## **HEADINGTON ACTION**
## **TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 2024**
HA’s remit is to benefit those who live, work and study in Headington by working with inhabitants, together with voluntary, commercial and other organisations and local authorities to promote the area, increase civic pride, undertake community projects and environmental improvements. We implemented this remit through an action plan agreed by our membership and through meetings of our members every other month, with Executive meetings in intervening months. The following headings are taken from our 2024 plan.
## **Governance and management**
We have reached a point at which long standing trustees and members of the management team are stepping down. There is thus some risk to the continuity of HA, certainly a risk to our effectiveness. We set up a small working group to explore the issue and propose solutions, including our relationship with other Headington organisations with which there may be overlap of activities. The working group was set up in the summer of 2024 with a remit to provide a report in early 2025.
## **Communications**
We continued as an umbrella body for organisations and groups in Headington. This entailed the usual routine of committee meetings for members, circulation of matters of interest, supporting councillors and other bodies as appropriate and realistic. We continued to maintain the website as a useful resource and communicated through social media and other means.
## **Market**
We supported the market. It is well liked; it supports the vitality of Headington; it is our main source of operational funds. Profitability is down somewhat due to slightly reduced stall numbers but there is no viability concern.
## **Connected Communities project**
The objectives of the Connected Communities project are to reduce loneliness and social isolation and increase neighbourliness. We continued to develop two main strands.
1. We maintained and improved the Community Activity Directory (CAD). We developed the website to make data maintenance easier and transfer of data to print more efficient and less error prone.
2. We extended the list of Street Contacts. The list is now about as complete as it will get so we decided to change focus to promoting the list and supporting existing Street Contact **s.**
## **Headington Festival**
As announced in late 2023, HA took a break from the annual Festival in 2024. However, we were determined this break would not exceed one year and successfully started a project team for Festival 2025.
## **Festive lights and Christmas event**
The annual winter lights display and Christmas tree celebrations were held as usual. Attendance at the lights-on event continues to increase.
1
## **Grants**
We awarded two grants:
- £440 to the Friends of Headington Hill Park for railings to replace a gate between the park and Marston Road.
- £500 to MyVision Oxfordshire for venue hire for a Headington Social Group for local visually impaired people.
## **Environmental activities**
We support local community initiatives through small scale grants, talks and communications. This year we:
- Collated residents’ views about the City Council’s use of weedkiller on our pavements and gutters.
- Arranged the annual summer flower baskets in Headington centre.
- Provided a forum for a university researcher to present results from an investigation into community participation in green space planning.
- Arranged for a talk on pollution monitoring.
- Followed up concerns about lack of biodiversity gains in a large scale development.
## **Planning and transport**
This is largely the domain of our sister organisation, the Headington Neighbourhood Forum (HNF). We supported HNF with communications to our members and provided small scale financial support, eg room bookings.
We continued our role of soliciting, reviewing and advertising Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) applications.
HA continued the policy of only exceptionally taking a collective view of planning and transport applications/policies but encouraging our members to contribute.
## **Conclusion**
In summary, 2024 was a productive year for Headington Action. We are well organised and financially sound. Looking ahead there are two main challenges; long term finances and, as stated in last year’s annual report, we must work to extend our capacity by recruiting new active members and finding a permanent Chair.
During the past year we have had good support from our members, including several local City and County councillors. Oxford Brookes University is a keen supporter of HA and provided facilities for our meetings.
HA Trustees and Exec committee March 2025
2
**Note**
## **HEADINGTON ACTION (CHARITY NUMBER: 1170517) ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR 01 January 2024 to 31 December 2024**
|Community Directory
Councillors - planters
Community Directory
Councillors - planters
**RECEIPTS**
Festival
Market
Grants
HeadingtonNeighbourhoodForum(HNF)
Christmas/WinterLights
FlowerbasketsProjects
CoopBank Interest
Street Champion
HeadingtonCentreImprovement
Chequerepaid by HSBC
**TOTAL RECEIPTS**
ExcludingSpecificReserves (Note 2)
**PAYMENTS**
Festival
Market
Grants
HNF
Christmas/WinterLights
Flower baskets
Projects
Expenses
Admin
Insurance
StreelChampion
Headington Centre Improvement
Cheque issuedlaterrepaid by HSBC
**TOTAL PAYMENTS**
**Excluding Specific Reserves(Note 2)**
**NET RECEIPTS/ (PAYMENTS) IN THE YR**|**£**
**£**
12,103
6,540
4693
7,981
9,543 3
450
1847
2,200
6,966
796
221
131
155
2
2550
5,835
2
47,900
2
2000
2,000
2
18,645
**11761**
**28,250**
**92,545**
**7211**
**22,415**
**42,645**
**£**
**£**
45
14,086
9,134
220
993
2,191
940
782
281
110
227
5429
4,650
9,841
1,123
609
319
464
1071
887
720
1282
1,211
1,177
2132
2,303
2,213
2
3422
3,380
2
9,761
41,354
2
1132
1,790
2
18,645
**16563**
**39,490**
**87,871**
**9877**
**22,256**
**44,304**
**-4802**
**-11,240**
**4,674**
**YEAR 01/01/24**
**to 31/12/24**
**YEAR**
**01/01/23 to**
**31/12/23**
**YEAR**
**01/01/22**
**to31/12/22**
£
£|
|---|---|
|Community Directory
Councillors funds
Market Cash
ExcludingSpecificReserves (Note 2)
**Summary byActivity,2024**
Festival
Market
Grants
HNF
Christmas/WinterLights
Flowerbaskets
Projects
Expenses
Admin
Insurance
CoopBankInterest
StreetChampion
HeadingtonCentreImprovement
**Totals**
**Excluding Specific Reserves(Note 2)**
**MONETARY ASSETS**
Co-opDepositAccount
HSBC BankCurrent Account
**TOTAL ASSETS**
ExcludingSpecificReserves(Note 2)
**ASSET CHANGE**
Excluding Specific Reserves(Note 2)|**-2666**
**-3,056**
**-1,659**
**Receipts**
**Outgoings Difference**
45
-45
4693
220
4,473
3
450
940
-490
281
-281
1847
5,429
-3,582
0
0
609
-609
1,071
-1,071
1,282
-1,282
221
221
2,132
-2,132
2
2550
3,422
-872
2
0
2
2000
1,132
868
2
**11761**
**16563**
**-4,802**
-2,666
**31/12/24**
**45291**
**44926**
9104
8,883
8,752
6741
11,763
23,133
0
0
0
**15845**
**20,646**
**31,885**
**13,709**
**13,211**
**25,552**
**-4,801**
**-11,239**
**4,673**
**-2666**
**-3,055**
**-1,659**|
|---|---|
## **Notes to accounts**
## **Note 1: Accounts prepared on a receipts and payments basis Note 2: Specific reserves**
|**Note 2: Specific reserves**
Community Directory - Lottery grant £5,835 received 2023
Councillors funds
**py**
StreetChampions
HeadingtonCentreImprovement|£
£
£
1910
4,042
6,345
1583
2,455
0
0
6,545
1806
938
2,728
Balance held
31/12/24
Balance
held at
31/12/23
Balance
held at
31/12/22|
|---|---|
||5299
7,435
15,618|