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2024-03-31-accounts

Friends of Ilkley Riverside Parks

Trustees Annual Report

Year Ending 31 March 2024

The trustees present their Report and Accounts for the financial year 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. FOIRP became a Registered Charity. No. 1189048 in April 2020

Volunteers at the Memorial Flowerbeds for Remembrance Day 2023

The Trustees

The trustees during the financial year were:

Name Position Date of Appointment Edward Duguid Chair 14 April 2020 Pauline Munro Deputy Chair 14 April 2020

Clare Smith Treasurer 14 April 2020

Douglas Mowat Trustee 14 April 2020 Ken Whittington Trustee 27 September 2021 (Resigned 24 January 2024) Nicola Coldwell Secretary 27 September 2021 George Buckley Trustee 6 October 2022

Registered Office

12 Lister Street, Ilkley, West Yorkshire LS29 9ET

Bankers

Natwest, 63 North Street, Keighley BD21 3SB

Independent Examiner

Elite Accounting Services, Suite 2, The Point, Mayfield Road, Ilkley LS29 8FL

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.

Autumn Display at Bridge Lane Entrance

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 measurable benefit from the activities we carry out.

Looking after planting on the Embankment is a regular job!

Early Work by FOIRP

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 in the parks result from the Master Plan from which more refined plans have been developed to tackle the issues identified at the formation of the charity. The parks have again seen further improvement during 2023/24 following on from the achievements since 2018.

Earlier work included New Signage replacing the old redundant signage, new paths, ramps and fencing installed which allow better access into the parks by those with mobility issues, the renovation of the WW2 Memorial in Riverside Gardens, the creation of new flowerbeds to surround the Memorial and in the adjacent Platform area and Bridge Lane entrance to Riverside Gardens, a new Petanque Terrain, the creation of a large Wildflower area. the full refurbishment of the Playground, the rebuilding of the Raised Flowerbeds at the Park main entrance, the renovation of all the wooden benches throughout the parks and the introduction of new benches, rusty park bins have been renovated or replaced, 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,and twice weekly Litter Picks of all the park areas are carried out to ensure levels of litter are kept under control. Finally one side of the embankment area above the new Memorial flowerbeds had been reclaimed and planted up with a diversity of perennial plants

Additionally,discussions took place with the Yorkshire Rivers Trust and Rewilding Yorkshire to consider the rewilding of the River Wharfe banks which abut the parks, which have been eroded over the years, 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 our urging or because of pressure from the charity to ensure the projects take place.

Achievements & Performance in 2023/24

New Planting at Triangular Flowerbed off New Brook Street

In 2023/24 in addition to the regular work which has taken place including Litter Picking, looking after the newly created flowerbeds in the parks and the general maintenance tasks carried out by the Group, the following improvements have been achieved;

Regular Work Parties every week keep the Parks Spic & Span!

Looking Ahead to 2023/24

Looking ahead to 2024/25 we expect the following to progress:

Financial Review

This summary covers the financial year 2023/24. It also briefly looks ahead to the next financial year. A copy of our accounts is available separately.

Income

Key sources of income were grants, 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.

Grants: Grants: Amounts: Amounts:
£
500.00
Donations:
From Individuals £1090.00
From Organisations £
4178.50
Fundraising events

Fundraising events

£ 1222.85

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. Examples of the range of expenditure required are: plants for the new planting on the Embankment, mulch for the ongoing maintenance of the flowerbeds, hire of and fuel for the various machines, timber for bench repairs and playground replacement items.

Reserves

Thanks to the financial support we have received during the year, we have been able to maintain 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, tools etc.

Membership income

Income from FOIRP membership during the year was £505 from 39 Memberships.

Although the initial membership join-up was good we need to continue to look at ways of attracting new members. This will assist us in covering the regular overheads of the charity.

Income and expenditure going forward to 2024/25

A major project we are making progress with is the recovery and replanting of the Embankment area at the east end of Riverside Gardens. FOIRP will continue to coordinate further grant applications and fundraising activities to meet the overall cost of this and other key projects mentioned in this report. project

Other: The Just Giving account was set up in April 2021 and continues to provide monthly donations, alongside registration with HMRC for Gift Aid, allowing us to claim further monies where applicable. Donations were also received by supporters using Easyfundraising when shopping,

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 Year 2023/24 Total Receipts & Payments Account

Year 2023/24
Total Receipts & Payments Account
Receipts
Individual Donations
Organisational Donations
Grants
Sponsorship
Fundraising Events
Membership
Other income BDMC
Other income Ilkley Town Council
Gift Aid
Payments
Insurance
Room Hire
Planting
Maintenance
Equipment
Office Supplies
IT
General Administration
Publicity
Signage
Materials
Net receipts / (payments)
Transfer
Balance brought forward
Balance carried forward
Made up of:
Current account
Checks - this should equal zero		 Total
Unrestricted
Playground
Renovation
Fund
Wildflower
Meadow
Flowerbeds
(general)
Reserve
Container
1,090.00
1,090.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
4,178.50
1,282.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
2,396.50
0.00
500.00
500.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
500.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
1,222.85
1,105.36
0.00
0.00
0.00
117.49
0.00
0.00
505.00
505.00
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
182.15
182.15
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
7,678.50
4,164.51
0.00
0.00
0.00
3,013.99
0.00
500.00
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
786.00
160.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
626.00
0.00
0.00
100.56
74.98
0.00
25.58
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
1,455.97
289.57
1,166.40
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
158.75
158.75
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
12.50
12.50
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
1,419.36
0.00
1,419.36
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
2,714.66
9.14
2,124.00
283.52
0.00
298.00
0.00
0.00
6,647.80
704.94
4,709.76
309.10
0.00
924.00
0.00
0.00
1,030.70
3,459.57
(4,709.76)
(309.10)
0.00
2,089.99
0.00
500.00
0.00
(500.00)
0.00
500.00
0.00
(29.52)
0.00
0.00
8,609.03
1,306.85
6,674.44
(37.55)
194.81
0.00
500.00
0.00
9,639.73
4,266.42
1,964.68
153.35
194.81
2,060.47
500.00
500.00
9,639.73
9,639.73
0.00

Checks - this should equal zero