Draft at 3 August 2021
Friends of Ilkley Riverside Parks
Trustees Annual Report
Year Ending 31 March 2021
The trustees present their Report and Accounts for the financial year 14 April 2020 to 31 March 2021. FOIRP became a Registered Charity. No. 1189048 in April 2020
The Trustees
The trustees during the financial year and up to and including the date the report was approved were:
Name Position Date of Appointment Edward Duguid Chair & Secretary 14 April 2020 Pauline Munro Deputy Chair 14 April 2020 Clare Smith Treasurer 14 April 2020 Rachael Robinson Trustee 14 April 2020 (Resigned June 2021) Kathleen Steward Trustee 14 April 2020 (Resigned July 2021) Douglas Mowat Trustee 14 April 2020
Registered Office
12 Lister Street, Ilkley, West Yorkshire LS29 9ET
Bankers
Natwest, 19 The Grove, Ilkley LS29 9TA
Independent Examiner
West Yorkshire Community Accounting Service, Stringer House, 34 Lupton Street, Leeds LS10 2QW
Structure, governance and management
Friends of Ilkley Riverside Parks is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) with voting members other than its charity trustees. It is run by a Committee of trustees who are elected annually by its members at the Annual General Meeting. At the end of the first year all the trustees stand down and are up for re-election. In subsequent years one third of trustees will stand down. The normal term of a trustee is therefore three years and the maximum term is 9 years, after which they must stand down for at least 3 years before standing for re-election. All trustees must be registered with the Charity Commission
Draft at 3 August 2021
Method of recruitment and appointment of trustees
The Committee of the charity will recruit additional trustees as required, having the appropriate skills to join the Committee and assist in the running of the organisation, subject to the approval of members at the first Annual General meeting after their nomination.
Objectives and Activities
The charity’s objects : For the benefit of Ilkley and surrounding area (“the area of benefit”) to provide or assist in the provision of facilities for recreation and other leisure time occupation in the interests of social welfare with the object of improving the conditions of life of the inhabitants of the area of benefit, in particular but not exclusively by the preservation, promotion, support, assistance and improvement of Ilkley Riverside Parks.
The charity’s activities : To achieve the above, the charity liaises on a regular basis with the local District Council of Bradford on all aspects of park maintenance and improvement, consults with a variety of local stakeholders, including other environmental groups, the Town Council in Ilkley and members of the public via opinion surveys. We have created a Master Plan for the Parks as a basis for consultation on future improvements. Volunteers take part in Work Parties twice a week throughout the year in order to ensure key aspects of maintenance of the parks is kept up to date and improvements are made. The charity also makes applications to a variety of bodies for grants, seeks sponsorship from local businesses and lobbies the District Council for direction of funds, as appropriate, to ensure that necessary improvements are carried out. All activities are risk assessed to ensure their safe execution and the charity holds the necessary public and management insurance indemnities for the protection of the public, our volunteers and the Committee of trustees.
Public Benefit Statement
In setting our objectives and planning our activities our Trustees have given serious consideration to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit and in particular, ensuring that the public living within the scope of our charitable purpose gain real and measureable benefit from the activities we carry out.
Achievements & Performance
Friends of Ilkley Riverside Parks was originally formed in 2018 in response to the gradual deterioration in infrastructure and standards of maintenance of the parks forming Ilkley Riverside Parks and discontent within the town and from visitors to the parks, and has been operating since August 2018. Many of the improvements which have come to fruition during 2020/21 result from the plans which were initiated during the initial years of operation prior to becoming a Registered Charity in April 2020.
The parks have seen immense improvement during 2020/21. Key achievements as a result of the work of Friends of Ilkley Riverside Parks are set out below:
Draft at 3 August 2021
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New Signage has been designed in conjunction with a local graphic designer and has now replaced the old redundant signage which has been removed
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New paths, ramps and fencing have been installed which meet DDA standards and now allow better access into the parks by those with mobility issues
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The WW2 Memorial in Riverside Gardens park has been renovated, benches stripped, new plaques put in place or renovated and the whole area powerwashed.
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New flowerbeds have been created around the Memorial and Platform areas and at the Bridge Lane entrance to Riverside Gardens in partnership with a group of local Landscape Gardeners.
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A large Wildflower area has been created and will continue to be developed over the next few years
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Plans have been put in place for the complete refurbishment of the Playground in Riverside Gardens which is now planned to commence in 2021/22
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Negotiations have taken place with Ilkley Grammar School and a plan is now in pace to refurbish the existing Skateboard Park in East Holme Fields
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Plans are now in place for the creation of Petanque (Boule) Courts in Riverside Gardens during 2021/22 in partnership with a new Petanque Club for the Town
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Raised Flowerbeds in Riverside Gardens have been renovated, repainted and replanted, and plans are being put in place to completely replace these in future with longer lasting and more resilient stone structures.
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Nearly 20 benches have been renovated, stripped back and re-varnished.
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Parks bins have either been renovated, stripped and repainted, or replaced so that all bins in the park areas are to a satisfactory standard
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All paths have been edged and width has been recovered
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Trees have been lower limbed and bushes trimmed to allow views of the river to be achieved from benches which were put there for that purpose.
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News trees have been planted to replace those which have been damaged by a series of storms over the last few years
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Discussions have taken place with the Yorkshire Rivers Trust and Rewinding Yorkshire to consider the rewilding of the River Wharfe banks which abut the parks, which have been eroded over the years.
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Regular Litter Picks of all the park areas are carried out on a weekly basis to ensure levels of litter are kept under control
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Regular reviews are carried out with the Council in relation to “special measures” required during school holidays, bank holidays and warm weather during the summer months to ensure that services to the parks (e.g. Litter collection, warden patrols, etc.) are escalated where this is required.
Funding for all the above has either been raised directly by the charity or in the case of a few projects at the urging or as a result of pressure from the charity to ensure the projects take place.
Financial Review
This summary covers the new charity’s first financial year from its inception on 24[th] April 2020 until 31 March 2021. It also briefly looks ahead to the next financial year.
Income
Draft at 3 August 2021
Key sources of income were grants (The Co-op and Bradford Council), donations from individuals and organisations, in addition to fundraising events. A few individual donations were substantial. The support of individuals and organisations from within the community is important to us and show us that the work we do is much appreciated. There are several regular monthly individual donations alongside one-off donations. Fundraising events relates to the Playground Appeal.
| Grants : |
Amounts : |
Amounts : |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Bradford Council | £ 300 | ||
| The Co-op Community Fund | £4142 | ||
| Donations: | |||
| From Individuals | £1096 | ||
| From Organisations | £1857 | ||
| Fundraising events | £1736 |
Spend
During the year funds have been spent as follows: Public & Committee Liability Insurance to protect both FOIRP, its volunteers and members of the Public who we come into contact with, publicity material to get key messages over to the visitors, equipment which helps us do our work maintaining the Parks, new signage which was designed by FOIRP, and planting in the new flowerbeds and the wildflower meadow we have been developing. A key example of the range of expenditure required was the creation of new flowerbeds in the Memorial area, the platform area and the Bridge Street entrance of Riverside Gardens which necessitated the purchase of 15 tons of new topsoil, similar amounts of mulch, a substantial amount of plants, and rotavator hire. Luckily a local builder lent us a digger and dumper wagon, saving further expenditure. The Landscape Gardening Group we have partnered with also supplied a large number of plants free of charge which saved us even more expenditure. Since the planting of the beds we have had to purchase a water pump to help us transport water from the river to the beds during the very hot weather.
Reserves
Thanks to the financial support we have received during the year, we have been able to create a small reserve of £500. Given most grants we receive are for
Draft at 3 August 2021
specific projects this allows the charity a little more flexibility when having to meet unusual costs or the need to act quickly prior to receiving any further specific project support, in addition to any of the organisation’s overheads like insurance, Hi Vis Jackets, printing, etc.
At year end of 31 March 2021, partly due to Covid restrictions, not all of the grant monies received had been spent. This also included a number of grants, sponsorship and donations carried over from the previous financial year where it had not been possible to complete projects because of the pandemic. This has now been accelerated with the relaxation of restrictions and with our work parties back in operation to bring projects to completion and grants have mostly been spent as required.
Membership income
Income from FOIRP membership, which was started after receiving charity status in April 2020, has amounted to £455 with 34 memberships during the year.
Although the initial membership join-up was good we need to look at ways of attracting new members, especially given the high number of followers on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. This will assist us in covering the regular overheads of the charity.
Income and expenditure going forward to 2021/22
The Playground Project is a major project we are coordinating with the Council who will provide a substantial proportion of the funding. There are various fundraising events underway to help meet the shortfall. FOIRP will be coordinating further grant applications and fundraising activities to meet the overall cost of the project which is estimated to be in the region of £200,000. As an example, the application to the Tesco Community Grant was successful and started in store early July 2021, and we hope the local community will support this.
A second application has been submitted to the Co-op Community Fund for the replacement of the wooden flowerbeds at the Riverside Hotel and we should have a response sometime in September to see if our application has been successful.
Other
A Just Giving account was set up in April 2021, alongside registration with HMRC for Gift Aid, allowing us to claim further monies where applicable.
We will continue to look at other sources of income and grant applications as required e.g. National Lottery for Good Causes, Peoples Postcode Lottery, etc.
Friends of Ilkley Riverside Parks (F
Total Receipts & Payments Account
| Receipts Individual Donations Organisational Donations Grants Sponsorship Fundraising Events Membership Other income BDMC Payments Insurance Room Hire Planting Maintenance Equipment Office Supplies IT General Administration Publicity Signage Net receipts / (payments) Transfer Balance brought forward Balance carried forward Made up of: Current account Savings account Cash float Spare Checks - this should equal zero |
Total Unrestricted Playgound Website Renovation Fund Wildflower Meadow Signage Bins Equipment Reserve Co-op BDMC Cleaner Streets Spare fund 11 |
|---|---|
| 1,096.00 896.00 0.00 0.00 200.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1,857.33 487.33 1,250.00 0.00 120.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 4,141.95 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 2,471.95 1,670.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1,735.81 0.00 1,735.81 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 425.00 425.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 300.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 300.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 |
|
| 9,556.09 1,808.33 2,985.81 0.00 320.00 0.00 300.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 2,471.95 1,670.00 0.00 |
|
| 178.84 178.84 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 375.02 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 240.03 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 134.99 0.00 0.00 224.24 0.00 0.00 0.00 12.38 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 211.86 0.00 2,085.04 0.00 50.00 0.00 351.22 0.00 341.98 750.00 0.00 0.00 143.34 448.50 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 150.00 0.00 0.00 150.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 18.00 18.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 40.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 40.00 0.00 0.00 631.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 46.00 585.00 0.00 |
|
| 3,702.14 196.84 50.00 150.00 363.60 240.03 341.98 750.00 0.00 0.00 364.33 1,245.36 0.00 |
|
| 5,853.95 1,611.49 2,935.81 (150.00) (43.60) (240.03) (41.98) (750.00) 0.00 0.00 2,107.62 424.64 0.00 0.00 (900.00) 0.00 200.00 0.00 0.00 200.00 0.00 0.00 500.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 3,900.01 340.86 65.50 100.00 548.54 600.00 0.00 750.00 0.00 0.00 1,495.11 0.00 0.00 |
|
| 9,753.96 1,052.35 3,001.31 150.00 504.94 359.97 158.02 0.00 0.00 500.00 3,602.73 424.64 0.00 |
|
| 9,753.96 0.00 0.00 0.00 9,753.96 0.00 |