**Charity Registration No. 214927 Company Registration No. 738693 (England & Wales)**
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED AND ITS SUBSIDIARY COMPANY**
**REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022**
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATION**
|**Trustees**|H Carey (resigned November 2021)|
|---|---|
||R Collins (appointed November 2021)|
||S Henshall|
||S Judd|
||R H Marrs (resigned November 2021)|
||C Neame|
||J Richards (appointed November 2021)|
||S Ridsdale|
||J Roscoe|
||P Rushton|
||W Stothart (Chair)|
||C Swarbrick|
|**Secretary**|C Harris|
|**Chief Executive**|C Harris|
|**Registered office**|Bickley Hall Farm|
||Bickley|
||Malpas|
||Cheshire|
||SY14 8EF|
|**Charity number**|214927|
|**Company number**|738693|
|**Auditors**|Mitchell Charlesworth (Audit) Limited|
||Chartered Accountants|
||Statutory Auditor|
||3rdFloor|
||44 Peter Street|
||Manchester|
||M2 5GP|
|**Bankers**|CAF Bank|
||25 Kings Hill Avenue|
||Kings Hill|
||West Malling|
||Kent|
||ME19 4JQ|
|**Solicitors**|Gough-Thomas & Scott|
||8 Willow Street|
||Ellesmere|
||Shropshire|
||SY12 0AQ|
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **CONTENTS PAGE**
|**ONTENTS PAGE**||
|---|---|
|
|Page|
|Chair’s Report|1|
|Trustees’ Report|2–22|
|Independent Auditor’s Report|23–26|
|Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities|27|
|Consolidated Balance Sheet|28|
|Company Balance Sheet|29|
|Statement of Cash Flow|30|
|Accounting Policies and Notes to the Accounts|31–50|
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **CHAIR’S REPORT** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022**_
CWT continues to work for wildlife and nature in Cheshire, Wirral, Stockport, Trafford, Tameside, Warrington and Halton, and has grown its impact in response to the environmental crises. I am proud of and delighted with the achievements and performance of the Trust this year.
In the previous year, 2020/21, the Covid-19 pandemic dominated everything, and the Trust performed extremely well to sustain the organisation through the restrictions and financial challenges, and to maintain its activities and to pursue its objectives where possible. Activity and turnover were marginally below the year before.
The year being reported on here is 2021/22 (April 2021 to March 2022), and this was effectively a transition year out of the Covid-19 restrictions, which were largely removed in July 2021. Once again, the Trust was able to pursue its objectives more vigorously and fully, with the result that turnover increased from c. £2.3m in 2020/21 to c. 2.7m in 2021/22. Financial turnover is a crude proxy for the environmental benefit that is the Trust’s true objective, but the 17% growth is a valid measure of activity. The Trust’s environmental impact is as impressive as the financial growth, as shown by the achievements against targets included in this set of financial statements.
My personal highlights were:
- The purchase of Saltersford Farm in August 2021, using an innovative funding model supported by a public appeal. This was 50 acres of intensively farmed land which we will now manage in a way that allows nature to recover there. The funding model is groundbreaking and put CWT in the forefront of Wildlife Trusts in the UK. We hope now to be able to repeat this with regular further purchases, and you will have seen an appeal for CWT’s 60th anniversary in 2022 which would support the creation of a new reserve using the same model.
- Watching the progress of the beavers reintroduced to Hatchmere at the end of 2020. During 2021/22 they successfully settled in and started to engineer their own environment. Most notably, in three weeks in November the pair of beavers created a dam of almost 50m, which has transformed the site. The site is now much wetter (water levels higher by 75cm), improving water quality, and is capable of storing more carbon and providing other environmental benefits. We still need more public awareness of the environmental benefits beavers bring. I am delighted Wildlife Trusts across the country are promoting that awareness and hope to see beavers roaming freely in the future.
Further detail on the achievements and performance of the Trust is shown in the Strategic Report from page 6 and the financial review from page 17.
The Trust returned a surplus for the sixth successive year and is financially sound.
We continue to face a biodiversity crisis and a climate crisis. Cheshire Wildlife Trust, and Wildlife Trusts across the country, have a critical role in engaging and energising people to play an active part in combatting these challenges and enabling nature’s recovery. Your continued support is both valued and essential.
_We need more space for wildlife, and more people on nature’s side._
Bill Stothart
Chair Date: 19 October 2022
1
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
**TRUSTEES’ REPORT** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022**_
The Trustees have pleasure in presenting their report together with the audited accounts for the year ended 31 March 2022. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) – Accounting and Reporting by provisions of the Charities SORP (FRS 102) applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK (effective 1 January 2019).
## **Strategic overview**
Cheshire Wildlife Trust is the only charity dedicated to the conservation of wildlife and wild places in the Cheshire region.
Formed in 1962 by volunteers, Cheshire Wildlife Trust is one of 46 independent charities, which together form the UK-wide Wildlife Trust movement. The Trust benefits from the support of over 18,000 members and over 300 volunteers, is governed by a 10-strong Board of Trustees and currently employs 62 dedicated staff. We are passionate about securing a future for local wildlife on land and at sea and work as part of the Wildlife Trust movement to influence decision making for nature at the highest level nationally.
Cheshire Wildlife Trust Limited is required by charity and company law to act within the objects of its Memorandum of Association, which are as follows:
1. To promote and deliver the conservation, protection, improvement and expansion of the physical and natural environment, for the benefit of wildlife and the public of the United Kingdom; particularly in the Vice County 58 (the traditional County Palatine of Chester) and adjacent areas.
2. To advance the education and engagement of the public in the principles and practice of:
- a. Biodiversity conservation and enhancement;
- b. Sustainable living and development;
- c. Nature-based health and wellbeing initiatives; and
- d. Natural capital, and its protection, restoration and value to society.
3. To promote research in all branches of relevant scientific study and to publish the useful results thereof.
In 2020 we launched our 2030 Strategy: Wilder Cheshire. The full strategy is available on our website https://www.cheshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/2030 with a summary below:
2
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
**TRUSTEES’ REPORT** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022**_
## **Our vision is for a Wilder Cheshire**
**Our mission** is to bring wildlife back – for everyone, everywhere – and we urgently need your help.
We have reached a tipping point. By 2030, we must see nature recovering, wildlife returning and ecosystems restored. We can’t defer; we can’t wait for more data or better reasons to act. The evidence is already there and we know what to do. If we delay, the damage will be irreversible. If we wait until the impacts of environmental breakdown are upon us – that is until we witness the rising sea levels, personally suffer the effects of pollution or notice the lack of birdsong – it will be too late.
Putting nature into recovery must be what we turn all our efforts to now; it has to be the priority.
It won’t be easy. This is a complex challenge; the next 10 years will be just the start, but we can do it.
## **Our strategy is focused on tackling three crises:**
## **Wildlife is in crisis – Let’s fight for wildlife’s recovery.**
_Outcome: At least 30% of the land and sea in the UK needs to be managed for nature so that missing wildlife will return. We want to see more and better connected wild spaces and the pressures on the environment reduced._
Why? Nature today is not normal. Since the 1930s, species-rich wildflower meadows have become virtually extinct; since the 1950s, we have lost over half the abundance of all species across the UK; since the 1970s, there’s been a 60% fall in vertebrates globally. Elsewhere, recent reports tell us that insect populations have collapsed by 75% between 1990 and 2014. In the UK, we have lost half of our farmland birds in one generation.
Cheshire is not immune to these trends. Less than 10% of our region is protected for wildlife. The few places where a rich diversity of life can still be found are nature reserves and special wildlife sites. Without these havens, the picture would be even worse, but they are too small and are under siege from a host of external pressures. There are simply not enough of these precious places left to save biodiversity.
## **Climate is in crisis – Let’s make nature part of the solution.**
_Outcome: Resilient nature will help combat climate change. We need more carbon to be locked up in our plants and soils and to restore broken ecosystems._
Why? We are facing a climate crisis and nature is a big part of the solution. Healthy ecosystems and restored habitats will help us play our part in delivering the UN’s Paris Agreement to tackle the climate emergency.
Our vast peatlands should protect us. They offer the largest land-based carbon store in the world, but we have drained and burned and cut them – releasing their carbon into the atmosphere. They
3
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
**TRUSTEES’ REPORT** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022**_
have become a carbon enemy – contributing 4% of the UK’s annual greenhouse gas emissions.
Our woodlands should protect us. Trees are an effective weapon against the climate crisis, but we are not planting enough of them. Average woodland cover in the EU is over 40%. In the UK, it is 13% and in Cheshire it is less than 7%. Our insistence on prioritising other land use denies us the benefits of woodland which extend beyond carbon sequestration to biodiversity and emotional wellbeing.
Our soils should protect us. UK soils store 10 billion tonnes of carbon – equivalent to 80 years of our annual greenhouse gas emissions – but unless we change how we farm, we will lose this benefit. In the pursuit of ever-cheaper food, we have already stripped our soils of over half of their carbon.
Our wetlands should protect us. They are nature’s flood defences and they hold twice as much carbon as our woodland; however, we have drained them and replaced them with farms, houses and roads. We have turned our rivers against us. We have filled them with chemicals, enclosed them underground and straightened, deepened and constrained them. As the climate crisis pours more water onto our land, it has nowhere to go. It rushes into our towns and cities, and overflows onto our streets.
## **We are in crisis – Let’s have more people on nature’s side.**
_Outcome: Our wellbeing and economy relies on a healthy, natural environment. We need everyone to be passionate about wildlife and at least 1 in 4 people to be taking action for nature’s recovery._
Why? Our disconnect with nature is snowballing with each passing generation. The less parents know, the less they can teach their own children about their natural world. New generations grow up more and more distant from the natural world around them. They are starved of the opportunity to enjoy the wonder of wildlife and to understand their place amongst nature. They do not miss it when it disappears, and so it continues to slip away unnoticed. When we lose our connection with nature, mental health problems, obesity and isolation rise.
Meanwhile, businesses suffer when we don’t take care of our natural environment and we pay the price. Our utility bills are higher because we need to clean our water. Our food bills are rising because farming is not sustainable. The costs of flood damage are devastating where nature’s defences fail. The social and economic impact of our apathy towards dealing with these issues is huge and growing. Those living furthest from nature, often the poorest, suffer most. We are facing a nature deficiency pandemic.
4
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
**TRUSTEES’ REPORT** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022**_
## **We will deliver our strategy through a 10-point plan:**
1. Protect places where wildlife lives
2. Bring wildlife back to our land and sea
3. Create a society that cares about nature
4. Work with farmers so wildlife can thrive
5. Embrace wildlife as our neighbour in our towns and cities
6. Grow our stores of natural carbon
7. Build a network of people campaigning for nature
8. Make our rivers cleaner and healthier
9. Make planning and policies give more to nature than they take away
10. Collaborate with people who share our passion for wildlife
This 10-point plan is underpinned by a further strategic goal to ensure that Cheshire Wildlife Trust (CWT) is effective and resilient, delivered through the following three programmes:
1. Financing the future
2. High-performing Team CWT
3. Well-run organisation
## **Public benefit statement**
The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in section 4 of the Charities Act 2006 to have due regard to the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit, 'Charities and Public Benefit'.
The Trust's public benefit is enshrined in its charitable objects as outlined above.
5
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
**TRUSTEES’ REPORT** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022**_
## **Strategic report**
The information below, including the review of achievements and performance, financial review, risk management statement and summary of future plans, forms the Strategic Report for the purpose of the Companies Act 2006.
## **Achievements and performance**
Our charitable objects are the drivers behind our 2030 strategic framework. Our achievements and performance are reported against each of the four strategic outcomes.
## **1. Wildlife is in crisis: Below is a summary of our nature recovery programme to bring about 30% of land in Cheshire protected and well managed for wildlife by 2030 and to see the abundance and diversity of wildlife increase.**
|**What we planned for FY22**|**Some of the things we did in FY22**|**What we have planned for FY23**|
|---|---|---|
|**Landscape Scale Delivery:**
Continue to develop and
scale
up
the
Nature
Recovery Team to deliver
greater impact.
Submit the second round
application to the National
Lottery Heritage Fund for a
3.5-year project and, if
successful, begin delivery in
winter 2021.|We further grew our capacity and expertise
within the Nature Recovery Team. This
allowed us to progress delivery of our 30 by
30 vision through direct land management
as well as advising and supporting others.
We purchased 50 acres of intensively
managed farmland at Saltersford Farm to
create a new nature reserve. The purchase
was funded through generous donations
from our members combined with a loan
from Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
Our application to NLHF was successful and
the Our Dee Estuary project started in early
2022. We recruited our project team and
began our programme of volunteering,
citizen science and conservation work
around the estuary.|Raise funds to repay the loan through
the sale of Biodiversity Net Gain
(BNG) credits and habitat creation
grants.
Purchase and plan the restoration of
another new nature reserve to
celebrate our 60thbirthday.
Continue
the
citizen
science
programme for natterjack toads,
grayling butterflies and little terns,
support schools in achieving the John
Muir Award, run events celebrating
the Dee Estuary, and work with dog
owners to reduce disturbance to
wading birds.
We will start the delivery of the
Environmental Measures on the
Aldford Brook project – a three-year
project to create and restore 20ha of
wetland and 14km of riverbank, and
to plant over 7,000 trees.|
6
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **TRUSTEES’ REPORT**
## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022**_
|We plan to raise £50,000
through member and major
donor
contributions
to
continue our work in the
Cheshire Peaks area.
We
will
create
25
management
plans
for
farms
in
the
Bollin
catchment and improve
water quality and restore
habitats in the headwaters
of the River Dane.|We raised £52,225 from a major donor and
other supporters in this year. Combined
with donations from the previous year, this
gave a total of £61,225 available for work in
the Cheshire Peaks area. The funds have
been allocated to our curlew recovery
project (see_Species Recovery_section) and
used to create/restore 3ha of wildflower
meadows in the landscape.
We created 25 water management plans for
farms in the Bollin catchment and delivered
a series of capital projects to improve water
quality in both the Bollin and Dane
catchments.|(See_Species Recovery_section)
We will create a further 15 water
management plans for landowners in
the Dane catchment in partnership
with United Utilities to help identify
opportunities for improving water
quality and increasing the value of
the land for wildlife.|
|---|---|---|
|**Nature Reserve**
**Management:**
We will finalise the transfer
of the Hatchmere extension
into our ownership.
We will continue to manage
Crown Farm Quarry in line
with the restoration plan.
We will create a further
2.6ha
of
flower-rich
grassland
at
Gowy
Meadows
using
seed
collected from our donor
meadows across Cheshire.|This matter remains in progress.
Crown Farm Quarry continues to be
managed
in
line
with
the
agreed
management plan. Newly restored parts of
the quarry are developing well and we have
completed a project to make the site
suitable for the introduction of grazing
animals.
Over 2.6ha of species-rich wildflower
grassland has been created at Gowy
Meadows through Severn Trent’s Boost for
Biodiversity project. The wildflower seed
has established well and is providing a
fantastic home for pollinators.|Acquire additional land to further our
30 by 30 vision.
Devise
the
next
two-year
management plan, workplan and
costings and manage and monitor the
site
in
line
with
the
agreed
management plan.
We will improve the condition of
30ha of floodplain grazing marsh at
Gowy Meadows through the creation
of scrapes and footdrains and
upgrade of water control sluices.|
|**Species Recovery:**
Create and restore a further
100 ponds for great crested
newts, on our own land and
in partnership with farmers
and other landowners.|We created and restored 70 ponds (in line
with Natural England's (NE) work package
order).|We will create a further 50 ponds
under the district licensing scheme
and continue our monitoring of
ponds created to date.|
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**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **TRUSTEES’ REPORT**
## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022**_
||Restore a further 10ha of
grassland to species-rich
meadow using green hay
and seed harvested from
donor sites.
Monitor the impact of the
beavers
on
the
wet
woodland
habitat
and
explore licensing options
for a second reintroduction
scheme in another part of
Cheshire.
Continue to look for sources
of
funding
and
work
towards
an
expanding
population of white-faced
darter
dragonflies
throughout
Delamere
Forest and the surrounding
area.
Using money raised from
our Cheshire Peak District
appeal, devise a curlew
recovery plan ready for the
2022 breeding season. We
will also join the English
Curlew Partnership.
Deliver the Wild Stockport
project and create space for
pollinators in Stockport,
install swift boxes and
create hedgehog streets.|We created and restored 11.2 ha of species-
rich hay meadows working with a variety of
landowners.
Beavers have had a fantastic impact on the
wet woodland habitat at Hatchmere, and
the site looks completely different to 12
months ago. They have created dams and
gullies to hold water throughout the site,
attenuating floods, improving water quality
and creating new wetland habitat.
Our work continued throughout 2021/22 to
continue to monitor the growing white-
faced darter populations. We delivered a
full
monitoring
programme
and
administered
the
White-faced
Darter
Steering Group meeting.
We joined the English Curlew Partnership
and have also led a South West Peak Curlew
Partnership with Staffordshire Wildlife
Trust, RSPB, Natural England and other
landowners and interested parties. Scoping
work has been undertaken to inform a
Curlew Action Plan, with a citizen-science
approach to monitoring through iRecord, a
webinar for residents of South West Peak
and discussions with landowners.
The Wild Stockport project achieved (and
exceeded in some cases) all of its objectives
and over the year the team developed
strong relationships with local organisations
and Stockport residents using social media,
workshops and school visits. We also
created videos to help local communities
take action for nature.|Create and restore a further 18ha of
species-rich hay meadow.
We will continue to monitor the
impact beavers are having in the
enclosure, and we will work in
partnership with other landowners
and statutory bodies to create a
Cheshire
Beaver
Partnership
to
assess the impact of new legislation
governing beaver releases and create
a coordinated Cheshire-wide release
strategy.
Continued surveying of the white-
faced darter population in Delamere
Forest
aimed
at
identifying
emergence and presence within an
increasing number of basins.
We will progress the SWP Curlew
Partnership and engage with local
farmers and landowners. We will
carry out feasibility studies to plan a
programme of capital works to create
wetland habitat to benefit curlew,
along with commissioning a baseline
population assessment and trialling
innovative monitoring techniques
such as drone surveying.
Inspire people across Stockport –
individuals, businesses, community
groups and schools – to take action
for nature through the Rewilding
Stockport
project,
building
a
community nature reserve.|
|---|---|---|---|
8
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
**TRUSTEES’ REPORT** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022**_
|Continue
to
monitor
natterjack toad populations
and work with Amphibian
and Reptile Conservation to
explore
expanding
populations in the Dee
Estuary.
Continue
to
monitor
grayling
butterflies
to
understand more about
their
distribution
and
habitat needs.|New pools for natterjacks created at Red
Rocks. Sites were monitored in spring 2022.
Unfortunately, exceptional tides led to the
loss of many spawn strings at Red Rocks.
Other sites around the estuary fared better.
We successfully translocated sea holly
plants at Red Rocks to increase habitat for
grayling.|
We
will
continue
to
monitor
natterjack
pools
and undertake
habitat improvements to ensure the
long-term future of the population.
We will continue to carry out surveys
to monitor the population and its
distribution,
threats
and
opportunities for expansion.|
|---|---|---|
|**Evidence & Planning:**
Provide advice on 4,000ha
of
land
through
our
responses
to
planning
applications and protect
core
sites
and
wildlife
corridors
through
Neighbourhood Plan policy
adoption.
We will review the HS2
biodiversity
metrics
on
behalf
of
The
Wildlife
Trusts;
continue
to
campaign
for
the
government to Stop and
Rethink HS2; respond to
consultations and hold HS2
to account with regards to
BiodiversityNet Gain.|We
have
provided
advice
and/or
consultation responses for approximately
610ha of land. Much of the advice has been
focused on securing Biodiversity Net Gain
on
large
housing
and
commercial
developments in the region. We were
instrumental in securing commuted sum
payments for biodiversity compensation
totalling over £800k and we have provided
significant input on policy and allocation
sites for new Local Plans in Warrington,
Halton, Wirral and Greater Manchester
Combined Authorities.
We’ve identified and/or surveyed 165ha of
potential Local Wildlife Sites ready for
designation in FY23. We’ve worked on two
Neighbourhood
Planning
reports
and
identified wildlife corridors for protection
under NP policies.
We have completed a detailed analysis of
publicly available HS2 environmental data
to develop an understanding of whether the
scheme is meeting its commitments to
biodiversity.|Provide advice and/or consultation
responses for 3,000ha of land
through our Neighbourhood Plan
work.
Provide input on at least three major
local policy consultations.
Work with at least 10 separate
developers to improve the quality of
BNG metrics submitted to support
planning applications.
Progress the designation of at least
165ha of Local Wildlife Site quality
land.
Continue to support the protection of
wildlife
corridors
through
Neighbourhood Plans.
Use
the
analysis
of
HS2
environmental data to hold HS2 Ltd
to account and campaign for better
outcomes for nature. Respond to the
Phase 2b environmental statement
and petition to select committee if
necessary.|
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**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **TRUSTEES’ REPORT** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022**_
||We will deliver bespoke
training packages to local
authorities.
We
will
continue to respond to
planning
policy
consultations and support
Natural England and the
local authorities on the
development
of
Nature
Recovery Strategies.
We will develop a suite of
training courses to deliver
across the Wildlife Trust
movement and through
CIEEM
to
consultant
ecologists nationally. We
will work with developers
and local authorities to
ensure
high-quality
schemes are delivered.
We will continue to secure
positive
outcomes
for
wildlife. We will focus on
Biodiversity Net Gain as the
main mechanism to achieve
this.|We’ve delivered Biodiversity Net Gain
training to the majority of Lancashire
planning authorities as well as Cheshire
West and Chester Council and Cheshire East
Council. We’ve responded to Local Plan
consultations for Greater Manchester and
Warrington and by engaging at an early
stage we’ve been influential, especially with
regards to BNG policies. We’ve engaged
with Stockport’s climate summit.
We’ve developed a suite of training courses
and webinars and delivered training to 60+
staff from various Wildlife Trusts across the
country. We represented The Wildlife
Trusts on Biodiversity Net Gain sounding
boards and secured positive changes that
make the roll-out of the scheme more
robust.
We’ve worked with over 10 developers on
their BNG schemes and input into three
national consultations.
We’ve secured the first BNG scheme at
Saltersford Hall Farm and ensured that it
meets all of the requirements to deliver the
agreed number of BNG units.
We’ve produced a full BNG Report and
Management Plan for Chat Moss for the
Greater Manchester Environment Fund
project.|Work closely with local authorities
and other bodies to support the
creation of a Cheshire region Local
Nature Recovery Strategy.
We will continue to deliver training
courses on BNG to a variety of
audiences to generate income and to
raise standards in the industry. This
will result in better outcomes for
biodiversity at a national level and
help secure demand for biodiversity
units to help fund nature recovery
strategies across the UK.
We
will
input
in
a
national
consultation on the new BNG metric
and continue to sit on the BNG metric
working group chaired by NE.
We will acquire a further site for BNG
unit sales and look to develop BNG
marketing and support to maximise
sales.
We will continue to use our
experience to influence the roll out of
BNG
regionally
and
nationally
through advocacy and training and
through the development of a new
BNG
partnership
project
across
Greater Manchester.|
|---|---|---|---|
10
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **TRUSTEES’ REPORT**
## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022**_
## **2. Climate is in crisis: Below is a summary of our climate adaptation and resilience programme which aims to see nature play its full part in addressing the climate crisis and CWT achieve at least net zero by 2030.**
|**What we planned for FY22**|**Some of the things we did in FY22**|**What we have planned for FY23**|
|---|---|---|
|**Net Zero CWT:**
Create a carbon reduction
plan to achieve at least net
zero by 2030.|We completed our carbon reduction plan
and formed a working group to oversee its
implementation.|Introduce
an
Electric
Vehicle
scheme and agile working policy for
staff to reduce the carbon footprint
arising from staff travel.
Carry out a review of land
management
with
emissions
reduction and avoidance in mind.|
|**Wetland & Watercourse**
**Restoration:**
Complete an analysis of the
peatland within Cheshire
East. Develop a project to
restore agricultural peat
soils.
Complete a further 50 farm
water management plans
and implement £150,000 of
improvement projects to
improve the quality of
Cheshire’s watercourses.|Report published jointly with Cheshire East
Council containing an analysis of emissions
and restoration potential across 3,603ha of
peat soils: Peatlands of Cheshire East.
Due to a number of unforeseen reasons we
fell short of the original 50 farm water
management plans and completed 28 in
total.|Progress
the
actions
in
the
Peatlands of Cheshire East report to
bring about the restoration of
peatland soils. Complete an
analysis of peatland in Cheshire
West.
Complete a further 15 farm water
surveys in the headwaters of the
Dane on behalf of United Utilities
with
a
view
to
identifying
interventions to improve water
quality.|
|**Woodland**
**Creation**
**&**
**Restoration:**
Begin delivery of a Trees for
Cheshire project to create
200ha of woodland over
four years.|We began our Trees for Cheshire project in
November 2021 and created 10.91ha of
new woodland and identified further sites
and negotiated landowner agreements
ready for planting in the 2022/23 winter
season.|We will continue working with The
Mersey Forest and City of Trees to
create 100ha of woodland.|
11
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
**TRUSTEES’ REPORT** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022**_
**3. We are in crisis: Below is a summary of our communications, engagement and mobilisation programme aimed at creating a society that cares about wildlife and where 1 in 4 people are taking action for nature by 2030.**
|**What we planned for FY22**|**Some of the things we did in FY22**|**What we have planned for FY23**|
|---|---|---|
|**Education**
**&**
**Public**
**Engagement:**
Gradually resume events
and
community
engagement activities as
restrictions ease.
Launch a new approach to
engagement focused much
more on mobilising large
numbers of people to take
action for nature.|We attended RHS Tatton, Chester Zoo
Wildlife Connections Festival, Designed by
Nature Storyhouse events and the Royal
Cheshire Show as well as hosting a variety
of walks and talks engaging with 1,921
people
physically.
In
addition,
we
developed and executed our very own
‘Wilder Weekend’ event in Macclesfield,
partnering with local community groups
and champions, through which we not only
engaged 1,760 people but also created two
wildflower meadows/strips, worked with
nine local schools and ran activities such as
nature crafts and wellbeing walks to
connect people to nature.
We hosted five online webinars reaching a
further 463 people.
10,000
trees
were
planted
with
communities across Cheshire East.
As schools began to ease restrictions we
began hosting school trips to nature
reserves, delivering forest school sessions
on site as part of the PPL funded ‘Wild
Warrington’ project, and launched the
‘Wilder Schools network’.
We began our new community organising
approach to engagement, inspiring and
supporting more people to take action
through targeted campaigns and through
building the capacity of champions.|Attend large-scale Cheshire events
as well as reach new audiences
through attendance at arts/culture
events
and
our
own
Wilder
Weekends.
Continue to build the Wilder
Schools network, extending our
reach and inspiring action in school
grounds.
Using a community organising
approach,
inspire
communities
within Crewe to take action for
nature – driving a people-powered
nature recovery network.|
12
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
**TRUSTEES’ REPORT** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022**_
|Celebrate
our
60th
anniversary.
Support at least 12,000
people to take action for
wildlife,
including
developing a network of
champions.
Complete
our
Sport
England-funded Wellbeing
with Nature project and
create a sustainable scaling
model to increase our
reach.|Plans were developed for the celebration of
our 60thanniversary in 2022 including a
special event for supporters and members
and additional fundraising activities. In
March, we produced a special ‘60th
birthday
edition’
of
‘Your
WildLife’
membership magazine.
We began identifying ‘champions’ through
our work with community groups and
supported 50 champions with advice,
signposting and toolkit/guide creation, who
in turn engaged on average 20 people each
(reaching
1,000).
Two
spaces
were
transformed by the champions and their
community groups and in that process
engaged 200 local residents who will go on
to benefit from the spaces as well as
wildlife.
During the year, 13,723 people took action
for wildlife, whether that was writing to
their local councillor, making a bird box or
hedgehog house, or planting trees.
Our Go Wild Get Fit programme was
completed in December 2021 with 203
participants benefitting over the three-year
project. The scaling plan was revised to
ensure
that
future
wellbeing
work
integrates with the new approach to
engagement.|Deliver a 60thbirthday public
appeal, themed communications
and a 60thbirthday event for
longstanding members and special
supporters.
Continue to build our champion
network to 100, expanding to
include new groups such as schools
and businesses, and supporting
them with additional tools, training
and an online platform.
Launch a Young Leaders project and
plan to grow our work with young
people.
Complete the Sport England-funded
scaling
project
to
develop
a
sustainable approach to increase
people’s nature connection and
improve wellbeing through nature.|
|---|---|---|
|**Volunteering:**
We will seek to renew our
Investing
in
Volunteers
quality badge and resume
volunteering activity as and
when restrictions ease.|Volunteering activities resumed and we
gradually moved back to offering a full
programme of events. We are increasing
our volunteer opportunities as projects
grow across the Trust.|We will increase our volunteering
opportunities and increase our
volunteer audience.|
|**Partnership Working:**
We will continue to develop
our partnership approach
and
ensure
that|During the year we continued to work with
local partners such as local authorities,
businesses,other charities and community|We’re aiming to expand our
landowner engagement through
the deliveryof a Defra Test & Trials|
13
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **TRUSTEES’ REPORT** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022**_
|stakeholders
are
fully
engaged
with
project
development and delivery.
We
plan to work with 50
landowners and farmers
across Cheshire to help
them manage their land
better for wildlife.|organisations as well as cross-border
partners in Wales and with Wildlife Trusts
across the country.
We worked with approx. 110 landowners
and farmers across various projects and
schemes to enable them to manage their
land better for wildlife. The landowners
engaged ranged from smallholders with 1ha
up to those with hundreds of hectares of
land such as the Grosvenor Estate where we
delivered wildflower meadow restoration
and hedgerow treeplanting.|contract. Through this we will be
working with tenant farmers on the
Cholmondeley
Estate
to
help
influence
the
forthcoming
Environment Land Management
Schemes whilst also developing our
Land
Management
Advisory
Services in conjunction with the
Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts.|
|---|---|---|
|**Communications**
**&**
**Campaigns:**
Engage at least 150,000
people during the year,
including 35,000 through
social media.
Recruit at least 2,000 new
memberships and achieve a
90% retention rate. Stay
connected with over 5,000
people every week through
the
Wild
Cheshire
e-
newsletter.
Engage 5,000 people in our
Grow Don’t Mow, Wasted
Space, Great Big Green
Week
and
Peat-free
campaigns.
We
will
continue to engage with
MPs.|
We reached over 29,000 followers through
our social media channels, generating over
183,000 engagements with our content.
1,844
memberships
were
recruited,
achieving 85% retention rate. By the end of
the year, an average of 5,488 people were
opening our content each week.
5,757 people took part in our various
campaigns and we launched our Wasted
Space programme in April 2022, with
actions and targets now forming part of our
FY23 plan.|With an updated social media
strategy, paid-for promotion and
the addition of a new Digital
Marketing Officer focusing on
‘people-powered’ stories, we will
continue to grow our following
through
existing
channels
to
36,000, as well as adding new
channels, such as TikTok. We will
also optimise the content and
channels
for
fundraising
and
engagement targets.
We
aim
to
increase
our
membership twofold, firstly by
launching a digital hub to boost
digital membership recruitment
and secondly by expanding our
face-to-face
recruitment
team,
building
upon
their
success
following the lifting of Covid-19
restrictions.
Continue to inspire and drive 5,000
people to act through our Wasted
Space, Grow Don’t Mow, Nature
Recovery and HS2 campaigns. We
will continue to engage with MPs
and influence councils to declare an
eco-emergency.|
14
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
**TRUSTEES’ REPORT** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022**_
## **4. We are effective and resilient: Below is a summary of our programme to ensure that CWT has the financial resources it needs, is well run and has a high-performing and valued staff and volunteer team.**
|**What we planned for**
**FY22**|**Some of the things we did in FY22**|**What we have planned for FY23**|
|---|---|---|
|**Financial Sustainability:**
We
will
continue
to
carefully
manage
the
ongoing effects of the
pandemic.
We will further grow our
income from services and
contracts.
We will continue to make
best use of grant funding
to
pump
prime
new
projects.
We
will
grow
our
membership.|Our total income increased from £2.3m in
FY21 to just under £2.7m in FY22 and we
returned an overall surplus of £10,865. This is
the sixth successive year in which the Trust has
managed its expenditure within budgetary
limits. We have continued to grow through
the pandemic and have now recovered from
the impacts felt in 2020.
Income from earned income grew by a further
43% from £813,212 to £1,165,280. This large
increase was in part due to the integration of
our subsidiary trading into the primary trading
of the charity. During the year new contracts
for habitat creation and land management
advice were secured.
Income from grants grew slightly from
£699,846 to £708,579 secured from a range of
sources including National Lottery Heritage
Fund, People’s Postcode Lottery and a number
of charitable trusts. Grant funding enabled
the continuation of existing engagement
activities.
Income from membership increased by 11%
from £457,936 in FY21 to £509,134 in FY22,
demonstrating that supporting environmental
causes remained high on the public agenda.
The total number of members increased from
15,890 to 16,923. Income from donations and
legacies rose slightly to £115,938 and we
raised £156,715 through appeals thanks to the
generous support given to our Saltersford
Farm acquisition campaign.|Sustainably grow income to over
£3m.
Continue to grow earned income
from primary trading activities.
Secure grant funding to expand
community
organising
and
campaigning.
Sustainably increase membership
numbers and subscription income.
Additionally, we expect income
from donations and legacies to
exceed £53,000. During our 60th
year, we hope to raise £200,000
from a public appeal to help buy a
new 100-acre plot of land to
transform into a wildlife haven.|
15
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **TRUSTEES’ REPORT**
## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022**_
||We will aim to at least
maintain and ideally grow
our financial reserves.
**Good Governance:**
We will begin delivering
against our new strategy.
We will align staffing and
resources to our three
strategic pillars and map
out our approach for
achieving the targets over
the next decade.
Recruit
at
least
two
further Trustees.
We
will
continue
to
ensure that the charity is
governed in line with
Charity Commission best
practice guidance.
**Working**
**in**
**the**
**Federation:**
We will continue to work
closely with our partners
in
the
federation
of
Wildlife Trusts in order to
collaborate at scale and
share best practice.|
The £100k working capital invested in our
subsidiary company was returned as part of
the company close down and overall total
financial reserves now stand at £1,291,898,
with the majority assigned to restricted and
designated purposes.
During the year we set out our plans for
achieving 30% of land protected and restored
by 2030, identifying the need to double
woodland cover, triple the extent of wetland
and create 10,000ha more grassland. We also
set out our approach to achieving 1 in 4 people
taking action for nature and began scaling up
our engagement and communications. A new
post of Wilder Engagement Manager was
created to lead this work.
Two new Trustees were elected during the
year, replacing two standing down at the end
of their tenure.
We have continued to govern the charity
effectively. The Board has reviewed key
policies in line with its schedule and
undertaken a root and branch review of roles,
job descriptions and salaries across all teams.
The Board has met quarterly and continues to
be supported by a small number of
committees and working groups.
The CEO and Chair continued to attend Royal
Society of Wildlife Trust events and serve on
national committees. Staff from across CWT
worked with other Trusts to deliver projects
including development of habitat banking
with Warwickshire and Berks, Bucks and Oxon
Wildlife Trusts; Wilder Stockport with the
Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and
North
Merseyside;
fundraising
and
communications with Derbyshire Wildlife
Trust; and the Our Dee Estuary project with
North Wales Wildlife Trust.|
Grow unrestricted cash reserves.
Continue to deliver against our
strategic goals.
Maintain a diverse and effective
Board.
Implement improved benefits and
remuneration packages to staff.
Continually
review
Board
effectiveness.
We will continue to play our full
part in the development of the
federation
to
support
the
implementation of the ‘Bringing
Nature
Back’
collective
2030
strategy.|
|---|---|---|---|
16
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
**TRUSTEES’ REPORT** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022**_
## **Financial review**
## **Review of the year**
Cheshire Wildlife Trust's financial position improved during the year with overall income standing at £2,688,836 (2021: £2,290,447). The consolidated unrestricted income for the year was £1,973,586 (2021: £1,657,616) and restricted income £715,250 (2021: £632,831).
Expenditure for the period totalled £2,677,971 (2021: £2,239,461).
## **Principal funding sources**
Following last year’s transfer of trade and assets from the subsidiary to the parent company, the profile of the funding sources has changed. The largest source of unrestricted income is now from contracts and commercial income although membership subscriptions continue to provide a major part of the Trust’s ongoing unrestricted funding. The main sources of funding for the charity were:
Earned income 43.3% Grants 26.4% Membership subscriptions (including gift aid) 18.9% Appeals and sponsorships 5.8% Donations and legacies 4.3% Fundraising 1.0% Other income 0.3%
## **Generating funds**
We receive approximately 30% of our financial support through voluntary income from individuals across a range of fundraising activities. Trust membership is the foundation of everything we do and we endeavour to grow this each year. The overall number of members at 31 March 2022 was 16,923. This is attributable to an increased public interest in environmental concerns combined with an increased CWT profile and use of alternative recruitment methods such as digital conversion and direct mail. Members not only provide vital funding that enables positive work for wildlife but also represent the collective voice of people who care about wildlife. This is critically important in helping the Trust to stand up for wildlife and get our message across to key decision makers.
We also aim to build lasting support from institutional bodies, including our corporate members, statutory grant funders and charitable trusts. Some of our charitable activities also generate income, especially from land management, ecological advice and education services.
In our activities, we receive extensive assistance from our volunteers, who are at the heart of what the Trust does and achieves; without their help our work would be greatly diminished. Volunteers founded the Trust in 1962 and they are still fundamental to our work. They carry out a variety of roles, from practical conservation and field surveys, to support for office and education activities. All the volunteers are doing vital jobs that allow us to maintain our core business.
17
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
**TRUSTEES’ REPORT** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022**_
|**Financial reserves**
Total Funds
Less restricted
Less designated
Unrestricted Funds
Unrestricted cash and investments|**Group**
£1,291,898
£ 460,152
£ 161,194
|
|---|---|
||£ 670,552|
||£347,841|
The Council has examined the Trust’s requirements for financial reserves in the light of the main risks to the organisation in order to:
- provide sufficient cash liquidity for operational effectiveness of the Trust, and
- protect the continuity of the work undertaken by the Trust.
The Trust has targeted a level of unrestricted cash and investments of four months’ expenditure by the Trust (excluding that on grant funded projects). At March 2022 the Trust had cash reserves which are sufficient to cover 3 months’ unrestricted expenditure. The Trust is looking to increase this cover to safeguard both the operational and financial sustainability of the Trust as the organisation grows.
## **Investment policy**
The trade and assets of Cheshire Ecological Services Ltd, which is wholly owned by CWT were transferred to the charity in October 2020, which resulted in the subsidiary becoming dormant. The outstanding loan of £50,000 was repaid in April 2021.
Any surplus cash, over and above the amount required to support one month’s working capital requirement, is held in secure instant access accounts at competitive rates.
## **Risk management**
The Chief Executive maintains a strategic risk register which is regularly reviewed by Council with actions to mitigate risks taken as needed.
The current main strategic risks are:
- the health & wellbeing of the Trust’s staff, volunteers and supporters as a result of Covid-19;
- financial reserves which fall below the four-month target and associated cash flow sensitivities;
- continued decline of the UK’s natural environment combined with insufficient societal and political support for our cause;
- rising inflation and the impact of the cost of living crisis on operational costs, wages and public spending;
18
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
**TRUSTEES’ REPORT** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022**_
- HS2 phase 2b, which if delivered would see the loss of 92ha of woodland, 495ha of speciesrich grassland, 333 ponds, 43 Local Wildlife Sites and 1 CWT nature reserve.
## **Structure, governance and management**
## **Governing document**
The Cheshire Wildlife Trust Limited (CWT) is a charitable company limited by guarantee and as such has no share capital. It was incorporated on 24 October 1962 and registered as a charity on 20 February 1963. The company was established under a Memorandum of Association which established the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed under its Articles of Association. The Articles of Association were reviewed during 2019/20 with the support of Brabners LLP. The new governing document was approved by the Charity Commission in April 2020 and adopted at the AGM in November 2020.
## **Recruitment and appointment of Trustees**
The Trustees are members of CWT who, having been nominated and seconded by other members, have been duly elected by members at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). Under the CWT Articles, such elected members are known as Council Members.
Council Members are registered as Directors of the company under company law and are also registered as Charity Trustees with the Charity Commission.
In compliance with the Articles of Association adopted on 14 November 2020, Directors are appointed to the Board for terms of three years. On expiry of such three-year term the Director shall resign unless re-elected by an ordinary resolution of the charity. A Director may not serve on the Board for more than three consecutive terms of three years.
Additional Council Members may be co-opted during the period. They must retire at the next AGM, though may stand for re-election.
The Council aims to have a representative mix of skills from various sectors of the community. The current mix of men and women, living across the area served by the Trust, includes expertise from backgrounds in the public, private and voluntary sectors. In addition to their knowledge and interest in wildlife, Council Members bring to the Trust managerial and organisational skills in policy, strategy, financial and legal matters.
The Articles of Association specifically preclude any payment to Council Members, other than reimbursement of properly incurred travel and incidental expenses. During the period Council Members claimed £nil in expenses (2019/20: £1,442.70).
There are no other financial transactions with any Trustees (or any persons connected with them).
19
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
**TRUSTEES’ REPORT** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022**_
## **Council Members induction and training**
All Council Members have undergone an induction programme which included an induction pack, an explanation of our governance arrangements and the opportunity to visit Trust reserves and offices and to have discussions with Trust management, employees and volunteers.
As part of this induction, all Council Members have a Council Members’ Handbook containing the reference material to guide the governance of the Trust, including copies of the Trust’s Articles of Association, the Charity Commission booklet CC3 ‘The Essential Trustee’, the Companies House ‘Incorporation and Names’ booklet (GP1), the Companies House ‘Hallmarks of an Effective Charity’ booklet (CC10) and the Health and Safety Executive booklet ‘Leading Health & Safety at Work’. A copy of ‘Good Governance: a practical guide for trustees, chairs and CEOs’ by Dorothy Dalton on behalf of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations is held by the Chair of Council.
## **Organisational structure**
The Council is responsible for the strategic direction and policy of the charity, and for appointing the Chief Executive, Charlotte Harris (from 1 April 2013), who attends Council meetings but does not have a voting entitlement. The Council holds at least four regular meetings a year, with occasional additional workshops to focus on special topics.
The Council utilises a number of committee and working groups to scrutinise and support specific areas of the Trust’s operations in more detail. From January 2020, the following committees support the work of Council: Finance, Audit, Risk & Resources; Governance & Nominations; CES Board; Health & Safety Committee and a Management Support Group. This last group is advisory only and exists to support the Senior Management Team in between formal meetings.
Each committee and working group is chaired by a Council member. Membership of the group includes up to five Trustees and senior staff responsible for each work area. Meetings take place as required and report to Council.
The strategic direction, annual work plans and budget are agreed by Council with operational day-today decision making delegated to the Chief Executive and Senior Leadership Team.
Pay and remuneration of the Chief Executive is dealt with by the Chair of Council in consultation with the Board of Trustees. The Finance, Audit, Risk & Resources Committee considers recommendations from the Chief Executive regarding salaries for the Senior Leadership Team, who in turn set pay levels for more junior staff in line with the approved budget and CWT salary scales. Benchmarking data from the Wildlife Trust movement and wider charity sector are used to inform decision making.
## **Relationship with the charity and related parties including its subsidiaries**
The Cheshire Wildlife Trust Limited is the sole shareholder in a trading company, Cheshire Ecological Services Limited (CES) (Company No: 2623356), which is a private limited company incorporated on 24 June 1991. On 1 October 2020 the staff, trade and activities of CES were transferred to CWT and the company became dormant in April 2021.
20
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **TRUSTEES’ REPORT**
## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022**_
CWT 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. Partners have the use of the Wildlife Trusts logo and benefit from the resources, best practice and specialist experience of other member Trusts. Membership gives the charity a national voice and profile, as well as respectability by association for those unfamiliar with its particular work. However, each member of the partnership remains entirely independent in terms of governance.
## **Statement of the Board's responsibilities**
The Trustees (who are also Directors of Cheshire Wildlife Trust 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 the group and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable group for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- state whether applicable 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 charity 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 the group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
## **Statement as to disclosure of information to auditors**
The members of the Board who were in office on the date of approval of these financial statements have confirmed, as far as they are aware, that there is no relevant audit information of which the auditors are unaware. Each of the members of the Board has confirmed that they have taken all steps that they ought to have taken as members of the Board in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that it has been communicated to the auditor.
The Trustees have reviewed the future financial forecasts of the charity and are satisfied that the charity remains a going concern. Accordingly, the financial statements have been prepared on the going concern basis.
21
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
**TRUSTEES’ REPORT**
_**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022**_
## **Auditors**
A resolution to re-appoint Mitchell Charlesworth (Audit) Limited as auditor will be proposed at the Annual General Meeting.
This report has been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (effective 1 January 2019).
The Report of the Members of the Board, which includes the Strategic Report on pages 6 to 16, was approved by the Board on 19 October 2022 and signed on their behalf:
Bill Stothart **Chair of Council**
Date: 19 October 2022
22
## **THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS AND TRUSTEES OF THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **Opinion**
We have audited the financial statements of The Cheshire Wildlife Trust Limited and its subsidiary for the year ended 31 March 2022 which comprise the Group Statement of Financial Activities, the Group Summary Income and Expenditure Account, the Group and the Parent Charitable Company Balance Sheet and the notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 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 group’s and parent charitable company’s affairs as at 31 March 2022, and of the group’s 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 group and parent 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.
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 Trust's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve 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 Trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Trustees’ annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. 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.
In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with
23
## **THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS AND TRUSTEES OF THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in 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 there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. 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 for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
- The Trustees’ Report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
## **Matters on which we are required to report by exception**
In the light of our knowledge and understanding of the Trust, and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in 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; or
- the Trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies’ regime
## **Responsibilities of Trustees**
As explained more fully in the Trustees’ responsibilities statement, 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 group’s and parent 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 group or the parent 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
24
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS AND TRUSTEES OF THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
## **Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud**
We identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, and then design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, including obtaining audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
## **Identifying and assessing potential risks related to irregularities**
In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we considered the following:
- the nature of the sector, control environment and Trust performance;
- the Trust's own assessment of the risks that irregularities may occur either as a result of fraud or error;
- the results of our enquiries of management and members of the Board of Trustees of their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities;
- any matters we identified having obtained and reviewed the Trust's documentation of their policies and procedures relating to:
- identifying, evaluating and complying with laws and regulations and whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance;
- detecting and responding to the risks of fraud and whether they have knowledge of any actual, suspected or alleged fraud;
- the internal controls established to mitigate risks of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations; and
- the matters discussed among the audit engagement team regarding how and where fraud might occur in the financial statements and any potential indicators of fraud.
As a result of these procedures, we considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the company for fraud and identified the greatest potential for fraud in the following areas (i) The recognition of revenue, (ii) the allocation of income and expenditure between restricted and unrestricted funds. In common with all audits under ISAs (UK), we are also required to perform specific procedures to respond to the risk of management override.
We also obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that the Trust operates in, focusing on provisions of those laws and regulations that had a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The key laws and regulations we considered in this context included the Companies Act 2006, Charities Act 2011, and Health and Safety legislation.
In addition, we considered provisions of other laws and regulations that do not have a direct effect on the financial statements but compliance with which may be fundamental to the Trust's ability to operate or to avoid a material penalty. These included Data Protection Regulations.
25
## **THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS AND TRUSTEES OF THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **Audit response to risks identified**
As a result of performing the above, we identified the recognition of revenue, and the allocation of income and expenditure between restricted and unrestricted funds as the key audit matters related to the potential risk of fraud.
In addition to the above, our procedures to respond to risks identified included the following:
- reviewing the financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with relevant laws and regulations described above as having a direct effect on the financial statements;
- enquiring of management and members of the Board of Trustees concerning actual and potential litigation and claims;
- performing analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that may indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud;
- reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance and reviewing correspondence with relevant authorities where matters identified were significant; and
- in addressing the risk of fraud through management override of controls, testing the appropriateness of journal entries and other adjustments; assessing whether the judgements made in making accounting estimates are indicative of a potential bias; and evaluating the business rationale of any significant transactions that are unusual or outside the normal course of business.
We also communicated relevant identified laws and regulations and potential fraud risks to all engagement team members and remained alert to any indications of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations throughout the audit.
A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's 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 and its Trustees 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, Trustees as a body and the charitable company’s Trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
## 19/10/2022
|**Jamielee Johnston (Senior Statutory Auditor)**||
|---|---|
|**For and on behalf of Mitchell Charlesworth (Audit) Limited**||
|**Statutory Auditor**|3rdFloor|
||44 Peter Street|
||Manchester|
||M2 5GP|
_Mitchell Charlesworth (Audit) Limited is eligible to act as an auditor in terms of section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006_
26
## **THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities Year ended 31 March 2022**
|**Notes**
**Income**
Donations and legacies
**2**
Charitable activities
**3**
Investments
**4**
TOTAL
**Expenditure**
Raising funds
**5**
Charitable activities
**6**
TOTAL
**Net income/(expenditure)**
Transfers between funds
**Net movement in funds**
**Reconciliation of funds:**
Total Funds brought forward
Total Funds carried forward|**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**Total**
**2022**
**£**
**£**
**£**
625,072
156,715
781,787
1,344,673
558,535
1,903,208
3,841
3,841
1,973,586
715,250
2,688,836
342,245
38,530
380,775
1,753,871
543,325
2,297,196
2,096,116
581,855
2,677,971
(122,530)
133,395
10,865
208,942
(208,942)
-
86,412
(75,547)
10,865
745,334
535,699
1,281,033
831,746
460,152
1,291,898|**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**Total**
**2021**
**£**
**£**
**£**
559,351
61,067
620,418
1,094,197
571,764
1,665,961
4,068
-
4,068|
|---|---|---|
|||1,657,616
632,831
2,290,447
365,156
-
365,156
1,357,677
516,628
1,874,305|
|||1,722,833
516,628
2,239,461|
|||(65,217)
116,203
50,986
(35,249)
35,249
-|
|||(100,466)
151,452
50,986|
|||845,800
384,247
1,230,047|
|||745,334
535,699
1,281,033|
27
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **Consolidated Balance Sheet Year ended 31 March 2022**
|||**Year ended**|**Year ended**|**Year ended**|**Year ended**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**31 March 2022**||**31 March 2021**||
||**Notes**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|**Fixed Assets**||||||
|Tangible assets|**12**||618,496||117,522|
|Heritage assets|**12**||316,046||316,046|
|**Total fixed assets**|||934,542||433,568|
|**Current assets**||||||
|Stocks|**15**|4,853||7,956||
|Debtors|**16**|798,405||328,592||
|Cash at bank and in hand||1,027,831||1,114,881||
|**Total current assets**||1,831,089||1,451,429||
|**Liabilities**||||||
|Creditors:||||||
|Amounts falling due within one
year|**18**|1,193,733||603,964||
|Net current asset|||637,356||847,465|
|Creditors: amounts falling due in
more than one year|**19**||(280,000)|||
|**Total net assets**|||1,291,898||1,281,033|
|**The funds of the charity**||||||
|Unrestricted funds|**21**||831,746||745,334|
|Restricted income funds|**21**||460,152||535,699|
|**Total funds**|||1,291,898||1,281,033|
The notes on pages 31 to 50 form part of these financial statements.
Signed: Signed: Bill Stothart Peter Rushton Date: Date: 19/10/2022 19/10/2022
28
## **THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **Company Balance Sheet**
## **Year ended 31 March 2022**
|**Company Balance Sheet**
**Year ended 31 March 2022**||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**Year ended**|||**Year ended**|||
|||**31 March 2022**|**31 March 2022**||**31 March 2021**|**31 March 2021**||
||**Notes**|**£**||**£**|**£**||**£**|
|**Fixed Assets**||||||||
|Tangible assets|**13**|||618,496|||117,522|
|Heritage assets|**13**|||316,046|||316,046|
|Investments|**14**|||100|||100|
|**Total fixed assets**||||934,642|||433,668|
|**Current assets**||||||||
|Stocks|**15**||4,853|||7,956||
|Debtors|**16**||798,405|||454,694||
|Cash at bank and in hand||1,027,831||||983,072||
|Total current assets||1,831,089|||1,445,722|||
|**Liabilities**||||||||
|Creditors:||||||||
|Amounts falling due within one
year|**18**|1,193,833||||603,963||
|Net current assets||||637,256|||841,759|
|Creditors : amounts falling due||||||||
|in more than one year|**19**|||(280,000)||||
|Total net assets or liabilities||||1,291,898|||1,275,427|
|The funds of the charity||||||||
|Unrestricted funds||||831,746|||739,728|
|Restricted income funds|**21**|||460,152|||535,699|
|Total funds||||1,291,898|||1,275,427|
The notes on pages 31 to 50 form part of these financial statements.
Signed: Bill Stothart Date: 19/10/2022
Signed: Peter Rushton Date: 19/10/2022
29
## **THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **Statement of Cash Flow**
## **Year ended 31 March 2022**
|**Notes**
**2022**
**£**
**Cash flows from operating activities:**
**Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities**
**26**
169,290
**Cash flows from investing activities:**
Dividends, interest and rents from investments
-
Proceeds from the sale of property, plant and
equipment
8,460
Purchase of property, plant and equipment
(544,800)
Proceeds from the sale of investments
-
Purchase of investments
-
**Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities**
(536,340)
**Cash flows from financing activities:**
Repayments of borrowing
(220,000)
Net cash inflows from new borrowing
500,000
Receipt of endowment
-
**Net cash used in financing activities**
280,000
**Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period**
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the reporting period
**Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the reporting period**|**2022**
**£**
(87,050)
1,114,881
1,027,831|**2021**
**£**
269,879
-
4,917
(30,894)
-
-||**2021**
**£**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||(25,977)|||
|||-
-
-|||
|||-|||
||||||
|||||243,902|
|||||870,979|
|||||1,114,881|
30
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **Accounting Policies Year ended 31 March 2022**
## **1 Accounting policies**
## **1.1 General information**
The Cheshire Wildlife Trust Limited is a charity incorporated as a company limited by guarantee in England and Wales. The registered office is Bickley Hall Farm, Bickley, Malpas, Cheshire, SY14 8EF.
## **1.2 Basis of preparation**
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (FRS 102) – 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 (effective 1 January 2019). The figures in the accounts are rounded to the nearest £ and the presentational currency is sterling.
Cheshire Wildlife Trust meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical costs or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy notes.
## **1.3 Group Accounts**
The Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) and Balance Sheet consolidate the financial statements of the Charity and its subsidiary undertaking. The results of the subsidiary are consolidated on a line-by-line basis.
No separate SOFA has been presented for the Charity alone as permitted by Section 408 of the Companies Act 2006.
The Charity has availed itself of Paragraph 4(1) of Schedule 1 of the Large and Medium-sized Companies and Group (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and adapted the Companies Act formats to reflect the special nature of the Charity's activities.
The subsidiary ceased trading in October 2020 and became dormant in April 2021 and as such there is no significant difference between the Group and Company figures.
## **1.4 Fund Accounting**
## **1.4.1 Unrestricted Funds**
Unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity and which have not been designated for other purposes.
## **1.4.2 Restricted Income Funds**
These funds are given to the Trust for a particular purpose to be used in accordance with the wishes of the donor.
31
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **Accounting Policies Year ended 31 March 2022**
## **1.4.3 Designated Funds – Projects**
Designated funds are unrestricted funds set aside by the Trustees for specific projects. These projects may only be partly funded with the unfunded element set aside from general funds.
## **1.5 Incoming resources**
The Trust was formed in 1962 by volunteers and continues to benefit from their support in both financial and non-financial ways. Examples of financial support include membership income, donations and legacies. These contributions are included in the accounts within voluntary income.
Voluntary income is received by way of donations, gifts, subscriptions and fundraising activities. The income is credited to the SOFA on the earlier of receipt or when the receipt is probable, the value can be ascertained, and the Trust gets the legal right to the income. Tax refunds on gift aid income are, however, accrued as earned.
Legacy income is included in the accounts when the amount due can be quantified with reasonable probability and the timing of the receipt is known.
Grants receivable which are not conditional on the delivery of a specific performance by the charity are recognised when the charity becomes unconditionally entitled to the grant. These are recognised as ‘Income from donation and legacies’.
Grants receivable that relate to the delivery of a specific performance by the charity are recognised when the charity earns the right to consideration by its performance. A number of these grants are retrospective and where these are outstanding at the year end for work completed, they are accrued. These are recognised as ‘Income from charitable activities’.
All grants receivable are charged to the SOFA in the period to which they relate.
## **1.6 Resources expended**
All expenditure, other than that which is capitalised, is included in the SOFA, recognised on an accruals basis as a liability when incurred.
Charitable activities consist of the costs incurred in support of expenditure on the objects of the charity.
Costs of raising funds consists of expenditure associated with attracting voluntary income and the costs of fundraising and maintaining memberships.
Support costs relate to expenditure incurred in support of the charitable objects of the charity. These include the provision of premises, personnel, information technology, insurances and audit fees and have been allocated on the basis of direct staff wage costs.
Many of our volunteers provide non-financial support covering a wide range of activities, from acting as Trustees to assisting in conservation activities including surveying, and providing administrative support. No amounts are included in the financial statements for services donated by volunteers.
32
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **Accounting Policies Year ended 31 March 2022**
Capital purchases are included in the accounts at cost. Capital purchases of less than £250 are expensed.
## **1.7 Irrecoverable VAT**
The charity is partially exempt. Irrecoverable VAT is allocated to the appropriate cost categories.
## **1.8 Going concern**
At the time of approving the financial statements, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the Charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. As such the Trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
## **1.9 Tangible fixed assets**
Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost less depreciation. Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset, except for land, over its estimated useful life:
Plant and machinery – 25% per annum reducing balance
Fixtures and fittings – 25% per annum reducing balance
Motor vehicles – 25% per annum reducing balance
Computer equipment – 25–33.33% per annum straight line basis
No depreciation is provided on freehold land.
Capitalised expenditure on buildings is depreciated over the remainder of the lease period.
## **1.10 Heritage Assets**
Heritage Assets are nature reserves, capitalised at the date of addition. Any assets donated, where the cost is unknown, are capitalised at the date of addition. Further details are disclosed within note 12 to the accounts.
## **1.11 Stocks and work in progress**
General stocks are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value, where cost comprises purchase price.
Work in progress is valued at cost.
## **1.12 Deferred income**
Restricted funds received for projects which are substantially incomplete or not commenced at year end are recognised in the year in which they are received and carried forward in the balance of restricted funds. The restricted funds are reduced each year by an amount equal to any expenditure on such projects which have been incurred in the year.
## **1.13 Pension costs**
The charitable group operates a defined contribution scheme for the benefit of its employees. Contributions payable are included in the SOFA in the year they are payable.
## **1.14 Finance and operating leases**
Rentals payable under operating leases are charged to the SOFA over the period in which the cost is incurred. The Trust has no finance leases.
33
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **Accounting Policies Year ended 31 March 2022**
## **1.15 Provisions**
A provision is recognised when the Trust has a legal or constructive obligation as a result of past events and it is probable that an outflow of economic benefits will be required to settle the obligation.
## **1.16 Taxation**
The Trust is a registered charity and is not liable to United Kingdom income tax or corporation tax on charitable activities.
## **1.17 Material uncertainties/judgements**
There were no material uncertainties or judgements contained within the presented figures.
## **1.18 Cash and cash equivalents**
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
## **1.19 Government grants**
During the year the charity benefited from £1,561 of government grants in the form of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. In accordance with our accounting policy this credit is included in other income within the Income Statement over the same period as the staff costs for which it compensates.
## **1.20 Financial instruments**
The Charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the Charity's balance sheet when the Charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
## **Basic financial assets**
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
34
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **Accounting Policies Year ended 31 March 2022**
## **Basic financial liabilities**
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans, are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities.
Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
## **Derecognition of financial liabilities**
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the Charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
35
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **Notes to the Accounts Year ended 31 March 2022**
## **2 Donations and legacies**
|Donations & legacies
Grants
Subscriptions
Appeal income|**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**2022**
**£**
**£**
**£**
115,938
115,938
509,134
509,134
156,715
156,715
625,072
156,715
781,787|**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**2021**
**£**
**£**
**£**
100,415
10,402
110,817
1,000
12,000
13,000
457,936
-
457,936
-
38,665
38,665|
|---|---|---|
|||559,351
61,067
620,418|
## **3 Charitable activities**
|Fundraising
Grants
Earned income
Other sales
Rental income|**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**2022**
**£**
**£**
**£**
25,550
25,550
150,044
558,535
708,579
1,165,280
1,165,280
3,799
3,799
1,344,673
558,535
1,903,208|**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**2021**
**£**
**£**
**£**
6,883
442
7,325
180,025
519,821
699,846
813,212
50,125
863,337
41,665
363
42,028
52,412
1,013
53,425|
|---|---|---|
|||1,094,197
571,764
1,665,961|
36
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **Notes to the Accounts Year ended 31 March 2022**
## **4 Investment income**
|Interest received|**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**2022**
**£**
**£**
**£**
3,841
-
3,841
3,841
-
3,841|**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**2021**
**£**
**£**
**£**
4,068
-
4,068|
|---|---|---|
|||4,068
-
4,068|
37
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **Notes to the Accounts Year ended 31 March 2022**
## **5 Expenditure on raising funds**
|Staff costs
Membership costs
Other direct costs
Support costs (Note 7)|**Donations &**
**legacies**
**Fundraising**
**Total**
**2022**
**£**
**£**
**£**
8,214
155,134
163,349
54,792
54,792
750
103,712
104,462
1,617
56,556
58,172
10,581
370,194
380,775|**Donations &**
**legacies**
**Fundraising**
**Total**
**2021**
**£**
**£**
**£**
-
208,783
208,783
99
47,753
47,852
429
20,893
21,322
-
87,199
87,199|
|---|---|---|
|||528
364,628
365,156|
## **6 Expenditure on charitable activities**
|Staff costs
Reserves costs
Motor & travel
Professional fees
Sundries
Depreciation
Support costs (Note 7)|**Conservation &**
**reserves**
**management**
**Community**
**engagement**
**Total**
**2022**
**£**
**£**
**£**
680,901
397,014
1,077,915
567,146
83,388
650,554
30,242
11,572
41,814
6,543
2,371
8,914
70,487
26,983
97,450
31,191
5,486
36,677
278,176
105,696
383,872
1,664,686
632,510
2,297,196|**Conservation &**
**reserves**
**management**
**Community**
**engagement**
**Total**
**2021**
**£**
**£**
**£**
609,541
108,187
717,728
602,145
32,100
634,244
25,158
6,228
31,386
14,757
-
14,757
133,041
3,731
136,773
36,632
3,023
39,655
254,577
45,185
299,762|
|---|---|---|
|||1,675,851
198,454
1,874,305|
38
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **Notes to the Accounts**
## **Year ended 31 March 2022**
## **7 Support costs**
|Training
Insurance
Light & heat
Repairs & maintenance
Legal & professional
Staff & volunteer expenses
Motor expenses
Telecoms
Post & stationery
Sundry expenses
RSWT contribution
Bank charges
Depreciation
Admin salaries
Office costs
Comms & PR
Accountancy
Audit fees
Computer expenses
Premises costs
Recruitment
Irrecoverable VAT
Doubtful debts
**Allocation of support costs**
Raising funds
Charitable activities|**Total**
**2022**
**£**
702
28,609
4,767
7,508
14,081
5,459
1,860
9,456
3,541
5,348
27,230
3,227
5,139
164,329
6,369
28,703
11,615
27,402
58,171
1,299
7,049
20,181
442,045
**2022**
**£**
58,173
383,872
442,045|**Total**
**2021**
**£**
270
24,990
1,566
7,339
9,985
8,718
153
5,759
2,635
6,110
29,447
1,960
4,470
185,886
4,325
36
7,720
27,735
46,023
299
1,161
10,374|
|---|---|---|
|||386,961|
|||**2021**
**£**
132,672
254,289|
|||386,961|
39
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **Notes to the Accounts Year ended 31 March 2022**
## **8 Net movement in funds**
The net movement in funds is after charging/(crediting):
||**Note**||**2022**||**2021**||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**Group**||**Company**|**Group**|**Company**|
|||**£**||**£**|**£**|**£**|
|Auditor’s remuneration|**9**|11,615||11,615|11,520|7,720|
|Operating lease payments||1,812||1,812|5,992|5,992|
|Profit on disposal of fixed
assets||(7,010)||(7,010)|||
|Depreciation|**12**|42,376||42,376|48,807|46,429|
## **9 Staff costs**
|Wages & salaries
Social security costs
Pension costs|**2022**
**Group**
**Company**
**£**
**£**
1,234,939
1,234,939
103,055
103,055
67,600
67,600
1,405,594
1,405,594|**2021**
**Group**
**Company**
**£**
**£**
1,030,875
967,282
87,536
81,791
67,953
63,326|
|---|---|---|
|||1,186,364
1,112,399|
The average number of full time equivalent employees, analysed by function was:
|||**2022**||**2021**||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Group**||**Company**|**Group**|**Company**|
|Charitable activities|30||30|21|21|
|Generating Funds|9||9|17|14|
|Management & Administration|5||5|5|5|
||44||44|43|40|
No employees had earnings over £60,000 during the year.
## **10 Pension costs**
The Trust operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the Trust in an independently administered fund. The pension costs charge represents contributions payable by the group to the fund and amounted to £67,600 (2021: £67,953).
40
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **Notes to the Accounts**
## **Year ended 31 March 2022**
## **11 Related party transactions**
Cheshire Ecological Services Ltd (CES) repaid an outstanding loan due to the Trust (CWT) of £50,000 in April 2021.
At the balance sheet date no amounts were outstanding.
No Trustee or any person connected with them received any remuneration from the group during the year (2021: £nil)
During the year Trustees were reimbursed travel expenses of £nil (2021: £1,433).
41
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **Notes to the Accounts Year ended 31 March 2022**
## **12 Tangible assets**
|**Group**
**Cost or donated**
**value**
01 April 2021
Additions
Disposals
At 31 March 2022
**Depreciation**
01 April 2021
Charge for the year
Disposals
At 31 March 2022
**Net book value**
At 31 March 2022
At 31 March 2021|**Heritage**
**assets**
**£**
316,046
-
-
316,046
-
-
-
-
316,046
316,046|**Land &**
**buildings**
**£**
113,385
467,994
-
581,379
113,025
659
-
113,684
467,695
360|**Plant &**
**machinery**
**£**
130,391
2,176
132,567
66,834
16,948
-
83,782
48,785
63,557|**Fixtures &**
**fittings**
**£**
32,017
7,377
39,394
25,984
3,122
29,106
10,288
6,033|**Motor**
**vehicles**
**£**
76,649
47,250
(9,286)
114,613
46,044
12,736
(7.836)
50,944
63,669
30,605|**Computer**
**equipment**
**£**
58,645
20,003
78,648
41,678
8,911
50,589
28,059
16,967|**SFP**
**entitlement**
**£**
10,258
-
10,258
10,258
-
-
10,258
-
-|**Total**
**£**
737,391
544,800
(9,286)|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||||||1,272,905|
|||||||||303,823
42,376
(7,836)|
|||||||||338,363|
|||||||||934,542|
|||||||||433,568|
42
## **THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **Notes to the Accounts Year ended 31 March 2022**
## **13 Tangible assets**
|**Company**
**Cost or donated**
**value**
01 April 2021
Additions
Disposals
At 31 March 2022
**Depreciation**
01 April 2021
Charge for the year
Disposals
At 31 March 2022
**Net book value**
At 31 March 2022
At 31 March 2021|**Heritage**
**assets**
**£**
316,046
**-**
316,046
-
-
-
316,046|**Land &**
**buildings**
**£**
113,385
467,994
581,379
113,025
659
113,684
467,695|**Plant &**
**machinery**
**£**
122,503
2,176
124,679
60,232
16,948
77,180
47,499|**Fixtures &**
**fittings**
**£**
29,276
7,377
36,653
24,173
3,122
27,295
9,358|**Motor**
**vehicles**
**£**
68,380
47,250
(9,286)
106,344
34,209
12,736
(7,836)
39,109
67,235|**Computer**
**equipment**
**£**
56,679
20,003
76,682
41,062
8,911
49,973
26,709|**SFP**
**entitlement**
**Total**
**£**
**£**
10,258
716,527
544,800
(9,286)
10,258
1,252,041
10,258
282,959
42,376
(7,836)
10,258
317,499
-
934,542|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||316,046|360|62,271|5,103|34,171|15,617|-
433,568|
43
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **Notes to the Accounts Year ended 31 March 2022**
## **Heritage assets**
The focus of the Trust is the protection and enhancement of wildlife habitats and biodiversity within Cheshire. As such the Trust owns and maintains a number of nature reserves that fall within the definition of heritage assets in accordance with FRS 102.
The Trustees consider that, owing to the intrinsic nature of the Trust's reserves, conventional valuation approaches lack sufficient reliability and that, even if valuations could be obtained, the costs would be onerous compared with the additional benefits derived by the Trust and the users of the accounts. As a result, these assets have been capitalised at cost, and, being land, have not been depreciated.
Nature reserves acquired by gift are not capitalised unless a reliable enough reference value of the deemed cost of the asset is available without undue expense to the Trust.
The costs of maintaining heritage assets are expensed through the Statement of Financial Activities when incurred as part of the Trust's charitable activities.
**Five-year summary of heritage asset transactions**
|Additions
Purchases
Donations
Total|**2021/22**
**£**
-
-
-
-|**2020/21**
**£**
-
-
-
-|**2019/20**
**£**
66,230
-
-
66,230|**2018/19**
**£**
-
-
-
-|**2017/18**
**£**
-
-
-|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||-|
## **Capital commitments**
At 31 March 2022, the Trust had a capital commitment of £nil for the purchase of land (2021: £nil).
## **14 Investments**
Cheshire Wildlife Trust Limited owns the entire share capital (1 ordinary share of £100) in its subsidiary, Cheshire Ecological Services Limited, which is incorporated in England.
Further details concerning the activities and assets of this company are given in note 22.
44
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **Notes to the Accounts Year ended 31 March 2022**
## **15 Stocks**
|Stock
**Debtors**
Trade debtors
Prepayments and accrued
income
Amounts due from subsidiary
companies
Other debtors|**2022**
**Group**
**Company**
**£**
**£**
4,853
4,853
4,853
4,853
**2022**
**Group**
**Company**
**£**
**£**
451,785
451,785
342,478
342,478
4,142
4,142
798,405
798,405|**2021**
**Group**
**Company**
**£**
**£**
7,956
7,956|
|---|---|---|
|||7,956
7,956|
|||**2021**
**Group**
**Company**
**£**
**£**
236,574
226,116
7,218
7,218
-
136,561
84,800
84,799|
|||328,592
454,694|
## **16 Debtors**
Trade debtors is stated net of a provision of £39,197 (2021: £33,926).
## **17 Taxation**
The group is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.
## **18 Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year**
|Trade creditors
Deferred income
Taxation & social security
Accruals
Other creditors|**2022**
**Group**
**Company**
**£**
**£**
137,719
137,719
863,946
863,946
132,297
132,297
57,953
57,953
1,818
1,918
1,193,733
1,193,833|**2021**
**Group**
**Company**
**£**
**£**
110,873
110,873
332,837
332,837
50,600
50,600
34,656
34,656
74,998
74,997|
|---|---|---|
|||603,964
603,963|
- **19 Creditors: Amounts falling due in more than one year**
|Loans|**2022**
**Group**
**Company**
**£**
**£**
280,000
280,000
280,000
280,000|**2022**
**Group**
**Company**
**£**
**£**
280,000
280,000
280,000
280,000|
|---|---|---|
|||280,000|
45
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
**Notes to the Accounts Year ended 31 March 2022**
## **20 Commitments under operating leases**
At 31 March 2022, the charity had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under noncancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:
|**Land & buildings**
Within one year
Two to five years
Greater than five years
**Total**
**Other**
Within one year
Two to five years
Greater than five years
**Total**|**2022**
**Group**
**£**
67,556
135,112
-
202,668
1,812
6,021
7,833|**Company**
**£**
67,556
135,112
-
202,668
1,812
6,021
7,833|**2021**
**Group**
**Company**
**£**
**£**
46,556
46,556
-
-
-
-
46,556
46,556
2,987
2,987
4,371
4,371
585
585
7,943
7,943|**2021**
**Group**
**Company**
**£**
**£**
46,556
46,556
-
-
-
-
46,556
46,556
2,987
2,987
4,371
4,371
585
585
7,943
7,943|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||46,556|
|||||2,987
4,371
585|
|||||7,943|
## **21 Specified projects**
Restricted funds represent monies (including donations and grants) which have been received for specific purposes as outlined by the donor. The Trust has a number of such funds and for the purposes of statutory reporting these have been grouped together under the four headings below.
Transfers out of restricted funds are made where a project is completed and no funding is required to be returned to the funder. Transfers into funds are made when a project is completed and the shortfall in funding is made up from the Trust's general funds.
46
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **Notes to the Accounts**
## **Year ended 31 March 2022**
|**Restricted income funds**
Reserves acquisition funds
Capital grants
Community engagement funds
Conservation & reserves|**As at 1**
**April**
**2020**
**Income**
**Expenditure**
**Transfer**
**As at 31**
**March 2021**
**Income**
**Expenditure**
**Transfer**
**between**
**funds**
**As at 31**
**March 2022**
**between**
**funds**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
161,193
161,193
-
-
(161,193)
16,681
200
16,481
140,094
10,669
(449)
145,457
60,082
119,651
77,455
35,249
137,527
246,649
212,543
(36,507)
138,126
146,291
492,329
418,122
220,498
328,507
358,643
(10,793)
179,569|
|---|---|
||384,247
611,980
495,777
35,249
535,699
715,250
581,855
(208,942)
460,152|
The reserves acquisition funds have been transferred to a designated unrestricted fund by the Trustees to fund future land purchases for habitat creation projects.
Capital grants represents grants received to fund capital purchases including land for habitat creation.
Community engagement funds and conservation and reserves funds represent grants received to carry out the Trust's charitable activities.
Funding has been granted by a variety of organisations including:
- William Dean Trust
- Scottish Power
- Sport England
- People’s Postcode Lottery
- National Lottery Heritage Fund
- DEFRA
47
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **Notes to the Accounts**
## **Year ended 31 March 2022**
|**Major projects**|**As at 1**
**April 2020**|**Income**|**Expenditure**|**Transfer**
**between**
**funds**|**As at 31**
**March**
**2021**|**Income**|**Expenditure**|**Transfer**
**between**
**funds**|**As at 31**
**March**
**2022**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|William Dean Trust|-|12,564|12,564|-|-|15,000||-|15,000|
|Other nature reserves|23,863|99,230|104,043|-|19,050|28,520|15,205|-|32,365|
|Water Environment|9,990|151,347|106,979|-|54,358|69,664|67,498||56,524|
|Business Transition|12,788|30,000|-|-|42,788|7,500|7,500|-|42,788|
|Living Seas/ Dee Coastliners|23,071|51,378|50,712||23,737|122,904|94,050|-|52,591|
|Slowing the Flow|28|53,165|51,770||1,423|42,969|42,969|-|1,423|
|NFM|3,971|51,382|28,840|-|26,513||15,043||11,470|
|Pollution Fund|73,776|||-|73,776|0|0||73,776|
|Trees for Climate||||||101,129|78,366||22,763|
|**Unrestricted funds**
General fund
Designated fund|**As at 1**
**April 2020**
**Income**
**Expenditure**
**Transfer**
**between**
**funds**
**As at 31**
**March**
**2021**
**Income**
**Expenditure**
**Transfer**
**between**
**funds**
**As at 31**
**March**
**2022**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
833,353
1,657,616
1,722,833
(35,249)
732,887
1,973,586
2,096,116
60,195
670,552
12,447
-
-
12,447
148,717
161,194|
|---|---|
||845,800
1,657,616
1,722,833
(35,249)
745,334
1,973,586
2,096,116
208,942
831,746|
48
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **Notes to the Accounts Year ended 31 March 2022**
- **22 Trading company**
## **Cheshire Ecological Services Limited**
## **Profit and Loss Account Year ended 31 March 2022**
|**Turnover**
Cost of sales
Gross profit
Administrative expenses
Other income
Trading profit
Charitable donation
**Operating (loss)/profit on ordinary**
**activities before taxation**
Tax on profit on ordinary activities
Profit on ordinary activities after taxation
Reserves brought forward
Fixed assets
Current assets
Creditors
**Net current assets/(liabilities)**|**2022**
**£**
(2,376)
(2,376)
(3,380)
149
(5,607)
(5,607)
(5,607)
5,707
100
**2021**
**£**
-
100
100|**2021**
**£**
233,305
(77,575)|
|---|---|---|
|||155,730
(68,764)
192|
|||87,158
(89,036)|
|||(1,878)|
|||(1,878)
7,585|
|||5,707|
|||**2021**
**£**
-
142,267
(136,560)|
|||5,707|
The Charity owns 100% of the shares in Cheshire Ecological Services limited which is incorporated in
the United Kingdom and registered in England (Company Registration No: 2623356). The subsidiary’s activities, namely the provision of ecological and biological surveys, was transferred to the charity in October 2020 and became dormant in April 2021.
49
**THE CHESHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED**
## **Notes to the Accounts**
## **Year ended 31 March 2022**
## **23 Analysis of net assets between funds (Company)**
|Tangible fixed assets
Heritage assets
Stocks and work in progress
Investments
Debtors
Cash at bank and in hand
Liabilities
Total net assets|**Unrestricted**
**£**
591,138
316,046
4,853
100
443,420
347,841
(871,652)
831,746|**Restricted**
**£**
27,358
354,985
679,990
(602,181)
460,152|**2022**
**Total**
**£**
618,496
316,046
4,853
100
798,405
1,027,831
(1,473,833)|
|---|---|---|---|
||||1,291,898|
## **24 Share capital**
The Charity has no share capital being a company limited by guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £2 per member in the event of a winding up situation.
## **25 Control**
The Charity is controlled by the Trustees.
## **26 Reconciliation of net income/(expenditure) to net cash flow from operating activities**
|**Net income/(expenditure) for the reporting**
**period (as per the statement of financial**
**activities)**
Depreciation
(Gains)/losses on investments
Dividends, interest and rents from
investments
Loss/(profit) on the sale of fixed assets
(Increase)/decrease in stock
(Increase)/decrease in debtors
Increase/(decrease) in creditors
**Net cash inflow from operating activity**|**2022**
**£**
10,865
42,376
(7,010)
3,103
(469,813)
589,769
169,290|**2021**
**£**
50,986
48,807
(1,681)
(1,773)
(1,097)
174,637|
|---|---|---|
|||269,879|
|**Cash at bank and in hand**|**As at 1 April**
**2020**
**Movement in**
**year**
**As at 31**
**March 2021**
**Movement in**
**year**
**As at 31 March**
**2022**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
870,979
243,902
1,114,881
(87,050)
1,027,831|
|---|---|
50