Charity No 1185399 ## **– Friends of Ellington Park CIO 1185399** **(Referred to variously as “the Charity”, “the Friends”, “FoEP” “CIO” hereafer)** Report January – December 2024 Previous reports have advised that Ellington Park was undergoing major refurbishment and building works after being awarded a National Heritage Lottery Fund (NHLF), in partnership with our local Council (the landowners). This was due to be completed by December 2023 but a few parts were still in progress and the final sign off by the NHLF was in March this year. At this point the contract with the Lottery-funded Activity Officer (A/O) was due to end but there are some funds remaining and she has advised that she is keen to continue working with the Friends on a voluntary basis. The NHLF project has certainly had a very positive impact on the park and its users and it is at once noticeable that there has been an increase in daily visitors to the park to enjoy nature, exercise, dog walk etc. but also now to use the café and the new children’s play area. In conjunction with FoEP and the A/O there are several groups of various backgrounds, ages and abilities that are using the café and park regularly and this has continued to build over the last year. The A/O has liaised with many specialists/creative artists/performers that have offered their services at reduced rates or even for free! These contacts continue to grow and we have enabled regular presentations such as local history talks, archeology, tree and nature walks, local author readings and book signings, choirs, painting and crafting sessions etc.to take place in the park. We are proud to announce that Ellington Park retained the prestigious Green Flag award and also Green Heritage Site accreditation for a third year – making it the only park in our district to have received these accolades. We are most grateful to all of our hardworking volunteers who help to maintain the park to keep it at its best. Two of our trustees were accompanied by two local councillors to the awards ceremony in London, which helped to highlight what a prestigious award this is and to encourage other green spaces in our area to go in for it. See additional info below. In 2024 we held the following events: Easter Fun Day, Family Picnic in the Park for families to come and enjoy the park and listen to music on the bandstand, Young Minds Wellness day which was attended by many charities and organisations providing help and advice for young people and their families, in September, as part of the annual English Heritage Open Days, we had a display detailing the history of the park. Unfortunately, we were unable to arrange our largest annual event, the May Fayre, which brings in a lot of income via stall fees and donations so this has had an impact on our receipts this year. We hope that we will be able to return to arranging this popular event again next year. Our A/O traced a local historian who researched the history of the park and produced scripts and also made outfits for a new costumed walk. This is all performed by volunteers – the Ellington Park Players - and they were able to do three walks during the summer when the weather permitted. They hope to expand next year and possibly do some indoor slide show presentations. Also, after many years of support, our membership secretary retired and so we no longer have a regular income from this, although many long-term supporters still pay. Therefore, this year our main income was from our second-hand book shop which is run solely by volunteers with all the books being donated so all of the profit goes directly to the Charity. This is an important community asset and we continue to have discussions with the local Council (who is the landowner), on how we can expand the space so that the stock doesn’t need to be carried in and out each time and we can be open all-year and not be weather dependent. The Charity’s free reserves at the end of the reporting period was £28,637. From this we need to ring fence a certain amount for necessary expenses including the annual contract for the defibrillator, website support, insurance and other professional fees along with the costs involved to support events and activities in the park such as portaloos, first aiders, the entertainment etc. which for this year were £7367. We also need to build the Charity’s resilience to enable it to further its objectives now that the NHLF project is complete. We have helped enable other charities and community organisations, to host events in the park including: those that attend the mental health awareness day; the Power of Women Festival who held a family fun day for International Women’s Day, the Pan European Choir which brought singers from several countries together to perform on the bandstand and Festival of Sound who put on a family fun day and evening cabaret. Local schools regularly come for nature walks and some have also set up litter picking sessions. We have helped many young people achieve their Duke of Edinburgh awards through volunteering activities within the park. We were able to fund additional equipment for the children’s play area (at approx £3500), and have plans to refurbish the old play area so that it will encourage more use. At the end of the year we were pleased to have been awarded a grant of £2000 from the local Community Lotto fund and this is to go towards developing a seated garden area next to the café with views looking across the park. We are always trying to attract new trustees which can be difficult, as it appears to be for many charities. Many of the original group that came together and helped with the NHLF bid and have been supportive from the beginning have now stepped down. We are keen to attract possible new trustees with various expertise ranging from administrative skills for all the behind the scenes paperwork, event organisation, nature and gardening knowledge and working with volunteers etc. We are extremely grateful that one of our long-standing volunteers with a wealth of experience has provided the Charity with solid advice and guidance. The board is working on plans for the future to further enhance the enjoyment of and involvement with the park for the whole community and we very much appreciate all of the hard work and support we receive from volunteers and our local town and district councils. We look forward to building on this for 2025. **Treasurer** **Friends of Ellington Park CIO** ## **Taken from the Council press release for Green Flag award July 2024** ## **Ellington Park wins a prestigious Green Flag Award® for the third year** Ellington Park has been awarded a prestigious Green Flag Award® for the third year running. The Green Flag Award® scheme recognises and rewards well-managed parks and green spaces. It sets the standard for the management of recreational outdoor spaces across the United Kingdom and around the world. Ellington Park has also achieved the Green Heritage Site Accreditation, supported by Historic England, for the management and promotion of its historic features. In 2021 Ellington Park was restored by a partnership between The Friends of Ellington Park and the local District Council. The National Lottery Heritage Fund supported the restoration with £1.8million from its 'Parks for People’ programme. The project was a sympathetic regeneration of the park, ensuring its important heritage remained at its heart. The park features a multipurpose café and toilet building, along with a children’s playground. The park's historic pathways, flint terrace and balustrade were restored, as was the 120-year-old bandstand. **Local Councillor and Council Cabinet Member for Cleansing and Coastal Services** said, “For the third year running, Ellington Park has received a Green Flag Award, which is fantastic news. The ongoing recognition of the park’s high standards is down to the hard work and dedication of council officers, the Friends of Ellington Park, and the brilliant community volunteers who keep it looking at its best. Ellington Park is a fabulous asset to the local area, and it’s great that each year we see it going from strength to strength.” **The Friends of Ellington Park** said, “We are delighted that Ellington Park has received a Green Flag Award, for the third year. It is an amazing achievement and recognises the commitment that goes into making the park a beautiful open space for everyone to enjoy." Commenting on the announcement of this year’s winners, **Keep Britain Tidy’s Green Flag Award Scheme Manager** said: “I would like to congratulate everyone involved at Ellington Park on achieving a Green Flag Award. “Ellington Park is a vital green space for communities to socialise, enjoy nature, for children to play safely and it provides important opportunities for park users to improve their physical and mental health. “We know that staff and volunteers work tirelessly to ensure that it maintains the high standards of the Green Flag Award, everyone involved should feel extremely proud of their Achievement. “It is important that our free to use spaces are maintained to the Green Flag Award standard, making them accessible for all members of the community while ensuring the environment is protected.” Article from the Ramsgate Community Magazine Sept issue, which is distributed to all households in the town. CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND ANO WALES Receipts and pa ments accounts CC16a For the perlod 11110112024 To 31112r2024 Section A Receipts and payments Unr•strl¢t funds Re•trt¢t•d funds Endowment nds Totsl funds Last y••r toth• n•ar•BIt tr•th• toth• n•w•Btt lo th• h•artst£ A1 Ra￿1 t• Fur*ing-for Salary RTC Grant- for Petanque Cowt Book$t￿p Sale Profil from Café Loan repaid from C8f8 Cornmuni Events TDC Cornmunity Lotto FrtoTrJ8 Garden 17,700 S.805 1.097 602 Sub8erfptk)n8 & Oonzlkinl Other Income 355 146 1,788 Sub toto1{Gross income ARJ 7AOJ 9.403 33,S86 A2 A•8•t and Inw•trn•nt ••l••, l•ee t•bl•l. Sub tot41 Tol•l r•c•lpts 7.403 2,000 9A03 33.556 A3Pa •nts Salar 10 AGtI Olfimr Admin Costs Acc¢vntsn¢ Wlldlif• Garden Exp•n8 Cammunll Ev•nt6 Wo¢rt$hJp In8uran¢• Daflbrlllalor R8nts1 Property MAIM•n8ne• Annual In$po¢ik)n K8ni Bai Group Memb•th¥) Trai￿ry Expense6 RefurK1 to RTC- Gr8nt K*t used Sub totsl 12,542 1,829 1,221 1,093 720 1,394 331 134 1.s47 134 9.239 ii,eo8 26,313 A4 A•••t and In￿9tm•nt urchases. ¢ tabl• Pla round E ul mgnt Two Printers Cablnet for Doflbrlllator lryrQ￿Meml$ to Notice Board 3338 129 752 250 1131 Sub total 3.336 10,703 9.239 t9,942 28.309 Net ofrecelpts/(paymentsJ A5 Transf•rs between fvnds A6 Cash funds last J*ar end Cash funds this year •nd 3.30 10,53 31.93 11.704 43.641 33,102 36,398 43,641 CCXX R14ttiyJnts ISSI 1910812025 Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment fvnds to nMr••t£ Categories Details 81 Cash funds B*nk 8Jlanc• 28A97 140 4M65 Cash H•ld Totsl ¢•sh funds 28.637 4,465 $11 Unr•8trlct•d R••trfct•d funds funds Endowm•nt fvnds to nDar••t£ Details Fund to Dotall* CO￿10p￿ ¢ury•t)t valu• Fund tot*hl¢h •M•t b•1 Detalls Coot lopV¢wll Curr•nt lon•1 B4 As¥•ts retalned for th• charltV• own u#• Futtd 10 I￿al•4 unrestrlct•d Wh•n loMI Detalls A¢cout)t•ney F9• 85 Llabllltl•8 Signed by one or trust8es on behalf of all Ihe trust885 ShJn8tL Date of roval RFSFLCA Ev L LI r CCXX R2 acc￿l￿ts ISSI 1911)8r2025