2025-03-31-accounts

WORLD HERITAGE UK

Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31[st] March 2025

Contents

A: Reference and Administrative Detail	2
B: Structure, Governance and Management	2
C: Objectives and Activities	3
D: Achievements and Performance	3
E: Treasurer’s Report	7
F: Independent Examiner’s Report	9
G: Accounts	10
Appendix 1: WHUK Membership	13

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A: Reference and Administrative Detail

Trustees During 2024-25:

• Teresa Anderson

• Max Bryant (retired December 2024)

• Amanda Chadburn - Secretary

• Tony Crouch – Vice-Chair

• Barry Gamble

• Lesley Garlick (retired December 2024)

• Brandi Hall-Crossgrove

• Henry Owen-John

• Stephen Ratcliffe

• Justin Scully

• Paul Simons – Chair

• Ashleigh Taylor - Treasurer

• Graham Thompson (appointed December 2024)

• Adam Wilkinson (appointed December 2024)

Charity Registration Number: 1163364

Registered Office: World Heritage UK c/o Chappell Associates Ltd Westfield House Bratton Road WESTBURY Wiltshire BA13 3EP

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

• Digital & Data (including GDPR; in draft)

• Employee Handbook (incorporating HR)

• Expenses

• Finance Procedures (including Donations, Gifts and Hospitality)

• Health and Safety

• Reserves

• Environmental

• Safeguarding and Protecting People

• Equality & Diversity

• Volunteering (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 World Heritage Sites, and Tentative List Sites (as defined in the objectives) 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

• 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 2024 to March 2025

Advocacy World Heritage UK (WHUK) works internationally, nationally and locally to build awareness, understanding and valuing of World Heritage (WH), World Heritage Sites (WHSs) and Outstanding Universal Value (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

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• 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; Chris has been supporting ENWHA in organising their first WHS Managers’ Forum, to be held in April 2025 in Spain; 3 UK WHSs will represent the UK

• WHUK’s President has been working with the National Trust (NT) and their internal WH group of senior managers, raising the profile of WH within NT strategies and operations; WHUK has been elected onto the Council of the NT

• 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 continued to support Historic England, Historic Environment Scotland, Cadw, Northern Ireland Environment Agency, ICOMOS-UK (working to a MoU), IUCN, ICCROM and the UK National Commission to UNESCO

• WHUK supported The Heritage Alliance through participation on their specialist working groups Spatial Planning Advisory Group and the International Advisory Group

• WHUK as member of the Historic Environment Forum (HEF), is 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 also contributed to the annual Historic Environment Overview

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

Sector Development

WHUK works on behalf of the UK’s 35 WHSs. We deliver a key hub role, linking the frontline with Government and heritage NDPBs. We provide knowledge, training and networking opportunities for WH professionals to share and learn from each other. This year we delivered:

• “

• • Industrial World Heritage ” was the theme for the 2024 workshop, held over 2 days at Bangor

• University. 64 delegates enjoyed talks by speakers from Germany, Liverpool University, Jodrell Bank, Cadw, VisitBritain and more, on topics covering how Industrial Heritage can drive urban regeneration, attract inbound tourism, support STEM in education, engage local communities, contribute to the UK’s Intangible Cultural Heritage, be the focus of major events etc. Included in the programme were (very wet) site visits to Dinorwig and Bethesda Quarries, Llanberis Slate Museum and Penrhyn Castle, plus a social at Cellb Arts Centre with local Welsh language musicians Ffenest. Delegate feedback was overwhelmingly positive. The workshop was generously supported by Bangor University

• ”

• • Making the Most of World Heritage…” was the theme of the 2024 annual conference, held over 2 days in Redruth in the Cornish Mining WHS. Almost 100 delegates heard talks on topics ranging from economic regeneration to managing development and conservation together, Place Making, WHS governance, wellbeing, education, repurposing heritage assets and more, from a variety of speakers including heritage consultants, Historic England, Nottingham Trent University, Historic Royal Palaces, the National Trust and more. The programme included sites visits to Geevor and Levant mines, when of course the heavens opened and we all got soaked (which is the norm for WHUK events!). Again feedback was predominately very positive. The 24/25 conference was kindly sponsored by Cornish Metals, who are redeveloping a tin mine in Redruth

• Following the successful introduction of WHS-focused webinars, WHUK continued this initiative in 2024-25. During the spring/summer period, we hosted a series of 7 webinars focusing on the UK’s Industrial Heritage (IH). Six WHSs gave individual talks and the series

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ended with a round table conversation about where the IH sector may go, with the Ironbridge WHS Coordinator and Prof. Ian Wray from the Heseltine Institute at Liverpool University; over 120 signed up to this series and it brought in income of ~£1900

• The autumn’s series focused on Cathedrals and Abbeys within WHSs. Four – Canterbury, Westminster, Durham and Bath – were covered. This series received signups of ~50 and an income of £500+

• The final series of the year highlighted the work by a number of WHSs in their work to adapt to and mitigate for the impacts of Climate Change. The series included the Flow Country, Fountains Abbey, Edinburgh and the Lake District, and attracted 50+ attendees and an income of ~£550

• 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, as well as focused talks on projects at Coast Connections, Loughborough University, the Tower of London and Fountains Abbey; average attendance was 30+

• WHUK hosted one WHS Chairs meeting in November, with updates from NDPBs and individual WHSs

• WHUK has continued to support Special Interest Groups and Site projects, including Industrial Heritage, Climate Emergency, the north England WHS cluster, and Learning & Engagement; the Newcastle University’s “UNESCO WHSs as Ambassadors for Peace” project was completed and its report published

• WHUK’s membership faced some challenges during 24/25, as a number of Local Authorities (LAs) cancelled or downgraded their memberships, a trend likely to continue into the coming year as LAs continue to struggle financially:

• Voting Members = 34, down on the previous year, with losses including Canterbury,

• New Lanark Trust, Devon County Council and English Heritage

• Associate Members = 12, with an increase as some Voting Members downgraded to Associate membership

• Individual Members = 41, down on the previous year

• Academic Member = 1

Engagement & Communications WHUK’s communications is primarily aimed at the UK’s WH sector.

• Website – additional resources were added to the site during the year, primarily 64 articles for the News section across a variety of topics including events, reports, job opportunities and WHS news

• • Database – WHUK’s database of regular contacts stands at 700+ (WH stakeholders and commercial, down 6% YOY)

• E-Communications – 17 e-newsletters were sent out to our database during the course of the year, reaching ~12k in total, with an average open rate of 25% (cf. last year’s figure 27%) and average click through of 6% (cf. industry norm of 3-5% and 10% last year)

• Social Media – X followers are currently 3300 (up on last year), Facebook has ~2400 followers (cf. ~2100 YOY) and LinkedIn has ~660 followers; WHUK’s previous social media volunteer has left and we will seek a new volunteer early 25/26

• Print – with the inscription of 2 new WHSs, the old ‘WH in the UK’ leaflet/map was redesigned, with a number of WHSs ordering hard copies and a pdf e-book made available to all WHSs

• External Activity - WHUK has given presentations on WH to Durham, Bangor and King’s College London universities, as well as the Seaside Heritage Network

• Projects - Realising the Benefits of WH to Local Communities (RtB) reached its second phase. Following the pilot project RtB1 delivered the previous year, WHUK with support from

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Historic England developed RtB2 to understand and support greater community engagement with WH/WHSs, through a 2 ½-year p/t role hosted at WHUK. This project was agreed this year and will commence 25/26

Governance & Management

• 2024-25 saw changes within the Board of Trustees; Max Bryant and Lesley Garlick both retired, though Lesley will continue to support WHUK and has agreed to continue volunteering for WHUK as Minutes Secretary. Previous Trustee (retired Dec 23) Jane Gibson has been co-opted onto the Board and also works as Events Support. New Trustees elected include international heritage consultant Adam Wilkinson and head of Northern Ireland’s Causeway Coast & Glens Heritage Trust Graham Thompson

• The 2024 online AGM saw finances of the previous year agreed and new membership rates for 2025-26 also agreed; 2024-25 saw WHUK make a small profit following from a successful year of events and membership retention

• A new Business Plan for 2025 – 28 was developed and adopted at the 2024 AGM and Jan 2025 Board

Declaration

The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees Annual Report at its Board Meeting on 31[st] July 2025.

Signed on behalf of the Charity Trustees:

Full Name: Paul Simons

Position: Chair

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E. Treasurer’s Report

1. Introduction

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

• This report details the Income and Expenditure Account from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025

• 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

• Income and Expenditure Account from 1 April 2024 - 31 March 2025

Income

• WHUK received £30,898 in subscription income during the year which reflected a slight overall increase compared to the previous year

• We generated £25,430 in income from our in-person and online events — an increase on the previous year. We ran two in-person events: a workshop in Bangor, which generated £5,498, and a conference in Cornwall, which generated £10,850. We continued to deliver online webinar events, which brought in £2,082. In addition, we received £7,000 in meeting support (sponsorship) for our events. Our sponsors were Historic England, Cornish Metals Ltd, and Cornwall Council

• We generated £4,078 in income from member contributions towards the creation of a reprint of the WHUK map of World Heritage Sites in the UK. This income helped cover production costs, and members who contributed received printed copies for their own use

• 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

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

• This year’s balance sheet shows an increase in both accruals and debtors. Accruals rose due to the deferral of 2025-26 membership invoices raised in advance, ticket income received ahead of our April 2025 London event, and grant funding received in advance. The rise in debtors reflects 2025-25 membership invoices that remained unpaid as at 31 March

• We received grant income of £15,000 from Historic England for our project Realising the Benefits of World Heritage to Local Communities 2. As the project commenced in April 2025, this income was deferred to 2025-26. The project is a continuation of our earlier pilot, which focused on supporting World Heritage Sites to better understand levels of community engagement

Expenditure

• The majority of expenditure continues to relate to staffing costs for WHUK’s small administrative team: a General Manager (0.6 FTE) and a Finance Manager (3 days per month). Total staff costs for the year were £39,591

• The cost of meetings and conferences increased to £14,168 during the year. This was due to higher direct costs and reduced in-kind support from partners compared to the previous year (offset by increased sponsorship income). In-kind event support was received from the following:

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• Conference: in-kind support received from Cornish Mining WHS and the National Trust

• Webinars: in-kind support from a number of speakers who gave their time freely including numerous industrial World Heritage Sites; Durham, Canterbury, Westminster and Bath WHSs; the Flow Country, Edinburgh and Fountains Abbey WHSs

• Workshop: in-kind support received from Bangor University as hosts of this event

• • Marketing & publicity costs increased to £2,486. This increase primarily reflects the cost of producing reprinted maps of World Heritage Sites, which were distributed to members who had ordered copies

• Office expenses increased to £1,772, primarily due to higher IT costs – a result of inflationary rises from software providers and greater demand for IT support due to growing organisational needs

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

Balance

At the end of the financial year 2024–25, WHUK held total funds of £31,641. A surplus of £2,125 was generated during the year.

1. Reserves Policy

The Trustees of World Heritage UK have reviewed their financial commitments and have agreed to designate a reserve sum of £16,343 for wind down costs should the charity cease operations. This is the equivalent of approximately 3 months’ core operating costs plus redundancy costs. 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 31[st] July 2025

Signed:

Paul Simons, Chair of Trustees

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World Heritage UK

Accounts

1 April 2024 - 31 March 2025

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 2025.

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

29/05/2025

World Heritage UK Income & Expenditure Account 1 April 2024 - 31 March 2025

Income Subscriptions Historic England Historic Environmental Scotland Cadw Meeting support Conference income Meeting income Miscellaneous Donations Gift Aid on donations Interest receivable WHUK review Charitable Activities / WHUK Map Membership fee 2022-23 NLHF Resilience grant Restricted grant (website) Heritage Emergency Fund Grant Cultural Recovery Fund Grant 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		2025 £ 30,898 - - - 7,000 10,970 7,460 - 1,082 301 533 - 4,078 - - - - - 62,322 39,591 - 23 - 10,205 3,963 715 2,486 1,772 - 840 - - 100 502 - - - - 60,197 2,125		2024 £ 29,985 - - - 6,500 4,475 11,163 16 250 133 443 - 28,514 - - - - - 81,479 38,511 - 459 - 1,071 8,268 1,016 459 951 120 1,230 - - 122 470 - - 21,993 - 74,670 6,809

World Heritage UK Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2025

Current Assets Sundry Debtors Cash at Bank Payroll creditors Accruals Prepayments Total Net Assets Accumulated Fund as at 1 April cash basis change from cash to accrual basis Surplus/ (Deficit) for the Year	2025 2024 £ £ 21,230 (6,620) 65,456 42,453 (1,259) (1,232) (56,663) (5,085) 2,877 31,641 29,516
	29,516 22,707 (338) 2,125 6,809 31,641 29,516

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.

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APPENDIX ONE: WHUK Membership 2024-25

World Heritage Site	Voting Member Organisation
Maritime Greenwich	Greenwich Foundation
Blaenavon	Torfaen CountyBorough Council
Ironbridge Gorge	Telford & Wrekin Council
Blenheim Palace	West Oxfordshire District Council
Slate Landscape of NW Wales	Snowdonia National Park Authority
Durham Castle & Cathedral	Durham World Heritage Site Partnership
Saltaire	Cityof Bradford Metropolitan DC
Pontcysyllte	Wrexham CountyBC
Old & New Towns of Edinburgh	The Cityof Edinburgh Council
Tower of London	Historic Royal Palaces
Stonehenge & Avebury	Wiltshire Council
St Kilda	National Trust for Scotland
Derwent ValleyMills	Derbyshire CountyCouncil
Gorham Cave Complex	Gibraltar Museum
Blenheim Palace	Blenheim Palace Heritage Foundation
Ironbridge Gorge	Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust
St George,Bermuda	Corporation of St George
Hadrian’s Wall	Cumberland Council
Pontcysyllte	Canal and River Trust
Jodrell Bank	Universityof Manchester
English Lake District	National Trust Lake District
Flow Country	NatureScot
Cityof Bath	Bath and NE Somerset Council
Slate Landscape of NW Wales/Castles of Edward I	Gwynedd Council
StudleyRoyal & Fountains Abbey	National Trust Fountains Abbey
Cornish Mining	Cornwall Council
English Lake District	Lake District National Park
Kew	Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
Giant’s Causeway	National Trust Giant’s Causeway
New Lanark	South Lanarkshire Council
Westminster Palace	Westminster CityCouncil
World Heritage Site	Associate Member Organisation
Jurassic Coast/Cornish Mining	Devon CountyCouncil
East Coast Flyway (Tentative List Site)	RSPB
UK-wide	CFP Landscape and Heritage
St George,Bermuda	The St George’s Foundation
Redhills(aspiringSite)	Redhills Durham Miners Hall
Gracehill Moravian Church Settlement	Moravian Church Settlements
UK-wide	ICOMOS-UK
Birkenhead Park(Tentative List Site)	Wirral Council
Neolithic Heart of Orkney	OrkneyIsland Council
Zenith of Iron Age Shetland(Tentative List Site)	Shetland AmenityTrust
Giant’s Causeway	CCGHT
Cityof Bath	Bath Preservation Trust
Academic Member
Bangor University

In addition, there were 62 individual members during 2024-25.