FLEETWOOD BEACH WHEELCHAIRS
ANNUAL REPORT 2022
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CONTENTS
Chair Of Trustees Report.................................................................................................... 3 Volunteer Officer’s Report ................................................................................................. 6 Thank You To Our Partners ............................................................................................... 7 North Berwick Beach Wheelchairs & Beach Access North East ........................................................................................... 7 Rotary Club of Fleetwood .................................................................................................................................................... 7 Fleetwood Town Council ..................................................................................................................................................... 7 Healthier Fleetwood ............................................................................................................................................................. 7 Wyre Council ....................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Baxter Life Care Ltd............................................................................................................................................................. 8 Haven Holidays .................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Financial Report ................................................................................................................. 9 Accounts 2021 - 2022 .............................................................................................................................................................. 9 Independent Examiner’s report ................................................................................................................................................... 11 Statistics 2021-2022 .......................................................................................................... 12 Bookings ................................................................................................................................................................................ 12 Ratings ................................................................................................................................................................................... 13 Location ................................................................................................................................................................................. 14 Photo Gallery ..................................................................................................................... 15 Feedback ........................................................................................................................ 18 About the experience:- ........................................................................................................................................................... 18 About the staff:- ..................................................................................................................................................................... 19 Trustees & Officers ............................................................................................................. 20 Charity Registration & Contacts ..................................................................................... 20
Fleetwood Beach Wheelchairs – Annual Report 2022
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Chair Of Trustees Report
It gives me great pleasure to be able to give my Annual Report as Chair of the Trustees of Fleetwood Beach Wheelchairs. We are fast becoming the benchmark Service against which all other beach wheelchair services will be judged. We have been consulted for advice and help from areas across the Country and that is mainly due to the hard work of our volunteers and the comments and suggestions made by our users. As requests for additional equipment or improved practices are made, we attempt as far as possible to adopt them. This has added to the provision we offer and we are always keen to improve.
Our achievements have been recognised by the granting of a Rotary “Champions of Change” award for our Chair, winning the Accessible and Inclusive Tourism category of the Lancashire Tourism Awards and we have been mentioned in the Houses of Parliament by our Member of Parliament, Cat Smith, in an Early Day Motion. As a result of winning in the Lancashire Tourism Awards, we have been entered into the VisitEngland National Awards of Excellence in the same category. This is some achievement for a small charity, pitted against businesses and we have only been registered for two years, and operational for about fifteen months due to the Covid 19 restrictions. We are very proud to have been so successful in such a short time.
Our aim to achieve and operate three different chairs within three years has been exceeded to the extent that we now have ten chairs achieved in a year of rather interrupted operations. Our chairs incorporate five different models with a variety of additional equipment. We have also upgraded our hoist to a Molift Mover 205 as a result of a generous grant from Fleetwood Town Council.
As we emerged from “Lock-down” our users grew in number from far and wide and so did our volunteers. Whilst recruiting and retaining volunteers is a constant struggle, we do rely on a number of regulars who faithfully turn out to provide our
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Service. All our volunteers are mentored and undergo induction training and work in little groups of two or three. Our Wheel Base Headquarters provides a happy and welcoming centre to work from and we make it as comfortable as possible with a sink, microwave, fridge and kettle. We have gazebos for the sun and a happy atmosphere.
Our efforts have not gone unnoticed, and I have outlined the recognition we have received earlier. We have still not had one full year of operations, so it is difficult to forward-plan our next moves, so consolidating our current position is the priority for the present. Our position with opening at the moment is much as it was in the early stages of the “Lock-down” and we are opening by appointment until the better weather of March arrives. However, we will always turn out a team to staff the Wheel Base on request, regardless of the weather, if it is safe to do so. We are always at the end of the Freephone telephone if wanted.
You may rest assured that whatever Government guidance is, or becomes, we will continue to maintain our strict sanitisation and hygiene procedures.
We are working hard to meet the needs of our users and our nine Trustees meet each month on the day after the monthly servicing of our chairs by our mechanical engineer, John Brimelow.
Our partnerships are strong. We remain with our preferred supplier Ross Handling and in fact Ross himself has been to see us and has seen how we use his products. He has taken away ideas from the users who benefit so much from these products.
Although David Gore has left the Trustees to concentrate on his professional work we retain our links to Healthier Fleetwood and enjoy coverage and mention in their publications.
Once again Beverley and Dean Baxter of Baxter Life Care Ltd have kindly supported us in providing the funding for our web-site.
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Our contacts with our landlord, Wyre Borough Council, are strong and we continue to benefit from close contact with Fleetwood Town Council who, as mentioned, generously granted us funds to replace out hoist which had come to the end of its useful service.
Dave Whitworth, who operates the Café, which is part of the complex within which we are sited, remains a good friend to us having purchased for us a large colourful sign advertising our presence and being of good service to our visitors.
The future looks good, we are getting known Nationally and we are enjoying offering our Service to all our visitors.
Michael Gray
Chair of Trustees, Fleetwood Beach Wheelchairs February 2022
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Volunteer Officer’s Report
Our volunteer workforce continues to grow, and we now have somewhere in the region of 35 people who are in the Volunteers’ WhatsApp group and therefore receive messages when we require cover for bookings. Some of our volunteers are regulars who will turn out on a weekly basis and others are casual volunteers who come to the Wheel Base when other commitments allow. Huge support is given by the Rotary Clubs of Fleetwood and Blackpool Palatine together with volunteers from Accrington and Furness Peninsula Rotary Clubs.
I was very encouraged recently when I put out a request for help in removing sand from around the Wheel Base building following recent storms. We had help from our regular volunteers, plus others not involved with Fleetwood Beach Wheelchairs, all of whom were eager to assist. If ever we have another crisis, I’m sure that our friends would be there again if we asked for help. We are becoming very popular in the hearts of many people and the local community is helping us to succeed in our efforts to make family memories on our beautiful beach.
We are always looking for new volunteers to join our team, and after completing an application form and the taking up references, a full training programme and induction is given. Volunteers will then join our experienced team for a few shifts until they become a confident member. As a result, new friendships are made while helping those less fortunate than ourselves.
Janet Simpson Volunteer Officer
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Thank You to Our Partners
We have several organisations to thank for the healthy and optimistic position we find ourselves in today …
North Berwick Beach Wheelchairs & Beach Access North East
There are around a dozen locations in the UK offering beach wheelchairs, two groups in particular have been incredibly helpful and supportive in our journey. North Berwick, near Edinburgh is possibly the most well-established group and their officers have provided advice and practical support from the start – even sharing their logo with us! Whitley Bay-based Beach Access North East has also given us the benefit of their first-hand experience of setting up a beach wheelchairs service. We would not be where we are now without the assistance of both these wonderful organisations.
Rotary Club of Fleetwood
Our chair of trustees, Michael Gray, is a member of Fleetwood's proactive Rotary Club and from his initial presentation they have encouraged and supported him to research and establish the charity. The Club, together with Rotary District 1190, made a substantial donation towards the cost of a chair, and many Rotarians also volunteer their time and goodwill for Fleetwood Beach Wheelchairs. This support is invaluable.
Fleetwood Town Council
A large donation from the Town Council's Community Fund supported the purchase of three chairs in our fleet. Two of our trustees are also local Councillors, passionate about making Fleetwood a better place to live, work in and to visit. The support of the Town Council ensures the charity is always closely linked to the community.
Healthier Fleetwood
The first organisation approached to get the idea off the ground was Healthier Fleetwood, a not-for-profit organisation with a remit to "connect the community". They helped form the initial steering group and much of the administration and marketing was overseen by David Gore of Healthier Fleetwood. He has now left the board of Trustees to concentrate on his professional work but still continues to give his support through Healthier Fleetwood.
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Wyre Council
The Council has worked closely with us in leasing to us the 'Wheel Base' headquarters just a few metres from the Promenade. Officers of the Council have continued to provide their expertise and support despite throughout the pandemic.
Baxter Life Care Ltd
This family-run business provides a range of value-for-money social care services across the Fylde Coast. The company supports us with their expertise and advice, and has provided specialist equipment for the use of our visitors. We are also delighted to welcome Baxter Life Care Ltd as our website sponsors which will open up discussion with other potential partners.
Haven Holidays
We are fortunate to have a magnificent Haven Holiday centre in Fleetwood at Cala Gran. The owners’ club worked very hard throughout the difficult year of 2021 collecting money for a Hippocampe XL beach wheelchair which we were pleased to receive in December 2021 and joined our fleet for the future from 2022. Cala Gran has a number of specialist units with facilities for people with disabilities and we are pleased to welcome their guests on the beach.
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Financial Report
Accounts 2021 - 2022
Fleetwood Beach Wheelchairs – Annual Report 2022
10 FINANCIAL REPORT Fleetw¢)od Beach Wheelchalrs Balance Sheet lor thè •r ended 28 Fel)nry 2021 2022 2021 Fixed A•sets 43>4 9.976 14.4WI 13 13 9976 14. J.6X) 1413 24. 9.975 14. 7.101 434 16 16 10.784 34 22 18 Ca&¥l•l Account 221118 33,051 22,01B Fltttwood Beach Whttlchairs- Annual Rer[ 2022
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Independent Examiner’s report
Independent examiner’s report on the accounts
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Statistics 2021-2022
Bookings
August 2021 was our busiest month to date with 70 bookings. Total bookings since first opening were 372 at the end of the month.
| Chair | #Chairs | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | FY Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandcruiser | 2 | 2 | 10 | 13 | 22 | 18 | 27 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 116 |
| Sandpiper | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 |
| Hippocampe | 3 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 |
| EZ-Roller | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | |
| Debug | 2 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 61 | |
| Total | 10 | 4 | 37 | 21 | 50 | 46 | 70 | 33 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 284 |
FY = Financial Year 2021 - 2022 – total bookings since we re-opened on 30/3/2021 up to our year end on 28/2/2022
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Monthly Bookings by type of Wheelchair
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Sandcruiser Sandpiper Hippocampe EZ-Roller Debug
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Ratings
Our feedback forms ask clients to rate the chair & the overall experience from 1 (poor) to 5 (brilliant). The chart below shows the average rating by month.
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Feedback Rating (out of 5)
5.1
5
4.9
4.8
4.7
4.6
Chair Overall Experience
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Location
Analysis of where people have come from to visit us, also taken from the feedback forms
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Home Location by month 2021 - 2022
35 Home Location
30 Totals - FY 2021-22
25 100
20 90
80
15
70
10
60
5 50
0 40
30
20
10
Local Lancs & Cumbria Cheshire 0
Yorkshire West Midlands East Midlands
East South West South East
Scotland
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Brian Jones Bookings Officer
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Photo Gallery
These images say far more than any words can about the benefits of our service and the simple joy of being on the beach.
Fleetwood Beach Wheelchairs – Annual Report 2022
16 r) Fltttwood Beach Whttlchairs- Annual Rer[ 2022
17 li, Fltttwood Beach Whttlchairs- Annual Rer[ 2022
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Feedback
These are some of the comments made by visitors within the last year, taken from feedback forms and social media.
About the experience: -
Y ou certainly made our day last week. I have waited 14 years to get my adult son onto a beach. Even on the way to Fleetwood I thought in my mind it would not happen for some reason but it did happen. I must point out the very friendly supportive staff who work voluntary, you are amazing and you’re making dreams happen, be proud
T his was amazing! It meant we could have the best day on the beach without all the upset. We’ll be back.
M ajor blessing to be back on the beach after 15 years.
B rilliant service, really easy to use.
G reat idea thank you, we will definitely come again.
M y son had a wonderfull time and loved being in the sea watching and listening to the waves.
M ade a good day fantastic – so happy.
T his is a wonderful experience for us all.
M emorable experience for the whole family.
B est day ever.
F irst time Alex has been in the sea he loved it.
F inally able to get my feet in the sea again! thank you so much.
A t 93 she thought her days by the sea were done... Windmills were an excellent addition. S o much fun and laughter thanks.
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About the staff:-
F antastic very lovely people who showed us how to use the chairs.
A ll the staff are friendly and just made my Mum’s week.
V olunteers very helpful. Our son got a huge amount from today.
Y ou are all doing a fantastic job – thank you so much helping us to make happy memories.
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Trustees & Officers
Chair & Trustee: Michael Gray Vice-Chair & Trustee: Lorraine Beavers Treasurer & Trustee: Julie Sandham Secretary & Trustee: Alan Dickinson Volunteer officer & Trustee: Janet Simpson Bookings officer & Trustee: Brian Jones Trustee: Cheryl Raynor Trustee: Karen Murdoch Trustee: Reece Slater
We would like to add our thanks to retiring Trustees David Gore and Malcolm Lewis for their valuable contributions.
Charity Registration & Contacts
Registered charity: No. 1187870 Registered address: 48 Rossall Promenade, Thornton Cleveleys, FY5 1LP Freephone: 03000 111 003 E-mail address: fleetwoodbeachwheelchairs@outlook.com Website: www.fleetwoodbeachwheelchairs.co.uk Facebook: @FleetwoodBW Twitter: @FBWheelchairs
Fleetwood Beach Wheelchairs – Annual Report 2022