2022-03-31-accounts

Cotswold Way Association

Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts

Year Ended 31[st] March 2022

Structure and Governance

The Cotswold Way Association (CWA) was established on 13[th] May 2016 as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation governed by a Constitution based on the “Association Model” provided by the Charity Commission. It was registered by the Charity Commission on 16[th] May 2016.

Charity number - 1167094. Registered Office - The Barn, Woodlands Farm, Watery Lane, Doynton, Bristol. BS30 5TB

The Initial Trustees were selected on the basis of their volunteer work for the Cotswold Voluntary Wardens and the Ramblers and their dedication to the Cotswold Way National Trail.

As outlined in the CWA Constitution, it was the intention of the Initial Trustees that the management of the CWA should be continually refreshed by the appointment of new Trustees, in order to ensure a continual regeneration and openness to new ideas and inputs. In pursuit of this objective, one-third of the charity Trustees shall, by rotation, retire from office at each AGM. A retiring Trustee is eligible for reappointment but may not be reappointed for a third consecutive term if they have served for two consecutive terms. It is hoped that new Trustees will be recruited from CWA members at the AGM and other events.

In line with the practice adopted by many charities, the CWA Trustees decided not to hold an AGM in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead, in July 2021, the Cotswold WayMarker newsletter was used to fulfil the charity’s statutory responsibilities in relation to the election of Trustees. Members were advised that (i) Harvey Mattinson was appointed a Trustee in September 2020, (ii) Simon Mallatratt resigned as a Trustee in February 2021, (iii) Philip Coates and Mavis Rear resigned in July 2021 and (iv) the remining Trustees continued in their roles.

Nic West and Karen Bruff both served as Trustees for a portion of the year. Clare Muir was appointed a Trustee in November 2021 and Harvey Mattinson resigned in February 2022. The Trustees at 31[st] March 2022 are therefore :-

John Alfred BARTRAM (Chair) Malcolm HIGGINS Martin Brian LOVEGROVE Clare Elizabeth MUIR Keith Francis SISSON John Edward TENNANT

During the period under review the Trustees have held six meetings.

Objectives and Public Benefit

The objectives of the CWA, as stated in the Constitution are… “To promote the conservation and protection of the Cotswold Way National Trail and the surrounding environment of the

Cotswold Way Association – Registered Charity No 1167094

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Cotswold Way National Trail and its habitats (including the Cotswold Way Circular Walks, linking and access routes and other named trails in the area) for the public benefit.”

The CWA’s objectives for the continual improvement of the Cotswold Way and other trails will bring the following benefits to the community :-

• Conservation of a particular geographical area : The Cotswold Way follows the scarp of the Cotswolds for over 100 miles. It passes through a significant amount of the remaining unimproved limestone grassland of the UK, and much ancient woodland. The CWA hopes that supporting habitat recovery, maintenance and monitoring projects close to easily accessible routes will not only be directly beneficial but increase the public awareness and understanding of such work.

• Economic or community development/ Employment: Walking the Cotswold Way and the other routes in the area is a significant tourist attraction to visitors from both the UK and abroad. These longer routes require overnight stops, increasing the economic gain for the area.

• Advancing health : The health benefits of walking are very well known and promoting walking has been an active NHS policy for many years. Well-maintained and well-signed routes means that the increased health benefit of longer walks is available to more people.

• Promotion of volunteering : The Cotswold Way is entirely cared for by volunteer wardens. 25 area wardens routinely patrol and do minor works 4-5 miles each, and volunteer coordinators arrange for work parties for larger tasks. It is expected that the area wardens will be the most common initiators of requests for funding. Access to CWA funding will give encouragement to volunteers in their efforts.

• Community recreation/ Leisure facilities : The long routes of the Cotswolds are in frequent use for charity walks, school outings, running events, cycling challenges (on the bridleway sections) and Duke of Edinburgh award challenges.

As required by the Constitution, in lieu of the 2020 AGM, there were no objections to the following trails (or parts of the trails which pass through the Cotswolds) being supported by the CWA:- Wychavon Way, Winchcombe Way, Wardens Way, Monarchs Way, Macmillan Way, Heart of England Way, Gloucestershire Way, Diamond Way and Wysis Way.

CWA Activities

During the year under review the CWA carried out the following activities :-

• Regular updates to the CWA website, Facebook page and Twitter feed, on projects and topics of interest to members.

• Production of five editions of the “Cotswold WayMarker” newsletter, and email distribution to all members.

• Recruitment of new members, including Business Members and Affiliate Organisations.

• Identification of improvement projects on the Cotswold Way and other trails of the Cotswolds which can be supported by grants from the CWA.

• Various fundraising initiatives to increase the donations received by the charity.

• Operation of an online shop to sell goods related to the Cotswold Way in order to raise funds for the CWA

• Initiatives to promote the Cotswold Way and encourage more people to walk the trail.

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Achievements and Performance - April 2021 to March 2022

The achievements made by the CWA in the year under review are as follows :-

1. The CWA worked closely with the Cotswold National Landscape team to implement the fundraising partnership established by the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Cotswold Conservation Board in January 2021. This has resulted in the efficient use of donations for the upkeep and improvement of the Cotswold Way.

2. The Leckhampton Hill disability access route was conceived by the CWA and funding was successfully obtained from HF Holidays. The project was implemented by a contract under CWA management.

3. Supporting improvement projects on the Cotswold Way. These included contributing funds for a major surfacing upgrade at West End near Broadway, replacement of the memorial bench to Cyril Trenfield near Dyrham and contributing to a surface maintenance at Old Sodbury church.

4. Approval for the purchase of 50 oak National Trail “acorn” waymarker posts to be used to replace failing posts along the length of the Cotswold Way and 5 waymark posts to be used on the Monarchs Way near Westonbirt.

5. Establishing the CWA online shop

6. Preparation of “The Cotswold Way Companion, An Insider Guide” by CWA Trustee Keith Sisson for publication by the CWA in May 2022 in paperback and e-book formats for sale through the CWA online shop.

7. Further expansion of the CWA website pages on walking the Cotswold Way and our other supported trails. These have become the most visited pages on the CWA website.

8. Expansion of CWA’s presence on social media. At the end of the year there were nearly 750 Twitter followers and over 600 likes on Facebook.

9. Responding to messages from members and others, in relation to issues that they have identified on the Cotswold Way and adjoining routes.

10. Working with the team from Cotswold National Landscape on events for the 50[th] anniversary of the Cotswold Way, postponed from May 2020 due to Covid-19.

11. An increase in funds from £8,204 to £23,348, largely due to a five-fold increase in donations.

12. “Give As You Live” was introduced as the CWA’s fundraising platform to replace Virgin Money Giving which closed in November 2021

13. Increase in Business Members. New members include Cotswold Life, Cotswold Farm Park and Cotswold Trail events.

14. Membership increased by nearly 20% to 134 members. At 31[st] March 2022 stood at …

15. Life Members – Single 28

16. • Life Members – Joint 16 • Annual Members - Single 29 • Annual Members – Joint 21 • Honorary members 20 • Business Members 12 • Affiliate Organisations 8

Financial Summary

At the end of the 2021-22 Financial Year the CWA held a cash balance of £23,248.16 of which about £7,000 is committed to projects approved but not invoiced at year end.

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Income of £20,456.87 was derived as follows :-

Donations (including Gift Aid) £ 16,866.49 Memberships (including Gift Aid) £ 3,157.88 Sales from the CWA online shop £ 432.50

Expenditure of £5,413.42 was incurred on the following :-

Projects £ 2,013.62 Advertising (website & printing) £ 603.47 General administration £ 280.23 Costs related to establishing CWA shop £ 2,516.10

The CWA has no outstanding debts at 31[st] March 2022

The Income and Expenditure Report and Balance Sheet for the period 1[st] April 2021 to 31[st] March 2022 are attached.

Future Plans

1. To continue to focus attention on improving accessibility on the Cotswold Way and other named trails and to the website so that it provides accessibility information to all users of the Cotswold Way and other named trails.

2. To identify more improvement projects on the Cotswold Way which can be supported by the charity.

3. To work closely with representatives of the CWA’s named trails to identify suitable improvement projects.

4. To continue to work closely with the team from Cotswold National Landscape in joint fundraising campaigns.

5. To increase membership of the CWA and to keep members fully informed of its activities.

6. To expand the CWA online shop so that it becomes a viable source of income to CWA funds.

7. To promote sales of “The Cotswold Way Companion, An insider Guide” so that it raises the profile of the CWA and provides a source of revenue.

8. To work with the team from Cotswold National Landscape on the Cotswold Way Education Resource Project. An online educational resource based on the Cotswold Way and tailored to fit with the school curriculum to introduce students to the ecology and historical features of the Cotswold Way.

9. To encourage more businesses along the Cotswold Way to join as Business Members of the CWA.

10. To encourage the public and members to give donations to the CWA to expand its programme of funding trail improvements.

11. To increase publicity so that more people are aware of the CWA and its objectives and work.

12. To encourage volunteers to assist in the CWA’s administration and operation.

John Bartram

Chairman – Cotswold Way Association

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Cotswold Way Association
Income & Expenditure Report - 1st April 2021 to 31st March 2022
INCOME 2021-22 2020-21
Donations General donations (incl Gift Aid) £3,420.49
Running Clubs £1,971.00
Donations from organisations £11,475.00
£16,866.49 £3,128.45
Membership Annual memberships £465.00
Life Memberships £800.00
Business members £1,200.00
Affiliate organisations £250.00
Gift Aid on memberships £442.88 £3,157.88 £1,635.25
Online Shop Sales from shop £432.50 £432.50
Grants £0.00 £0.00
TOTAL INCOME £20,456.87 £4,763.70
EXPENDITURE
Administration PayPal fees £60.85
MemberMojo fees £75.00
Setting up online shop £684.90
Stock for shop £273.68
Shop related costs £150.85
"Cotswold Way Companion" costs £1,406.67
Insurance £48.38
Bank charges £96.00 £2,796.33 £202.05
Advertising CWA website maintenance £110.00
Collection boxes £100.00
Printing (posters, cards & Swift Tag) £393.47 £603.47 £277.40
Projects Worcs RoW - surface work near Broadway £1,000.00
Winchcombe Way drainage - timber £35.44
Cyril Trenfield Bench £420.90
Timber for Monarch Way posts and seat repairs £557.28
Leckhampton Hill disability route see Note [ 1] £0.00
£2,013.62 £2,426.86
TOTAL EXPENDITURE £5,413.42 £658.10
NET INCOME / EXPENDITURE £15,043.45 £1,926.56
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Funds at start of reporting period £8,204.71 £4,420.76
Funds at end of reporting period £23,248.16 £6,347.32
Cotswold Way Association
Balance Sheet - 1st April 2021 to 31st March 2022
2020-21 2019-20
Current assets CAF Bank Account £20,443.97
Paypal £2,804.19
£23,248.16 £8,204.71
TOTAL ASSETS £23,248.16 £8,204.71
FUNDS OF THE CHARITY £23,248.16 £8,204.71
NOTES
1 Leckhampton Hill disability project initiated by CWA but funded direct by HF Holidays at a cost of £7,500
2 Commitments at the date of the Balance Sheet
The Trustees committed to the following expenditure not invoiced at the date of the balance sheet :-
£6750.00 for the purchase of 50 oak Cotswold Way waymarker posts
£293.00 for surface repairs at Old Sodbury
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