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RREGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1196372
FRUIT & NUT VILLAGE
Unaudited Annual Report and Financial Statements
Period Ended 30 September 2024
CONTENTS
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Reference and administrative information | 2 |
| Report of the Trustees | 3 to 7 |
| Independent Examiner's Report | 8 |
| Statement of Financial Activities | 9 |
| Balance Sheet | 10 |
| Notes to the Financial Statements | 11 to 14 |
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REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS
Registered office
126 Newlands Run Stirchley B30 2RH
Current Trustees
H Tomkins (Chair) D Edmonds A Connock E Hamnett (from 1/2/24)
Registered Charity number and Constitution
- The Charity has been constituted as a Charitable Interest Organisation.
Independent Examiner
Andrew Hopkins BVSC Accountancy Services Latham House 33-34 Paradise Street Birmingham B1 2AJ
Bankers
Unity Trust Bank PO Box 7193 Planetary Road Willenhall WV1 9DG
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TRUSTEES REPORT PERIOD ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2024
The trustees present their report and unaudited financial statements of the charity for the period from 1 October 2023 to 30 September 2024.
TRUSTEES
The trustees who served during the period and up to the date of signature of the unaudited financial statements were:
H Tomkins (Chair) D Edmonds A Connock E Hamnett (from 1/2/24)
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Governing document
The Memorandum and Articles of Association govern the charity together with the policies made by the trustees.
The charity is constituted as a Charitable Interest Company limited by guarantee. The members of the company are the trustees. In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1 per member of the charity.
We have a registered constitution which states that we are governed by a structure of volunteer trustees (also known as Board members) Board members are legally responsible for the charity and meet a minimum of 4 times a year (including committee meetings).
Methods of appointment or election of Trustees
Trustees can be appointed by the Board of Trustees, subject to confirmation at the next Annual General Meeting or nominated and elected at an Annual General Meeting.
Organisational structure and decision-making policies
The Board of Trustees meets a number of times throughout the year to oversee the charity’s strategy, finance and legal obligations.
The Executive Board meets more frequently and is responsible for the day-to-day running of the Charity including idea acquisition, projects, fundraising, website and social media, and networking and collaboration. The Executive Board reports to the Board of Trustees.
Risk management
A risk register has been established with regular reporting by the Executive Board to the Board of Trustees.
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TRUSTEES REPORT PERIOD ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2024
Objectives of the CIO
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(i) To provide or assist in the provision of facilities in the interests of social welfare for recreation or other leisure time occupation of individuals who have need of such facilities by reason of their youth, age, infirmity or disability, financial hardship or social circumstances with the object of improving their conditions of life.
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(ii) To advance education for the public benefit in particular by providing opportunities for learning about horticulture and perennial food growing.
Methods of engagement
As a CIO we have sought funding from a range of sources in order to deliver our objectives from a range of different Birmingham locations. Income levels have varied between different sources, with our three largest income streams being Hall Green Neighbourhood Network Scheme to work across Balsall Heath with residents aged over 50 or 18-49 with a specific need, Selly Oak Neighbourhood Network Scheme to deliver work with over-55s and Severn Trent Water to work broadly across the community in Stirchley. Friends of The Earth supported us in our Balsall Heath work by funding a Postcode Gardener role in the neighbourhood. Significantly, we have received income for delivering propagation workshops in the community with Midlands Art Centre and Birmingham Hippodrome and we have delivered fruit tree care sessions to Community Environment Trust, Friends of Edgbaston Reservoir and Incredible Surplus. We seek to include allcomers to our activities, therefore, even where targeted at certain sectors of the community we will ideally allow other individuals to take part in the work we carry out. Working across three different, non-contiguous, neighbourhoods of Birmingham we expect that our volunteers will involve themselves in their local neighbourhood. We do, however, have a certain level of “cross pollination”, whereby volunteers attend work sessions in neighbourhoods where they do not live or work. We also, often, have people attending work sessions, community events and work days who are not from one of our focus neighbourhoods. We reach out to people in many ways, including through conversations with passers-by on-site during work sessions, through door-knocking campaigns, through our social media platforms, our neighbourhood WhatsApp groups and posters, we continue to target people as potential volunteers when we meet them casually and to request referrals from social care workers. Word-of-mouth plays a significant role for us in bringing new interest to the project. Our monthly Bulletin is at the core of our outreach and network creation and this serves to keep people interested, engaged and informed about our activities. We have a YouTube channel that has been added to over the year. There continues to be no expectation on a session attendee to carry out physical work. Attendees regularly choose to attend just to watch or to enjoy a hot drink and a biscuit with us.
Activities carried out
Our activities broadly fall into four categories
i) regular (often weekly) maintenance sessions ii) planting days iii) workshops (e.g. propagation) and iv) community events (e.g. Wassails) Over the 12 months, up to the end of September 2024, we delivered the following sessions: Balsall Heath – 101 with average 9 attendees Castle Vale – 3 with average 10 attendees Druids Heath – 55 with average 5 attendees Edgbaston – 2 with average 10 attendees Lozells – 1 with 10 attendees Stirchley – 184 with average 11 attendees
In total we delivered 346 sessions with 3182 separate attendances. We almost delivered as many sessions as there were days in the year. We estimate that 850 separate individuals have been engaged with our charity over the period. Sessions included tree and bush planting, orchard care, grafting and propagation workshops, training and pruning workshops, site preparation sessions, community bike rides and walks, story-telling events, Wassail events, fruit tasting and identification workshops.
Achievements
We continued to maintain the work we had already initiated in Balsall Heath, Druids Heath and Stirchley alongside our small involvement in Castle Vale, Lozells and Edgbaston. Growing sites have seen significant development and increased in significance to local people and their lives.
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We began a new project working alongside Friends of The Earth, working in Balsall Heath to deliver a Postcode Gardener project.
Our charity has raised its local profile and this is evidenced by the multiple requests we have received to work alongside establishments such as Birmingham Hippodrome and Midlands Art Centre.
Fruit & Nut Village has increased its coverage by becoming more active in the neighbourhoods of Druids Heath and Balsall Heath. Although sites in these locations are less well-developed than sites in Stirchley, they are becoming more recognised and more relevant to local people. In these two neighbourhoods we have gained much new interest from local people. In Stirchley we expanded our Newlands Run linear orchard with a second row, bringing 59 attendees over a weekend to plant up a 150-metre row of trees into a very water-logged field. We brought family members and friends of, the recently deceased, Professor Benjamin Zephaniah to the second day of planting and we planted a pear tree in his honour. Later in the year we worked at a Benjamin Zephaniah memorial event at Midlands Art Centre, propagating edible perennial plants. Our Tu B’Shvat planting day, in its second year, attracted 83 attendees to Calthorpe Park in Balsall Heath. We brought together local people, asylum seekers and members of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities for an inter-faith planting day. Our Postcode Gardener worked at the session and we were fed delicious Syrian food after the trees had been planted.
We made multiple appearances on local Radio WM and also appeared on BBC West Midlands television one summer evening; our work in both Balsall Heath and Stirchley was highlighted in this report. We appeared in The Birmingham Mail newspaper in December 23 and in The Guardian in August 24; our work with Retrofit Balsall Heath was highlighted. Significantly, we installed an information board at our most well-renowned site, Kingdom Forest Garden. The board comprises a map, details of our project and the site, some guidance on site use and attractive images of the site itself. This board was significant in bringing new interest to our work since it contains contact details for the charity.
We ran two Wassails, one of which attracted approximately 120 participants, a Summer Solstice story-telling event with around 50 attendees and several community walks and rides. The walks and rides are particularly useful in bringing people to new areas to view the work that has already been carried out and to become inspired by what we are aiming to achieve. Working with both homeless and vulnerably-housed people through Birmingham City Mission and asylum and refugee groups has seen us broaden our participant base in a direction that we strongly hope to continue.
Other organisations and groups can “own” our work due to its public nature, and in September 24 Friends of Stirchley Library hosted a walking tour through some of our growing spaces. This walk quickly brought new volunteers to us. Our work in Druids Heath began to be delivered more regularly, with sessions taking place almost every week, and sessions occurring predictably through the weeks.
Delivering almost one session per day for this year has been a significant achievement, as has hosting an average group of almost 10 individuals at each session.
Summary
Significantly, we have increased the number of sessions we deliver per week from 4.9 to almost 7. We have continued to work at all the sites where we were previously active. We have planted new plants and expanded growing areas in almost all of our growing sites, with new orchards and forest gardens having been worked upon.
Volunteers are continually being recruited and we have much success at engaging with new people and recruiting them to take part in our activities. We are increasingly well-known and seen in a positive light not just across our neighbourhoods, but across the city of Birmingham and even beyond.
Next Steps
Our next challenge is to stabilise the involvement of our Area Managers in Fruit & Nut Village, by looking to employ them as staff members. Alongside this we need to expand out social media and other communications work to upgrade out internet presence, ensure information available on-line is always up-to-date and as attractively presented as possible. Maturing orchard and forest garden sites are now offering themselves as local community resources in many ways e.g. meeting places, food production, nature-connectivity, skills learning, community integration. The significance of these sites for academic research and as models for future city planning is only just beginning to enter the fore, and we expect to see this develop.
We work to a 2040 Plan where we aim to have Fruit & Nut Villages across every Birmingham ward, with intermediate targets set around 2030 to expand into each constituency.
The work at Druids Heath continues to be tough to deliver since the area is undergoing extensive redevelopment and many homes there are ear-marked for demolition. We intend to develop our sites here in a solid, forward thinking way, and to maintain our position as part of the process of neighbourhood development and remodelling.
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We will continue to deliver large numbers of high quality, well-managed, engaging and welcoming work sessions and community events across our three neighbourhoods. We will continue to work at bringing more individuals to the work that we carry out and to our growing sites.
Stability of income is high on the charity’s agenda over the coming year and beyond.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
Performance during the period
During the period the charity has sustained its income with grants and donations giving the charity an income of £93,777.
Expenditure has been spread over the charity’s direct spending on projects and support costs. All of these activities were accommodated within an expenditure of £72,787.
TRUSTEES REPORT PERIOD ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2024
Reserves policy
The reserves policy of the charity is based on an understanding of income streams (including the risk profiles of these); projected activities and contractual commitments to expenditure; and the overall risk environment in which the charity operates. Any designations and/or re-designations of the charity’s reserves will be agreed by discussion and recorded in the minutes of meetings of the trustees and Annual General Meeting of the charity.
Currently the policy is to hold an amount equivalent to approximately six months expenditure (approximately £36,000. The free reserves at the period end £39,646, representing approximately 6.5 months of normal levels of expenditure . The trustees will be reviewing the policy in the context of future plans to consider if this remains an appropriate policy.
STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES RESPONSIBILITIES
Law applicable to Charities in England and Wales requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the charity’s financial activities during the period and of its financial position at the end of the period. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees follow best practice and:
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select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
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observe the methods and principles in the Charity SORP;
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make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
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- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
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prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
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The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the charity and financial information included on the charity’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD :
H Tomkins (Chair)
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INDEPENDENT EXAMINERS REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF FRUIT & NUT VILLAGE
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Fruit & Nut Village for the period ending 30 September 2024, which are set out on pages 9 to 14.
This report is made solely to the Charity’s Trustees, as a body, in accordance with Section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. My independent examination work has been undertaken so that I might state to the Charity’s Trustees those matters I am required to state to them in an Independent Examiner’s Report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, I do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the Charity and the Charity’s Trustees as a body, for my independent examination work, for this report, or for the opinions I have formed.
Respective Responsibilities of the Trustees and Examiner
The Charity’s Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The Charity’s Trustees consider that an audit is not required for this period under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (“the 2011 Act”) and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to:
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examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act;
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follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act; and
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state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of Independent Examiner’s Report
My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the Charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and the seeking of explanations from you as Trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently, no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair view’ and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
Independent Examiner’s Statement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
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(35) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that, in any material respect, the requirements:
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to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; and
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to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act; have not been met; or
(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Andrew Hopkins BVSC Accountancy Services Latham House 33-34 Paradise Street
Birmingham B1 2AJ
15 July 2025
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STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES PERIOD ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2024
| Note Income from; Charitable activities Grants and Donations 3 Total income Expenditure on; Charitable activities Charitable expenditure 4 Total charitable expenditure Net income for the period/Net movement in funds Opening fund balance Closing fund balances |
Unrestricted funds 2024 £ 93,777 93,777 72,787 72,787 20,990 17,936 38,926 |
Restricted funds 2024 £ - - - - - - - |
Total Total 2024 2023 £ £ 93,777 36,740 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 93,777 36,740 |
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| 72,787 42,233 |
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| 72,787 42,233 |
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| 20,990 (5,494) 17,936 23,430 |
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| 38,926 17,936 |
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BALANCE SHEET AS AT 30 SEPTEMBER 2024
| Notes CURRENT ASSETS Debtors 7 Cash at bank and in hand CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR 8 NET CURRENT ASSETS TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES FUNDS Unrestricted funds Restricted TOTAL FUNDS |
2024 2023 £ £ - - 39,646 18,656 39,646 18,656 (720) (720) 38,926 17,936 38,926 17,936 38,926 17,936 - - 38,926 17,936 |
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The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 11 July 2025 and were signed on its behalf by:
H Tomkins (Chair)
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS PERIOD ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2024
1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Accounting convention
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 and the requirements of the Statement of Recommended Practice, Accounting and Reporting by Charities.
Incoming resources
All incoming resources are included on the Statement of Financial Activities when the charity is legally entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy. Goods donated are recognised when the sale of these items occurs.
Resources expended
Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs 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.
Taxation
The charity is exempt from corporation 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.
2. CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES AND JUDGEMENTS
In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates. The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS PERIOD ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2024
3. DONATIONS AND GRANTS
| Donations National Lottery Cole Charitable Trust Groundwork UK Greensquare Accord Conservation Education Severn Trent Water Birmingham City Council Friends of the Earth Trust Analysis by fund Unrestricted Restricted |
Unrestricted Funds 2024 £ 14,280 19,763 - - 14,824 - 23,695 7,015 14,200 93,777 |
Restricted Funds 2024 £ - - - - - - - - - - |
Total Total 2024 2023 £ £ 14,280 5,810 19,763 - - 1,500 - 1,000 14,824 4,000 - - 23,695 - 7,015 24,430 14,200 - 93,777 36,739 93,777 - 93,777 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS PERIOD ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2024
4. EXPENDITURE ON CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
| Expenditure on charitable activities Support costs Wages and salaries (Note 5) General office Accounting and other professional fees Bank charges Insurance Governance costs Independent examination Analysed by fund Unrestricted funds Restricted |
Direct costs £ 38,332 |
Support costs £ 33,735 24,000 8,899 72 764 33,735 - - |
Governance costs £ 720 - - - - - - 720 720 |
2024 Total £ 72,787 |
2023 Total £ 42,233 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24,000 8,899 72 764 |
12,344 12,367 72 745 |
||||
| 33,735 | 25,529 | ||||
| 720 | 720 | ||||
| 720 | 720 | ||||
| 2024 £ 72,787 - |
|||||
| 72,787 |
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS PERIOD ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2024
5. TRUSTEES
Remuneration and benefits
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the period.
Expenses
The trustees (or any persons connected with them) received £ in expenses from the charity during the period. These relate principally to the reimbursement of costs for attendance at Board meetings.
6. EMPLOYEES
| Wages and salaries Social security costs |
2024 2023 £ £ 24,000 12,344 0 0 |
|---|---|
| 24,000 12,344 |
The average number of employees during the period was 1. No employee received emoluments in excess of £60,000.
There is a volume of willing volunteers who help the charity in its activities. It Is not possible to estimate their total numbers.
7. DEBTORS
| Accrued income | 2024 2023 £ £ - - |
|---|---|
| - - |
8. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
| Accruals | 2024 2023 £ £ 720 720 |
|---|---|
| 720 720 |
9. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
There were no related party transactions during the period.
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