Nenthead Mines Conservation Society
NENTHEAD MINES CONSERVATION SOCIETY
Charitable Incorporated Organisation Number 1166281
14 Kirk Rise, Frosterley, Bishop Auckland, DL13 2SF
TRUSTEES REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT
APRIL 2020 TO MARCH 2021
Trustees 31[st ] March 2021
Sheila Barker, Christopher Chilton, Graham Derbyshire, Nicholas Green, Andy Hopkirk, Anne Hopkirk, Peter Jackson, Martyn Langley, Allan Richardson, Rosemary Vidler
Other Trustees during the year None
GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
The Charity was registered on 30[th ] March 2016 as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation using the Charities Commission model document. The document is published on the Society’s website and is available from the principal office.
The members present at the meeting appoint trustees at the Annual General meeting of the Society.
The Trustees may also appoint other Trustees during the year but their appointment is only valid until the next Annual General Meeting. During this year the Trustees appointed Chris Chilton in order that the Society would benefit from his skills and knowledge.
The Annual General Meeting during this year was delayed by the Covid restrictions and eventually took place on 19th September 2020. This was held as a Video Meeting following the advice published by the Charity Commission which allowed for video meetings, provided the members approved that method of meeting.
Because of COVID19 restrictions, the Trustees held fortnightly online video conference meetings during this year.
The Trustees have set up Working Groups in order to handle the detail of regular operations. The objectives are to involve more people in discussions, allowing timely decision-making, and allow the Trustees meetings to be focussed on strategic decisionmaking. The groups are:
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Site Working Group
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Visitor Working Group
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Member Experience Working Group
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Collections Working Group
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Conservation Working Group
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Infrastructure Working Group.
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The Membership Committee reviews and decides membership applications.
Andy Hopkirk, Trustee, is the Meetings Secretary and maintains the records of Trustees meetings.
The Treasurer maintains the accounts of the Charity and, in partnership with the Trustees, accepts and makes payments. Anne Hopkirk is the Treasurer and a Trustee.
Peter Jackson is the Newsletter Editor.
Joyce Jackson attends Trustee’s meetings as Convenor of the Visitor Working Group.
The Trustees have complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Charities Commission.
The Trustees have produced and reviewed policies for Equality and Diversity, Member Code of Practise, Purchasing Procedures, Safeguarding, and Compliance with GDPR regulations.
CHARITABLE OBJECTIVES
The objects of the CIO are to advance the education of the public about mining, quarrying and smelting at Nenthead and in the North Pennines by:
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researching, restoring, maintaining, owning and exploring the historic and natural features relating to mining, quarrying and smelting at Nenthead and adjacent mining areas;
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encouraging and advocating the conservation of the remains of the mining, quarrying and smelting industries; and conservation of the geological features and natural environment, both above and below ground level;
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undertaking archaeology projects,
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recording and archiving information, and
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sharing available information with the public.
ACHIEVING THE CHARITABLE OBJECTIVES OF THE SOCIETY
PROTECTING THE SOCIETY INTERESTS IN THE NENTHEAD MINES SITE
NENTHEAD MINES AND BROWNLEY HILL LEVEL SITES
On 23 October 2020, the Charity became the freehold owners of the Nenthead Mines and Brownley Hill mine sites. These sites were transferred from the ownership of Cumbria County Council using the Community Asset Transfer legislation.
Legal support was provided by Ian Shuttleworth, Solicitor, of Hodgson and Angus Solicitors of Stanhope Durham. In recognition of our status as a local charity, our charges
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Nenthead Mines Conservation Society
were greatly discounted. We are grateful for the detailed support and extensive work undertaken by Ian Shuttleworth.
BREWERY SHAFT SITE
The Trustees have previously agreed a peppercorn rent and a tenants repairing lease with Brewery Shaft Ltd.
NENTHEAD MINES HYDROPOWER LTD
In November 2020, agreement was reached with Nenthead Mines Hydropower Ltd about rent payments in accordance with the lease.
PROVIDING EDUCATION AND OPEN DAYS
Because of COVID19 restrictions, there have been no Public Open Days or Private Visits to the Nenthead site.
APPROVED MINE ROUTES
We are members of the scheme that manages and finances an engineer’s report for certain routes into Smallcleugh and Rampgill Levels to allow their use by Adventure Groups. Due to Covid restrictions and a review in progress by the Health and Safety Executive, the scheme has not operated during this year and no expenditure has been required.
MAINTAINING THE NENTHEAD MINES SITE
In 2019 Cumbria County Council agreed to finance work to repair the collapsed river wall adjacent to the Stamp Mill site. This work did not start in 2019 and was eventually completed during 2020. A contractor, facilitated by NMCS, was commissioned by Cumbria County Council to undertake this work.
Work was started by a contractor to repair the Barracks basement floor following the Storm Ciara flooding in February 2020.
RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER COMPLEMENTARY ORGANISATIONS
The Society is a member of the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Partnership (AONB). We are represented on the Geopark Advisory Group and the Historic Environment Working Group by Peter Jackson.
The AONB Partnership funded the development of a new site interpretation panel during this year and we worked with the contractor to develop this panel. Installation is expected to take place after March 2021.
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We have continued our membership of the National Association of Mining History Organisations. We have also continued our membership of the Alston Moor Business Association during this year.
WORKING WITH HISTORIC ENGLAND
The majority of the Nenthead Mines site is designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Legal consents are required for many operations on site. During the year we have maintained a working relationship with the Principal Inspector of Ancient Monuments for the North West region.
WORKING WITH THE ENVIRONMENT AGENCY
As in previous years, we have continued to assist the Environment Agency (EA) and the Coal Authority (CA) with their work on methods of treating the mine water pollution in the River Nent at Nenthead. This work was suspended due to the Covid restrictions but restarted from September 2020.
The siting of water treatment facilities is a contentious issue, especially for people living nearby. We have not made any comment on the suitability of proposed sites, other than any consideration of their heritage status and historic value. The Trustees’ view continues to be that the heritage and legal status of the mines should be protected and that access to the mines for leisure purposes should not be obstructed.
The Coal Authority, working on behalf of the EA, has examined possible sites for Caplecleugh Level mine water treatment. We have joined several meetings with managers and engineers and it is possible that the preferred location for the treatment plan may be to the south east of Handsome Mea reservoir. Whichever location is preferred by the EA and CA, the proposal will require public consultation.
WORKING WITH THE HEALTH AND SAFETY EXECUTIVE
The operation of Carrs Mine requires that we comply with the law including the Mines Regulations 2014. We have maintained our working relationship with the principal Mines Inspector. Carrs Mine has not been open to the public during the year.
WORKING WITH NATURAL ENGLAND
The Smallcleugh Mine SSSI was inspected by a contractor on behalf of Natural England during December 2020. We facilitated site guidance and support on the day and provided information after the visit.
DEVELOPING, SHARING AND MAINTAINING ARCHIVES AND COLLECTIONS
The Collections Working Group has continued the work of cataloguing the Society’s collections. Current catalogue information is published on the NMCS public website.
During the year we had a small number of enquiries about the collections.
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ENCOURAGING AND DEVELOPING MEMBERSHIP
We had 147 paid-up members on 31 March 2021. We have invested in developing and refining the on-line membership application process, and work has continued to facilitate an on-line renewal process.
FINANCE
The cash account report for the year follows at the end of this section.
Given this year has been so strongly negatively impacted by Covid19 shutdowns, the Society has been fortunate that its reserves coming into the year have been sufficient to cover unavoidable expenses and essential works.
Society members and visitors have continued to give generous donations during the year.
RESERVES POLICY
In September 2018 the Trustees adopted a reserves policy.
The policy states, “NMCS aims to maintain sufficient reserves to finance 12 months routine operating expenditure and an appropriate long-term program of maintenance of the Nenthead Mines site. The site includes many industrial structures and natural features, which requires regular maintenance, some of which is programmed and some of which is reactive. The level of such work and the expenditure thereon will vary from year to year. Some maintenance requirements may well require resources, which are larger than NMCS alone can sustain. In such a case NMCS will seek support from other organisations and grant making bodies to allow the Nenthead Mines site to remain a valuable, healthy and accessible location rich in mining history, industrial heritage and natural resources”.
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FINANCIAL REPORT 1 April 2020 – 31 March 2021
Income
| 2020/21 | Totals | Notes |
| Public and Private Groups | £0 | Open Days’ Takings, Private Group visits, Events |
| Assay House | £22.50 | Income from Bunkhouse rental |
| Membership | £1525.69 | Fees are paid to Stripe for card payments |
| Donations | £2229.47 | All donations |
| Gift Aid backdated claim | £2606.65 | Backdated to 2016 |
| Event fees | £636.00 | Events organised by third parties, using NMCS facilities |
| Other income | £0 | Book sales etc. |
| Total | £7020.31 |
Expenditure
| 2020/21 | Totals | Notes |
| Maintenance | £5746.97 | All maintenance on site, including flood damage to Barracks basement |
| Club Insurance (BCA) | £110 | |
| Marketing | £274 | Flyers, advertising |
| Office | £244.22 | Office supplies, Archive Materials, NMCS laptop |
| Open Days, Group Visits, Events |
£296.80 | All Visitor Costs |
| Utilities | £2913.25 | Gas, Electricity, Mobile Phone |
| Development | £0 | Drying Room, Stamp Mill site |
| Website | £346.19 | Hosting, Software costs |
| Other expenses | £1966.97 | 2015 NAMHO costs, Asset Transfer, Covid-19 compliance, other small expenses |
| Total | £11,898.40 |
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Surplus or deficit for 2020/21
-£4,878.09
Cash at Bank end of March 2021 £22,459.50
Signed on behalf of the Trustees
20 May 2021
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