New Leaf Alresford
Report of the trustees for the year ending 31 March 2021.
The Trustees present their annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2016.
Our Aims
New Leaf Alresford was registered as a CIO on the 4[th] of March 2020 and this is the Trustees’ first annual report.
The charity operates under the New Leaf Alresford Constitution dated 3[rd] March 2020 to comply with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011.
The objects of the charity are to promote for the benefit of the public the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment by the provision of information and guidance and improving environmental awareness and promoting sustainable living.
New Leaf Alresford aims to provide local information and advice, to help the community to adopt the positive changes needed to tackle climate change, promote sustainability and protect our environment through the New Leaf Website: www.newleafalresford.org and Facebook group. We participate locally on projects which tackle climate change, increase recycling and boost biodiversity.
New Leaf Alresford
Report of the trustees for the year ending 31 March 2021.
The Trustees present their annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2016.
Our Aims
New Leaf Alresford was registered as a CIO on the 4[th] of[f] March 2020 and this is the Trustees’ first annual report.
The charity operates under the New Leaf Alresford Constitution dated 3[rd] March 2020 to comply with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011.
The aims of the charity are to promote for the benefit of the public the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment by the provision of information and guidance, improving environmental awareness and promoting sustainable living.
New Leaf Alresford aims to provide local information and advice to help our community adopt the positive changes needed to tackle climate change, promote sustainability and protect our environment via the New Leaf website: www.newleafalresford.org, Facebook group and Instagram account. We participate in local projects which aim to tackle climate change, increase recycling and boost biodiversity.
Our Objectives
Our objectives are set to reflect our aims of promoting recycling, tackling climate change and boosting biodiversity.
Our objectives for the year included:
Raising our profile within the community and growing the membership of our Facebook group.
Establishing links with other groups within the community including local authorities, businesses, other community groups and charities.
Reducing waste and increasing recycling locally.
Promoting greener and more sustainable living.
Tackling climate change through planting trees.
Review of Activities and Achievement
Community Awareness, New Leaf Website and Social Media
The New Leaf website was launched in January 2020 and the charity has continued to maintain and update the information as well as add new posts, which are promoted through social media, to encourage people to visit the website. We were awarded a Mayor of Winchester’s Award for this achievement.
Throughout 2020 we ran a series of monthly posts entitled ‘Grow It Yourself’ which aimed to support those growing their own fruit and vegetables and gave advice on the tasks that needed undertaking each month. This led to the formation of a breakout ‘Alresford Growers’ Facebook group with members swapping seeds and seeking and sharing advice.
We started a ‘Recipes’ section containing ‘tried and tested’ vegetarian and vegan recipes to help those trying to eat less meat. We appealed to our membership to submit their ‘tried and tested’ vegetarian recipes which we added to the website.
The charity continued to feature local businesses that were making efforts to be more sustainable and champion them through the website and social media. This included Face Matters Skin Health Studio, and two new low waste shops ‘Earthian’ and ‘Juniper’.
During Winchester Green Week in September 2020 the charity wrote an article published in the Forum Community Magazine, entitled ‘Greenest Town in Hampshire’ in which we set out a vision of what the greenest town might look like. We also ran a series of energy saving advice posts on social media featuring a different area of activity including transport, laundry, heating and lighting each day.
In October 2020 New Leaf Alresford made a representation to New Alresford Town Council to request that they consider making Alresford a ‘Pesticide Free Town’. In February 2021 the charity campaigned for support of the Godsfield Solar Farm application.
Membership of the New Leaf Alresford Facebook Group stood at 370 on 29/05/20 and had grown to 450 by March 2021. The charity began an Instagram account in March 2020 and had 268 followers by the end of March 2020.
The Pandemic
The pandemic and resulting lockdowns impacted severely on the charity’s abilities to develop links with other community groups. Initial meetings had taken place with the Perin’s school ‘Eco Club’, Alresford Rotary and The Itchen List just prior to the start of the pandemic but lockdown prevented any follow up opportunities during the year.
However, the lockdown did result in two unexpected opportunities when the charity was approached by the Hairy Plant Pot Company and Mill Hill Farms. The businesses were stuck with plants, hedging and trees which they were unable to sell due to the lockdown. The stock was at risk of going to waste.
New Leaf Alresford was able to offer the stock to the community in exchange for donations to the two respective companies and the charity’s volunteers delivered plants, hedging and trees to the community. In total, 475 hedging plants and trees were planted in the Alresford area and 740 plants were delivered to local people.
In July 2020 New Leaf Alresford volunteers took part in a litter pick in collaboration with The Alresford Pigs.
In December 2020, New Leaf Alresford met with the Watercress Line charity which runs the heritage steam railway based in Alresford. We discussed a variety of suggestions for reducing the environmental impact of the railway’s operations and opportunities for educating visitors on sustainable living. New Leaf Alresford provided the Watercress Line charity with a summary report containing the results of its research and advice.
Recycling
In part as a result of campaigning by the charity, the district received its first Tetrapak recycling bank in April 2020.
In September 2020, two New Leaf Alresford members made a deputation at a Hampshire County Council decision day to request the council restore pedestrian and cycle access to the Alresford Waste and Recycling Centre. Pedestrian and cycle access had been suspended as a result of the COVID19 measures and the charity continues to press for this to be restored as unnecessary barriers are reducing accessibility to recycling and forcing individuals to use a car over lower emission alternatives.
Biodiversity and Verges Management
New Leaf Alresford has been working with other local groups interested in the management of roadside verges and set up a forum which includes the Wild Valley Verges and Worthy’s Conservation groups. A series of meetings were held to share experiences, learning and information.
In September 2020 the charity took part in the consultation on the District’s Biodiversity Action Plan and asked for changes in verge management to be included in the plan. As a result, Alresford was selected for a pilot scheme which will see the number of cuts for roadside verges reduced from 9 per annum to 4 with two verge locations being allocated for 2 cuts per annum.
Tree Planting
New Leaf Alresford requested more trees for the town from Hampshire County Council. Surveys were undertaken by a volunteer and in January 2021 24 new trees were planted on verges in Alresford.
New Leaf identified three other potential areas for the planting of new trees. A charity volunteer conducted surveys of the proposed sites and attempts were made to identify the landowners. Leaflets were distributed to householders living adjacent to two of the proposed sites and volunteer tree custodians were found for each for the trees at the Benenden Green site. An application was made to Winchester City Council by New Leaf Alresford and in February 2021 four trees were planted on the site at Benenden Green.
Future Plans
The charity plans to continue its work and to grow and develop its membership and links with other community groups.
The charity will support the verges management pilot in Alresford.
The charity plans to apply for a grant to allow it to undertake community planting projects.
Our Finances
A donation to New Leaf Alresford was received from the Alresford PIGS charity and this was used to pay for the charity’s annual insurance which was required for participation in the litter pick.
In addition, two of the trustees provided donations to cover the website hosting fees.
Our accounts have been subject to external scrutiny by Cathy Booth.
Charity Trustees
The New Leaf Alresford charity has 3 Trustees:
Chair
Imogen Oxley
Secretary
Samantha Dalling
Treasurer
Mark Tubb
Contact Details
Email: enquires@newleafalresford.org Website : www.newleafalresford.org Registered Charity Number : 1188343
Charity Name
No (if any)
Receipts and payments accounts
Period start date Period end date To 4/1/2020 3/31/2021
For the period from
Section A Receipts and payments
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Unrestricted Restricted Endowment
Total funds
funds funds funds
to the nearest
to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £
£
A1 Receipts
S Dalling 12 - 12
Alresford PIGS 123 - 123
I Oxley 35 - 35
- - - -
- - - -
- - - -
- - - -
- - - -
- 170 - 170
Sub total (Gross income for AR)
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
- - - -
- - - -
Sub total - - - -
Total receipts - 170 - 170
A3 Payments
Hiscox (Public Liability Insurance) 123 - 123
Forum Media & design - 47 - 47
- - - -
- - - -
- - - -
- - - -
- - - -
- - - -
- - - -
Sub total [ - ] 170 - 170
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
- - - -
- - - -
Sub total [ - ] - - -
Total payments - 170 - 170
Net of receipts/(payments) - - - -
A5 Transfers between funds - - - -
A6 Cash funds last year end - - - -
Cash funds this year end - - - -
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Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
| Unrestricted | Restricted | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Categories | Details | funds | funds | ||
| B1 Cash funds | Total cash funds | to nearest £ - - - - |
to nearest £ - - - - |
||
| (agree | balances with receipts and payments account(s)) |
OK | OK | ||
| Unrestricted | Restricted | ||||
| funds | funds | ||||
| B2 Other monetary assets | Details | to nearest £ - - - - - - |
to nearest £ - - - - - - |
||
| B3 Investment assets | Details | Fund to which asset belongs |
Cost (optional) - - - - - |
||
| B4 Assets retained for the | Details | Fund to which asset belongs |
Cost (optional) - |
||
| charity’s own use | - - - - - - - - |
||||
| B5 Liabilities | Details | Fund to which liability relates |
- - - - - Amount due (optional) |
||
| Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees |
Signature | Name | |||
| S Dalling |
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CC16a
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Last year
to the nearest £
-
-
-
-
Endowment funds
to nearest £ - - - -
OK
Endowment funds to nearest £ - - - - - - Current value (optional) - - - - - Current value (optional)
When due (optional)
Date of approval