Friends of Ilkley Riverside Parks
Trustees Annual Report
Year Ending 31 March 2022
The trustees present their Report and Accounts for the financial year 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022. 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:
Date of Appointment
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 Douglas Mowat Trustee 14 April 2020 Kathleen Steward Trustee 14 April 2020 (Resigned July 2021) Rachael Robinson Trustee 14 April 2020 (Resigned July 2021) Ken Whittington Co-opted 9 August 2021 Nicola Coldwell Co-opted 9 August 2021
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
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 in 2021/22
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 during 2021/22 result from the Master Plan from which more refined plans have been developed
The parks have again seen further improvement during 2021/22 following on from the achievements since 2018. To recall earlier work this included; New Signage replacing the old redundant signage, New paths, ramps and fencing installed which meet DDA standards and now allow better access into the parks by those with mobility issues, the renovation of the WW2 Memorial in Riverside Gardens, the creation and extension of a large Wildflower area, plans have been put in place for the complete refurbishment of the Playground in Riverside Gardens, Plans put in place for Petanque (Boule) Courts in Riverside Gardens in partnership with a new Petanque Club for the Town, negotiations with Ilkley Grammar School and a plan to refurbish the existing Skateboard Park in East Holme Fields, Raised Flowerbeds in Riverside Gardens renovated, repainted and replanted, nearly 20 benches have renovated, stripped back and re-varnished, Parks bins either renovated, stripped and repainted, or replaced so that all bins in the park areas are to a satisfactory standard, all paths have been
edged and width has been recovered, trees have been lower limbed and bushes trimmed to allow views of the river to be achieved, new trees have been planted to replace those which have been damaged, 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, regular Litter Picks of all the park areas are carried out on a weekly basis to ensure levels of litter are kept under control, 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, and 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,
In 2021/22, apart from the regular work with the Council Litter Picking and the general maintenance tasks carried out by the Group, the following has been achieved;
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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 led by Helen Taylor Associates. These have been widely praised by the local community and those who visit Riverside Gardens and are now regularly maintained by the Group with our partners
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Further work has been done to extend the Wildflower area with planting of both annual and perennial pants
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The Petanque Terrain has been built and is now in use, maintained with the assistance of FOIRP
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Phase 1 of the Playground Refurbishment has been completed with plans for two further phases in 2022/23, where the planning and additional fundraising of up to £90,000 has been done by FOIRP with specialist assistance from a small team of local supporters, led by the Deputy Chair, Pauline Munro. Our particular thanks go to Amy Rawson, Dominique Demaine and Nicola Maharjan for the help on this massive project.
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Plans have been progressed to replace the Wooden raised beds at Riverside Hotel with stone built flowerbeds. A large amount of the funds for this project were raised from a Photographic Competition and resultant Calendar Sales organised by George Buckley, one of our Committee members. Our thanks go to George and also to Doug Mowat who assisted him and who is now coordinating the tendering and construction of the new Raised Beds, which we hope will be completed during the next financial year.
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The Grammar School have commenced work on the Skateboard area and hope to complete this work in the next financial year.
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Further benches have been renovated
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Bins have been cleaned and painted where necessary
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More plants have been added to the new flowerbeds to fill them out following last year’s initial planting
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More Trees have been planted or replaced, as necessary in liaison with the Tree Section of Bradford Council. Our thanks go in particular to Peter Wilman in this respect.
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Two Work Parties have been organised for most weeks of the year, where necessary maintenance tasks have been carried out, including regular litter picking, path edging, weeding of the flowerbeds and ongoing maintenance of the Raised beds until such time as they can be replaced by stone beds
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Further liaison has taken place with Bradford Council and the Police to ensure the “Warm Weather” Strategy and the Public Spaces Protection order covering the parks we maintain can be effectively implemented.
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Further signage has been placed to ensure clear messages exist about expected conduct of visitors to the parks.
Looking Ahead to 2022/23
Looking ahead to the next financial year we expect the following to be completed:
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The Playground Renewal and fundraising to be completed
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A new project to improve the Embankment Area at the end of Riverside gardens to have been started and partially completed.
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The project to replace the Old wooden Raised Beds at the Hotel area of Riverside Gardens with Stone Flowerbeds to have been completed
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More trees to be planted and for those with damage (e.g. Ash Dieback) to be replaced
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Some progress made towards rewilding the riverbanks which abut the park areas
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Further progress to be made on all ongoing maintenance and improvement works in the park areas.
Financial Review
This summary covers the charity’s second financial year from 01 April 2021 until 31 March 2022. It also briefly looks ahead to the next financial year.
Income
Key sources of income were grants (Tesco and Bradford Council), donations from individuals and organisations, in addition to fundraising events. 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.
Special mention goes to a local resident who sponsored the water pump which has been much needed in the warmer weather.
This year saw the launch of the FOIRP calendar which was very well supported by local businesses. The funds raised will go towards the replacement of the raised flowerbeds in the Riverside Park.
The playground appeal was also launched this year with various fundraising activities as outlined in the main report.
| Grants: Bradford VCS Alliance (Wildflowers) Bradford Council Community Chest (Generator) Tesco (for the Playground appeal) |
Amounts: £750 £500 £1125 (first part) |
|---|---|
| Donations: | |
|---|---|
| From Individuals | £699 |
| From Organisations | £0 |
| Fundraising (calendar and playground) | £3362 |
| Sponsorship (Calendar) | £1440 |
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, and planting in the memorial flowerbeds and the development of the wildflower meadow. Examples of the range of expenditure required were the additional strulch, topsoil and plants for the flowerbeds in the Memorial area, the platform area and the Bridge Street entrance of Riverside Gardens. Additional yellow rattle seed was purchased for the wildflower area alongside various items of equipment for the work party. Since the planting of the beds we have had to purchase a water pump to help transport water from the river to the beds during the very hot weather.
We have also purchased a generator to help with sanding the benches.
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 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.
Most of the grant monies received have now been spent, with a small balance left from the Co-op grant from the previous year, which will be used for additional planting and signage for the flowerbeds. It had previously not been possible to complete projects because of the pandemic, but this has now been accelerated with the relaxation of restrictions and with our work parties back in operation to bring projects to completion.
Membership income
Income from membership, which started after receiving charity status in April 2020, has amounted to £495 with 37 memberships. Current renewals are at 19 so we continue 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 2022/23
The Playground Project is a major project we are coordinating with the Council who have provided a substantial proportion of the funding. FOIRP have coordinated grant applications and fundraising activities to meet the overall cost of the project which is detailed in the main report. As an example, the application to the Tesco Community Grant was successful and started in store early July 2021.
The next project we would like to focus on is the replacement of the raised flowerbeds in the Riverside Park. The Riverside Hotel kindly donation a large sum which we have added to the monies raised through the calendar sales. We will seek to cover the remaining shortfall through local donations and fundraising. We hope that work can start early Autumn.
Other
The Just Giving account was set up for the Playground Appeal and we receive monthly payments from that.
Gift Aid was claimed on membership and donations and another application will be made this year.
We will continue to look at other sources of income and grant applications as required e.g. National Lottery for Good Causes, although many have been oversubscribed. We did have applications with the National Garden Scheme and the Peoples Postcode Lottery which were not successful.
Friends of Ilkley Riverside Parks (FOIRP)
01 Apr 21 to 31 Mar 22
Total Receipts & Payments Account for the year ended 31/3/22
| Receipts Individual Donations Organisational Donations Grants Sponsorship Fundraising Events Membership Other income BDMC Other income Ilkley Town Council Amazon Smile website Gift Aid |
Unrestricted Restricted Total 349.00 350.00 699.00 - - - - 1,692.20 1,692.20 - 1,440.00 1,440.00 26.59 3,335.86 3,362.45 80.00 - 80.00 - 285.00 285.00 - - - 7.81 - 7.81 193.41 - 193.41 656.81 7,103.06 7,759.87 180.38 - 180.38 - - - - 610.46 610.46 - 88.75 88.75 377.34 610.01 987.35 - - - (1.96) - (1.96) 121.96 - 121.96 - 97.50 97.50 - 306.00 306.00 24.61 4,556.62 4,581.23 702.33 6,269.34 6,971.67 (45.52) 833.72 788.20 (105.60) 105.60 - 1,052.35 8,701.61 9,753.96 901.23 9,640.93 10,542.16 10,542.16 - 10,542.16 |
Previous year 1,096.00 1,857.33 4,141.95 - 1,735.81 425.00 300.00 - - - 9,556.09 178.84 - 375.02 224.24 2,085.04 - 150.00 18.00 40.00 631.00 - New category for 22/23 3,702.14 5,853.95 - 3,900.01 9,753.96 |
|---|---|---|
| Total receipts Payments Insurance Room Hire Planting Maintenance Equipment Office Supplies IT General Administration Publicity Signage Materials |
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| Total payments | ||
| Net receipts / (payments) Transfer Balance brought forward |
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| Balance carried forward Made up of: Current account Savings account |
Checks - this should equal zero
0.00
Approval of the accounts
The financial statements were approved at a meeting of the management committee and signed on its behalf by:
Signed: ……………………………………
Name ……………………………………… (Management Committee member)
Date: ………………………………………