2024-03-31-accounts

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Annual Report and Financial Statements 2023/24

The Groundwork South Trust Limited (A company limited by guarantee)

Registered Charity No. 293705 Registered Company No. 01982077 (England and Wales)

Contents
	Page
Report of the Trustees	3
Chair’s Report	3
About Groundwork	5
Objectives and Activities	6
Public Benefit Statement	7
Strategic Report	8
Achievements and Performance	8
Financial Review	13
Future Plans 2024/25	14
Principal Risks and Uncertainties	17
Reference and Administrative Details	18
Structure, Governance, Management and Our Staff	19
Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities	21
Independent Auditor’s Report	22
Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31st March 2024	25
Balance Sheet as at 31st March 2024	26
Cash Flow Statement for the year ended 31st March 2024	27
Notes to the Financial Statements	28-37

Report of the Trustees for the year ending 31 March 2024

The trustees are pleased to present their annual directors report together with the financial statements of the charitable company for the year ending 31 March 2024 which are also prepared to meet the requirements for a directors’ report and accounts for Companies Act purposes.

The financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019).

Groundwork South’s operational area is the South East and South West regions of England, and that part of the District of Three Rivers within the Colne Valley Regional Park.

Chairman’s Introduction

We are pleased to present Groundwork South’s Annual Report and Accounts for the year ending March 2024. 2023/24 was another very demanding year for us all, one in which Groundwork South managed their way out of the post-COVID problems, with some new challenges, with strong teamwork and seeking out emerging opportunities in a changing political landscape.

We had our second post COVID full year of residential courses at the Outdoor Centres and there was again excellent feedback of positive impacts for pupils after long periods of lockdowns and more bookings continued to come as a result. This was a year when Groundwork South continued to build a more mature and resilient operation with impressive, substantial and growing impacts in many areas of community need.

We saw major funders launch new approaches and strategies particularly in areas affected by the deepening cost of living crisis. We have been able to apply our expertise and this new funding to launch and grow programmes to support these communities, particularly with energy costs.

We are also delivering water saving and flood management projects related to increased focus on climate change risks. The team have been successful in getting new commissions as a result and are gaining UK wide interest for some of their work, including within the Groundwork Federation.

Ending the year with a positive financial position and an increased set of beneficial community outcomes, is another incredible result and shows that firm foundations for the future are now being used and built upon.

We are all very proud of these achievements. The outstanding leadership team continued to work very long hours with great skill to further evolve strategy and ways of working alongside a talented and dedicated staff team.

We would like to take this opportunity to extend our sincere thanks again to our staff team who delivered work to high quality standards to meet the approval of our funders and clients; who sought new opportunities and succeeded in securing additional funding for existing programmes as well as funding to launch new programmes; who were incredibly creative and innovative, all so that we could continue to deliver services in support of communities and individuals in need.

We again sincerely thank Groundwork London (our sole company member) for their continued support through our shared Executive and specialist service management, partnership programme delivery, as well as loans, when needed, to underpin our cashflow. No loans were outstanding at the year end.

We continue to work closely with the rest of the Groundwork Federation and, in collaboration, deliver several national programmes of work.

With a focus on Creating Better Places, we supported people to work collectively to make their surroundings greener, more resilient, safer, and healthier and to be actively involved in their communities and neighbourhoods.

We are even more aware of climate change impacts, increasing pressure on natural resources and rocketing energy prices. Our Greener Living and Working programmes raised awareness amongst individuals and communities on how to manage their environmental impact and to support them to cut energy and reduce water use.

To Improve Peoples Prospects, we delivered support to children, young people, families, and long term unemployed to increase confidence, skills, well-being, and employability. We delivered on our commitment to improve life chances for young people, working with schools, local authorities, and a range of organisations from the public and private sectors, we provided accredited opportunities that increased access to education, employment, training, and citizenship. We supported people furthest from the job market to develop their skills and find work.

All of us at Groundwork South are passionate about helping to create a future where everywhere is vibrant and green, every community is strong and able to shape its own destiny and where everyone can reach their potential. That is why we’ve been working with partners for over 35 years, supporting local communities to tackle big social and environmental challenges. A summary of our plans and activities is given in this report demonstrating the breadth and impact of our work.

Chairman Peter Head

About Groundwork

Vision

Our vision is of a society of sustainable communities which are vibrant, healthy and safe, which respect the local and global environment and where individuals and enterprise prosper.

Mission

Our mission is to transform lives and places in communities in the South-East and South-West of England.

Our core values are:

Empathy - valuing differences and treating everybody with respect
Innovation - always looking for new and better ways of working
Professionalism - maintaining high personal and professional standards
Commitment – dedicating time and energy to deliver quality projects and services
Passion – having ambition, enthusiasm and pride in all that we do and achieve

Our Aim

We aim to be an outstanding deliverer of local environmental and community regeneration in areas of need. Our work will result in:

better local environments for the benefit of local communities
environments more resilient and adapted to changes in climate and increasing demands of a growing population
people more empowered to engage in local decision-making and voluntary action to improve local communities
young people and long term unemployed motivated to engage in education or training and taking up opportunities to develop their confidence and skills leading to employment
more people and businesses helping the environment and saving money through cutting energy and water use and creating less waste

To achieve our vision, we are working together with individuals, communities, Local Authorities and other public sector organisations, regional bodies and the private sector.

Our Approach

We put the right tools in people’s hands - we provide targeted support tailored to address the specific needs of vulnerable people and diverse communities
We engage with everyone who has a stake in a place - we work together with individuals, communities, Local Authorities and other public sector organisations, regional bodies and the private sector to deliver positive change across the South of England
We address as many issues as possible with the same investment - we apply our skills and experience and build partnerships that enable us to deliver maximum impact for communities and maximum value for money for those who help us do it
We support those in most need – we will operate as a professional, business-like organisation, delivering high quality services to achieve the greatest possible impact for the communities we serve

Objectives and Activities

Charitable Objectives

Groundwork South’s charitable objectives are set down in the Memorandum of Association as amended at the Annual General Meeting on 30[th] November 2005 include:

to promote the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment in the South East and South West regions of England, and that part of the District of Three Rivers within the Colne Valley Regional Park (“the Beneficial Area”);
to provide facilities in the interest of social welfare for recreation and leisure time occupation with the objective of improving the conditions of life for those living or working anywhere in the Beneficial Area;
to advance public education in environmental matters and other ways of better conserving, protecting and improving the same wheresoever;
to promote the care, resettlement and rehabilitation of offenders, ex-offenders and those at risk of offending, and to support their families and dependents, within the Beneficial Area;
to promote the prevention of crime by supporting or carrying on either alone or in co-operation with any other body, authority or person any project or scheme and by providing money for such purposes whether by loan or otherwise.

Strategic Objectives

During 2023/24 we worked to deliver two strategic objectives; the success of our work is reliant on delivering high quality, innovative actions with multiple economic, social and environmental benefits.

1. Creating and delivering services to meet the needs of communities in the South of England:

Creating better places – supporting people to work collectively to make their surroundings greener, safer and healthier and to be actively involved in their communities and neighbourhoods
Improving people’s prospects – delivering support to children, young people, families and long term unemployed to increase confidence, skills, well-being and employability.
Promoting greener living and working – helping people, organisations and businesses learn more about their environmental impact and act responsibly to reduce natural resource use and improve their health and wellbeing.

2. Creating a strong, viable business, achieving excellence in service delivery.

The performance of our business will be driven by:

Increasing the quality, consistency and efficiency of our operations
Innovation and development of our services.
Securing income from diverse sources.
Building long-term local and strategic partnerships and relationships.
Fostering participative and integrated working across our staff teams.

Public Benefit Statement

All Groundwork South’s activities contribute to the achievement of our strategic aims and objectives and are undertaken to further our charitable purposes for the public benefit. Our main activities and who we try to help are described below. We review our aims, objectives and activities each year in the Business Planning process. This review looks at what we achieved and the outcomes of our work in the previous 12 months. The review looks at the success of each key activity and the benefits they have brought to those groups of people we are established to help. The review also helps us ensure our aim, objectives and activities remained focused on our stated purposes. We have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing our aims and objectives and in planning our future activities. In particular, the trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives they have set.

Grant Making Policy

The Trust administers applications for various grant schemes in partnership with local authorities and other Private and Public Agencies. The applications are reviewed against specific criteria and business objectives, which are set out by the grants panels and awarded to constituted groups.

Strategic Report

Our operational area is the South East & South West of England covering 14 Counties, with 104 local government districts, of which 80 are non-metropolitan districts and 23 are unitary authorities and the Isles of Scilly.

Our Achievements and Performance

During 2023/24 we delivered a wide range of services to support communities and individuals across the South East and South West of England. We are proud to report our achievements.

We continued to act as managing agent to the Colne Valley Regional Park (CVRP) and catchment host for the Colne Catchment Action Network. The Colne Valley Regional Park is 43 square miles of countryside on the edge of London and Herts, Bucks, Berks & Surrey.

We continued our green team work in the Colne Valley Park delivering environmental and conservation improvements and training and supporting 10 people, helping them into full time employment. Green team work has included a planting scheme on a housing estate where they have learnt planting skills and plant identification; development of the Chalfont Nature Reserve project; improving habitats for adders and renovating a pond to improve the habitat for the Great Crested Newts. Rivers projects have continued with undertaking monitoring the condition of the rivers and engaging 100’s of volunteers on controlling invasive NonNative Species that are choking our waterways.

We have been raising awareness of challenges facing the Green Belt arising from multiple ad-hoc development proposals. Through the Colne Valley’s campaign ‘Your Countryside in Crisis’ we continue to promote the importance of the green belt for biodiversity, wellbeing and climate change protection.

In the Combe Valley Countryside Park, we are the Managing Agent for Combe Valley Community Interest Company (CVCIC) and are working with the CIC board and a range of stakeholders to deliver the 5 year park improvement and activation plan (2020 -2025). We completed the Defra funded Recovering Combe Valley project which over its two years engaged 2,433 members of the community. The legacy project, Combe Valley Community Nature Project continued to deliver strong community engagement and biodiversity improvements. These nature-based conservation, education and community activities have been made possible by support from Section 106 funding via the CIC and has engaged 1,318 adults and children and worked with 65 volunteers.

We continue to work closely with stakeholder groups, including the Combe Valley Sub-Group, to work towards affording better protection for Combe Valley Countryside Park. We work collaboratively in partnership with Friends of Combe Valley who share our delivery space and are working with GWS on the development of the Combe Valley Community Garden. Activities have included: native hedge and tree planting; wildflower meadow; improved pedestrian access; new footpath (wheelchair accessible); development of Native Tree Nursery; hedgerow care and maintenance. We have also run a new community volunteering project focused on the Community Garden and conservation sessions. Since commencing mid-year, 32 sessions have taken place, engaging an average of 29 participants, many of whom are vulnerable community members requiring additional support.

We manage The Bale House - Visitor Centre and Café, built with financial support provided by European Interreg UpStraw Funding, in Hastings Country Park and Nature Reserve. The Bale House continues to grow in popularity with an estimated 80,000 visitors in the year. The management of The Bale House is in collaboration with Hastings Borough Council. The Bale House facilitates many unique interactions with a wide variety of user groups from walkers to bird watchers, historians, and in every age range from children to the elderly. Professionals use the space alongside young families, and it is extremely popular for people with learning difficulties and their carers. The interactive TV presentations about the straw bale building and the reference library with books about nature and the environment are popular. 250 family and community activities were delivered in 4 months over the summer.

Our community cafes in Denham & Tilgate aim to maintain cost effective and affordable offerings. Denham Café continued to diversify its delivery model, offering a wide range of affordable seasonal community events and activities. Our Charity Shop (now in its 9[th] year) provides recycling and reuse of household goods and clothing to the local community and is much loved customers and our volunteers a like.

The shop is a hub for the local community and has strong bonds with several organisations such as Hillingdon Homeless and local Children Centre to which we often donate stock.

We welcome students with learning difficulties for work experience, with over eight volunteers this year securing employment through valuable work experience. As well as providing affordable items to the community, we recycle approximately 24 tonnes of textiles, crockery and books. We now also recycle household batteries and ink cartridges and accept electrical goods for resale.

‘ Greening for Well-being' continues to draw in participants beginning to reconnect with their community. This work takes place through a community asset-based approach and participant led initiatives and can move around Hastings and Rother to work in partnership with local organisations and develop individual participant initiatives. To date we have supported over 20 local organisations.

We continued to provide grants administration support to the Heathrow Community Trust (HCT) , which is now awarding funding back to pre-Covid levels. The HCT board have approved additional Groundwork resource to support the programme delivery in 2024. We have supported 1000’s of organisations to achieve Comic Relief Grants, ESFA funding along with our biggest contract partnering with Tesco's and the current Stronger Starts Community Grants supporting schools and youth projects to gain up to £1.5 k each quarter. Stronger Starts Community Grants, cover the whole of the South of England providing community support for grass roots organisations to apply for funding. Over the year community organisations will receive almost £2,232,000 in funding for small community projects from this Tesco funded scheme. Projects supported with enabler help include lunch and breakfast clubs, school growing gardens, sports equipment and activities, healthy eating and arts projects.

We continued the management of the partnership for the Business Improvement Districts (BID) at the Globe Park & Marlow industrial estates and Cressex Business Park, High Wycombe. These initiatives aim to tackle challenges and create opportunities for improvement such as transport, image, signage, security and environment, providing a more enjoyable and attractive working area, supporting business growth and staff retention.

In 2017 we took over the operation of the 25-year contract to manage three outdoor activity centres - the Oxfordshire Outdoors Service, on a 25-year contract with Oxfordshire County Council. Oxfordshire Outdoors comprises Kilvrough Manor and Woodlands in south Wales and Yenworthy in North Devon. The Service delivers high quality residential adventure based outdoor education courses, primarily but not exclusively to schools from Oxfordshire. The residential courses have been a fantastic success with schools reporting positive impacts for their pupils after long periods of lockdowns and isolation caused by COVID. During the year we ran courses for more than 110 schools and over 4,000 pupils attended.

Goblin Combe, our residential site and woodland in North Somerset, has continued to get busier with 1,723 day and overnight visitors to our site in 23/24, almost doubling the number of visitors in 22/23. In September 2023 we were delighted to install a new ground source heat pump (thanks to funding from Enovert and Bristol Airport), improving the efficiency of our lodge site and enabling us to open all year round again. New staff resources enabled us to oversee site maintenance and improvements (including bringing the toilet block back into use for day hirers and campers), as well as planning and coordinating community and corporate volunteering days and a range of forest school activities for school and SEND groups in partnership with Goblin Combe Adventures. Woodland management has also been in focus, with funding secured via Encirc to enable us to address priority issues such as ash die back, and our new Woodland Management Plan is in the final stages of approval with the Forestry Commission.

The lver Environment Centre , in partnership with National Grid, continues to provide high quality environmental education to schools, families and volunteers (with a particular focus on volunteering opportunities for adults with additional needs). During the year there were 958 community events with 1,990 education visitors including primary, secondary and schools outreach. We have had 220 unique volunteers, with 81 returning to Iver over the year. These volunteers delivered 2,200 hours of work over 344 days of activity, and without them we could not have managed the improvements we have continued to make. We also began our refurbishment of outdoor teaching areas with new raised planting beds in one of our allotments.

The Vench, Lockleaze is our adventure playground & community centre in Bristol. We work closely with children, young people, their families, and local residents to provide a safe and vibrant space for children and young people (CYP) to play, access a hot meal/ food, gain information such as signposting to support services, meet with friends and feel part of a community.

Over the past year we have supported over 1,500 children, young people, and community members by providing a wide range of sessions such as after school Supper and Play, Cooking Club, Capoeira Club and Holiday Lunch Club. Adventure play sessions for our children and young people are our primary focus, with support from over 60 volunteers helping to make this possible – either by cooking and serving food or helping out on the playground. This is woven in with food resilience and every session we run is centred around everyone sharing snacks and a home cooked meal. Our food resilience work extends to local people, both through hosting a weekly FOOD club and through ensuring that our garden is producing food that invites session participants to have seed-to-plate connection.

We are continuously improving our site. Our garden and outdoor spaces, play equipment and structure have all had attention to them over the past year. More than 500m[2] of the green space on our site have been improved. 10 teams of corporate volunteers have given their time to support our work, with more focused involvement from Avison Young, who are supporting with planning and development of a new project on our site. We have also been successful in securing funding for essential capital works, some of which have already been completed. This includes MUGA (multi use games area) resurfacing, a new water fountain, new floodlights and energy improvement measures. We have also secured funding from the Youth Investment Fund to improve our internal spaces, alongside funding from the Bristol City Council Community Resilience Fund. Which will enable a new space at the front of our building. “The Vench Corner” will house a community cafe and bike maintenance hub. Our spaces are thriving and have been home to many different sessions and events over the last year. The Vench cafe and kitchen were home to Lunch with Santa, a Christmas Meal on Christmas day in collaboration with local volunteers. Our playground is used regularly by local organisations such as Incredible Kids, Khaas, Beyond the Mix and Bristol Autism Project. We were also host of a Warm and Welcoming Cafe over the winter months, supporting local residents facing cost of living challenges.

Our support for local families has also grown into sustainable travel training and advice. We have partnered with local charity Life Cycle to host free Dr. Bike sessions, 1-2-1 cycling lessons and bike maintenance courses in order to support sustainable travel in our community.

Saltmill Pitch and Pavilion , continues to thrive since the refurbishment of the pitch in 2021 and further work in Summer of 2022 to install new LED lighting a new spectator area and dugouts. The pitch hosts a broad range of user groups, men’s and women’s teams, youth and children’s groups, veterans with games from competition to casual and caters for a variety of abilities. We have also secured funding to purchase a stock of studded football boots so that we can start a lending scheme to local youngsters who are not able to afford the correct footwear to play on the pitch. Our Saltmill Social Action Team offers support to local young people via social action projects in and around Saltmill and Saltash and has also allowed us to invest funding into repair work on the Skatepark. We have also supported some local young people to form a Friends of Saltmill Skatepark Group , with an agreed formal constitution and a bank account. This group provides an advocacy voice for the ongoing maintenance and improvements to the skate park and the wider development of the spaces at Saltmill for the benefit of the whole community. We also secured further funding of £5k to install a dedicated graffiti space.

Saltash Community Connections – Shared Prosperity Good Growth Fund. South East Cornwall secured capital and revenue funding to enable us to extend the changing rooms and office accommodation at Saltmill Park and create a community hub which will be home to our staff team, youth work projects and community engagement sessions. The revenue funding supports young people who find themselves outside of mainstream education. This built upon pilot work carried out as part of the iWill project and has gone from strength to strength with schools and other agencies referring so many young people that we have had to cap the numbers we can work with.

The Alternative Education Provision in Plymouth has been delivered in 6-week packages, since February 2024. 3 days a week small groups of 8 young people engage in sessions including: music workshops, art, boxing, cookery, fashion design & textiles, climbing, social action, first aid, employability skills & healthy relationship workshops. In year we supported 24 young people. 10 of those also enrolled with our accredited learning packages, studying English, Maths & ICT. All our participants are either inactive from education, employment or training or electively home educated.

In partnership with Groundwork London, with funding from the European Union’s Asylum Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) we continued to assist refugees and non-EU migrants to integrate into UK society through our holistic IMPACT (Bristol) and Together South (Hastings and Kent) programmes, focusing on 3 key areas: language, preparation for work and culture.

Working across deprived areas in Bristol, Hastings, Rother and Kent we supported 432 participants with 95% stating the programme had helped with their confidence; 89% felt they had been helped to settle in the UK and 86% said the sessions had helped improve their English.

Thanks to donations from The Childwick Trust, Swale CVS, The Lawson Trust, and The David Pickford Foundation we have continued to provide English language support in Hastings & Kent following the end of the EU funding. And thanks to funding from DLUHC and the Great Western Railway foundation we were also able to continue to the end of the financial year in Bristol.

Our England-wide community resilience programme, Communities Prepared , has recently been awarded further funding from the National Lottery Community Fund, securing its future until August 2029. This clearly shows the value of, and need for, the work we are doing to support communities across the country to feel better prepared when facing a range of challenges, including those linked to climate change. Between May 2022 and May 2024 the programme team engaged 460 participants in training and workshop sessions, focusing on topics including flooding, snow, heatwaves, community emergency planning and incident awareness. Alongside this, the programme’s website (www.communitiesprepared.org.uk) has continued to grow in its offer and membership, which now stands at approximately 1,600 members – these members are able to access a wide range of resources and self-led learning, which we have spent time improving over this past year thanks to funding from DLUHC’s Local Resilience Forum Innovation Fund (in partnership with County Durham and Darlington LRF).

Alongside programme delivery, we have continued to follow and be part of strategic conversations around the national community resilience space, contributing to Cabinet Office developments including a new government resilience website and plans for a new National Resilience Academy which is due to launch in 2025.

We have strengthened relationships with key players in the sector, including the Voluntary and Community Sector Emergencies Partnership (VCSEP), National Consortium for Societal Resilience (NCSR+) and the Environment Agency amongst others, to ensure that we’re working together to build resilience across the country.

We have also continued to work with the British Red Cross on Building Resilience Together (BRT, funded by Aviva) to develop the concept of community resilience hubs, partnering with resilience organisations in pilot areas to test and launch hubs that meet specific community needs – this project comes to an end in December 2024, so project legacy is at the forefront of our thinking in the final months. Finally, in 23/24 we developed a strong relationship with the Greater London Authority, working in partnership with Groundwork London to deliver two projects for London – a community resilience toolkit, and later the mobilisation of community venues in an emergency (building on our experience through BRT).

Project Groundwater continues to be delivered by Groundwork South, with involvement from Groundwork East. The project is led by Buckinghamshire Council, with Groundwork South as the community engagement delivery lead. It aims to transform how communities prepare for and respond to groundwater flooding through collaboration with residents and businesses in 9 high-risk pilot communities across the Chiltern Hills and Berkshire Downs.

In 23/24, the main focus of our work was around building relationships in the communities and within the partnership, understanding community experiences and priorities through surveys and discussions, and developing individual community engagement plans based on these findings and the project’s aims.

The next steps include supporting the communities to establish and/or grow their community flood groups and help them to develop flood plans, as well as build their knowledge, skills and confidence so that they are better prepared for future floods. Other activities will depend on plan priorities, but are likely to include a focus on growing awareness and take-up of property flood resilience measures, encouraging communities to engage with a new groundwater flood warning service, and exploring the potential for nature-based solutions to help reduce flooding risk.

Green Doctors in Groundwork South continued to develop and deliver projects in Kent, Medway and the Thames Valley. Through the Cadent project we supported 63 fuel poor households in the Thames Valley area with in-depth advice via home visits and telephone support, 182 households with energy saving advice at events and outreach sessions and trained 46 frontline workers.

Through Home Energy Action Thanet our project focusing on Thanet, Kent and funded by British Gas Energy Trust we supported 160 fuel poor households with in-depth advice via home visits and telephone support. Through this programme we have saved an estimate £8,051 off people energy bills, helped people manage energy debt to the value of £50,324.72 and saved an estimated 16,584.86kg household CO2e emissions.

Also in Kent, we delivered the Energy Crisis Response Programme , funded by Energy Redress, - we have supported a total of 189 households through home visits and telephone support since the start of the projects, 56 of these households have also received follow up support.

In Kent we supported 359 people with light touch advice and support at our outreach events. We also trained 140 frontline workers so they can recognise the signs of fuel poverty and support people through the cost-ofliving crisis. In total across all our Green Doctor programmes we supported 953 households in 23/24.

We have been delivering Water Efficiency programmes across the south of England. We delivered 21,503 domestic water efficiency visits for Affinity Water and 4,133 visits for customers of Wessex Water. During the year non household water efficiency visits achievements included: water savings of 8.15 mega litres per day for South-West Water customers; 30 schools in the Wessex Water supply area implementing water efficiency measures; and we piloted water saving visits for 8 business customers of Southern Water in advance of a new funded NHH programme for the next financial year. We also delivered water savings of 10.5 mega litres per day for Thames Water customers, many of whom were in the Thames Valley region.

We delivered a significant programme for Southern Water helping them to address their storm water overflow challenges, through the feasibility and design of Sustainable Drainage Schemes (SUDS), both in the public domain (parks, highways) and within school grounds in Kent and the Isle of Wight to divert rainwater way from the combined sewers and ultimately bring less contamination into the area's rivers and coastal areas. The ‘ SuDS for Schools’ programme is now complete with 4 schools having installed large scale SuDS provisions. We also worked with over 50 schools to install SuDS planters. 13 schools on the Isle of Wight also got to include planting and an educational element to the planter scheme learning about rainwater conservation, slowing the flow of rainwater into the combined sewer and how appropriate vegetation planting can support this aim. The school schemes won the ‘Alliance / Partnership of the Year award at the Water Industry Awards 2024’.

We also delivered pilot programmes for Southern Water, Wessex Water and Thames Water (customers in Cirencester) engaging domestic residents to play their part through the installation of water butts and storm water planters. The Thames Water programme, ‘Community Centric Rainwater Management' delivered in London and Cirencester won the ‘Regeneration & Retrofit’ award at the 2024 ‘Susdrain’ awards. In one Wessex Water customers home, we built a rain garden to understand the time and costs of delivering this type of intervention in domestic properties, and to measure its effectiveness at diverting rainfall from the sewage system into the property’s garden.

NCS (National Citizenship Service) is a youth led project funded by central government and led by GWL. The aim is to support and deliver 48 hours of experiences – Employability, Life Skills and Social Action to 16-17 year olds. GWS are delivering NCS in Torbay, Plymouth and Gloucester. Having started delivery mid contract, we were delighted to have delivered 574 experiences across the region with some fantastic feedback from the young people and from the education and youth settings. A quote from a school in Cirencester ‘Isabel made the pupils engage exceptionally well and even one young man that normally doesn’t smile in lessons joined in and was smiling on both Tuesday and Wednesday’.

ASCEND our assisted Support for Carers, Extra Needs and Disabilities, is a 5-year project in West Berkshire. We are now in our fifth and final year of delivering one to one support to individuals who have complex needs, are neuro diverse and have mental health struggles. The aim is to provide them with a pathway to healthier lives, volunteering, education, and employment. We have had a successful year supporting 4 of our clients into voluntary roles, 2 into education and 8 into employment.

In partnership with Adopt South, Fusion Youth Adoption Project provides activity sessions for Young People aged 7-17 from Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Fusion enables young people to work through the experience of adoption, which can sometimes be a confusing and lonely experience when none of your peer group understand. The project supports adopted young people to take part in exciting but informal sessions to help them engage with each other to share the experience of adoption.

Groundwork South Financial Review

Groundwork South shows income achieved in the year of £9.361m with expenditure of £9.320m, resulting in a surplus for the year of £42k

The Trust has been able to manage its cash flow, meeting its obligations as they fell due via 3 separate loan facilities provided by Groundwork London and closer monitoring and management of its cashflow position. In addition, a full cost recovery financial model is used, which enables the Trust to allocate costs appropriately; to prepare financially sound grant and funding applications and effectively monitor projects that are underachieving or are not meeting their targets.

How we raised our money

Funding for Groundwork South was provided by the following sources:

Central Government Local Authorities Private Sector National Lottery	£ 654,469 2,255,800 6,140,831 310,304
	9,361,404

How we spent our money

The money we raise from our clients and partners is entirely focused on building our capability with local communities to deliver our three charitable outcomes. An overview of the spilt of expenditure against our different themes is given below:

ifferent themes is given below:
Greener Living & Working Youth & Employment Parks & Open Spaces	£ 7,632,888 272,466 1,414,366
	9,319,720

Reserves Policy

The Board recognises the need to build up unrestricted reserves to:

Provide the working capital required to manage the usual retrospective nature of the programme funding which can result in considerable timing difference between expenditure and receipt of income.
Set aside funds for other appropriate capital assets such as IT equipment and for properly equipping the Trust.
Invest in the development of new services and training & development of staff.

Going Concern

The Trust is a going concern and operates solvently. In 2017 Groundwork London provided loans to Groundwork South to the value of £1.355m, in order that Groundwork South could guarantee that all debts would be paid as they fell due. This facility operated on a ‘draw down’ basis as and when Groundwork South required the funds. From December 2022 a £620k secured loan is in place indefinitely for use as and when Groundwork South requires it. The balance outstanding on the loan at 31[st] March 2024 was £0 (2023 £0).

Future Plans 2024/25

In line with the Groundwork Federation strategy: Groundwork 2020, we will deliver Groundwork Services across the South East and South West of England. We will:

1. Create and deliver services to meet the needs of communities in the South of England

During 2024/25 we will progress projects that focus on:

Creating better places – supporting people to work collectively to make their surroundings greener, safer and healthier and be actively involved in their communities and neighbourhoods. We will plan, develop and deliver a programme of community projects that will focus on:

Building empowered, engaged and resilient communities through community engagement, consultation and capacity building projects and skills development.
Supporting community led improvements to spaces and neighbourhood environments.
Supporting the integration of marginalised groups, including refugees and migrants through teaching English, cultural creative activities and building social networks.
Enhancing communities’ and individuals’ health and wellbeing through projects that increase physical activity, improve mental health, promote healthy eating and connect people to green space.
Engaging communities in the effective management and maintenance of green and open spaces.
Encouraging young people to engage with others in their community and positively contribute to their local area.
Promoting and conserving the natural environment and enhancing access to nature and heritage.
Nature study centres providing organised activities for educational, environmental or therapeutic activities.
Inspiring and promoting volunteering including youth citizenship and employee engagement.
Tackling the social, physical and practical barriers to inclusion, including knowledge and skills, perceptions and confidence

We will continue integrating landscape design and community development, delivering urban and rural environments that meet the needs of local communities, offering design, consultation and master planning services, our work will focus on:

Parks and open spaces, play and active spaces
Climate adaptive design in particular using low-cost, light-engineering flood risk management and climate change adaptation solutions
Biodiversity

We will continue to build our reputation and competence in providing sustainable landscape management:

Managing the Colne Valley Regional Park and Combe Valley Country Park; supporting Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve through the management of the Bale House Visitor and own Goblin Combe Woodland
We will act as catchment hosts and deliver Defra’s catchment based approach in the Colne and East Hampshire Catchment Partnership catchments

We will provide a grant management service to strategic partners:

Managing open grant programme for Heathrow Community Trust
Provide grant ‘enabler’ support for community groups bidding to Tesco’s Community Grants

Promoting greener living and working – helping people, organisations and businesses learn more about their environmental impact and act responsibly to reduce natural resource use and improve their health and wellbeing. We will plan, develop and deliver programmes which focus on :

Behaviour change; helping people adopt more sustainable and healthy lifestyles, tackling climate change, reducing resource consumption and addressing fuel poverty
Encouraging and supporting young people and adults to participate in and lead positive action for the environment
Running our Charity shop, recycling and reusing household goods and clothing
Providing tailored packages of advice and guidance on energy and water efficiency to residents, organisations and businesses
Ensuring the successful delivery of the water efficiency contracts and pilot programmes with water companies in the region to maximise water savings for domestic and commercial customers
Providing opportunities for the corporate sector to engage with local communities by volunteering
Continue to expand our service offer for Green Doctors enabling us to support more vulnerable household through the impact of rising fuel costs and cost of living
Manage Globe & Cressex business parks with a focus on environmental improvements

Improving people’s prospects – delivering support to children, young people, families and long term unemployed to increase confidence, skills, well-being and employability. We will deliver projects that engage, motivate and inspire people to make and lead positive lives by:

Encouraging and supporting participation and leadership of positive action for the local and global environment
Running clubs and providing safe places for young people to develop themselves and learn new skills
Delivering the National Citizenship Service and other lifelong learning and citizenship activities in and out of schools
Providing high quality outdoor learning experiences for children, young people and adults at our Oxford Outdoors centres

We will help the most disadvantaged young people and adults improve their skills and move from welfare into sustainable employment by:

Providing Information Advice and Guidance (IAG), supporting people to address their barriers to securing work and helping people make the positive decisions about jobs and careers
Delivering job brokerage that links the right client to the right vacancy and “in work support” that helps them stay in their job
Providing work placements and trials, with integrated training and access to volunteering placements
Providing non-traditional pathways to employment designed to increase ‘soft skills’ through conservation and horticulture activities
Supporting integration, building resilience, confidence and wellbeing in vulnerable and socially isolated adults & young people though engagement in cultural, environmental, language and preparation for work activities and volunteering opportunities, as well as connecting to wider services

2. Maintaining a strong, viable business, achieving excellence in service delivery

The performance of our business will be driven by increasing the quality, consistency and efficiency of our operations; by innovation and development of our services; by securing income from diverse sources; and by building long-term local and strategic partnerships and relationships.

We will:

Continue to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of our operations by managing our finances on a full cost recovery basis
Focus our fundraising efforts on areas of our work most critical or valuable to our diverse range of funding partners
Strengthening existing and developing new strategic partnerships with stakeholders and funders
Measure the quality of our delivery and the impact we make
Foster a culture to attract, develop and retain highly skilled and motivated staff
Deliver communications to raise the profile of the organisation and our services
Build long-term, local and regional strategic partnerships

We will work with Groundwork London to sustain and develop Groundwork activity across the South of England. We will do this through Groundwork London providing executive leadership and management of defined specialist activities.

Principal Risks and Uncertainties

The Board accepts its responsibility under the Charity Commission’s Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) for ensuring the major risks to which the charity is exposed are identified and reviewed and that there are systems in place to mitigate against them.

The risk management analysis continues to be an integral part of the business planning and business review and reporting process. The Trust maintains a comprehensive risk register in which all risks are evaluated and graded. Each risk is allocated both an Impact and Probability rating to provide an overall risk score. The Board reviews the most significant risks quarterly.

The principal risks to Groundwork South are:

Failure to secure funding for the projected operations plans
Poor performance and partner dissatisfaction with the quality of delivery
Failure to deliver targets and performance requirements in contracts
Failure to achieve our full cost recovery strategy, missing utilisation targets and chargeable rates

Whilst our response to each of these will vary, there are some key actions that will help us address these risks:

Ensure we are delivering high quality products and services for all of our partners and customers that are based on our good understanding of our partner organisations and their challenges
Effective coordination and targeting of fundraising and development to expand and diversify our offer in key geographic areas
Investing in our competencies and specialist skills
Effective evaluation and monitoring of delivery, output and financial performance
Effective implementation of internal processes and procedures

Financial management of projects is undertaken through Enqueuer and via project budget sheets. The amount of secured and unsecured income and the expenditure and revenue on all projects is analysed on a monthly basis.

Performance against the plan will be reviewed by the Executive Team monthly and by the Board quarterly and adjustments will be made in year to income and expenditure budgets accordingly. The Trust has been working with Groundwork London on a new Project Management System which will be integrated with financial accounting, it is planned for this system to be rolled out across the Trust during the 2024/25 financial year.

In addition to reviewing the risk register, quarterly reports to the Board monitor income & expenditure and progress towards financial targets. Detailed management accounts are examined at each meeting. The Trust submits these accounts to Groundwork Federation on a quarterly basis and is monitored by the Federation on security of income and financial stability.

Reference and Administrative Details

Registered Company number Registered Charity number 01982077 (England and Wales) 293705

Registered office of the company and principal office of the charity

The Colne Valley Park Centre Denham Court Drive Denham Uxbridge UB9 5PG

Our advisers

Independent Auditors Hartley Fowler LLP Chartered Accountants Statutory Auditor Fourth Floor Tuition House 27/37 St George’s Road Wimbledon London, SW19 4EU Bankers Lloyds Lewisham Branch PO Box 1000 BX1 1LT HSBC 31 St Peter’s Court, High Street, Chalfont St Peter SL9 9QQ CAF 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19 4JQ Solicitors IBB Capital Court 30 Windsor Street Uxbridge Middlesex, UB8 1AB

Key management personnel: Directors and Trustees

The directors of the charity are its trustees for the purpose of charity law. The trustees and officers serving during the year and since the year end were as follows:

Trustees P Head (appointed 4[th] September 2018) D Davidson (appointed 14[th] March 2017) M Dowd (appointed 20[th] October 2020) J Sutherland (appointed 31[st] March 2020) M Pearce (appointed 25[th] June 2024) Company Secretary S Harrison

Key management personnel: Executive Director Lindy Kelly

Structure, Governance and Management

Structure

Groundwork South is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee and is governed by its Memorandum of Association amended on the 30 November 2005.

Groundwork South is a member of the Federation of Groundwork Trusts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, each working with partners to improve the quality of the local environment, the lives of local people and the success of local businesses in areas in need of investment and support. The Federation Membership Agreement is a bilateral agreement jointly signed by both the Trust and the Federation, setting out the obligations, defining the minimum quality and ethical standards, setting out the core values and defining the circumstances and procedures whereby Trusts may be required to leave the Federation.

The Members of the Groundwork South Trust

Groundwork South is a wholly owned subsidiary of Groundwork London.

Governance

Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees comprises the Trustees of the Trust in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 who are also the Directors of the company in accordance with the Companies Act 2006. The Board currently comprises of 5 Trustees.

Recruitment and Appointment

The Board began a process of Trustee recruitment at the end of the year aiming to make two appointments. The process resulted in the appointment of a new Trustee in 24/25. The Board is continuing its search and is aiming to make a further appointment by the end of 24/25.

Induction & Training

Groundwork South provides key information to any new Trustees including the governing document, recent accounts and meeting Minutes as part of the induction process. New and existing Trustees are encouraged to regularly attend visits to see our programmes of work in action, meet the charity's officers and beneficiaries and understand our impact.

Management

The Board delegates day-to-day financial and managerial control of the organisation to the Executive Director who reports to the Chair of the Board. The Executive Director executes their duties with the support of senior managers.

Executive Director - Lindy Kelly

Finance Director - Stuart Harrison

Director, Youth, Employment & Skills - Graham Parry

Director, Development & Strategic Partnerships - Ben Coles

Operational Delivery Manager - Becky Spake

Central Services Manager - Claire Woodcock

Our staff

Groundwork South has tremendous staff – talented and committed to making positive change for those communities they support through our projects.

We know that the passion, hard work and commitment of our staff and volunteers is critical to ensuring high quality outcomes for partners and beneficiaries, it is therefore a priority for the Trust is to attract, develop and retain highly skilled and motivated staff.

We celebrate equality and diversity and aim to promote a culture where differences between people are respected and valued. We treat people as individuals, whilst recognising that many people share common experiences based on their background. We will continue to create and maintain an environment that meets the needs and aspirations of our own people, clients, partners and beneficiaries irrespective of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion or age.

Furthermore, our policies and procedures are continually reviewed in line with best practice and legislation and will continue to reflect Groundwork South’s commitment to equal opportunities. As part of our commitment to a diverse workforce, we hold ‘Positive about Disabled People’ status with the Disability Two Ticks mark. 2024/25 we will:

Work towards ensuring ‘Real Living Wage’ as a baseline for all staff
Focus on delivering on a robust recruitment process, attracting the right candidates and implementing an in-depth induction programme.
Develop and implement new strategies for the recruitment of experienced staff to manage and deliver our services
Support a professional and business-like culture, fostering open, participative and integrated working.
Ensure effective training and development, and performance management of all our staff
Continue to review staff structures to respond to changes in the operating environment
Deliver internal communications that help staff share knowledge and ideas and present a united organisation with a strong vision for the future

Trustees’ responsibilities in relation to the financial

statements

The charity Trustees (who are also the directors of The Groundwork South Trust for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ annual report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the charity Trustees to prepare financial statements for each year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure for that period. In preparing the 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 UK accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the 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 charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Statement as to disclosure to our auditors

In so far as the trustees are aware at the time of approving our trustees’ annual report:

there is no relevant information, being information needed by the auditor in connection with preparing their report, of which the charitable company’s auditor is unaware, and
the Trustees, having made enquiries of fellow directors and the group’s auditor that they ought to have individually taken, have each taken all steps that he/she is obliged to take as a director in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information.

By order of the board of trustees

............................................. Trustee

Date: 23[rd] September 2024

Report of the Independent Auditors

To the members of The Groundwork South Trust

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of The Groundwork South Trust Limited (the 'charitable company') for the year ended 31 March 2024 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement and 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 (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice), including Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland'.

In our opinion the financial statements:
give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company's affairs as at 31 March 2024 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;
have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and the Republic of Ireland'; 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 Auditors responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC's Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the ISAs (UK) require us to report to you where:

the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is not appropriate; or
the trustees have not disclosed in the financial statements any identified material uncertainties that may cast significant doubt about the charitable company's ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting for a period of at least twelve months from the date when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our Report of the Independent Auditors 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 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.

Opinion 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 Report of the Trustees for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
the Report of the Trustees has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

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

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

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

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

Responsibilities of trustees

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

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

Our 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 a Report of the Independent Auditors that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

We identify and assess 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.

In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and noncompliance with laws and regulations, we considered the following:

the nature of the industry and sector, control environment and the charities activities;
results of our enquiries of management about their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities;
any matters we identified having obtained and reviewed the charitable company'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;

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 organisation for fraud. In common with all audits 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 charitable company operates in. The key laws and regulations we considered in this context included the Charities Act 2011, UK Companies Act and tax 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 charitable company's ability to operate or to avoid a material penalty.

As a result of performing the above, we did not identify any key matters related to the potential risk of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations.

Our procedures to respond to risks identified included the following:

reviewing the financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with provision of relevant laws and regulations described as having a direct effect on the financial statements;
enquiring of management 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;
reviewing minutes of meetings of those charged with governance, reviewing internal reports, 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 for 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 indication of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations throughout the audit

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

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors' report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Jonathan Askew FCA (Senior Statutory Auditor) Hartley Fowler LLP Hartley Fowler LLP Statutory Auditors Chartered Accountants

4th Floor Tuition House 27-37 St George's Road Wimbledon London, SW19 4EU

The Groundwork South Trust Limited

(A company limited by guarantee)

Registered Number: 01982077

Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31[st] March 2024 Including the Income and Expenditure Account

Notes INCOME Donations and legacies 3 Charitable activities 4 Total Income EXPENDITURE Charitable activities 5 Total expenditure Net Income Transfers between funds 14 Net Income before other recognised gains and losses Net movement in funds RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS Total Funds brought forward 14 TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD	Unrestricted Funds £ 32,246 7,320,622 7,352,868 7,337,869 7,337,869 14,999 26,685 41,684 41,684 (72,506) (30,822)	Restricted Funds £ - 2,008,536 2,008,536 1,981,851 1,981,851 26,685 (26,685) - - - -	31.3.24 Total Funds £ 32,246 9,329,158 9,361,404 9,319,720 9,319,720 41,684 - 41,684 41,684 (72,506) (30,822)	31.3.23 Total Funds £ 34,644 7,555,678
				7,590,322
				7,379,049
				7,379,049
				211,273 -
				211,273
				211,273 (283,779)
				(72,506)

The Statement of Financial Activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All incoming resources and resources expended derive from continuing activities.

The notes on pages 28 to 37 form part of these financial statements.

The Groundwork South Trust Limited

(A company limited by guarantee) Registered Number: 01982077

Balance Sheet as at 31st March 2024 Notes FIXED ASSETS Intangible Assets 9 Tangible Assets 10 TOTAL FIXED ASSETS CURRENT ASSETS Debtors 11 Cash at bank and in hand 17 TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS LIABILITIES Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 12 NET CURRENT LIABILITIES TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES NET LIABILITIES THE FUNDS OF THE CHARITY 14 Unrestricted funds TOTAL CHARITY FUNDS	31.3.24 £ - 981,315 981,315 2,065,815 922,430 2,988,245 (4,000,382) (1,012,137) (30,822) (30,822) (30,822) (30,822)	31.3.23 £ - 995,781
		995,781 1,187,508 467,428
		1,654,936 (2,723,223)
		(1,068,287) (72,506)
		(72,506)
		(72,506)
		(72,506)

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 23[rd] September 2024 and were signed on its behalf by:

............................................

Trustee

The notes on pages 28 to 37 form part of these financial statements

The Groundwork South Trust Limited

(A company limited by guarantee)

Registered Number: 01982077

Cash Flow statement for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

Notes Cash flows from operating activities 16 Cash flow from investing activities Investment income received Purchase of tangible fixed assets Net cash used in investing activities Repayments of borrowings Cash outflows from new borrowings Cash inflows from new borrowings Interest paid Net cash provided by financing activities Net Increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year 17	31.3.24 £ 455,002 - - - - - - - 455,002 467,428 922,430	31.3.23 £
		(397,980)
		- -
		-
		(860,000) 860,000 (5,179)
		(5,179)
		(403,159) 870,587
		467,428

The notes on pages 28 to 37 form part of these financial statements

The Groundwork South Trust Limited

(A company limited by guarantee)

Registered Number: 01982077

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

1.1 Basis of preparation of financial statements

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

The Groundwork South Trust Limited meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s).

1.2 Legal Form

The company is limited by guarantee. The member of the company is Groundwork London. In the event of the company being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1.

1.3 Fund accounting

General funds are 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.

Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the charity for particular purposes. The costs of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

1.4 Income

All income is recognised once the charity has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received, and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably.

Income tax recoverable in relation to investment income is recognised at the time the investment income is receivable. Other income is recognised in the period in which it is receivable and to the extent the goods have been provided or on completion of the service.

Grants are credited to the Statement of Financial Activities in the year in which they are received or become receivable under the terms of the grant agreements. Where grants are considered to be performance related, income is recognised to the extent that the services outlined in the funding agreement have been performed by the year end. Where income had been received but the related service had not been performed by the year end the balance is carried forward as deferred income.

1.5 Government Grants

Government grants are recognised when the entity has reasonable assurance that conditions attached to the grant will be complied with and that the grant will be received.

Revenue grants are recognised using the accrual model and are therefore recognised as income on a systematic basis over the periods in which the entity recognises the related costs for which the grant is intended to compensate. Revenue grants are measured at fair value, being the amount of cash receivable .

1.6 Expenditure

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges allocated on the portion of the asset's use. Support costs are those costs incurred directly in support of expenditure on the objects of the charity and include project management costs.

Charitable activities and Governance costs are costs incurred on the charity's educational operations, including support costs and costs relating to the governance of the charity apportioned to charitable activities.

All expenditure is inclusive of irrecoverable VAT.

1.7 Going concern

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis. This follows the agreement that is in place with Groundwork London for the provision of financial support.

1.8 Intangible fixed assets and amortisation

Amortisation is provided at the following rates:

Software - 20% straight line

1.9 Tangible fixed assets and depreciation

All assets costing more than £1,000 are capitalised.

A review for impairment of a fixed asset is carried out if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of any fixed asset may not be recoverable. Shortfalls between the carrying value of fixed assets and their recoverable amounts are recognised as impairments.

Impairment losses are recognised in the Statement of financial activities incorporating income and expenditure account.

Tangible fixed assets are carried at cost, net of depreciation and any provision for impairment.

Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the cost of fixed assets, less their estimated residual value, over their expected useful lives on the following bases:

Freehold property	- 2% straight line
Floating classroom superstructure	- 25 years
Floating classroom fixtures and fittings	- 5 years
Motor vehicles	- 20% straight line
Fixtures and fittings	- 20% straight line
Computer equipment	- 20% straight line

1.10 Interest receivable

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the Bank.

1.11 Operating leases

Rentals under operating leases are charged to the Statement of financial activities on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

1.12 Debtors

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

1.13 Cash at Bank and in hand

Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

1.14 Liabilities and provisions

Liabilities are recognised when there is an obligation at the Balance sheet date as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required in settlement, and the amount of the settlement can be estimated reliably. Liabilities are recognised at the amount that the charity anticipates it will pay to settle the debt or the amount it has received as advanced payments for the goods or services it must provide. Provisions are measured at the best estimate of the amounts required to settle the obligation. Where the effect of the time value of money is material, the provision is based on the present value of those amounts, discounted at the pretax discount rate that reflects the risks specific to the liability. The unwinding of the discount is recognised within interest payable and similar charges.

1.15 Financial instruments

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

1.16 Taxation

The charity is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 of the Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes.

Accordingly, the charity is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by Chapter 3 Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes.

1.17 Pensions

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme, and the pension charge represents the amounts payable by the charity to the fund in respect of the year.

2 Significant judgments and estimates

In the application of the charitable company's accounting policies, which are described in note 1, the trustees are required to make judgemental, estimates and assumptions on accrued and deferred income.

Actual results may differ from their estimates. The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis.

3. INCOME FROM DONATIONS AND LEGACIES

	Unrestricted	Restricted	31.3.24	31.3.23
	funds	funds
	£	£	£	£
Donations	32,246	-	32,246	34,644

4. INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

Grant income Total 2023 Grant income Central Government Local Authority Lottery Private	Unrestricted funds £ 7,320,622 4,139,741	Restricted funds £ 2,008,536 3,415,937	31.3.24 £ 9,329,158 7,555,678 31.3.24 £ 654,469 2,255,800 310,304 6,108,585 9,329,158	31.3.23 £
				7,555,678
				31.3.23 £ 817,621 2,382,124 485,122 3,870,811
				7,555,678

5. Total resources expended

Greener living and working £ Charitable activities Staff costs 3,516,482 Project costs 3,595,804 Sub total 7,112,286 Support costs Staff costs 151,605 Travel 4,778 Administration 54,321 Communications and IT 12,522 Accommodation 106,697 Recruitment & training 17,626 Marketing 740 Professional fees 39,729 Depreciation and amortisation 10,329 Management fee 46,573 Infrastructure costs 46,573 Other 22,201 Governance costs 6,908 Sub total 520,602 Total 7,632,888 Total resources expended 2023 Charitable activities 4,677,782 Support costs 361,693 Total 2023 5,039,475	Youth and employment £ 161,279 70,639 231,918 11,808 372 4,231 975 8,310 1,373 58 3,094 805 3,627 3,627 1,730 538 40,548 272,466 695,558 35,099 730,657	Parks and open spaces £ 503,188 801,640 1,304,828 31,898 1,005 11,427 2,635 22,450 3,709 156 8,359 2,173 9,800 9,800 4,672 1,454 109,538 1,414,366 1,528,054 80,863 1,608,917	31.3.24 £ 4,180,949 4,468,083 8,649,032 195,311 6,155 69,979 16,132 137,457 22,708 954 51,182 13,307 60,000 60,000 28,603 8,900 670,688 9,319,720 6,901,394 477,655 7,379,049	31.3.23 £ 3,458,501 3,442,893
				6,901,394
				181,832 - 20,614 102,143 61,813 16,313 886 42,560 13,392 - - 30,602 7,500
				477,655

				7,379,049

6. NET OUTGOING RESOURCES Auditors’ remuneration – statutory audit Depreciation – owned assets Operating lease payments	31.3.24 31.3.23 £ £ 8,900 7,500 14,466 14,770 88,929 85,059

During the year no Trustees received any remuneration, benefits in kind or reimbursement for expenses (2023 - £NIL)

7. INTEREST PAYABLE AND FINANCING COSTS

Interest payable on the loans from group undertakings are included within Administration costs.

Interest on loans from group undertakings 8. STAFF COSTS Staff costs were as follows Wages and salaries Social security costs Pension costs The average number of employees during the year was as follows: Average expressed as a full time equivalent		31.3.24 £ - 31.3.24 £ 4,078,178 303,717 276,459 4,658,354 31.3.24 167 31.3.24 139	31.3.23 £ 5,179
			31.3.23 £ 3,489,094 266,678 212,161
			3,967,933
			31.3.23 151
			31.3.23 124

There were no contributions to defined contribution pension schemes on

behalf of employees whose emoluments exceeded £60,000 (2023: £0)

The key management personnel gross remuneration, which consisted of the executive management team and operations managers amounted to £103,745 in the year (2023: £92,810) and pension contributions of £10,484 (2023: £10,020).

9. INTANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

Cost At 1 April 2023 At 31 March 2024 Amortisation At 1 April 2023 Disposals Charge for year At 31 March 2024 Net Book Value At 31 March 2024 At 31 March 2023	Software £ 69,442
	69,442
	69,442 - -
	69,442
	-
	-

10. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

COST At 1stApril 2023 Additions Disposals At 31stMarch 2024 DEPRECIATION At 1stApril 2023 Charge for year Disposals At 31stMarch 2024 NET BOOK VALUE At 31stMarch 2024 At 31stMarch 2023 Cost At 1 April 2023 Additions Disposals At 31 March 2024 Depreciation At 1 April 2023 Charge for year Disposals At 31 March 2024 Net Book Value At 31 March 2024 At 31 March 2023	Freehold property £ 1,005,000 - - 1,005,000 72,100 8,400 - 80,500 924,500 932,900	Motor vehicles £ 20,503 - - 20,503 20,503 - - 20,503 - -	Fixtures and fittings £ 132,300 - - 132,300 129,869 1,416 - 131,285 1,015 2,431	Computer equipment £ 74,102 - - 74,102 74,102 - - 74,102 - -	Floating Classroom £ 116,250 - -
					116,250
					55,800 4,650 -
					60,450
					55,800
					60,450
					Total Tangible Fixed Assets £ 1,348,155 - -
					1,348,155
					352,374 14,466 -
					366,840
					981,315
					995,781

11. DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

Trade debtors Other debtors Prepayments and accrued income 2. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR Trade creditors Taxation and social security Other creditors Accruals Deferred income		31.3.24 £ 1,275,676 22,512 767,627 2,065,815 31.3.24 £ 912,000 236,550 120,783 152,260 2,578,789 4,000,382	31.3.23 £ 1,118,463 -
			69,045
			1,187,508
			31.3.23 £ 190,569 247,334 22,510 33,944 2,228,866
			2,723,223

12. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

Deferred Income

eferred Income
Movements during the year Movements during the year	Balance at 1 April 2023 £ 2,228,866 Balance at 1 April 2022 £ 1,914,227	Amount Released to Incoming Resources £ 2,228,866 Amount Released to Incoming Resources £ 1,914,227	Amount Deferred in the Year £ 2,578,789 Amount Deferred in the Year £ 2,228,866	Balance at 31 March 2024 £
				2,578,789
				Balance at 31 March 2023 £
				2,228,866

Deferred income relates to income received for programmes with delivery in the following year.

14. STATEMENT OF FUNDS - 2024

Unrestricted Funds General funds Restricted Funds Greener living and working Youth and employment Parks and open spaces Total Restricted Funds Total Funds	Brought forward £ (72,506) - - - - (72,506)	Incoming Resources £ 7,352,868 1,308,124 227,035 473,377 2,008,536 9,361,404	Resources Expended £ (7,337,869) (1,336,604) (200,892) (444,355) (1,981,851) (9,319,720)	Transfers In / (Out) £ 26,685 28,480 (26,143) (29,022) (26,685) -	Carried Forward £ (30,822)
					- - -
					-

					(30,822)

Restricted Funds

Greener Living and Working - to help people save energy, water, money and reduce their impact on the environment.

Youth and Employment - to support Young People to develop their skills and find jobs. To provide employment and to support offenders, ex-offenders and those likely to offend. Parks and Open Spaces - to protect and improve parks and open spaces for the benefit of local communities.

Transfer between funds:

During the year a transfer from restricted funds to unrestricted funds of £26,685 (2023: £160,200).

Funds are transferred from restricted to unrestricted at the year- end on the basis that no restrictions exist on the income and expenditure recognised.

STATEMENT OF FUNDS - 2023

	Brought	Incoming	Resources	Transfers	Carried
	forward	Resources	Expended	In / (Out)	Forward
	£	£	£	£	£
Unrestricted Funds
General funds	(283,779)	4,174,385	(4,123,311)	160,200	(72,506)
Restricted Funds
Greener living and working	-	1,733,627	(1,668,541)	(65,084)	-
Youth and employment	-	357,931	(344,300)	(13,634)	-
Parks and open spaces	-	1,324379	(1,242,896)	(81,481)	-
Total Restricted Funds	-	3,415,937	(3,255,737)	(160,200)	-

Total Funds	(283,779)	7,590,322	(7,379,049)	-	(72,506)

15. ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS

Intangible fixed assets Tangible fixed assets Current assets Creditors due within one year Creditors due in more than one year	31.3.24 Unrestricted funds £ - 981,315 2,988,245 (4,000,382) - (30,822)	31.3.23 Unrestricted funds £ - 995,781 1,654,936 (2,723,223) -
		(72,506)

16. RECONCILIATION OF NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS TO NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING

ACTIVITIES

Net Income for the year (as per Statement of Financial Activities) Adjustment for: Depreciation and Amortisation charges Interest paid (Increase) /Decrease in debtors Increase in creditors Cash flows from operating activities 7. ANALYSIS OF CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS Cash in hand	31.3.24 £ 41,684 14,466 - (878,307) 1,277,159 455,002 31.3.24 £ 922,430 922,430	31.3.23 £ 211,273 14,770 5,159 (27,519) (601,683)
		(397,980)
		31.3.23 £ 467,428 467,428

17. ANALYSIS OF CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS

18. PENSION COMMMITMENTS

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund. The pension cost charge representing contributions payable to the fund amounted to £276,459 (2023: £212,161).

Contributions totalling £30,027 (2023: £22,636) were payable to the fund at the balance sheet date and are included in creditors.

19. OPERATING LEASE COMMITMENTS

9. OPERATING LEASE COMMITMENTS
	31.3.24	31.3.23
	£	£
Amounts payable
Within 1 year	88,929	88,929
Between 1 and 5 years	42,979	131,908
After more than 5 years	-	-

20. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

During the year, Groundwork London provided £0 funds (2023: £860,000) to the charity, and £0 (2023: £860,000) was repaid during the year. At the year-end, £0 (2023: £0) was due to Groundwork London. Interest is charged at 2.85% above the Bank of England base rate, monthly in arrears. The freehold property of the charity has been pledged as security on these funds.

21. ULTIMATE PARENT UNDERTAKING AND CONTROLLING PARTY

The Charity's ultimate parent undertaking is Groundwork London. The charity is controlled by its Trustees. The results of the charity are consolidated in the accounts of Groundwork London and consolidated accounts can be obtained from its registered office at 18-21 Morley Street, London, SE1 7QZ or from the Charity Commission website.

Annual Report and Financial Statements 2023/24

Contents

Report of the Trustees for the year ending 31 March 2024

Chairman’s Introduction

About Groundwork

Vision

Mission

Our core values are:

Our Aim

Our Approach

Objectives and Activities

Charitable Objectives

Strategic Objectives

1. Creating and delivering services to meet the needs of communities in the South of England:

2. Creating a strong, viable business, achieving excellence in service delivery.

Public Benefit Statement

Grant Making Policy

Strategic Report

Our Achievements and Performance

Groundwork South Financial Review

How we raised our money

How we spent our money

Reserves Policy

Going Concern

Future Plans 2024/25

1. Create and deliver services to meet the needs of communities in the South of England

2. Maintaining a strong, viable business, achieving excellence in service delivery

Principal Risks and Uncertainties

Reference and Administrative Details

Registered office of the company and principal office of the charity

Our advisers

Key management personnel: Directors and Trustees

Structure, Governance and Management

Structure

The Members of the Groundwork South Trust

Governance

Board of Trustees

Recruitment and Appointment

Induction & Training

Management

Our staff

Trustees’ responsibilities in relation to the financial

statements

Statement as to disclosure to our auditors

Report of the Independent Auditors

To the members of The Groundwork South Trust

Opinion

Basis for opinion

Conclusions relating to going concern

Other information

Opinion on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

Responsibilities of trustees

Our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Use of our report

The Groundwork South Trust Limited

Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31[st] March 2024 Including the Income and Expenditure Account

The Groundwork South Trust Limited

The Groundwork South Trust Limited

Cash Flow statement for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

The Groundwork South Trust Limited

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

1.1 Basis of preparation of financial statements

1.2 Legal Form

1.3 Fund accounting

1.4 Income

1.5 Government Grants

1.6 Expenditure

1.7 Going concern

1.8 Intangible fixed assets and amortisation

1.9 Tangible fixed assets and depreciation

1.10 Interest receivable

1.11 Operating leases

1.12 Debtors

1.13 Cash at Bank and in hand

1.14 Liabilities and provisions

1.15 Financial instruments