Land of Oak & Iron Trust
Celebrating Heritage, Culture & Landscape
A Charitable Incorporated Organisation Charity No. 1188152
Trustees’ Annual Report
2022 - 23
Clockburn Lake, Winlaton Mil l
Photo © Michael Turner
Land of Oak & Iron Trust
A Charitable Incorporated Organisation Charity No. 1188152
Celebrating Heritage, Culture & Landscape
Trustees’ Annual Report
2022 - 2023
The Land of Oak & Iron
The Land of Oak & Iron (above) is centred on the valley of the River Derwent, which passes through Northumberland, Durham and Gateshead before joining the River Tyne.
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Land of Oak & Iron Trust
Annual Report 2022 - 2023
Background
In 2016 Groundwork North East and Cumbria successfully bid for four years of Heritage Lottery funding to form the Land of Oak & Iron Landscape Partnership, which breathed new life into the history and heritage of the area via a range of projects.
These included environmental improvements - such as planting woodland and building a fish-pass - and working with young people in schools on local culture, with 320 participants gaining a recognised qualification in traditional skills. A major success was building a new Heritage Centre at Winlaton Mill, owned and managed by Groundwork North East and Cumbria. The Heritage Centre has a successful café, acts as a community hub, and runs a year-round events programme.
River Derwent - Ebchester
Photo © Peter Atkinson
The Trust
The Land of Oak & Iron Trust (LOIT) was created to ensure a legacy for the Landscape Partnership. The Trust was established on 20 August 2019 and registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) on 24 February 2020. This report covers the period 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.
The objects of the Trust as set out in its governing document are:
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To promote the conservation, protection and enhancement of the natural, industrial and cultural heritage of the Land of Oak & Iron
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To advance the education of the general public in the natural, industrial and cultural heritage of the Land of Oak & Iron
Overview
During this year, the Trust has spent considerable time talking to existing and former volunteers, partners, community groups, visitors and many other stakeholders to decide what the next phase of development for the Trust should be. This informed the creation of a five-year outline strategy, used to draft an expression of interest to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, that received positive feedback.
The Trust also signed a partnership agreement with Groundwork North East and Cumbria, to formalise the current close working relationship and help the Trust achieve its ambitions over the next few years.
The focus in the coming year will therefore be to develop priority areas of activity with partners, to allow LOIT to achieve its aims, increase capacity and grow the work of the Trust. Ways to finance these priorities will then be sought, whether by grant funding or other sources.
Activities
The Trust has several groups of volunteers, who this year have pursued the following activities:
1 Publications
This group identifies topics of interest to today’s audiences celebrating the stories, people and history of the Land of Oak & Iron. These may be published works about the history, legends and culture of the Land of Oak & Iron - many of which are out-of-print and difficult to find - or new publications, which provide the Trust with a small but regular income stream. To date LOIT has published six works.
During this year, the copyright arrangements for all current, past and planned publications were reviewed and any anomalies tackled to ensure that the Trust is complying with all current regulations.
This year one new book has been prepared and is due to be published: A History of Birds in the Derwent Valley. This is an eclectic compilation from local ornithologist and LOIT trustee Michael Turner, taking a personal look at some of the people, books and events that have inspired him, starting from the 19[th] century to post-Covid. Featuring stunning illustrations from local photographers and artists, this latest publication does not pretend to be a full historical avifauna, but prefers to ‘dip its toe’ into the the social and ornithological history of this beautiful valley.
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Land of Oak & Iron Trust
Annual Report 2022 - 2023
2 Heritage Education and Development
Formerly known as the Young Persons Group, this was established to encourage young people aged between 5 and 24 years to take pride in their heritage, and to encourage them to conserve the culture and landscape of the area for themselves and future generations.
Previous activities were based on traditional aspects such as literature, history, local heroes, arts, dance and crafts (eg making proggy mats). However, post-Covid, both schools and volunteers were reluctant to re-engage face-to-face to deliver projects in classrooms. New ways of delivering activities to engage young people are being considered, so this group has effectively been dormant for this reporting period.
Goosander
Photo © Ian Hey
3 Research
Formerly referred to as the mapping group, these volunteers are working to create a digital, interactive and easy-to-understand resource for local people and visitors to explore the history of the area, the industrial past.
To do this, information from maps spanning a period of over two hundred years was combined into a single map. This is being supplemented by additional layers of research to highlight features such as transport routes, industrial sites or whatever might be of interest. A narrative to accompany the maps is also being developed. The maps cover an area considerably larger than the Land of Oak & Iron to show the wider connections between communities. Topics include waggonways (1625-1800), historic roads, and township boundaries. During this year, volunteers have worked on bridges and river features, coal industry sites, land use and places of worship.
Several maps are now available on the LOIT website, with more being developed. One of the aims of seeking funding will be to engage professional help to convert these data into an interactive and visually engaging format, to be used for example on touchscreens at the Heritage Centres and other suitable local venues. An experimental interactive map relating to the coal industry is available on our website at https://loit.org.uk/coalmapv3
NB. There are currently two linked LOI websites, one run by Groundwork focused on the Heritage Centre’s activities and the second by the Trust. This is being kept under review and may change in future.
Public Benefit
In carrying out these activities, the Trustees have taken into account the Charity Commission’s Guidance on the public benefit requirement (PB1, PB2 & PB3) and have complied with their duty to have due regard to this guidance when exercising their powers and duties.
Financial Summary
The Trust’s income amounted to £1,443, of which £1,178 came from the sale of books. Total expenditure of the Trust was £3,275, including expenditure on Heritage Education projects of £1,860.
There was a balance of £5,150 in the Trust’s bank account on 31 March including £1,476 deferred grant for a schools’ project which has not yet been delivered. Ways to deliver the rest of this project are being sought.
A balance of £3,674 remains in general funds.
A copy of the annual accounts is attached to this report as Appendix A
Reserves policy
The Trust has no employees or physical assets, so wind-up costs would be nominal. Trustees have agreed to a reserves policy of approximately 12 months’ running costs, this year set at £800.
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Land of Oak & Iron Trust
Annual Report 2022 - 2023
Structure, Governance and Management
Structure and Governance
The Trust is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation whose only members are the trustees. It has no employees.
The name of the charity is Land of Oak & Iron Trust. It uses no other name.
The charity is registered in England and Wales (Charity number 118152).
The address of the principal office of the charity is 19 Springhouse Lane Ebchester DH8 0QF.
The Trust’s governing document is its Constitution, based on the Charity Commission’s ‘foundation’ model CIO Constitution.
Board of Trustees
During this year the trustees were:
John Hunter Bob James Geoff Marshall (Chair & Treasurer) Marion Schooler Michael Turner
Policies
The Trust has agreed policies relating to:
Code of Behaviour Health & Safety Conflicts of Interest Risk Management Expenses Safeguarding Equal Opportunities Safe Recruitment Financial Controls Supervision GDPR General Policy
Volunteers are informed of these policies on joining and they are available for inspection on the Trust’s website.
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Land of Oak & Iron Trust
Annual Report 2022 - 2023
Structure and Management
Special Interest Groups:
During this year the following groups were operational:
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Heritage Education and Development
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Research (formerly Mapping)
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Publications
Other groups will be formed as and when required depending on activity and interests. As a rule, each group includes a trustee and a lead volunteer.
Partnerships
Partnership Group
The Partnership Group is made up of the three Local Authorities (Gateshead, Durham and Northumberland), Groundwork North East, and the Trust. The Trust is represented by two trustees. The group identifies opportunities and priorities for collaboration.
Delivery Group
This group did not meet during the current year, however it may well be reformed in the coming year as new people are brought on board to deliver different strands of activity.
Approved by the Trustees on: 22 January 2024
Signed on behalf of the Trustees:
Full Name: Geoff Marshall Position: Trustee
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Land of Oak & Iron Trust
Annual Report 2022 - 2023
Land of Oak & Iron Trust
Celebrating Heritage, Culture & Landscape
A Charitable Incorporated Organisation Charity No. 1188152
Appendix A
Accounts for the Period: 1 A ril 2022 - 31 March 2023 p
| Income Book Sales Donations Grants Insurance Claim Merchandise Talks Bank Interest Income / Expenditure |
2022-23 2021-22 1,178 3,012 650 5 260 55 0 0 £1,443 £3,717 (£1,832) £1,600 Computing / Website Events Insurance Book launch Mapping / Research Merchandise Ofce Equipment Postage / Sundries Publishing Room Hire Stationery Travel Heritage Education Activities Expenditure |
2022-23 2021-22 11 25 361 293 170 103 68 703 150 711 817 60 61 1,860 £3,275 £2,117 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Balances Current Account Cash in Hand Liabilities Creditors Debtors Grant expenditure pending Net Worth |
Assets and Reserves 31/03/2023 31/03/2022 5,145 6,982 5 £5,150 £6,982 1,476 3,324 £3,674 £3,658 31/03/2023 31/03/2022 Assets Fixed Assets Merchandise 1,200 1,600 £1,200 £1,600 Reserves General Fund 3,674 3,658 Restricted Reserves 1,476 3,324 £5,150 £6,982 |
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Land of Oak & Iron Trust
Annual Report 2022 - 2023