## **Grith Pioneers Trustees’ Annual Report**
## **Year ending: 31[st] March 2024**
## **Charity registration number: 1188105**
## **Objectives and Activities**
|||
|---|---|
|Summary of the
purposes of the
charity as set out in
its governing
document|(a) To promote for the benefit of the public the conservation, protection, and
improvement of the physical and natural environment of the land owned and/or
managed by Grith Pioneers, by conducting a variety of environmental improvement
and woodland management activities.
(b) To advance the education of the public in the conservation, protection and
improvement of the physical and natural environment of the land owned and/or
managed by Grith Pioneers, by providing access to the natural environment for
camps and outdoor education activities.|
|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.|1. To manage the woodland in accordance with the Shining Cliff Woods
Management Plan and any other activities which will enhance the biodiversity
and/or ecosystem services provided by the woods, in line with the Natural England
SSSI citation.
2. To provide and manage areas of the woodland suitable for use as educational
and/or recreational activities which enhance members of the public’s understanding
of the natural environment.
3. To ensure that the assets of Grith Pioneers including the hostel and other
buildings are used for the benefit of the general public, not least in extending their
understanding of the natural environment.|
|Statement confirming
whether the trustees
have had regard to
the guidance issued
by the Charity
Commission on public
benefit|We as trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission
on public benefit:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/public-benefit-rules-for-charities|
|**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:|
|---|---|
|||
|Policy on grant making|Grith Pioneers may support organisations and individuals whose aim is to
further the objectives of the CIO.|
|Contribution made by
volunteers|We have volunteer wardens who review campers’ permits while walking the
woods and checking for dangers and hazards. Volunteers also help to
maintain tracks, cut back invasive species and marshal when felling occurs.
Volunteers also carry out surveys and counts – eg fungi|
Trustees and council have met six times since the 2023 AGM, sometimes on Zoom, sometimes in the woods, and as always, many of us also got together for working days, walks, and at camps.
Grith Pioneers currently has 32 members.
## **Achievements and Performance**
|||
|---|---|
|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.|**Education/training; Community; Development; Recreation**
**Camps and booked activities**
Over the year since our last AGM, the number of camp bookings of various
length has stayed at around 80, across the two separate camping areas
(total number of nights is just under 160, making approximately 10%
‘occupancy’ at either site). The profile is, as is becoming normal, mostly
smaller weekend visits of one-to-three people, but with youth groups and
charities running their larger week-long camps. On balance, booked
activities are broadly similar to last year in terms of days and numbers of
people, with 300 adults and 95 children camping in total, and 46 daytime
activities booked for 48 adults and 195 children, plus Wildlings which use
parts of the woods two days per week for early years education.
Activities organised by Shining Cliff Centre have again increased. Shining
Cliff Centre CIC has seen rises in hostel occupancy, bookings, and new
customers. Occupancy was up to 63% in 2023 (from 58% and 50% in the
previous two years), there were 172 bookings, of which 56 were by new
customers. A total of 1485 people have stayed at Shining Cliff hostel and a
further 1147 people have accessed woodland sessions; these include 77
wellbeing sessions (up from 36 last year), 44 forest school sessions, and 19
volunteer conservation sessions.
**Areas of the woodland for recreation**
Car parks and laybys continue to be full by mid-morning every weekend
throughout the year, and mid-week activity remains significant. Shining Cliff
Woods continues to be a hugely popular place for recreation, exercise, and
to benefit from being within nature. As last year, we continue to prioritise our
efforts towards the safety of these visitors using the woods lawfully – i.e.
those on foot. We have removed another 20-25 Ash trees next to the lower
end of Beggarswell track and the public footpath down to the reservoir which
may have caused a risk as they succumb to Ash die-back. By the end of
2024 we hope to have completed this work.
Other significant efforts by Grith and volunteer groups to improve the safety
and enjoyment of visitors to the woods included, clearing windblown trees,
repairing storm-water damage to the upper section of Beggarswell track,
culvert clearing and improvements under the track to the hostel car park,
clearing and maintaining drainage channels, replacing ‘No Cycling’ signs at
the hostel car park, and foot-bridge repairs.
All are ongoing efforts and these and similar activities will need to be done in
2024 and every year! One more significant action we need to consider is
how to reinforce the reservoir bank. As climate change causes rainfall to
increases and become more torrential, overtopping is becoming more
frequent and more severe, causing erosion, and inconvenience to walkers
on the public footpath.|
## **Economic/community, Development/employment**
## **Asset maintenance (including hostel/centre)**
Income of Shining Cliff Centre CIC was around £60k, mostly from overnight accommodation (≈£40k) but also grant funding (≈£10k) and day sessions and activities. Outgoings are mainly wages and staff costs, including training to extend the range of wellbeing activities the centre can offer. Building maintenance and improvements were also significant, leaving £3k profit.
This year included continued maintenance of the water system and fire safety system, improved bathroom heating and a smart new front door! The Beech Hut toilet has also been rebuilt, and floor supports of the woodland classroom reinforced with new bearers. A major investment, and something that has not been addressed before, was a geotechnical survey of the cliff, resulting in a comprehensive report and work to improve the long-term stability of the cliff.
Centre plans for 2024 include LOTC accreditation (Learning Outside the Classroom) which will further encourage schools to make us of the hostel and all the activities now on offer.
Every time we visit the hostel, in addition to the financial re-investment, the love and care that has gone into it over the last 5 years is really apparent, making it such a lovely place to be. We wish Kate all the best for the second half of her 10-year lease.
## **Environment/conservation/heritage**
## **Woodland Management and Environmental Improvement**
Ash die-back is now really beginning to take a hold on the South side of the stream below the reservoir. Although seeing magnificent stands of old Ash succumbing to disease is distressing for many people, there may be some benefits to overall biodiversity. For example, young saplings are coming through in succession; birch, oak, wild cherry and wych elm – diversifying the ages of trees in the woods. Also, we leave the ash trees that are located away from public footpaths to provide dead standing wood, great for invertebrates and the woodpeckers which feed on them.
Proposed actions for the years ahead include: clearing some trees from next to streams to enable greater light levels and encourage more molluscs and other invertebrates to thrive in the water; regular water testing to monitor nitrate and phosphate levels; installing more ‘soft dams’ on all the streams, using felled timber, to slow water flows and hold back silt; clear the grassy area next to the reservoir to encourage insects and birds; occasional felling of sycamore trees to enable more light to get in and provide space for oak regeneration and continue to remove re-growth of felled sycamores; create more wood piles (‘bug and fungi hotels’) using felled wood; coppice hazels to ensure healthy stands and nesting habitats; continue to remove (including root stock wherever possible) rhododendron wherever they are found around the woods; continue to grade the edging of the woodland to enable easier access/exit for birdlife and extend rides to connect existing clearings, allowing easier access for the rarer birds such as fly-catchers.
We will soon discuss which of these we can prioritise, so please get in contact if you have any comments or want to get more involved. We intend to present a management plan to Natural England towards the end of the year and also to increase the number of ongoing ecological surveys through training of Grith members and local people.
Dr Ian J Graham, Chair of Grith Pioneers Council
## **Financial Review**
|**Financial Review**|||
|---|---|---|
|Review of the charity’s
financial position at the end
of the period|Para 1.21|Unrestricted income for the period to 31stMarch 2024 is
£7,528 (2023: £6,739) with no Restricted or Endowment
income. Income is mainly from the rental of the hostel, with
some income from camping fees and memberships.
Expenditure amounted to £779 (2023: £5,743). Shining
Cliff Woods and the hostel are Grith Pioneers CIO’s assets
and are currently held at nil value.|
|Statement explaining the
policy for holding reserves
stating why they are held|Para 1.22|Grith Pioneers CIO is fortunate to have a reserve of
Unrestricted income funds to enable the ongoing
management of the woodland. The woodland
management plan is prepared for several years in
advance, however there is an element of unpredictability
eg there might be occasion to remove trees more
immediately than planned due to storm damage or
invasive disease. Trustees will always seek the best price
for major works. The reserves of the CIO need to be
sufficient to cover these planned and unplanned costs.
The income of the CIO may drop due to unexpected
external factors, such as Covid-19, it is necessary to have
enough reserves to protect the continuity of charitable
objectives.|
|Amount of reserves held|Para 1.22|Grith Pioneers CIO has a balance of £42,266 (2023:
£35,517) in Unrestricted Income reserves with no
Restricted or Endowment Income reserves**.**|
|Reasons for holding zero
reserves|Para 1.22|**N/A**|
|Details of fund materially in
deficit|Para 1.24|**N/A**|
|Explanation of any
uncertainties about the
charity continuing as a going
concern|Para 1.23|The trustees consider that the level of reserves held is
sufficient to ensure the CIO continuing as a going concern.|
## **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|Grith Pioneer’s principle source of funds continues to be
from letting the hostel on a tenancy agreement, to an
organisation that shares Grith’s values.
Members also provide valuable income through their
subscription. Fees paid by campers and other woodland
users support Grith to maintain the woods for all members
of the wider public to access and enjoy.|
|---|---|---|
|Investment policy and
objectives including any
social investment policy
adopted|Para 1.46|The trustees do not have an investment policy other than
their aim to bank with ethical banks that share Grith’s
values and principles. To this end Grith Pioneers operate
current and deposit account with Triodos Bank, a leading
ethical bank. The CIO’s cash reserves are now held with
Triodos Bank. The HSBC account, being a legacy from
Grith banking with Midland Bank has now been closed.|
|A description of the principal
risks facing the charity|Para 1.46||
## **Structure, Governance and Management**
|Description of charity’s
trusts:||
|---|---|
|Type of governing document
(trust deed, royal charter)|Constitution|
|How is the charity
constituted?
(e.g unincorporated
association, CIO)|Grith Pioneers Charitable Incorporated Organisation with voting members
other than its charity trustees|
|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|Membership vote|
## **Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: Relationship with any related Grith Pioneers CIO is a member organisation with trustees drawn from the parties membership. Trustees and members volunteer their time and pay membership subscriptions as agreed by members. There are no related party relationships.
## **Reference and Administrative details**
|Charity name|Grith Pioneers CIO|
|---|---|
|Other name the
charity uses|Grith|
|Registered charity
number|1188105|
|Charity’s principal
address|Sycamore Farm,
Ashleyhay,
Wirksworth,
Matlock,
DE4 4AG|
|||
## **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)**|
|---|---|---|---|
|Kathleen Moss|Treasurer|||
|Michelle Kershaw-Wright||||
|Michael Cross||||
|Martin Redman||||
|Nicholas Glaister||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
## **Declarations**
**The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.**
**Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees**
|**Signature(s)**
**Full name(s)**
**Position (eg Secretary,**
**Chair, etc)**|
Kathleen Moss|11th May 2024|
|---|---|---|
||||
||
Treasurer||
**Charity Name No (if any) Grith Pioneers 1188105 Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For the period** Period start date Period end date **To from 01/04/2023 31/03/2024**
## **Section A Receipts and payments**
|**A1 Receipts**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest**
**£**
**260**
**4,992**
**1,388**
**64**
**698**
**-**
**126**
**-**
**7,528**
**7,528**
**-**
**-**
**641**
**45**
**-**
**53**
**40**
**-**
**-**
**779**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**779**
**6,749**
**35,517**
**42,266**|**Restricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**Total funds**
**to the nearest £**
**260**
**4,992**
**1,388**
**64**
**698**
**-**
**126**
**-**
**7,528**
**7,528**
**-**
**-**
**641**
**45**
**-**
**53**
**40**
**-**
**-**
**779**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**779**
**6,749**|**Total funds**
**to the nearest £**
**260**
**4,992**
**1,388**
**64**
**698**
**-**
**126**
**-**
**7,528**
**7,528**
**-**
**-**
**641**
**45**
**-**
**53**
**40**
**-**
**-**
**779**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**779**
**6,749**|**Last year**
**to the nearest £**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Membershipfees|**260**|||||**260**|
|Rental income hostel|**4,992**|||||**4,992**|
|Campingfees|**1,388**|||||**1,258**|
|Wayleave|**64**|||||**64**|
|Interest|**698**|||||**145**|
|Sales(sweatshirts)|**-**|||||**-**|
|Donations|**126**|||||**20**|
||**-**|||||**-**|
|**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for_
_AR)_|**7,528**|||||**6,739**|
|**_Total receipts_**
**A3 Payments**|||||||
|||||||**6,739**|
||||||||
|Maintenance(hostel water system)|**-**|||||**4,440**|
|Tree surgery|**-**|||||**500**|
|Insurance|**641**|||||**571**|
|Subscriptions|**45**|||||**125**|
|General admin(tax software)|**-**|||||**30**|
|Bank charges|**53**|||||**77**|
|Meetingexpenses|**40**|||||**-**|
||**-**|||||**-**|
||**-**|||||**-**|
|**_Sub total_**|**779**|||||**5,743**|
||||||||
|**A4 Asset and investment**
**purchases, (see table)**|||||||
||**-**||||||
||**-**||||||
|**_Sub total_**|**-**|||||**-**|
|**_Total payments_**
**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**Funds brought forward**
**_Cash funds this year end_**|||||||
|||||||**5,743**|
||||||||
||**6,749**|**-**|**-**|
**6,749**||**996**|
|||**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|
||**35,517**|**-**|**-**|**35,517**||**34,521**|
||**42,266**|**-**|**-**|
**42,266**||**35,517**|
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Categories**
Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees
**B1 Cash funds**
**B5 Liabilities**
**B4 Assets retained for the**
**charity’s own use**|**Details**
**Details**
Shining Cliff Woods
Shining Cliff Hostel
no monetary value held in accounts
HSBC Current
Triodos Current
Triodos Deposit
**Details**
**_Total cash funds_**
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))||**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**
**-**
**14,366**
**27,900**
**42,266**
OK
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
Unrestricted
Unrestricted
**Fund to which**
**liability relates**||**Restricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
OK
**Cost (optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Amount due**
**(optional)**
**-**||**Endowment funds**
**to nearest £**|
||||||||**-**|
||||||||**-**|
||||||||**-**|
||||||||**-**|
||||||||OK|
||||||||**Current value (optional)**|
||||||||**-**|
||||||||**-**|
||||||||**-**|
||||||||**-**|
||||||||**-**|
||||||||**-**|
||||||||**-**|
||||||||**-**|
||||||||**-**|
||||||||**When due (optional)**|
||||||**-**|||
|||||||||
||||||**-**|||
||||||**-**|||
|||||||||
||||||||Date of approval|
||||||||11th May 2024|
|||||||||
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)