Friends ot Wanstead Pathands Trustees, Re ¢rt and At¢ounts forthe r ended 31" December 2023 The Trustees of Frlends of Wanstead Parklands present their Report arKI Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2023. FrierKts of Wanstead Parwands registered as a CIO on 6th June 2016. Registered charity number: 1167459 Trustees.. The trustees who mana8e Friends of Wanstead Parklands are a5 follows.. Trustee Office Flrst Last Appolnted Reappolnted Resigned Simon Skeldin8 Treasurer Gill James Secretary Peter Brimson Chair John Sharpe Adrian Russell Lucy Dawes 29-Mar-17 29-Mar-17 29-Mar-17 29-Mar-17 10-Jun-21 22-Feb-24 The charity is 8overned by a constltutlon adopted on 6 June 2016. 22-Feb-24 22-Feb-24 22-Feb-24 22-Feb-24 22-Feb-24 Trustees are appolnted or reappolnted aftnually at the annual 8eneral meetlng held in February or March. ObJert5 of the chorlty.. To promote the use of Wan5tead Park for the benefit of the Inhabitants of the London Boroughs of Redbrid£e, Newham and Waftham Forest. their surrounding areas and the wlder public at large; To Provide or assist in the provision of facilitie5 or opportunities for recreation and other leSsure time occupation for the public at large in the Interests of Social welfare and with the objett of improving thetr conditions of life. in particular but not exclusively by the preservation, promotion, support, assistance and improvement of Wanstead Parklands,. To promote for the benefit of the 8eneral public the conservation and improvement of the physical and natural environfflent of Wanstead Parklands. especially its features of hlstofic, architettural and wildlife interest: To advance public edUCatn in the chararter, archaeology and history of Wan5tead Parklands.
A¢hievements and erformance Summory of the main urtivities undertokenfor the public benefrt in relatfton to these objerts. ond the key achievements of the chority, during the year." Cam ai nin Durin8 2023 the Friends of Wan5tead Parklands contlnued to campaign for investment in the restoration and management of Wanstead Parklands. and continues to work Constructively both with the City of London Corporation I"CofL"I, which manages most of the land that makes up the Wanstead Parklands. and with Epplng Forest ("EF"). This artivity has met wtth some frustration during the year, as CofL have scrapped the Wanstead Park Lialson Group, 5eaving just the Epping Forest Consultation Group IEFCGI which deals with the whole forest and meets just three times a year. This. combined with ongoing staff vacar)cie5 at CofL In respect of Epping Fofest, have restrirted pro8ws, however the Friends continue to work tirelessly to camp318n for investment in the restoration and management of the par Our Ilaison with the Herlta8e of London Trust IHoLn resufted irn repalr work bein8 undertaken on the Grotto iandln8 Sta8e. The next phase of actNitV 15 Wlth the consultsnts who wlll work up detalled. costed options on measures to prevent future collapse of the Grotto structure. flnal appearance of the bulldln8 fade and site securlty. The Friends have been Involved in working partles on the future of the Grotto and also the Ternple. The Frlends of Wan5tead Parklands also contlnues to support to the project for play equlpment In Wan5tead park, havln8 donated a sum of £2,IJJO In 2022. The nat¢Jral play area was construrted during 2022 and 2023, and Is now a well loved and used part of the park. the Friends have pledged further financlal supm in the future. Ev The Friends of Wanstead Parklands ran many successful events during the course of a year, ir)cludin8 onllne hlstory talks. Park walks and another successful annual qulz event in November 2023, all wlth the alm of raising awareness of Wanstead Parkland5' unique heritage, and offering an opportunity to enjoy the natural aspect of the park. The Friends contlnue to hold the Very successful litter pick events which began In 2020 and became a monthly event Sn 2021 and are now supplemented wtth a regular bookstall. These litter picks have generated significant interest and enabled tornmunity participation in the maintenance and improvement of Wanstead Parklands. All of these events attract a slgnlflcant number of adults arKI children into Wanstead Park
Promotion of the Park Through a quarterly newsletter. website and s01 media (with over s,[ members in a Facebook group ènd over 2,000 follower5 on TwitterJXI. and a stall held at the annual Wanstead Festlv81. the Friends provided information to rnernbers, and the widei public, on key developfflents reBarding malntenance works In the park, including the signage and 8rotto projects mentioned above. the new natural play area. repair work5 to the lakes. and the rtrintroduction of grazlng cattle to Wanstead Park. Other ro ects As well as publicislng the re-introduction of 8razing cattle to Wanstead Parl the Frlends continue to 5UPPOrt the project by or8anising a rota of volunteer cow wardens. The Friends continues to Consu wlth members on ideas for proJert5 that could be covered by small 8rants and existlng fund5. Any such Ideas are discussed with the CofL with the aim of maklng furthèr improvements to the park whllst we campai8n for more signifkant funds for bigger projects. Flnandal Revlew Reserve5.' The charlty held cash at bank at December 2023 of £19,1)(31 December 2022.. £16.6(Xl, of whlch £14,670131 December 2022.. E12.2CQI is UnStrICted funds. These fund5 are held in order to meet any unexperted expenditure that may occur. The tharity alms to hold at least £7.OfJJ and no more than £15,OOJ of reserues at the year end; reserves can be used to fvnd pork projects of value up to £5,000. OveThlew offlnanclal performonce.. Income for the full year 2023 was £3.83612022.. £4,250), wlth 38%12022.- 37%) coming from membership subscriptions. which was slightly down compared with 2022. The remainir)g income comes from some 5pon50rship, donations and merchandise sale5. and fwom the quiz ni8ht event mentloned above. The maln ongolng costs are insurance costs and the costs of running the website and quarterly newsletter, and the was further investment In merchandise (mainly books) made during the year, intended to be sold in future to generate further funds. No si8nificant doftations were made In 2023. followin8 the donations towards the playground fund and the signage project in 2022. After these costs. the Friends had a net increase in fvnds of £2,308 in 202312022: net decrease of £7841. Stotement of receipts andpaymentsfor the year
Full Y•* Full Y F441 Ye•r Full Year 2023 2022 2021 2020 Inrorne St•t¢rnÈnt Revenue Membershlp Sponsorshlp t)onations Evenis I fundralsln8 Merchandise Llttor £Ing equlwnent sales PaypailAmazors jusi 8ivin8 Total IA45 605 405 965 367 30 18 3A136 1,561 1.740 541 831 716 1.130 328 799 321 ?( 45 22 4250 J,437 Exp•ns•s Purchase ot merehandlse Subscripiions Events / fundr•islni costs Newsletter cost5 miscella0US Exptrtses Println8 and postO8e Webslte expense5 Zoom sub5crlption Lltter plckln8 eqLHpmeni purch• Insurancè 8ank fees Total -894 -52 -iTr) -52 -172 .305 .285 -1 .240 .144 .130 -141 .19 .95• -288 .144 -263 .144 -316 .165 -141 -141 -87 .141 -1,134 -691 Net Incorm b•fro• don•iions 2368 2.116 1479 Donatlons Donat1•) io I&Vrnd furmj Donat1 to s18n88e Otr 6)naon5 .9 Tot•1 n•t intom• 2.308 .7•4 479 Stotement of ossets and Ilobllities.. 31 31 31 31 2023 2020 G8P 19.656 17,348 22233 15.653 -4,1(M] 19,656 14,670 4,425 74 17,348 12,183 4,425 74 667 18,133 17.010 4.425 74 724 15.654 10,330 4,425 74 824 HSBC current accouftt Nationwide Savings account Petty cash Stock Ltrabilities
Net assets Dedaratlon The Trustees declare that they approved the Trustee Report above. Signed On behalf of the charitV5 Trustees". Peter Brim50n Chair 22 October 2024