## **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)**
- 1 Anthony Harker Chair
- 2 Alison Futter
- 3 Dave Parry
- 4 Mike Stead
- 5 Julia Reynolds
6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
**Section B Structure, governance and management**
## **Description of the charity’s trusts**
Type of governing document Constitution
- (eg. trust deed, constitution) How the charity is Charitable Incorporated Organisation
- constituted
- (eg. trust, association, company)
- Trustee selection methods
- (eg. appointed by, elected by)[Appointed by Trustees]
## **Additional governance issues (Optional information)**
You **may choose** to include additional information, where relevant, about:
- policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees;
- the charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works;
- relationship with any related parties;
- trustees’ consideration of major risks and the system and procedures to manage them.
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.
- All Trustees are provided with LBP Policies on appointment and subsequently all take part in the development and approval of modified or additional Policies, Procedures and Project Officer Work Programmes.
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.
2. 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:
- Love the Letcombe Project (EA and TOE funded) to reduce shade and improve riparian habitat and biodiversity on multiple sites along the brook.
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.
- Dandridges Mill Project (EA Funded) to carry out a feasibility study to ascertain design and costings to create fish passage around the mill.
**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**|
||||||||||
||||||||||