Trustees’ Annual Report for the period
From 1 November 2023 To 31 October 2024
Charity name: Historic Croydon Airport Trust
Charity registration number: 1166732
Objectives and Activities
| SORP reference | ||
|---|---|---|
| Summary of the purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document |
Para 1.17 | To educate the public on the history of London Croydon Airport and associated activities, and to secure the preservation and protection of buildings and artefacts of historic or public interest relating to London Croydon Airport. |
| Summary of the main activities in relation to those purposes for the public benefit, in particular, the activities, projects or services identified in the accounts. |
Para 1.17 and 1.19 |
The charity maintains a Visitor Centre within the original Croydon Airport building, which is opened to the public at least once a month and for group visits on application. Our major sources of income are donations and retail sales from visitors, as well as subscriptions and donations from supporters of the charity. We also maintain a substantial archive on the history of London Croydon Airport and associated activities, with a comprehensive website available for public education. |
| Statement confirming whether the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit |
Para 1.18 | The trustees have regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit when deciding on any new projects to be undertaken. They consider that their education and archive activities help to preserve our aeronautical heritage and are for the public benefit. |
community groups. They are also involved in the charity’s administration, planning and delivering projects, and creating educational content through our social media channels. The Open Days alone have created 22 volunteer positions and generate over 2,500 volunteer hours per annum. In addition, the administration and archives create another 8 volunteer positions and generate over 2,800 volunteer hours per annum.
Achievements and Performance
| SORP reference | ||
|---|---|---|
| Summary of the main achievements of the charity, identifying the difference the charity’s work has made to the circumstances of its beneficiaries and any wider benefits to society as a whole. |
Para 1.20 | We have continued to educate the public on the history of London Croydon Airport and associated activities, through granting access to the Visitor Centre on Open Days and group visits. After the Covid lockdown and restrictions, we moved to a pre- booking model at Open Days This has resulted in more certainty over visitor numbers which, after running two additional Open Days in the last year, increased from 1,461 in 2022/23 to 1,978 in 2023/24. The Open Day operation consistently receives 5-star reviews on Trip Advisor and we are placed as No.1 of “Things to do” in Croydon. In addition to welcoming visitors to Airport House, we reached out to a further 475 children and their teachers and 237 adults through conducting visits to local primary schools, youth groups and adult societies. After many years of negotiation with our landlord in Airport House, we signed a long-term lease on the Visitor Centre in June 2023. This expires in November 2096 and is at a peppercorn rent. During that year, we also relocated our archives back into Airport House, providing more secure premises and a better working environment for our volunteers. Our archive collection continues to increase through donations from the public. Our Website, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter accounts all receive a large number of “visits” every month, and we issue regular Newsletters to approximately 150 Friends and supporters of our charity. |
| Performance of fundraising activities against objectives set |
Para 1.41 | Although we did not receive any grants in the year, we continued to make additions and improvements to the storage and care of our archive documents and memorabilia, as well as expenditure on improving the experience of our visitors at Open Days. |
|---|---|---|
Financial Review
| Financial Review | ||
|---|---|---|
| Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period |
Para 1.21 | Given the current levels of income and expenditure, the trustees consider the financial position to be satisfactory. Year end funds of £103,001 are considered adequate to meet future outgoings and proposed projects. |
| Statement explaining the policy for holding reserves stating why they are held |
Para 1.22 | Much of our reserves have arisen from past donations and legacies, and are intended to be used for capital expenditure, particularly to refurbish and improve our Visitor Centre displays. Reserves are also required to cover routine expenditure, particularly if income from donations or subscriptions were to fall in future years as a result of further Covid outbreaks or other unforeseen disruptions. |
| Amount of reserves held | Para 1.22 | At the year end, £103,001, all of which was unrestricted. |
| Explanation of any uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern |
Para 1.23 | After the Covid lockdown and restrictions, which severely impacted our charity’s operations in previous years, we restructured our Open Days to allow for reduced visitor numbers in smaller groups, and moved to a pre-booking model. This has resulted in more certainty over visitor numbers, enabling us to better match visitor numbers with volunteer guides. Our current income generation stream, together with the strength of our reserves, enables the trustees to conclude that the charity continues to be a going concern. |
| The charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising) |
Para 1.47 | Our major sources of income are donations and retail sales from visitors during Open Days, as well as subscriptions and donations from supporters of the charity. Where possible, we reclaim tax on this income via Gift Aid. For particular projects, we apply for grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Arts Council England, the Association of |
Independent Museums and other similar bodies.
Structure, Governance and Management
| Description of charity’s trusts: |
||
|---|---|---|
| Type of governing document | Para 1.25 |
The charity is governed by its constitution which establishes the objects, administration and powers of the CIO and its trustees. The first constitution was dated 25 April 2016 and it has subsequently been amended on 20 June 2017 and on 10 February 2022. The activities of the charity are managed by the board of trustees, who meet regularly to consider and adopt suitable policies, consider opportunities and manage risks and uncertainties. |
| How is the charity constituted? |
Para 1.25 | CIO Foundation |
| Trustee selection methods including details of any constitutional provisions e.g. election to post or name of any person or body entitled to appoint one or more trustees |
Para 1.25 | The founder trustees were also trustees of Croydon Airport Society. Since then, new trustees have been selected by interview and elected by Board resolution. Trustees are appointed for a three-year period and are then eligible for reappointment. Their time is given to the charity on a purely voluntary basis. |
| Policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees |
Para 1.51 | The trustees have received a full briefing on the activities of the trust and on the issues involved with running public Open Days and maintaining the Archives. The majority of the trustees have experience with other charities and are familiar with governance issues. All trustees adhere to the principles promulgated in the Charity Commission’s publication “The Essential Trustee”. The trustee board seeks to maintain skills, plan succession, increase knowledge and expertise, and is always looking for potential new candidates as board trustees. |
| Relationship with any related parties |
Para 1.51 | The charity was formed on 25 April 2016 in order to take on the activities of the existing charity Croydon Airport Society (charity number 287303) (“CAS”). By a Transfer of Assets Agreement dated 10 October 2016, CAS’s assets were to be transferred to this charity as soon as practical. Because of delays in opening bank accounts for the charity and in obtaining HMRC recognition, transactions were recorded in the books of CAS until July 2017. The majority of CAS’s bank balances were transferred to this charity during the 2017/18 year, with any remaining balances being treated as this charity’s funds and reported in its accounts. The CAS bank account was finally closed in February 2021 after the remaining balance had been transferred to this charity, and CAS itself was wound up and removed from the register of charities in February 2023. |
|---|---|---|
Reference and Administrative details
| Charity name | Historic Croydon Airport Trust |
|---|---|
| Other name the charity uses | |
| Registered charity number | 1166732 |
| Charity’s principal address | Airport House Purley Way Croydon Surrey CR0 0XZ |
Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 |
Trustee name | Office (if any) | Dates acted if not for whole year |
Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (ifany) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mr Michael Thorn | Chair from 1.6.24 | |||
| Mr John Whitley | Treasurer | |||
| Mr Graeme Roy | Chair until resignation on 31.5.24 |
Resigned 31.5.24 | ||
| Mr JeffreyAndrews | ||||
| Mr JeremyOvenden | ||||
| Mr Edmund Rudder | ||||
| Ms Elena Verigo | Appointed 11.6.25 | |||
| Mr Duvall James | Appointed 8.7.25 |
Declarations
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
| Signature(s) Full name(s) Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc) Date |
||
|---|---|---|
| Michael Alastair Thorn | John Duncan Whitley | |
Chair |
Treasurer | |
| 13 August 2025 | ||
| 13 August 2025 |
HISTORIC CROYDON AIRPORT TRUST
Receipts and Payments Account for the year ended 31 October 2024
| Income Subscriptions Donations Visitor Centre Donations Visitor Centre Sales Visitor Centre Group Visits External Talks given Archive Sales and Donations Gift Aid reclaimed Bank interest on deposit account Sundry income Income from ordinary activities Grants Total income Expenditure Visitor Centre and Archives Office supplies Office equipment and maintenance Website development and maintenance Postage Publication printing Advertising and Publicity Retail Purchases (for resale) Property costs Insurance Legal fees Subscriptions paid Staff costs Trustee and volunteer expenses Bank charges, SumUp and PayPal costs Sundries Expenditure on ordinary activities Grant-funded projects Total expenditure Excess of Income over Expenditure/ (Expenditure over Income) Ordinary activities Grant-funded projects Total |
Total for year £ 3,690 1,139 11,871 2,544 834 470 3,510 3,825 3,176 148 31,207 - 31,207 (3,221) (99) (3,301) (923) (221) (445) (430) (966) (14,860) (1,367) (1,549) (111) (2,768) (302) (291) (229) (31,083) - (31,083) 124 - 124 |
Previous year |
|---|---|---|
| £ 2,890 9,675 7,287 2,116 895 390 5,160 2,514 1,938 - |
||
| 32,865 - |
||
| 32,865 | ||
| (13,017) (129) (129) (1,266) (544) (1,273) (525) (1,673) (10,433) (1,200) (7,002) (108) - (783) (204) (49) |
||
| (38,335) - |
||
| (38,335) | ||
| (5,470) - |
||
| (5,470) |
Signed on behalf of all the trustees
Mike Thorn John Whitley
13 August 2025
HISTORIC CROYDON AIRPORT TRUST
Notes to the Receipts and Payments Account for the year ended 31 October 2024
1 Basis of preparation
(a) Historic Croydon Airport Trust ("HCAT") was formed as a CIO on 25 April 2016, in order to take on the activities of the unincorporated Croydon Airport Society (charity number 287303) ("CAS"). This was achieved by a Transfer of Assets Agreement dated 10 October 2016.
(b) The Receipts and Payments Account has been prepared from the cashbook records of HCAT, save for the inclusion of certain year end debtors and creditors already advised and subscriptions received in advance.
2 Bank account balances
| Movements in the year comprised : Total at 1 November For general use Business rates rebate receivable Creditors Excess of Income over Expenditure/(Expenditure over Income) for the year Total at 31 October For general use Retail cash float Royalties receivable Business rates rebate receivable Creditors (see note 1(b)) |
2023/2024 £ 102,833 44 - 102,877 124 103,383 22 41 - (445) 103,001 |
2022/2023 £ |
|---|---|---|
| 111,422 145 (3,220) |
||
| 108,347 (5,470) |
||
| 102,833 - - 44 - |
||
| 102,877 |
3 Other assets
In addition to the funds detailed in note 2, the charity owns assets not recognised in the balances above. The major items comprise:
(a) museum contents, artwork, memorabilia and other archived material
(b) furniture and fittings in the Visitor Centre (museum and control tower) and archives in Airport House, including computer equipment, display stands and cabinets, storage racking and office furniture
(c) retail stock and office consumables
(d) a lease, at peppercorn rent, of the Visitor Centre in Airport House which expires in November 2096.
All tangible assets are fully insured for loss and other risks under insurance contracts.
4 Reserves policy
HCAT held £103,383 in its bank accounts at the year end, much of which has arisen from past legacies and is intended to be used for capital expenditure, particularly to refurbish and improve our Visitor Centre displays and to extend and improve our archive collection and its storage. This is also considered adequate to cover routine expenditure, particularly our property costs, where this is not covered by income from donations or subscriptions as has happened in the last few years.
5 Guarantees and debts
There were no outstanding guarantees to third parties nor any debts secured on the charity's assets at any time during the current or prior years.
Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Historic Croydon Airport Trust istered Charity No. 1166732) I report to the trustees on my examinatson of the accounts of Histonc Croydon A¥rport I rust (the "Charity") for the year ended 31 October 2024, which are set out on the attached sheet. nsibilities and basis of report As the trustees of the Charity you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Act,). I reu]rt iirTr eS jinat'i( of the 2011 Act and in carying out my examinatson I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. ' Uirr In ndent examinerfs 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 accounh, records were not ke 130 of the Act; or the accounts do not accord with those records. respect of as requured have CChTE across no ol r mallers in cx)nnedK)n wyth the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Do as R Logan BSC, FCA 1 Hillside Crawl y Down RH104XD 13 August 2025