2025-03-31-accounts

Shropshire Hills Landscape Trust Registered Charity no. 1168432 Unit 5 Drovers House, The Auction Yard, CRAVEN ARMS SY7 9BZ

Trustees’ Annual Report for the period 1[st] April 2024 to 31[st] March 2025

Vision

The natural beauty of the Shropshire Hills is secured forever as a place where wildlife, people, landscape and heritage thrive in harmony.

Mission

We will inspire people, communities, and organisations to actively support the Shropshire Hills National Landscape and secure its natural beauty for the future

Objectives

The Shropshire Hills Landscape Trust (working name) is dedicated to promoting the conservation and enhancement of the of the Shropshire Hills. Most of our work is achieved through the Conservation Fund. This makes grant awards to small community groups to support practical projects that help the Shropshire Hills to be a beautiful landscape where nature and people thrive together. Priority areas for projects are:

• Conserving and enhancing the natural beauty, landscape, wildlife or heritage of the Shropshire Hills.

• Educational and awareness-raising activities relating to the area and its conservation, especially involving young people.

Governance

The charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation established in 2016, working alongside the Shropshire Hills National Landscape Partnership and Team. The constitution allows for eight Trustees: four appointed by existing trustees (three-year terms), the National Landscape Team manager (ex officio), and up to three Partnership nominees (two-year terms). Trustees may serve a maximum of three consecutive terms.

• Appointed Trustees: George Chancellor (Treasurer), Janet Cobb, Anthony Morgan, Neil Willcox

• Nominated Trustees: Rachel Cockett (Chair), Charles Edwards,

• Ex officio Trustee: Phil Holden (Secretary)

Four Trustees meetings were held alongside the Annual General Meeting to review finances and determine policy. Trustees met in March 2025 to consider Conservation Fund applications and award grants. The National Landscape staff team provided administrative support, with day-to-day work carried out by Trustees working individually or in groups with staff and external support as needed.

Performance Against 2024-2027 Business Plan

Conservation Fund

Fifteen projects were awarded a total of £20,947 during 2024-25. The awards continued to fulfill the underlying principle of supporting community groups aiming to care for the natural environment in their local area.

Two projects focused on butterfly conservation, with grants supporting habitat restoration for the Small Pearl-Bordered Fritillary in the Stiperstones area and the nationally significant Wood White butterfly populations around Bury Ditches Iron-Age hill fort. The Trust was pleased to support wildlife monitoring efforts, including a study of pine martens and dormice in Morville Parish, building on survey work in nearby areas.

Conservation of traditional landscapes was promoted through a project creating a publicly accessible wildflower meadow at St George's and community hedgerow regeneration work, while the Trust supported an innovative approach to heritage conservation by funding work with all 65 burial grounds within the National Landscape to enhance their biodiversity value.

Three projects specifically aimed to help young people appreciate the countryside, including the Hill Stories digital media project and the Youth Forum Rangers programme working with 11-18 year olds in the Clee Hill area.

Other supported activities included wildlife training events in the Rea Valley, comprehensive river monitoring in Bishop's Castle, Edgton Parish's Nature Recovery Plan, a woodland conference, interpretation projects, and woodland management at the Millennium Coppice.

Details of all the activities supported and reports on their outcomes are available on the Trust’s web pages https://www.shropshirehills-nl.org.uk/help-to-look-after/shropshire-hillslandscape-trust/conservation-fund-projects.

Increasing our Reach

We widened our geographic and organisational reach in 2024-25 with 8 successful new applicants to the Conservation fund. We engaged with all 63 Parish Councils in the Shropshire Hills National Landscape and received invitations to speak at 11 meetings. We presented talks on the work of the trust at three conferences Shropshire Hills National Landscape Forum, Clee Hill (13/06/24), National Meadow Groups Conference 2024, Bishops Castle (15/11/24) and the Shropshire Association of Local Councils (SALC) Conference, Church Stretton (06/12/24).

Fundraising

The Friends of the Shropshire Hills was established in 2008 on the 50[th] anniversary of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. With the creation of the Trust in 2016 the Friends’ membership fees are paid directly to the Trust and support the Conservation Fund.

The Trust is most grateful to those who donated money to support the Conservation Fund. In particular, we thank the Millichope Foundation, our business supporters, Britpart (Border Holdings) the Castle Hotel (Bishops Castle), Moonshine & Fuggles,

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parish councils, Edgton, Mainstone with Colebatch, Morville, and Pontesbury, and the many Friends of the Shropshire Hills.

Governance and Operations

The Trust has strengthened its governance framework during 2024-25 by reviewing the trustees' Register of Interests and implementing a new Conflict-of-Interest procedure specifically for grant award discussions. A safeguarding policy has also been developed and adopted. To enhance the Trust's capacity and broaden trustee recruitment opportunities, a constitutional review has been planned for 2025-26, which will enable recruitment from a wider trustee pool and create additional capacity for the Trust's growing work programme.

Financial review

The majority of the Trust’s money is used to award grants from its Conservation Fund. The Trust holds all its financial assets in a current account with Barclays Bank. At the start of the year the bank balance was £24,876 and the total income during the year was £31,819. £21,383 was paid out to grant recipients whose projects had completed and £14,630 was carried forward to cover expected claims from projects still in progress. Administrative services were kindly provided at no cost by members of the National Landscape team, hence minimal annual operating costs of £153. At the end of the year the Trust had a bank balance of £35,139.

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