Friends of Wanstead Parklands
Trustees’ Report and Accounts for the year ended 31[st] December 2020
The Trustees of Friends of Wanstead Parklands present their Report and Accounts for the year ended 31[st] December 2020. Friends of Wanstead Parklands registered as a CIO on 6[th] June 2016.
Charity details
Registered charity number: 1167459
Trustees:
The trustees who manage Friends of Wanstead Parklands are as follows:
| Trustee | Office | First Appointed | Last Re- appointed |
Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simon Skelding | Treasurer | 29-Mar-17 | 10-Jun-21 | |
| Gill James | Secretary | 29-Mar-17 | 10-Jun-21 | |
| Peter Brimson | 29-Mar-17 | 10-Jun-21 | ||
| John Sharpe | Chair | 29-Mar-17 | 10-Jun-21 | |
| Ali Bajwa | 10-Jun-21 | |||
| Adrian Russell | 10-Jun-21 | |||
| John Meehan | 11-May-16 | 12-Oct-20 | ||
| Jo Fensome | 29-Mar-17 | 10-Jun-21 | ||
| Diane Gardner | 29-Mar-17 | 11-Mar-20 | ||
| Jo Blackman | 29-Mar-17 | 11-Mar-20 |
The charity is governed by a constitution adopted on 6 June 2016.
Trustees are appointed or reappointed annually at the annual general meeting held in March.
Objects of the charity:
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To promote the use of Wanstead Park for the benefit of the inhabitants of the London Boroughs of Redbridge, Newham and Waltham Forest, their surrounding areas and the wider public at large;
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To provide or assist in the provision of facilities or opportunities for recreation and other leisure time occupation for the public at large in the interests of social welfare and with the object of improving their conditions of life, in particular but not exclusively by the preservation, promotion, support, assistance and improvement of Wanstead Parklands;
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To promote for the benefit of the general public the conservation and improvement of the physical and natural environment of Wanstead Parklands, especially its features of historic, architectural and wildlife interest;
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To advance public education in the character, archaeology and history of Wanstead Parklands.
Achievements and performance
Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects, and the key achievements of the charity, during the year:
Campaigning
During 2020 the Friends of Wanstead Parklands continued to campaign for investment in the restoration and management of Wanstead Parklands, and continues to work constructively with the City of London Corporation (which manages most of the land that makes up the Wanstead Parklands). The City of London Corporation have confirmed their commitment to carry out improvements to the park, though there continues to be a number of obstacles which are delaying progress - the Friends continue to work with the City on this project.
A major development during the year had been an approach by the Heritage of London Trust, which had made a proposal to consolidate and reconstruct the landing stage outside the boathouse grotto ruin. This had been welcomed by the City of London, which had offered significant match funding. The work is expected to be carried out once the necessary permissions are obtained.
The Friends of Wanstead Parklands also continues to offer support to the campaign for play equipment in Wanstead park, and have committed to support the proposed woodland play area, and have agreed to donate a sum of £2,000.
Events run
The Friends of Wanstead Parklands typically run many successful events in Wanstead Park during the course of a year, including park walks and talks, quiz events, and nature clubs for children, all with the aim of raising awareness of Wanstead Parklands’ unique heritage, and offering an opportunity to enjoy the natural aspect of the park. These events however were not able to take place during 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Friends did however hold several very successful litter pick events which began in 2020 and have continued into 2021, which have generated significant interest and enabled community participation in the maintenance of Wanstead Parklands to continue through the pandemic.
All of these events attract a significant number of adults and children into Wanstead Park.
Promotion of the Park
Through a quarterly newsletter, website and social media (with over 2,600 members in a Facebook group and over 2,000 followers on Twitter), the Friends provided information to members, and the wider public, on key developments regarding maintenance works in the park, including the signage project mentioned above, management of invasive pennywort, repair works to the lakes, and the reintroduction in 2020 of grazing cattle to Wanstead Park.
Additionally, during 2020 improvements were made to the information provided on the Friends’ website.
Other projects
The Friends have taken a long-term interest in signage in Wanstead Park, and two projects are finally coming to fruition. The Friends raised funding for a number of directional fingerposts in oak, as well as contributing to the cost of new Epping Forest entrance signs – this project has completed and the signs have been installed in 2021. The possibility of the Friends sponsoring an interpretation board for the grotto was still under discussion as part of the wider project to improve the grotto and its setting.
The Friends continues to consult with members on ideas for projects that could be covered by small grants and existing funds. Any such ideas are discussed with the City of London with the aim of making further improvements to the park whilst we campaign for more significant funds for bigger projects.
Financial Review
Reserves:
The charity held cash at bank at December 2020 of £14,800 ( 31 December 2019: £14,800 ), of which £10,300 ( 31 December 2018: £10,400 ) is unrestricted funds. These funds are held in order to meet any unexpected expenditure that may occur. The charity aims to hold at least £7,000 and no more than £15,000 of reserves at the year end; reserves can be used to fund park projects of value up to £5,000.
Overview of financial performance:
Income for the full year 2020 was £608 ( 2019: £2,966 ), with 89% ( 2019: 27% ) coming from membership subscriptions, with the remaining income coming from donations and merchandise sales.
There was no events revenue in the year (2019: £1,558) due to the inability to stage these during the pandemic, as mentioned above.
The main ongoing costs are insurance costs and the costs of running the website, and there was an investment in litter picking equipment made during the year, and some one off expenditure to improve the infrastructure of the website, and the information that it provides.
After these costs, the Friends had a net expenditure of £85 in 2020 (2019: net income of £2,267).
Through a combination of increased subscriptions, and some events being able to take place in the second half of the year, the Friends expect to return to generating net income in 2021.
Statement of receipts and payments for the year:
| Income Statement Revenue Membership Donations Events / fundraising Merchandise Total Expenses Purchase of merchandise Restoration/research costs Subscriptions Events / fundraising costs Printing and postage Website expenses Litter picking equipment Insurance Paypal fees Total Total net income |
Full Year | Full Year | Full Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | |
| GBP | GBP | GBP | |
| 541 805 657 45 449 167 0 1,558 1,211 22 154 521 |
|||
| 608 2,966 2,556 0 -66 -70 0 0 -350 -52 -52 -52 0 -139 -280 0 -90 0 -316 -203 -224 -165 0 0 -141 -141 -141 -17 -8 -15 |
|||
| -692 -699 -1,133 |
|||
| -85 2,267 1,423 |
Statement of assets and liabilities:
| Assets HSBC current account Nationwide savings account Petty cash Stock Liabilities Net assets |
31 December 2020 |
31 December 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| GBP | GBP | |
| 10,330 10,416 4,425 4,425 74 74 824 824 |
||
| 15,653 15,739 0 0 |
||
| 15,654 15,739 |
The Trustees declare that they approved the Trustee< Report abo%*. Signed on behalf of the ¢hariWs Tru5tees.' John Sharpe Chair 28" October 2021