## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the period**
**From 01-06-23 To 31-5-24**
## **Charity name: Benson Community Green Space Trust**
**Charity registration number:** 1186960
## **Objectives and Activities**
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the
purposes of the
charity as set out
in its governing
document|Para 1.17|The constitution establishing BCGST sets out the
objective of the CIO as being to further or beneft
the inhabitants of the parishes of Benson and
Berrick Salome and the neighbourhood without
distinction of sex, sexual orientation, race or of
political, religious or other opinions by associating
together the local authorities, voluntary
organisations and inhabitants in a common efort to
advance education and to provide facilities in the
interests of social welfare for**recreation and**
**leisure-time occupation**with the objective of
improving the conditions of life for the said
inhabitants.|
|Summary of the
main ac;vi;es in
rela;on to those
purposes for the
public beneft, in
par;cular, the
ac;vi;es, projects
or services
iden;fed in the
accounts.|Para 1.17 and
1.19|The Trust owns Warwick Spinney, a community
nature reserve on the edge of Benson village, which
it manages to provide nature-rich access to the
outdoors for the beneft of the people in the area.
There is strong scientifc evidence that access to
nature-rich green spaces is benefcial to people’s
physical and mental well-being. And there is a
mutually reinforcing relationship with volunteering -
additional benefts for individuals and communities
accrue when opportunities are ofered to help look
after these places; physical exercise, a sense of
community and connection, and the wildlife benefts
too. There are multiple wins.|
|Statement
confrming
whether the
trustees have had
regard to the
guidance issued by
the Charity
Commission on
public beneft|Para 1.18|The trustees have noted the published guidance,
and are confdent that the Trust’s planning and
activities are undertaken so as to ensure that
benefts are provided to the residents of the area
defned in the charity’s constitution.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/public-beneft-rules-
for-charities|
|---|---|---|
## **Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
||SORP
reference||
|---|---|---|
|Policy on grant
making|Para 1.38|The trust may make grants, subject to there being
sufcient surplus - its constitution gives trustees the
power to do anything which is calculated to further
its objects or is conducive or incidental to doing so.
But at present the Trustees do not believe there is
sufcient surplus to do so.|
|Policy on social
investment
including program
related investment|Para 1.38|The trust does not have a social investment
programme, although its constitution gives trustees
the power to do anything which is calculated to
further its objects or is conducive or incidental to
doing so|
|Contribution
made by
volunteers|Para 1.38|The Trust draws on the support of volunteers to
manage Warwick Spinney, with tasks including the
maintenance of footpaths, planting and laying of
hedges, and mowing of the meadow to maintain the
biodiversity interest. Volunteers are drawn from
Wallingford Green Gym, although the volunteer
coordinator draws on the support of Benson Area
Nature Group (BANG) to organise and run events.
Supporting volunteering better, making it easy for
them to undertake the work that the Trust relies on,
for example by ensuring equipment is available on
site, has been an important feature of the Trustees
work in the reporting period.
The estimate of volunteers is:
1 Coordinator
6 BNG volunteers
12-18 Wallingford Green Gym
Additional adhoc volunteers from the village (variable
number)
For more detail, see below.|
## **Achievements and Performance**
||SORP
reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the
main achievements
of the charity,
iden;fying the
diference the
charity’s work has
made to the
circumstances of
its benefciaries
and any wider
benefts to society
as a whole.|Para 1.20|This reporting period is the fourth for the CIO. The
Trust’s working arrangements are well established.
1. It is reliant on partners, primarily Benson Area Nature
Group, and an array of volunteers to manage
Warwick Spinney, including a local coordinator,
some Benson village volunteers, and 12-18
Wallingford Green Gym volunteers.
2. In this reporting period, BANG hosted a highly
successful community event,_Wild about Benson_.
This celebrated the nature we have across 4
parishes including Benson and Berrick Salome and
encouraged people to get involved in caring for it.
Over 800 people visited the event over the 1.5 day
period it ran. One of the purposes of the event was
to generate new volunteers to help look after green
spaces in the area including Warwick Spinney.
Thirty-fve people expressed an interest in knowing
more about green volunteering in the area.
3. At the end of this reporting period, we supported the
submission of an application by BANG to
Oxfordshire Community Foundation for a ‘Thriving in
Nature’ grant to enable the group to appoint a self-
employed volunteer coordinator to improve the ofer
to volunteers.
4. With partners, BANG, the Trustees continued to host
volunteers working on the boundary hedge, a
measure designed to increase the wildlife value of
the site and provide a pollution and noise screen
along the adjacent road. We also hosted volunteers
following mowing of the main meadow to rake up
and remove arisings as part of a measure to
maintain and enhance the biodiversity interest on the
site.
5. Supporting public access to our feld, Warwick
Spinney, is a key driver for the Trust. We continue to
monitor progress with the creation of a new green
space (on the back of development) nearby that will
unlock opportunities to provide safer and simpler
|
|~~pedestrian access to the site~~|||
## **Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
|Achievements
against objectives
set|Para 1.41|**N/A**|
|---|---|---|
|Performance of
fundraising
activities against
objectives set|Para 1.41|**N/A**|
|---|---|---|
|Investment
performance
against objectives|Para 1.41|**N/A**|
|Other|||
## **Financial Review**
|Review of the
charity’s fnancial
posi;on at the end
of the period|Para 1.21|Through the successful and considered use of grant
applications the fnancial accounts are in a
satisfactory position. The charity has sufcient
reserves to cover regular outgoing payments|
|---|---|---|
|Statement
explaining the
policy for holding
reserves sta;ng
why they are held|Para 1.22|The Charity holds a reserve of funds, which is
needed to cover ongoing liabilities such as annual
site/ public liability insurance at Warwick Spinney.
Investment in infrastructure and activities in only
possible therefore through grants, donations and
other fund-raising. A future task for the Trustees will
be the development of a funding strategy.|
|Amount of reserves
held|Para 1.22|At the end of the reporting the charity held reserves of
£4746.07|
|Reasons for holding
zero reserves|Para 1.22|**N/A**|
|Details of fund
materially in defcit|Para 1.24|The fund is not materially in defcit|
|Explana;on of any
uncertain;es about
the charity
con;nuing as a
going concern|Para 1.23|**None**|
## **Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
|The charity’s
principal sources of
funds (including any
fundraising)|Para 1.47|The Trust can seek to raise funds through applying
for grants and inviting donations (by publicising what
it does) and legacies.|
|---|---|---|
|Investment policy
and objectives
including any social
investment policy
adopted|Para 1.46|N/A|
|---|---|---|
|A description of the
principal risks facing
the charity|Para 1.46|Risks include:
Injury or death of a user or volunteer.
Theft of tools stored on the site.
The Trust is insured in respect of both of these risks.
Another risk is that the Trust may be hampered in
achieving its objectives if it is unable to attract
community volunteer support to manage the site.
The Trust is managing this risk by investing with local
partners in developing a shared Volunteering
Strategy (some ongoing achievements in this regard
are listed in Achievements section above.)|
|Other||The charity has a number of assets in addition to
Warwick Spinney, the small nature reserve it owns.
These include:
A storage shed for tools
A selection of tools which are shared with Benson
Area Nature Group
A metal gate
A security bollard at entrance|
## **Structure, Governance and Management**
|Description of charity’s
trusts:|||
|---|---|---|
|Type of governing
document
(trust deed, royal
charter)|Para 1.25|Constitution|
|How is the charity
constituted?
(e.g unincorporated
association, CIO)|Para 1.25|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 approach to selection of trustees is set out in
the constitution -
_‘every trustee must be appointed for a term of three_
_years by a resolution passed at a properly_
_convened meeting of the charity trustees,_and
_In selecting individuals for appointment as charity_
_trustees, the charity trustees must have regard to_
_the skills, knowledge and experience needed for_
_the effective administration of the CIO.’_
The constitution also sets out that a new Trustee
must expressly acknowledge that they accept the
office of trustee.|
|---|---|---|
## **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||
|Other|||
## **Reference and Administrative details**
|Charity name|Benson Community Green Space Trust|
|---|---|
|Other name the charity
|Benson Green Space Trust|
|~~uses~~
Registered charity number|1186960|
Charity’s principal address
C/o Benson Parish Council, Parish Hall, Sunnyside, Benson, Oxfordshire. OX10 6LZ
**Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity**
||**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for**
**whole year**|**Name of person (or body)**
**entitled to appoint trustee**
**(if any)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|1
2
3
4|Edel McGurk|Chair||Any trustee|
||Jon Fowler|Treasurer||Any trustee|
||Helen
Stevenson|Trustee||Any trustee|
||Emma
Simpson|Trustee||Any trustee|
## **Corporate trustees – names of the directors at the date the report was approved**
**Director name** None
Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity
|**Trustee name**|**Dates acted if not for whole**
**year**||
|---|---|---|
|None|||
## **Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others**
|Description of the assets
held in this capacity|N/A|
|---|---|
|Name and objects of the
charity on whose behalf the
assets are held and how
this falls within the
custodian charity’s objects||
|Details of arrangements for
safe custody and
segregation of such assets
from the charity’s own
assets||
## **Additional information (optional)**
## **Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**
**Type of Name Address adviser None**
**Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)**
The CIO has no staff
## **Exemptions from disclosure**
Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details
## **Nothing to declare**
## **Declarations**
**The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.**
**Signed on behal** ~~**f of the charity’s trustees**~~ **Signature(s)** Edel McGurk **Full name(s)** EDEL MCGURK **Position (eg** CHAIR **Secretary, Chair, etc) Date** Xxxxx
|||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||||||||||
|**Benson Community Green Spaces Trust 2023/24**||||||||||||
|||||||||||||
|C/Fwd
Balance at 1/6/2023
£5,173.03|||||||£5,173.03|||||
|1-Aug-23
Jon Fowler
Wheelbarrows (balance of SODC grant)
Deb-O
-£269.96|||||||£4,903.07|||||
|26-Sep-23
Zurich Insurance
Insurance
Deb-O
-£157.00|||||||£4,746.07|||||
|Total =
**£4,746.07**||||||||||||
|||||||||||||
|||||||||||||
|||||||||||||
|||||||||||||
||||||**Totals by Type**|||||||
||||||Credit byDonation(Cre-D)=|£0||||||
||||||Other Credit(Cre-O)=|£0||||||
||||||**Total Income =**|**£0.00**||||||
|||||||||||||
||||||Debit Donations (Deb-D) =|£0.00||||||
||||||Cheque Debit (Deb - O) =|-£426.96||||||
||||||Sundries(Deb-S)=|£0||||||
||||||**Total Expenditure =**|**-£426.96**||||||
|||||||||||||
||||||**Total net decrease/increase =**|**-£426.96**||||||
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