## Friends of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts for the Period 1 May 2024 To 30 April 2025 ## **Reference and Administrative information** Charity Name: Friends of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Working name: Friends of Pembrokeshire Coast Charity registration number: 1201905 Address: Oriel y Parc, St Davids, Haverfordwest, SA62 6NW ## **Trustees** Ian Chambers Clare Dow John Dow Russell Downs (resigned 5 October 2024) Steve Drinkwater Janet Hazell (resigned 5 October 2024) Edward Holdaway (appointed 5 September 2024) Andrew Milne (appointed 13 November 2024) Ian Pattinson Caroline Potter Ceri Powell (appointed 13 November 2024) Angus Stott Susan Weber (appointed 13 November 2024) **Secretary:** Sarah Codrington ## **Objectives** The purposes of the Charity as set out in our constitution are as follows: To assist, for the public benefit, in the protection, conservation and enhancement of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. To advance the education of the public on matters concerned with the conservation and sustainable development of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, both locally and in its wider national and global context, especially among young people. ## **Membership** ## Friends of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts for the Period 1 May 2024 To 30 April 2025 The Charity has the following types of membership: - Single Adult Membership - Joint Adult Membership - Young Person Membership - for those aged 18 to 25 - Business Membership ## **Main activities of the Charity** : ## Events We arrange a varied programme of events, with one or two events each month. Our programme contributes to the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. Some events are only open to members but most are available for any interested member of the public to attend ## Communications One of our core purposes is to raise awareness of the Park. This can include promoting its special qualities and heritage. It also covers highlighting the issues, threats and challenges affecting it. Twice a year, in April and October we produce a full colour magazine ( _News and Views_ ) which is distributed free of charge to our members. Members can receive the magazine in either paper form or electronically. The magazine contains in-depth articles on themes ranging from nature, history, local businesses, developments in policy at local and national levels and other national parks in the UK. The latest version is exclusive to our members for 3 months after publication, but then is added to our e-magazine archive which can be accessed by any member of the public via our website. We keep our members, business members and partners informed about the latest news concerning the Friends, the Park and external issues impacting the Park through our email newsletter, _Friends News Update_ . This is published every two months throughout the year. All issues can be accessed via our website. We promote both the Park and the Charity to the public with a view to raising awareness and recruiting new members. We advertise in the National Park newspaper, _Coast to Coast_ , every year and issue local press releases on important Friends of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts for the Period 1 May 2024 To 30 April 2025 news and policy matters. Members of the Executive team also give presentations to other community groups and run promotional stands at events. We maintain a presence on selected social media platforms, posting on Park issues and our work. ## Work Party We arrange and undertake weekly conservation work parties which make a major contribution to the conservation and enhancement of the Park and we are regarded as safe and able hands, willing to do any task anywhere in the Park. Projects are usually performed in collaboration with National Park rangers, though we also do work for the National Trust, especially on the Stackpole estate, and with other conservation charities. Typically, our work party contributes the equivalent of some 3 00 volunteer days in the Park each year. ## Campaigns and Policy One of our purposes is to assist, for the public benefit, in the protection, conservation and enhancement of Pembrokeshire's National Park. To achieve this: - We act as a 'critical friend' of the National Park Authority as it carries out its statutory role. - We act as watchdog on other authorities whose activities affect the Park. - We act as a consultee to the Welsh Government and UK Government on issues affecting the Park. We are a member of the Campaign for National Parks and a founding member of the Alliance for Welsh Designated Landscapes. We also work with other groups who seek to conserve our countryside. We monitor local policies and developments which have an impact on the Park, aided by our vigilant members and the public. We only get involved with local planning applications where we feel they will have a detrimental effect on the environment of the Park and its enjoyment by the public ## Friends of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts for the Period 1 May 2024 To 30 April 2025 We also respond to Welsh Government and UK Government policies, often as part of a campaign led by one of our partner organisations, but also in our own right, where the impacts to the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park are specific. ## Community Projects An important part of our work is engaging with the local communities in Pembrokeshire and surrounding counties to promote a deep appreciation of the special qualities of the National Park, especially among young people and families. We also seek to engage with the tourist community, a vital part of the local economy, seeking to get visitors to look beyond the beaches and appreciate the special qualities of the National Park. ## Project Fund Our Project Fund provides small grants for up to £1500 for projects aimed at schools, community organisations working with young people and other charities for projects or activities that further the aims of the Charity. We support projects that: - Conserve or enhance the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park; and/or - Enhance understanding of the special qualities of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park or nature. These may be capital projects, such as: - the building of an outdoor classroom at a school - the provision of outdoor learning equipment, such as gardening tools; - planting trees or wildflower meadows; or - equipment or facilities for conservation charities. We will also consider applications to cover expenses, such as transport or attendance costs for pupils to an activity within the Park or an outdoor learning experience. A panel from the FPCNP Executive Committee will assess applications against the following criteria: - Promotes understanding of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park - Furthers conservation or biodiversity improvement in the National Park and/or Pembrokeshire Friends of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts for the Period 1 May 2024 To 30 April 2025 - Furthers sustainable development within the National Park and/or Pembrokeshire - Value for money In recent years, the Project Fund has been providing funding to the National Park education programme where we have helped to fund additional visits to corners of the National Park that schools may otherwise not have access to. ## St Brides Pump House In 2000/2001, the Charity carried out the restoration of the St Brides Pump House and its 100-year old pump and engine and continues to be responsible for the maintenance of the building, the surrounding garden, the engine and the pump. ## **Highlights from 2024 - 2025** Completion by the Chair walking the whole of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path and videoing this so all of the membership are able to experience the landscape and history of the National Park. Videos are available through our website and YouTube channel. ## **Membership** The introduction of a new free Youth membership category (18-25 yrs) to encourage Youth engagement together with the appointment of a Youth Champion. Nine Youth members had joined by May 202 5. Membership numbers remain broadly level at around 400. 40 members did not renew their membership this year, fewer than non-renewals last year (when we increased subscriptions), but higher than historical records. A trend in the last two years is that, increasingly, long-standing members are citing advanced age as a reason for leaving. Transfer of our membership system from a basic spreadsheet to a cloud-based service which can be accessed by the members to view and maintain their own data. This has greatly streamlined the member management process and has facilitated adoption of improved interfaces for payment collection. ## **Policy and planning** ## Friends of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts for the Period 1 May 2024 To 30 April 2025 We responded to the consultation on the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Partnership Plan 2025 - 2029. The Plan sets out how the National Park Authority (PCNPA) will care for the Park and its iconic landscape over the next five years. Our response to the consultation document can be read via a link on the Policy and Campaigns section on our website. In particular we commented on the role of partnerships in preparing and delivering plans. Already, several National Parks, especially Eryri and Bannau Brycheiniog, have involved stakeholders in the whole process to good effect, through the formation of Partnerships. We are supporting the establishment of such a forum We have been monitoring the position of major developments which are likely to have an impact on the National Park and which will be the subject of formal planning applications in the near future. The Newgale Coastal Adaptation Project, led by Pembrokeshire County Council, has been the subject of a statutory pre- application consultation, to which we responded. It is expected that a planning application will be submitted to the National Park Authority during 2025. The MoD is proposing to redevelop Cawdor Barracks, Brawdy as the UK host site for the DARC (Deep Space Radar Capability) radar programme. Although this is outside the National Park area, the erection of the radar station is likely to have a visual impact on the Park. The proposal will be the subject of a planning application to Pembrokeshire County Council to which we will be responding. The Friends broadly support the Campaign for National Parks project on National Marine Parks as the Friends have long held the view that the marine dimension of the National Park could be included within its boundaries and recognised as such nationally and should be planned and managed as one with its land area. ## **Workparty** With over 1400 hours worked across the Park, and the equivalent of over 300 volunteer days, the Workparty have carried out the usual variety of jobs. The biggest winner, as always, is helping with the eradication of Himalayan Balsam - either sessions pulling balsam or sessions doing winter clearance work to open up areas to focus on in the following growing season - 15 sessions in total. We have been working regularly with the Park Community Archaeologist - 11 sessions on a mix of sites - mostly helping to keep iron aged forts clear of bracken and bramble so they are preserved and more obvious for people visiting sites. On one day, we dug hard ## Friends of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts for the Period 1 May 2024 To 30 April 2025 and planted over 2000 trees as part of the Connecting the Coast project. We helped The National Trust at Southwood with their continuing programme of fence removal to allow their 'no fence cows' roam further over the estate. And with a nod to one of the first ever Workparty jobs, we gave the Strumble Head Lookout a much needed lick of paint. ## **Structure, Governance and Management** The Charity was registered with the Charity Commission as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) on 10 February 2023. All the remaining funds of the unincorporated charity Friends of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park (No 10120911) were transferred to the Charity by the end of April 2025, prior to the removal of the old charity from the Register of Charities. The governing document of the Charity is the constitution as approved by the Charity Commission on registration (available on our website). New charity trustees can be appointed either by the members at the AGM or by cooption of the trustees, in accordance with clause 13 of the Constitution The trustees have delegated the day to day management of the Charity to an executive committee, which includes trustees. The Charity therefore has some nonexecutive trustees and some executive trustees. The executive committee may exercise all the powers and functions of the trustees except the powers to: - Employ and remunerate staff - Appoint a new charity trustee - Approve the annual statement of accounts and the trustees annual report The executive committee meets once per month and the full trustees meet once every six months, with other ad hoc meetings as required. The Secretary is not a trustee but attends executive committee meetings and full trustee meetings. According to the constitution, one third of the trustees are required to retire by rotation at each annual general meeting. ## **Vision and Strategic Objectives** ## Friends of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts for the Period 1 May 2024 To 30 April 2025 We carried out a review of our Vision and Strategic Objectives in 2023. These are described as follows: ## Vision ‘FPCNP, as an independent charity, works with local organisations and communities to protect, conserve and enhance the PCNP for all to enjoy. FPCNP also supports a wide-ranging education and events programme which appeals to its diverse membership and the wider public.’ ## Strategic Objectives **SO1** - Engage with external organisations in order to ‘position ourselves’, develop our USP and guarantee our future. **SO2 -** Restructure our Trustees/Exec and those engaged in ‘delivering’ in order to be more robust in the face of future challenges and work strands. **SO3 -** Develop and communicate an educational element to future events and publications which reflects PCNP and wider environmental issues. **SO4** - Undertake a membership recruiting programme targeted at a younger and ethnically diverse demographic. The components of a plan to meet these strategic objectives are kept under review and the actions taken are reported regularly to the full trustees. ## **Financial Review** The charity increased its reserves during the year by £4,242.95. The charity holds reserves enough to cover running costs for a year which we estimate on average to be £10,000. Any reserves held over that amount are used for project expenses. Total reserves held £42,431.27 ## **Treasurer’s report and statement of accounts for the year 1 May 2024 to 30 April 2025** The annual statement of accounts is annexed to this report. ## Friends of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts for the Period 1 May 2024 To 30 April 2025 Overall performance and reserves. - The operating surplus for the year was £4,243 made up of a general surplus of £5,938 and a deficit of £1,695 on project expenditure. We have accumulated significant reserves for projects and the deficit merely represents the decision to spend the reserves. - Our total reserves at the end of the year were £42,431. We made a decision to maintain a general reserve for approximately £10,000 and keep the balance for project expenditure. ## Income The significant income items in the year were: - 100 Club income net of prizes £1,607. - Membership subscriptions totalled £8,290, an increase of nearly £800 on the subscriptions in the previous year. - Donations totalled £1,031. - Gift Aid claims for the previous and the current years totalling £3,157. ## Expenditure Our key items of expenditure are as follows. - News & Views net of advertising revenue cost £2,224. - AfWDL and Campaign for National Parks membership fees and costs of attending conferences totalled £1,568. - Working party expenses of £1,309 which are part of project costs. - We supported the Schools’ Project with £2,174, also part of project costs. ## Balance sheet Our balance sheet represents accumulated reserves held in cash at Lloyds Bank and a 95-day account with Redwood Bank. Our accounts at Barclays Bank and CAF were closed after the old charity was closed down. ## **Declarations** In accordance with Charity Commission requirements, the Trustees of the Charity confirm that the activities of the Charity have been, and are being, delivered for the Friends of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts for the Period 1 May 2024 To 30 April 2025 public benefit and that they have had due regard to the Commission’s public benefit guidance when exercising any powers and duties to which the guidance is relevant. The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above. ## **Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees** |**Signature**|**John Dow**| |---|---| |**Full name**|**JOHN DOW**| |**Position**|**Trustee**| |**Date**|**11 January 2026**| Frlends of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Balance Sheel as at 30th April 2025 2025 2024 Current Assets Lloyds Current -Treasurers alc Lloyds Deposit - Instant Access alc Redwood Bank Barclays & 100 Club alc P2yPal CAF & CAF Gold alc Debtors & Prepayments Total Current Assets 4,495.87 14.264.68 25,000.00 0.00 144.08 9.99 20,000.00 000 2.802.00 29.38 18,614.87 0.00 41,456.24 188.64 44,093.27 Current Llabilities Accruals Life Members Income 100 Club Monies Total Current Llabllttles 540.00 990.00 132.00 1,662.00 1,401.61 1,350.00 516 31 3,267.92 NET ASSETS 42.431.27 38,188 32 Reserves General reserves Project rese￿e$ Total Reserves 10,451.80 31,979 47 42.431.27 28,188.32 10,000 00 38,188.32 The above accounts have been prepared by the Treasurer of the Friends. The books. vouchers. balance sheet and lolals of income and expenditure have been Independently venfied. and oveTall, give an accurate posrtion of the assels of the Organisalion as al 30th April 2025. Gemma J3me5 Indepen4Jenl Examiner 12th Augvst 2025 Sue Webei Treasurer 12" Au8USt 2025 **Income & Expenditure Year to April 25** ## **Friends of Pembrokeshire Coast National Par** |**Income**
N&V Advertsiting
Gift Aid
100 Club
Membership Subs
Donations
Bank interest
**Total Income**
Memb'ship & Affils
Admin costs
Honorary Member
Rebrand & leaflets
Meeting Rooms
AGM Costs
Xmas Lunch
News & Views
Bank Chgs
Schools Project
Skomer Equipment
Competition prizes
Working Parties
Pump House Costs
**Surplus/(Deficit) for year:**
Reserves 1st April 2024
Transfer between reserves
**Reserves 30th April 2025**|**General**
**Projects**
**Total**
245.00
245.00
3,157.35
3,157.35
1,606.51
1,606.51
8,290.00
8,290.00
91.80
939.28
1,031.08
616.01
616.01| |---|---| ||12,400.16
2,545.79
14,945.95| ||1,567.60
1,567.60
1,279.05
1,279.05
45.00
45.00
419.49
419.49
115.00
115.00
203.55
203.55
140.50
140.50
2,469.48
2,469.48
222.31
222.31
2,173.50
2,173.50
385.99
385.99
105.00
105.00
1,309.39
1,309.39
267.14
267.14| ||6,461.98
4,241.02
10,703.00| ||5,938.18
-1,695.23
4,242.95
28,188.32
10,000.00
38,188.32
-23,674.70
23,674.70| ||10,451.80
31,979.47
42,431.27| ## **Memb'ship & Affils** |AfWDL meeting travel costs
AfWDL membership 24/25
AfWDL membership 25/25
Campaign for National Parks
National Park Conference
**Admin Costs**
Postage stamps
Flowers for Trustee leaving
Projector Screen
Member Mojo subscription
Various admin costs May 24
Website licence
Annual insurance|111.60
150.00
150.00
536.00
620.00| |---|---| ||1567.60| ||13.60
28.50
30.00
95.00
126.09
144.00
841.86| ||1,279.05|