Climate Action Ilkley
Charity number 1189801
Annual Report and Financial Statements for the period ended 31 March 2022
Climate Action Ilkley
Annual Report and Financial Statements
Trustees' report for the period ended 31 March 2022
Reference and administrative details of the charity, its trustees and advisors.
The trustees during the financial period and up to and including the date the report was approved were:
| were: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | Dates |
| George Abramson | Re-elected 30 November 2021 | |
| Michael Daw | Treasurer | Re-elected 30 November 2021 |
| Robert Knipe | Elected 30 November 2021 | |
| Martin Nash | Elected 30 November 2021 | |
| Stephen Peel | Re-elected 30 November 2021 | |
| Neil Stevens | Elected 30 November 2021 | |
| Kathleen Steward | Re-elected 30 November 2021 |
Charity number
The charity was registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, number 1189801, on 5 June 2020.
Principal address
3 Marlborough Square, Ilkley, West Yorkshire LS29 8PU.
Bankers
To 8 December 2021:
National Westminster Bank plc, 19 The Grove, Ilkley, West Yorkshire LS29 9TA.
9 December 2021 onwards:
The Co-operative Bank plc, PO Box 101, 1 Balloon Street, Manchester M60 4EP.
Independent examiner
An independent examination is not required when a charity’s annual income is below £25,000, as is the case this financial year.
Structure, governance and management
The charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) formed on 5 June 2020 and is governed by a constitution.
Method of recruitment and appointment of trustees
The trustees of the charity are appointed by the members at the AGM.
2
Climate Action Ilkley
Trustees' report (continued) for the period ended 31 March 2022
Objectives and activities
The charity’s objects
The promotion for the benefit of the public of the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment of Ilkley, in particular:
1) by raising awareness of the causes and impact of climate change; and
2) encouraging practical steps to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and mitigate the effects of climate change.
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 the advancement of environmental protection or improvement.
Achievements and performance
Since the last reporting period, Climate Action Ilkley (CAI) has achieved the following:
Land and nature
We continued to support and develop our community orchard with the help of young and old(er) volunteers, spread across two sites near Ben Rhydding station and in Riverside Park. Funding came from Bettys Trees for Life, alongside donations from local organisations and private individuals.
We continued our campaign for local shops to stop stocking peat-based compost and encouraged members of the public only to buy peat-free.
We continued to encourage members of the public to install nesting boxes for swifts and created tree trails to increase awareness of local trees.
We held ‘balsam bashing’ sessions to help manage this invasive plant species.
We continued to develop the South Bank Project to increase biodiversity and public engagement with the natural world on a prominent area of public space in central Ilkley.
Energy
We continued to run a community scheme for residents to purchase and install solar panels on the roofs of their domestic properties.
Travel and Transport
We continued to support the use of electric cargo bikes for community and local business use (originally funded by the People’s Postcode Lottery).
We continued to promote Enterprise Car Club’s car club in Ilkley and began a project to increase the use of car sharing via a peer-to-peer car club run by Hiyacar.
We bid to the CityConnect project (part of West Yorkshire Combined Authority) to establish an active travel hub to promote walking and cycling, including an e-bike loan scheme.
Materials & Products
We continued to run a technology redistribution scheme to collect unwanted electronic devices and offer them to local families in need.
3
Climate Action Ilkley
Achievements and performance (continued)
Engagement
We ran a car-free promotion day in the centre of Ilkley, closing a public road, with refreshments, entertainment, and activities to showcase active travel and alternatives to the use of private cars.
In conjunction with Ilkley Library, we established a special collection of climate and environmentrelated books to borrow.
We collected hundreds of signatures from the public on a street stall in Ilkley for letters to our local councillors and MP urging them not to support new fossil fuel projects. We met with our MP, Robbie Moore, to stress the need for urgent action on this issue.
We held a number of other public events including talks related to: COP26; what climate change might mean for the children of today; treating the climate emergency as a spiritual emergency; shifting public subsidies away from fossil fuels; ‘greenwashing’ – are we being conned?; and (with Christchurch) the need to reduce consumption of meat and dairy.
Financial review
The net receipts for the year were £10,224, including net receipts of £2,665 on unrestricted funds and net receipts of £7,559 on restricted funds for specific projects.
Climate Action Ilkley has not been affected financially by the global pandemic. We have continued to receive income from membership fees, donations, and have successfully secured funding. Whilst at the time of signing these accounts some of the activities of the charity during the reporting period have been impacted by the pandemic in terms of being unable to carry out some of the activities and meetings we would no doubt otherwise have engaged in, the trustees have reassessed the charity’s ability to continue for at least 12 months from the date that the accounts are approved and conclude that no material uncertainties exist that cast significant doubt on the charity's ability to meet its liabilities as they fall due.
Reserves policy
The charity's free reserves at year end, excluding fixed assets, were £2,665. The charity currently has no staff and only limited assets (cargo bikes and associated equipment, original cost £15,637; prepaid insurance, cost £1,989).
The trustees discussed the following factors in arriving at their reserves policy:
-
Money should only be kept in reserve for specific reasons. Our restricted funds come mostly from membership fees and donations and we believe that our members and supporters would likely want us to spend these funds on specific activities to promote our objectives (mitigating the climate and ecological crises) rather than remain in our bank account.
-
However, it is prudent to ensure that we have enough funds to meet our essential needs that underpin our current and projected projects, campaigns, and other activities.
-
We have deemed these essential needs to be of the value of £1,400, comprised of:
-
Basic website and IT infrastructure (£230 pa).
-
Liability insurance, which (in part) allows us to run public events, and activities involving volunteers (£950 pa).
-
Trustee indemnity insurance, which provides the trustees some cover in the event of unexpected and unlikely, but potentially personally severe, eventualities (£220 pa).
4
Climate Action Ilkley
It is therefore the policy of Climate Action Ilkley to hold in reserves £1,400 to cover our essential annual needs. The trustees, in consultation with other members, will seek to allocate unrestricted monies present in our account at the end of November 2022 that exceed this figure to activities in support of our objectives.
This policy will be reviewed in twelve months’ time.
Signed on behalf of the board of trustees on 30 October 2022.
Signed: (Michael Daw, Treasurer)
Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Climate Action Ilkley
No independent examination of these accounts has taken place. An independent examination is not required because the charity’s income over this reporting period has not exceeded £25,000.
5
Climate Action Ilkley
Receipts and payments account for the period ended 31 March 2022
| Notes Receipts Grants and donations (2) Membership fees HMRC gift aid Other income Total receipts Payments Project-related (3) Printing, postage and stationary Website and IT Campaigns Room hire Online payment processing fees Accountancy Insurance (liability & trustee indemnity) Insurance (cargo bikes) Total payments Net receipts / (payments) Fund balances brought forward Fund balances carried forward |
Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Total funds £ £ £ 1159 8801 9960 1699 - 1699 548 - 548 - - - |
|---|---|
| 3407 8801 12208 |
|
| - 4880 4880 - - - 302 - 302 420 - 420 186 - 186 48 - 48 300 - 300 1372 - 1372 618 - 618 |
|
| 3246 4880 8126 |
|
| 161 3921 4081 2548 3595 6143 |
|
| 2665 7559 10224 |
6
Climate Action Ilkley
Statement of assets and liabilities as at 31 March 2022
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | £ | |
| Cash funds | |||
| Cash at bank | 2665 | 7559 | 10224 |
| Total cash funds | 2665 | 7559 | 10224 |
| Other monetary assets | |||
| £ | |||
| Prepaid insurance | 1989 | ||
| 1989 | |||
| Assets retained for the charity's own use, at cost | |||
| £ | |||
| Electric cargo bikes | 11,330 | ||
| Cargo bike trailer | 3,497 | ||
| Bike equipment | 810 | ||
| 15,637 | |||
| Liabilities | |||
| £ | |||
| Independent examination | 0 | ||
| 0 |
Approval of the accounts
The financial statements were approved by the board of trustees on 30 October 2022.
Signed: (Trustee and treasurer)
7
Climate Action Ilkley
Notes to the accounts for the period ended 31 March 2021
1. Accounting policies
Basis of accounting
The trustees have taken advantage of section 133 of the Charities Act 2011 and have prepared the accounts on a receipts and payments basis.
No changes have been made to the accounts for previous years.
There has been no change to the accounting policies since last year.
Taxation
As a charity the organisation benefits from rates relief and is generally exempt from income tax and capital gains tax but not from VAT. Irrecoverable VAT is included in the cost of those items to which it relates.
Fund accounting
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity.
Restricted funds are subjected to restrictions on their expenditure imposed by the donor or through the terms of an appeal.
Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the accounts.
2. Grants and donations
| Donations Bradford MDC Climate Action Fund Ilkley Town Council |
Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Total funds £ £ £ 1159 1371 2530 - 3050 3050 - 4380 4380 |
|---|---|
| 1159 8801 9960 |
3. Restricted funds
| Community Orchard Cargo Bikes South Bank Library Swifts Ilkley Tree Initiative Gardens |
Balance b/f Incoming Outgoing Transfers Balance c/f £ £ £ £ £ 1669 2310 106 - 3873 1926 1285 700 300 2504 - 4180 3652 - 528 - 466 422 - 44 - 260 - - 260 - 200 - - 200 - 100 - 50 150 |
|---|---|
| 3595 8801 4880 350 7559 |
8
Climate Action Ilkley
Fund name Purpose of restriction To support the establishment and maintenance of a community Community Orchard orchard. To support the establishment of an electric cargo Cargo Bikes bike scheme. To create a more bio-diverse area of public land to the south of South Bank Ilkley Playhouse. To support the sharing of climate change-related books in Ilkley Library library. To support the installation of swift Swifts boxes on buildings. To increase the amount of urban trees Ilkley Tree Initiative in Ilkley. Gardens To support wildlife-friendly gardening.
4. Related party transactions
Trustee expenses
£ Neil Stevens - reimbursement for 158 payment of IT systems Kath Steward - reimbursement for 96 orchard-related payments 254
Trustee remuneration and benefits
No trustee received any remuneration or benefit during this period.
9
Climate Action Ilkley
Income vs. Expenditure and Cash Flow Summary Charts
10