bank charges World Heritage review NHLF Resilience Grant Project costs Cultural Recovery Fund Grant Surplus / (Deficit) for the period Income Subscriptions Historic England Historic Environmental Scotland Cadw Meeting support Conference income Meeting income Miscellaneous Donations Gift Aid on donations Interest receivable WH:UK review Charitable Activities / WHUK Map Membership fee 2022-23 NLHF Resilience grant Restricted grant (website) Heritage Emergency Fund Grant Cultural Recovery Fund Grant	2024 £ 38,511 - 459 - 1,071 8,268 1,016 459 951 120 1,230 - - 122 470 - - 21,993 - 74,670 6,809 29,985 - - - 6,500 4,475 11,163 16 250 133 443 - 28,514 - - - - - 81,479	2023 £ 27,476 - - - - 500 18,889 6,394 594 298 173 - 13,013 - - - - -
		67,337
		35,905 - 324 - - 17,793 882 924 1,513 - 710 - - 6,212 122 - - 13,228 -
		77,613
		(10276)

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World Heritage UK Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2024

Current Assets Sundry Debtors Cash at Bank Payroll creditors Accruals Total Net Assets Accumulated Fund as at 1 April cash basis change from cash to accrual basis Surplus / (Deficit) for the Year		2024 £ (6,620) 42,453 (1,232) (5,085) 29,516 22,707 (338) 6,809 29,516		2023 £ - 23,947 (1,240) -
				22,707
				32,983 (10,276) 22,707

For the year in question, World Heritage UK was entitled to exemption from an audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006.

The trustees have not required World Heritage UK to obtain an audit of its accounts for the year in question in accordance with section 476 of the Act.

The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.

Signed Trustee Name : Paul Simons Date: 8[th] July 2924

Signed Trustee Name: Tony Crouch Date: 8[th] July 2024

Signed

Trustee Name: Henry Owen-John Date: 9[th] July 2024

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APPENDIX ONE: WHUK Membership 2023-24

World Heritage Site	Voting Member Organisation
Blaenavon	Torfaen County Borough Council
Blenheim Palace	Blenheim Palace Heritage Foundation
Blenheim Palace	West Oxfordshire District Council
Castles of Gwynedd/Wales Slate	Gwynedd Council
City of Bath	Bath & North East Somerset Council
Cornish Mining	Cornwall Council
Derwent Valley Mills	Derbyshire County Council
Durham Cathedral and Castle	Durham WHS Partnership
Old and New Towns of Edinburgh	City of Edinburgh Council
Flow Country (Tentative List Site)	NatureScot
Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal	National Trust
Giants Causeway	National Trust
Gorham's Cave Complex	The Gibraltar Museum
Frontiers of the Roman Empire: Hadrian’s Wall	Cumberland Council
Ironbridge Gorge	Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust
Ironbridge Gorge	Telford & Wrekin Council
Jodrell Bank	University of Manchester
Kew	Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
Lake District	Lake District National Park Authority
Lake District	National Trust
Maritime Greenwich	Greenwich Foundation
New Lanark	New Lanark Trust
New Lanark	South Lanarkshire Council
Pontcysyllte	Canal and River Trust
Pontcysyllte	Wrexham Borough Council
Saltaire	City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council
St George's Bermuda	Corporation of St George
St Kilda	National Trust for Scotland
Stonehenge and Avebury / Hadrian’s Wall	English Heritage
Stonehenge and Avebury	Wiltshire Council
Tower of London	Historic Royal Palaces
Wales Slate	Snowdonia National Park
Westminster	Westminster City Council
World Heritage Site	Associate Member Organisation
Birkenhead Park (Tentative List Site)	Wirral Council
Cornish Mining / Jurassic Coast	Devon County Council
Giants Causeway	Causeway Coast and Glens Heritage Trust
Jurassic Coast	Jurassic Coast Trust
Neolithic Orkney	Orkney Island Council
Redhills (Aspiring Site)	Redhills Durham Miners Hall
Shetland (Tentative List Site)	Shetland Amenity Trust
St George’s, Bermuda	St George’s Foundation
UK-Wide	ICOMOS UK
Academic Member
Bangor University

In addition, there were 71 individual members during 2023-24.

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