Friends of Wanstead Parklands
Trustees’ Report and Accounts for the year ended 31[st] December 2024
The Trustees of Friends of Wanstead Parklands present their Report and Accounts for the year ended 31[st] December 2024. 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 | 29-Apr-25 | |
| Gill James | Secretary | 29-Mar-17 | 29-Apr-25 | |
| Peter Brimson | Chair | 29-Mar-17 | 29-Apr-25 | |
| John Sharpe | 29-Mar-17 | 29-Apr-25 | ||
| Adrian Russell | 10-Jun-21 | 29-Apr-25 | ||
| Lucy Dawes | 22-Feb-24 | 29-Apr-25 |
The charity is governed by a constitution adopted on 6 June 2016.
Trustees are appointed or reappointed annually at the annual general meeting held between February and April.
Objects of the charity:
-
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;
-
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;
-
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 2024 the Friends of Wanstead Parklands continued to campaign for investment in the restoration and management of Wanstead Parklands, and continues to work constructively both with the City of London Corporation (“CofL”), which manages most of the land that makes up the Wanstead Parklands, and with Epping Forest (“EF”).
Following the frustrations in 2023, when CofL scrapped the Wanstead Park Liaison Group, leaving just the Epping Forest Consultation Group (EFCG) which deals with the whole forest and meets just three times a year, we are pleased to report significant improvement in consultation during 2024, with the creation of the Wanstead Park Stakeholder Group, which the Friends actively participate in, and creation of a new Park Project Officer role. This gives grounds for increased optimism for actions to improve the park for all users, and the Friends continue to work tirelessly to campaign for investment in the restoration and management of the park.
The Friends are represented on working parties considering the future of the grotto and temple buildings with Wanstead Park, both fragile structures which require plans for their structural preservation and continued public access. The working parties finished their recommendations over the course of 2024 with the Grotto Restoration and Management Plan and the Temple Comprehensive Management Plan. At the grotto, works to add steel support and replace defective brickwork are ongoing.
The Friends of Wanstead Parklands also continues to support to the project for play equipment in Wanstead park, securing an £8,000 donation in 2024, following donation of a sum of £2,000 in 2022. The natural play area was constructed during 2022 and 2023, and is now a well loved and used part of the park.
Events run
The Friends of Wanstead Parklands ran many successful events during the course of a year, including three history walks in the park and another successful annual quiz event in November 2024, all with the aim of raising awareness of Wanstead Parklands’ unique heritage, and offering an opportunity to enjoy the natural aspect of the park.
The Friends continue to hold the very successful litter pick events which began in 2020 and became a monthly event in 2021 and are now supplemented with a regular bookstall. These litter picks have generated significant interest and enabled community participation in the maintenance and improvement of Wanstead Parklands.
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 6,000 members in a Facebook group and over 2,000 followers on Twitter/X), and a stall held at the annual Wanstead Festival, the Friends provided information to members, and the wider public, on key developments regarding maintenance works in the park, including the signage and grotto projects mentioned above, the natural play area, ongoing state of the lakes and associated repair work, and the re-introduction of grazing cattle to Wanstead Park.
Other projects
As well as publicising the re-introduction of grazing cattle to Wanstead Park, the Friends continue to support the project by organising a rota of volunteer cow wardens.
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 CofL 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 2024 of £20,290 ( 31 December 2023: £19,100 ), of which £20,290 ( 31 December 2023: £14,670 ) 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 2024 was £2,716 ( 2023: £3,836 ), with 34% ( 2023: 38% ) coming from membership subscriptions, which is slightly down compared with 2023, mainly due to the impact of high levels of lifetime members joining in 2022 and 2023. Friends of Wanstead Parklands now have around 400 paid up members. The remaining income comes from donations and merchandise sales, and from the quiz night event mentioned above.
The main ongoing costs are insurance costs and the costs of running the website and quarterly newsletter, and there was further investment in merchandise (books, cards and leaflets) made during the year, intended to be sold in future to generate further funds.
A donation of £8,000 was made in 2024 ( 2023: £nil ) towards the Wanstead Park playground fund, following the donations towards the playground fund and the signage project in 2022. This donation was fully covered by a private donation.
After these costs, the Friends had a net increase in funds of £1,094 in 2024 (2023: £2,308).
Statement of receipts and payments for the year:
| Income Statement Revenue Membership Sponsorship Donations Events / fundraising Merchandise Litter picking equipment sales Paypal/Amazon just giving Interest Income Total Expenses Purchase of merchandise - new Purchase of merchandise - existing Subscriptions Events / fundraising costs Newsletter costs Miscellaneous Expenses Printing and postage Website expenses Zoom subscription Survey software subscription Litter picking equipment purchases Insurance Committee member expenses Bank fees Total Net income before donations Donations Donation received re playground Donation to playground fund Donation to signage Other donations Total net income |
Full Year | Full Year | Full Year | Full Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
| GBP | GBP | GBP | GBP | |
| 930 1,445 1,561 1,740 - 605 - - 337 405 831 328 902 965 716 799 520 367 1,130 321 - 30 5 206 - 18 6 44 28 - - - |
||||
| 2,716 3,836 4,250 3,437 -293 -123 -894 -100 -100 -175 - - - - -52 -52 -28 -172 -185 -20 -190 -305 -285 - - -34 - - - - -75 -112 -311 -288 -263 -240 -156 -144 -144 -144 -228 - - - - - - -130 -141 -141 -141 -141 -42 - - - -73 -87 -95 -19 |
||||
| -1,562 -1,468 -2,134 -958 1,154 2,368 2,116 2,479 8,000 -8,000 -2,000 -900 -60 -60 |
||||
| 1,094 2,308 -784 2,479 |
Stotement of ossets and IiGbilities.' 31 December 2024 31 December 2023 GBP 31 December 2022 31 December 2021 GBP GBP Assets HSBC current account Nationwide saving5 account Petty cash Stock 20.290 14,670 4,425 74 12,183 4,425 74 17,010 4,425 74 724 22,233 74 387 20,750 667 17,348 19,656 Liabilities -4,100 Net assets 20.750 19,656 17,348 18,133 Declaration The Trustees declare that they approved the Trustees, Report above. Slgned on behalf of the charit¢s Trustees: Peter Brimson Chair th 29 October 2025