2021-12-31-accounts

The Friends of Mount Edgcumbe Country Park

Registered Charity No.295261

37th ANNUAL REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE PRESENTED AT THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING ON 3 rd April 2022

1. The objective of the Friends remains as detailed in the Constitution, which is ‘to preserve or assist in the preservation of Mount Edgcumbe Country Park as a place of historical, botanical, horticultural, architectural interest and natural beauty.’ Over the past 12 months the Executive Committee has striven to achieve this objective. We are pleased to place on record the following report for the approval of Members.

2. The Chairman would, on behalf of the Executive Committee, like to place on record his deepest sympathies to the Edgcumbe family following the death of Robert, 8[th] Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, on 12[th] June 2021. Robert supported all of the Friends’ events and accepted the honorary role of Patron in 2014. In 1995, Robert was the founder of the annual Car Rally, which has raised a significant amount of money for the Friends and Cornwall Hospice Care’s finances. Robert will be greatly missed.

The Executive Committee

1. The Chairman would like to give his sincere thanks to all the Members (past and present) of the 2021 Executive Committee for their support, dedication and unflagging enthusiasm throughout the past year. Following the resignation of the Chair, Treasurer and 4 other committee members, a Special General Meeting (SGM) was held on 5[th] September 2021 to fill the vacant posts. It was heartening to note that the meeting was extremely well attended – the largest meeting of the Membership for quite some time - and that it culminated in the election of all 15 posts on the Executive Committee; the first time this has occurred for many years. Following the SGM the Executive Committee comprised: Ged Edgcumbe, Gordon Crocker, Carol Drummond, Alan Drummond, Neil Rugg, Tony Hutchings, Anne Creese, Steve Creese, Mike Tong, Teresa Tong, Harry Vosper, Janet Vosper, Rozanne Griffiths-Woodcock, Malcolm Cross and Glen Edgcumbe. Malcolm Cross resigned from the Committee in December 2021. The Charity Commission has been informed of all changes on the Executive Committee

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and reassured that the Friends is well managed and functioning in accordance with its Constitution, Policies and relevant legal requirements.

1. Terms of reference for all committee member posts have been placed on the website to enable prospective applicants to see what is involved and hopefully encourage more volunteers to serve.

Special General Meeting (SGM)

1. The SGM detailed above was required because the Friends’ Constitution mandates that the Charity cannot function without a Chair and a Treasurer. The resignation by the incumbents of these and four other posts was a result of ongoing disagreements between Committee members, which were exacerbated by the proposed purchase of a set of Mount Edgcumbe related watercolours at an initial cost of £35,000. Following a detailed and comprehensive review by the postSGM Executive Committee to establish the benefits to the public and marketing opportunities related to the paintings, the Committee decided not to continue with the purchase. The key factors that influenced the Committee included: additional costs (circa £10,000) to display the paintings at Mount Edgcumbe; limited display time (a maximum of 3 months per year) and input from both the Park Management and experts from The Box (Plymouth) – who are responsible for all artefacts held/displayed in Mount Edgcumbe House - that the purchase was an unwise investment. In addition, the Committee felt that the total expenditure of circa £45,000 i.e. almost 50% of our available budget, could not be justified and the money could be used to support more worthwhile projects within the Park.

2. The collective resignation of six Committee Members is unusual, and the post-SGM Executive Committee initiated an independent review to identify any potential lessons learnt that led to the resignations and to recommend policy/procedure changes that would help to mitigate against such an occurrence in the future. Tony Hutchings, Harry Vosper, Janet Vosper and Glen Edgcumbe – who were elected at the SGM - carried out the review, which identified a number of lessons that could be learnt and recommended several changes to our policies; all of the recommended policy changes are included in the package of changes presented for approval at this AGM. The review was fully

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documented and the Charity Commission has been informed of its findings.

Membership

1. At the end of 2021 the total membership stood at 665; of this number 110 are Life and Honorary Members. With the current high administration costs the Executive Committee would encourage all members to consider paying their membership dues by Standing Order as this method reduces the administrative and financial burden.

2. The benefits of Membership include:

3. a. Regular hardcopy and/or electronic versions of the Friends’ Journal.

4. b. Priority booking and reduced charges to events staged by the Friends.

5. c. FREE entry to the House and Earl’s Garden during the season when the House is open to the public.

6. d. 50% discount on the entry fee to the House and Earl’s Garden for persons accompanied by a member of the Friends.

7. e. 15% discount on purchases made in the House shop (excluding books).

8. f. 25% discount when booking a Segway experience.

9. g. 25% discount at The Orangery.

10. h. 5% discount at Williams Weaving, Helen Round & Upcycled Homes Co.

11. i. 10% discount at The Farriers.

12. j. 20% discount at Aunt Em’s (not ice cream)

13. Members are reminded that to receive the benefits above they may be asked to provide proof of in-date membership.

Finances

1. The Independently-Examined End of Year Statement shows that our finances remain in a very healthy state. The Treasurer in her report will explain the finer details of the Statement.

2. The achievement of Gift Aid for membership fees continues to provide a profitable source of income. We would encourage Members who are taxpayers, to Gift Aid their membership fees as the extra income achieved is at no expense to individuals.

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1. It is pleasing to report that this year our administration costs have once again been kept well within the income derived from membership fees.

2. The Chairman would like to place on record his thanks to Carol Drummond - the current Treasurer - for her diligence and dedication managing our finances since she took on the post in September, and for all the work she has done preparing the accounts for Independent Examination. The Chairman also thanks Clive Murphy for his Independent Examination of the account

The Lodge

1. As a result of the imposition of Covid 19-related restrictions, we were only able to open the Friends’ Lodge on 150 days in 2021. Despite this, since re-opening on 17[th] May, over 5000 members of the public have visited the Lodge; we have sold 2745 books and generated £3783.00 for our funds. All of this once again demonstrates that the investment we made in the Lodge in 2019 is extremely well justified, as the Lodge remains a major focal point for publicising our organisation and generating income by the sale of books and other items. It also demonstrates that The Lodge is an excellent place to meet members of the public, answer queries about the Park and recruit new members.

2. Whilst our average membership exceeds 600, we still struggle to recruit volunteers willing to work in the Lodge; in 2021, only 15 members were used to staff the Lodge. The Committee appreciates that Covid-19 has impacted on peoples’ willingness to assist/volunteer in the Lodge over the past two years. However, we view the Lodge as a critical and crucial asset to our organisation and as we move into a postcovid environment, we would encourage members to play their part in supporting our aims and ambitions.

3. We are again indebted to Steve and Anne Creese, who continue to administer the Lodge; they would be pleased to hear from anyone who could spare a few hours to assist in staffing the Lodge.

Social Programme

1. The three primary events organised annually by the Committee – Easter Egg Hunt, Car Rally & Halloween Trail - were once again cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Following a relaxation of the Government restrictions on events, in August Nigel Bruce-Robertson, supported by his wife Stephanie, organised a very enjoyable trip to the

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Breakwater. In December, Tony Hutchings and Carol Drummond, supported by Alan Drummond, Harry & Janet Vosper and Rozanne Griffiths-Woodcock, managed our stall at the Christmas Fayre where Kate Gason’s Hamper Raffle and sale of produce raised £400 for our organisation. We again entered a tree in the Millbrook Church Christmas Tree Festival, this year themed on the propeller recovered from an aircraft that had crashed into Plymouth Sound during the last war, which is currently on view at the Barrow Centre prior to it being mounted and put on permanent display in the Park.

1. The organisation and management of all Friends’ events always requires a great deal of effort both beforehand and on the day. In previous years, the Friends’ three primary events were established as ‘must see’ events in the local event calendar, and in the case of the Car Rally, it provided essential funds to the Friends and Cornwall Hospice Care who co-manage the event. However, without more help there is a danger that the events might not survive and your Committee would emphatically encourage members to volunteer to assist, particularly on the day of an event, as this would help to spread the load on everyone involved, and hopefully protect our events for years to come.

2. Up-to-date information regarding events can usually be found in the Journal and on our web page.

The Park Management

1. The Executive Committee continues to maintain a healthy and collaborative working relationship with the Park Management and Staff. We meet on a monthly basis to discuss issues and priorities and how to deliver on both cofunded projects and other improvements the Committee would like to make in the Park, which are funded entirely by the Friends.

2. Overall management of the Park rests with a Joint Committee comprising representatives from Plymouth and Cornwall Councils. The Chairman of the Friends’ Executive Committee is a co-opted member of the Joint Committee, and submits a report for each Joint Council meeting on our organisation and activities.

3. The Joint Committee has always advocated that a strong, healthy Friends’ organisation is essential to the future success of the Park and this was re-iterated at the meeting in November – the first for over a year due to covid restrictions.

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Support to the Park

1. Despite an extremely curtailed events programme, we have continued to support the Park both practically and financially throughout 2021. In August a number of members supported the Park by taking a bucket collection from visitors entering the Deer Park at Maker to view the Annual British Firework Championships raising over £2,100 for Park improvements. In December Neil Rugg, Barbara Buckley and Steve & Anne Creese assisted in a variety of roles at the Christmas Fayre. The Committee wish to encourage more of the membership to help at least at one event.

2. Financially, we donated £26,895.00 to the Park in 2021 in support of various projects, the details of which are contained within the Treasurer’s Financial Report.

The Journal

1. The Committee is indebted to Tony Hutchings who returned to the Committee following the SGM, to take on the Editor role; a post he had previously held. The Editor continues to produce a most informative and colourful Journal, which continues to be well received. Our thanks are also extended to those who have submitted articles.

2. As the Journal is only as good as its content the Editor would welcome articles on any subject of interest provided they are not blasphemous or libellous. The Journal is published three times per year (Winter, Summer & Autumn editions) and the deadline for publication of articles is 30[th] April (for May publication), 31[st] August (for September publication) and 31[st] December for January publication).

3. To reduce the postage cost of Journals the majority within Plymouth, Millbrook, Kingsand/Cawsand, Crafthole and Fort Picklecombe were hand delivered. The Chairman would like to thank Neil Rugg, Barbara Buckley, Peter Walker, Nicky Wilson, Philip & Sue Willoughby, Steve & Anne Creese and Alan & Carol Drummond for delivering the journals.

Publicity

1. The Committee remains cognisant of the importance of publicity and the need to keep Members and non-members aware of the benefits of membership of the Friends and of our social events. We endeavour to do this through the medium of the Journal and our website www.friends-of-

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mount-edgcumbe.org.uk. There is also a link on our web page to the Park’s web site. We also strive to publicise our events to a wider, non-member, audience using more traditional forums (posters, news articles, radio broadcasts etc.), and we are grateful to Rozanne Griffiths-Woodcock, who was elected to the Committee at the SGM, and is spearheading this work.

1. Maintaining a website and other social media outlets, requires an individual(s) with some level of technical skills, which the Committee often finds difficult to identify. At present we do not use other social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter etc.) as we do not have sufficient skills within the Committee to undertake these tasks. The Committee would urge any Member or non-member with general IT skills, who is willing to assist in the maintenance of our website and other social media – a task that requires no more than two or three hours per month – to contact any member of the Executive Committee.

Annual Review of Policies

1. The Committee reviewed the way it operates by reference to a suite of guidance documents provided by the Charity Commission. The following documents were originally created in 2017 and approved by the Members at the 2018 AGM:

2. General Policy

3. Finance Policy

4. Reserves Policy

5. Data Protection Policy

6. The Committee has, as obliged, reviewed these on an annual basis taking into account changes to the guidance and the way we operate, and as a result updates to the General Policy, Finance Policy and Data Protection Policy were approved at the 2021 AGM.

7. The Chairman would like to thank Neil Rugg – the primary author of the majority of the Friends’ policies – for all of the work he has done during the 2021 review of the Friends’ Constitution and Policies.

Conclusion

1. In conclusion, covid-related restrictions and disruption in the Committee provided additional challenges throughout 2021. Despite this we continued to run a limited number of events,

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fully support the Park and our finances remain sound. Following a SGM in September, we have a fully functional Committee that looks forward to the challenge of making 2022 another successful year with greater participation from the members.

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The Friends of Mt.Edgcumbe Country Park

Registered Charity No. 295261

Treasurer’s Report Year ending 31st. December 2021

These accounts have been prepared on a Receipts and Payments basis. The Trustees have prepared the accounts on a going concern basis as there are no uncertainties regarding the charity’s ability to continue. The charity has no paid employees, and there were no transactions with related parties. No trustee expenses have been incurred.

The Friends of Mt. Edgcumbe Country Park

Registered Charity No. 295261

Statement of Financial Activities

	Unrestricted Funds	Restricted Funds	Total Funds	Prior period Total Funds	Further details
	£	£	£	£
Current Account & Petty Cash	2021			2020
Income & endowments from:					Note 1
Membership	5,936		5,936	4,338	Note 2
Bequest	5,000		5,000	10,523
Donations	1,300		1,300	1,437	Note 3
Events	1,497		1,497	1,578	Note 4
Sales of donated items	3,783		3,783	1,221	Note 5
Sale of goods	208		208	122	Note 6
Panorama Pictures	15,000		15,000		Note 7
Gift Aid	552		552	545
Deposit Account interest	12		12	274	Note 8
Total	33,288		33,288	20,038
Expenditure on:
Restricted Fund expenditure	(0)		(0)	(0)
Mount Edgcumbe	(26,895)		(26,895)	(4,200)	Note 9
Panorama pictures	(15,000)		(15,000)
Other donations	(13)		(13)	(3,073)	Note 10
Event costs	(420)		(420)	(972)	Note 11
Internal Projects	(1,860)		(1,860)	(595)	Note 12
Journal	(2,597)		(2,597)	(1,725)	Note 13
Administration	(946)		(946)	(745)	Note 14
Insurance	(609)		(609)	(595)
Total	(48,340)		(48,340)	(11,905)
Net Surplus (Deficit) funds	(15,052)		(15,052)	8,133

The Friends of Mt. Edgcumbe Country Park

Registered Charity No. 295261

Notes to accompany the Statement of Financial Activities

1. The charity does not have any endowment funds.

2. Membership income has recovered to pre covid amounts. A recent increase in Life membership to £150 single and £250 couple may have brought an increase in revenue. When existing members were given the offer to buy Life membership at the old rate.

3. Donations include ad hoc donations, the cash collected from the boxes placed around the and the donations through Amazon Smile and Just Giving. The money collected from the box marked “bees” is donated to the Black Bee charity (Expenditure – Other donations).

4. We received income from the Christmas Fayre Raffle and sales and also some additional ticket sales for the Breakwater trip which went ahead in August after being rescheduled from 2020.

5. The income from the lodge is now back to pre Covid levels after a reduction in 2020.

6. The sale of goods relates to walk books.

7. An initial deposit was paid on the paintings, after review it was agreed not to continue with the full purchase of the paintings and the £15,000 of income recovered is also shown in the accounts.

8. Low interest rates and Bank of England Base Rate being down have contributed to this year. There was also a large withdrawal from the account.

9. Donations to the park were for Bedding plants £4,100, Mannequins for the Blitz Exhibition £2,000, Purchase of the Gator £12,345, Deer Fencing £5,000 and Tractor Adaptor £3,450.

10. In 2020 MERMS was given £3,000 for a new locomotive and to buy track. It is intended that they will repay the Friends as and when they are able to generate sufficient income. We have yet to receive any income. In 2021 the only donation from the accounts was to the Black Bees charity.

11. Event costs mostly relate to the breakwater trip and car show. The costs of the car show were reimbursed and are included in events income.

12. Path to the lodge was concreted at a cost of £1,860. In prior years internal projects were classified as ‘ other’. Prior years amounts have been now stated against internal projects.

13. The costs of the Journal have increased as one issue had to be retype faced part way through production.

14. Administration covers Accountant, Website and e.mail accounts and misc. expenses.

The Friends of Mt. Edgcumbe Country Park

Registered Charity No. 295261

Statement of Assets and Liabilities

	2021	2020	Further details
Fixed assets
Lambert Lodge	18,324	18,324
Painting by Meredith Hawes, on loan to Mt. Edgcumbe House			Note 15
Road signs, cones, trackway and other functional items	10,000		Note 16
Subtotal	28,324	18,324
Current Assets
Prepaid expenses
Santandercurrent account	54,614	14,991
COIFCharities depositfund	64,499	119,488	Note17
Cash	391	77
Subtotal	119,504	134,556
Less:
Deferredincome &liabilities
Total Current Assets	119,504	134,556
Total Fixed & Current Assets	147828	152,880
Accumulated Funds
Balance broughtforward	152,880	144,747
Revaluationofassets	10,000
Plus surplusforyear	(15,052)	8,133
Total Funds	147828	152,880

1. These fixed assets have not been valued in 2021.

2. In late 2020 an audit of The Friends equipment for insurance purposes was carried out. They are insured for £20,000.00. The amount recorded here is considered to be 50% of the replacement value of these items.

3. Deposit account analysis:

Deposit Account	Brought forward
Brought forward	119,488
Transfer to current account	(55,000)
Deposit account interest	12
Total funds carried forward	64,500

The Friends of Mt. Edgcumbe Country Park

Registered Charity No. 295261

Clive Murphy Ltd ACCOUNTANTS 19 Anacrton Rise • Millbrovk • Torpoint • C.nrnw&ll • PT.1 0 1 DA Telephone: [phone] • email: [e-mail] Web.. uryv￿.cllvernu[phy.C0.uk 28th March 2022. To the Trustees of the Friends of Mount Edgcumbe Country Park Mount Edgcumbe House Cremyll Torpoint Cornwall PL10 1 HZ Dear Trustees, l enclose the Independent Examiner's Report relating to the accounts for the charity for the year to 31st December 2021, as set out in the Treasurer's Annual Report 2022. l am pleased to say I found the books and records in good order, and there are no matters of significance lo report. l enclose my bill for this work which I trust you will find satisfactory. Finally, I would like lo thank Mrs Carol Drummond and Mr Ged Edgcumbe for their assistance, and if anything isn't clear please do not hesitate to contact me. Your sincer£ ly, M.C. Murp A company registered In England and W2les Compan}, number l(K65669

Independent Examinerfs Report to the Trustees of Friends of Mount Edgcumbe Country Park {Registered Charity No. 295261) I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Friends of Mount Edgcumbe Country Park (the Trust) for the year ended 31st December 2021, as set out in the Treasurerfs Annual Report 2021 showing a net deficit for the year of £15,052. Responsibilities and basis of report As the charity trustees of the Trust you are responsible for the preparation of Ihe accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Act'}. I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 14515){b) of the Act. Independent examiner's statement I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect.. 1.accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act.. or 2.the aceounts do not accord with those records. I have no cOn￿rnS and have come across no other matters in connection with my examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Clive Murphy BAI Clive Murphy Ltd. 19, Anderton Rise Millbrook, Cornwall nsl MAAT Dated.. 28th March 2022