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2022-05-31-accounts

GREENING TETBURY

MANAGEMENT REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2022

The management presents its Trustees’ report and financial statements for the year ended 31 May 2022.

Reference and Administrative Information

Charity name: Greening Tetbury Charity registration number: 1189693 Registered Office and operational address: 9 Downs Mill, Frampton Mansell, Stroud, Gloucestershire. GL6 8JX

Trustees

Fergus Dignan Chair/treasurer Benjamin Jackson Rosemary Bailey Secretary Anne Cox Jessica Willows

Bankers

Triodos Bank, Deanery Rd, Bristol BS1 5AS Nationwide Building Society, Nationwide House, Pipers Way, Swindon SN38 1NW

Our Aims and Objectives

Purposes and Aims

Our charity’s purposes, as set out in the objects contained in the constitution, are:

Raising awareness through a website, workshops and other media;

Making grants for environmental projects that protect and improve the environment.

This is to be achieved by focusing on six areas: communication, energy, food, plastic, transport and wildlife.

What the outcomes of the charity’s work are:

In the town of Tetbury and surrounding villages, the main outcomes are: a reduction in the greenhouse gas footprint; a more sustainable use of resources; enhancement of the natural environment.

Where these outcomes happen:

These outcomes happen in the town of Tetbury, Gloucestershire, and surrounding villages.

How the outcomes of the charity’s work is achieved:

a) Communication

Providing information, raising awareness, and promoting such subjects as sustainable development, recycling and renewable energy sources. The information will be communicated, in particular but not exclusively, through the following outlets: the Greening Tetbury website, the Tetbury Advertiser (a monthly periodical), and social media. Also visits to local schools; liaising with local authorities, in particular Tetbury Town Council and Cotswold District Council, both of whom have declared a climate emergency; liaising with local businesses and other interested parties involved in the challenge of climate change.

b) Energy

Encouraging the use of renewable energy and reducing energy consumption in general by: raising awareness, providing information, as stated under a); making grants for environmental projects that protect and improve the environment; the provision of grants for insulation, solar panels and other forms of renewable energy for those who are in fuel poverty.

Providing information on locally produced organic food as stated under a); educational workshops; liaising with local farmers, improving access to local, highquality food including setting up community-supported agriculture and developing the community orchard. As well as the orchard, other trees will be planted for wildlife and as carbon offsets.

Providing information as stated under a); liaising with local businesses and encouraging them to stop the sale and use of single-use plastic products. The goal is to achieve single-use, plastic-free status in the town of Tetbury.

Providing information as stated under a); encouraging car sharing; making grants for ‘green’ modes of transportation such as the provision of electric public buses, new cycle ways, and public footpaths.

Providing information as stated under a); encouraging people to make their gardens wildlife-friendly; a bigger and better network of wild places; liaising with Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust for their advice and input; liaising with Tetbury Town Council in planting wildflower areas on the verges of roads and pathways.

Who benefits from these outcomes:

The general public of Tetbury and surrounding villages benefit from these outcomes, but also people in the wider world, as a result of a reduction in the carbon footprint.

Achievements and Performance

The charity has taken the Charity Commission’s public benefit guidance into account when making any decision that it is relevant to.

Communication

In 2020 the charity’s website was set up. www.greeningtetbury.org

It provides a wide source of information to the public, including:

Greening Tetbury has its own Facebook page and has also signed up to an Instagram account. A code of conduct has been drawn up for both of these sites and they will be monitored for any breaches. The idea of these social media sites is to help to increase the communication between the charity and the public. A particular objective of the Instagram site is to encourage people to upload photographs of the local flora and fauna.

The charity also has a monthly slot in the Tetbury Advertiser, a local magazine full of news and information relevant to the town and surrounding area. We were kindly given permission to contribute by the magazine’s owners, Tetbury Lions Club.

Greening Tetbury has developed strong links with Tetbury Town Council (TTC). One of our members is on the town council as well as Vice-Chair of Cotswold District Council, and the council’s Climate Action Working Group has two of our members represented, who attend council meetings on a monthly basis. These members then feed back any relevant information at our general meetings.

The month of June 2021 proved to be a very busy one for the charity. We held a campaign for the whole month called ‘ Paint the Town Green ’. The event was opened on the first Saturday in June by the town mayor, Anne Pearce, ably assisted by the town crier, Tony Evans. The main aim was to encourage local businesses, retailers, and other organisations in Tetbury to display environmental and ecological themes in their windows and say what they were doing to reduce their carbon footprint. There was a very good response to this venture and prizes were given at the end of the month for the best displays.

Each Saturday during the month, the charity had a stall in the Market Place, and members of the charity engaged with the public on environmental issues. People were encouraged to complete an environmental survey looking at local attitudes and concerns. The results of the survey provided the charity with an insight into what issues matter most to the local populace. There was also a quiz for children to take part in, with prizes.

Another event that involved much hard work by our members, especially in the preparation, was ‘ The Great Big Green Week ’, held between the 18[th] and the 26[th] September 2021. It started on the Saturday with a foraging and nature walk, which was hosted by one of our members, an ecologist, and her partner, a trained bushcraft instructor and forager. There was a good turnout by parents and their children.

The next day Greening Tetbury held a ‘Community Greening Morning’ . A stall was set up in the town’s recreation ground and, over a cup of coffee, the public were encouraged to discuss their views on such topics as traffic, wildflowers and the creation of community spaces. An opportunity was also taken to do a litter pick around the recreation ground. On the Wednesday, Greening Tetbury held a talk at the Goods Shed Arts Centre in Tetbury, entitled ‘The Answer Lies in the Soil’. The theme was sustainable and organic farming. Three local agricultural experts, Sophia Ashe, Fred Bonestroo and Dr John Meadley gave presentations, which were very well received, judging by the number of questions at the end. Subsequently, two of these presentations were put on the Greening Tetbury website and had over 300 hits.

On the 26[th] September there was an apple pressing and crop swap event. The Goods Shed kindly allowed Greening Tetbury to use their grounds for this and also provided free electricity for the operation of one of the apple-pressing machines. Many people turned up to have their apples pressed and turned into juice. The fine weather contributed to a very successful community event.

Finally, there was a photography and poetry competition, with prizes, on the theme of nature and there were over forty entries in total.

The Goods Shed Arts Centre held a Community Environment Day on the 31[st] October 2021 to coincide with the start of COP26 in Glasgow. Greening Tetbury, along with various other environmentally and ecologically-minded organisations, was invited to have a presence there. Our display boards and table provided nature-related information and advice on such subjects as renewable energy, how to reduce heating bills, and government grants, particularly for those on benefits. There was also information about preparing for a sustainable Christmas with tips on how to reduce your carbon footprint, as well as a Christmas-themed quiz for children.

Energy

The charity has an ongoing relationship with the Goods Shed Arts Centre in terms of advising them on their carbon footprint and wildlife-friendly use of the land around the site. Two of our members have qualifications in sustainable energy and ecology and have visited the site and given advice to the Arts Centre trustees.

Biomethane project: in recent months Greening Tetbury has had various meetings with different organisations on the subject of anaerobic digesters. Although methane is the main end product, the process is carbon neutral and the methane has the potential to power households through their gas grid connections. It can also be used by farmers as their sole energy source. The charity hopes to be able to facilitate the development of a new biomethane project in the local area.

Food

Tetbury Town Council initiated a community fridge project and invited Greening Tetbury to help facilitate it. We helped to source volunteers to help in regularly stocking the fridge. Through our media outlets we also publicised the initiative. The fridge, which is in a shelter

at the back of the Town Council buildings, became functional in early March 2022. Initial reports have been very positive about its usage.

There is now an established seed swap facility that is operational every spring at the library in Tetbury.

Communal orchard. There is a communal orchard in Tetbury that one of our members helps to maintain. The trees are mostly of the apple and pear variety and anyone can help themselves when the fruit ripens.

Plastics

In the last year, through Greening Tetbury, there have been litter picks conducted in Tetbury, the village of Long Newton, and around the Arts Centre.

Many years ago, there was a rubbish tip sited on the side of the Ingleburn river bank next to the allotments in Herd Lane. Unfortunately, in recent years some of the rubbish has been reaching the surface and falling into the river. In collaboration with Greening Tetbury, the Town Council agreed to manage this issue and now, once a month, a litter pick is conducted at this site.

On the 13[th] April 2022, some members of Greening Tetbury attended an online question and answer session with Andrew Doherty, Cabinet Member for the Environment, Waste and Recycling at Cotswold District Council. It was very productive and gave members very good insight into what happens to household waste and recyclable items in the county.

Transport

Greening Tetbury has been collaborating with an organisation called Co-Cars to see whether electric car-sharing is a feasible option in Tetbury. Co-Cars is a not-for-profit community-led co-operative based in Exeter. It was recommended to us by the Manager of Climate Action at Cotswold District Council and one of our trustees has been very active in taking this forward. In May 2021, a questionnaire was placed on the Greening Tetbury website as well as on social media, requesting local residents to give their views as to whether they would be interested in an electric car-sharing scheme. There were 32 responses and a significant proportion of them were positive about the idea. However, the initiative has not been taken further at this stage as Co-Cars did not feel that there was enough evidence of demand for the project to be economically viable.

Wildlife

There have been several projects that the charity has helped with through the Wildlife Action Group in the last year:

Greening Tetbury has encouraged TTC to create wildflower verges around the town and in the spring of 2022 the benefits of this ‘no mow’ policy have been clear to see.

The charity has developed links with Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust (GWT). One of the Trust’s projects is Wild Towns and Tetbury is included in this scheme of protecting and enhancing wildlife in some of the towns of Gloucestershire.

Two projects that Greening Tetbury have helped with are Cookspool and Tetbury Library. Cookspool is a natural spring feeding a large pond and supplies the River Avon. It is situated to the north end of Tetbury. The site contains mature trees and shrubs and GWT, in association with Ecosulis, a private environmental consultancy, has been enhancing the site for both flora and fauna.

We have also been working with GWT and Sophie Tallis, ‘Greening Champion’ at Tetbury library, to improve the immediate surrounds of the building for nature. Hedging has been planted at the front of the library and the back of the library seeded for wildflowers. A bird nesting box, bug hotel and bat box have all been strategically placed around the walls of the building.

GWT in collaboration with ourselves, Ecosulis, and Tetbury Town Council, with funding from the European Regional Development Fund, has designed a wildlife walking map for the town and surrounding area. One of our members has provided significant input in developing the map. Three routes in total have been mapped out,providing information on what wildlife to look out for. There are plans for environmental interpretation boards to be pitched on the ground, to link to Greening Tetbury’s website. The maps will be a real asset to the local community and will help the wildlife by encouraging walkers to stick to the designated paths, thereby reducing damage to the flora.

The charity has developed links with local religious organisations in the context of ecology and there is now an annual event on a June Saturday, known as ‘ Church Nature Day’ that takes place in the grounds of St. Mary’s Church, Tetbury. A Greening Tetbury trustee is heavily involved with the organisation of the event and another helps with the auditing of the birds and bees within the grounds.

Links have also been made with BART (Bristol and Avon River Trust). We are hoping to be able to help with surveying the Upper Avon, specifically the Ingleburn. One of our members surveyed the river last summer and although phosphate levels were quite low, nitrate levels were very high.

A local resident, who owns an area of land just to the south of Tetbury, made contact with our charity to ask for help with the planting of 700 trees and 7000 bulbs. We provided publicity for this scheme, asking the general public for their assistance. There was a good response. Several Greening Tetbury members also attended the planting sessions, which were held towards the end of October 2021.

The charity helped with publicising a Window Wanderland event, which took place over the last weekend of February 2022. Residents of Tetbury were encouraged to place displays in their front windows and because the theme was ‘nature’ it was felt appropriate for Greening Tetbury to help with this initiative.

Finally, to celebrate International Dawn Chorus Day on the 1[st] May 2022, the charity held an event along the path of the old railway line near the Goods Shed. The early start of 5.30am and the rain may have put some people off as there were only six persons in attendance, but the birds sang and the small group had a wonderful experience!

Future Plans

Thanks to the enthusiasm and skills of our volunteers the communication side of the charity continues to be one of our main strengths. The charity website, as the main example, is full of information about carbon-saving measures, recycling, rewilding etc.

In the month of July 2022, the charity is undertaking another ‘ Paint the Town Green’ campaign. All of the local businesses will be encouraged, as last year, to display in their windows, what measures they are taking to fight climate change. We will also have a stall on each Saturday in July in the town centre and we will be encouraging people to take part in an environmental-themed quiz.

In July there is also going to be a presentation by David Waltham, Professor of Geophysics at Royal Holloway, University of London, at the Good Shed Arts Centre, on the theme of climate change solutions.

We also hope to be able to stage another ‘ Great Big Green Week’ , which was so successful last year.

The charity has also booked a tour of the Gloucestershire Energy from Waste Facility at Javelin Park at the end of October 2022. This will give our members a further insight into what happens to the household waste in the county of Gloucestershire.

It is to be hoped that more grants will become available as a result of the government’s ‘green’ policy plans and we will be particularly interested in applying for grants that have the potential to fund renewable energy projects in the local community. As previously mentioned, Greening Tetbury is hoping to be able to help facilitate a biomethane project in the near term.

We will continue to strive to forge links with local like-minded organisations, recognising the strength in sharing information and ideas.

Financial Review

The total income in the year was £1,165 and the majority of this was from donations and gift aid. All of the outgoings were from administrative expenses.

There are two current accounts, one with Triodos Bank and the other with the Nationwide Building Society. All of the transactions in the last financial year were through Triodos Bank. The Nationwide Building Society is used to provide easy access to cash.

Administrative expenses are currently low for several reasons: everyone who works for Greening Tetbury is a volunteer, we have no paid employees; often volunteers do not claim for expenses even though they are entitled to; the charity neither owns nor rents any premises.

Investment Policy

There are insufficient funds available at present to consider long term investment.

Reserves Policy

The charity has a Reserves Policy. As per the Charity Commission guidance, the charity recognises the importance of having a reserve fund as a safety net against sudden, unforeseen expenses which could not otherwise be met. However, income and expenditure have been relatively low. We are still establishing ourselves as a relatively new charity. Consequently, we do not as yet have a reserve fund. It is anticipated that when sufficient funds, circa £3,000 are in the Triodos Bank account, a separate account will be established for the reserve fund. At the present time £500 is considered a reasonable amount to hold in the Triodos Bank current account to cover unforeseen expenses.

Structure, Governance and Management

Structure

The Management Committee consists of five Trustees. Originally three when the charity was first registered, two new trustees have been elected in the last financial year. There is also a Steering Group, with representatives from each of the Action Groups (Communication, Energy, Food, Plastics, Transport and Wildlife).

The Trustees meet up whenever there are particular issues to resolve. There is usually a two-monthly General Meeting, most of the attendees being members. There is a Google Working Document which enables any member to access and update current projects/events that they are involved with.

The Trustees and Action Group representatives met together in November 2021 and constructed a document detailing all of the recurring calendar events of the charity such as ‘Paint the Town Green’ and ‘The Great Big Green Week’.

Governing Document

Greening Tetbury is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, registered by the Charity Commission on the 28[th] May 2020. The governing document is a Constitution of a Charitable Incorporated Organisation with voting members other than its charity trustees.

Recruitment and Appointment of Management Committee

The constitution allows for a minimum of three and a maximum of eight trustees. There are currently five trustees, two of whom, as per the constitution, have to resign at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). This is by rotation, the longest serving retiring first. They will have the opportunity of seeking re-election at the same AGM. The trustees all give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity.

Risk Management

The trustees are aware of their responsibilities in regards to risk management of the charity. At present, bearing in mind that Greening Tetbury was only registered by the Charity Commission in May 2020, the organisation is relatively small with a financial turnover of under £3,000. As such, we do not have a Risk Management Register, but this will be reviewed as the charity expands. We do though have a copy of a risk assessment heat map (impact v likelihood), taken from the Charity Commission’s website (CC26).

We do discuss risk at our General Meetings, at which any of our members is able to raise concerns. For example, we wanted to have a Greening Tetbury Instagram account, as well as the Facebook one. We discussed the potential for social media ‘trolling’ and as a result, a set of rules of behaviour on the two social media outlets was created. Anyone contributing to these accounts is able to see these rules. Furthermore, three of our members agreed to monitor the site and will remove anything considered offensive. Another example: a

member of the public wanted to use the charity’s logo when leaving recycled items outside their house for anyone’s use. At one of our meetings, it was felt that whilst we agreed with the general principle, it was a risk for our charity as we would have no control over what the items would be. Therefore, we did not give permission for our logo’s use.

Risk Assessment tools are used as and when required. For example, one was undertaken when planning the ‘apple pressing’ day and another when we had the dawn chorus event.

On behalf of the trustees, I wish to thank all of our members and other volunteers for all their efforts and excellent work in the last year.

Fergus Dignan ( Chairperson)

Greening Tetbury (registered charity number: 1189693)

GREENING TETBURY (Charitable incorporated organisation)

REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

31 MAY 2022

REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 1189693

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Greening Tetbury (registered charity number: 1189693)

The trustees present the financial statements for Greening Tetbury (“the Charity”) for the year ended 31 May 2022.

The Report and Accounts are compliant with the Charities SORP (FRS 102).

The principal activity of the charity in the year under review was the advancement of environmental protection and improvement for the town of Tetbury and surrounding villages.

The surplus for the year amounted to £662 (2021: £1550).

The Trustees are satisfied that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future and, accordingly, it is appropriate to continue to use the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.

The Trustees who served during the year were:

Fergus Dignan Benjamin Jackson Rosemary Bailey Anne Cox Jessica Willows

By order of the Board:

Treasurer………………signed……………………………………… Fergus Dignan

Date……………14/06/2022…………………………………………………

Secretary……………………signed………………………………… Rosemary Bailey

Date………………14/06/2022………………………………………………

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Greening Tetbury

INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT

For the year ended 31 May 2022

Note 2022 £ 2021£ Income 3 1,165 2,045 Maintenance costs 4 (0) (0) Gross Surplus 1,165 2,045 Administrative Expenses 5 (503) (495) __ (Deficit)/Surplus for the Financial Year 662 1,550 ____

All amounts are in respect of continuing operations.

The charity has no recognised gains or losses in the year, other than the surplus stated above, therefore no statement of total recognised gains and losses has been prepared.

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Greening Tetbury

BALANCE SHEET

At 31 May 2022 Note 2022£ 2021 £ Current Assets Debtors 6 0 0 Cash at Bank and in Hand 2,212 1,550 2,212 1,550 Creditors: Amounts Falling Due Within One Year 7 (0) (0) Net Current Assets 2,212 1,550 Net Assets 2,212 1,550

For the year ending 31 May 2021 the charity was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its accounts for the year in question in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The Trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of the accounts.

These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime and in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities.

The financial statements on pages 3 to 7 were approved by the Board on 13 June 2022 and were signed on its behalf by:

Fergus Dignan Trustee Greening Tetbury…signed 14/06/2022………………………………………………………………..

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Greening Tetbury NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1. Accounting Policies

1.1 Basis of Presentation

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with the Companies Act 2006 and applicable United Kingdom accounting standards.

1.2 Taxation

As a registered charity Greening Tetbury is exempt from corporation tax.

2. Trustees Remuneration

The remuneration of the Trustees for services to the charity during the year was £nil.

3. Income

2022 £ 2021 £ Donations 375 2,045 Event 268 - Gift Aid 447 - Petty cash 20 - T-shirt sales 54 - Bank interest 1 - _ ___ 1,165 2,045

4. Maintenance Costs

There were no maintenance costs in the year. The charity neither owns nor rents a property.

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5. Administrative Expenses

_________
2022 £
Website annual charge 86
Stationary 105
Greening Tetbury T-shirts -
Hiring venues 57
Insurance 255
Donations to other charities/NGOs -
Flag
_____

503
 _
2021 £
86
94
170
-
-
70
75
__
495

6. Debtors _____________ 2022 £ 2021 £ 0 0

7. Creditors: Amounts Falling Due Within One Year

________ 2022 £ 2021 £ 0 0 8. Reserves Balance as at 31 May 2021 1,550 Triodos Bank as at 31 May 2022 2,112 Nationwide Building Society as at 31 May 2022 80 Cash in hand 20 __ Balance as at 31 May 2022 2,212

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