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2022-03-31-accounts

Trustees' Annual Report for the period

Period start date Period end date Day Month Year Day Month Year From 1 April 2021 To 31 March 2022

Section A Reference and administration details

Charity name The Letcombe Brook Project

Other names charity is known by

Registered charity number (if any) 1172111

Charity's principal address Letcombe Brook Project

c/o Vale and Downland Museum Church Street Wantage Oxfordshire Postcode OX12 8BL

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

Name of person (or body) Dates acted if not for Trustee name Office (if any) entitled to appoint trustee (if whole year any)

6

Section B Structure, governance and management

Description of the charity’s trusts

Type of governing document Constitution

Additional governance issues (Optional information)

You may choose to include additional information, where relevant, about:

Local concerns for the health of the Letcombe Brook led to the formation of the Letcombe Brook Project in 2003. Initially the Project was funded by the Environment Agency, the Vale of White Horse DC and the Grove and Wantage Councils and these bodies provided representatives of a Steering Group to manage the Project. Subsequently the Environment Agency stopped funding the LBP but remained on the Steering Group. Later Both Letcombe and Hanney Councils joined the Project as funders with seats on the Steering Group.

The LBP was very successfully implemented through contracted part time Project Officers who both ran the Project and brought in significant funds for remedial and improvement works.

The LBP was remodelled as a CIO in 2017 whilst retaining the Steering Group to advise and maintain local Community links.

Williams F1 is a Member of LBP and takes part in Steering Group Meetings in a non-voting capacity.

Section C Objectives and activities

Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document

  1. To promote for the benefit of the public the conservation protection and

Improvement of the physical and natural environment of the Letcombe Brook catchment, in particular but not exclusively by promoting biological diversity.

  1. To advance the education of the public in the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural

environment of the Letcombe Brook catchment

Section D Achievements and performance

Summary of the main Organisational Issues achievements of the charity during the year

During the year the Steering Group met online on two occasions to raise local environmental concerns about the Brook Corridor, to comment on Progress Reports from the Project Officer and to suggest future projects. All these discussions were formally minuted and circulated through the Steering Group Members to the Environment Agency and each of the local Authorities adjacent the Brook.

Headline Outputs for 2021/2022

Volunteering hours

Work parties and riverfly monitoring resumed following Covid restrictions with 20 LBP work parties completed. Total volunteer hours recorded were 471 Hrs.

We also supported 3 Duke of Edinburgh Award students in completing River Wardening activities and a whole class of Fitzwaryn School 6[th] formers with a litter picking project. LBP also supported a further 9 work parties run by other organisations (BBOWT and Hanney Flood Group).

Volunteer Training

8 volunteers were trained to survey for water voles by working in partnership with BBOWT. 6 volunteers have been trained how to use a scythe.

Volunteer outputs

Volunteers support us with a wide range of activities including riverfly surveying, practical habitat improvement work, river wardening, invasive species control, litter picking plus species monitoring and reporting.

Education

Schools fieldwork sessions resumed with 257 primary school pupils joining us on the banks of the Letcombe Brook. 2

Section D Achievements and performance

Brownies groups also joined us for guided walks.

Engagement - We were able to restart public events with 6 river dipping sessions and a Wildlife Craft Day provided in partnership with the Vale and Downland Museum. A Letcombe Brook Walk in East Hanney was attended by 20 people and we were able to provide talks to Hendred’s Environment group, TVERC Conference and Hanney Gardening Club. A wildlife photography exhibition was held at the Vale and Downland Museum during March which was very well received by the local community and funded by Williams Racing.

Website updated with seasonal blogs and additional photos.

Social media – Followers on Twitter increased from 445 to 550, with regular tweets. Facebook Group grew from almost 600 members to almost 900 with very regular postings from many members providing great information to local residents about the wildlife supported by the brook.

Habitat Enhancement Work – 1.6 km of brook habitat

improved or maintained due to direct action from volunteer team and PO or due to influencing owner to carry out work. This included:

BBOWT (100m), Millennium Green (80m) , Ham Mill (50m) Limborough Rd (300m), Willow Walk (500m) Mably Way (250m), Grove Bridge (50m), Kingfishers (50m), Mary Green (400m), Village Green (50m) , Williams F1 (330m), Poughley Farm/Lower Mill (260m), Dyers Meadow 200m Total length 1.62 km

As part of this project 2 further feasibility studies for fish bypasses were completed at Old Mill, Wantage and Grove Mill, Grove. Equipment was also purchased to allow further monitoring of water quality along the brook and to support further habitat improvement work.

Supporting Biodiversity Nest boxes for bats, owls, tits and treecreepers have been installed along the Letcombe Brook corridor. Wildflower seed has been added to poor sections of riverbank and trees and hedging has been planted on land belonging to riparian owners. A section of grassland at Willow Walk Nature Reserve that was mown regularly is now managed for wildflowers with volunteers cutting the area by hand with scythes.

Survey Work A Water Vole Survey was completed for the whole brook (13km) as a contribution towards BBOWT’s ongoing water vole recovery project

Water Quality Monitoring LBP contributed to monitoring of phosphate and nitrate levels in the Letcombe Brook as part of

Section D Achievements and performance

the Thames WaterBlitz project.

Invasive species control – balsam pulling along 7km of brook targeting all known stands and mink control now increased to 11 monitored mink rafts.

Riverfly Surveying - 8 sites monitored on monthly basis as part of Riverfly Partnership invertebrate monitoring scheme

200+ Wildlife Records inputted via iRecord App including for protected species otter and water vole. Species recording has also been encouraged amongst the wider local community via social media to ensure more valuable data is provided to TVERC.

Partnership working with following organisations: Freshwater Habitats Trust, EA, Sustainable Wantage, Hanney Flood Group, The Vale and Downland Museum, Wild Oxfordshire, Ock Catchment Partnership, Cain Bioengineering, 5 Rivers and Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment

Advice provided to 23 riparian owners

6 interventions to reduce flood risk (e.g. obstruction removal)

6 pollution issues identified and reported

61 sacs of litter collected from the banks and riverbed.

Training up an Assistant

The Project Officer has been training up an assistant to help with project delivery work, surveying and leading groups of volunteers.

Section E Financial review

Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves

Funds for three months of Project Officers and Assistant Project Officers time is carried over annually together with a nominal sum for fixed costs of insurance, communications and consumables.

Details of any funds materially in deficit

None

Section F Other optional information

Section F Other optional information

Section G Declaration

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above. Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature( s) Full name(s) Anthony Paul Harker Position (eg Secretary, Chair Chair, etc) Date 13/10/22

LETCOMBE BROOK PROJECT YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2022

Balance at Bank 31/03/2021
Balance at Bank 31/03/2021
INCOME
UNR

Grove Parish Council
Wantage Town Council
Vale of White Horse District Council
Letcome Regis Parish Council
East Hanney Parish Council
Environment Agency
Ecology
OCC
Post Code Lottery
Donations
RJR overpayment made to them 29/03/2021
EXPENDITURE
Project Ofcer Fees
Project Ofcer Expenses - Equipment
Project Ofcer Expenses - Travel
Assistant Ofcer Fees - Tom
Assistant Ofcer Fees - Lesley
Assistant Ofcer Expenses - Admin - Lesley
Training
Subscriptions
Accountant
Insurance
Website
Equipment
Services:
Falcon Signs
RJR Tree Surgery
OPC
Cain Bio-Engineering Ltd
Pepler Fencing
MB informed me 31/3/22 that this should
have come from the restricted budget
from his March 2020 expenses claim
Surplus/(Defcit) for the year
TOTAL FUNDS AS AT 31ST MARCH 2021
TOTAL FUNDS AS AT 31ST MARCH 2022
TOTAL AT BANK AS AT 31/03/2022*		 2022
ESTRICTED
£

7,000.00
10,000.00
5,000.00
,700.00
,500.00
8,285.00
14,015.72
45,500.72
28,507.88
1,447.88
390.04
4,680.00
2,436.00
109.43
,35.00
,474.00
301.19
111.53
,52.80
39,747.04
6,954.97
17,268.12
24,223.09		 29,287.48
R
£
46,064.72

49,884.00
-

25,468.20
 E
1
1
1

 2022
STRICTED
UNR

,564.00
,564.00
2,561.92
1,630.53
,82.50
1,201.29
5,616.00
246.01
0.136.96
0,774.25
2,019.36
1,245.11
£		 2021
ESTRICTED
£
7,000.00
9,450.00
14,298.00
,700.00
1,000.00
,500.00
12,889.56
45,837.56

R
£

110,919.56
91,563.31
29,287.48		 2021
ESTRICTED
£
2,744.00
58,939.90
2,000.00
1,398.10
65,082.00
25,048.74
,133.20
263.62
1,485.00
2,688.00
158.71
,432.00
642.99
,40.00
226.52
,1.0005
-288.99
30,934.79
14,902.77
2,365.35
17,268.12*		 456.306
270.46
,490.00
1,508.95
4,104.00
48,926.00
4,584.06
+288.99
60,628.52
4,453.48
7,565.88
12,019.36*