Friends of Gedling Country Park
Chair's Report for 2025 AGM
June 2025
10 years have passed since the Park opened on 28[th] March 2015 and I am delighted to say that we are still going strong and looking forward to what the future may bring.
To all our members and supporters I should like to thank you on behalf of the trustees for your continuing support over the past year. We are still recovering from the impact of Covid on members and volunteers but I am pleased see a slow increase in our volunteer numbers.
This year we are back at All-Hallows church and give our grateful thanks to the church for allowing us to make use of it.
Holding the AGM in June seems to suit people and so I believe that we will keep to this month for the foreseeable future.
This report is briefer than I would have hoped but its still reflects our determination to support Gedling Country Park through the activities of the Friends.
We have still maintained contact with Gedling Council staff and have had regular meetings with them, via the Rangers, to help with suggestions as to what work could be done and to offer advice and support. Without the support and liaison with the Rangers the work would, frankly, be impossible.
The work carried out by the Rangers, Rob and Michael has been successful, with our help, in maintaining the Park environment during the year. Equally we are glad to see Michael back after his long illness and our thanks to Rob for shouldering the extra heavy load of work by himself.
Thanks must also go to those volunteers who have helped not only on Sundays but also helped the Rangers during the week. Without their help the park would be in a sorry state.
In August 2023 we held, with the support of Gedling Council, an Environment Day on the park and despite the weather forecast it proved highly successful. We now are planning for another Environment Day so please save the date Saturday 6[th] September in your diaries and come along to what we hope will be an annual event.
We have now used all the remaining funds from the donations raised through Aviva and Save Our Wild Isles community support. This has allowed us to increase the diversity of plants across the park
Our next big fundraiser is being coordinated by Tony (all donations welcome!!!) and we are looking to raise approximately £10,000 to allow us to open up the existing rough path through the glades and to make it more accessible to users with pushchairs, buggies and mobility aids. This will require us to lay some gravel and coverings to provide a decent pathway. Anyone who has any ideas and would be able to help on this please contact Tony Keyworth or myself.
Friends of Gedling Country Park
We are seeing signs of a new growth in interest in supporting us, our Sunday sessions have shown a slight increase in numbers, we have had some successful corporate volunteers days So if you know of any company that would like to support us in this way please ask them to get in touch at:
FGCPCHAIR@GMAIL.COM
To those members who have stayed loyally with us I offer my thanks and appreciation for your support. Please continue and encourage friends to join us.
My personal thanks go out to my fellow trustees who have put up with my emails and calls over the last year. The Treasurer's Report contains details of those individuals, groups and companies who have supported us financially over the last year and I add my thanks for their support. We have had some new trustees join us during the previous year and they have provided welcome input and experience at our meetings.
Last September (2014) saw us pass our 10[th] birthday and we had a very pleasant day chatting to old and new friends and raising some funds, something we always need to keep doing.
Finally, a mention of thanks to the Gedling Lottery which through the purchase of tickets by users and by nominating us has helped by raising funds on a regular basis.
So, let’s look forward to 2025/6 and see how the park continues to develop
In the Meantime:
Take Care, Stay Well and Stay Safe.
Terry Lock, Chairman, Friends of Gedling Country Park April 2025
Friends of Gedling Country Park
Finally a gentle reminder from October 2014
FGCP Treasurer's Report Dec24 FINAL.docx
Treasurer’s Report – December 2024
The Friends of Gedling Country Park was formed on 29[th] September 2014 and this report is for our tenth financial year for the period from 1[st] January 2024 to 31[st] December 2024. We are a UK registered charity number: 1167205.
Key Events
As in previous years, the overall financial position of the charity is very good, with the receipt of some significant donations, and membership income at a good level. Thanks must therefore be given to every member who has paid their fee this year and to every other person or organisation who has donated to us.
Each member who joins us or renews their membership has the option to confirm that they are a UK taxpayer, which enables us to claim gift aid on their membership fee. Many members have chosen to do so, and we hope that this continues and would encourage all others to do the same if they can please.
The five year membership option that we introduced in 2023 continues to save 20% compared to annual membership (costing just £20 per individual or £40 per family for up to two adults plus children under 16). This represents great value compared to the annual individual and family memberships of £5 and £10 respectively. Just over half of our new members and renewals have chosen the five year membership option, which has the obvious benefit of providing a greater immediate income, but we also should recognise that this income must be spent wisely over multiple years to ensure that we cover our ongoing overheads. It also means that all of those people who choose five year membership last year will of course not need to renew this year. The total income from membership fees has actually fallen to £585 in 2024 compared to £1,661 in 2023 but is not unusually low compared to all of our previous years, where one year membership was the only option. I shall of course continue to monitor this each year.
We had two exciting projects running during 2024 as follows:
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Woodland Diversification Project
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In 2023, we made successful applications to the Aviva Crowdfunding Project and the associated Save Our Wild Isles Community Fund (sponsored by the WWF, RSPB and Aviva). During 2024, we continued to plant hundreds of diverse trees in various locations across the park (predominantly within or adjoining the existing woodland areas). This was with the considerable help of Gedling Borough Council and its Park Rangers, for which we are truly grateful.
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Queen’s Canopy Project
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2024 saw this project really take off, with an additional £9,844 of funding received, in addition to the £650 in 2023. This will result in the installation of new benches, artwork and additional trees and flowers in the Queen’s Canopy woodland area during 2025. The funding comprised of a grant from the Nottinghamshire County Council Communities Fund of £5,000, a donation from the Co-Op Local Community Fund of £3,844 and £1,000 from Gedling Borough Council.
In September, we held a tenth anniversary event for the Friends of Gedling Country Park and were able to sell a decent crop of our home grown honey for the first time in two years raising £142.
Gedling Gala is usually held nearby to the country park as a summer festival with lots of exciting events and stalls. The Friends of Gedling Country Park appreciate the opportunity to participate in this great local event and this year greatly welcome the £500 donation made by Gedling Gala to our cause. More information is available
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FGCP Treasurer's Report Dec24 FINAL.docx
at https://www.gedling-gala.org.uk/welcome/, including on how you can volunteer to help run the gala each year.
The Gedling Borough Council run ‘Gedling Lotto’ (https://www.gedlinglotto.co.uk/), continues to raise money for good causes, including for the Friends of Gedling Country Park and many other local community groups and charities. Those who play the Gedling Lotto can choose their good cause and a big thank you goes out to those who have chosen us. In 2024, we received donations totalling £627, which is a valuable contribution to our charity.
When we attend events such as the Gedling Gala, we can now take contactless payments for those who wish to join or renew their membership, purchase cards or honey from us, or make a donation.
A special mention for Mrs Charles, who donated her £250 long service award for 15 years at Specsavers to the Friends. Thank you!
A donation of £25 was kindly provided by Long Eaton Natural History Society. Please go and see their interesting activities at https://www.facebook.com/lensnaturalhistory/.
Here is the complete list of people and organisations who have generously supported the Friends this year (in alphabetical order):
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Co-Op Local Community Fund
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Gedling Borough Council
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Gedling Gala
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Gedling Lotto
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Long Eaton Natural History Society
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Mr R Wilson
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Mrs P Charles
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Mrs S Payne
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Nottinghamshire County Council Communities Fund
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Nottingham City Council Catering Services (who operates Cafe 1899 in the park and offers a 10% discount for all FGCP members)
Income Received
The income received for the period from January 2024 to December 2024 was as follows:
| Category | Amount | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Donations and Grants |
£11,378 | Donations and grants from the various people and organisations listed above. |
| Membership Fees | £585 | Membership fees taken for individual and family memberships (£300 of fiveyear memberships and £285 of annual). |
| Fund Raising Events | £197 | Cash from the AGM 2023 Raffle, Gedling Gala sales of cards, Nature Walks,and the tombola and cake sales at our tenth anniversaryevent |
| Honey Sales | £142 | Sales of honeyfrom bees lovinglycared for in thepark bythe Friends |
| TOTAL | £12,302 |
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FGCP Treasurer's Report Dec24 FINAL.docx
Expenditure
For the same period, expenditure was as follows:
| Amount | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Queen’s Canopy Project | £8,200 | Transfer of funding to Gedling Borough Council to pay for Queen's Canopy benches, artwork and trees to be installed during 2025 |
| Plants/Trees/Seeds | £4,092 | Second tranche of the Woodland Diversification Project expenditure (paid to GBC to benefit from existing supplier agreements, with hundreds of diverse trees now planted). In addition, the direct purchase of 2x Pinus Sylvestris trees, 1x Hedera Helix Hiberni shrub and 30x Willow cuttings. |
| Insurance | £468 | Provision of public liability and volunteer personal accident insurance (also providing trustee, finance, libel and slander protection). |
| Marketing, Communications and Web |
£329 | Web site hosting, hire of room for the AGM, new membership forms,raffle tickets,andprintingcosts. |
| Grounds Maintenance/Development |
£234 | New notice board and associated fixtures and fittings. |
| Finance Charges | £140 | Bank service charges from Unity Bank, transaction fees from PayPal and Information Commissioner's Office Data Protection Registration Annual Fee. |
| Honey Making Costs | £90 | Purchase ofjars for honeyand BBKA membershipfee |
| Fund Raising Costs | £55 | Volunteer event drinks. |
| TOTAL | £13,608 |
Bank Reconciliation
The opening balance as of 1[st] January 2024 was £9,183.46 (comprising of £8,861.77 held at Unity bank, £321.69 held with PayPal, and no cash holdings).
Total income for 2024 was £12,302.27 and total expenditure was £13,608.10.
The closing balance as of 31[st] December 2024 was £7,877.63 (comprising of £6,855.69 held at Unity bank, £1,017.94 held with PayPal, and £4.00 of cash holdings).
Nick Benedek, Treasurer, Friends of Gedling Country Park 31[st] December 2024
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