## **Urban Design Group** 

**Annual Report and Accounts 2023** 

1 



## **Urban Design Group: Annual Report 2023** 

## **Report of the Trustees for the year ending 28 February 2023** 

**Address:** 70 Cowcross Street, London EC1M 6EJ 

**Charity Number:** 326123 

**Trustees as at 28 Feb 2023:** Arnold Linden   Marion Roberts   Janet Tibbalds   Marcus Wilshere The trustees are sad to report that Arnold died on 27[th] August of this year. 

## _Statement of trustees’ responsibilities:_ 

Law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the charity’s financial activities during the year and of its incoming resources and resources expended during that year. In preparing those financial statements the trustees are required to: 

- Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently 

- Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent 

- State whether applicable accounting standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed 

- Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the activities of the charity will continue 

- Confirm that they have paid due regard to the Charity Commission guidelines on public benefit. 

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011 and the Statement of Recommended Practice, Accounting and Reporting by Charities 2005. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. 

In the course of the year, the trustees produced a report on conflicts of interest and member behaviour, leading to the adoption of an updated constitution.  It is expected that in the coming year, the Urban Design Group will progress from being an unincorporated charity into a charitable incorporated organisation. 

## **Constitution** 

The Urban Design Group is governed by a constitution approved at a Special General Meeting held on 26 April 2023.  It is based on the Charity Commission SG3 model constitution for unincorporated charities. 

## **Executive Committee 2022-2023** 

The UDG Executive Committee is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the UDG. 

Members as at 28 February 2023 were: 

**Elected: Coopted subsequently:** Katja Stille (Chair) Colin Pullan Scott Elliott Adams Graeme Moore Paul Reynolds Amanda Reynolds Patricia Aelbrecht Raj Rooprai (Hon Secretary) Barry Sellers Meenakshi Bhagat Brian Quinn Christopher Martin Kenji Shermer Philip Black Graham Smith (Treasurer) Alan Stones Andrew Dakin Alan Thompson Husam AlWaer Louise Thomas (corresponding) Jacob Willson Leo Hammond (Past Chair) Rob Thompson Daniela Lucchese Hannah Smart Colin Munsie (Editorial Board Rep) **Patrons** Alan Baxter Lindsey Whitelaw John Worthington Roger Evans 

1 



## **Performance & Achievements** 

The year 2022-2023 efforts were made to re-establish activities in the post-pandemic era, with sustained efforts by the membership, Executive Committee, Editorial Board, and staff. 

## **Membership** 

|**Membership**|||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Category|Feb<br>2023|Nov<br>2022|Mar-<br>2021|Mar-<br>2020|Mar-<br>2019|Aug-<br>2017|May<br>2015|Jun-<br>2013|Jun-<br>2011|Jun-<br>2009|
|Standard Individual(UK)|550|531|539|523|548|582|633|647|714|826|
|Standard Individual<br> (International)|47|67|72|66|66|80|81|81|79|88|
|RecognisedPractitioner|202|203|173|154|122|112|104|88|63|9|
|Concession(UK)|165|163|160|139|153|155|158|175|192|153|
|Practice (UK)|149|151|138|138|128|118|120|128|135|167|
|Practice (International)|1|3|2|2|2|4|5|6|7|11|
|Local Authority|53|52|42|42|33|25|25|36|36|46|
|University|4|1|12|12|11|16|19|15|14|12|
|Library (UK)|29|29|29|31|34|41|42|44|41|41|
|Library (International)|24|30|31|35|43|46|42|42|39|41|
|Sub-total|1224|1230|1198|1142|1140|1179|1229|1262|1320|1394|
||||||||||||
|Newsletteronly|2839|2660|1909|1451|1380|1131|926|675|476|212|
|Totals|4063|3890|3107|2593|2520|2310|2155|1937|1796|1606|



## **Urban Design Journal** 

_Urban Design_ is directed and managed by the UDG Editorial Board.  The membership of the Editorial Board for 2022-23 comprised: 

Sebastian Loew (editor) Richard Cole Jane Manning Louise Thomas (editor) Richard Crappsley Chris Martin Tim Hagyard Geoff Noble Patricia Aelbrecht Joe Holyoak Judith Ryser Matthew Carmona Daniela Lucchese 

Over the past year a number of high-quality contributions were received on a variety of topics, occasionally fairly controversial. The Editorial Board always welcomes these and encourages members to make contact if there is an issue that they would like to share with others. The Editorial Board has also received letters responding to previous articles and would welcome more of these. 

2 



The editions of Urban Design published were: 


_163 – Design Codes Topic Editor, Marcus Wilshere_ 


_165 – Sensing the City Topic Editor, Daniela_ `Lucchese` 


_164 – The Circular Economy Topic Editor, Jane Manning_ 


_166 – Council Housing Topic Editor, Leo Hammond_ 

## **Events** 

The UDG continued its programme of events, where possible, working in partnership with other organisations. 

- Aleppo City: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: an ancient city of the Eastern Mediterranean 

- Better Streets Summit 

- Design Officers Network 

- Urban Design and the Film and Television Industry 

- Facilitating the Productive 20 minute neighbourhood in the UK 

- Design Codes – Where are we? 

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- How to make People-friendly places masterclasses 

   - Built schemes 

   - Urban Design Frameworks 

   - On the edge of town 

- London Borough’s Healthy Streets Scorecard 2022 led by CPRE London 

- Understanding the Georgian Seaside Resort 

- Appealing Design – Does design quality carry weigh in planning appeals – in support of the Place Alliance 

- Parking Policy Time for Change? – in support of CPRE London 

- Do we need a below ground national design guide – session at Futurebuild 2022 

Visits 

- Hastings St Leonards on Sea – 15 Minute place 

## **Design Officers Network** 

The Network continued to be convened, to provide a safe space for anyone involved in design in the public or not-for profit sector to share views, ideas, concerns and latest intelligence. Attendances generally were around 80 individuals. 

## **UrbanNous- Video on Demand** 

Thanks are due to Fergus Carnegie who continues his largely voluntary work. He has recorded and packaged the UDG zoom events making them available to a global audience through the Urbannous website and Youtube channel. They are also embedded on the UDG website events archive pages and shared on the UDG Youtube channel. 

This is a great resource and a tremendously valuable archive of the huge number of presentations given at the UDG over recent years. 

The ideas|Space interviews with Christopher Martin and guests, a collaboration between UDG, Urban Nous and Urban Movement included: 

- Venice of the North? Innovative policies for Birmingham with Cllr Waseem Zaffar 

- Skateboarding - Culture and History in Urban Design with Iain Borden 

## **Urban Update** 

Thirty-four editions of UDG’s email newsletter Urban Update were issued during the course of the year, featuring latest news, research and events relating to towns, cities and urban design, with the circulation list exceeding 4000 for the first time. 


4 



## **Financial Review** 

## **Reserves policy** 

The definition of ‘reserve’ is: ‘Income which becomes available to the Charity and is to be expended at the Trustees’ discretion in furtherance of the Charity’s objectives, but which is not yet spent, committed or designated’. This definition therefore excludes restricted funds and sums already invested in fixed assets. 

The trustees have reviewed the reserves of the charity and, in view of the current financial situation, are of the opinion that they should fall no lower than a minimum of £50,000. This will provide sufficient funds to enable the charity to meet outstanding obligations. 

Approved by the Trustees on 11 December  2023 and signed on their behalf 

Marcus Wilshere, Trustee, UDG 

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## **Summar of Accounts y** 

||**2023**|**2022**|**2021**|**2020**|**2019**|**2018**|**2017**|**2016**|**2015**|**2014**|**2013**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||Totals|Totals|Totals|Totals|Totals|Totals|Totals|Totals|Totals|Totals|Totals|
|**INCOMING**<br>**RESOURCES**||||||||||||
|Subscriptions|114,160|115,987|98,320|113,911|108,816|96,075|113,410|100,072|114,461|76,781|75,656|
|Publications and<br>Awards|8,601|10,944|31,864|7,225|46,755|8,842|10,291|40,939|6,099|13,354|32,856|
|Conference Fees and<br>Sponsorship||||23,916|21,026|18,975|17,163|20,213|14,246|-|-|
|London Events|381|208|331|3,488|3,010|2,456|1,040|1,912||||
|Study Tours &<br>Recruitment Services|18,550|19,500|2750|23,557|46,758|41,170|45,599|||||
|Donation||18,779||||||26,102|13,963|9,824|4,731|
|Activities to Generate<br>Funds||||||||||||
|Interest Received|202|85|86|85|85|32|315|338|373|920|1,003|
|Inland Revenue:  Gift<br>Aid||||||||(3,600)|4,216|3,992|4,120|
|Miscellaneous Income|70||750||5,638|703||-|458|335|580|
|**TOTAL INCOMING**<br>**RESOURCES**|141,964|165,503|140,293|172,182|232,088|168,253|187,818|185,976|153,816|105,206|118,946|
|||||||||||||
|**RESOURCES**<br>**EXPENDED**||||||||||||
|Charitable Expenditure||||||||||||
|Publications & Awards|40,231|45,836|41,717|42,425|63,953|36,584|38,193|57,846|24,110|30,933|49,676|
|Conference Expenditure||3,652|621|15,183|9,836|12,774|18,273|18,295|16,201|||
|General|82,629|135,759|117,582|107,472|104,980|90,280|78,886|72,019|65,538|79,431|86,312|
|Study Tours<br>Expenditure|||||15,300|22,284|25,296|||||
|Development<br>Expenditure|||||||||-|-|5,000|
|Governance costs<br>(accountancy)|2,040|1,230|1,630|1,740|1,680|2,753|2100|1,200|1,200|1,140|1,116|
|||||||||||||
|**TOTAL RESOURCES**<br>**EXPENDED**|124,900|186,477|161,550|166,820|195,749|164,675|162,748|149,360|107,049|111,504|142,104|
|**NET INCOME**<br>**/ (EXPENDITURE)**<br>**FOR THE YEAR**|17,064|(20,974)|(21,257)|5,362|36,339|3,578|25,070|36,616|46,767|(6,298|(23,158)|
|||||||||||||
|**FUND BALANCES**<br>**BROUGHT FORWARD**|205,468|226,442|247,699|242,337|205,998|202,420|177,350|140,734|93,967|100,265|123,423|
|**FUND BALANCES**<br>**CARRIED FORWARD**|222,532|205,468|226,442|247,699|242,337|205,998|202,420|177,350|140,734|93,967|100,265|
|||||||||||||
|**CURRENT ASSETS**||252,711|268,244|276,382|257,188|218,879|220,890|182,418|188,044|125,359|139,458|
|**CURRENT**<br>**LIABILITIES**||47,244|41,803|28,684|14,852|12,881|18,471|5,069|47,271|31,393|39,194|
|**TOTAL NET ASSETS**||205,468|226,442|247,699|242,337|205,998|202,420|177,350|140,733|93,967|100,265|



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## **INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF URBAN DESIGN GROUP** 

## **Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of Urban Design Group** 

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of Urban Design Group (the Group) for the year ended 28 February 2023. 

## **Responsibilities and basis of report** 

As the charity trustees of the Group you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’). 

I report in respect of my examination of the Group’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. 

## **Independent examiner's statement** 

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material 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 Group as required by section 130 of the Act; or 

- (2) the accounts do not accord with those records; or 

- (3)    the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of the accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. 

I confirm that there are no matters to which your attention should be drawn to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. 

Andrew Thurburn Andrew  Thurburn & Co. Chartered Accountants 38 Tamworth Road Croydon Surrey CR0 1XU 

11 December 2023 

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## **URBAN DESIGN GROUP STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 28 FEBRUARY 2023** 

||**Notes**|**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**2023**|**2022**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**Funds**|**Funds**|**Totals**|**Totals**|
|||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|**INCOMING RESOURCES**||||||
|Incoming Resources from Charitable|Activities|||||
|Subscriptions||114,160|-|114,160|115,987|
|Publications & Awards|2|8,601|-|8,601|10,944|
|London Events||381|-|381|208|
|Gifts & Donations||-|-|-|18,779|
|Recruitment Services||18,550|-|18,550|19,500|
|Miscellaneous Income||70|-|70|-|
|Activities to Generate Funds||||||
|Interest Received||202|-|202|85|
|||––––––|–––––|––––––|––––––|
|**TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES**||141,964|-|141,964|165,503|
|||––––––|–––––|––––––|––––––|
|**RESOURCES EXPENDED**||||||
|Charitable Expenditure||||||
|Publications & Awards|3|40,231|-|40,231|45,836|
|General|4|82,629|-|82,629|135,759|
|Conference Expenditure||-|-|-|3,652|
|Governance Costs|5|2,040|-|2,040|1,230|
|||––––––|––––––|––––––|––––––|
|**TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED**||124,900|-|124,900|186,477|
|||––––––|––––––|––––––|––––––|
|**NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)**||||||
|**FOR THE YEAR**||17,064|-|17,064|(20,974)|
|**FUND BALANCES BROUGHT FORWARD**||187,324|18,144|205,468|226,442|
|||–––––––|–––––––|–––––––|–––––––|
|**FUND BALANCES CARRIED FORWARD**||£204,388|£18,144|£222,532|£205,468|



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## **URBAN DESIGN GROUP BALANCE SHEET AT 28 FEBRUARY 2023** 

|||**2023**||**2022**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**£**|**£**|**£**|<br>**£**|
|**FIXED ASSETS**(Note 6)||1||1|
|**CURRENT ASSETS**|||||
|Cash at Bank|||||
|NatWest Current Account|188,784||164,241||
|Scottish Widows Account|85,810||85,608||
|Cash Float|93||59||
|Debtors (Note 7)|20,649||2,803||
||–––––––||–––––––||
||295,336||252,711||
||–––––––||–––––––||
|**CURRENT LIABILITIES**|||||
|Creditors Falling Due Within|||||
|One Year (Note 8)|72,805||47,244||
||––––––||––––––||
|**NET CURRENT ASSETS**||222,531||205,467|
|||–––––––||–––––––|
|**TOTAL ASSETS**||£ 222,532||£ 205,468|
|Represented by:|||||
|**ACCUMULATED RESERVES**|||||
|Restricted Funds||18,144||18,144|
|Unrestricted Funds||204,388||187,324|
|||–––––––||–––––––|
|||£ 222,532||£ 205,468|



Approved by the Trustees on 7 December 2023 and signed on their behalf 

...................................................................... Janet Tibbalds, Trustee, UDG 

..................................................................... Louise Thomas, Treasurer, UDG 

9 



**URBAN DESIGN GROUP NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 28 FEBRUARY 2023** 

## **1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES** 

- _(i) Accounting Convention_ 

   - The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant notes to these accounts. The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) issued on 16 July 2014 and the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011. 

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. 

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern. 

- _(ii) Depreciation_ 

   - Equipment is depreciated at 25% on a straight line basis. 

- _(iii) Incoming Resources_ 

   - All incoming resources are included on the Statement of Financial Activities when the Charity is legally entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy. Subscriptions are recognised when due and not when received. 

## _(iv) Resources Expended_ 

   - Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. 

- _(v) Taxation_ 

   - The Charity is exempt from tax on its charitable activities. 

|**2.**<br>**PUBLICATIONS INCOME**<br>**2023**<br>**£**<br>Sales of Journal<br>3,861<br>Journal Sponsorship<br>1,800<br>Urban Design Awards<br>2,940<br>–––––<br>£ 8,601<br>£<br> <br>**3.**<br>**PUBLICATIONS EXPENDITURE**<br>Journal Production & Printing<br>36,081<br>Urban Design Awards<br>4,150<br>Urban Design Directory<br>-<br>–––––<br>£ 40,231<br>£|**2022**<br>**£**<br>3,294<br>5,250<br>2,400<br>–––––<br>10,944<br>32,509<br>4,806<br>8,521<br>–––––<br>45,836|
|---|---|



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## **URBAN DESIGN GROUP NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 28 FEBRUARY 2023 (Contd)** 

|**4.**|**GENERAL CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES EXPENDITURE**|**2023**|**2022**|
|---|---|---|---|
|||**£**|**£**|
||London Events|-|24|
||UrbanNous|4,000|4,000|
||Expenses for Regions|-|208|
||Events Online Expenses|-|749|
||Consultant Director's Fees|33,439|31,190|
||Salaries & Pension Costs|22,093|65,586|
||Rent, Rates, Light & Heat|9,728|13,035|
||Telephone & Broadband|584|721|
||Postage, Stationery & Office Supplies|857|2,621|
||Website|326|540|
||Insurance|453|453|
||Bank Charges|1,338|1,755|
||Payroll Admin|223|338|
||Accounts Consultancy|210|1,015|
||Research|-|10,288|
||Grants|-|600|
||Bad Debt Provision|9,352|2,636|
||Miscellaneous Expenses|26|-|
|||––––––|––––––|
|||£ 82,629|£ 135,759|
|**5.**|**GOVERNANCE COSTS**|||
||Independent Examination Fees|£ 2,040|£ 1,230|
|**6.**|**FIXED ASSETS**||**£**|
||Cost of Equipment|||
||As at 1.3.22||5,766|
||Additions||-|
||||–––––|
||As at 29.2.23||5,766|
||||–––––|
||Depreciation|||
||As at 1.3.22||5,765|
||Charge for the Year||-|
||||–––––|
||As at 28.2.23||5,765|
||||–––––|
||Net Book Value|||
||As at 29.2.22||£ 1|
||As at 28.2.23||£ 1|



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## **NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 28 FEBRUARY 2023 (Contd)** 

|**7.**<br>**DEBTORS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR**<br>Subscriptions<br>Prepayments<br>Sundry Debtors<br> <br>£<br>**8.**<br>**CREDITORS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR**<br>Trade Creditors<br>Other Creditors<br> <br>£|**2023**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>16,917<br>2,355<br>2,262<br>-<br>1,470<br>448<br>––––––<br>––––––<br>20,649<br>£ 2,803<br>**2023**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>67,427<br>34,320<br>5,378<br>12,924<br>––––––<br>––––––<br>72,805<br>£ 47,244|
|---|---|



## **9. TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION** 

No Trustee received any remuneration or expenses during the year, nor were any expenses reimbursed. 

|**10.**<br>**STAFF COSTS**<br>Salaries<br>Social Security<br>Pension Costs<br> <br>£<br> <br>The average number of employees was<br> <br>|**2023**<br>**2022**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>20,088<br>57,218<br>1,934<br>4,892<br>71<br>3,476<br>––––––<br>––––––<br>22,093<br>£ 65,586<br>0.7<br>1.9|
|---|---|



## **11. RESTRICTED FUNDS** 

The restricted fund is reserved for use according to the charitable objects of the former Francis Tibbalds Trust including the funding of publications. 

12 



## **URBAN DESIGN GROUP NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 28 FEBRUARY 2023 (Contd)** 

|**12.**|**COMPARATIVES FOR THE SOFA**|**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**Funds**|**Funds**|**Total**|
|||**£**|**£**|**£**|
||**INCOMING RESOURCES**||||
||Incoming Resources from Charitable Activities:||||
||Gifts & Donations|35|18,744|18,779|
||Other|146,724|-|146,724|
|||––––––|––––––|––––––|
|||146,759|18,744|165,503|
|||––––––|––––––|––––––|
||**RESOURCES EXPENDED**||||
||Publications & Awards|45,236|600|45,836|
||Other|140,641|-|140,641|
|||––––––-|––––––|––––––|
|||185,877|600|186,477|
|||––––––|––––––|––––––|
||**NET (EXPENDITURE)/INCOME**||||
||**FOR THE YEAR**|(39,118)|18,144|(20,974)|
||**BALANCES BROUGHT FORWARD**|226,442|-|226,442|
|||––––––|––––––|––––––|
||**BALANCES CARRIED FORWARD**|£ 187,324|£ 18,144|£ 205,468|



13