Kington Walks Annual Report
Charity Commission Number: 1172022
Email: info@kingtonwalks.org Website: www.kingtonwalks.org.uk Period: 1[st] November 2022 to 31[st] October 2023
Charity Trustees:
| Trustee Name | Ofce | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Mrs Barbara Barret | Fullperiod | |
| Ms Sarah Lee | Fullperiod | |
| Mr. Adrian Wilcox | Fullperiod | |
| Mr Paul Finch | From 5thSeptember 2023 | |
Management
This was the organisation’s seventh period as a charity where we continued to build a sustainable volunteer community and establish a base of funds to enable us to pursue the objectives of the charity.
The overarching governance document of the charity is the “CONSTITUTION OF A CHARITABLE INCORPORATED ORGANISATION WITH VOTING MEMBERS OTHER THAN ITS CHARITY TRUSTEES” that is an edited and approved version of the Charity Commission’s standard document. A copy of this is available on request. The Constitution defines most of our processes including the appointment and election of Trustees.
The day to day running of Kington Walks is managed by our Committee of Members that meets on at least a monthly basis and has the remit to manage most decision making within the terms of the Constitution. Decisions required outside those terms are referred back to the Trustees. In addition, one or more sub-committees manage specific activities or events e.g. our annual walking festival. These subcommittees report back to the main committee on a monthly basis and in effect are concerned with organisational matters with all decisions effecting the charity passed back for approval by the main Committee of Members. There are Terms of Reference for these Committees. The Committees have returned to meeting in person during this period, with some exceptions, where subcommittees have met virtually for purposes of convenience.
Kington Walks has no formal relationship with any related parties.
Our risk management system is focused on the risks associated with walking activities and are governed by a risk management system that requires completion by all walk leaders and includes a safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults policy.
Objectives
Kington Walks is a Charitable incorporated Organisation (CIO) with the following objectives:
-
(1) to provide education on the benefits of walking on health and unity within a community;
-
(2) to promote a healthy lifestyle by encouraging and enabling people to partake in regular walks as a form of exercise;
-
(3) to advance the development of the community in Kington through organising and facilitating regular group walks in the area including but not limited to an annual walking festival; and
-
(4) to promote the protection of the environment through use of sustainable methods of transport (such as buses and trains) to and from group walks
Primary Activities and Achievements for Period
The primary activity of Kington Walks to date has been the establishment and development of an annual Walking Festival and more recently a Spring Walking Festival. The festivals continue to be a major priority but with our now sustainable group of volunteers and base of funds our focus is turning to widening our walking activities and the promotion of healthy lifestyles within our local community and improving the local footpath network.
This year has seen both walking festivals continuing to run as normal. After an immediate postpandemic increase in bookings in September 2021, compared with previous years, September 2023’s numbers have been healthy, continuing to attract new and regular participants, and are more in line with the pre-pandemic uptake. The profile of Kington Walks and its marketing continues to be enhanced by an increase in the use of social media to reach local and wider communities.
A new Kington Walks website was launched early in 2023, in time for the Spring Walking Festival. The use of a printed brochure for the walking festivals, additional to the website, was discontinued. This was in recognition that most festival participants book via the website; that the brochure represented a significant expenditure of funds; and concerns over the environmental impacts of the use of paper. As well as carrying all the information and the means of booking for the walking festivals, the new website features pages for other core activities in line with our charitable aims eg Kington Walking for Health, Footpaths around Kington, and information and links relating to the town of Kington.
The move away from the brochure and the re-development of the website are closely connected to developments in approach to advertising, sponsorship, and marketing. Advertising space was previously sold both on the website and in the brochure. Advertising has been replaced by a walk sponsorship scheme which ran for the first time in the September 2023 festival. All 29 walks were sponsored for a fee of £25, for the most part by local businesses. As well as supporting the festival financially, walk sponsorship strengthens local partnerships and gives sponsors the opportunity to publicise and get
2
involved with their particular walk. We recognise that there is scope for us to develop these community links further.
The Kington Walks footpath team has established a programme of regular maintenance days, and has continued to liaise with the Ramblers over maintenance of the local Mortimer Trail. Colour-coded way marker signs have been obtained for the signposting of the Six Great Walks around Kington, featured on the new website and the Kington Town Map. In addition, the team has been trained to install metal kissing gates. This will enable, where possible and by agreement with landowners, the replacement of worn-out stiles with more access-friendly kissing gates.
Kington Walks has continued to provide the role of local Footpath Officer. Our system to allow walkers to report any faults directly through footpaths@kingtonwalks.org, has been used regularly, either directly or via the Kington Tourist information Centre. All reported issues have been followed up, where possible directly by the footpath officer and team, or where appropriate referred to Hereford County Council, and then monitored by the footpath officer.
By the end of the period of this report, the Kington Walking for Health scheme, supported by the local medical practice, had been in place for a year. It has been well supported by local volunteer walk leaders and backmarkers. Individual feedback from participants emphasises the benefits of the scheme to mental as well as physical health, for example to participants who had rarely left their own homes since the pandemic. The scheme was selected in November 2022 as a chosen charity for our locality by the Co-Op community charity scheme. This will result in a grant, to be received in November 2023.
In addition to the weekly Walking for Health short walk on the Kington Recreation Ground, an emerging need for a regular longer walk was identified, requiring additional support by way of leaders and backmarkers. The scheme planned to take a short break during the winter months, to resume in the spring of 2024, with the intention of building capacity to offer two grades of walk, as above.
Financial Review
The accounts are available on the Charity Commission website.
For the period of this report the top level financial figures were:
| Income | Expenditure | Surplus (defcits) for 2023 |
Surplus (defcits) overall |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10,448.37 | 9,141.8 | 1,306.57 | 18,485.25 |
3
Our policy is to maintain a reserve that covers the entire cost of our Annual Festival in case extreme weather conditions lead to us having to refund all walk related income. This is approximately …...
Our principal sources of income are:
-
Payment for walks at our walking festivals
-
Sponsors
-
Grants
Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees:
Sarah Lee, Chair of Trustees
18th August 2023
4
RECEIPT AND PAYMENT ACCOUNTS for the year ended 31st October 2023
AND
BALANCE SHEET as at 31st October 2023
1
Kington Walks - Receipt and Payment Account for the year ended 31st October 2023
| RECEIPTS | 2022-23 |
|---|---|
| Spring Walks & Events (PayPal) | 1,550.00 |
| Spring Walks & Events (cash, cheques, card) | 182.00 |
| Autumn Walks & Events (PayPal) | 3,706.63 |
| Autumn Walks & Events (cash, cheques, card) | 429.50 |
| Sponsors (Casserole Evening & Walk Sponsors) | 1,150.00 |
| Kington Town Council Grants (Website & Mortimer Trail Board) |
942.00 |
| Donations | 209.41 |
| Community Shop | 1,174.60 |
| T Shirt Sales | 96.00 |
| Float repayments | 760.00 |
| Sundry Income | 64.09 |
| Savings Account Interest | 184.14 |
| Total Income | 10,448.37 |
2
Kington Walks - Receipt and Payment Account for the year ended 31st October 2023
| PAYMENTS | 2022-23 |
|---|---|
| General Admin | 151.14 |
| Sundry Expenses | 1,069.80 |
| Floats (Festivals, Community Shop) | 760.00 |
| Promotion & Advertising (Spring Festival) | 322.64 |
| Promotion & Advertising (Autumn Festival) | 822.17 |
| Spring Walks 2023 Expenses | 912.10 |
| Autumn Walks 2023 Expenses (General) | 641.40 |
| Autumn Events 2023 Expenses (Meal) | 996.00 |
| Autumn Events 2023 Expenses (Talk) | 195.00 |
| Autumn Events 2023 Expenses (Band) | 555.00 |
| Website Expenses | 1,429.00 |
| Footpath Maintenance | 620.38 |
| Walking for Health | 517.17 |
| Donations Given (Heartstart) | 150.00 |
| Total Payments | 9,141.80 |
3
Kington Walks - Balance Sheet as at 31st October 2023
| For Financial Year 01/11/2022 to 31/10/2023 | For Financial Year 01/11/2022 to 31/10/2023 | For Financial Year 01/11/2022 to 31/10/2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Total Income | 10,448.37 | |
| Total Expenditure | 9,141.8 | |
| Surplus/(Defcit) of Receipts over Payments | 1,306.57 | |
| Carried over from last year | 17,178.68 | |
| TOTAL at year end | 18,485.25 | |
| Portfolio consists of: | ||
| Bank Account | 8,226.38 | |
| Savings Account | 10,258.87 | |
| TOTALS | 18,485.25 | |
| of which the following is ring-fenced | ||
| Andy Johnson Gift | 500.00 |
4