DEVON:
The Voice for Devon's Countryside
ANNUAL REPORT 2020
## **WHO WE ARE**
**President** : Professor Nick Groom.
**Vice President** : Robin Hogg.
**Trustees** : Rebecca Bartleet (Chairman), Mike Best (Treasurer), Phillip Bratby, Ivan Buxton, Dale Hall, Steve Crowther.
**Branch Director** : Penny Mills.
## **The Voice for Devon’s Countryside**
The Devon branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (Devon CPRE), is the only local, independent charity working to protect Devon’s precious countryside, green spaces and unique landscapes throughout the whole county - for the benefit of all. We recognise the need to balance local development and a vibrant economy with a tranquil and beautiful environment. This is doubly important in a county that’s so dependent on income from tourism. Thousands of new homes are planned to be built in Devon, putting our glorious countryside at great risk. We challenge inappropriate development and support sustainable homes, built in the right places, at prices local people can afford.
Together we can make a real difference to Devon.
The Devon Branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England CIO A charitable incorporated organisation with registered charity number 1175228
## **ANNUAL REPORT 2020**
**ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE DEVON BRANCH OF THE CAMPAIGN TO PROTECT RURAL ENGLAND CIO Will be held virtually via Zoom* THURSDAY 30th SEPTEMBER 2021 at 2.30pm**
## **AGENDA**
1. To receive apologies for absence.
2. To confirm and sign the minutes of the previous meeting held on 29th October 2020.
3. To receive and approve the Annual Report.
4. To receive the Annual Accounts for the year ending 31st December 2020.
5. To appoint the Independent Examiner.
6. Election of Officers (President and Vice President), Trustees/Executive Committee.
7. Any other business.
## *** The link to the Zoom meeting will be emailed on request**
1
## **ANNUAL REPORT 2020 Rebecca Bartleet, Chairman**
## Dear Members
Welcome to our Annual Report for 2020. I suspect that this is a year that will never be forgotten in the years to come, due to the totally unprecedented and unforeseen consequences of the global pandemic. Like many other organisations, Devon CPRE had to cancel all of the many events, meetings, and other appearances we had planned for the year, and to turn to our computers to keep in touch.
We held our trustees’ meetings online, as well as our AGM, which was very well attended. We also organised several online surgeries with our planning consultant Jo Widdecombe, as well as attending several sessions with other CPRE branches around the country. We were also delighted to take part in the Devon Dark Skies week programme of on-line events, where we gave a presentation on light pollution in Devon. Luckily the judges of our Best Churchyard Competition were able to travel around to visit all our entrants, and Devon parents also did the most fantastic job of encouraging their children to enter our art competition, both the number and standard of entries was the highest we have ever seen, and the top entries made the most appealing calendar.
Although there were periods during the year when we were all deprived of our ability to go out into the
countryside, our open green spaces were also a source of great consolation to us during this difficult time. However, we also saw that many people still fail to understand and appreciate how easily our environment can be harmed by thoughtless behaviour. As such we were delighted to join the Clean Devon campaign as a partner organisation. This initiative aims to tackle litter and fly tipping across the county, which has sadly increased greatly during lockdown.
As ever, our biggest challenge continues to be preventing new build housing developments from destroying too much of our precious countryside. I am sure that many of you will be aware of more and more new developments springing up all around them and sure enough, our latest research in our How Many Homes report confirms that throughout Devon the amount of new housing being delivered exceeds the formal target figures set by central government, despite which we continue to see planning applications for yet more housing pour in.
In spite of the major restrictions we faced I am pleased to report that the Devon branch of CPRE continues to attract new members, in fact we are the most successful branch at doing so in the whole network, and I thank all of our members for their continued support of our work over this particularly difficult year for us all.
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July 2020
Devon
www.cpredevon.org.uk
The Devon Branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England
How Many Homes?
Reviewing the National Housing Need for England
The Voice for Devon’s Countryside 00
7
12
CPRE How Many Homes Report with Bleed.qxp_Layout 1 11/08/2020 12:31 Page 10
Page 15
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Our new report in 2020, produced for us by ORS, which reviewed national housing need figures.
This is available to all members. If you would like a copy, please contact us.
A follow up to our important report on
real housing need in Devon, this essential and comprehensive report shows, compiled from their own official statistics, that the Government wants to build nearly twice as many homes than are genuinely needed.
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**Minutes of the AGM held on 29th October 2020**
_Because of the Covid pandemic, the AGM originally planned for 2nd April 2020 at the Exeter Court Hotel, Kennford, was postponed and was instead held on line via Zoom._
The Chairman, Rebecca Bartleet, opened the meeting with a warm welcome to our many members who had joined us on line and explained a few 'housekeeping' rules regarding Zoom meetings.
## **Agenda Items**
## **1. Apologies for Absence**
There were no apologies for absence.
## **2. To confirm and sign the minutes of the previous meeting held on 16th April 2019**
There being no questions, approval of the minutes was proposed by Robin Hogg and seconded by Ivan Buxton and unanimously approved.
## **3. To receive and approve the Annual Report**
The report had been sent by post to all members and had also been posted on the website. There being no questions, approval was proposed by Dale Hall and seconded by Mike Best and unanimously approved.
## **4. To receive the Annual Accounts for the year ending 31st December 2019**
The Hon Treasurer, Mike Best, gave a short presentation on the accounts and asked for any questions. Keith Pitt asked for clarification regarding the PR expenditure figure and the Hon Treasurer responded. There being no further questions, acceptance was proposed by Steve Crowther and seconded by Phillip Bratby and unanimously approved.
## **5. To appoint the Independent Examiner**
The Hon Treasurer, Mike Best, explained that he had been in discussions with Ian Barrett FCA FCIE of Barretts, Newton Abbot, regarding undertaking this work and proposed his appointment as Independent Examiner. Seconded by Ivan Buxton and unanimously approved.
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## **6. Election of Officers - President and Vice President, Trustees/Executive Committee**
For the election of our President, Nick Groom, and our Vice President, Robin Hogg, and for the election of the Trustees to be elected 'en bloc' - Rebecca Bartleet, Ivan Buxton, Phillip Bratby, Steve Crowther, Dale Hall, Mike Best. Proposed by Peter Cleasby and seconded by Pat Day and unanimously approved.
## **7. Any Other Business**
Sharon Goble addressed the meeting providing an update on the PR work which she has undertaken for the charity in the past year. Steve Crowther commented that Sharon's work is brilliant and thanks was given to Sharon for all her hard work.
Mike Sanderson raised the issue of keeping the pressure on our MPs regarding local planning issues and the wider issue of house building targets nationally. David Morgans commented that local district and county elections are a good time for people to let their feelings be known and said that it was the Devon County Council election in 2021. Peter Cleasby commented that there is a need for all campaigning organisations like ours to be proactive not just reactive and praised the work that we have been doing particularly regarding housing figures. Eirene Williams asked whether there is anything more we can do to try to attract younger people to become members and support our work and a discussion took place. James Lindsay, a national CPRE Trustee, and who currently works at Exeter University, said that in his experience most young people just don't have the time or spare cash to join organisations like ours and he acknowledged that we have a very high profile locally in the media and attracting many new members.
The meeting closed with the Chairman thanking everybody who had managed to join us on line and was glad that the meeting had worked without any problems.
In accordance with the constitution, there was a brief on line meeting of the Trustees in which Rebecca Bartleet was confirmed as Chairman.
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## **THE DEVON BRANCH OF THE CAMPAIGN TO PROTECT RURAL ENGLAND CPRE DEVON CIO**
Charity registered number 1175228
## **REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31 2020**
Administrative address: PO Box 26, Beaworthy, EX21 5XN
The Trustees present their report and accounts for the year ended December 31, 2020.
**Administrative Information**
The Trustees who served the Charity during the year were: Rebecca Bartleet Chairman Michael Best Honorary Treasurer (appointed 7th Feb 2020) Phillip Bratby Ivan Buxton Stephen Crowther Dale Hall
Nicholas Whitsun-Jones (appointed 12th Nov 2020, resigned 28th May 2021) Peter Finch (resigned 9th July 2020) Rosemary Jessel (resigned 9th Nov 2019) Patricia Day (resigned 9th July 2020)
Penny Mills undertook the day to day management of the Charity, as delegated by the Trustees.
The independent examiner of the accounts of the Charity is Mr Ian Barrett FCA FCIE of Barretts, 22,Union Street, Newton Abbot, Devon TQ12 2JS.
The Charity has a web site www.cpredevon.org.uk which contains considerable information about its activities.
The Charity’s bankers were the Royal Bank of Scotland.
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## **CPRE Devon CIO - Structure, governance and management**
The board of Trustees of CPRE Devon CIO is drawn from interested individuals who are able to contribute their knowledge and expertise to carrying out the various activities of the Charity. New Trustees are appointed by the existing Trustees.
The Charity is managed by an Executive Committee which comprises the following officers; Chairman, Honorary Treasurer and Branch Director. The Trustees sit on the Executive Committee as well as the officers.
## **Objects and activities**
The objects of the Charity are “to promote and encourage for the benefit of the nation the improvement, protection and preservation of the countryside of Devon and its towns and villages and the better development of the rural environment”.
The Charity fulfils its obligation to enjoy charitable status by delivering the following benefits to the various communities in Devon:
• By considering applications presented to the local planning authorities to ensure that the benefits are enjoyed by the wider community.
• By holding meetings at both District and Branch levels that are open to members, local government councillors or similar, and representatives of other relevant interest groups throughout the County.
• By being available to members as a source of advice on how to respond to proposed developments that might affect them.
• By providing the Charity’s website www.cpredevon.org.uk which has become a key enabler for the membership, the media and other visitors to the site to understand some of the key problem areas in Devon.
• The CPRE Devon website has thus become a repository of the work undertaken by the Charity where members can discover what may interest them and the wider implications for Devon as a whole.
• Funds bequeathed to the Charity are being used in accordance with the terms of the bequests; in 2013 for the further education of children of all ages in Devon on countryside matters of all types, and in 2017 for other projects exclusively in the county of Devon.
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## **Financial review**
The Charity receives support from the National Office of CPRE of approximately 50% of the subscriptions it receives from members resident in Devon. The Charity also receives grants, bequests, donations and gifts from supporters in Devon. In 2020 the Charity’s income includes the following:
|following:||
|---|---|
|• National Office support|£24,594|
|• Advances on the Mason bequest received from National Office|£24,400|
|• Donations from supporters in Devon|£ 1,800|
## **Reserves policy**
It is the policy of the Trustees to maintain unrestricted funds, which are free reserves, at a level sufficient to provide services and equipment in compliance with its objects for a period of at least 12 months. Restricted funds are set aside of such amounts as are appropriate to provide specialised services and equipment in accordance with the restrictions attached to the funds by the respective donors. It was agreed by the Trustees that the Mason bequest be treated as unrestricted funds.
The Trustees confirm, in accordance with the Charitable Incorporated Organisations (General) Regulations 2012, that at the year end the CIO did not have any outstanding guarantees to third parties nor any debts secured on assets of the CIO.
## **CPRE Devon Branch**
CPRE Devon Branch will remain on the Charity Commission register as a “shell” charity with nominal assets purely as a precaution to preserve any future legacies that might otherwise fail.
CPRE Devon Branch was set up as a charity in April 1996 but, following the change of its charitable status, ceased functioning as a Charity in April 2018. It now has no members other than the remaining trustees. It will continue to prepare annual accounts and hold an Annual General Meeting in accordance with its constitution.
The Branch maintains its bank account with Barclays which recorded donations received of £121 during the year ended December 31, 2020. The bank charged the account with commission which left a balance at the year-end of £365.
The report and accounts were approved by the Trustees on 16th June 2021 and signed on their behalf by;
Rebecca Bartleet, Chairman.
8
## **Financial Statements 2020**
|**THE DEVON BRANCH OF THE CAMPAIGN TO**|**THE DEVON BRANCH OF THE CAMPAIGN TO**|**THE DEVON BRANCH OF THE CAMPAIGN TO**|**1175228**|**CC16a**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|**PROTECT RURAL ENGLAND CIO**|||||
|**Receipts and payments accounts**|||||
|**For the period**
**from**|**1st JANUARY**|**To**|**31st DECEMBER**||
||**2020**||**2020**||
|**Section A Receipts and payments**|**Section A Receipts and payments**|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**A1 Receipts**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**|**Restricted funds**
**to the nearest £**|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**|**Total funds**
**to the nearest £**|**Last year**
**to the nearest £**|
|
!"#$%'(!)*+,-./-'0+|**24,594**|**-**|**-**|**24,594**|**25,657**|
|1'0#/-'0+#023$#0/+|**1,800**|**-**|**-**|**1,800**|**2,771**|
|4)02$#-+-03%5%0/+|**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**|**601**|
|!#6%+|**934**|**-**|**-**|**934**|**237**|
|705%+/8%0/-0,'8%#02-0/%$%+/|**930**|**1,399**|**-**|**2,329**|**2,567**|
|9#+'0*%:)%+/"%62#/;#/-'0#6<((-,%|**24,400**|**-**|**-**|**24,400**|**30,000**|
||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**|
||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**|
|**_!"#%&%'(_**_(Gross income for AR)_|**52,658**|**1,399**|**-**|**54,057**|**61,833**|
|**A2 Asset and investment sales, (see**
**table).**||||||
||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**||
||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**|
|**_!"#%&%'(_**|**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**|
|**_)&%'(*+,+-.%/_**
**A3 Payments**||||||
||**52,658**|**1,399**|**-**|**54,057**|**61,833**|
|||||||
|
=$#0,"1-$%,/'$(%%+|**18,000**|**1,750**|**-**|**19,750**|**19,250**|
|;%>+6%//%$+-0,6)2-03?00)#6@%.'$/|**6,536**|**-**|**-**|**6,536**|**3,787**|
|A6#00-03,'0+)6/#0,B(%%+|**5,380**|||**5,380**|**4,404**|
|C%,"0-,#62',)8%0/+#025-2%'+|**939**|||**939**|**6,857**|
|!%8-0#$+||||**-**|**5,024**|
|A)*6-,$%6#/-'0+|**7,953**|**200**||**8,153**|**7,811**|
|?25%$/-+-03#02A$'8'/-'0|**2,823**|||**2,823**|**4,973**|
|D$#0//'E%8*)$B9#$-0#||**3,000**||**3,000**|**3,000**|
|F"-62$%0+,'8.%/-/-'0.$-G%+||**5,050**||**5,050**|**3,647**|
|=%+/F")$,"B#$2,'8.%/-/-'0.$-G%+|**1,008**|||**1,008**|**801**|
|C$#5%66-03%H.%0+%+|**1,736**|||**1,736**|**2,652**|
|E%*+-/%8#-0/%0#0,%|**626**|**-**|**-**|**626**|**470**|
|**(see table)**||||||
||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**||
||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**||
|**_!"#%&%'(_ **|**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**|
|**_)&%'(.'01+2%/_**
**_3+%&4*+,+-.%/56.'01+2%/7_**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**_8'/94"2:/%9-/0+'*+2:_**||||||
||**50,772**|**10,000**|**-**|**60,772**|**70,997**|
|||||||
||**1,886**|**- 8,601**|**-**|
**- 6,715**|**- 9,164**|
||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**|
||**83,360**|**70,971**|**-**|**154,331**|**163,495**|
||**85,246**|**62,370**|**-**|**147,616**|**154,331**|
9
## **Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**
|**Categories**
.67*89:;(*8(<+=(+<),+88,(*:8>&?@
(@&??+>8+<),+88,
**B5 Liabilities**
**B3 Investment assets**
**B2 Other monetary assets**
**B4 Assets retained for the**
**charity’s own use**
**B1 Cash funds**|**Details**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|**Restricted funds**
**to nearest £**|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||;2<17=1">2:?(2&71")|**59,068**|**-**|**-**|
||@'#A'"+2"$<|**26,178**|**148**|**-**|
||!"'&$)B#5%&=1">|**-**|**62,222**|**-**|
||**_"#$%&'%()*+,-(_**
!"#$%%'"(")*%+,-./$%*%-0.+")10"23%).+"**45).!+66
**Details**|**85,246**|**62,370**|**-**|
|||45|45|45|
|||**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|**Restricted funds**
**to nearest £**|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|
||+1%2"3$45$%&6$7)1&81&'2"179::'($|**18,231**|**-**|**-**|
|||**-**|**-**|**-**|
|||**-**|**-**|**-**|
|||**-**|**-**|**-**|
|||**-**|**-**|**-**|
|||**-**|**-**|**-**|
||**Details**|**Fund to which asset**
**belongs**|**Cost (optional)**|**Current value**
**(optional)**|
||+,-."/$%&0$"&%|!"#$%&#'(&$)|**16,257**|**21,799**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||**Details**|**Fund to which asset**
**belongs**|**Cost (optional)**|**Current value**
**(optional)**|
||@1#'25%$45'C0$"&|!"#$%&#'(&$)|**2,391**|**1,500**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||**Details**|**Fund to which**
**liability relates**|**Amount due**
**(optional)**|**When due**
**(optional)**|
||D'#$(&2#%:$$%|!"#$%&#'(&$)|**4,000**|**paid**|
||?5CC7'$#%1")$EC$"%$%|!"#$%&#'(&$)|**1,374**|**paid**|
||||**-**||
||||**-**||
||||**-**||
||1-2."#3)$|,)-.#|/"0$||
|||||!"#$&'"(()&*"+|
|||**Micha**|**el Best**|**16th June 2021**|
||||||
10
Indendent Examlner's Rèport to the Trustsos of Th• Devon Bran¢h OfThe
Campalgn T¢ Protect Rural England CIO
Chartty number 1175228
I report lo the twslges on my examination of th8 acwints of The Devon Branch of the
Campaign lo Protect Rural England CIO for the year ended 31$1 December 2020.
Responslbllltles and basls of report
As the charity Injslees you afe reSrm)nsib for Ihg pparatiOn of the accounts
accordance wrfh the wuirements of the CharItS A¢t 2011 Ilhe Acri.
I report in respect of my examInatk of the Charis accounts carried out Lmd&r section
145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying t my examinalion I have lollowed all the
applicable D1cl.0n$ given by the Charity Commission undèr se¢Uon 14515llbl of thè
Act.
. Independent examln8rfs statèment
I have completed my oxamination. I confim) that no material m3tt&rs have come to my
attenl'on in connection with the examinalion giving rr£ Cause to beliwe that in any
material resped..
{l) A¢counting records were rlot kepl in respe¢X of the Charity as rw4uired by s8don
130 of the Acl., or
(2) The a¢tx)unts do not )j those recorils.
I have no concerns ar h8ve Ix¥ne acro&s no other matters in wnneclion with Ihg
examination to whlch attention should be drawn in this fort In or¢Jgr lo enabl8
proper urKl&rslanding of the accounts to rehed.
IBn Barrett FCA FCIE
Barielts Chartergd A¢untants and Chartered Tax Advisers
22 Union Street
Newton Abbot TQ12 2JS
Datod.. 1 JU 2021
## **Some of our Activities during 2020**
Supporting the Clean Devon Partnership
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Credit: Lucy Flatman
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Supporting Wembury Marine Centre
Supporting the Devon Ancient Woodland Inventory
Supporting the reinstatement of the Okehampton to Exeter passenger rail service
Supporting Devon’s Dark Skies Week
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2021 Calendar
A Celebration of Paintings from our ‘My Outdoors’ 2020 Art Competition for Devon Primary School Children
Printed on environmentally friendly paper A charitable incorporated organisation with registered charity number 1175228The Devon Branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England CIO
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Our 2021 Calendar
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## **Children’s Painting Competition**
**KS1 Winner: Betsy Salt (Age 6)** Seaside Scene
**KS2 Joint Winner: Graciella Sillence-Dreyer (Age 11)** Mannings Pit
**KS2 Joint Winner: Thomasin Manley-Frost (Age 10)** Bowermans Nose - Dartmoor
## **Devon’s Best Churchyard**
## **Competition**
**Winner** : St Margaret’s Church, Northam
**Runner Up** : St Swithun’s Church, Sandford
## **Devon CPRE in The News**
PO Box 26, Beaworthy, Devon EX21 5XN Telephone: 01392 966737 Email: info@cpredevon.org.uk Website: www.devoncpre.org.uk Twitter & Facebook: @cpredevon
Devon CPRE is a member of the CPRE network
The Devon Branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England CIO. A charitable incorporated organisation with registered charity number 1175228.
Printed on environmentally friendly paper