OpenCharities

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

2022-06-30-accounts

CAPEL GREENBELT PROTECTION SOCIETY

CAPEL GREENBELT PROTECTION SOCIETY:

Registered Charity 1192171 ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

FOR THE PERIOD 01/07/21 TO 30/06/22

Contents

  1. Chair’s Report...................................................................................................2 2. Objectives.........................................................................................................3 3. Achievements...................................................................................................4 4. Impact and Value..............................................................................................4 5. Sponsored Organisations …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ..4 6. Other activities.................................................................................................7 7. Long Term Strategy...........................................................................................7 8. Statutory Information.......................................................................................8 9. Treasurer’s Report: Accounts............................................................................9 Appendix A.......................................................................................................... 10 /usr/local/liferay-dxp-digital-enterprise-7.0-sp3/tomcat8.0.32/temp/document5128984221897690545.docx

1 of 12 pages

CAPEL GREENBELT PROTECTION SOCIETY lusrllocallliferay-dxp-digita l-enterprise-7.0-sp31tomcat- 8.0.321temp/document5128984221897690545.docx 2 of 12 pages

CAPEL GREENBELT PROTECTION SOCIETY

Reporting Requirements

As our annual income has exceeded £25,000 we are required to have our accounts audited or independently examined. The duties of the independent examiner are quoted below. We have had our accounts so examined.

“The duty of the independent examiner is to give what is called ‘negative assurance’. After looking at the evidence the examiner reports whether or not certain matters “have come to my attention”. These include lack of accounting records and the failure of accounts to comply with the Charities Act. As well as scrutinising the accounts, the independent examiner may also help prepare the accounts in the format required and help prepare the trustees’ annual report.

When choosing an independent examiner, you should make sure that he or she is fully independent of your charity and able to carry out a proper charity independent examination. An independent examiner may be, for example, a charity treasurer or finance worker, or an accountant from industry or the public sector. The key is that they must have a good understanding of charity finance and the law.”

Our accounts for 2021122 have been independently examined by Mr Andrew Wickham, retired Chartered Accountant and Company Financial Director who reports that

“I have reviewed the Accounts and I am satisfied they reconcile to the Bank Statements.”

The examiner’s details and confirmation are to be found in Appendix A

This report is to be submitted within ten months of our year end, i.e. by 30th April 2023.

1. Chair’s Report

The CGPS financial year of 2021-2022 was a very successful one in which the charity’s objectives of protecting, educating and using the Green Belt in the Parish was well funded by the local community. We raised over £40,000 which was put to good use for the benefit of the local public. Projects supported by donations from the Charity include:

  1. Youth Groups a. Brownies b. Capel Pre-school c. Capel Primary School 2. The Parish Allotments 3. Capel Path Rangers (CPR)

/usr/local/liferay-dxp-digital-enterprise-7.0-sp3/tomcat-

8.0.32/temp/document5128984221897690545.docx

3 of 12 pages

CAPEL GREENBELT PROTECTION SOCIETY

  1. The Save Capel campaign to protect the Green Belt from overdevelopment

These projects are reported on in more detail in this report below and at the new, improved, CGPS website (https://www.capelgb.com/).

Capel Greenbelt Protection Society (CGPS) was formed in 2019 by residents of the small Parish of Capel near Tonbridge in Kent, who were concerned about the future development, use of, and education regarding the countryside around the Parish. This is a combination of Metropolitan Green Belt and the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and provides a wonderful rural backdrop to life in the small community of around 900 dwellings and 2,400 residents.

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council has included 2,100 new houses in West Capel (Tudeley) in their Local Plan period to 2038 (recently increased from 1,900) and 2,160 new houses in East Capel between Five Oak Green and Paddock Wood (recently increased from around 1,500) in its draft Local Plan.

The concerns are

  1. the pressures of modern life resulting in residents finding it more difficult to find the opportunity to take part in outdoor activities.

  2. the threat of the Parish being swamped by new housing developments, as the Tunbridge Wells Borough Council Draft Local Plan envisages putting 4,260 new dwellings out of a total of 8,500 in the plan (50 per cent) in this corner of the borough which makes up only 6.5 per cent of its area (21.5 sq.km out of 331.3 sq.km).

The Charity was registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation on 5[th] November 2019.

2. Objectives

Our Charitable Objectives are primarily to protect our local Green Belt and educate and support the General Public to use the Green Belt for their benefit.

1. To promote for the benefit of the public the conservation protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment of Capel Green Belt and High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

2. To advance the education of the public in the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment of Capel Green Belt and High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

/usr/local/liferay-dxp-digital-enterprise-7.0-sp3/tomcat-

8.0.32/temp/document5128984221897690545.docx

4 of 12 pages

CAPEL GREENBELT PROTECTION SOCIETY

We believe in

CGPS are involved in:

Our development activities will be presented as the WWW Programme – Wellness, Wilding and Walking, and will seek to encourage local people to make the best use of the countryside.

3. Achievements

Since the charity’s initial reporting period, the charity has

  1. responded to the threats in the TWBC Local Plan to build 4,260 new houses, five times the existing number of dwellings in the Parish, sponsoring a local campaign.

  2. raised Donations and successfully applied for Gift Aid from the HMRC

  3. sponsored 5 local organisations (see section 5 below)

4. Impact and Value

In its second full financial year, the impact of the charity has continued to be:

/usr/local/liferay-dxp-digital-enterprise-7.0-sp3/tomcat-

8.0.32/temp/document5128984221897690545.docx

5 of 12 pages

CAPEL GREENBELT PROTECTION SOCIETY

5. Sponsored Organisations

Capel Path Rangers (CPR)

CGPS has donated funds for the CPR to procure Brush Cutting equipment, and insurance and training for volunteers. Refocus on this organisation and support by CGPS has enabled CPR to recruit members of whom 12 have volunteered to walk the local footpaths to report any problems, ensure routes are waymarked and clear any overgrown Public Footpaths. The booklet of self-guided walks has been updated by this group and will be published in 2022 with financial support from the charity.

As a result the Path Rangers group has been re-invigorated as part of our programme to encourage and enable walking as a means of increasing Wellness.

Education

In order to encourage and foster a long-term love for local green spaces, wildlife and the outdoors, CGPS is liaising with local schools and the youth groups within the Capel parish boundaries. Through these affiliations we continue to engage with early years and school age children, their teachers and parents. The National Curriculum has a focus on the natural environment and sustainable lifestyles. CGPS will support these local schools and youth groups by helping to deliver these elements of the national curriculum and other activities that will encourage use of the greenbelt countryside. CGPS will achieve this through financial support, expertise and other materials and resources.

In 2021/22 :

• CGPS donated funds to Capel Primary School to fund the development of their “Forest School” initiative. Forest School enables children to learn about the environment, care and provide protection for our habitats and develop outdoor skills. The money given to the school by the charity has funded a teacher to become a qualified, Level 3, Forest school Instructor.

• CGPS donated funds to Five Oak Green Brownies to help restore their raised flower bed in the corner of the recreation ground. The Brownies get a lot of pleasure from planting and growing their own plants, learning not just about gardening but also the environment, wildlife and insects attracted to this part of the recreation ground whilst also enjoying and appreciating nature and the outdoors. The Brownies will be using the donated funds to buy new topsoil for the flower bed, bark for mulch, compost, tools, drip water feeders, plants, bulbs,

/usr/local/liferay-dxp-digital-enterprise-7.0-sp3/tomcat8.0.32/temp/document5128984221897690545.docx

6 of 12 pages

CAPEL GREENBELT PROTECTION SOCIETY

watering cans and bug houses. The charity has also funded a water butt for easier watering.

• We are working with Capel Pre-School. The school, catering for children aged 2-5 years, currently has a small private outdoor space and a large community area around the hall including the Community Orchard which is used to encourage and nurture the children’s love of the outside which in turn supports their health and well-being. The children love exploring to see what wildlife they can find such as worms, spiders and frogs and the Pre-School staff are planning to extend their learning and love of the outdoors by introducing more equipment such as bug hunting pots, magnifying glasses, binoculars, bird feeders, planting and gardening items and books about nature and the countryside. We will fund this work in 2022/3.

Wilding

The local Community Gardening Group has expressed an interest in working with us. We have some shared objectives. This group maintains the Community Orchard and public areas of planting in the village of Five Oak Green. The organisers of this group have an interest in ensuring sustainable planting for the village flower beds and actively include plants that attract pollinators. CGPS is considering how it can best support this organisation whilst keeping the aims of the charity in sight.

CGPS Trustees have engaged with a local farm manager regarding the new DEFRA Environmental Land Management Scheme. One of the farms in the Parish is a pilot site for this new scheme. We will continue to explore how wilding can be incorporated into the Parish as a way of enhancing the Greenbelt land.

Capel Allotments

CGPS have supported the local Parish by supporting the local Parish Council with various projects that align with the Charity’s objectives.

A very generous donation to CGPS, by two Capel parishioners, enabled the provision of a brand new, twenty-foot-long container to be delivered to the Capel Parish Council allotment site in Five Oak Green. The allotments had frequently been burgled, sheds broken into, and expensive equipment stolen such as rotovators, strimmers and other gardening tools. CGPS was able to procure the container and “gift” it to Capel Parish Council on behalf of the donors.

The availability of the solid steel shipping container allows local “allotmenteers”, who do not wish to take all their equipment home every time they visit the site, to securely store their equipment at the allotments. Capel Parish Council have recently increased other security measures in line with improving the situation at the site.

/usr/local/liferay-dxp-digital-enterprise-7.0-sp3/tomcat8.0.32/temp/document5128984221897690545.docx

7 of 12 pages

CAPEL GREENBELT PROTECTION SOCIETY

CGPS donated funds for the cost of a permanent, secure, notice board at the allotments to enable Council communications with the community to be improved.

CGPS funded the administrative costs of the Parish Council’s project to plant 5 new oak trees in Five Oak Green’s open green public spaces, to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. Fencing around the young trees will ensure a secure boundary for the community to enjoy the trees for many years.

CGPS continues to work with the local Capel Parish Council, and the Capel Parish Allotment Holders Association, to establish the requirements for equipment and to raise the standards of the local allotments. In particular this cooperation is targeting provision of:

  1. Enhanced Security solutions

  2. Gardening equipment

  3. Development of specific allotments for

  4. a. disabled people

  5. b. local schools

Save Capel Campaign

CGPS has supported a local campaign called “Save Capel” - whose sole objective is to protect the Green Belt from over-development by building developers due to the local Borough Council’s draft Local Plan. In response to the charity’s activities in sponsoring awareness and implementation of the local “Save Capel” campaign’s organisation, over 3,000 responses, overwhelmingly against the local Borough Council’s draft Plan, were submitted by local people in the Reg 18 consultation and approximately 1,000 to the Reg 19 consultation in 2021. We have helped raise money to support the local community’s campaign against the proposals, under the banner of “Save Capel”. Professional expertise has been engaged by Save Capel in the legal, planning and environmental areas to assist in responding to the local Borough Council’s draft Local Plan, facilitated by the charity.

6. Other activities

Green Belt Public Awareness Campaign

CGPS continues to publicise and promote the purposes of the charity and explain the activities that CGPS are involved in. Publicity is achieved through social media (Facebook), local publications, a presentation at the Annual Parish Meeting and through the CGPS website. This activity results in financial donations and pledges to the objectives of CGPS.

The charity submitted hearing statements and attended the Independent Examination Hearings of the TWBC Local Plan, focusing on the harm that would be done to the Green Belt if it is adopted.

/usr/local/liferay-dxp-digital-enterprise-7.0-sp3/tomcat-

8.0.32/temp/document5128984221897690545.docx

8 of 12 pages

CAPEL GREENBELT PROTECTION SOCIETY

CGPS also championed Keep Kent’s Green Spaces Day of Action on 24th November 2021 at two sites of strategic importance in terms of local threats to the Greenbelt. The Day of Action was well supported and resulted in much local media interest.

7. Long Term Strategy

CGPS believes that protecting the Green Belt in Capel is an important short-term objective. Once the status of this section of Green Belt has been secured the charity will concentrate on seeking donations and grants to sustain the CGPS WWW and Education Strategies for the benefit of the General Public. We will continue to seek grants and donations to sponsor local organisations increase public benefit from the use of the Green Belt particularly among the following groups:

  1. School age children

  2. Elderly

  3. Dog walkers

  4. Adults who may not otherwise enjoy the Greenbelt/countryside

/usr/local/liferay-dxp-digital-enterprise-7.0-sp3/tomcat-

8.0.32/temp/document5128984221897690545.docx

9 of 12 pages

CAPEL GREENBELT PROTECTION SOCIETY

8. Statutory Information

CGPS was registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) on 5[th] November 2020, charity number 1192171.

The Registered Office is: 3 Bank Farm Cottages Sherenden Lane Tudeley Tonbridge Kent, TN11 0PB

Full details are available at www. https://www.capelgb.com

The current Trustees are:

Chair Dr David Parrish Deputy Chair Konrad Legg Treasurer Robert Assirati CBE Trustee Hilary Andrews

The charity’s bankers are: HSBC UK 39 High Street Ashford Kent, TN24 8TG

/usr/local/liferay-dxp-digital-enterprise-7.0-sp3/tomcat-

8.0.32/temp/document5128984221897690545.docx

10 of 12 pages

CAPEL GREENBELT PROTECTION SOCIETY 9. Treasurerfs Report: Account5 CGPS accounts are prepared on a Cash A¢cwnting basi& CAPEL GREENBELT PROTEcnoN SIJL- 12 months ended 12 months ende June 2022 30 lune 2021 Donations re￿4 40.352.39 43,575.75 Disbu¥sements= Planning Support Legal Support Transport Support Grants to other organrsations Administrative expenses and memberships 3.1M).00 11.497.20 34.2CQ.(K) IU20. 6Xfj.47 L047.2J 791£6 164.19 Totsl outgoings 53.967.68 15.453.25 clo￿ng Bank Balan 17317.92 3L533.21 I confim) that this report and accounts are an aC￿late refi￿on ofthe CGPS thar￿S actNitsesfor the 12 months ended 30 June 2022. Na Position: Chair.-.-.__ Date: lusrllocallliferay-dxp-digita l-enterprise-7.0-sp31tomcat- 8.0.321temp/document5128984221897690545.docx 11 of 12 pages

CAPEL GREENBELT PROTECTION SOCIETY Appendix A INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT I report that the accoLFnts for the period ended 30 June 2022 were examined. withoLrt carrylng out n audit, from the records supplied to me and the infomiation and explanations given to me. l am satisfied they reconcile to the Bank Statements. Name Signature Date: Address Occupation P).lfy.IpjL- blw lusrllocallliferay-dxp-digita l-enterprise-7.0-sp31tomcat- 8.0.321temp/document5128984221897690545.docx 12 of 12 pages