REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1190656
Report of the Trustees and
Unaudited Financial Statements
for the Year Ended 31st January 2023
for
Ashwood Charitable Trust
Ashwood Charitable Trust
Contents of the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31st January 2023
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Report of the Trustees | 1 to 3 |
| Independent Examiner's Report | 4 |
| Statement of Financial Activities | 5 |
| Balance Sheet | 6 |
| Notes to the Financial Statements | 7 to 9 |
Ashwood Charitable Trust
Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31st January 2023
The trustees present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31st January 2023. The trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019).
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
Objectives and aims
The trusts purposes are:
a) the encouragement and improvement of the science, art and practice of horticulture in all its branches b) to advance such charitable purposes as the trustees see fit from time to time by making grants to other charities
Significant activities
In order to encourage and improve the science, art and practice of horticulture in all its branches the charity will arrange lectures which are open to the public and provide training grants and mentoring to targeted individuals.
The charity will use any further donations received to provide financial grants to such horticulture and other charities as the trustees see fit each year.
Public benefit
The benefits of the lectures will be to increase the horticultural knowledge, skills and capabilities of individual attendees and more widely through the attendees' practice and sharing with others.
By providing training grants and mentoring to targeted individuals the charity will enable talented individuals to pursue and thrive in horticultural careers, benefiting both those individuals and also the field of horticulture. Discussions are taking place with Great Dixter in East Sussex with regard to a joint student sponsorship scheme and with a potential donor.
The charity will also seek to help other worthwhile causes in achieving their purposes by giving grants to UK registered horticultural and other charities.
Grantmaking
Grants may be provided to individuals for the purposes of horticultural training.
All other grants the charity makes will be UK-registered horticultural and other charities, which are known and supported by the trustees, carefully selected on the basis of need, effectiveness and the charity's available funds each year.
In terms of other charities, the charity currently has a preference for local or national charities with an emphasis on research and/or palliative care. This could include charities providing facilities for care and well-being such as emergency services, local hospices and schools providing facilities for those with disabilities or learning difficulties. Priority would be given to those where funding by government or local authorities is inadequate or totally absent.
Page 1
Ashwood Charitable Trust
Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31st January 2023
ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE Charitable activities
With a full recovery from all Covid restrictions, the 2022 season returned to normal and John's garden opened to visitors every Saturday from early February until early December. The weather was generally very good which led to a higher number of garden visitors, each contributing £6.50 towards the Albrighton Charitable Trust, our Charity of the year for 2022. The Albrighton Charitable Trust provides educational, recreational and leisure facilities for mentally, physically and sensory disabled users.They do this with horticultural training and therapy, conservation programmes and wheelchair accessible angling facilities within their sensory garden and learning centre. A summary of how they spent the money is attached with this report.
There were a number of small private donations and a Dog Agility Group gave a donation of £600 as a 'thank you' to Mr Massey for the free use of a field on Sunday mornings for their meetings. A total of £26,895 was raised for our Charity of the year and with no expenses to offset this figure, the whole sum was transferred to the charity in instalments throughout the year.
FUTURE PLANS
We look forward to 2023 when all sums raised through garden openings will be split on a 50/50 basis between selected charity of the year and the Adam Greathead Award which will support a young horticulturist to gain experience in two exceptional gardens, John's Garden at Ashwood and Great Dixter, the garden of the late Christopher Lloyd in East Sussex. The head gardener at John's Garden is also due to hold more masterclasses and the funds raised through these will also go towards the Adam Greathead Award.
Looking ahead, a trustees meeting was held on 6th November 2023 on Teams when the Charity of the year for 2024 was selected from 25 applications. The charity for 2024 will be Newlife, a Charity for Disabled children based in Cannock in Staffordshire. They loan specialist equipment to children which would not otherwise be provided through the NHS, enabling them to lead fuller lives and to go on to achieve their full potential.
Full details of John's Garden, the Charity of the Year and the Adam Greathead award can be found on the Ashwood Nurseries website - www.ashwoodnurseries.com
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT Governing document
The charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation and is governed by the CIO Foundation Constitution
Recruitment and appointment of new trustees
The initial trustees comprised four individuals who had knowledge of horticulture or other expertise beneficial to the trust. The initial trustees were appointed for terms between 2 and 5 year.
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS Registered Charity number
1190656
Page 2
Ashwood Charitable Trust
Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31st January 2023
Principal address Ashwood Lower Lane Ashwood Kingswinford West Midlands DY6 OAE
Trustees
P D Baulk N A Westwood Ms K P Gilbert C J Cartwright
N A Westwood was reappointed as a trustee on 18 July 2022. C J Cartwright was reappointed as a trustee on 28 July 2023
Independent Examiner
H Crumpton MAAT 101 Dixons Green Road Dudley West Midlands DY2 7DJ
Approved by order of the board of trustees on 28th November 2023 and signed on its behalf by:
P D Baulk - Trustee
Page 3
Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Ashwood Charitable Trust
Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Ashwood Charitable Trust
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of Ashwood Charitable Trust (the Trust) for the year ended 31st January 2023.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity trustees of the Trust you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Act').
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under Section 145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under Section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examiner's statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
-
accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by Section 130 of the Act; or
-
the accounts do not accord with those records; or
-
the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
H Crumpton MAAT
101 Dixons Green Road Dudley West Midlands DY2 7DJ
28th November 2023
Page 4
Ashwood Charitable Trust
Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31st January 2023
| 2023 Unrestricted fund Notes £ INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM Donations and legacies 26,895 EXPENDITURE ON Charitable activities Donations to charities 26,895 NET INCOME - RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS Total funds brought forward - TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD - |
2022 Total funds £ 10,894 10,894 - - - |
|---|---|
The notes form part of these financial statements
Page 5
Ashwood Charitable Trust
Balance Sheet 31st January 2023
| 2023 | 2022 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted | Total | |||
| fund | funds | |||
| Notes | £ | £ | ||
| NET CURRENT ASSETS | - | - | ||
| TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT | ||||
| LIABILITIES | - | - | ||
| NET ASSETS | - | - | ||
| FUNDS | 4 | |||
| TOTAL FUNDS | - | - |
The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 28th November 2023 and were signed on its behalf by:
N A Westwood - Trustee
The notes form part of these financial statements
Page 6
Ashwood Charitable Trust
Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31st January 2023
1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of preparing the financial statements
The financial statements of the charity, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Charities Act 2011. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.
Income
All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.
Expenditure
Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.
Grants offered subject to conditions which have not been met at the year end date are noted as a commitment but not accrued as expenditure.
Taxation
The charity is exempt from tax on its charitable activities.
Fund accounting
Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.
Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.
Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.
continued...
Page 7
Ashwood Charitable Trust
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31st January 2023
2. TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS
There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31st January 2023 nor for the year ended 31st January 2022.
Trustees' expenses
There were no trustees' expenses paid for the year ended 31st January 2023 nor for the year ended 31st January 2022.
3. COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
| Unrestricted | |
|---|---|
| fund | |
| £ | |
| INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM | |
| Donations and legacies | 10,894 |
| EXPENDITURE ON | |
| Charitable activities | |
| Donations to charities | 10,894 |
| NET INCOME | - |
NET INCOME
| TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED | |
|---|---|
| FORWARD | - |
4. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
| Net | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| movement | At | |||
| At | 1.2.22 | in funds | 31.1.23 | |
| £ | £ | £ | ||
| TOTAL FUNDS | - | - | - |
continued...
Page 8
Ashwood Charitable Trust
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31st January 2023
4. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued
Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:
| Incoming | Resources | Movement | |
|---|---|---|---|
| resources | expended | in funds | |
| £ | £ | £ | |
| Unrestricted funds | |||
| General fund | 26,895 | (26,895) | - |
| TOTAL FUNDS | 26,895 | (26,895) | - |
5. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES
There were no related party transactions for the year ended 31st January 2023.
This page does not form part of the statutory financial statements
Page 9
At the Moat & Gardens THE Recreation & education for people with di5abilitie5 ALBRIGHTON TRUST January 2023 Summary The Funding sUPPOrt received from the Ashwood Foundation during 2022 has been invaluable to the Albrighton Trust, Moat and Gardens; the previous two years had been particularly difficult, especially for fundraising. The support from the Ashwood Foundation has enabled our charity to purchase gardenin8 tools and equipment,. it makes life so much easier to have enough workable tools for everyone when working with a group: replacing well worn tools with new efficient tools. The charity has been able to add a very large vegetable and fruit cage and a wrought iron archway to their vegetable plot. The charity has been able to purchase materials and resources to carry out development work", one area of the gardens was well overdue for a makeover, the pump for a water feature leading to pond was broken, the pond linlng for the water feature had split and the wooden walkway was decaylng and needed to be replaced. There were overgrown shrubs to elther be thlnned out or replaced; watering in this part of our gardens has always been an issue and we can no longer rely on natural rainfall to keep the plants healthy, addin8 some drou8ht reslstant plants was considered a better option than some of the existing plants. A contactor was engaged to replace the wooden walkway with a non-sllp option. A group of volunteers removed the large decoratlve stone from the area so the pond liner could be replaced, and ouryoung disabled Garden Buddies set about clearing the garden beds, movin8 the decoratlve stones back in to place, adding more new ones and planting out a new drought free planting scheme. This project has given our Garden Buddies the opportunity to work on a relatively large project at every sta8e and see the result of their hard work in a short space of time. The area is much improved and looks very attractive with some added colour and a greater variety of plants. There Is stlll more work to do In 2023 to cut back plants around the pond and some re-plantin& everyone is looking forward to completing the work in this area. The charit¢s Garden Buddles have also been involved in the development a new garden we've named the'Platinum Pearl, garden to celebrate the Albrighton Trusys 30 Anniversary of supporting people disadvantaged by physical and learning disabilities or ill health, and commemorating the 70 year reign of Queen Elizabeth 11. The garden has been designed to allow people of all abilities to experience the joys of gardenin8. The charity was able to employ contractors to install high raised garden beds for people who struggle to bend, lower raised beds for gardeners who use a wheelchair. wide pathways, a seating area for those gardeners who require regular rest breaks and ground level garden beds for those gardeners who enjoy turning the soil. This is truly a garden that adds to the facilities the charity offers and will provide a glorious space for people to work in and enjoy for many years. The planting scheme has begun with tulips and Iris bulbs planted in Autumn along with beautifully healthy plants sourced from Ashwood Nurseries. in Spring more planting will be done to achieve an all year round cool, pale colour pallet with a hint of the late Queen's colour. purple. A.The AlbrightonTrust. Blue House Lane. Albrighton. NrWolvetharnpton,WV7 3FL T. 01902 372 441 W.www.albrightontrust.tsrg.uk & moat albrightontrust.org.uk Trust Paul Muiraylchaian). Mike BerwickSuzanneJaM& ArThe MBe LitthRatclrff.GrdhamWOodhre ReglsTwedC•mwnyNvmber2548012 Ite¥5teredthw1tyth IIA
One of the Albrighton Trust's regular volunteers. Tèrry, spends quite a lot of his time maintaining the charity's sensory garden, he was very keen to make significant changes to one of the beds within the garden,. with the funding support from the Ashwood Foundation it was a pleasure to say, yes, go ahead. With help from some of our youn8 Garden Buddies. Terry removed the existing plants, many were splrt and potted-up. to be sold at future plant sales and the garden bed was re- stocked with a wonderful selection of shrubs sourced from Ashwood Nurseries. alongwith some perennials propagated by the Garden Buddies in 2021. Another area of the gardens we have been able to carry work out in, is our picnic area. where we built a pizza oven a couple of years ago. A volunteer group helped to construct a gazebo as a shelter for the oven. Along one side of the picnic area we had a laurel hedge. although Laurel is great for creatin8 a good barrier, tt is not a healthy plant for wildlife; working with our Garden Buddies we removed the hedge and were able to purchase some hornbeam saplings to plant in place of the Laurel. The new hedge will look far more attrartive and will attract wildlife. We would not have considered this projett during 2022, If we had not received the support we have from the Ashwood Foundatlon. The greatest benefit ofthe generous donation from the Ashwood Foundation to the charrty has been the ablllty to employ a part-time Horticultural Therapist to meet the increased demands for our support durin8 2022. We are seeing the effects of the isolation people have experienced during the pandemic and the impact on their physical and mental health. Research has shown how beneficial it is for people's mental health and wellbelng to spend tlme outdoors in green space. The Albri8hton Trust has the resources to help and support people with a wide ran8e of needs and capabilities, from 8entle gardening activities to heavy physical tasks in a tranquil environment. Without the support from the Ashwood Foundatlon, the charity would not have been 50 well equipped to meet the increased requests for our help. A.The AlbrightonTrusL Blue House Lane, AFbrighton. NrWofverhampton.WV7 3FL T.01902 372 441 W.ww.albri9htontrust.oig.uk L moat@albrightontrust.org.uk Trustee&. Paul Murnaylchairmanl, Mikè BerwicK SUZanrJaTri5.Arn Kaan MB& Linda Ratdrff, Grahamwoodfv A•glsteodComwyiiwnbu25W)12 RQyLsteA(wtynun&r7C