# **Rooley Moor Neighbourhood Forum (RMNF) Legal & Administrative Information** ## **Status** Our organisation is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) Charity Commission Registered Number 1165601 ## **Structure** David Olusoga - Honorary President Cecile Biant – Honorary Vice President Andy Meek – Trustee & Chair John Newcombe – Trustee & Treasurer Alan Rawsterne - Trustee & Secretary Frances Healey – Trustee Nigel Morrell – Trustee Reverend Morley Morgan - Trustee Stuart Davies - Trustee ## **Registered Office** Owd House Fern Hill Lane Rochdale OL12 6BW ## **Bankers** The Co-operative Bank P.O. Box 250 Delf House Southway Skelmersdale WN8 6WT ## **Independent Examiner** Last year we asked the Treasurer of the Friend of Rochdale Town Hall (FoRTH) to verify and sign off our accounts. This year we will not seek independent examination. However, our accounts are open to anyone who has a legitimate reason to review them. 2022 - RMNF Annual General Meeting - Trustees' Annual Report Page: 1 ## **Reports from Trustees and Officers of the Forum** ## **Structure, Governance and Management** Trustees manage the affairs of the CIO and may for that purpose exercise all the powers of the CIO. In exercising their powers and duties, charity Trustees have complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Charities Commission. It is the duty of each Trustee: - a) To exercise his or her powers and to perform his or her functions as a Trustee of the CIO in the way he or she decides in good faith would be most likely to further the purposes of the CIO; and - b) To exercise, in the performance of those functions, such care and skill as is reasonable in the circumstances having regard in particular to: - i. any special knowledge or experience that he or she has or holds himself or herself out as having; and - ii. if he or she acts as a charity Trustee of the CIO in the course of a business or profession, to any special knowledge or experience that it is reasonable to expect of a person acting in the course of that kind of business or profession. Members of the CIO have no liability to contribute to its assets and no personal responsibility for settling its debts and liabilities. There are no paid employees of the CIO and the value of services provided by volunteers is not incorporated into financial reporting. Including Trustees and Officers there are currently 41 members of the CIO with voting rights. This is no more than last year, although it is worth noting we have seen membership of the forum Facebook page grow from 768 members last year to the current total of 968 members. We have also seen an increased number of people registering on the Forum website, which has increased from 52 and currently stands at 61, the majority of whom have no voting rights. ## **Recruitment & Appointment of Trustees** Following on from our last Annual General Meeting we were pleased to welcome Stuart Davies as a trustee. At every Annual General Meeting of the members of the CIO, one-third of the charity Trustees retire from office. If the number of charity Trustees is not three, or a multiple of three, then the number nearest to one-third shall retire from office, but if there is only one charity Trustee, he or she shall retire. Any vacancies so arising may be filled by the decision of the members at the Annual General Meeting and the members or the charity Trustees may at any time decide to appoint a new charity Trustee, whether in place of a charity Trustee who has retired or been removed, or as an additional charity Trustee, provided that the limit of 12 charity Trustees is not exceeded. This year Andy Meek, Alan Rawsterne and Nigel Morrell will resign as Trustees at the 2022 Annual General Meeting, and they all wish to be considered for re-election. Following on from the recent boundary changes our neighbourhood area has been included in the Norden Ward and we welcome the interest from Councillor Peter Winkler who would like to become a forum trustee. ## **Forum Objects** The CIO is established for the public benefit without distinction of ability, sex, sexual orientation, race or political, religious or other opinions for the following purposes in the Area 2022 - RMNF Annual General Meeting - Trustees' Annual Report Page: 2 of Benefit known as Rooley Moor, which shall hereinafter be referred to as the Neighbourhood The objects of the CIO are: 1. To promote high standards of planning and architecture in or affecting the Area of Benefit. 2. To educate the public in the geography, history, natural history, culture and architecture of the Area of Benefit. 3. To secure the preservation, protection, development and improvement of features or areas of historic or public interest in the Area of Benefit. In furtherance of the above objects but not otherwise the Trustees shall have the power to establish a Neighbourhood Forum for the Area of Benefit to promote and or improve the social, economic and environmental well-being of the area. ## **Accounting Policy, Income & Funds Structure** Income arises from restricted funds (grants), unrestricted donations and recovered Gift Aid. Expenditure is recognised when an invoice is received, or payment made. There are no tangible fixed assets. The Reserves Policy of Rooley Moor Neighbourhood Forum CIO is to hold reserves from unrestricted funds to cover our known annual liabilities (such as insurance, hire of meeting rooms, website costs, etc.). £400 has been proposed to cover these costs. The reserves policy will be reviewed at each Annual General Meeting. ## **Achievements & Performance** Compared to other charities the impact of the pandemic on the forum has been minimal. We’ve not been dormant but have found different ways to deliver our charitable objectives. We continue to make our heritage trail leaflets freely available throughout the borough so people can take exercise and enjoy the wide-open spaces of the surrounding moorland. ## **Social media** We usually ask organisations and the public not to advertise but given the current situation with high energy costs and the potential financial hardships that people might suffer the forum trustees are happy to allow content that will help people and local businesses. ## **Catley Lane Head Conservation Area** We continue to pursue the following initiatives: - Reinstatement of a bus service to the village - Traffic calming measures either side of the village - CCTV to reduce antisocial behaviour ## **Prickshaw and Broadley Fold Conservation Area** A horse friendly step through gate has been installed on Prickshaw Lane. Unfortunately, expenditure increased significantly to rectify issues that were identified retrospectively. ## **Planning** The trustees resolutely support the forum's primary objective, to promote high standards of planning and architecture in or affecting the Neighbourhood Area. We remain committed to 2022 - RMNF Annual General Meeting - Trustees' Annual Report Page: 3 preserving Green Belt and Common Land in and around the Neighbourhood Area, which includes the habitations and surrounding landscapes. The forum continues to be actively engaged in specific areas of direct concern, and the trustees have carefully considered the role of local planning and how Planning Officers work with and on behalf the local communities they are tasked to serve. We have asked to be included in the development of Rochdale Councils “Local Plan” and we are seeking guidance regarding re-designation of the area forum given our concerns regarding the relevance of neighbourhood planning to the planning process. **Spring Mill -** No progress has been made with Rossendale Council or the developer regarding the concerns raised about this development. Any serious consequences of development on inadequately remediated contaminated land may not become apparent for many years and lessons must be learned from the Spring Mill experience. There is a growing body of opinion that the local and national planning function is not fit for purpose. Unfortunately, the forum trustees have found little evidence to refute this opinion and struggle to see how Neighbourhood Planning in its current form can have a positive significant impact on planning issues. **Turner Brothers Asbestos (TBA)** – Currently there are no planning applications for the TBA site. In its current undisturbed state, the TBA site presents a reduced public health risk. We appreciate buildings on the site are deteriorating and there are issues with riverbank erosion releasing asbestos into the environment and we accept the TBA site needs to be made safe. If Rochdale Council were to approve a planning application for TBA, they appear to have no responsibility for the Health and Safety of residents who are put at risk by any remediation / development work. The Council effectively rely on other agencies to respond to critical issues, which we know can result in desk-based assessments that have no positive outcomes. The normal development process is reliant on self-regulation. However, given the complexity of the TBA site if something were to wrong there is no going back and having the external agencies (HSE, EA, Police, Fire, Ambulance, NHS etc.) respond after the event is too late. In a worse case scenario, any asbestos released from the TBA site could be carried across our area, the effect of which on residents might only be realised many years later. We’re seeking assurance should a planning application be approved that the appropriate agencies are on site to ensure compliance to process and to ensure everything is done to reduce risk. If something were to go wrong, we’d expect those agencies to secure an immediate response to any disaster recovery scenario. To support a ‘safety first’ approach in dealing with the TBA site, we have suggested to our MP’s and Councillors that: - Land at the TBA site to be registered as contaminated (to ensure the application of appropriate legislation) - A Health Impact Assessment to be included as part of an Environmental Impact Assessment (to scale the potential risk). - The site is made secure to protect the public (reference videos on social media site, riverbank erosion exposing asbestos, etc.) - The remediators / developers to have a company structure that clearly defines corporate responsibility that can’t disappear (to provide accountability into the future), and - The provision of adequate Public Liability Insurance that takes account of the time taken for asbestos related diseases to manifest themselves (in the event of anyone developing an 2022 - RMNF Annual General Meeting - Trustees' Annual Report Page: 4 asbestos related illness at any time in the future that can be attributed to the remediation / development of TBA) . We’ve also suggested a ‘Working Party’ chaired by an influential person (such as a local MP) that includes all the relevant people from the various agencies / organisations (Council, EA, HSE, NHS, Police, Fire, Ambulance, Residents, etc.) should be created to form a forum where issues of concern can be discussed. Effectively, and ‘Inquiry’ before rather than after an incident. We await feedback from our suggestions and will let you know when we know more. ## **Moorland Restoration** Our commitment to preserving our upland moorlands from onerous development and aggressive misuse is constant, ongoing and worthwhile. We welcome and support the initiative announced by Government on 27th August 2021 that funding of £50M will be provided for peat protection, building on its pledge to restore 35,000 hectares of peatland to prevent some 9 million tonnes of CO2 release in a significant contribution to combatting the impacts of climate change. The forum must do what it can to promote and expand this initiative. Peat Mapping exercises on Scout Moor have disclosed significant areas of deep peat and the forum is pleased to acknowledge that Rossendale Local Planning Authority have pledged not to allow any onerous development which would disturb areas of deep peat. The forum has sought assurance from the Planning Offices at Rochdale and Rossendale that they will acknowledge and engage with the peatland protection scheme and afford the areas of Scout and Rooley Moors special protection. Such an assurance would build on the excellent work undertaken jointly by the community with the public, Police, local MP’s & Councillors, landowners, businesses, Rochdale Ramblers, Rossendale & Pendle Mountain Rescue Team, Peak and Northern Footpaths Society, National Trail Officers for Natural England, community groups such as Prickshaw & Broadley Fold Neighbourhood Watch and the equestrian community, in the ongoing serious threat posed by illegal off-road bikes and quads which continue to ravage our moorlands. ## **Greater Manchester Clean Air Zone** We await with interest the new proposals intended to take this initiative forward. ## **Off road vehicles** Operation Dragster is a combined initiative between Greater Manchester Police, Lancashire Police, United Utilities, and many volunteers to reduce illegal off-road activity in and around our area. We are grateful to all involved in; however, it seems after many months of reduced activity, illegal motorised vehicles are once again targeting the moorland in and around our area. It is also disappointing to report one of the “Off-road Mitigation Project” stakeholders has retrospectively found fault with various installations along Edenfield Road that are intended to support equestrian activities. Unfortunately, this stakeholder has positioned themselves as having no responsibility for their contribution to the project and has approached many other stakeholders to express their frustration. Due to concerns about potential reputational damage to the forum and other stakeholder organisations the RMNF trustees invited the British Horse Society (BHS) to mediate and to ensure equestrian safety is a priority ahead of any other issues. We expect to have the BHS recommendations in the new year, at which point we will collectively consider how best to proceed. 2022 - RMNF Annual General Meeting - Trustees' Annual Report Page: 5 ## **We continue to work with other organisations** **Mid Pennine Arts and the West Pennine Commoners Association** - The forum is actively working with these organisations to develop projects in the areas of Lancashire that border with the RMNF neighbourhood area. Together we are looking at opportunities to promote the Limers Gate Trail and Healey Dell. **South Pennines Park** - We are pleased to note the following entry in the Draft Strategy Consultation document, under Heritage Assets in section 3.3.32. **Importance** : - Of particular significance is the Cotton Famine Road on Rooley Moor above Rochdale, which has links to the American Civil War. **Lancashire and Greater Manchester Local Lists** – We have nominated the Cotton Famine Road and the Royal Ordinance Factory, Healey Hall for inclusion. **Rochdale Connections Trust (RCT)** – Members of our forum have joined a steering group to support the RCT “Heritage Matters” project. ## **Governance** **Policies and Procedures** – We are reviewing and updating our Safeguarding policy and procedure. **Public Liability Insurance (PLI)** - Has been reinstated to allow forum meetings, activities and events to recommence. **Health & Safety** - There are no issues to report. **Trustee training** - There has been none this year. **Grants & funding** - United Utilities contributed £1K towards the “Off Road Mitigation Project”. ## **Can you help** - **Heritage Open Day’s (HOD) –** The Trustees would like to explore how we can involve the area in future HOD events. - **Want to be a RMNF Trustee?** - We are looking for new Trustees to join RMNF - Trustees are responsible for controlling the charity’s management and administration. They are responsible for ensuring our charity’s income and property is used only for the purposes set out in our governing document and for no other purpose. Trustees have a responsibility to act reasonably and prudently in all matters relating to the charity and they have a responsibility to act in the best interests of the charity. Please contact the Forum Secretary (email: info@RMNF.org.uk) if you have any ideas you would like to share or if you would like to get more involved. 2022 - RMNF Annual General Meeting - Trustees' Annual Report Page: 6 ## Rooley Moor Neighbourhood Accounts Year End: 31-Aug-22 ||**2021/22**|**2021/22**|**2021/22**|**2021/22**|**2021/22**||**2021/22**|**2021/22**|**2021/22**| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||Restricted|Restricted|Restricted|Restricted|Restricted||Restricted||| ||PCC|DQAG|Asda|HLF 17|TSJNF||ORMM|Unrestricted|Total| ||£|£|£|£|£||£|£|£| |Opening Balance B/F from Summary 2020-21|32|1,382|176|368||0|3,500|454|5,911| ||||||||||0| |**INCOME**|||||||||0| |Gift Aid|0|0|0|0||0|0|0|0| |Grants|0|0|0|0||0|0|0|0| |Projects|0|0|-12|-368||0|0|381|0| |Donations In|0|0|0|0||0|1,000|5|1,005| |Total Income|0|0|-12|-368||0|1,000|386|1,005| |**EXPENDITURE**|||||||||| |Consultant Costs|0|0|0|0||0|0|0|0| |Training|0|0|0|0||0|0|0|0| |Room Hire|0|0|0|0||0|0|0|0| |Website|0|0|0|0||0|0|0|0| |Insurance|0|0|0|0||0|0|-314|-314| |Donations Out|0|0|0|0||0|0|0|0| |Printing & Stationery|0|0|0|0||0|0|0|0| |Projects|0|0|0|0||0|-2,988|-71|-3,059| |In Bloom|0|0|0|0||0|0|0|0| |Misc Expenses|-32|0|-164|0||0|0|-47|-242| |Total Expenditure|-32|0|-164|0||0|-2,988|-432|-3,615| ||||||||||| |**Closing Balance**|**-0**|**1,382**|**0**|**0**||**0**|**1,512**|**408**|**3,301**| ## **Reconciliation of Accounts 2021/22 To Bank Statement** ||**Paypal**|**Co-Op**|**Total**| |---|---|---|---| |Opening Balance 01/09/21|£0|£5,911|£5,911| |Receipts Reported|£0|£1,005|£1,005| |Expenditure Reported|£0|-£3,615|-£3,615| |**Closing Balance 31/8/22 Reported**|**£0**|**£3,301**|**£3,301**| |Balance at Bank 31/8/22|0|3,301|3,301| |**No **|**Date**||**Bank Reference**|**Transaction Description **|**Customer Reference**|**Amount (¬£) Running Balance (¬£)**|**Amount (¬£) Running Balance (¬£)**| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |1||27/09/2021|44684461|Standing Order|Zurich Insurance|-157.00|5,754.34| |2||29/09/2021|SI-109394|Standing Order|GR8 SPORT LTD|-195.62|5,558.72| |3||07/10/2021|RMNF-041021-01|Standing Order|Mok Enterprises Lt|-71.20|5,487.52| |4||18/10/2021|2928|Commission|FEES|-2.50|5,485.02| |5||25/10/2021|Inv No. 920|Standing Order|Norden Agricultral|-2,988.00|2,497.02| |6||01/11/2021|4.45E+15|Own Account Credit|000000 CREDIT|1,000.00|3,497.02| |7||20/12/2021|Rooley Moor Forum|Standing Order|LANCASHIRE LOCAL H|-8.00|3,489.02| |8||21/01/2022|22751|Direct Debit|CAMPAIGN TO PROTEC|-36.00|3,453.02| |9||09/05/2022|4.43995E+15|BACS Credit|AMAZON EUROPE CORE|5.00|3,458.02| |10||31/08/2022|44684461|Standing Order|Zurich Insurance|-157.00|3,301.02|