2025-04-05-accounts - The Friends Of The Scrubs

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Item 3.

THE FRIENDS OF THE SCRUBS

Registered Charity Number 1187120

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT

18 September 2025

Abbreviations used in this Report

“The Friends” the Friends of the Scrubs

“LCS” Linford Christie Stadium

“LBHF” London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, also “the Council”

“OPDC” Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation

“WSCT” Wormwood Scrubs Charitable Trust

The Trustees

Stephen Waley-Cohen , Chairman (SW-C)

Smita Dave, Treasurer

Carmel McLoughlin, Secretary

Sarah Johnson

Faye Thomas (FT)

Ben Novak

Emma Ranson

Sarah Abrahart

Joaquim Pereira

Introduction

The Friends of the Scrubs is a registered charity (charity number 1187120) dedicated to the conservation and improvement of Wormwood Scrubs, a significant 75-hectare open space in London. Its principal activities are the protection, enhancement, and advoca cy for the Scrubs’ use by the public, the promotion of its biodiversity, and the advancement of public education in its natural and social history.

The charity’s core purposes are:

To promote the conservation, protection, and improvement of Wormwood Scrubs for exercise, recreation, and leisure, in line with relevant laws.
To protect and foster the Scrubs’ physical and natural environment and its biological diversity.
To advance public education on the history and natural history of Wormwood Scrubs.

Main Activities

In the past year, the trustees of the Friends of the Scrubs:

Engaged regularly with its members via email and newsletters about important developments, including ongoing issues such as the Masterplan works.
Maintained a website to provide up-to-date information and raise awareness of issues impacting the Scrubs.
The trustees co-opted to the Wormwood Scrubs Charitable Trust, attended regular meetings to represent the interests of the Scrubs’ users and wildlife.
Raised and voiced concerns about maintenance, policing, and the preservation of wildlife, ensuring the stewardship of the Scrubs for recreation by walkers, dog walkers, pony riders, botanists, bird and butterfly watchers, games players, and children.
Continued to advocate for the protection of the Scrubs from encroachment or harmful developments.

Meetings

The Trustees have met several times during the year to deal with a variety of issues and the Minutes of those meetings are available on the Friends’ website Www.friendsofthescrubs.uk and are mostly summarised in this Report. In addition to submissions to OPDC and LBHF and participating in all WSCT meetings by our two coopted trustees SW-C and FT, the Trustees have had multiple contacts with Councillors and Officers on behalf of FOWWS to help ensure the proper management and protection of the Scrubs.

WSCT Committee

The WSCT exists to ensure that this much valued area of open space is used for the exercise and recreation of Londoners. The affairs of the Trust are managed by the WSCT Committee currently chaired by Councillor Alexandra Sanderson of LBHF. There are 5 members of the WSCT Committee – 3 councillors from LBHF who are voting members and 2 non-voting members, SW-C and FT, who are both trustees of the Friends charity. One or both of our representatives have attended all meetings. We also provide summaries of the meetings of the WSCT on our website. The financial position of WSCT is quite healthy, due to the continuing income from the Kensington Aldridge Academy facilities on site, and lower maintenance and management contract cost than historically.

– Activities and Achievements (June 2024 July 2025)

Major Events

Dog Shows : In the period since the last AGM in June 2024 the trustees of the Friends of the Scrubs successfully hosted two of the annual Scrubs Dog Show on the last Sunday in July the most recent being on the 27 July 2025. These popular community events celebrated local dog owners with a range of fun competitions such as Best Trick, Cutest Puppy, Best Rescue, and more. With

hundreds of attendees, the shows helped foster community spirit and raised visibility for the charity’s mission. Local sponsors and volunteers played a key role in these vibrant, inclusive days out. Funds raised were distributed to two charities: the Pony Centre based on Wormwood Scrubs and Mayhew Rescue.

Nature Walk : On 10 and 11 May 2025, the Friends organised a well-attended Wormwood Scrubs Nature Day. Highlights included a dusk Bat Walk with Ecology Officer Kate McVay, a dawn chorus walk, a habitat chat with Dr Tilly Collins, a butterfly hunt identification session, plant identification trails, and a build-a-bug-hotel workshop. These sessions brought diverse audiences to discover and value the ecological richness of the Scrubs, while highlighting volunteer opportunities and citizen science projects.
Volunteering Programme

Volunteering activities expanded significantly, coordinated by Kate McVay. Regular sessions included habitat management, wildlife surveys, and support at events such as the Dog Shows and Nature Day. All training and materials were provided, and many new volunteers got involved during these major events, learning new skills and contributing to the site’s upkeep.

Advocacy and Site Protection

The charity continued to serve as a stakeholder in local planning and environmental decisions, representing the interests of users and wildlife on committees and during consultations especially pertaining to the Masterplan and the OPDC development area. Formal responses to new proposals emphasised the need for habitat protection and proportionate access.

Membership and Communications

Membership remained steady, with regular newsletters and updated web and social media content promoting participation at events, walks, and volunteering.
The two Dog Shows and the May 2025 Nature Walk were particularly successful in engaging new supporters and volunteers.

Finances and Governance

Funds raised from donations and event sponsorship supported core activities and outreach. All expenditure was for charitable purposes.
The charity remains governed by an active board of unpaid trustees who are the main volunteers, in event organisation.
Membership of the Friends continues to be free for all to join.
Donations were also made via Just Giving website set up in 2021: https://www.justgiving.com/friendsofthescrubs.
The Friends is registered as a charity with HMRC allowing tax on donations to be claimed back through gift aid.
The Charity had funds of £9,029 as of 5[th] April 2025. Total outgoings for the year ending 4[th] April 2025 were £2,918 which included ongoing costs for website hosting, printing costs for notices and posters, insurance and costs relating to the organisation of the dog show.
Donations raised amounted to £2,088, including sponsorship money for the dog show. Gift aid received via JustGiving was £25.

• Opening bank balance: £9188.92 • Total Income incl gift aid:£2757.84 • Total outgoings: £2917.46 • Closing bank Balance: £9,029.30

Priorities and Outlook

Going forward, Friends of the Scrubs will continue to expand on successful community and conservation initiatives, especially those that unite education, volunteering, and celebration of the Scrubs’ value. Sustained advocacy and partnership efforts will remain central to the mission.

Acknowledgement

Special thanks to all volunteers, particularly those supporting major events, and to Kate McVay for her leadership in volunteer coordination. Thanks also to event sponsors and the many Friends who support the charity throughout the year.

For details, past events, and future activities, visit the charity’s website.

Carmel McLoughlin (secretary)

Smita Dave (treasurer)

1[st] September 2025

The Friends of the Scrubs	The Friends of the Scrubs	The Friends of the Scrubs	1187120 No (if any)
Receipts andpayments accounts
For the period from	06/04/2024 Period start date	To	05/04/2025 Period end date

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 £ 2,088 - 670 - - - - - 2,758 - - - 2,758 - 1,974 436 350 - 157 - - - 2,917 - - - 2,917 - 159 - - - 159
Donationsinclgiftaid	2,088	-	-	2,088
		-	-	-
Cash sales for dogshow	670	-	-	670
	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-
*Sub total*(Gross income for AR)	2,758	-	-	2,758

A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table).
	-
	-
*Sub total*	-
*Total receipts* A3 Payments
	-	-	-	-
Dogshow costs refunded	1,974	-	-	1,974
refund trustee costs-web host/prints	436	-	-	436
donation to Mayhew Dogs charity	350	-	-	350
		-	-	-
Insurance	157	-	-	157
		-	-	-
	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-
**Sub total **	2,917	-	-	2,917

A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table)
	-
	-
**Sub total **	-
*Total payments* *Net of receipts/(payments)* A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end *Cash funds this year end*
	- 159			- 159
	-			-
				-
	- 159			- 159

CCXX R1 accounts (SS)

13/08/2025

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Categories B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets	current bank balance Details Details *Total cash funds* (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s))	Unrestricted funds to nearest £ 9,029 - - 9,029 Agreement Error Unrestricted funds to nearest £ - - - - - -	Restricted funds to nearest £
			-
			-
			-
			-
			OK
			Restricted funds to nearest £
		-	-
		-	-
		-	-
		-	-
		-	-
		-	-

B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use B5 Liabilities B3 Investment assets	Details Details Details	Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which liability relates	Cost (optional)
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			Cost (optional)
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			Amount due (optional)
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-

Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees

Signature

Print Name

CCXX R2 accounts (SS)

13/08/2025