2024-12-31-accounts

Registered charity No: 1207682

HEDGEHOG FRIENDLY PORTLAND

Trustees’ Annual Report & Financial Statement

1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024

Please Note: This report covers the activities of Hedgehog Friendly Portland for the whole of the year 1 January 2024 - 31 December 2024. However the financial accounts only cover the period 2 April – 31 December 2024, when it had become a Registered Charity with the Charity Commission.

Charity Details

Hedgehog Friendly Portland

Hedgehog Friendly Portland (HFP) became a Charitable Incorporated Organisation registered with the Charity Commission on 2 April 2024, registered charity number 1207682.

Before that, it was constituted as a Small Charity from 9 September 2019 to 1 April 2024. In financial years 2022 and 2023, income exceeded £5,000, the maximum permitted under the Small Charity Constitution. Members attending the AGM on 25 April 2023 supported the Trustees’ proposal that HFP should become a registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). This was achieved a year later.

Charity Address and Contact Details

Address: 18 Cove Cottages, Portland, DT5 1JJ Telephone: [phone] Email: [e-mail] Facebook: facebook.com/hedgehogfriendlyportland

Charity Trustees

Christina Moody, Chair Vivien Kimber, Secretary Antje Becker, Treasurer Helen Carr Nicola Scott Joanna Morland, Co-ordinator

Staffing

The charity is run by volunteers with no paid staff. The main rescue on Portland is managed by a Trustee, with occasional relief support by trained Trustees to cover sickness and short breaks. An annex rescue is in Dorchester. Trustees and a small team of volunteers help with information and advice sessions, stalls at community events and fundraising.

Structure, Governance and Management

Type of Governing Document

Hedgehog Friendly Portland is constituted as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation based on the Charity Commission’s model constitution for Foundation Charitable Incorporated Organisations (in which the Trustees are the only Members of the charity).

Governance

The charity is governed by a Board of Trustees. Its constitution requires that there are at least three Trustees, with a maximum of ten Trustees. The Trustees meet at least quarterly. At each meeting they receive a financial statement, discuss and agree policy, activities and priorities for the coming months.

Trustee Selection

Trustees are appointed by invitation, and formally agreed at an AGM or EGM. They are selected with consideration for the range of skills and experience required to manage the charity and its activities effectively and in accordance with charity law.

Objectives

Summary of the Charity’s Purposes

For the benefit of the public to promote the conservation and protection of European wild hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) in Portland and Dorset, and to relieve the suffering of wild hedgehogs in need of care and attention by:

1. Promoting public awareness and advancing public education in the ecology, habitat and conservation of hedgehogs, their care and methods of treatment.

2. Relieving the suffering and distress of hedgehogs in need of care and attention by providing rescue, care and rehabilitation services for sick, injured, or orphaned hedgehogs with the aim of releasing such hedgehogs back into the wild whenever possible.

Summary of the Charity’s Main Activities

Providing information to the public on the ecology of wild hedgehogs and how people can help them in their gardens and communities, through articles, leaflets, talks and workshops, advice and conversations.

Receiving from the public and veterinary practices sick, injured and orphaned wild hedgehogs for treatment, care and rehabilitation, and returning viable individuals back to the wild.

Statutory Declaration on Public Benefit

The Trustees of Hedgehog Friendly Portland confirm that they have paid due regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.

Activities

Community

A core part of Hedgehog Friendly Portland’s work is to actively raise awareness of hedgehogs and how Portland residents can help them in their gardens and in the wider habitat of Portland. We do this via talks and workshops, advice in person at community events and on the ‘phone, advice posts on facebook, topical monthly articles in two local publications, and distribution of information leaflets.

In 2024 we had stalls at four community events and gave three talks at Southwell WI, Littlemoor Library and St Frances Church, Littlemoor. We regularly review and update our leaflets and distribute them widely alongside sales of knitted hedgehogs. Leaflets include Three Easy Ways to Help Hedgehogs, How to be a Hedgehog Champion, How to make a Cat Proof Feeding Station, When to Rescue Hedgehogs and 15 Hedgehog Facts.

We contributed to the volunteers’ induction training for monitoring the RSPB’s Chesil Beach Little Tern Colony Project with a session on hedgehog ecology, feeding and breeding. In 2021, the colony experienced significant egg predation by a single hedgehog. The training complements our collaboration with the RSPB in 2021/22 to design an innovative outward leaning fence to keep hedgehogs away from the electric fence surrounding the colony. It was first installed for the 2023 season and in 2023 and 2024 no hedgehogs were recorded taking eggs or chicks.

We led a half day training session for Dorset Mammal Group, attended by 25 people wishing to foster small but fit hedgehogs over winter, to support the experienced rescues in the county. We also supported the start of Hedgehog Friendly initiatives in Chickerell and Littlemoor.

Sightings

The European hedgehog is on the IUCN Red List as Vulnerable to Extinction in the UK and is a UK priority species due to declining populations under the UK Biodiversity Framework. Recording sightings helps track the size and location of the local population and contributes to national data. Developers applying for planning permission must consult Dorset Environmental Records’ database and submit a Biodiversity Action Plan which complies with the 2021 Environment Act. The Act explicitly makes biodiversity net gain (BNG) a condition of planning permission, requiring all developers to demonstrate how they will deliver a 10% improvement to the biodiversity value of any application site.

Since 2018, we have been collecting sightings of hedgehogs on Portland from residents and logging them with Dorset Environmental Records Centre in order to track the size, location and changes in the Portland hedgehog population. We logged 109 sightings in 2024 – 47 adult, 41 juveniles, and 21 dead. This is significantly fewer sightings than recorded in previous years. This may be due to a drop in the population number or simply fewer people seeing or reporting their sightings. In future, we plan to remind people regularly to report sightings in 2025 to increase understanding of this finding.

Hedgehog Rescue and Rehabilitation

Hedgehog Friendly Portland has two rescue centres – the main rescue is on Portland, with an annex rescue in Dorchester. Both are run by HFP Trustees. This is the first year that figures are presented for both. During 2024 we took in 226 sick, injured and orphaned hedgehogs in total. The largest number of admissions are from Portland, Weymouth and Dorchester, but this year, for the first time we took a significant number, 34% of all admissions, from rural West Dorset.

We had an increase of 50% in orphans over previous years, and a much higher percentage of admissions than usual (33%) died within 48 hours. Hedgehogs were arriving much sicker, and this was similar to the experience of other rescues nationally. It was attributed to extremes of weather – a very wet, prolonged winter, cold spring, then a hot, dry early-summer which may have left pregnant/nursing females struggling to find enough food and water to provide for their young, and could have contributed to increased abandonment of families. Autumn juveniles were also arriving very sick with high parasite burdens.

• 227 hedgehogs were admitted

• 77 hedgehogs were released

• 19 hedgehogs were overwintered from Autumn 2024

• 108 hedgehogs died

• 22 hedgehogs were euthanised due to their injuries/illness

• 18 hedgehogs overwintered from Autumn 2023 (released in 2024)

Financial Review

Please Note: The financial accounts accompanying this Annual Report, and this financial review, are for the period 2 April 2024 – 31 December, when Hedgehog Friendly Portland had become a Registered Charity with the Charity Commission.

Our finances continue to be healthy giving a solid foundation for the charity with £15,474 in unrestricted funds to take forward to 2025. This is sufficient to meet outgoings for at least 12 months.

Principal sources of income are public donations, including fundraising on our behalf by supporters, and sales of handcrafted items from our stalls at Portland community events and via supportive local businesses. We also received two small grants in 2024 totalling £400. Gift Aid is claimed on eligible donations and from the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme, which provide a welcome boost to funds.

Main expenditure is on rescue running costs. Although prices have risen overall, especially food and medication, total expenditure dropped slightly. Medication costs are especially low due to substantial donations from Hedgehogs Need You directly into our vet account, for which we are very grateful. Support costs include a contribution towards the rescue’s power costs and hedgehog transport costs at petrol prices based on the vehicle’s mile/litre rate.

Reserves Policy – Our reserves policy requires £5,000 to be held covering: Contingency £500, Cash Flow £1000, Maintenance £1000 and Running Costs for 6 months £3500.

Funds materially in deficit – No funds held by the charity are materially in deficit.

Declaration of Liabilities – Hedgehog Friendly Portland has no outstanding debt or liabilities, and has not given any guarantee where potential liability is outstanding.

Remuneration of Trustees – All Trustees are voluntary and receive no payment or other material benefits from their services to the charity. Out of pocket expenses incurred by Trustees in promoting the purposes of the charity are reimbursed at cost.

Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others

Hedgehog Friendly Portland does not hold any funds on behalf of others.

Thanks

….to the individuals and businesses who have supported Hedgehog Friendly Portland with donations, raffle prizes, selling knitted hedgehogs and handing out information leaflets. Particular thanks to Lorna Mortimer and Viv Kimber who between them knit, stuff, sew up and distribute knitted hedgehogs, raising significant sums, and to Fran Ball who makes hedgehog houses from pallet wood and sells them to raise funds for us. This year Grace Summers asked for donations to Hedgehog Friendly Portland instead of birthday presents, Ellie and Elinor were sponsored to walk 100 Miles in March, Lexie Scott raised funds at her school fair and we received generous donations from Warmwell Fete, St Francis Church, Littlemoor and Weymouth Spiritualist Church, Preston. Thanks to Will Gardner, City Electrical factors, Weymouth for donating an LED strip light for the hog shed and to Marco Franks for installing it, and doing other small electrical jobs in return for a donation to Hedgehog Friendly Portland. And thank you to our lovely team of volunteers who have supported us throughout the year.

Finally huge thanks all at Medivet Portland for their experti￿ in tr&iting our poorly hedgehogs, and to Paula at Paula's Wildlrfe Rescue and Tracy and Jim Dunne at Hamworthy Hedgehog Reswe for their willing and expert advice and supporL Declaratlon Approved by the Tnjstees and swed on their behalf. Helen Carr. Chair of Trustees Date: l May 2025

CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLANO AND WAIE 1207662 Receipts and payments accounts CC16a To 31112r2024 Section A Receipts and payments Al R￿1 192 41* Sub totsl{Grass iKome for ARJ {••• tsbl•l. Sub totsi sub￿ A6 Cash fvnd• la•t ryend 10,eB8 1&74 10,868 1&747 CCXX R1 at￿nts ISS)

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period fvr to r*w•t£ B1 Ca•h fund• 14747 fund• funds Detalls l)etalls Fw¥Jb)wttk Details Detsils B5 Llablllll•8 1. 5.2S CCXX R2 ISSI