2024-12-31-accounts - Transition Wilmslow

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Transition Wilmslow

Trustees Report

For the period ended 31 December 2024

Charity Name	Transiton Wilmslow
Charity number	1201884
Registered Address	Quaker Meetng House,
	1A Bourne Street, Wilmslow,	Cheshire, SK9 5HD.
Website	www.transitonwilmslow.org
Trustees	Andrew Backhouse (Chair)
	Lata Anderson
	Florence Collier
	Jacqueline Gradwell
	Jean Hill	Retred 17 November 2024
	Georgie Johnson	Retred 12 December 2024
	Lisa Johnson	Retred 9 October 2024
	Lisa McClory
	Ken Wallace
	Florence Collier	Appointed 11 July 2024
	David Hughes	Appointed 12 December 2024
	Gary Parker	Appointed 12 December 2024
Ofcers	Chair	Andrew Backhouse
	Treasurer	Jacqueline Gradwell
	Secretary	Lisa McClory Appointed 31Dec2023
Bankers	Co-op Bank, 1 Balloon St, Manchester
	Yorkshire Building Society

Structure, Governance and Management

The charity is registered with Charities Commission (England and Wales) as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation. The charity is operated under the rules of its constitution dated 9 February 2023.

Board of Trustees

Trustees are technically the members of the CIO and are appointed from the wider pool of active participants in the work of Transition Wilmslow to bring a range of experience and skills to the Board. The trustees who served during the year are listed in the front of this document.

New trustees are given access to the Constitution and the latest accounts, are encouraged to undertake trustee training provided by Cheshire East Council for Voluntary Service, of which Transition Wilmslow is a member, and have their role explained by a current member of the Board.

The Role of Trustees is:-

To agree the organisational budget and ensure that legal, financial, HR and other requirements are met, in particular maintaining accounting records, and to produce annual accounts and an annual report.
To regularly review the governing document and the charity's activities, and ensure that the charity operates within its remit and objectives
To consider the future sustainability of the organisation — balancing what is needed now with what will be needed in the future, actively considering options relating to diversification and income generation, ensuring that funding strategies comply with good practice and ethical considerations.
To ensure that the funding/financing strategy is implemented effectively.

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

A minimum of 14 days’ notice is given for the AGM, with the documents sent out including the annual statement of accounts and trustees’ annual report.

Trustee Meetings

The trustees meet at least quarterly, including a public AGM

Public Benefit Statement

The Trustees, in their meetings, have referred to the Charities Commission guidance on Public Benefit, including the guidance "public benefit: running a Charity (PB2)' ln making their decisions.

This Is to ensure that the charity's activities provide public benefit and promote the charitable objectives as set out in the charities governing document.

Objectives

Transition Wilmslow aims to build a sustainable town by working with people across our whole community to look after our natural environment, address climate change and share skills and knowledge. We undertake actions relating to our mission via a range of regular groups including food, trees, energy, transport and others.

Charitable Objects

The charitable objects of Transition Wilmslow are:

(a) to advance the conservation, protection and improvement of the natural environment and the prudent use of natural resources for the benefit of the public in Wilmslow, Handforth and

surrounding areas through promotion, awareness raising and skill sharing to build community resilience to combat climate change and resource scarcity; and

(b) to advance the education of the public in the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment.

Groups and Activities

Transition Wilmslow established a series of groups to encourage activities which support its charitable objectives:

Community Gardens
Tree and Woodland Group
Energy Group
Transport Group
Lindow Moss
Environment and Planning
Repair Cafe

The activities of Transition Wilmslow and its groups are set out in its published Annual Report which can also be found on our website at https://www.transitionwilmslow.org/news

Meetings

Transition Wilmslow has regular monthly meeting, usually the 3rd Thursday at 7.30PM at the Friends Meeting House on Bourne Street Wilmslow, to catch up with progress from our groups, discuss areas of interest and plan events.

Trustees Remuneration and expenses

The trustees receive no remuneration The trustees can claim expenses (e.g. mileage)

Independent Examination of accounts

The charity's accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024 have been prepared by the trustees. Because the gross income of the charity is between £25,000 and £250,000 its accounts are required to be subject to external scrutiny, and the trustees have chosen to have an independent examination of the accounts. The report of the Independent Examiner is on page 5.

Financial Review

These accounts cover the period 1 January to 31 December 2024, being the first full financial year of Transition Wilmslow charity.

During 2024 the charity has received £31,868 (2023: £11,385). The majority of the income comprises grants, donations and other fundraising activity relating to Lindow Moss which gave rise to £26,613 of income, with the Gardens and Repair Café projects also generating £1,500 and £1,310 respectively.

The expenditure in the period amounted to £34,299 (2023: £4,139) of which £26,962 related to Lindow Moss projects and £2,961 related to the Plot to Plate project.

In the period the charity generated a net outflow of funds of £2,431, compared to a net inflow of £7,246 in the previous period.

At the end of the period the charity had £17,287 (2023: £19,718). in cash funds. £12,290 of these funds are restricted or designated for specific future projects.

2024 marked the 40th anniversary of the discovery of Lindow Man and a significant amount of Transition Wilmslow’s activity during the year was related to marking this anniversary. Grants were received from a number of sources including Wilmslow Town Council, Cheshire East Council, Groundwork and Manchester University. This funding enabled Transition Wilmslow to establish and run the Discover Lindow programme of educational and community-focused events during the year.

During 2024 we started to use a self-employed administrator for some of our work to ensure completion and improve communications. We also received a small grant to train people in using the portable appliance tester for the Repair Cafe and from Wilmslow Town Council towards developing a pond to boost biodiversity at the Land Lane Community Garden. Both the Repair Cafe and the Community Gardens brought in donations to help our work.

There is a Reserves policy to ensure adequate free reserves are available to cover any unforeseen expenditure. The minimum reserves for 2024 were set at £4,000. The policy is subject to periodic review by the Board of Trustees.

Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of Transition Wilmslow

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Transition Wilmslow (“Charity”) for the period ended 31 December 2024.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees of Transition Wilmslow, 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 Charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the 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

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.

Signed:

Name: Ian Smallwood

Address: 21 Highfield Crescent, Wilmslow SK9 2JL

Date: 4 September 2025

Transition Wilmslow Accounts for the period from 1 January to 31 December 2024

Receipts and payments Note A1 Receipts 4 Donations Fund raising event receipts Grants received Interest received Gross income for Annual Return A2 Asset and investment sales Sub total Total receipts A3 Payments Admin Donation Equipment Events Fund raising events Garden supplies Insurance Misc Publicity Rent Room hire Internet Training Sub total A4 Asset and investment purchases Sub total Total payments Net of receipts/(payments) A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds at start of year Cash funds at end of year 10	Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds Total funds 31/12/24 Total funds 31/12/23 £ £ £ £ £
	2,057.33 0.00 0.00 2,057.33 4,967.88 2,935.98 0.00 0.00 2,935.98 321.95 0 26,395.00 0.00 26,395.00 5,871.00 479.19 0.00 0.00 479.19 224.13
	5,472.50 26,395.00 0.00 31,867.50 11,384.96
	0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
	0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

	5,472.50 26,395.00 0.00 31,867.50 11,384.96
	645.00 0.00 0.00 645.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 26.99 24.98 9,746.53 0.00 9,771.51 378.00 910.77 12,946.13 0.00 13,856.90 0.00 0.00 185.00 0.00 185.00 630.44 877.63 722.72 0.00 1,600.35 970.51 529.03 300.00 0.00 829.03 756.88 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 687.49 352.38 5,943.97 0.00 6,296.35 388.89 21.00 0.00 0.00 21.00 96.00 502.00 80.00 0.00 582.00 0.00 0.00 492.46 0.00 492.46 143.88 19.35 0.00 0.00 19.35 60.00
	3,882.14 30,416.81 0.00 34,298.95 4,139.08
	0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
	0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

	3,882.14 30,416.81 0.00 34,298.95 4,139.08
	1,590.36 -4,021.81 0.00 -2,431.45 7,245.88 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 11,566.08 8,152.68 0.00 19,718.76 12,472.88
	13,156.44 4,130.87 0.00 17,287.31 19,718.76

Transition Wilmslow

Accounts for the period from 1 January to 31 December 2024

Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Total funds 31/12/24 Total funds 31/12/23 £ £ 4,666.48 4,037.12 50.00 0.00 12,570.83 15,681.64 17,287.31 19,718.76 Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds Total funds 31/12/24 Total funds 31/12/23 £ £ £ £ £	Total funds 31/12/24 Total funds 31/12/23 £ £ 4,666.48 4,037.12 50.00 0.00 12,570.83 15,681.64 17,287.31 19,718.76 Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds Total funds 31/12/24 Total funds 31/12/23 £ £ £ £ £	Total funds 31/12/24 Total funds 31/12/23 £ £
		4,666.48 4,037.12 50.00 0.00 12,570.83 15,681.64
		17,287.31 19,718.76
0.00 0.00	0.00 0.00 0.00
0.00 0.00	0.00 0.00 0.00
	Cost Current Value Current Value £ £ £
	0.00 0.00 0.00
	0.00 0.00 0.00
	Cost Current value Current value £ £ £
	0.00 0.00 0.00
	0.00 0.00 0.00
	When due Amount due Amount due £ £ 0.00 0.00
		0.00 0.00

Signed on behalf of all the trustees

Signature	Print Name	Date of Approval 4 September 2025

Notes to the Accounts - Accounting Policies

1. Basis of accounting

These accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant note(s) to these accounts.

The accounts are prepared on the Receipts & Payments basis.

2. Going Concern

The accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis.

3. Prior Period Accounts

The prior period figures represent the period from 9 February 2023 when the Charity was set up through to 31 December 2023.

4. Income

a. Recognition of Income – Income is included in the Receipts and Payments Account when the charity receives the funds.
b. Offsetting – there has been no offsetting of assets and liabilities, or receipts and payments. c. Tax reclaims on donations and gifts – Gift aid is included in the income when it is received from HMRC. Any gift aid is treated as part of the gift and is include in the same fund as the original donation unless donor has specified otherwise.
d. Volunteer help – the value of any voluntary help received is not included in the accounts.
e. Income from interest and dividends is included in the accounts when received

5. Assets

a. Cash funds are measured at the amount of cash/ funds held in banks.
b. Other Monetary Assets (including trade debtors and loans receivable) are measured on initial recognition at settlement amount after any trade discounts or amount advanced by the charity. Subsequently, they are measured at the cash or other consideration expected to be received.
c. Investment assets (e.g. quoted shares, traded bonds and similar investments) are valued at initially at cost and subsequently at fair value (their market value) at the year end. The same treatment is applied to unlisted investments unless fair value cannot be measured reliably in which case it is measured at cost less impairment.

6. Liabilities

Liabilities are listed where it is more likely than not that there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to pay out resources and the amount of the obligation can be measured with reasonable certainty.

7. Acting as Agent

Income is collected specifically for passing to other bodies and so does not represent income for the Charity. These are not included in the Receipts and Payments Account.

8. Direct Taxation

All the activities of the Charity are charitable and therefore exempt from income tax, capital gains tax and inheritance tax. There are no trading profits on which corporation tax is payable.

9. Fund Accounting

The use of funds is determined by the following categories:

Unrestricted - General Funds that are freely available for the purpose of the Charity and Designated Funds which have been set aside for specific purposes but remain at the discretion of the Charity.
Restricted - Earmarked by the donor or testator for certain specific purposes.
Endowment Funds - The capital must be preserved and only the income may be used for the specific or general purposes stipulated by the donor or testator

10. Fund balances at year-end

A breakdown of the balances in each fund at the end of the year is shown below:

General fund
Designated funds:
- Lindow Moss
- Friends of Lindow Moss
- Repair Café
- Gardens
- Trees
Restricted funds:
- Discover Lindow Moss Civic Trust
- Discover Lindow Moss Groundwork
- TN_Plot 2 Plate
- WTC_PAT Testing
- Riverside_Events
- SchoolsArt Lindow
- TN_Zoom&Market
- Land Lane Food Forest
Total funds

Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
Endowment
funds
Total funds
31/12/24
Total funds
31/12/23
£
£
£
£
£
4,997.31
0.00
0.00
4,997.31
4,848.41
4,997.31
0.00
0.00
4,997.31
4,848.41
947.25
0.00
0.00
947.25
3,962.94
2,860.00
0.00
0.00
2,860.00
0.00
442.54
0.00
0.00
442.54
990.06
2,328.69
0.00
0.00
2,328.69
1,764.67
1,580.65
0.00
0.00
1,580.65
0.00
8,159.13
0.00
0.00
8,159.13
6,717.67
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
500.00
0.00
994.12
0.00
994.12
0.00
0.00
796.59
0.00
796.59
3,757.67
0.00
500.00
0.00
500.00
0.00
0.00
1,255.02
0.00
1,255.02
1,693.99
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
2,000.00
0.00
45.14
0.00
45.14
201.02
0.00
540.00
0.00
540.00
0.00
0.00
4,130.87
0.00
4,130.87
8,152.68
13,156.44
4,130.87
0.00
17,287.31
19,718.76