The countryside charFty Le cestershi-e CPRE CPRE Leicestershire Annual Report and Financial Review De¢ember 2022 to November 2023 Introduction The main activrties of CPRE Leicestershire are to promote and encourage the improvement and protection of the Leicestershire countryside for the benefit of everyone. These activities are achieved In part by monitonng and ¢))mmenling on planning applications, many of which a bfought to our attention by CPRE members, Pansh Counols and the public. The Branch also advises on Neighbourhood Plans and responds lo local and national Consultations. structure and Govemance CPRE Leicestershire is constituted as a Charitable In￿rPOrated Organisation ICIOI, which is a finanoally independent charity related to the National CPRE charity, and is managed and run, on a voluntary basis, by a Committee of Trustees. Serving on a continuous basis for a maximum of six years, they are selected by the Committee subj'ect to conf1m)atic￿ of their positions annually at the AGM. Trustees It wll be all change for the Branch this year. The Branth Chair, Tony Slott. and the Branch Treasurer, Tony &'mpson, have reached the end of their &year tenure of being a Trustee. Tony Stott became active in the Branch in 2003. having been a member of CPRE since 1978. He now completes a second lemi as Chair and as a Trustee and feels il is time to.hand over the reins" of the role of Chair. He wishes to take a back seat on his volunteering involvement wth the Branch and spend more lime with his family and enjoying more holidays bird watching. He has been a pivotal presen￿ for the Branch as he has a wealth of knovAedge and has kept the Branch going over the years. He will be g￿atlY missed in his fole as Chair but remain as a volunteer for the 8ranch and will oversee the formal launch of the Branch Vision. In accordance with the requirements of the Branch Constitution. Tony Simpson, havin9 served the maximum allowable temi of 6 years as Trustee and Honorary Treasurer, is standing down from bolh roles. Tony joined the Branch in October 2015, became Chamwood Districl TreaSU￿r in December of that year, and joined the Branth Committee as Trustee and Branch Treasurer in February 2017. Tony has provided an invaluable Servi￿ to the Branch. In May 2023 Helena Ethwards decided lo slep do*m from her role a$ Trustee, and apart from being a Trustee she was also heavily involved with Chamwood District Group. It was noted from the Chamwood District Group Minute Book that Helena had been involved ￿th that group as far back as 1997, $0 her total involvement wth CPRE Leicestershire extended to at least 26 years. Helena was a keen member of the Branch, and her input and knO￿edge a￿ ￿allY missed. In August 2023 Caroline p￿k, was a previous Trustee, stepped dovm from her role as the Vision Project Manager. Caroline has been instrumental in getting the Vision "off the ground" and the Branch wshes her well in the fvlure as she V+ryll now have more tim• to enjoy her garden and the Leicestershire countryside. Following these changes. the Twstees are: John Marriott Rita Bullivant Rahoul Naik Martin Cooper {appointed Marth 2023). The ¢ouniryBide charity Le'cesrershi"e CPRE In March 2023, the Branch welcomed Martin C¢)oper as Ihe new Volunteer Coordinator Trustee. He brings expertise to support the growlh and development of CPRE Leicestershire through his knovAedge of volunleering. Jill Prior ttsntinues in her role as Cofflmittee Administrator. The Branch continues to use the Se￿1￿$ of Gerahl Kells, a consultant, those kno￿ledge and expertise is a huge bonus to the Branch ￿en responding to consultations. Branch Activities 2023 The Branch is as busy as ever and continues h￿th the use of virtual Zoom meetings for all Brand) meetings and similar activities. Below is a brief overview of the main Branch activities since Ihe last AGM. Branch 2022123 In January a virtual Branch AGM was held wth 16 membets attending. AGM Hedgerow Project In January, the Branch learnt aboul the art of hedge laying at Mill Field Forest Garden in Thumiaston. This is one of the projects supported by CPRE'S Hed erows Heroes scheme vthich the Branch su orted. In February, hearings for the Local Plan Examination were resumed and the Branch submitted further evidence and attended hearings on housing and transport. The main areas of cOn￿M were related lo the distribution of Leicesterfs unmet housing needs, the plan's vision, objectives and development strategy, Climate Change and the Natural Environment, housing numbers. needs and land supply as VRII as transF)Ort and infrastructure. Charnwood Lo¢al Plan Examination In June it was noted that the Local Plan had not been approved as the Inspectors had requested some changes due to not being satisfied wilh the viabili or the tran ort deliverables Ythh further hearin sex ected. At the end of February, the Branch submitted ils ￿sponse lo the Leicester Local Plan consultation. The Branch concentrated on a limited bul key sel of ￿at it saw as central issues. These revolved around the housing numbers as V￿11 as the lack of a ¢>Jherenl and joined up strategic approach lo Climate Change acTOSS the Plan and sts failure lo rec£*gnise Climate Change as a key strategic prionty. The Branch called for Strategic Climate Change Policy to provide a central focus lo this issue. Related to this was a failure to demonstrate the need for an effective and extensive sustainable transport network and a failure to Pfovide a deliverable transport slralegy in whith the need to travel by car is reducEd. There was a lack of links around the location of developments, planning, transFort and Climate Change. especialty carbon emissions which were majorconcem. Leicester Local Plan Although it is vague, the Plan refers lo the Counal's commitment lo Leicesler being net zero by 2030. 11 Vds unclear whether this was a hope or strategic level target, but in either case rt was there wth no appreciation of the scale of that needs to be done. There was no indication wthin the Plan on how much Lei￿Ster needed lo do to reduce its annual per capita emissions per annum lo achieve this 'monumental challenge, bthich needs to be achieved in less than 8 years. In May and August the Branth attended a virt¢Jal meeting wth the Planning Policy Team al Lei￿ster City Counc41 to discuss the significant ob'ections that the Branth had raised. Page2of4 The Coun￿rde ¢h&ity Le cesiershi"e CPRE Hin¢kley National Rail Freight Interchange (HNRFI) On the 12 June 2023 CPRE LeI￿Stershire formally registered ils interest in (and opposition tol this proposal made by Tntax. This was followed in October, pnor to hearings late in that month, with the Branch submitting detailed objections and evidence regarding our concems about Transport and A¢￿$s, Environmental and Amenity Impacts and Need in conjunction th those of Sapcote Parish Council. The Branth has concems alK)Ut the potential increase in traffic and raised objections to the proposal, induding that the need had not been propedy established." the extent to the rail network wll be underulilised,. direct and indirect traffic impli￿tionS on local village roads as wftll as the M69 and M1., Inability to demonstrate that the site would have good sustainable transport access., impact on walking and cyding provision,. impact on landscape and biodiversty not being adequately addressed,. loss of countryside". landscape Impads., loss of footpaths,. access to open count side", and increase in li ht and noise ollution. During the past year. the Branch has also been involved viith other issues. including.." Logistics at Watemead Business Park. Mountsorrel quarry expansion. Chamwood Forest anaerobic digesler. Thrussington's habitat loss. Solar Fami applications in Muston, Shepshed and Belvoir Caslle. Cossingion concems on the Winston Church￿1 oak tree. In addition, we have been increasing our soaal media presence. led by Rah￿1 Naik, one of our Trustees. National CPRE National CPRE have many campaigns underway including'.- Dark Skies and Star Count stale of the Green Belt 2023.. A vision for the 21 st century Hedge lrfe Help Out projecl lin I￿llaboration The Tree Councyl) (May 2023) Infomalion on these campaigns can be found on the national v￿bsIte . jr uk. Various Trustees have attended a range of natic￿al1regionaI meetings induding sessions of the Planning Campaign Group. Branch Chairs drop in chats w7th National CPRE Chair, the new CPRE Assembty and various other webinar5 and training events. What 2024 and beyond will bring........ Our key focus for 2024 wll be launching the Vision in Spring 2024 to all members, interested parties, MP'S, Counallors and many more. Further information will be provided in 2024. The Branch is activety looking for rn0￿ Trustees and volunteers. If you feel you could offer some of your time, more infomation can be found on our website 8esides recruiting a new Chair. Trustees are espeaally needed to fo(JJs on the following areas .' Planning. Fund Raising. Finally. the Truslees of CPRE Leicestershire V*Duld like to wish all membets a Happy Christsnas and a prosperous 2024. PaBe3Df4 The countryside charlty Leicesiershi'e CPRE Financial Review. year ending 31 March 2023 The Branch's full Accounts for the year ending 31st March 2023. induding a detsiled analysis of income and expenditure. are disdosed in a separate report, (subject to the approval of the members) wll be filed the Chanty Commission. The main points lo nole are as follows.. The Charity recorded a surplus of £5.811 on its regular activities for the year. compared b•*th a deficit of £834 in yle 3113122 At the beginning of the finanaal year a deficit of £3,*7 was forecast - hence the result was £9,778 better than antiapated. The main reasons for this variance are as follows.. No donations Nvare forecast but £12.700 Y￿re actualty r￿1ved, induding a single legacy of £12,500. On the other hand, the Branch's Sha￿ of national ino)me was On￿ £5,150 ￿)rnpared to a fo￿¢8$1 of £6,100- £950 lower than expected. Most categories of expenditure sho%*d a I0￿r adual total than had been forecast, including Marketing & Communicalions {£1.000 forecast. only £54 actually spent) and Subscriptions1£190 spent against a forecast of £7901. Conversely, ￿ rtems of expendtture wpre muth higher than forecast- Consultancy (£8,256 spent againsl a forecast of £5,000) and Administration (forecast to be £1,500 bul aclually £2,616). In addition lo rts regular activities, the Chanty also incurred costs of £1,182 in the year on the Leicestershire Vision. As all income reSaling to the Vision had been recognised in the previous financial year, this gave additKsnal expendtture for the Charity as a bthole of that amount, resulting in an overall resutt for the period of net income of £4,629, as can be seen in the Accounts. The remaning £8.079 to be spent on the Vision is expected to take place in financial year 23124. The assets of the Charity at 3113123 amounted lo £50,977. compared with £46,348 at the end of the previous year. This total comprised bank balances as follovts.. Asat 3113113 A5at 3V3122 Business account 4,093 Savings account charnwood Thstrict account 31102 42.031 224 The Charity had no amounts either ￿￿1Vable or payable at 3113123. Pa8e4of4 ## **Campaign to Protect Rural England (Leicestershire Branch)** **Registered Charity Number 1164985** ## **Financial Statements** **Year Ending 31st March 2023** **Campaign to Protect Rural England (Leicestershire Branch) Receipts and Payments Year Ending 31st March 2023** |**U**
**RECEIPTS**
Branch share of national income
Grant received
Bank interest received
Donations received
Other receipts
**PAYMENTS**
Subscriptions
Newsletter
Room hire
Marketing and communications
AGMs
Office expenses
Insurance
Consultancy
Research
**NET RECEIPTS/PAYMENTS FOR THE YEAR**
Transers between funds
Net assets at end of previous year
**Net assets at end of current year**|**nrestricted**
**Funds**
**£**
5,150
-
71
12,700
-
17,921
190
511
30
54
131
2,616
322
8,256
-
12,110
**5,811**
-
37,060
**42,871**
**Year**|**Restricted**
**Funds**
**£**
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
100
-
882
200
1,182
**(1,182)**
-
9,288
**8,106**
**ending 31/3/23**|**Total**
**U**
**Funds**
**£**
**5,150**
**-**
**71**
**12,700**
**-**
**17,921**
**190**
**511**
**30**
**54**
**131**
**2,716**
**322**
**9,138**
**200**
**13,292**
**4,629**
**-**
**46,348**
**50,977**|**nrestricted**
**Funds**
**£**
6,056
-
4
380
-
6,440
745
56
-
-
97
1,304
302
4,770
-
7,274
**(834)**
-
37,894
**37,060**
**Year**|**Restricted**
**Funds**
**£**
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,321
2,505
3,826
**(3,826)**
-
13,114
**9,288**
**ending 31/3/22**|**Total**
**Funds**
**£**
**6,056**
**-**
**4**
**380**
**-**| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||||||**6,440**| |||||||**745**
**56**
**-**
**-**
**97**
**1,304**
**302**
**6,091**
**2,505**| |||||||**11,100**| |||||||**(4,660)**
**-**
**51,008**| |||||||**46,348**| Page 1 **Campaign to Protect Rural England (Leicestershire Branch) Statement of Assets and Liabilities As at 31st March 2023** |**CURRENT ASSETS**
Cash at bank and in hand
**LIABILITIES**
**NET ASSETS**|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**£**
42,871
-
**42,871**
**A**|**Restricted**
**Funds**
**£**
8,106
-
**8,106**
**s at 31/3/23**|**Total**

**Funds**
**£**
50,977
-
**50,977**|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**£**
37,060
-
**37,060**
**A**|**Restricted**
**Funds**
**£**
9,288
-
**9,288**
**s at 31/3/22**|**Total**
**Funds**
**£**
46,348
-| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||||||**46,348**| Page 2 **Campaign to Protect Rural England (Leicestershire Branch) Notes to the Accounts Year Ending 31 March 2023** ## **1. Basis of Preparation of Financial Statements** The financial statements are prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (effective January 2015). The accounts have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis, rather than an accruals basis, permissible given that the gross income of the charity is less than £250,000 for the year. As the gross income for the year is less than £25,000, an audit or independent examination was not required and has not been carried out for this financial year. ## **2. Assets and Liabilities** At the beginning and end of the financial year the Charity's only assets were its bank account balances. No liabilities existed at either date. ## **3. Restricted Funds** In financial year 20/21 the Charity received a grant of £10,000 from the Strategic Collaboration Fund of the CPRE. This is being used to fulfill three key objectives for CPRE Leicestershire: - (1) To strengthen relationships with other, like-minded organisations, creating and building collaboration by means of shared working; - (2) To create a Vision for CPRE Leicestershire; and - (3) To revise the Charity's Strategic Plan. The attainment of these objectives - and therefore the utilisation of the grant received - is expected to be completed in financial year 23/24. Page 3