## **Frome’s Missing Links**
## **Charity number:** 1166492
**Address:** 25 Innox Hill, Frome BA11 2LW
**Trustees:** Richard Ackroyd, Tricia Golinski, Grant Gellatly, Ruth Knagg, Helen Johnstone and Adrian Warren
**Structure:** a CIO managed by the trustees who meet monthly. At every AGM, one third of the trustees retire from office, by rotation according to who have been longest in office since their last appointment or reappointment. Trustees are re-appointed or recruited at each AGM.
## **Activities and objectives in the year 2024**
We started the year, having recently obtained permission to fence off the final section of land along Phase 2 of our proposed path, the ‘missing link’. Phase 2 of the path runs from the end of the Colliers Way in Great Elm towards Frome.
We had also recently extended Phase 3, which connects Weylands in Frome with Spring Gardens, running through Whatcombe Fields.
Our objectives were to fence off Phase 2 and prepare the path for use, making use of our volunteer team and reclaiming any materials that we could from the disused rail line that had been in that area. We also aimed to consider how to progress Phase 3, which ended by the poplar wood near Selwood Manor.
We planned to continue our fundraising efforts, looking at opportunities for grant funding, working with Greenways and Cycleroutes, and continuing with planned activities, such as the annual fundraising ceilidh.
## **Achievements and performance**
Working every Friday, our volunteers fenced off a stretch of Network Rail land above Buckland Bridge. This work was an important stage in preparing the path for surfacing. The path runs between the freight line and agricultural land, so there needed to be suitable fencing on both sides.
The volunteers battled their way through fifty years of dense vegetation, finally creating a walking route through to Elliots Lane, adding 1.2km of usable path. Getting the final bits of hedge down, fencing off the new strip of land at the edge of a field and finally opening up the route all the way to Elliots Lane was a momentous achievement and the end of a ten-year battle.
Over the following months, volunteers continued to add fencing, fill gullies and voids, install gates and access points, create signage, re-use bits of old railway infrastructure, cut back verges and vegetation, recycle tonnes of scrap metal, add
steps, seating, picnic areas, plant hundreds of saplings and wild flower seeds, fell scores of potentially dangerous ash trees and move hundreds of tonnes of railway ballast.
By the spring, the route was usable for walkers, horse riders and a few off-road cyclists, although the rough stone surface made it difficult for most cyclists or wheelchair users.
## **Beyond Phase 2**
In addition to this work, our volunteers also spent many hours maintaining the path in Whatcombe Fields, and completed some fencing in the area, to assist the local Whatcombe Fields CIC.
Other jobs undertaken through the year included:
- Clearing back growth along the Feltham Lane path, that is part of the Sustrans Route 24 and in frequent us with walkers, runners and cyclists.
- Clearing the Bulls Quarr bridleway that creates a safe walking and cycling route between Tytherington and Frome.
- Joining the September work camp by Greenways and Cycleroutes, which worked to complete a number of new sections of path as part of the Somerset Circle, in the area of Shepton Mallet. Our missing link will ultimately connect into the Somerset Circle, so this will make our routes more useful and more compelling as a way to encourage active travel.
Our volunteers contributed an estimated 2,000 hours of work during the year.
## **Fundraising and publicity**
Our first fundraising event of the year was the Frome Fling Ceilidh, on 26[th] January. This event sold out, as it often does, providing a great way to connect with people in Frome and raising over £1,800.
We also organised a talk in September, in partnership with local bookshop Hunting Raven, with author and journalist Laura Laker. Her book _Potholes and Pavements_ , looks at the successes and challenges of the national cycle network. Our route plans to connect into that network, and we were pleased to host a packed event at Frome Town Hall to hear about her travels and how groups in other areas of the country are dealing with the challenges of developing their multi-user routes.
We were also able to raise £700 by selling some of the scrap iron removed from the area of Phase 2 by our volunteers.
## **Group donations**
We were fortunate to receive donations from both Frome and District Wheelers (£5000) and the Frome CTC (Cycle Touring Club) (£500) during 2024.
## **Crowdfunding**
During the summer of 2024, we were approached by a private individual, who wished to remain anonymous, offering to provide match funding if we were able to raise funding from the public to add a tarmac surface to Phase 2.
In order to do this, we chose to set up as Crowdfunder, sourcing a number of rewards. By setting up the Crowdfunder, we were able to tap into potential funding from Sport England, as well as Somerset Council and Sustrans. The preparation work done by volunteers meant we were able to take advantage of funding sources that needed to be spent within a limited time period.
In September, we launched the Crowdfunder and met our target, enabling us to extend the fundraising with a ‘stretch target’ and keep raising funds for the path.
The Crowdfunder also provided a good way to connect with supporters. We received donations from more than 300 people, and many left messages of support, including the following:
_The cycle path is a real asset to the Radstock area and we would love to see the links to Frome completed. We hope you reach your target for 2025!_
_It's an historic place in a lovely part of the world and would make a good addition in the National Cycle Network_
_I’m so looking forward to cycling all the way into Frome from MIdsomer Norton. Keep going!_
_Keep up the great work – connecting Frome to Radstock without using roads will be transformative for so many people_
_Truly, I was awestruck when I visited Frome since pre-pandemic and saw what you guys have achieved in that time. It is an amazing achievement. What grit and determination you have!_
_I'm a regular user of Colliers Way - running, walking, cycling - and would love this further section to be completed. Thanks for all of your work!_
## **Aims and objectives for 2025**
Our most important objective for 2025 is to complete the surfacing of Phase 2, by the end of March. Having raised more than £20,000 through our Crowdfunder, meeting the requirements for further contributions from Somerset Council and Sustrans and the match funding from our private donor, we had raised sufficient funding to complete the surfacing. The aim for 2025 is to source three quotes for the work from local contractors and to instruct the most appropriate contractor to take on the job.
We also planned to organise an annual ceilidh, and look for ways to take forward work on Phase 3.
With our volunteers, we expect to undertake various practical work to maintain our existing paths and connecting routes in the area, as needed.
With Phase 2 complete, we would also be able to look at how to make further gains as effectively as possible, considering the route to south of Frome, as well as more
sections of the northern route (connecting to the Colliers Way).
## **Financial review**
We have reviewed our financial procedures and updated our Financial Policy. We are maintaining a separate reserve fund to cover the costs of future land purchase.
||**Frome’s Missing Links**|**Frome’s Missing Links**|**Frome’s Missing Links**|**Frome’s Missing Links**|**Frome’s Missing Links**|**1166492**|**1166492**|**CC16a**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**For the period**
**from**||01/01/2024||**To**|31/12/2024|||
||||||||||
|**Section A Receipts and payments**|||||||||
|**A1 Receipts**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**||**Sport England**
**(NL)**
**to the nearest £**||**Endowment**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**|**Total funds**
**to the nearest £**||**Last year**
**to the nearest £**|
|Grants|**5,000**||**15,000**||**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**20,000**||**19,349**|
|Public donations|**25,321**||**-**|||**25,321**||**1,600**|
|Fundraising|**4,106**||**-**|||**4,106**||**4,394**|
||||||||||
||**-**||**-**|||**-**||**-**|
|**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for AR)_|**34,427**||**15,000**||**-**|**49,427**||**25,343**|
||||||||||
|**A2 Asset and investment sales, (see**
**table).**|||||||||
||**-**||||**-**
**-**
**-**|**-**|||
||**-**|||||**-**||**-**|
|**_Sub total_**|**-**|||||**-**||**-**|
|**_Total receipts_ **
**A3 Payments**|||||||||
||||||**-**|**49,427**||**25,343**|
||||||||||
|
Direct Expenditure on BuildingCycleway|**1,372**||||**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**1,372**||**59,239**|
|Fundraising|**1,120**|||||**1,120**||**1,557**|
|Other operatingexpenditure|**727**|||||**727**||**630**|
||**-**|||||**-**||**-**|
||**-**|||||**-**||**-**|
||**-**|||||**-**||**-**|
|**_Sub total_ **|**3,219**|||||**3,219**||**61,427**|
||||||||||
|**A4 Asset and investment purchases,**
**(see table)**|||||||||
||**-**||||**-**
**-**
**-**|**-**|||
||**-**|||||**-**|||
|**_Sub total_ **|**-**|||||**-**||**-**|
|**_Total payments_**
**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**_Cash funds this year end_**|||||||||
||||||**-**|**3,219**||**61,427**|
||||||||||
||**31,208**||||**-**|**46,208**||**- 36,083**|
||**-**||||**-**
**-**|**-**||**-**|
||**4,102**|||||**4,102**||**40,185**|
||**35,310**||||**-**|**50,310**||**4,102**|
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
23/10/2025
1
## **Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**
|**Categories**
Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of
all the trustees
**B1 Cash funds**
**B2 Other monetary assets**
**B4 Assets retained for the**
**charity’s own use**
**B5 Liabilities**
**B3 Investment assets**|Signature
Rich Ackroyd
**Details**
General Funds
Sport England - National Lottery
**Details**
**_Total cash funds_**
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
**Details**
**Details**
**Details**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|**Restricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|**Restricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**35,310**||**-**||**-**|
|||**-**||**15,000**||**-**|
|||**-**||**-**||**-**|
|||**35,310**||**15,000**||**-**|
|||||||OK|
|||||||**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|
|||||||**-**|
|||||||**-**|
|||||||**-**|
|||||||**-**|
|||||||**-**|
|||||||**-**|
|||||||**Current value**
**(optional)**|
|||||||**-**|
|||||||**-**|
|||||||**-**|
|||||||**-**|
|||||||**-**|
|||||||**Current value**
**(optional)**|
|||||||**-**|
|||||||**-**|
|||||||**-**|
|||||||**-**|
|||||||**-**|
|||||||**-**|
|||||||**-**|
|||||||**-**|
|||||||**-**|
|||||||**When due**
**(optional)**|
||||||||
||||||||
||||||||
||||||||
||||||||
||||||||
|||||||Date of
approval|
||Rich Ackroyd|Richard Ackroyd||||21/10/2025|
||||||||
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
23/10/2025
2
## **Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of Frome’s Missing Links**
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Frome’s Missing Links (the Trust) for the year ended 31 December 2024.
## **Responsibilities and basis of report**
As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
## **Independent examiner’s statement**
I have completed my examination. 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 Charity 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:
Name: Beverley Goddard
Relevant professional qualification or membership of professional bodies (if any): Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
Address: Frome, BA11 3EY
Date: 23 October 2025