## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the period**
**From** 1/1/25 **To** 31/12/25 **Charity name:** Irvine Road Community Orchard **Charity registration number:** 1183649
## **Objectives and Activities**
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the purposes of
the charity as set out in its
governing document|Para 1.17|To promote, for the benefit of the public, the
conservation, protection and improvement of
the physical and natural environment of the
Irvine Road Orchard, Colchester|
|Summary of the main
activities in relation to those
purposes for the public
benefit, in particular, the
activities, projects or
services identified in the
accounts.|Para 1.17 and
1.19|To fulfil its purpose, the charity will restore,
manage, promote and celebrate this ancient
orchard and its wildlife for the public benefit.
Our aim is to engage the community in
achieving its purpose and to rely on volunteers
to undertake a range of activities including –
site management, fundraising, education,
community engagement, fruit harvesting, and
communication.
The CIO was registered in May 2019 in
anticipation of taking on a 50 year lease for the
Orchard. We expected to take on the lease in
early 2020 but Brexit and Covid19 slowed
building on the part of the Orchard allocated for
development, and the initial lease was not
enacted until 20/5/21.
In 2023, we raised £45k to purchase a new
999 year lease that took effect on 8 August
2024.|
|Statement confirming
whether the trustees have
had regard to the guidance
issued by the Charity
Commission on public
benefit|Para 1.18|**Statutory Declaration**
The IRCO Trustees consider that they have
complied with their duty under Section 4 of the
2006 Act to have due regard to guidance
published by the Commission on charitable
purposes and public benefit.|
## **Additional information (optional)**
SORP reference We do not intend to award grants. Para 1.38
Policy on grant making
|Policy on grant making|Policy on grant making|Policy on grant making|Policy on grant making|
|---|---|---|---|
||Policy on social investment
including program related
investment|Para 1.38|We do not envisage having funds to make
investments but have chosen our bank (co-op)
based on its ethical credentials.|
||Contribution made by
volunteers|Para 1.38|IRCO is run entirely by volunteers with an
estimated annual contribution in 2025 of over
830 hours_:_
Notes:
264
Site management
434
Governance, fundraising, comms
136
Events|
||Other|||
## **Achievements and Performance**
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SORP reference
We ran our second Wassail in January and an
**----- End of picture text -----**
|**Achievements and Performance**|**Achievements and Performance**|**Achievements and Performance**|
|---|---|---|
|SORP reference|||
|||We ran our second Wassail in January and an|
|Summary of the main
achievements of the charity,
identifying the difference the
charity’s work has made to
the circumstances of its
beneficiaries and any wider
benefits to society as a
whole.|Para 1.20|Apple Blossom Open Day in April – both were
well attended. The Wassail was enhanced by
the performances and participation of
AnnieMation, a local Clog Morris group. The
fruit pressing in September was a welcome
success - lots of fruit, perhaps due to the
Wassail!, lots of attendees and the sun shone.
We hosted more visits to the Orchard by a
local junior school as part of their Forest
Schools programme and we hope these will
continue. We also hosted a stand at a local
event celebrating Essex Orchards. Our third
fungi foray in October revealed further new
species in the Orchard. We ran our third tree
pruning course and work parties continued
throughout the year where the highlights were
using a loaned chipper to recycle material
generated on-site; building a couple of “dead”
hedges to increase the range of wildlife
habitats; and removing considerable amounts
of bramble, ivy and a large sycamore. We also
secured a grant of £1920 from the National
Lottery community Fund to revise the
Management Plan which will be undertaken in
2026.|
**Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
Para 1.41
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Achievements against
objectives set
Performance of fundraising
activities against objectives Para 1.41
set
Investment performance Para 1.41
against objectives
Other
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## **Financial Review**
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Review of the charity’s Para 1.21 We raised £2709 during the year and incurred
financial position at the end expenditure of £657. As a result, our financial
of the period reserves ended the year at £3893. We plan to
spend £1920 of our reserves on a new
management plan during 2026.
Statement explaining the Para 1.22 We will need to maintain financial reserves but
policy for holding reserves do not expect our normal running costs to be
stating why they are held greater than £1k per annum. We could run the
operation, for a time, on considerably less if we
had to. We will also fundraise for specific
projects we wish to run.
Amount of reserves held Para 1.22 £3893
Reasons for holding zero Para 1.22
reserves
Details of fund materially in Para 1.24
deficit
Explanation of any Para 1.23
uncertainties about the
charity continuing as a going
concern
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**Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
|
The charity’s principal
sources of funds (including
any fundraising)||
We expect to raise funds
through voluntary donations
through events (sometimes in
partnership with the Residents'
Association)
corporate sponsorship and donations
grants|
|---|---|---|
||Para 1.47||
|Investment policy and
objectives including any
social investment policy
adopted|Para 1.46||
|A description of the principal
risks facing the charity|Para 1.46|1) We have yet to ascertain, beyond
doubt, the long-term appetite of the
community to get engaged in
supporting and managing the Orchard
– but evidence so far suggests that this
risk is unlikely to materialise.
2) All the uncertainties and risks
associated with land ownership –
trespass, neighbourhood disputes,
vandalism. The active engagement of
the new residents abutting the Orchard
has minimised this risk.
3) There is always a risk that the current
landowner changes his current
collaborative approach and looks to find
ways to break the lease, returning the
site to his control, or sells the land to
someone who does likewise. Securing|
the 999 year lease has reduced this risk. Maintaining the relationship with him will continue to be important for the Trustees to pay attention to Other
## **Structure, Governance and Management**
|Description of charity’s
trusts:|||
|---|---|---|
|Type of governing document
(trust deed, royal charter)|Para 1.25|Constitution (based on the foundation model of
a CIO)|
|How is the charity
constituted?
(e.g unincorporated
association, CIO)|Para 1.25|We are constituted as a CIO|
|Trustee selection methods
including details of any
constitutional provisions e.g.
election to post or name of
any person or body entitled
to appoint one or more
trustees|Para 1.25|The Irvine Road Area Residents’ Association
may appoint four charity trustees. Each
appointment must be for a term of three years.
The charity trustees can appoint three trustees
for a term of three years by a resolution
passed at a properly convened meeting of the
charity trustees.|
## **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
|**Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:|**Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:|**Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:|**Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:|
|---|---|---|---|
|||||
|Policies and procedures
adopted for the induction and
training of trustees||Para 1.51||
|The charity’s organisational
structure and any wider
network with which the
charity works||Para 1.51||
|Relationship with any related
parties||Para 1.51|None|
|Other||||
## **Reference and Administrative details**
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Charity name Irvine Road Community Orchard
Other name the charity uses
Registered charity number 1183649
Charity’s principal address 17 Irvine Road
Colchester
Essex
CO3 3TS
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**Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity**
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Dates acted
Trustee name Office (if any)
if not for whole year
1Shaun Thomas Chair
2Wayne Bennison
3Nicholas Binns
4Katherine Sandercock Treasurer
5Gavin Sandercock
6Willi Otto Emrich
7Victoria Thomas Secretary
8Sarah Jane Carter
9Simon Amstutz
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
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– Corporate trustees names of the directors at the date the report was approved
**Director name**
Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity
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Irvine Road Community Orchard 1183649
Receipts and payments accounts
CC16a
For the period Period end date
To
from 01/01/25 31/12/25
Section A Receipts and payments
Unrestricted Endowment
Restricted funds Total funds Last year
funds funds
to the nearest
to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £
£
A1 Receipts
Grants 1,920
-
Fundraising donations 480
-
Open days 309
-
-
-
Sub total (Gross income for
1,263
AR) 2709
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
- - - -
- - - - -
Sub total - - - -
Total receipts - - - 2709 1,263
A3 Payments
Insurance - - 168
Workshop invoices - - 214
Orchard sundries (boxes, trees etc) - - 240
Website fees and design - - 35
- -
- -
- - - -
- - - -
- - - -
Sub total - - 657 44,225
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
- - - -
- - - -
Sub total - - - - -
Total payments 657
Net of receipts/(payments) 2,051
A5 Transfers between funds - -
A6 Cash funds last year end 1,842
Cash funds this year end 3,893
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CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
18/05/2026
1
|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at**|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at**|**the end of the period**|**the end of the period**||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Categories**
Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees
**B1 Cash funds**
**B2 Other monetary assets**
**B3 Investment assets**
**B4 Assets retained for the**
**charity’s own use**
**B5 Liabilities**|**Details**
**_Total cash funds_**
(agree balances with receipts and
payments account(s))
**Details**
**Details**
**Details**
**Details**
Signature|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
OK
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Fund to which**
**liability relates**|**Restricted funds**
**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
OK
**Restricted funds**
**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Cost (optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Cost (optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Amount due**
**(optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
Print Name
Kate Sandercock|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**|
|||||**-**|
|||||OK|
|||||**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Current value**
**(optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Current value**
**(optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**When due**
**(optional)**
Date of approval
19/05/2026|
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
18/05/2026
2