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.

6. 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
7. 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.
8. 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
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. 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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