2021-03-31-accounts - Sussex Wildlife Trust

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Trustees’ Report & Annual Accounts 2020-21

Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly © Bob Eade

Reference and Administrative Details

Charity name: Sussex Wildlife Trust Charity number: 207005 Company number: 698851

Registered and Principal Office Address:

Woods Mill, Henfield, West Sussex, BN5 9SD

Auditor :

RSM UK Audit LLP Portland 25 High Street Crawley West Sussex RH10 1BG

A resolution to appoint auditors to the charitable company will be proposed at the Annual General Meeting.

Bank:

Barclays PLC The Old Bank High Street Lewes East Sussex BN7 2JP

Directors and Trustees:

The Directors of the charitable company (the Charity) are its Trustees for the purposes of charity law and throughout this report are collectively referred to as the Trustees.

The elected Trustees serving during the year and since the year end were as follows:

Dr Sean Ashworth Chair of Council (up to 17th November 2020)

Nitin (Nick) Pasricha Chair of Council (from 18th November 2020)

Linda Clark Honorary Treasurer and Chair of the Finance, Audit & Risk Committee

Simon Linington Honorary Secretary

Sarah Bonnot-Tijhaar (Up to 18th November 2020) Jon Cooper (from 14th November 2020) Mike King (up to 15th December 2020) Martin Kyndt (from 18th September 2020) Helen Marshall (from 16th September 2020)

Emma Montlake

Dr Alan Stewart

President:

Dr Tony Whitbread

Vice Presidents:

Mr Robin Crane CBE

Dr Lisbet Rausing

Mr David Streeter OBE

Senior Management Team:

Tor Lawrence Chief Executive

Steve Aldridge Director – Finance

David Bolton Director – Communities & Wildlife (from 14th September 2020 until 30th April 2021)

Henri Brocklebank Director – Conservation Policy and Evidence

Emma Forward Director – Operations (until 21st May 2021)

Caroline Pearce Director – Fundraising and Communications

Dan Ross Director – Land Management

Maria Jonsson Acting Director – Business Support (from 1st June 2021)

TRUSTEES’ REPORT & ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2020-21

Chair’s Report

It is with great honour I present my first report as Chair of Council of the Sussex Wildlife Trust. The past year has been a challenging one for all of us and SWT’s response to these challenges has shown once again what a great organisation it is. I have seen this first-hand in the way staff, volunteers and members have pulled together and united with a shared ambition for wildlife in Sussex.

Nitin Pasricha © Miles Davies

The Trust has been championing wildlife and wild places in Sussex for 60 years, deepening people’s understanding of the beauty and importance of our natural world. To my joy this did not stop when we were faced with a global pandemic; instead there was a growing appreciation of the wildlife around us.

Thanks to the generosity of our members, donors and supporters, SWT remains financially stable. Generous legacies and donations received in the year have allowed us to extend our nature reserve at Ebernoe Common, with the purchase of Willand Wood and the Warren completing just after the year-end. Whilst 2020-2021 was an uncertain time for many, our membership numbers increased and our engagement activities thrived in their new online format.

Our Land Management teams continued to manage our downland, woodland, heathland and coastal reserves so that wildlife continues to thrive on them. We carried out ecological surveys and meticulously recorded wildlife observations so that our management is the best it can be. This year was also a milestone year for our marine work with a focus on the restoration of the Sussex kelp forests through the partnership Help Our Kelp campaign. During 2020-2021 we also completed the construction of the new flagship Discovery Centre at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve and following the internal fit-out, our long awaited and successful opening took place in May 2021.

I am incredibly proud of the staff who have worked tirelessly to keep the Trust going during the past year and how they have shown resilience to the changes thrust upon them during the Covid-19 pandemic; they have demonstrated a continued commitment to the wildlife and wild places in Sussex. Likewise, I thank our furloughed staff for their patience and commitment to returning to work safely. I would also like to extend thanks to our volunteers who, despite being unable to take part in volunteering activities for much of 2020-2021, have shown a keenness to stay connected to nature and support our cause.

We are all aware that wildlife and the environment that supports it, and us, is under great pressure. Yet in the face of this pressure Sussex Wildlife Trust, its volunteers and members have proudly taken positive action to protect wildlife sites and to connect people with the wildlife around them. I remain positive in our belief that our 35,685 members, 250 active volunteers and 100 staff can and do make a difference.

On behalf of my fellow Trustees, we are proud to have played our part in protecting the wildlife of Sussex for all to enjoy and thank you all for your continued support. With all this in mind, I am pleased to present the Annual Report for the year ending 31 March 2021.

Nitin Pasricha Chair

Field Cricket © Derek Middleton

Objectives and Activities

SWT’s objects, as detailed in our Articles of Association (2019), are

i) To conserve the Sussex land, seascape, wildlife and habitats for the public benefit
ii) To survey, monitor, record and study, for the benefit of the public, sites, areas and habitats of botanical, zoological and geological or other scientific interest or of natural beauty or of landscape value, to protect them from ill treatment, degradation or destruction and to improve their quality
iii) To establish, promote, maintain and manage wildlife sanctuaries or nature reserves or marine conservation areas for the conservation of flora, fauna and features of geological interest and so far as it is compatible with this Object, permit public access to them
iv) To encourage the breeding of flora and fauna which are interesting or threatened
v) To promote study and research for the advancement of knowledge in the natural sciences and biodiversity and to publish the results of that research
vi) To educate and encourage the public in an understanding of the natural history and wildlife of Sussex
vii) To promote good practise in furtherance of sustainable development and biodiversity

With regard to the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit, the Trustees believe that the provision of such benefit is an integral part of each of the charitable objectives.

These objectives have been incorporated into the SWT mission statement: to conserve and enhance the Sussex landscape, its wildlife and habitats and to use our knowledge and expertise to encourage people to enjoy, understand and take action to safeguard our natural heritage for future generations.

TRUSTEES’ REPORT & ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2020-21

The Trustees are pleased to present their annual Trustees’ report together with the consolidated financial statements of the charity for the year ending 31 March 2021. These are also prepared with the purpose of meeting the legal requirements for a Trustees’ report and accounts in accordance with the Companies Act 2006.

The financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019).

Structure, Governance and Management

Governing document

The Sussex Wildlife Trust is a company limited by guarantee under the Companies Act and is governed by its Articles of Association adopted on 9th November 2019.

Organisation

The Sussex Wildlife Trust is governed by its Council which is responsible for setting policies, ensuring legality and good practice in accordance with the Articles of Association of SWT and the Companies Act 2006. The routine management of SWT is undertaken by the Chief Executive under delegated powers.

committee system. They are advised of appropriate Trustee training courses and are encouraged to attend.

Trustee review and evaluation

During the year the national restrictions imposed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic impacted how SWT continued to operate. All governance activities moved seemlessly to operate via web-enabled technology platforms with no impact on the governance operations. In parallel, all staff moved swiftly to home based working in an efficient manner, which Trustees are incredibly grateful for.

Remuneration of Senior Management Team

Recruitment and appointment of Trustees

In accordance with the Articles of Association, Trustees are elected by the Membership at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). At each AGM one third of the Directors must retire by rotation, with those who have been longest in office since their last appointment retiring first. Directors can offer themselves for re-election but no Director shall serve for a period of more than nine consecutive years. On the expiration of such a period and the retirement of the relevant Director, a further year must lapse before that person shall be eligible for reelection to the Council. Nominations for new Trustees are considered each year prior to the AGM and are put forward for election at the AGM. When considering coopting Trustees, the SWT Council has regard to the requirement for any specialist skills needed.

Trustee induction and training

New Trustees undergo an induction programme. During this they meet the Senior Management Team and other employees and gain an understanding of their legal obligations with regards to charity and company law, the Articles of Association and the structure of the

Trustees delegate the management of the Trust to the Chief Executive. The Chief Executive heads a Senior Management Team that includes six operational directors. These are considered to be the key management personnel of the Trust. Remuneration for the SMT is reviewed annually and includes a benchmark review of all 46 Wildlife Trusts and where available other similar sized charities operating in the South East managing similar levels of operational complexity.

The Wildlife Trusts partnership

SWT is a member of The Wildlife Trusts Partnership (registered as the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts, registered charity number 207238) which acts as an umbrella body carrying out lobbying and public relations on behalf of all Wildlife Trusts. The charity has the use of The Wildlife Trusts logo and benefits from the resources, best practice and speciality experience of other member Trusts. Membership gives us a national voice and profile, as well as being known by association for those unfamiliar with our particular work. However, each member of the partnership remains entirely independent in terms of governance and operations.

Strategic Report

Achievements and performance

A coherent ecological network

As the country went into lockdown in March 2020, the Trust team were tasked with the complexities of navigating organisational critical operations under the new restrictions. Despite the challenges, we worked very hard to maintain our grazing programme, and critical ecological monitoring and site maintenance on reserves, but sadly had to pause our group volunteer activities. Tree safety work continued, with significant focus on Ash Dieback work in high risk areas.

During the spring of 2020 lockdown many more people enjoyed our nature reserves, the vast majority doing so in a responsible way and respecting wildlife, but we also unfortunately noted an increase in anti-social behaviour after the first lockdown ended including fly tipping, littering, unauthorised camping and barbeques leading to several fires. Our Land Management Team worked closely with local rural crime teams to control and help raise awareness of issues.

Whilst biological recorders in Sussex had to focus their efforts nearer to home this year the Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre’s work continued at an unprecedented pace. The service saw a 20% increase in use over the year, and continues to regularly update its partners with high quality data.

Work has continued with the Sussex Local Nature Partnership supporting Sussex organisations to prepare for the much anticipated Environment Bill. This includes developing Sussex Nature Recovery Networks, the application of Biodiversity Net Gain and looking at what investment in nature could look like in the future.

Development remains a major concern in Sussex. Most notably our team lobbied against the revised national planning algorithm, wrote a full response to the Horsham Local Plan and commented on numerous specific planning applications that posed specific threats to wildlife. As always there are more threats than we can respond to, therefore the team takes a strategic approach as far as possible, working closely with national colleagues.

After a brief pause, the work of the Local Wildlife Site Initiative was able to continue and was pleased to update a number of surveyed Local Wildlife Sites with accurate data and site boundaries.

With landowner visits largely cancelled, we have been delighted that both the Sussex Flow Initiative and the new Wilder Horsham District Project have both managed to meet their project targets. Despite the circumstances

we were pleased to share the project’s Nature Recovery Network maps with decision makers at Horsham District Council.

This has been a milestone year for our marine work at Sussex Wildlife Trust. Despite the postponement of our Shoresearch and Seasearch activities, focus has been largely on the restoration of the Sussex kelp forest. We were rewarded in late March with the implementation of the Sussex near-shore trawling byelaw, which has been a huge celebration of the potential for marine habitat restoration, and a celebration of partnership working.

Across our Reserve Portfolio there were numerous ecological highlights, including:

At Rye Harbour Nature Reserve a female Swallowtail butterfly Papilio machaon arrived and laid eggs that we then nurtured to chrysalis stage. BBC Countryfile visited the reserve and we were able to tell the story of Marshmallow Moths whose Red Data Book population is doing well at Rye
Heath Tiger Beetle Cicindela sylvatica was found at Iping Common again, after it was believed to be extinct on the reserve
Field Cricket Gryllus campestris territories continue to do well at Iping Common and Burton Mill Pond
Field Fleawort Tephroseris integrifolia ssp. integrifolia , categorised as Endangered by the IUCN, was found at Ditchling Beacon for the first time since 1985
Dartford Warbler Curruca undata was heard singing for the first time at Butcherlands this February. After a territory was set up in 2019, and was returned to in 2020, singing could indicate the presence of another male
Large Conehead Ruspolia nitidula was recorded at Old Lodge. This is only an occasional migrant and often only recorded along the south coast. Its presence at Old Lodge, typically a colder microclimate than the rest of Sussex, could indicate that this incredibly loud bush-cricket may be much more widespread than previously thought
One of the Isle of Wight White-tailed Eagles Haliaeetus albicilla was recorded over Southerham Farm reserve very briefly whilst being harangued by the local Ravens
After quite a hard graze at Malling Down late last winter, a significant patch of Basil Thyme Clinopodium acinos , classed as Vulnerable by the IUCN, was found in July 2020

TRUSTEES’ REPORT & ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2020-21

Dartford Warbler © Paul Roberts

Some highlights from our work on our nature reserves include:

Completing the second phase of work towards heathland restoration at Burton and Chingford Ponds LNR
Applying for five Countryside Stewardship Schemes at Amberley Wildbrooks, Waltham Brooks, Ebenoe Common, and Rye Harbour
Obtaining a grant of £10,650 from Sussex Ornithological Society for work on Amberley Wildbrooks to carry out habitat improvements for breeding waders, especially lapwing
Working with Natural England and partners to get condition assessments information for Amberley and Waltham, including new water quality monitoring, also pulling together bird and vegetative surveys
Progressing the purchase of Willand Wood and the Warren (Streels Lane) woodlands, to boost the size of Ebenoe Common
Consulting the public about how we manage Ditchling Beacon into the future as part of the Changing Chalk project
On Stedham and Iping Commons a successful Community Infrastructure Levy bid will fund improvements to the access points from the car park, which gets very muddy in winter

People inspired by, connected to and valuing nature

In March 2020 the Covid-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of our programme of adult engagement and education events. Sussex Wildlife Trust immediately adapted to producing online content and for the first six months of the pandemic our daily diaries and blogs, tutorials and identification courses proved extremely popular. The eight-session ‘Beginners Guide to Butterflies’ online course was viewed by thousands of people and was later repurposed into a successful recruitment offer. We were even able to hold weekly lockdown bird races which were (virtually) attended each week by hundreds of people, providing an interactive event during the restrictions.

Field Fleawort © Glenn Norris

From autumn 2020 our focus changed to a programme of online webinars aimed at engaging, entertaining and inspiring people. These included wildlife identification talks and webinars promoting SWT campaigns. Our regular ‘Nature Table Live’ webinars allowed us to interact with SWT members. From November-March these webinars were attended by well over 20,000 people. The incredible feedback we have received has indicated how valued and well received these webinars have been. This new platform allowed us to reach our largest and most diverse audience ever. These online events also generated £15,000 in donations to the Trust and played a major role in membership increase and, no doubt, membership retention.

Face-to-face activities for our National Lottery Heritage Fund projects, Wild Coast Sussex and Discover Rye Harbour, were largely put on hold, leading to grant extensions for both. Our work with schools also suffered with the closure of our education centres at Seven Sisters and Woods Mill and the postponement of Nature Tots, Forest School and Wild Beach training and delivery,

resulting in a number of Communities and Wildlife staff being furloughed.

During this period, the Communities and Wildlife department started to undergo a restructuring process in order to create a high impact, engaging and innovative strategy that mobilises individuals and communities across Sussex to take positive action for wildlife and wild places.

A leading wildlife organisation in Sussex

We continue to develop our relationship with businesses in Sussex through our partnership schemes and corporate volunteering days, helping organisations to demonstrate their support for the natural environment. In an uncertain year for corporate organisations, our business membership saw a 3.2% increase in members and a 3.3% increase in income during the year.

The Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre now has over eight million records, providing an excellent evidence base for local planning authorities, land managers, consultants,

TRUSTEES’ REPORT & ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2020-21

local recording groups and individuals interested in the wildlife in their local area.

We lead on a number of exciting partnerships delivering projects throughout Sussex, including the Help Our Kelp, Gatwick Greenspace Partnership, the Sussex Flow Initiative, and Wild Coast Sussex and we co-lead Wilder Horsham District. We are also members of the Local Nature Partnership, the Heritage Coast Partnership and the Cuckmere Estuary Partnership.

Rye Harbour Discovery Centre Summary

The construction of the new flagship Discovery Centre at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve was completed during the year and the internal fit out and interpretation was undertaken. The service trench was dug to connect to the mains in the village. Opening was delayed due to Covid-19, but detailed planning was undertaken and staff were appointed to the National Lottery funded Discover Rye Harbour project which will enable a range of learning and engagement activities.

Plans for the future

The year 2020/21 has fundamentally changed and upskilled our approach to online communications and we will be building on this to enable a range of learning and action-based activities.

During the year we started to refresh our Strategy, alongside contributing to the development of the national Wildlife Trusts strategy, with an emphasis in Sussex on;

Enabling diverse communities to take action for wildlife across Sussex
Restoring large scale landscapes at sea and on land
Creating climate resilient landscapes and thriving wildlife habitats
Reviewing our entire delivery offer to the public due to the learnings from Covid-19 and the dual ecological and climate imperatives
Continuing to deliver a broad and dynamic programme of habitat and infrastructure management work throughout our nature reserves, helping to ensure that they remain some of the best places for wildlife and for people to engage with nature in Sussex
Extending our ownership at Ebernoe Common, with the purchase of Willand Wood and the Warren, made possible through legacies and donations
Continuing to deliver the ecological monitoring strategy throughout SWT’s reserves, including vegetation surveys at Butcherlands wood pasture project, breeding bird surveys at Butcherlands, Woods Mill and Filsham Reedbed, and invertebrate surveys at Amberley Wildbrooks and Ebernoe Common
We are thrilled with the passing of the bylaw to prevent trawling along the West Sussex Coast and will continue to champion the restoration of the Sussex kelp forest with key partners
The Rye Harbour Discovery Centre opened in May 2021, under Covid-19 restrictions, and we will deliver a range of educational activities through the Discover Rye Harbour project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. We will be working to ensure the Centre is financially self-sustaining, primarily through the café and shop. We will continue to work closely with the Friends of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, who have been integral to the success of this project
We will continue to advise landowners, farmers and practitioners in the creation of resilient landscapes and natural climate solutions
We are carrying out a review of volunteering, which has included a survey of views, which will inform a range of improvements going forward

Volunteers

Volunteers have continued to support all of the Trust’s work and where it was safe to do so, some volunteering took place across the county. We were able to complete small group, socially distanced conservation tasks, outdoor school visits, pilot Youth Rangers tasks (16-25 year olds), and individual volunteering roles in ecological surveys, data evaluation, membership support and lookering. In particular, a group of four Volunteer Reserve Managers at Gatwick area land, as part of the Gatwick Greenspace Partnership, were able to complete practical conservation, tasks, piloting new ways of working that helped create volunteer protocols that were safe, efficient and clear for staff and volunteers to follow.

In 2020 we had 250 of our 627 volunteers return to volunteering roles safely. We provided a range of online opportunities for volunteers to stay connected to the Trust, such as online training courses and social events. We also had online training for our Volunteer Reserve Managers and Walk Leaders in order to be ready to volunteer safely when it was safe to do so. Once restrictions eased at various points in the year we were able to have face-to-face training for ecological survey volunteers and lookerers. In addition, the pandemic created opportunities for remote volunteering to support uploading rock pool surveys and WildCall data.

We moved our volunteer e-news from quarterly to monthly and added online social events to ensure volunteers were kept informed of local wildlife, Covid-19 updates and the work of the Trust. During 2020 the Volunteer Handbook was revised and is now published on the SWT website. As we returned to volunteering we also updated all volunteer records.

Donated services

We were pleased to receive pro-bono training and mentoring support during the year from GWiz Learning Partnership. A value of £10,620 has been reflected within the accounts and this Trustees’ Report. SWT did not receive any other donated services during the year (2019/20: £0).

Financial Review

Despite the severe restrictions and constraints experienced nationwide throughout the year to manage the Covid-19 pandemic, 2020/21 was financially a record year for SWT with net income a substantial £2.7m. Legacy income of £2.8m was the single greatest contributor to this year’s record result, £1.7m of which was specifically donated for the Rye Harbour Discovery Centre in its final year of construction.

In a year of very limited ability to connect with members face to face, the creativity and ingenuity of the staff team to engage with members using technology was well received. Additionally the ability of the membership team to pivot and innovate by developing effective new membership recruitment methods was well rewarded with a small increase in both member numbers and membership income, in what was an extremely challenging year. This support suggests the importance nature played in the lives of people during the pandemic, and specifically how members valued SWT, for which we are extremely grateful.

The dedication and commitment of all staff throughout a particularly difficult year of unplanned homeworking, together with the financial benefit of the Government furlough scheme, which provided income of £227k, resulted in continued effective delivery of activities for the benefit and value of SWT members and our increasingly important wildlife.

Credit is also due to the leadership team and all staff in the application of careful cost management, which resulted in expenditure of £4.3m, being a reduction of £261k on the previous year.

Despite expenditure on the Rye Harbour Discovery Centre of £1.5m, SWT ended the year with £1.1m more cash, providing SWT with a good level of financial resource as we navigate the way forward through continued uncertainty as the world navigates its way out of the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

During the past year we have benefited from the generosity of our members and Wildlife Guardians who continue to demonstrate their love of nature and support for us with their donations. Special thanks go to all the Charitable Trusts that have supported our work. We are particularly grateful for the legacies left to SWT this year.

Having reviewed the forecast income and expenditure, the Trustees consider the charity to be a going concern, on the basis that SWT has sufficient financial reserves to continue trading for the foreseeable future including the twelve months from the date of approval of these accounts.

Principal risks and uncertainties

The Trustees have taken a pro-active approach to risk during the year. We reviewed and improved our organisational risk register and introduced regular risk reporting by the Chief Executive to Trustees. We have also ensured a detailed focus on any area which is regarded as high risk.

Examples of mitigation undertaken are:

Engagement of management consultants to oversee the construction of the Rye Harbour Discovery Centre with a particular focus on ensuring best value Recruitment of a dedicated Operations Manager with a remit for Health & Safety to boost staff resource and enable legal and regulatory compliance A Safety Action Plan is in place and monitored via the Health & Safety Management Committee with regular reports to Council. Progress has been further enabled by investment in a new Health & Safety Management software system
Complete review of all Safeguarding Policies and Procedures, overseen by an independent consultant and including the appointment of a Trustee Safeguarding Lead, in addition to staff training Development of a structured tree safety policy and action plan across all woodland sites Complete review of all chainsaw and power tools use across the Trust including the introduction of a new policy and systems
Engagement of professional contractors to advise and manage the borehole water supply at Southerham Farm and further work towards enabling a connection to the mains water supply
Complete review of all aspects of the vehicle fleet to improve safety and organisational efficiencies and reduce carbon emissions
Maintenance plans and infrastructure improvements at Woods Mill and Southerham Farm to ensure facilities are safe and fit for purpose
Following of all government guidelines in relation to operating a business during Covid-19, including risk assessments, safety guidelines and a roadmap out of lockdown

Financial reserves policy

During the year, the Trustees reviewed and revised the financial reserves policy in line with current Charities SORP requirements and relevant guidance. The revised policy, in place at the end of the financial year, is:

“The reserves policy which requires unrestricted reserves to be maintained at a level which would allow the core work and activity of SWT to continue during a period of unforeseen difficulty and that the reserves are held in a readily useable form; that is readily available or convertible to cash should the need arise.”

TRUSTEES’ REPORT & ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2020-21

Financial Performance Highlights

Total income £7.06m (2019/20 £5.53m)

Unrestricted income £3.8m (2019/20 £2.74m)

Donations and legacies £2.7m (2019/20 £1.76m) Legacy income of £930k received during the year Charitable activities £705k (2019/20 £876k)

Restricted income £3.26m (2019/20 £2.49m)

Charitable activities - £1.1m (2019/20 £1.45m) Included in above in 2020/21, was £1.91m of restricted legacy income

Total expenditure £4.36m (2019/20 £4.63m)

Raising funds £1.0m (2019/20 £1.35m)

£353k decrease in membership promotion and other fundraising costs due to Covid-19 restrictions limiting face to face recruitment activity Charitable activities £3.36m (2019/20 £3.27m)

Membership

We were pleased to see a small growth in membership in 2020/21, despite the severe curtailment in our usual recruitment and retention activity due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We ended the year with 35,685 individuals in 20,183 households.

Although the number of members recruited was lower than budgeted, we enjoyed higher than anticipated retention rates, ending the year with a slightly increased income compared to the previous year.

Income from membership £1.69m (2019/20 £1.67m) Number of members as at 31st March 2021 35,685 (2019/20 35,163)
Membership numbers have increased by 1.5% this year, compared to an 8.2% increase in the previous year

Designated funds allocation

There has been a decrease of £220k, leaving a balance of £537k. Expenditure during the year was for the most part on Ash Dieback remedial work. Some planned investment (membership recruitment) did not happen due to Covid-19 restrictions efficiency.

----- Start of picture text -----
Income
Unrestricted Restricted
54% 46%
Expenditure
Non
Charitable
23%
Charitable
77%
Cost of Fundraising
Revenue
fundraising
19%
Net fundraising
revenue
81%
----- End of picture text -----

Capital projects

The Rye Harbour Discovery Centre construction has been completed. The building opened to the public (under Covid restrictions) in May 2021, offering a café and shop, large modern interpretation space, an event space, and an education centre.

Retained funds £14.06m (2019/20 £11.36m)

Details of all our income can be found on page 16 of the Annual Accounts.

Member numbers

----- Start of picture text -----
35000
2021
2020
2019 35,685
35,163
30000 34,015
25000
----- End of picture text -----

“The calculation of the reserves level is an integral part of the regular financial management, monitoring and budgeting process. It takes into account items on the risk register, the financial cost of mitigating risks, variability and the potential for fluctuation of budgeted income and expenditure levels and SWT’s future commitments. The main risks to income and expenditure are highlighted and a calculation made of the financial consequences of adverse movements.”

At year-end the reserves policy recommends holding financial reserves that are in a readily useable form of between £1m and £1.25m. Our total funds at year-end were £14m of which £5.2m are restricted funds and £8.8m unrestricted funds. Unrestricted funds include funds tied up in tangible and heritage assets, funds set aside for specific designated projects and readily useable funds of £2m. The Trustees consider that this level of funding will enable SWT to absorb any financial shocks arising out of the ongoing pandemic whilst continuing to invest in the protection and recovery of wildlife in Sussex.

Trustees’ Responsibilities in Relation to the Financial Statements

The Trustees (who are also Directors of Sussex Wildlife Trust Limited for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

Select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently

Investment powers and policy

Under the Articles of Association, the charity has the power to deposit or invest funds. The investment policy is:

To invest those surplus funds not required for immediate use
To obtain a reasonable income from those funds, given prevailing market returns To invest only as permitted by the investment powers of SWT as set out in the Articles of Association

During the year, SWT has continued to retain the majority of its funds on deposit and the Trustees are of the opinion that this policy has been a prudent one. The Trustees review the investment policy from time to time but given our ongoing obligations it has not been felt appropriate to change this approach in the past year.

Professional fundraising practices

Sussex Wildlife Trust uses third party agencies to fundraise on its behalf for specific campaigns. In this financial year this included a third party for recruiting new members to the organisation through private site face to face fundraising and a third party for recruiting new members through telephone fundraising. The charity has agreements in place with its partners to ensure that the legal requirements regulating fundraising practices are adhered to.

Fundraising regulation compliance is regularly reviewed by Council. Sussex Wildlife Trust is an organisational member of the Institute of Fundraising and is registered with the Fundraising Regulator. Sussex Wildlife Trust and its third party agencies comply with the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Fundraising Practice and are signed up to its Fundraising Promise. Sussex Wildlife Trust and its third party agencies follow the sector’s guidance on protecting vulnerable people. Our Complaints Procedure complies with the requirements of the Fundraising Regulator, and during the financial year we received ten complaints about fundraising activity.

Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP
Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent
State whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose, with reasonable accuracy, at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

In so far as the Trustees are aware:

There is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company's auditor is unaware The Trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information

The Trustees’ Annual Report is approved by order of the Council of Trustees and the Strategic Report included therein is approved by the Council of Trustees in their capacity as Directors at a meeting on 28 July 2021 and signed on their behalf by:

On behalf o f the Trustees

Nitin Pasric ha Chair Woods Mill, Henfield, BN5 9SD

TRUSTEES’ REPORT & ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2020-21

Independent Auditor’s Report

to the Members of Sussex Wildlife Trust

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Sussex Wildlife Trust (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 March 2021, which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities (including the Summary Income and Expenditure Account), the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 March 2021 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;
have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the Trustees’ Report other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The Trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the Trustees’ Report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

the information given in the Trustees’ Report, which includes the Directors’ Report and the Strategic Report prepared for the purposes of company law, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
the Directors’ Report and the Strategic Report included within the Trustees’ Report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material

misstatements in the Directors’ Report, or the Strategic Report included within the Trustees’ Report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or certain disclosures of Trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.

Responsibilities of Trustees

As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities set out on page 12, the Trustees (who are also the Directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

The extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud Irregularities are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. The objectives of our audit are to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding compliance with laws and regulations that have a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, to perform audit

procedures to help identify instances of non-compliance with other laws and regulations that may have a material effect on the financial statements, and to respond appropriately to identified or suspected non-compliance with laws and regulations identified during the audit.

In relation to fraud, the objectives of our audit are to identify and assess the risk of material misstatement of the financial statements due to fraud, to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the assessed risks of material misstatement due to fraud through designing and implementing appropriate responses and to respond appropriately to fraud or suspected fraud identified during the audit.

However, it is the primary responsibility of management, with the oversight of those charged with governance, to ensure that the entity's operations are conducted in accordance with the provisions of laws and regulations and for the prevention and detection of fraud.

In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud, the audit engagement team:

obtained an understanding of the nature of the sector, including the legal and regulatory frameworks that the charitable company operates in and how the charitable company is complying with the legal and regulatory frameworks; inquired of management, and those charged with governance, about their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities, including any known actual, suspected or alleged instances of fraud; discussed matters about non-compliance with laws and regulations and how fraud might occur including assessment of how and where the financial statements may be susceptible to fraud.

As a result of these procedures we consider the most significant laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the financial statements are FRS 102, Charities SORP (FRS 102), Companies Act 2006, Charities Act 2011 and the charitable company’s governing document. We performed audit procedures to detect non-compliances which may have a material impact on the financial statements which included reviewing the financial statements including the Trustees’ Report, remaining alert to new or unusual transactions which may not be in accordance with the governing documents.

The most significant laws and regulations that have an indirect impact on the financial statements are Fundraising Regulations. We performed audit procedures to inquire of management and those charged with governance whether the charitable company is in compliance with these law and regulations.

The audit engagement team identified the risk of management override of controls as the area where the financial statements were most susceptible to material misstatement due to fraud. Audit procedures performed included but were not limited to testing manual journal

TRUSTEES’ REPORT & ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2020-21

entries and other adjustments, evaluating the business rationale in relation to significant, unusual transactions and transactions entered into outside the normal course of business, challenging judgements and estimates.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are required to

state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Zoe Longstaff-Tyrrell (Senior Statutory Auditor)

For and on behalf of RSM UK AUDIT LLP, Statutory Auditor Chartered Accountants Portland, 25 High Street Crawley West Sussex, RH10 1BG

10 August 2021

Lapwing © David Plummer

Statement of Financial Activities

Company Number: 698851

for the Year ended 31 March 2021 (including Income and Expenditure Account)

	Notes	Unrestricted	Restricted	Designated	2021	2020
		Funds	Funds	Funds	Total Funds	Total Funds
Income from:		£	£	£	£	£
Donations and legacies	2	2,706,876	2,165,144	-	4,872,020	3,103,024
Other trading activities	3	68,522	-	-	68,522	89,422
Investments	4	3,211	-	-	3,211	13,294
Charitable activities	5	704,661	1,099,814	-	1,804,475	2,324,718
Other	2	313,910	-	-	313,910	3,000
Total income		3,797,180	3,264,958	-	7,062,138	5,533,458
Expenditure on:
Raising funds	6	920,131	19,783	60,825	1,000,739	1,353,217
Charitable activities	7	2,221,504	1,040,556	102,873	3,364,933	3,273,985
Total expenditure		3,141,635	1,060,339	163,698	4,365,672	4,627,202
Net income/(expenditure)		655,545	2,204,619	(163,698)	2,696,466	906,256
Transfers between funds	17	1,285,667	(1,229,592)	(56,075)	-	-
Net movement in funds		1,941,212	975,027	(219,773)	2,696,466	906,256
Reconciliation of funds
Balances brought forward at 1 April 2020		6,375,341	4,231,591	757,369	11,364,301	10,458,045
Balances carried forward at 31 March 2021		8,316,553	5,206,618	537,596	14,060,767	11,364,301

The notes on pages 19 to 35 form part of these financial statements

TRUSTEES’ REPORT & ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2020-21

Balance Sheet

Company Number: 698851

at 31 March 2021

	Note	2021	2020
Fixed assets		£	£
Tangible assets	12	5,328,047	3,873,528
Heritage assets	12	3,327,495	3,327,495
Investments	13	100	100
Total fixed assets		8,655,642	7,201,123

Current assets
Stock		756	1,503
Biological assets	14	95,360	93,383
Debtors	15	1,475,454	1,322,977
Cash at bank and in hand		4,321,847	3,149,965
Total current assets		5,893,417	4,567,828
Liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year	16	488,292	404,650
Net current assets		5,405,125	4,163,178
Total net assets		14,060,767	11,364,301
Funds
Unrestricted		8,316,553	6,375,341
Restricted		5,206,618	4,231,591
Designated		537,596	757,369
Total funds	19	14,060,767	11,364,301

The financial statements were approved by the Council of Trustees and authorised for issue on 28 July 2021 and signed on their behalf by:

Mr N. Pasricha Chair

Ms L. Clark Honorary Treasurer

The notes on pages 19 to 35 form part of these financial statements

Cashflow Statement

Year ended 31 March 2021

	Notes	2021	2020
Net cash inflow from operating activities		£	£
Operating activities	a)	2,611,916	2,124,773
Cash flows from investing activities
Dividends, interest and rents from investments		3,211	13,294
Proceeds from sale of tangible fixed assets		114,994	-
Purchase of property, plant and equipment		(1,558,239)	(2,520,176)
Net cash used in investing activities		(1,440,034)	(2,506,882)
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period	b)	1,171,882	(382,109)

Notes to the cashflow statement
a) Reconciliation of net income to net cash flow from operating activities	2021	2020
	£	£
Net income for the reporting period	2,696,466	906,256
Dividends, interest and rents from investments	(3,211)	(13,294)
Profit on sale of fixed assets	(101,394)	-
Depreciation	90,120	94,336
Decrease/(Increase) in stock	747	(66)
(Increase) in biological assets	(1,977)	(17,666)
(Increase)/Decrease in trade and other debtors	(152,477)	1,151,845
Increase in trade and other creditors	83,642	3,362
Net cash provided by operating activities	2,611,916	2,124,773
b) Analysis of changes in cash and cash equivalents	2021	2020
	£	£
Balance at 1st April 2020	3,149,965	3,532,074
Net cash inflow/(outflow) in year	1,171,882	(382,109)
Balance at 31st March 2021	4,321,847	3,149,965

The notes on pages 19 to 35 form part of these financial statements

TRUSTEES’ REPORT & ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2020-21

Notes to the Accounts 31 March 2021

1. Accounting Policies

The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows:

a) Accounting convention

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) – (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

criteria for income recognition have not been met, the legacy is disclosed as a contingent asset.

Subscriptions are dealt with on a cash receipts basis. Subscriptions of life members are included as a liability on the Balance Sheet in accordance with the SORP. One twentieth of this is transferred to income each year.

Corporate Support includes annual subscriptions, sponsorship and donations received, while advertising revenue is generated through SWT’s Wildlife magazine produced twice each year.

Investment income is recognised on a receivable basis, where the amount can be measured reliably.

c) Expenditure

Sussex Wildlife Trust (“SWT”) is a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. 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.

Expenditure is recognised in the period when the charity is obliged to pay it, and the payment of said expenditure is measurable, and probable. Where payments are in respect of a future period they are categorised as such.

Sussex Wildlife Trust meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy notes.

As at 31 March 2021 the Sussex Wildlife Trust has £14.06m in Total Net Assets including £4.3m Cash at Bank of which £2.8m is restricted funding for future years’ project activity. The Trustees consider the charity to be a going concern, on the basis that SWT has sufficient financial reserves to continue trading for the foreseeable future including the twelve months from the date of approval of these accounts.

b) Income

Income is recognised in the period in which the charity is entitled to receive it, and that the receipt of said income is measurable, and probable. Income is deferred only when the charity has to fulfil conditions before becoming entitled to it or is subject to unmet conditions wholly outside its control.

Grants from local authorities and other agencies have been included as income from activities in furtherance of the charity's objects where these amount to a contract for services, but as donations where the money is given in response to an appeal or with greater freedom of use.

Receipt of a legacy, in whole or in part, is only recognised when its receipt is considered probable, when the amount can be measured reliably and the charity is entitled to the amount. Where legacies have been notified to the charity or the charity is aware of the granting of probate, and the

Raising funds includes expenditure on the recruitment of new members, the employee costs of the marketing and membership departments, the publication and delivery of SWT’s magazine three times per year, the costs of the annual appeal and the administration costs of the membership department together with publicity costs and legacy development
Charitable activities include expenditure associated with the main objects of the charity – these are wildlife conservation, public awareness, the management of nature reserves and the collation of wildlife information
Support Costs represent the cost of staff and overheads incurred in providing centralised services for the charity at its offices at Woods Mill and include the finance, human resources, office services departments and buildings maintenance. Support costs are allocated to departments on the basis of staff numbers

d) Donated services and volunteers

Where services are provided to the charity as a donation that would normally be purchased from suppliers this contribution is recognised as income when the charity has control over the item, any conditions associated with the donated item have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably.

Volunteers play a critical role in SWT and contribute substantial time to its work. However, in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), volunteer time is not recognised in these financial statements.

e) Tangible fixed assets

SWT’s interests in tangible fixed assets other than land designated as nature reserves are stated at cost with an allowance for depreciation as stated below. Individual IT fixed assets costing £500 or more are capitalised at cost, for other asset classes this rises to £1000.

Assets under construction are not depreciated until the asset is in use.

defined contribution scheme. Employees contributions will be enhanced by a contribution from SWT which is at least twice the employee contribution. Contributions are charged to the SOFA as they become payable in accordance with the scheme rules.

The Wildlife Trust category 5 Scheme is a multi-employer defined benefit scheme administered for the benefit of Wildlife Trusts and is managed in accordance with the Pensions Act 2004 Regulations.

f) Heritage assets

SWT's interests in land designated as nature reserves are stated at cost; these have been classified as heritage assets and are held by SWT in pursuit of its conservation objectives. Valuations are made by professional valuers – the Valuation Office Agency – and any gifts of land will be treated as heritage assets and will be included at valuation. No depreciation is charged on nature reserves.

g) Investments

SWT had no Equity investments during the year other than its investment in its subsidiary company Sussex Wildlife Enterprises Ltd.

The Trustees are unable to confirm the charity’s share of the underlying assets and liabilities of the Wildlife Trust Pension Scheme and therefore the Scheme is accounted for as a defined contribution scheme. As a result, the amount charged to the Statement of Financial Activities represents the contributions payable to the scheme in respect of the accounting period.

A liability is recognised by SWT, where material, for the charity’s share of the deficit of the scheme as per the agreed schedule of contributions.

m) Operating leases

h) Depreciation

Tangible fixed assets are depreciated on a straight line basis over their estimated useful lives as follows:

Land	Nil
Buildings, car park & services	2-10%
Temporary structures, fencing, etc	20%
Motor vehicles	20%
Furniture, fixtures and equipment	20%
Bird Hides	10%

i) Stock

Stocks are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value.

j) Livestock (biological assets)

Livestock is stated at fair value less estimated costs to sell in accordance with the fair value model in FRS 102. Movements in fair value are taken to the SOFA in the year in which they arise. Fair value is based upon the estimation of values from the land management team and is considered by the Trustees to be fair reflection of the estimated value at the year end.

k) Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds are available to spend on activities that further any of the purposes of the charity. Designated funds are unrestricted funds of the charity which the Trustees have decided at their discretion to set aside to use for a specific purpose. Restricted funds are donations which the donor has specified are to be solely used for particular areas of the Charity’s work. The funds held in each of these categories are disclosed in Note 17.

l) Pension schemes

The employees of SWT are eligible to join either the Royal London Wildlife Trust Group Pension Scheme. This is a

In categorising leases as finance leases or operating leases, management makes judgements as to whether significant risks and rewards of ownership have transferred to the Company as lessee, or the lessee, where the company is a lessor.

Rentals paid under operating leases are charged on a straight line basis over the life of the lease.

n) Non-recoverable VAT

Where possible non-recoverable VAT is charged against the category of resource expended for which it was incurred. Otherwise it is charged to support costs.

o) Consolidation

The financial statements present information about the company as an individual undertaking and not about its group. The subsidiary undertaking is dormant.

p) Cash at hand

Cash at bank includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with short maturity of three months or less.

q) Financial instruments

SWT only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.

r) Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

A provision for impairment of trade debtors is established when there is evidence that the amounts due will not be collected according to the original terms of the contract. Impairment losses are recognised in the SOFA.

TRUSTEES’ REPORT & ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2020-21

Heath Tiger Beetle © Graeme Lyons

s) Creditors/liabilities

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

employment of an employee, or provide redundancy and termination benefits.

v) Critical accounting estimates and areas of judgement Estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances.

t) Taxation

The Charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 471 to 489 of the Corporation Tax

Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 and is exempt from corporation tax to the extent that they are applied to its charitable objects.

The Charity makes estimates and assumptions concerning the future. The resulting accounting estimates and assumptions will, by definition, seldom equal the related actual results. The estimates and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year are discussed below:

u) Redundancy and termination payments

Expenditure required to settle an obligation for redundancy and termination benefits is recognised as an expense when the charity is committed to terminate the

There are no estimates and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year.

Income and endowments from:

2 3 4 5	Donations and legacies Unrestricted Restricted Designated 2021 2020 Funds Funds Funds TOTAL TOTAL £ £ £ £ £ Income from members 1,694,723 - - 1,694,723 1,676,437 Donations 82,216 37,324 - 119,540 420,564 Legacies 929,937 1,910,368 - 2,840,305 513,617 Public appeals - 217,452 - 217,452 492,406
	2,706,876 2,165,144 - 4,872,020 3,103,024
	Other trading activities Corporate support 17,531 - - 17,531 26,870 Other fundraising income 50,991 - - 50,991 62,552
	68,522 - - 68,522 89,422
	Investments and other income Deposit interest 3,211 - - 3,211 13,294
	3,211 - - 3,211 13,294
	Other income 313,910 - - 313,910 3,000
	313,910 - - 313,910 3,000
	Charitable activities Wildlife conservation Project grants and income 22,366 87,078 - 109,444 66,642 Other income - 74,346 - 74,346 87,673
	22,366 161,424 - 183,790 154,315
	Working with people Grants and income - 260,148 - 260,148 239,983 Schools, events and courses 24,567 (385) - 24,182 239,249 Other income - - - - 3,424
	24,567 259,763 - 284,330 482,656
	Nature reserves management Rents, grazing income, sales of meat and timber 69,440 - - 69,440 23,824 Land management grants and stewardship income 550,081 411,936 - 962,017 1,400,430 Other income 38,207 15,090 - 53,297 37,518
	657,728 427,026 - 1,084,754 1,461,772
	Collating information on wildlife Contract funding - 251,601 - 251,601 225,975
	- 251,601 - 251,601 225,975
	Total income from charitable activities 704,661 1,099,814 - 1,804,475 2,324,718
	TOTAL INCOME 3,797,180 3,264,958 - 7,062,138 5,533,458

TRUSTEES’ REPORT & ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2020-21

5 Charitable activities continued

Last year's total income of £5,533,458 was made up of £2,743,691 unrestricted, £2,494,150 restricted and £295,617 designated split between the following:

designated split between the following:
	Unrestricted	Restricted	Designated
	£	£	£
Donations and legacies	1,762,039	1,045,368	295,617
Other trading	89,422	-	-
Investments	13,294	-	-
Charitable activities	875,936	1,448,782	-
Other	3,000	-	-

The Sussex Wildlife Trust has benefited from a small number of government grants and financial contributions during the year that support our conservation activity. The funding received, incorporates levels of conditional service and supports the management of our nature reserves.

	2021	2020
During the year this amounted to:	£	£
Single Farm Payment	164,002	155,267
Higher Level Stewardship grant income	322,238	323,265
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme	227,461	-

Expenditure on:

6 7	Raising funds Unrestricted Restricted Designated 2021 2020 Funds Funds Funds TOTAL TOTAL £ £ £ £ £ Staff costs 409,874 11,645 - 421,519 408,889 Membership promotion 130,872 - 40,441 171,313 440,865 Magazine publication and delivery 82,681 - - 82,681 85,781 Appeals and legacies 3,328 5,221 - 8,549 6,147 Membership administration and publicity 21,116 - - 21,116 41,511 Interpretation and website development 84,433 2,917 17,720 105,070 126,610 Other fundraising costs - - - - 46,151 Depreciation 248 - 2,664 2,912 2,599 Allocated support costs 187,579 - - 187,579 194,664
	920,131 19,783 60,825 1,000,739 1,353,217
	Charitable activities Wildlife conservation Staff costs 168,411 85,836 - 254,247 193,735 Conservation work 29,100 131,317 - 160,417 115,880 Other 5,929 4,401 - 10,330 19,254 Depreciation - - - - 83 Allocated support costs 112,288 - - 112,288 97,208
	315,728 221,554 - 537,282 426,160
	Working with people Staff costs 413,152 276,254 - 689,406 652,561 Interpretation, education and other costs 23,667 13,910 - 37,577 79,983 Project overhead costs 157 32,488 - 32,645 115,636 Depreciation - - - - - Allocated support costs 279,682 - - 279,682 305,898
	716,658 322,652 - 1,039,310 1,154,078
	Nature reserves management Staff costs 471,070 37,870 - 508,940 492,507 Equipment, vehicles and other costs 83,059 96,525 1,250 180,834 218,840 Land management 237,875 120,069 101,623 459,567 287,670 Legal and professional fees 43,298 4,175 - 47,473 36,287 Depreciation 55,397 16,976 - 72,373 86,916 Allocated support costs 198,130 - - 98,130 220,926
	1,088,829 275,615 102,873 1,467,317 1,343,146
	Collating information on wildlife Staff costs - 204,092 - 204,092 202,553 Depreciation - 609 - 609 508 Data recording - 13,356 - 13,356 25,188 Other costs - 2,678 - 2,678 11,684 Allocated support costs 100,289 - - 100,289 110,668
	100,289 220,735 - 321,024 350,601
	Total expenditure on charitable activities 2,221,504 1,040,556 102,873 3,364,933 3,273,985
	TOTAL EXPENDITURE 3,141,635 1,060,339 163,698 4,365,672 4,627,202

TRUSTEES’ REPORT & ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2020-21

7 Charitable activities continued

Last year's total expenditure of £4,627,202 was made up of £3,337,827 unrestricted, £921,880 restricted and £367,495 designated split between the following:

designated split between the following:
	Unrestricted	Restricted	Designated
	£	£	£
Raising funds	997,525	58,320	297,372
Charitable activities	2,340,302	863,560	70,123

Trustees' Liability Insurance

SWT pays an annual insurance premium to:

a) protect the charity from loss arising from the defaults of its Trustees, employees or agents

b) indemnify the Trustees or other officers against the consequences of any act or default on their part

8 Allocation of support cost

SWT allocates its support costs as shown in the table below and then further apportions those costs between the four charitable activities undertaken.

Support costs are allocated on the basis of staff numbers per department and where appropriate a percentage of time worked.

		Charitable Activities	Charitable Activities
			Nature	Collating
		Working	Reserves	Wildlife	Charitable
	Wildlife	with	Manage-	Inform-	Activities	Raising	Total	Total
Conservation		People	ment	ation	Total	Funds	2021	2020
	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
Management and central overheads	42,716	106,393	75,370	38,151	262,630	71,357	333,987	466,393
Finance department	15,989	39,826	28,213	14,281	98,309	26,711	125,020	120,486
Information technology	15,630	38,931	27,579	13,960	96,100	26,110	122,210	101,576
Human resources	10,848	27,020	19,141	9,689	66,698	18,122	84,820	89,174
General administration	453	1,129	800	405	2,787	757	3,544	15,630
Health and Safety/Buildings maintenance	20,407	50,829	36,008	18,226	125,470	34,090	159,560	103,515
Governance	6,245	15,554	11,019	5,577	38,395	10,432	48,827	32,590
	112,288	279,682	198,130	100,289	690,389	187,579	877,968	929,364

9 Staff costs

	2021	2020
Analysis of staff costs:	£	£
Salaries and wages	2,147,708	2,022,803
Social security costs	192,073	182,114
Pension costs	129,058	118,669
	2,468,839	2,323,586

One employee, in the £60 - £70k band,earned more than £60,000 p.a. (2020 1 employee). Key management personnel are considered to be: the Trustees, the Chief Executive, and the further members of staff that make up the Senior Management Team. In total they received £341,060 (2020: £343,623) in employee benefits, including pension contributions. Employer's National Insurance paid £35,910.05 (2020 - £35,197).

Staff numbers

The average number of employees was 88 (2020: 84) with an average FTE of 78 (2020: 71).

	2021	2020
Management	6	5
Other	72	66

Other costs

During the year travel expenses and training costs of £NIL (2020: £1,299) were reimbursed to 0 Trustees (2020: 2 Trustees). The Trustees have not received any remuneration in the year (2020: £NIL).

10 Pension costs

SWT operates two pensions schemes for it's current staff, only one of which is open to new entrants. SWT has liabilities associated with a former, closed, defined benefit scheme.

The pensions schemes are listed below:

1) Royal London - Group pension scheme, open to new members.

2) Standard Life - Stakeholder pension scheme, closed to new members 31.03.14, but with active employees.

3) Wildlife Trust - Defined Benefit pension scheme, closed to new entrants 31.03.05, no active employees.

Life assurance is now provided under separate cover.

None of the current employees of the Sussex Wildlife Trust are members of the Defined Benefit scheme. This scheme is a multi-employer scheme and the Trust is unable to identify its share of the assets and liabilities of the scheme. Contributions to the scheme are therefore treated as if it were a Defined Contribution scheme.

As a result of a triennial valuation of the assets of the Defined Benefits scheme in April 2013 the scheme actuary agreed a past service shortfall of £7,752,000. In April 2019 the actuarial assesment has been valued at a deficit of £4,658,000. The previous actuarial valuation April 2016 was at £5,900,000. The total shortfall attributable to the Trust has not been reflected in these financial statements. SWT has been advised by the pension scheme Trustees that its share of this shortfall would amount to £3,584 per year exclusive of expenses from 1 August 2021, increasing by 3% per annum until 2026.

The liability for the Defined Benefit scheme is calculated at the net total of the present value at the reporting date of our obligation to the scheme (as per the actuarial valuation) and the fair value, at the reporting date, of any plan assets out of which the obligation is to be settled directly.

Due to the inability to identify SWT's exact share of assets and liabilities of the Defined Benefit scheme, and its immateriality (calculated at approx £19k at 31 March 2021), that liability has not been included in this set of financial accounts.

Pension contributions

The pension charge shown in the accounts is the amount payable by the Trust during the financial year. It is analysed as follows:

follows:
	2021	2020
	£	£
Category 1 - Life assurance only	-	-
Category 3 - Defined Contribution scheme	-	-
Category 5 - Defined Benefit scheme	3,637	3,498
Total contributions to The Wildlife Trusts' Pension Scheme	3,637	3,498
Category 1 - Life assurance only (Standard Life)	-	-
Standard Life Stakeholder Pension scheme	34,471	41,342
Royal London Group Pension scheme	94,546	77,310
Life Assurance Costs	7,534	4,242
	140,188	126,392

Pension contribution liabilities

The following pension contributions were payable at the year-end and are included within creditors:

	2021	2020
	£	£
Royal London Group Pension scheme	12,386	10,366
Standard Life Stakeholder Pension scheme	6,448	5,354
	18,834	15,720

11 Net income/(expenditure) for the year

This is stated after charging/(crediting):


This is stated after charging/(crediting):	2021	2020
	£	£
Operating lease rentals	33,379	3,455
Depreciation	90,120	94,336
Auditor's remuneration	17,650	16,250
(Profit on sale of assets)	101,394	-

TRUSTEES’ REPORT & ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2020-21

12 Tangible and heritage fixed assets

		Furniture,			Assets	Total
	Land &	Fixtures &	Plant &	Motor	Under	Tangible	Heritage
	Buildings	Equipment	Machinery	Vehicles	Construction	Assets	Assets	TOTAL
	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
Cost
At 1 April 2020	1,095,531	414,213	36,953	214,250	3,350,372	5,111,319	3,327,495	8,438,814
Additions	-	25,767	7,263	-	1,525,209	1,558,239	-	1,558,239
Disposals	(22,120)	(45,708)	-	(70,618)	-	(138,446)	-	(138,446)
At 31 March 2021	1,073,411	394,272	44,216	143,632	4,875,581	6,531,112	3,327,495	9,858,607
Depreciation
At 1 April 2020	675,552	380,445	5,543	176,251	-	1,237,791	-	1,237,791
Charge for year	48,641	16,172	8,480	16,827	-	90,120	-	90,120
Disposals	(8,834)	(45,708)	-	(70,304)	-	(124,846)	-	(124,846)
At 31 March 2021	715,359	350,909	14,023	122,774	-	1,203,065	-	1,203,065
Net book value
31 March 2021	358,052	43,363	30,193	20,858	4,875,581	5,328,047	3,327,495	8,655,542
Net book value
31 March 2020	419,979	33,768	31,410	37,999	3,350,372	3,873,528	3,327,495	7,201,023

Gift of land

SWT has received no gifts of land during the year. (2020: £NIL).

Heritage assets

Heritage assets consist of land designated as nature reserves by SWT and acquired either by purchase, gift or lease.

SWT currently owns, leases or manages 32 nature reserves, all classified as heritage assets, which have been acquired since the early 1960s and cover a total 1,932 hectares of Sussex downland, woodland, wetland, heath, meadow, and farmland. Many are Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

Included are five sites designated as nature reserves that were given to SWT between 1964 and 1981 for which no cost or conventional valuation is currently available.

A nature reserve will be considered for acquisition if:

a) its ownership will enhance the viability or conservation value of an existing SWT reserve or simplify its management b) the land is required: 1) to demonstrate best conservation practice, 2) for education, 3) for the local community or, 4) to achieve a joint conservation project with other agencies

c) ownership of the land will help to achieve one or more targets as set out in the Trust's Nature Reserves Acquisition Strategy

SWT maintains a register of title deeds for all nature reserves in its ownership and land management is carried out to preagreed management plans.

Disposal of any nature reserve will only be considered if the original objectives for ownership have been met or the site no longer meets the Trust's Nature Reserves Acquisitions and Disposals Policy. The Trust has a policy of allowing open access to all its nature reserves unless this is impossible to achieve due to physical location or will compromise the Trust's conservation objectives.

Five year financial summary of heritage asset transactions

	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
Purchases at cost or valuation	£	£	£	£	£
Donations
The Mens	-	-	-	-	10,750
Rye Harbour	-	-	75,000	-	-
Total additions	-	-	75,000	-	10,750

There have been no disposals of heritage assets in any of the last five years and no impairment is considered necessary.

The additions in 2017 and 2019 were donated amounts.

13 Fixed asset investments

Fixed asset investments
	2021	2020
Subsidiary Company - Sussex Wildlife Enterprises Ltd.	£	£
Cost
At 31 March 2020 and at 31 March 2021	100	100
Net book value at 31 March 2020 and at 31 March 2021	100	100

SWT owns 100% of the ordinary share capital of Sussex Wildlife Enterprises Ltd, a company incorporated in the UK. The company has not traded since its incorporation.

14 Biological assets

				2021	2020
				£	£
Fair value at	1	April	2020	95,360	93,383

Livestock were valued during the year to 31 March 2021 at £1000 per head of cattle (2020: £800) and at £180 (Ewes) and £500 (Rams) per head of sheep (2020: £120) and £60 per head of lamb (2020: £60).

15 Debtors

Debtors
	2021	2020
	£	£
Trade debtors	82,442	66,816
Other debtors	1,337,031	1,177,495
Prepayments	55,981	78,666
	1,475,454	1,322,977

16 Liabilities: amounts falling due within one year

Liabilities: amounts falling due within one year
	2021	2020
	£	£
Trade creditors	283,510	253,780
Other taxes and social security costs	69,967	64,548
Other creditors and accruals	99,128	24,435
Deferred income	13,162	38,177
Life membership subscriptions	22,525	23,710
	488,292	404,650
Deferred income:
Balance as at 1 April 2020	38,177	49,546
Amount released to income	(38,177)	(49,546)
Amount deferred in year	13,162	38,177
Balance as at 31 March 2021	13,162	38,177

Deferred income comprises memberships and charitable income received for use in future financial years.

TRUSTEES’ REPORT & ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2020-21

17	Funds Balance Balance 1 Apr 2020 Income Expenditure Transfers 31 Mar 2021 Restricted £ £ £ £ £ Nature reserves 2,324,238 - - - 2,324,238 Projects 1,907,353 3,264,958 1,060,339 (1,229,592) 2,882,380
	4,231,591 3,264,958 1,060,339 (1,229,592) 5,206,618
	Designated 757,369 - 163,698 (56,075) 537,596
	Unrestricted 6,375,341 3,797,180 3,141,635 1,285,667 8,316,553
	Total all funds 11,364,301 7,062,138 4,365,672 - 14,060,767

The transfer of £1,2m in respect of restricted projects is comprised of amounts totalling £296k from designated funds towards the Rye Harbour Discovery Centre, and £1,525m reflecting the completed project in the year. The £1,525m has been transferred from restricted funds to general funds on the completion of the centre, reflecting the value of tangible fixed assets financed by restricted fund donations but held for a general, not a restricted purpose in line with the SORP.

The transfers to designated fund are comprised of £306k of new designations for specific projects during the year, £66k of transfers back to general funds where projects are now completed. The remaining £296k is a transfer from the designated Rye Harbour fund to the restricted project fund.

Harbour fund to the restricted project fund.
	Balance				Balance
	1 Apr 2020	Income	Expenditure	Transfers	31 Mar 2021
Analysis of restricted projects funds movements	£	£	£	£	£
Badger appeal	5,708	100	4,965	-	843
Behaviour Change project	-	8,000	-	-	8,000
Chalk Downland fund	975,000	123,044	-	-	1,098,044
Changing Chalk project partnership	-	9,165	9,165	-	-
Climate Change project	-	10,000	10,000	-	-
Deneway Nature Reserve	3,760	-	-	-	3,760
Gateway to Nature	4,763	-	4,763	-	-
Gatwick Greenspace Partnership	28,294	108,638	82,656	-	54,276
Heathlands Reunited fund	-	30,257	30,257	-
HEFCOVID	-	47,300	42,979	-	4,321
National Lottery Heritage Fund (Sussex by the Sea)	6,023	-	6,023	-	-
Kelp	17,175	7,388	10,326	-	14,237
Legacies	158,248	10,000	57,879	-	110,369
Lost Words appeal	1,296	-	1,296	-	-
Natural Capital project	12,511	27,375	19,095	-	20,791
People and Wildlife	16,834	-	6,050	-	10,784
Portsmouth Water	-	4,692	-	4,692	-
Rapid Response fund	21,718	-	-	-	21,718
Rye Harbour	18,986	15,090	20,988	-	13,088
Rye Harbour Discovery Centre	-	1,702,065	113,186	(1,229,592)	359,287
Rye Harbour Discovery Centre appeal	-	1,269	-	-	1,269
Rye Harbour Discovery Centre operational grant	-	59,135	81,202	-	(22,067)
ScottishPower Foundation Deneway	16,882	-	25	-	16,857
Southerham Barn	73,762	-	11,350	-	62,412
Southern Water	25,000	-	-	-	25,000
Summer appeal	12,907	2,989	10,547	-	5,349
Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre	178,802	244,446	205,823	-	217,425
Sussex by the Sea appeal	29,910	97	10,792	-	19,215
Sussex Downland appeal	21,625	-	11,500	-	10,125
Sussex Local Wildlife Sites initiative	77,955	17,699	14,912	-	80,742
Sussex Ornothology Society (SOS)	-	10,650	10,650	-	-
Sussex Wetlands	115,859	74,521	147,806	-	42,574
The Leysdown Conservation Trust	33,546	30,000	17,391	-	46,155
Trailer fund (formerly Chalk Cliff)	2,688	-	1,186	-	1,502
West Weald landscape	48,101	-	-	-	48,101
National Lottery Heritage Fund (Wild Coast Sussex)	-	83,990	83,990	-	-
Wilder Horsham District project	-	39,284	28,316	-	10,968
Winter appeal	-	90,751	5,221	-	85,530
Woodland Legacy	-	507,013	-	-	507,013
	1,907,353	3,264,958	1,060,339	(1,229,592)	2,882,380

17 Funds continued

Restricted projects:

Badger appeal: a grazing and vaccination programme against bovineTB

Behaviour Change project: funded by Natural England looking at behaviour change in Nature Tots and Wildlife Watch Chalk Downland fund: to maintain, restore or purchase Sussex chalk downland.

Changing Chalk project partnership: funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) and led by The National Trust Climate Change project: funding from the People's Postcode Lottery via RSWT for development and delivery of carbon reduction strategies

Deneway Nature Reserve: fund from the Co-operative Society Gateway to Nature: to develop further Youth Ranger work and community involvement

Gatwick Greenspace Partnership: enhancing green spaces in the Gatwick, Crawley and Horsham areas and to increase community involvement Heathlands Reunited fund: partnership agreement towards management and restoration of Sussex Heathlands HEFCOVID: Heritage Emergency Fund grant to support nature reserves during Covid-19 National Lottery Heritage Fund (Sussex by the Sea): to develop a round 2 submission

Kelp: People's Postcode Lottery funding via RSWT to further the regeneration of Sussex kelp forests, plus other funding towards the Help Our Kelp Partnership

Legacies: various bequests for specific projects Lost Words appeal: Issuing a nature book about declining use of nature words to all primary schools in Sussex Natural Capital project: the work of public engagement and reconnection to nature People and Wildlife: conservation education for schools in Sussex

Portsmouth Water: Biodiversity Grant Scheme: Restoring rare habitat at Leythorne Meadow Rapid Response fund: land acquisition/response to immediate need

Rye Harbour: Rye Harbour Nature Reserve Rye Harbour Discovery Centre: the development of a Discovery Centre at Rye Harbour

Rye Harbour Discovery Centre appeal: for the Rye Harbour Discovery Centre project

Rye Harbour Discovery Centre operational grant: the development of the Operations of the Discovery Centre at Rye Harbour

ScottishPower Foundation: Wild Side of the Track project at Deneway nature reserve – community events, schools visits and habitat improvements

Southerham Barn: the development of Southerham Barn Southern Water: funds from fines received by Southern Water granted for specific aspects of SWT work

Summer appeal: conservation campaigning, educating children and managing our nature reserves

Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre: the provision of biodiversity information for Sussex Sussex By the Sea appeal: for the Wild Coast Sussex project Sussex Downland appeal: for downland management and maintenance

Sussex Local Wildlife Sites initiative: establishing a coherent and resilient ecological network across Sussex Sussex Ornithological Society (SOS): Amberley Wildbrooks Wader Project

Sussex Wetlands: enhancing the awareness of wetland habitats in Sussex

The Leysdown Conservation Trust: training and development of trainees

Trailer fund (formerly Chalk Cliff): depreciation of trailer West Weald landscape: enhancing the wooded landscape of an area of West Sussex

National Lottery Heritage Fund (Wild Coast Sussex): a partnership to inspire and connect people to help protect the Sussex coast and sea

Wilder Horsham District project: fund for delivering a Nature Recovery Network for Horsham District, with funding from Horsham District Council

Winter Appeal: ancient woodland appeal for purchase and maintenance

Woodland Legacy: bequest for woodland purchase Other projects: various small charitable trust funds

The deficit on the Rye Harbour Operational funding claim is due to a pending funding claim.

Unrestricted funds comprise those funds which the Trustees are free to use in accordance with the Trust's charitable objectives.

TRUSTEES’ REPORT & ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2020-21

17 Funds continued

	Balance				Balance
	1 Apr 2020	Income	Expenditure	Transfers	31 Mar 2021
Analysis of designated funds movements	£	£	£	£	£
Southerham Reserve fund	94,208	-	18,208	-	76,000
Business Plan strategic development capacity	31,088	-	5,749	-	25,339
Membership recruitment	77,547	-	40,441	191,150	228,256
Integrated software project	26,591	-	2,830	-	23,761
Ecological mapping	3,793	-	-	(3,793)	-
IIP staff development	5,000	-	5,000	-	-
Strategy development	4,146	-	701	-	3,445
Pensions liability (sinking fund)	15,000	-	-	(15,000)	-
Vehicles (sinking fund)	10,000	-	-	(10,000)	-
Building maintenance (sinking fund)	9,474	-	9,474	-	-
Land Management equipment (sinking fund)	25,000	-	-	-	25,000
Rye Harbour Discovery Centre	295,617	-	-	(295,617)	-
Conservation - departure from the EU	19,800	-	-	(19,800)	-
Match funding fund	40,000	-	-	-	40,000
Interpretation	26,691	-	-	-	26,691
HR system upgrade	7,925	-	5,391	-	2,534
Remote access	7,474	-	1,963	-	5,511
Bid writing	11,160	-	-	(11,160)	-
Business systems development	4,390	-	-	(4,390)	-
Filming	2,465	-	-	(2,465)	-
Ash Dieback crisis	40,000	-	73,941	50,000	16,059
Payband re-evaluation fund	-	-	-	40,000	40,000
Woods Mill repairs	-	-	-	25,000	25,000
	757,369	-	163,698	(56,075)	537,596

The Trustees have designated funds from unrestricted funds for various planned future projects, as well as contingency funds for future eventualities.

Designated funds:

Southerham Reserve fund: development of our nature reserve at Southerham

Ecological mapping: development of ecological mapping in Sussex

IIP staff development: project to develop staff performance through the IIP accreditation framework Strategy development: investment in the development and implementation of next five year strategy Pensions liability (sinking fund): potential future costs Vehicles (sinking fund): vehicle purchases Building maintenance (sinking fund): maintenance of Woods Mill Land Management equipment (sinking fund): equipment purchases

Rye Harbour Discovery Centre: the development of the new Discovery Centre at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve Conservation - departure from the EU: research and development on financial impact of leaving the EU Match funding fund: project bid match funding Interpretation: upgrading interpretation on reserves HR system upgrade: upgrade of HR system Remote access: developing remote working Bid writing: extra capacity for bid opportunities Business systems development: improving organisational efficiencies

Filming: equipment to bring film-making in-house Ash Dieback crisis: provision for ongoing work managing disease Payband re-evaluation fund: provision for additional costs resulting from re-evaluation Woods Mill repairs: planned longer term repairs to HQ

18	Funds - previous year Balance Balance 1 Apr 2019 Income Expenditure Transfers 31 Mar 2020 Restricted £ £ £ £ £ Nature reserves 2,324,238 - - - 2,324,238 Projects 3,675,218 2,494,150 921,880 (3,340,135) 1,907,353
	5,999,456 2,494,150 921,880 (3,340,135) 4,231,591 Designated 689,247 295,617 367,495 140,000 757,369 Unrestricted 3,769,342 2,743,691 3,337,827 3,200,135 6,375,341
	Total all funds 10,458,045 5,533,458 4,627,202 - 11,364,301
	Balance Balance Analysis of restricted projects funds movements 1 Apr 2019 Income Expenditure Transfers 31 Mar 2020 - previous year £ £ £ £ £ Badger appeal 12,328 80 6,700 - 5,708 Rapid Response fund 21,218 500 - - 21,718 Sussex Downland appeal 27,370 - 5,745 - 21,625 Summer appeal 32,877 30 20,000 - 12,907 Winter appeal 14,745 5 14,750 - - Lost Words appeal 4,000 42 2,746 - 1,296 Sussex by the Sea appeal - 29,910 - - 29,910 People and Wildlife 21,185 6,990 11,341 - 16,834 Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre 175,352 225,975 222,525 - 178,802 Sussex Local Wildlife Site initiative 86,752 8,610 17,407 - 77,955 Sussex Wetlands 109,355 76,683 70,179 - 115,859 ScottishPower Foundation Deneway - 43,300 26,418 - 16,882 West Weald landscape 48,101 - - - 48,101 Gatwick Greenspace Partnership 40,237 98,462 110,405 - 28,294 Rye Harbour 24,050 - 5,064 - 18,986 Rye Harbour Discovery Centre appeal 18,830 476,101 18,955 (475,976) - Rye Harbour Discovery Centre 1,909,523 1,130,530 175,894 (2,864,159) - Rye Harbour Discovery Centre Operational - 17,117 17,117 - - Ebernoe fencing 700 - 700 - - Natural Capital 10,640 13,900 12,030 - 12,510 Gateway to Nature 4,763 - - - 4,763 Heritage Lottery Fund (Seaford Community Wildlife Project) - 40,971 40,971 - - Heritage Lottery Fund (Sussex by the Sea) 26,811 34,500 55,288 - 6,023 Nature Reserves projects 996 - 996 - - Southerham Barn 85,112 - 11,350 - 73,762 The Leysdown Conservation Trust 14,442 30,000 10,896 - 33,546 Trailer fund (formerly Chalk Cliff) 3,874 - 1,186 - 2,688 Chalk Downland fund 975,000 - - - 975,000 Kelp - 17,175 - - 17,175 Southern Water - 25,000 - - 25,000 Legacies - 218,000 59,752 - 158,248 Deneway 6,956 269 3,465 - 3,760
	3,675,218 2,494,150 921,880 (3,340,135) 1,907,353

TRUSTEES’ REPORT & ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2020-21

18 Funds - previous year continued

Restricted projects:

Badger appeal: a grazing and vaccination programme against bovineTB Rapid Response fund: land acquisition/response to immediate need

Sussex Downland appeal: for downland management and maintenance Summer/Winter/Sussex Downland appeal: conservation campaigning, educating children and managing our nature reserves Lost Words appeal: issuing a nature book about declining use of nature words to all primary schools in Sussex Sussex By the Sea appeal: for the Wild Coast Sussex project People and Wildlife: conservation education for schools in Sussex Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre: the provision of biodiversity information for Sussex Sussex Local Wildlife Site initiative: establishing a coherent and resilient ecological network across Sussex Sussex Wetlands: enhancing the awareness of wetland habitats in Sussex

ScottishPower Foundation: Wild Side of the Track project at Deneway nature reserve. Community events, schools visits and habitat improvements.

West Weald landscape: enhancing the wooded landscape of an area of West Sussex Gatwick Greenspace Partnership: enhancing green spaces in the Gatwick, Crawley and Horsham areas and to increase community involvement Rye Harbour: Rye Harbour Nature Reserve Rye Habour Discovery Centre appeal: for the Rye Harbour Discovery Centre project

Rye Harbour Discovery Centre: the development of a Discovery Centre at Rye Harbour

Ebernoe fencing: depreciation of fencing: previously part of nature reserves

Stedham and Iping fencing: depreciation of fencing on a nature reserve Natural Capital: the work of public engagement and reconnection to nature

Gateway to Nature: to develop further Youth Ranger work and community involvement

Heritage Lottery Fund (Seaford Community Wildlife Project): a community project in Seaford

Heritage Lottery Fund (Sussex by the Sea): to develop a round 2 submission

Nature Reserves projects: the management of specific nature reserves or to support particular aspects of nature reserve management

Southerham Barn: the development of Southerham Barn Graffham fencing: fund for depreciation costs The Leysdown Conservation Trust: training and development of trainees

Trailer fund (formerly Chalk Cliff): depreciation of trailer Chalk Downland fund: to maintain, restore or purchase Sussex chalk downland

Kelp: funds donated specifically to further the regeneration of Sussex Kelp Forests, as part of the Help Our Kelp Partnership Southern Water: funds from fines receieved by Southern Water for specific aspects of SWT work Legacies: various bequests for specific projects Other projects: various small charitable trust funds

Unrestricted funds comprise those funds which the Trustees are free to use in accordance with SWT's charitable objectives.

	Balance				Balance
Analysis of designated funds movements	1 Apr 2019	Income	Expenditure	Transfers	31 Mar 2020
- previous year	£	£	£	£	£
Southerham Reserve fund	100,000	-	5,792	-	94,208
Business Plan strategic development capacity	82,059	-	50,971	-	31,088
Membership recruitment	237,101	-	224,554	65,000	77,547
Integrated software project	51,223	-	24,632	-	26,591
Ecological mapping	7,893	-	4,100	-	3,793
IIP staff development	5,000	-	-	-	5,000
Strategy development	9,377	-	5,231	-	4,146
Pensions liability (sinking fund)	15,000	-	-	-	15,000
Vehicles (sinking fund)	10,000	-	-	-	10,000
Building maintenance (sinking fund)	9,474	-	-	-	9,474
Land Management equipment (sinking fund)	25,000	-	-	-	25,000
Rye Harbour Discovery Centre	-	295,617	-	-	295,617
Conservation - departure from the EU	19,800	-	-	-	19,800
Match funding fund	40,000	-	-	-	40,000
Interpretation	34,671	-	7,980	-	26,691
HR system upgrade	7,925	-	-	-	7,925
Remote access	14,334	-	6,860	-	7,474
Bid writing	12,000	-	840	-	11,160
Business systems development	4,390	-	-	-	4,390
Filming	4,000	-	1,535	-	2,465
Ash Dieback crisis	-	-	35,000	75,000	40,000
	689,247	295,617	367,495	140,000	757,369

The Trustees have designated funds from unrestricted funds for various planned future projects, as well as contingency funds for future eventualities.

18 Funds - Previous Year continued

Designated funds:

Southerham Reserve fund: development of our nature reserve at Southerham

Business Plan strategic development capacity: to allow extra capacity to meet the changing organisational demands Membership recruitment: future investment in increasing and developing our membership Integrated software project: development of an integrated IT solution Ecological mapping: development of ecological mapping in Sussex IIP staff development: project to develop staff performance through the IIP accreditation framework Strategy development: investment in the development and implementation of next five year strategy Pensions liability (sinking fund): potential future costs Vehicles (sinking fund): vehicle purchases Building maintenance (sinking fund): maintenance of Woods Mill

Land Management equipment (sinking fund): equipment purchases

Filming: equipment to bring film-making in-house Ash Dieback crisis: provision for ongoing work managing disease

19 Analysis of net assets between funds

	Tangible and Heritage		Net Current
	Fixed Assets	Investments	Assets	Total
	£	£	£	£
Restricted
Nature reserves	2,324,238	-	-	2,324,238
Projects	-	-	2,882,380	2,882,380
Unrestricted	6,331,304	100	1,985,149	8,316,553
Designated	-	-	537,596	537,596
	8,655,542	100	5,405,125	14,060,767
Analysis of net assets between funds 2020	Tangible and Heritage		Net Current
	Fixed Assets	Investments	Assets	Total
	£	£	£	£
Restricted
Nature reserves	2,324,238	-	-	2,324,238
Projects	-	-	1,907,353	1,907,353
Unrestricted	4,876,785	100	1,498,456	6,375,341
Designated	-	-	757,369	757,369
	7,201,023	100	4,163,178	11,364,301

20Contingent liabilities

SWT owns Castle Water, part of the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve. As previously reported SWT carried out an investigation to establish the nature and extent of the contamination based on existing data. This confirmed a source of contamination under part of the nature reserve. Since then discussions have been held with the relevant officers from the Environment Agency at a local level and the work done so far comprises a series of studies on the extent of contamination in other areas of Rye Harbour. Monitoring has continued throughout the 2020/21 financial year.

The costs of remediation at Castle Water remain unquantifiable. It is unclear to what extent, if at all, SWT will be liable.

TRUSTEES’ REPORT & ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2020-21

21 (a) Operating lease commitments:

SWT has commitments in the year to 31 March 2021 to pay minimum rentals on buildings and equipment under non-cancellable operating leases.

	2021	2020	2021	2020
	Buildings	Buildings	Equipment	Equipment
Operating leases which expire:	£	£	£	£
Within one year:	-	3,000	12,067	6,049
Within two to five years:	-	-	21,312	12,504

b) Capital commitments

Capital expenditure contracted for but not paid:

£NIL- Vehicle Purchase (2020: £28k)

£523k - Rye Harbour Discovery Centre construction (2020: £1.2m)

22 Related party transactions

During the year to 31 March 2021 related party transactions were £NIL (2020: £NIL).

Provision for related party transactions payments are made in the governing document of SWT.

23 Post balance sheet events

In June 2021 SWT purchased land at Streels Lane and Willand Wood in Ebernoe, for a total consideration of £491,217. increasing the size of our Ebernoe Nature Reserve.

Sussex Wildlife Trust Woods Mill, Henfield West Sussex BN5 9SD

Tel: 01273 492630 Email: enquiries@sussexwt.org.uk Website: sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk

Reg Charity No. 207005 36