2025-04-01-accounts

Rimrose Valley Friends Charity Number 1171536 Tru8tee8' Report and Unaudited Accounts 31st March 2026

Rimrose Valley Friends Contents Pages 2to10 Trustees, Annual Report Independent Examiners Report Receipts and Payments Accounts Statement of Assets and Liabilities 12 13 Notes to the Accounts

Trustees, Annual Report April 2024 to March 2025 Reference and Administration Details Charity Name: Rimrose Valléy Friend8 Registered Charity number: 1171536 Registered addresses: 32 Henley Ave Litherland LIVERPOOL L212PU The Charity's current Trustees are: Simon Albert Sarah Edey Linda Gaskell Gary Young Structure, Governance and Management 1. The Charity is govemed by a written constitution 2. During this period, each of the tharity's previous 5 trustees retired and were reappointed at the last AG M, in line with the tharity's constitution. 3. RVF member, Simon Albert, put himself forward as a trustee at the AGM in this period, which was confirmed by those present 4. Tracey Boileau stepped down as a trustee in January 2025 5. The Charity has a paid membership scheme, with all members having voting rights at the AGM and other general meetings. 6. The last AGM was held on Wednesday, 19th Junel 2024, with the next to tske place within the 15-month period pemitted by the constitution. This Annual Report covers the period from April 2024 to March 2025 in line with the CharitWs accounts covering the same period.

Objectives and Activities Objectlves: 1. Rimrose Valley Friends sets out to promote, protect and improve the community resource that is Rimrose Valley Country Park. 2. Rimrose Valley Friends aims to benefit the local community surrounding Rimrose Valley, promoting it through events and activities, engaging with other community groups and liaising with the poli￿ to cut down on anti-social behaviour. 3. Rimrose Valley Friends, work covers the area of Rimrose Valley Country Park. bordering the Leeds-Liverpool canal and the adjoining communities of Seaforth, Litherland, Waterloo, Crosby. Thomton and Netherton. Activities: The Charity's trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit and have undertaken the following activities within the boundaries of that guidance. During this period, the Charity has aimed to further the core activities of Rimrose Valley Friends and simultaneously run a successful campaign against a road proposal which threatened the park's future, which is known as Save Rimrose Valley. As these have different objectives, the activities for each are summarised separately below. Rimrose Valley Friends The Charity's core activities indude: 1. Raising awareness and promoting the Charity's work online via the following: Writing articles, blogs and content added to dedicated website www rimrosevalle friends.01 Administering the charity's Fa￿bOOk Page and Group Administering the charity's Insta account Administering the charity's Twitterlx account 2. Raising awareness of and promoting the Charity's work in the community via the following: Organising activities and events on Rimrose Valley Engaging with local schools, community groups and other charities with shared objectives Attending and supporting local community ￿ents 3. Engaging with re16vant 8takeholder8 including-. Local Councillor8 Green Sefton Sefton CVS Local MPS

Specific activitie8 in thls perlod The following is a summary of the key adivities in this period: 1. Facebook The charity's community group has remained an active and positive forum to thousands of members predominantly from the surrounding communities. At the time of preparing this report, membership of the group stands at around 9,500. The group is used for people to share relevant néws stories, photographs and information and is administered by 2 volunteers who ensure that the community rules are adhered to and that it is a pleasant online space. The group's settings are private for this purpose. Following the SUCGess of the Save Rimrose Valley campaign (s88 below), the campaign's Facebook page has been rebranded as RVF and currently has over 4,400 followers. This is visible to the public and is therefore used to promote projects, activities and events and to share important news. 2. Website During this period, we redesigned and rebuilt the charity's website whith was almost 10 years old. The new site better showcases our work, ways to get involved and is much more in line with other sites in our sector. Th6 mailing list has continued to grow, Members of the public can subscribe to this list and rec6ive email notifications of news and events added to the website. 3. Upgraded Membership Platform The new website contains a brand-new membership platform which is to repla￿ the existing 'WebCollect' plafform. This was deemed usar-unfriendly and complicated to subscribe to. The switch to the new platform will see new 8nhan¢ements to our membership offering 4. Twitterlx This had previously proven to be a great way of connecting with similar local community groups and supporting each other's work. However, the platfom has become a less inclusive space and the charity is considering whether it should remain on X. We are less active on this platfom as we have found that majority of our supporters use Facebook to engage on Rimrose Valley matters 5. In8ta The charity previously had no presence on Instagram. However, following the success of the Save Rimrose Valley campaign (see below), the campaign's account was rebranded as RVF and currently has 850+ followers. The charity is looking to engage younger volunteers to run Insta and possibly TikTok and other platforms in the future in other to connect with a younger demographic 6. Eventbrite After securing funding to deliver more events and activities in this period, the charity increased its use of the Eventbrite plafform to administer these. This helps track bookings and communicate with participants more effectively than social media alone. At the time of preparing this report, the charity has 298 followers on this platfom, up from 159 in the previous period. 7. Paid role Following the success of the Save Rimrose Valley campaign (see below) the charity wished to maintain one paid role to progre88 Its work. Residual campaign funding meant this role was funded until June 2025. At the time of preparing this report, the charity 15 actively pursuing funding applications for a new Project Manager role to continue its work. 8. Guided Walk8 We arranged 4 guided walks during this period. a foraging walk in May. a nature walk led by Green Sefton in June. a bird-spotting walk led by our local RSPB officer, also in June. We worked with Green Sefton to arrange another bat walk in S8pt6mber. These walks are incredibly popular, and all were free to take part in. 9. Tesco Stronger Starts - Explore & Loarn on Rimr08e Valley We secured funding from Tesco's Stronger Starts programme, which focusses on delivering activities

based on learning in the community. Delivery of these activities took pla￿ throughoLrt this reporting period and included the following: i. Yoga ii. Tai Chi iii. Guided Walks- RSPB, Mindfulness and Foraging iv. Art & Relaxation classes v. Craft sessions vi. Forest School vii. Apple pressing These activities were incredibly well received. RVF were repr8sented at each session and captured the necessary feedback for the funder. As is common with many other local groups offering free events, we nOti￿d a number of 'no shows,. We fed back to our supporters that because an activity is free doesn't mean there 18 no cost to providing it. We will continue to communicate this for future events 10.Llverpool'8 Most Wuthering Heights Day, Everl In July 2024, w8 became Liverpool's first location for this event which began life in Brighton as a way of marking Kate Bush's birthday. It was then picked up by other countries and recreated across the globe. The purpose of this event was to draw attention to the park and our campaign to save it. Almost 300 people attended and recreated the 1978 Kate Bush contemporary dance masterpiece. The event was a huge success attracting people from across the Liverpool City Region, and beyond. We arranged rehearsals in advance and people were led by instructors from local dance schools on the day. The positive feedback from the event means that we will look to host this again in future years, 11.60 Mlnute Heroesl A new vOlunt￿r joined our actton group as a result of the Wuthering Heights event. Th6y wer8 keen to get involved and have subsequently led weekly volunteer sessions encouraging local peopl8 to gèt involved in hands-on work to improve the park. Activities indude litter picks, trimming overgrown benches, tables and footpaths and reclaiming tarmac pathways by removing vegetation. There is now core group, with plans to grow this work in the fvture. All work18 done using hand tools and in line with Green Sefton's volunteer guidance 12. Stsp-temberl This walking challenge was suggested by a member of our action group as a means of drawing attention to the park, getting people active in autumn and encouraging people to engage with the campaign to save it. Over the course of the 30 days, people used apps and pèdometers to log the number of steps they has walked or run each day, with a requirement that some or all of this had to be on Rimrose Valley. The target of 10 million steps was reached with days to spare, boosted by huge contributions from running groups Marsh Lane Harriers and Rimrose Runners. Following its success, we plan for this to become an annual event. 13. Dr Bike Our contacts at Cycling UK offered free bike maintenance sessions urKler their Dr Bike initiative during this period. We coordinated these with Merseyside Police so memb8rs of the public could get their bike serviced and security marked at the same time. These were extrémely popular, with dozens of local people taking advantage of the service. We will continue these in the future and explore ways of doing More with Cycling UK. 14. Wildflower meadow Once again, the Charity sold seeds harvested from the previous year's meadow to raise the fvnds for subsequent sowing and to g8nerate income for the Charity. Following concerns expressed around the use of herbicide outlined in last year's report, the decision was tsken to transition away from annuals to perennials, which do not require the annual intervention of herbicide. This is in line with the charity's objectives of championing Ihe environment and the health and wellbeing of

the surrounding communities. This meant that 2024125 was the final year the RVF meadow at the centre of Chaffers running track will be sprayed. A communty sowing took place in May 2024 which was well attended by people of all ages. 15. Rlmrose Valley Calendar The Charity again invited people to submit photographs for the 2025 calendar. 500 copies were ordered and the majority sold, making a healthy profit from the sales. Leftover copies were given to local individuals, community groups and businesses who support the Charity's work, as well as being recycled in card- making classes 16. Mar8h Lane Harrlers & Chaffers Running Track At the time of preparing this report, this work ha8 yet to Commen￿ on the clubhouse construction at this location within th8 park, oudined in the previous year's report. 17. Rlmrose What If? Sesslons We supported a local student with their Masters dissertation by providing them with documentation and promoting drop-in consultation events they organised in the local communty. Wth their permission, we are able to use the anonymised information gathered from these invents to help inform our future work and funding bids. The dissertation outlines a vision for restoring nature on the park and enhancing it for local communities. We therefore hope to work with the student to explore what we might be able to deliver in the future.

Save Rimrose Valley The Charity continued to oppose National Highways, plans to build a dual carriageway through Rimrose Valley County Park, known as The A5036 Port of Liverpool Access Scheme. The Charity set up a Road Action Group in September 2017. The group included several of the charity's trustees and additional volunteers from the community, with approximately 20 active members. The campaign's worf( was coordinated by Stuart Bennett through a part-time role, funded via a combination of grants and general Charity fundraising. During this period, this moved from a contractor to a paid role (PAYE) to give greater job security and a pension, which took effect in July 2024. Guidance and support We￿ re￿iVed from relevant environmental groups and NGOS including Transport Action Network, Friends of the Earth, CPRE and Lancashire Wildlife Trust. This guidance informed the campaign's strategy which had two key objectives: 1. To change minds of decision-makers at Westminster 2. To engage the communty in the fight to save the park The campaign's work therefore met either of the two objectives, with the Road Action Group supporting the delivery of this work. The campaign's core activities included: 1. Raising awareness and promoting the campaign's work onllne via the following: Writing articles, blogs and content added to dedicated websits www.saverimrosevalle .or WritiTvJ and distributing press releases to local, regional and nats.onal media outlets Maintaining the campaign's Facebook page Maintaining the campaign's Twitter account Maintaining the campaign's Instagram account Producing a podcast series 'We Said No. covering many of the issues around the campaign Creating videos to convey key messages 2. Raising awareness and promoting the campaign's work in the community via the following: Organising demonstrations Leafleting Using signs, posters and banners in prominent locations Engaging with local schools

Prornoting the campaign at'in store, events such as LUSH and local supennarkets Engaging with other environmental groups and campaigns from across the Liverpool City Region Attending and supporting local community events 3. Engaging with key stakeholders in the road proposal including: National Highways Peel Ports Department for Transport Transport for the North Local MPS, Councillors, the Metro Mayor & Liverpool City Region Combined Authority 4. Documenting key arguments against the road proposal 5. Exploring and promoting viable altematives the road proposal Developments and actlvitles in thls perlod 1. Cancellatlon of the road proposal On 30th October, 2024, the Port of Liverpool Access Road was cancelled in the Chancellorfs Budget Statement on the grounds that it was 'unfunded and unaffordable,. The charity believes that this was the culmination of public and political pressure brought about by the Save Rimrose Valley campaign, as other, far more costly road schemes survived this spending review. 2. Celebratlon gathering On Sunday 17th Novembèr, the charity held a small, symbolic gathering on Rimrose Valley to mark the above announcement, which included guest speakers from Sefton Council, Friends of the Earth, Lancashire Wildlife Trust, Scouse Flowerhouse with statements read out for those unable to attend. These included bolh constituency MPS, CPRE and Transport Action NebNork. 3. Future Campaigning Despite the road's cancellation, the charity remains vigilant and will continue to keep an eye on transport d8velopments which have the potential to impact the park and the surrounding communities. WO will 8eek multiple ways to protect the park long-term and continue to research and push for sustainable, non- road altsrnatives to port access. In this sense, an element of campaigning will continue. Many of the following activities pre-date the announcement above but are included here for completeness: 4. Social medla The campaign continued to grow its following across all platforms during this period which was a vital and dynamic way of communicating key issues. Following the road's cancellation, we have taken advantage of the following the campaign gathered on its Facebook Page and Insta profile by rebranding these as the charity to promote and grow our work 5. Webslte The campaign-specific website was updated consistently throughout this period with press coverage secured, blogs and longer articles covering the more detailed topics linked to the campaign. Many articles have been viewed thousands of times. At the time of writing the website is relatively dormant, but we will continue to use it to flag important developm8nts and consultation8, Some minor updates are required to reflect that the campaign as a success.

1. Natlonal Hlghways We facilitated a meeting with National Highways, Sefton Council and residents from the existing port aC￿$S route - the A5036 - in February 2025 through our participation in the South Sefton Communities Alliance. This wa8 wilh a view to improving relations with those from the wider community and to demonstrate that our charity cares about securing a better solution for everyone. We hope to continue to engage in the SSCA and its work
2. Alternative Solutions At the time of writing, we are actively pursuing altemative options and have met with 2 consultancies, having been introduced by Transport Action Network. We wish to commission a study into port access and have written to the Mayor of the LCRCA and Council Leader asking for their input and a contribution to the cost of the report.
3. Politics The campaign maintsined good relations with Councillors, the relevant Council Officers and MPS," all of whom opposed the road proposal. The 2024 general election saw Labour come to power, which no doubt influenced the decision to can￿1 the road proposal, with Sefton being a Labour council, both MPS Labour and a Labour Metro Mayor. We again attended the Labour Party conferen￿ in September 2024, which was a great opportunity to network with the newly elected govemment's Transport Ministers
4. We Said No The podcast series continued throughout this peri¢xl, culminating in an episode which documented the small gathering we held to mark the Suc￿sS of the campaign.
5. Medla coverage Press releases remained a k8y tool for the campaign and we continued to keep the story in the news with major developm6nts covered locally via the Liverpool Etho, BBC Radio Merseyside, Granada TV and BBC North West Tonight. The Echo and Radio Merseyside each reported on the campaign's success.
6. Fundlng The Charity was SUC￿SSfUl with funding applications to Foundation for Integrated Transport and Patagonia Action Works. A combination of these 2 grants secured the role of campaign coordinator for 2 days per waek for this accounting period, putting the campaign in a secure position. The campaign also held several in- store fvndraising events at LUSH in Liverpool. These prO￿edS go towards the general costs of running the campaign - leafiets, signs and design costs.
7. Consultatlons During this period, the campaign responded to key consultations and encouraged supporters to the do same, as they had a direct link to transport in our area and our local environment. These included the LCRCA'S consultations on its Draft Local Transport Plan and its Local Nature Recovery Strategy. Both presented opportunities to flag the important of Rimrose Valley to S(xrth Sefton communities.
8. Demonstration3 In April 2024, we commissioned a local visual design company to project campaign images arKI core rnessages onto major landmarks in Liverpool city centre at dusk and into the late evening. The subsequent video was viewed thousands of times, further raising awareness of our work. In September 2024, we demonstrated outside the Labour Party conference. calling for the chan￿lIor and Transport Secretary to cancel the port access road and other damaging road proposals.

Achievements and Perforniance The Charity continued to raise awareness of Rimrose Valley Country Park and to pursue our core objects of promoting, protecling and enhancing the space and improving the health and wellbeing of surrounding Gommunities. We gathered feedback on our work in 2024-25 and are in the process of documenting our effectiveness in the fonn of an evaluab.on report to aid future funding bids. The campaign was successful in securing the can￿lIatIOn of the road proposal. It is one of only a handful of campaigns to have successfijlly stopped a government-led Nationally Significant I nfrastructure Project (NSIP) - something we are incredibly proud of. Financial Review 1. The Charity is regularly funded by public donation. It has a LocalGiving account which can accept one-off donations as well as recurring direct debits. 2. The Charity has actively applied for grants and other funding to finance both the Charity's activities and events and the work of the Save Rimrose Valley campaign. All funds applied for are ringfen￿d for their specific purpose and a￿ clearly referenced in the Charity's accounts 3. The Accounts for the financial year 2024125 will be prepared and audited by Sefton CVS and will be reviewed and approved at the upcoming AGM. Declaration The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees, report above. Signed on behalf of the charity trustees. S Edey Trustee 29th January 2026 io

Charity Number: 1171536 Independent Examlners Report To he Trustees of the Rlmrose Valley Frlends CIO For the year ended 31st March 2025 I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the CIO for the year ended 31st March 2025 Responsibilities and basls ot report As the charity trustees of the CIO you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Act'l I report in respect of my examination of the CIO'S accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act. In carrying out my examination I have followed all applicable Directions given by the Charity I Commission under section 145151{b) of the 2011 Act. Independent Examiner's Statement I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect: l. accountng records were not kept a5 required by section 130 of the Act: or 2. the accounts do not accord with those ￿cOrdS. I I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Signed: Date: Ff-kn? LOL[ lan Wright F.C,A. Community Accountant Sefton Councll for Voluntary Service Crosby Road North Waterloo L22 OLG

Rlmrose Valley Friends Recelpts and Payments Account for the year ended 31st March 2025 Unrestricted funds 2025 Restricted funds 2025 Totsl funds Total funds 2025 2024 Recelpts frorn: Donations, legacies and similar Income 5,990 5,990 5201 Grants 28,675 28,675 29374 Fundraising 1,861 1,861 523 Investment income 398 398 230 Totsl gross Income 8,249 28,675 36,924 36,328 Totsl Receipts 8,249 28,676 36,924 35,328 Payments on: Charitable payments 17,141 17,141 4,459 Charity Cost 8,213 21,167 29,380 26,023 Total gross expenditure 8,213 38,308 46,521 30,482 Total payments 8,213 38,308 46,521 30.482 Net of receiptsl(paym8nts) (9,633) (9,597) 4,846 Transfer between funds Cash funds last year 10.258 27,366 37,624 37,624 Cash fund th18 year end 10,294 17,733 28,027 37.624 12

Rimrose Valley Friends Statement of Assets and Liabilities as at 31st March 2025 Charlty No. 1171536 Unrestricted funds 2025 Restricted funds 2025 Total funds 2025 Totsl funds 2024 Cash funds Current Account8 Deposil Accounts 2,193 2,193 25,834 12,189 25,435 25,834 2,193 25,834 28,027 37,624 Approved by the Trustees on the 24th of February 2026 And signed on their behalf by S. Edey Trustee 24th February 2026 13

Rimrose Valley Friends Notes to the Accounts for year ended 318t March 2025 1. Accounting policies Basis of preparation The financial statements have been prepared on the 'Receipts and Payments, basis. Fund accounting Unrestricted funds: These are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objects of the charity. Designated funds: These are unrestricted funds earmarked by the trustees for particular purposes. Revaluation funds: These are unrestricted funds which include a revaluation reserve representing the restatement of investment assets at their market values. Restricted funds: The8e are available for use subject to restrictions imposed by the donor or through terms of an appeal. 2. Income from grants 2025 758 2024 7,459 1,000 3,340 1,000 7,020 9,555 Lush Limited Mind Belter Breathe Sefton CVS Foundation for Int Patagonia Charities Aid Foundation Ground Work - Tesco Centric Lab 9,360 11,807 5.000 1,750 28,675 29,374 14

Rimrose Valley Accounts

Final Audit Report

2026-02-24

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