Natural Kirklees
Charity number 1174259
Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 30 September 2023
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Natural Kirklees
Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 30 September 2023
| Contents | Page |
|---|---|
| Trustees' report | 2 to 4 |
| Examiner's report | 5 |
| Receipts and payments account | 6 |
| Statement of assets and liabilities | 7 |
| Notes to the accounts | 8 to 9 |
Prepared by West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO
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Natural Kirklees
Trustees' report for the year ended 30 September 2023
Reference and administrative details of the charity, its trustees and advisors
The trustees during the financial year and up to and including the date the report was approved were: Name Position Dates Edwin Day Chair Julie Hirst Treasurer Joan Vevers Secretary Christine Senior Phil Slater David Rudd Timothy Duke Kat Woolley Appointed 26 October 2022 Stefanie Rofke Appointed 26 October 2022 Charity number 1174259 Registered in England and Wales Registered and principal address Bankers The Depot Virgin Money Beaumont Park 40 New Street Huddersfield Huddersfield HD1 7AY HD1 2BT
Appointed 26 October 2022 Appointed 26 October 2022 Registered in England and Wales
Independent examiner
Sarah Coates MAAT West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO Stringer House 34 Lupton Street Leeds LS10 2QW
Structure, governance and management
The charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) association formed on 15 Aug 2017 and is governed by a constitution.
Method of recruitment and appointment of trustees
The trustees of the charity are appointed by the members at the AGM.
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Natural Kirklees
Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 30 September 2023
Objectives and activities
The charity's objects
To promote for the benefit of the public the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment in Kirklees by promoting biological diversity.
To advance the education of the public in the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment.
The charity's main activities
Umbrella organisation for volunteer groups in Kirklees promoting conservation and biodiversity. Providing free insurance and tool share for groups working on Kirklees green spaces.
Public benefit statement
In setting our objectives and planning our activities our Trustees have given serious consideration to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit and in particular giving help and support to the 127 member volunteer groups who work tirelessly to improve their green space, hold events to raise funds and most importantly bring the local community together. In normal, unrestricted years the final outcome is in excess of £1,000,000 in volunteer time improving green spaces and looking after the environment, conservation, education and guidance on working practices, grants, exercise, fresh air, good company and a healthy feeling.
Achievements and performance
While the Covid epidemic left a few of our members with too few resources to continue, many are now back working as hard as before the pandemic. Natural Kirklees continues to give support in terms of providing full members, free public liability insurance and all risks cover for tools where they are stored in a green space. The charity also provides gardening and litter picking tools free to members from our stores at Wilton Park and the newly acquired, waterproof container at Beaumont Park providing a facility that covers the entire geographic area.
Meetings are held each quarter to enable members to learn about the charity's plans and performance, to network among fellow member groups and to listen to selected speakers who provide talks on various aspects relating to the environment or volunteering. A newsletter is also sent to members and interested members of the public, council staff and other parties and the subscriber numbers now exceed 400. A small grant scheme also ran at the beginning of the planting season and 14 grants were paid out to a total value of £8,086
Natural Kirklees is funded almost entirely by grants from Kirklees Council and this has put us in a strong position financially to secure our foreseeable future. Our membership now stands at 127 groups following a review to ensure all members were still active, of which 93 take advantage of our insurance scheme.
With the pandemic hopefully, mostly confined to history we also organised a volunteer showcase over the Coronation weekend in May, to highlight our member groups activities and we also promoted the charity at the Honley Agricultural Show in early July. This is an activity we intend to expand on next year.
The constraints on the finances of Kirklees Council continue to cause concern but we have signed a new 3 year agreement from 1st April 2023 which although never guarantees our funding, gives us reassurance that we can continue to provide our current services. We are also investigating the possibility of working with member groups and council staff to create a plant growing area for the benefit of our members and the health and wellbeing of their volunteers.
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Natural Kirklees
Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 30 September 2023
Achievements and performance continued
We ask our insured members to evaluate how many volunteer hours they spend working in Kirklees Parks and Green Spaces and the result is a magnificent figure in excess of 50,000.
We are also being contacted by other charities, council departments and Universities about our work as our reputation grows. All in all a very successful year.
The cost of insurance in 2023 relate to both the 2022 and 2023 premiums as our accounts are based on a receipts and payments basis. The 2022 cost was noted as an unpaid liability in the 2022 accounts. The actual cost in 2023 has risen by 1/3rd as a result of our agreeing to increase the public liability cover from £5m to £10m in line with Kirklees Council’s request for the increased cover value, when volunteers work on council owned land.
Financial review
The net payments for the year were £1,489, including net receipts of £1,020 on unrestricted funds and net payments of £2,509 on restricted funds.
Reserves policy
The charity's free reserves, at the year end were £1,020.
The ongoing support to members by way of providing public liability insurance is seen as the prime financial aspect of Natural Kirklees' role. Should the Council be in a position where they cannot provide adequate funding, Natural Kirklees is unlikely to be able to raise sufficient funds by other means. The trustees therefore aim to maintain reserves at a level which equates to two future years of charitable expenditure in relation to the provision of the public liability for members, the web site and general administration. The trustees consider that this level will provide sufficient funds to respond to the cost of the insurance for those members covered at the time of any failure of the agreement with the council and ensure that basic support and governance costs are covered.
Approved by the board of trustees on 30/10/2023
Julie Margaret Hirst (Trustee)
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Natural Kirklees
Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Natural Kirklees
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the CIO for the year ended 30 September 2023, which are set out on pages 6 to 9.
Responsibilities and basis of 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').
I report in respect of my examination of the CIO's accounts as carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act. In carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 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:
1 accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Charities Act; 2 the accounts do not accord with those records.
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.
Sarah Coates MAAT
30/10/2023
West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO
Stringer House 34 Lupton Street Leeds LS10 2QW
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Natural Kirklees
Receipts and payments account for the year ended 30 September 2023
| Notes 2023 Unrestricted funds £ Receipts Grants (2) - Insurance refund - Bank interest 1,020 Total receipts 1,020 Payments Insurance - Tool store - Website - Administration - Events and activities - Accounting - Knotweed eradication work - Small grants programme (3) - Total payments - Net receipts / (payments) 1,020 Fund balances brought forward - Fund balances carried forward (4) 1,020 |
2023 Restricted funds £ 35,000 - - 35,000 22,023 5,560 1,041 17 542 240 - 8,086 37,509 (2,509) 49,386 46,877 |
2023 Total funds £ 35,000 - 1,020 36,020 22,023 5,560 1,041 17 542 240 - 8,086 37,509 (1,489) 49,386 47,897 |
2022 Total funds £ 22,100 956 - 23,056 535 126 6,709 18 - 240 375 4,446 12,449 10,607 38,779 49,386 |
|---|---|---|---|
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Natural Kirklees
Statement of assets and liabilities
| as at 30 September 2023 2023 Unrestricted £ Cash funds Cash at bank 1,020 Total cash funds 1,020 |
2023 Restricted £ 46,877 46,877 |
2023 Total £ 47,897 47,897 |
2022 Total £ 49,386 49,386 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assets retained for the charity's own use Container Storage Various tools Liabilities Accruals |
2023 £ 420 420 |
|---|---|
The financial statements were approved by the board of trustees on 30/10/2023
Julie Margaret Hirst (Trustee)
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Natural Kirklees
Notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 30 September 2023
1 Accounting policies
Basis of accounting
The trustees have taken advantage of section 133 of the Charities Act 2011 and have prepared the accounts on a receipts and payments basis.
There has been no change to the accounting policies since last year.
No changes have been made to the accounts for previous years.
Taxation
As a charity the organisation benefits from rates relief and is generally exempt from income tax and capital gains tax but not from VAT. Irrecoverable VAT is included in the cost of those items to which it relates.
Fund accounting
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity.
Restricted funds are subjected to restrictions on their expenditure imposed by the donor or through the terms of an appeal.
Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the accounts.
| 2 Grants 2023 Unrestricted funds £ Kirklees Council - - 3 Grant making Project or activity 100 Miles of Hedgerow Badger Sett Protection Bee Habitat Contemplation Area Flower Borders Get Together Gardening Knotweed Treetment Lepton in Bloom Peace garden School Woodlands Street Sign Planters Top Pond Liner Village Gardens Wildflowers on the River Colne Brightening Up The Village Friends In Natural Kirklees LINK Grange Moor Miniature Park Project Grow Our Own Soil Experiment Safe and Save - Spen Beck & Mann Dam Willow Deer Jubilee Wildflower Meadow with Commemorative Bench |
2023 Restricted funds £ 35,000 35,000 |
2023 Total funds £ 35,000 35,000 2023 Grants to institutions £ 320 750 588 750 750 430 500 500 748 600 500 750 750 150 - - - - - - - - 8,086 |
2022 Total funds £ 22,000 22,100 2022 Grants to institutions £ - - - - - 839 - - - - - - - - 260 750 750 609 500 116 523 100 4,446 |
|---|---|---|---|
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Natural Kirklees
Notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 30 September 2023
| 4 Restricted funds Kirklees Council Fund name Kirklees Council |
Balance b/f Incoming Outgoing Transfers Balance c/f £ £ £ £ £ 49,386 35,000 37,509 - 46,877 49,386 35,000 37,509 - 46,877 Purpose of restriction Towards the costs of insurance, tool share scheme, website, publicity and promotional events. Also monies for distribution as part of a small grants programme. |
|---|---|
5 Related party transactions
Trustee expenses
No trustee received any expenses during this year or the previous year.
Trustee remuneration and benefits
No trustee received any remuneration or benefit during this or the previous year.
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