Claverton Pumping Station Trust CIO Annual Report of the Trustees and Financial Statements
Period from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024
Charity Number: 1200080
Contents
| Chair’s report | 2 |
|---|---|
| Trustees Report | 3 |
| Reference and Administrative Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 3 |
| Objectives, Activities, and Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 4 |
| Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
4 |
| Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 4 |
| Maintenance Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
6 |
| The Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
11 |
| Financial Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 11 |
| Reserves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 12 |
| Declaration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 12 |
| Independent Examiner’s Report | 13 |
| Financial Statements | 14 |
| Statement of Receipts and Payments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 14 |
| Statement of Assets and Liabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
15 |
| Notes to the Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 16 |
Page 1 of 17
Claverton Pumping Station Trust CIO Chair’s report for period from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024
Chair’s report
Our second year as a registered charity was a difficult year. It was year dominated by flooding, but also by the incredible and dedicated response to the flooding from our volunteers. January 2024 saw the 3rd highest recorded flood at Claverton measuring approximately 8 foot above the floor wheelhouse floor, only the floods of 1882 and 2000 surpass it. In November 2024 we recorded the 5th highest flood in the pumps history just a few inches lower than the flood 10 months before. The January flood reached all the way up the stairs and flooded the first floor. Thankfuly, the November flood didn’t quite repeat the same feat.
In total the 2023/2024 flood season saw 18 separate floods, a further 12 floods occurred the 2024/2025 flood season. Floods season at Claverton is normally between late October and late March allowing a an open season from April until early October. However in 2024, floods continued until the 5th of April just 4 days before our first open day. Floods also started early with 3 floods between 23rd of September and the 10th of October. It is a testament to the dedication of our volunteers that, despite all odds being against us we managed to hold every advertised open day including the 9th of April 4 days after a flood, and the 12th of October less than 36 hours after a flood.
2024 was year that where the standard organisational statistics don’t really apply. We didn’t break records for fundraising, for visitor numbers, volunteer hours. Spending was down considerably as the entire winter maintenance period was spent clearing floods, and the summer was spent catching up on routine maintenance, and repairing flood beaten woodwork rather than starting new projects.
2024 was instead a year of resilience. Despite 30 floods in 18 months, our finances remain strong, the machinery is in full working order, and the building was kept open to the public as advertised. This is an incredible achievement, that shows the strength, ingenuity, and dedication of our volunteers. I would like to thank every one of them on behalf of the board of trustees.
Dr Julian Stirling Chair of Trustees
Page 2 of 17
Claverton Pumping Station Trust CIO Report of the trustees for period from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024
Trustees Report
Reference and Administrative Details
Charity Name
Claverton Pumping Station Trust CIO The charity also uses the name “Claverton Pumping Station”
Trustees
Julian Stirling (Chair) Deborah Ann Wray (Secretary) Heather Linda Higgins (Treasurer) Anthony Richard Wray Stephen Richard Teilo Denning
All five trustees are the founding trustees of the charity, appointed on the 16th August 2022. Stephen Denning and Anthony Richard Wray stood down at the first AGM on the 10th October 2024 and were both re-elected without opposition.
As per our governing document one third of trustees stand down at each AGM. Trustees standing down are free to seek reelection. Trustees are be elected at the AGM by a vote of the charity’s members.
Registered Office and Principal Address
Claverton Pumping Station Ferry Lane Claverton Bath BA2 7BH
Registered Charity Number
1200080
Governance
Claverton Pumping Station Trust CIO was incorporated as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation on the 16th August 2022. Its governing document follows the the Charity Commission’s model association CIO constitution.
Relationship with the Canal and River Trust
The Canal and River Trust (CRT) own Claverton Pumping Station, the charity maintains the grounds and pumping machinery for CRT, opening the site to the public as a museum on open days. In the past there has been some ambiguity on the roles and responsibilities of the two parties. The charity and CRT are in the process of laying out a memorandum of understanding that clearly defines these roles and responsibilities.
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Claverton Pumping Station Trust CIO Report of the trustees for period from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024
Objectives, Activities, and Performance
Objectives
The objects of the charity as set out by its governing document are:
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To promote the heritage, preservation, restoration and maintenance of Claverton Pumping Station for the public benefit.
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To advance the education of the general public in the history of Claverton Pumping Station.
Activities
The core activities of the charity are:
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maintenance of the pumping station site in line with Objective 1. of the charity.
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maintenance to keep the pumping machinery in full working order in line with Objective 1. of the charity.
Figure 1: Top: Claverton Pumping Station during the highest flood of the year. Bottom: Claverton Pumping Station with normal river levels for comparison.
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Claverton Pumping Station Trust CIO Report of the trustees for period from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024
Figure 2: Flooding and clean up. Top left: Mike, Heather, Deb, and Rob cleaning up after a January flood. Top right: Flooding on the first floor in January 2024, see the railing of the staircase to the ground floor at the left of the image. Bottom left: Julian cleaning a flood. Bottom right: Flood debris on the fences after a flood.
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opening the pumping station as a museum on public open days in line with Objective 2. of the charity.
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running the pumping station machinery for the public in line with Objective 2. of the charity
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giving both pre-arranged tours and ad hoc tours on maintenance days (when safe to do so) in line with Objective 2. of the charity.
The Trustees confirm that they have had regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.
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Claverton Pumping Station Trust CIO Report of the trustees for period from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024
Figure 3: Claverton Pumping Station on BBC and ITV news in April 2024.
Maintenance Activities
Flood clean-up
Claverton Pumping Station is designed to withstand floods. There is plenty of airflow through the building, the walls are thick and robust. and drainage channels remove water from the machine pits. However, the building contains a lot of wood. If the silt brought in by floods is not cleaned up the silt traps the moisture in the wood encouraging it to rot. As such, the quicker a flood is cleaned up, the better we can protect the building.
Flood clean-up dominated much of the year, 997 volunteer hours were spend on flood cleanup, and clearing debris from the leat. Each of the 30 floods in the 2023/24 and 2024/25 flood seasons were attended and cleared by volunteers within a day or two of the flood, often cleared within hours of the flood finishing, with cleanup beginning while the flood was receding.
The most remarkable being the flood which began on New Years eve, and peaked at approximately 8 foot high on the 5th of January 2024 flooding out the toilet block, flooding the first floor, and taking out mains electricity. Despite no guarantee of toilet facilities, running water, or power a dedicated team of volunteers attended on the 6th January while the water was still waist high in the lowest floor. They were able to restore power to the building, and begin cleaning 4 raised outbuildings that had flooded, and the flooded toilet block.
On the 7th, the flood water was rapidly receding. The best time to clean up a flood is when there is 2-3 inches of calm water receding from the pump. The silt can be stirred up with a broom to be taken away as the flood recedes. An email was sent at 8:30am asking for help to clear up the significant quantities of built up silt, by 10am an army of volunteers had assembled armed with wellies, waterproofs and brooms. By mid-day the floor at the pumping station wast above water level for the first time that year; by 2m the machinery, floor, walls (and even ceiling!) were clear of the worst of the flood silt and debris. The full clean up took multiple weeks and was interrupted by multiple other smaller (but significant) floods.
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Claverton Pumping Station Trust CIO Report of the trustees for period from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024
Figure 4: Leat clearance: Top left: winching out a tree trunk that was embedded in silt. Middle right: Julian in waders clearing trees. Top right: James modelling an impressive haul of logs from the leat. Bottom left: Paul and Rich clearing silt that built up around a fallen tree during lockdown. Bottom right: Julian and Soo-Hwa punting through fallen trees.
Flood clearance is a cold and dirty job, but our volunteers remain positive throughout even the hardest years. Their dedication has kept the building open to the public for every advertised open day, including within a few days of a significant flood. We are delighted that this effort to clear up the floods was reported on by Somerset Live, was front page news of the Bath Chronicle, and was featured on both ITV news and BBC Points West.
Leat clearance
This years floods brought with them a great number of fallen trees and other debris. We have lost count of how many trees were winched out of the river. The largest of which was required pulling out by tractor. Our volunteers are becoming quite talented at throwing grappling hooks and lassoing branches. At the end of the year our new work punt made it significantly easier to access trees in the leat and millpond.
Fallen trees that were not removed during lockdown had also silted up causing the leat to narrow at both ends. Removing a tree embedded in river silt without the help of an excavator or other plant is no easy task. Yet due to the remote location of the trees enormous long arm excavators that barely fit down the lane would be required. Instead, the trees were exposed with a series of carefully timed manual excavations, when the ground was accessible but soft. This was dirty and smelly job, and a times very hard work. The trees were then removed with a winch.
Page 7 of 17
Claverton Pumping Station Trust CIO Report of the trustees for period from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024
Figure 5: Site maintenance. Top left: Heather and Tony scraping paint from the fences. Top right: Arthur, Julian, and Paul starting to hand-wattle a fence. Bottom left. The completed wattled fence and volunteer-made gates to the storage yard. Bottom right: Window maintenance of the largely inaccessible windows, compare the right window (cleaned, and repaired) to the left.
Other site maintenance
Grounds maintenance also totalled nearly 1000 volunteer hours. The grounds are entirely free of Himalayan Balsam that due to volunteer vigilance. hundreds of hours of tree planting, strimming, hedge cutting, and pruning have left the site looking immaculate. The new work punt has allowed access to previously inaccessible areas of the millpond allowing volunteers to clear plants from the stonework of the bridge and building.
One of the biggest grounds maintenance tasks this year was the painstaking job of removing old paint from the metal fencing that surrounds the paddock. Hundreds of hours with scrapers removing flaking undercoat, but leaving the protective galvanised surface below. When the weather was not favourable for outdoor fence scraping our volunteers also restored the paintwork on our original fire buckets.
A new wattle fence and a gate were built to enclose the yard area behind our out buildings. The wattle fence was entirely built from our own hazel coppices, providing a free and sustainable source of fencing material. The fence has already proved its ability to withstand multiple floods.
Within the building, maintenance has been focused on deep cleaning and repair of wooden features that have been affected by regular flooding. Both windows on the wheelhouse were removed, cleaned, restored and replaced. Other repairs include flood boards and weather
Page 8 of 17
Claverton Pumping Station Trust CIO Report of the trustees for period from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024
boards in the wheelhouse, and railings for the machinery and staircases.
Off cuts of iroko timber that had previously been on the waterwheel were used to make new Fire Extinguisher stands.
2024 Opening Season
Our scheduled open days for the 2024 season were the second Saturday and Second Tuesday of each month from April to October plus the Early May bank holiday. For the Saturday open days and the bank holiday Monday the pump was advertised as opening with the machinery running, with the machinery static on Tuesdays.
The first open day of the year on the 9th of April almost didin’t happen. We had almost finished setting up ready to open when a late flood on the 5th of October rushed through the building scattering signage and guarding. Luckily no major damage was done to anything that had returned to the ground floor. An incredible effort by volunteers allowed us to open the building on both the 9th and 13th of April. Unfortunately, there was not time to prepare the machine for running after the flooding.
The pumping station last flooded on the 5th of April. Despite this volunteers have rallied and managed to get the pumping station ready to open for their first open days on the 9th of April and 13th of April. The 1813 pumping engine was first ran on the early may bank holiday. The machinery ran well for the entire running season with only a small adjustment needed to the fly wheel and crankshaft to stop it running into a bearing causing the bearing to knock.
Unfortunately, early flooding dampened the end of the running season. A special visit by a local club on the 24th of September was affected by waist high flood. Despite the flood many of the visitors attended anyway, and our team was able to open the sight and allow access to the top two floors of the building. Two further floods threatened our October open days, but yet again an incredible volunteer response enabled us to open both on the 9th and the 12th of October. The final Saturday open day was just 36 hours after a flood, which prevented us from running the machinery.
Paying visitor numbers (under 16s enter for free, and are not counted by our ticketing system) reduced from 511 in 2023, down 408 in 20202. The reduction is likely due to uncertainty around opening days at the start and end of the year.
Volunteer contribution
Our charity is entirely run by volunteers. All management, administration, maintenance work, grounds work, tour guiding, cleaning, etc. are all provided by volunteers. Volunteer hours remained strong in 2024, with 4713 hours (5139 in 2023). This is equivalent to the hours almost over 2.5 full-time employees. These recorded hours do not include the volunteering time that goes into administration that predominantly happens off-site. We note that volunteering numbers were incredibly strong in the first couple months of the year while volunteers were combating exceptionally regular floods.
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Claverton Pumping Station Trust CIO Report of the trustees for period from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024
Figure 6: On-site volunteer hours by month for 2023 and 2024.
Figure 7: Happy volunteers. Top left: Claverton Pumping Station Volunteer Christmas dinner. Bottom left: Volunteers Tony and Heather welcoming visitors. Right: Volunteers Mike, Paul, and Tom taking a well earned rest.
Page 10 of 17
Claverton Pumping Station Trust CIO Report of the trustees for period from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024
The Future
In the coming year we will continue our ongoing maintenance program. We look forward to hopefully a calmer and hopefully dryer year. A focus of the year will need to be on building volunteer numbers, and building volunteer skills. We are reliant on a small number of trained engine drivers and trained team leaders building these numbers up will be essential.
Our other key priority will be catching up on overdue maintenance that where our regular maintenance has been delayed by flooding, and to continue woodwork repairs when we find rot damage due to the wet conditions caused by flooding.
Most importantly, our volunteers need some time to reflect on the incredible work that they do. This past year we have weathered a storm (in fact many storms!), and come through the other side. In the longer term we will need to think of interventions to help us deal with repeated flooding. With the building being on the river and in a valley we will never be free of floods, but small carefully planned interventions could ease clean up without affecting the unique heritage of Claverton Pumping Station.
Financial Review
The Trust has had a year of limited spending compared to the previous year. We had no major projects, as opposed to the machinery repair and outbuilding projects of previous years. This year all effort was redirected to flood clear up. Even grants for purchasing tools (Headly Trust) were delayed, as the areas that these tools would normally be stored faced significant floods. While the floods have damaged woodwork, timely localised repairs have prevented the need for major repair costs. Our excellent flood preparedness and response prevent the need for any insurance claims or major expenditure replacing damaged property despite repeated flooding.
This low expenditure combined with healthy income has resulted in our unrestricted funds raising from £8,890 to £12,523 and our restricted funds raising from £7,586 to £19,552
The majority of our unrestricted income for 2024 was £3,092 (£2,688 in 2023) from ticket income on open days and from donations £1,407 (£1,767 in 2023). The major sources of restricted funding were
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£7,500 from the Canal and River Trust
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£5,000 from a grant from the Medlock Charitable Trust
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£4,000 from the Headly Trust
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£558 from the crowdfunding to for projects to increase flood resilience
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£500 from the Battens Charitable Trust
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Claverton Pumping Station Trust CIO Report of the trustees for period from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024
Reserves
The trustees have agreed to hold reserves to ensure that we are able to continue our charitable activities in the event of an unexpected loss of income. As an all-volunteer organisation our fixed costs contain no management or staff costs. Our fixed costs are primarily the ongoing maintenance and inspection of the pumping machinery and maintenance of the grounds. The trustees have agreed to endeavour to keep at minimum £5,000 of unrestricted funds in reserve. In addition to our fixed costs we must also prepare as well as possible for the periodical re-timbering of the waterwheel and other major machinery works which can cost tens of thousands of pounds.
Declaration
This report has been approved by the Board of Trustees on 15th October 2025 and signed on their behalf by:
Dr Julian Stirling Chair of Trustees
Page 12 of 17
Claverton Pumping Statlon Trust CIO Independent examine¢s for perlod from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024 Independent Examiner's Report Independent Examiners Report to the Trustees of Claverton Pumplng Sta- tion Trust CIO I report to the charity trustees on rny exarnination of the accounts of the Trust for the period from l January 2024 to 31 December 2024. Responslbllitles and bS of report As the charitys trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparatlon of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (Ihe Act). I report in respect of my examination of the Trusts accounts as Caled out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. In carying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act. I have completed my exarnination. I confirm that no material matters have cometo my atten- tion in connection with the examination which give me cause to believe that in. any material respecL" account records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Art. or the accounts do not accord with those records I have no concems and have come across no other matters in connection wtth the examina- tion to which atten on should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understand- ing of the accoun to be reached. Signed Date 12 Mrs V Jensen FCCA The Rectory Coach House Claverton 8ath BA2 78G Page13 of 17
Financial Statements
Claverton Pumping Station Trust CIO Statement of Receipts and Payments Period from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024
| Notes | Unrestricted Funds |
Restricted Funds |
Total Funds | Total Funds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2024 | 2024 | 2023 | ||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | ||
| Receipts | |||||
| Transfer from CommunityGroup |
- | - | - | 12,021 | |
| Ticket Income | 3,092 | - | 3,092 | 2,688 | |
| Donations | 850 | 558 | 1,408 | 9,520 | |
| Grants | 0 | 17,000 | 17,000 | 10,500 | |
| Gift Shop | 133 | 0 | 133 | 138 | |
| Other Receipts | 235 | 0 | 235 | 601 | |
| Sub Total | 4,310 | 17,558 | 21,868 | 35,468 | |
| Asset and Investment | Sales | ||||
| Sale of fxed assets | - | - | - | 60 | |
| Sub Total | - | - | - | 60 | |
| Total Receipts | 4,310 | 17,558 | 21,868 | 35,528 | |
| Payments | |||||
| Charitable Activities | 4 | (598) | (5,336) | (5,934) | (17,916) |
| Cost of RaisingFunds | (79) | (256) | (335) | (1,136) | |
| Sub Total | (677) | (5,592) | (6,269) | (19,052) | |
| Asset and Investment | Purchases | ||||
| - | - | - | - | ||
| Sub Total | - | - | - | - | |
| Total Payments | (677) | (5,592) | (6,269) | (19,052) | |
| Net of Receipts/(Payments) |
3,633 | 11,966 | 15,599 | 16,476 | |
| Cash Funds last Year End |
8,890 | 7,586 | 16,476 | - | |
| Cash Funds this Year End |
12,523 | 19,552 | 32,075 | 16,476 |
Page 14 of 17
Claverton Pumping Station Trust CIO Statement of Assets and Liabilities Period from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024
| Notes | Unrestricted Funds |
Restricted Funds |
Total Funds | Total Funds | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2024 | 2024 | 2023 | |||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |||
| Cash funds | 12,523 | 19,552 | 32,075 | 16,476 | ||
| Value | Value | |||||
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||
| £ | £ | |||||
| Other Monetary Assets | - | - | ||||
| Investment Assets | - | - | ||||
| Assets retained for the charity’s own use |
5 | - | - | |||
| Liabilities | - | - |
Approved by the Board of Trustees on 15th October 2025 and signed on their behalf by:
Dr Julian Stirling Chair of Trustees
The notes on pages 16–17 form an integral part of these accounts.
Page 15 of 17
Claverton Pumping Station Trust CIO Notes to the Accounts Period from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024
Note 1: Accounting Policies
Basis of preparation
These accounts have been prepared on a Receipts and Payments basis. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK (FRS102) issued on 16 July 2014 and the Charities Act 2011.
Income
Income is recorded when it is received.
Expenditure
Expenses are recorded when they are paid. Expenses on materials, small tools and equipment are written off as incurred and no valuation is included in the Balance Sheet.
Charitable Activities
Direct maintenance and site running costs —represent costs directly attributable to the maintenance and general running of the site. These costs include repairs or maintenance by contractors, the purchase of tools and materials, and fuel costs.
Governance, Administration, and Compliance costs —include the direct costs of administration of the charity. These costs include insurance, membership of associated organisation, and training activities.
Fund Accounting
Unrestricted funds —are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objects of the charity.
Restricted funds —are for use subject to restrictions imposed by the donor or through terms of an appeal.
No remuneration or benefit was paid to any trustee or any person connected with a trustee during the accounting period.
No trustee expenses were paid during the accounting period.
Page 16 of 17
Note 3: Breakdown of restricted funds
| Fund | Funds at 31/12/23 |
Incoming Resources |
Resources Expended |
Funds at 31/12/24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Canal and River Trust(annualgrant) |
5,831 | 7,500 | 4,739 | 8,592 |
| Major machinery repair |
1,755 | - | - | 1,755 |
| Flood resilience | - | 558 | 15 | 543 |
| Battens Charitable Trust |
- | 500 | 258 | 242 |
| HeadlyTrust | - | 4,000 | 580 | 3,420 |
| Medlock Charitable Trust |
- | 5,000 | - | 5,000 |
| Total | 7,586 | 17,558 | 5,592 | 19,552 |
Note 4: Breakdown of Charitable Activity Spending
| Category | Expenditure |
|---|---|
| £ | |
| Direct maintenance and site running costs |
4,256 |
| Governance, Administration, and Compliance costs |
1,678 |
| Total | 5,934 |
Note 5: Assets
The charity owns a number of artefacts related to the pumping station’s working life. it is not possible to assign a monetary figure to these items as their value is tied to their situation inside the pumping station and as our charitable objects wouldn’t allow them to be sold.
The charity has a supply of tools, equipment, and other stock materials for the daily running and maintenance of the pumping station. The trustees have not valued these items on the balance sheet as assets as they are required for the operation of the charity and are not believed to have significant resale value.
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