**CPRE London Unincorporated Charity Report and Accounts For the year ended 31 December 2024** **Charity number** 802662 1 **Report Version:** Final, with signed Independent Examiners Statement, 23 September 2025 **Name of the Charity:** CPRE London (Unincorporated Charity) **Registered Charity Number:** 802622 **Registered Address** 70 Cowcross Street, London EC1M 6EJ **Board of Trustees (as of 31 December 2024)** ## **Honorary Officers & Trustees:** Chair: Suzanne Wise Treasurer: Rob Pomphrett Honorary Secretary: Ian Ashman **General Trustees:** Owen Anderson Catherine Irving Johnson ## **Independent Accounts Examiner** Judith Brookfield Brookfield & Co 18 Concanon Road London SW2 5TA 2 ## **Introduction to The Charity** CPRE London is an independent registered charity. We have campaigned to make our city a greener and healthier place for everyone, since 1990. We work collaboratively with the national network of CPRE, the countryside charity ## **The Charitable Purpose, Gaols and Vision of the Charity** The objects of the Charity are ‘ _To promote and encourage the improvement and protection of the English countryside for the benefit of the public, in particular through influencing the way that land and other natural resources are used in Greater London_ .’ Our vision is to help create _‘a city with a network of green spaces which are accessible to all, rich in nature and play a crucial role in responding to the climate emergency.’_ ## **Change of Charitable Status** In 2022, the Annual General Meeting of the Members and Board of CPRE London agreed to convert the charity from an unincorporated body into a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) with the benefits of incorporated legal status. The CIO was registered in 2022 with charity number 1200094. As part of the transition to become a CIO, the CPRE London unincorporated charity, number 802622, is being wound down, with the intention that it will have transferred all its assets and liabilities to the CIO by its financial closure, which it is aimed will take place and be reported to the Charity Commission by December 2025. In effect, during 2024, we were one charity, with a complementary set of charitable objects, but with two legal entities. On 1[st] January 2024, with the full support of the Charity’s Trustees, the CIO legal entity took over responsibility for delivery of our charitable objects and activities, with staff transferred and working capital transferred from that date. As a result of the delivery of charitable activity being undertaken by the CIO in 2024, this report covers only the governance, financial activity and results of the unincorporated charity. Details of the CPRE London’s substantial charitable activity, achievements and financial results for 2024 can be found in the 2024 Annual Report and Accounts for the CIO. That report includes a short commentary on the consolidated financial picture for both entities. ## **Goals, Achievements and Performance** The unincorporated Charity’s goals for the 2024 period were to support the CIO to deliver the charitable objectives and to support transition towards the closure of the Charity. The Charity did not directly deliver charitable activity in 2024, so there were no direct achievements on which to report. However, new charitable goals and performance targets were established for the CIO for 2024, with input from Charity Trustees, and the CIO drew on some of the Charity’s funding to deliver these goals The activities and achievements delivered during the 2024 year are set out in in full in the CIO report. In summary these achievements in 2024 included: - Identifying priority sites and funding for Green Belt woodland creation and publicise this as part of a campaign to create a continuous ring of woodland around London: a superhighway for nature around the capital. 3 - Delivering 2,698 metres of new/restored hedgerow for London to help meet the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change targets for hedgerow creation. - Supporting local groups in developing their plans for neglected, derelict sites, and publicising their visions, towards the aim of 10 new parks in London - Increasing the number of friends groups supported to 580 by the end of 2024, including promoting the formation of new friends groups for neglected green spaces. - • Publishing a report on the state of London's green spaces, focusing on issues and actions needed, alongside a summary of threats handled, establishing a network of Green Defenders to support campaigning against these threats - Holding a green debate for London Mayoral candidates - Expanding the central volunteer base to more than 30, to address skill and capacity gaps and hiring a new staff member to support our team. The Charity made progress with the goal of moving towards closure in 2024. The staff were transferred from 1[st] January 2024 and working capital was transferred in sufficient quantities to allow the CIO to deliver the charitable activities. In addition, various administrative activities were undertaken to prepare for closure, including informing funders and suppliers, and moving grants and contracts into the name of the CIO. ## **Governance** The CPRE London Charity is governed by a Board of Trustees and co-opted experts who meet as required to carry out the activities to maintain the Charity and move towards its closure, as part of the transition to the CIO. In May 2024, a new Chair, and Trustees, were re-elected to the Board. In the summer of 2024, three Trustees, including the Treasurer stood down and an open recruitment process took place. One co-optee was appointed to become the new treasurer. Membership of the Board is described on page 2 of this report. Annual nominations for Trustees will be considered at the AGM in May 2025, with five Trustees being proposed. ## **Staff and Volunteers** The unincorporated Charity employed no staff and had no volunteers, other than Trustees, during 2024. A small proportion of the time of some of the CIO’s staff was utilised in the transfer activities described above. ## **Statement of Public Benefit** The Board of Trustees of CPRE London unincorporated Charity have reviewed the Charity Commission Guidance on public benefit. We believe the Charity is compliant with it, through the benefits we bring to the public in London by protecting natural resources and enhancing their access to green space in London, with the physical, mental health and environmental benefits which follow, funded from Charity resources and delivered through the CIO. ## **Change in Charitable Status and Reporting of Financial Information** As described on page 3 above, the organisation is changing its charitable status. Due to the parallel operations in 2024, the Annual Reports of both entities must be presented separately for approval. The formal financial reports for the registered Charity are set out on pages 8 to 12 and these have been subject to review by the Independent Examiner 4 However, the Board believes it is helpful for Members to also see a combined overview, as both entities were working toward CPRE London’s charitable objectives during the year. To facilitate this and to enable comparison with the prior year, a separate table showing the aggregated results of both entities is included at Appendix A. ## **Financial Review** This review and commentary is in respect of the Registered Charity only and although Appendix A contains a combined view of both entities, it is necessary to review both sets of accounts to get the complete financial picture. Total income in the year for the Registered Charity was £98,348 (2023 : £173,663). The significant reduction was due to the ongoing transfer of charitable activities from the Registered Charity to CPRE London’s new CIO, registered charity number 120094. Total expenditure was £81,613 (2023: £176,186). Salaries and Project/Event costs accounted for the majority of the expenditure. As a result, there was a £16,735 surplus for the Charity (2023: £2,523 deficit), as income items were slower to transfer to the CIO compared with expenses. Net assets at the end of the year stood at £112,478 (2023: £95,743). Unrestricted funds of £76,784 (2023 : £64,281) are well above four months’ running costs, ensuring the year-end position of the charity is strong enough to continue its operation although it is the Board’s intention to fully transfer all operations of the Registered Charity to the CIO during the course of 2025. ## **Reserves Policy** The current policy is to maintain the unrestricted reserve above a minimum level of four months’ running costs. The Trustees reviewed this policy January 2024 with a view to potentially increasing this minimum level to six months’ reserve. There has been no formal change to the reserves policy following this review. 5 ## **Approvals** The draft Report and Accounts were approved for the Trustees for issue on 16 May, and signed by Suzanne Wise, as Chair on behalf of the CPRE London CIO Trustee Board. The report and accounts for the CIO were proposed to and considered by the Annual General Meeting of Members of CPRE London 22nd May 2024 and formally approved. ## **They are therefore signed on their behalf:** Suzanne Wise, Chair of the CPRE London Charity Trustee Board 6 Chartered Ar¢ountÉhts .1 A Brovkfi¢ld B Comm ACA.4TII co￿￿1t*ll1 J l.: ljlekfird BA AUT Ind¢pe#dent Examintts. R¢FXffi R¢p()rt of the Indepcndcnl Exurnin¢r tsi the"1 nL4tee5 of 'CaMpaI￿ Iv Pro￿1 Iturnl Englwjd Londun Bran¢l)'. L.'nincorporaicd Re￿￿leTed C,Iioritsi (8(121￿?) '(Ir the 'ear ellded 31 [k￿rnbU 2024 We report on the flnanclal St￿ementS on pages 5 ￿ 11 lor the year ended 31 December 2024 which discloso a surplus of £16,735, Respective ￿SpUnsIbilIt1es of the Board of Trustees and Indopendent Exafftiner ThE BD?rd of TrnsiÈos Is iespon5ible ft)r the prepardtion of the flnaDclal statements. It is our sponsibility to form an Independent OPlniDn, based on our work. on those ststements to report our opinion to you. basls of Indeperndent E￿miner'S Report An examination include5 a revtew of Ihe aredyr*s undertaken do not provide all the evldence rhat wovld be ￿qUI￿ed in an awlst arKI consèquenily we do noi expre55 an audit opinlon on the view g￿ert by these accounts. IndÈpndent Examlner5 Statement In connertion with our Éxaft)Inailon. no matter has mme to our atteritbn whkh 8lves us a reasonable cause t¢ ￿[1￿¥* Lhal In any material •5pect5 the requlremÈnts io keep the accounting records In aicordance with the Charilies A¢1 2011 and 10 prepare oc(ounts which accord with the accDuntlng records and to compty with the accountlng requlrements ol the Act have not been rnel or whith, In our opinion, artenlion should be drawn In order to enable a proper understandin8 of the accounts to be reach Signed byj A 8rnokfSeld, as spnior slatLthry audlior on behalf of Brookfield & Co Chartered Accountarrt5 Reg￿tered iudltors 18 Concanon Rd 18 Ro*d SII? 5T A Tcl: 0201177167111 F¥JX: Q20 877111722 ¢-M*il:tnqu5rle%@2brool(fieldAcrvullt#n￿e0M Londoll **CPRE London (Charity number 802622) – Registered Charity Annual Report and Accounts 2024** ## **STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024** ## **Income and Expenditure (£)** ||**Registered**
**Charity**
**Unrestricted**
**funds 2024**
**Registered**
**Charity**
**Restricted**
**funds 2024**
**Registered**
**Charity**
**Total 2024**|**Total 2023**
**Notes**|**Total 2023**
**Notes**| |---|---|---|---| |**INCOME**
Membership income
Earned income
Grant income for projects
Donations and branch appeals
Legacies and bequests
Gift Aid|27,599
-
27,599
-
19,268
19,268
-
33,676
33,676
11,679
2,547
14,227
-
-
-
1,663
1,385
3,048|40,285
7,910
88,801
34,454
-
1,554|1
2
3
4| |Bank interest|531
-
531|659|| |Total income|**41,472**
**56,876**
**98,348**
**173,663**||| |**EXPENDITURE**|||| |Salary costs
Rent
Office expenses and sundry|-
-
-
2,814
-
2,814
1,562
-
1,562|75,941
10,680
3,821|5
6| |Projects and events
Subscriptions
Insurance
Professional fees
Governance
Bank charges|1,503
73,880
75,383
10
-
10
1,653
-
1,653
-
-
-
-
-
-
191
-
191|82,486
25
850
990
1,317
76|7| |Total expenditure|**7,733**
**73,880**
**81,613**
**176,186**||| ||||| |**Surplus /deficit**|**33,739**
**17,004**
**-**
**16,735**
**2,523**
**-**||| 8 ## **REGISTERED CHARITY BALANCE SHEET FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024** |**Balance Sheet (£)**|**2024**|**2023 **|**Notes**| |---|---|---|---| |**Сurrent assets**
Сurrent account
CIO Account
Petty cash
Reserve account
Intercompany balance
Non Current Assets
Accounts receivable|50,963
-
-
-
41,080
**-**
20,435|45,755
-
60
47,171
4,049|8| |Total current assests|112,478|97,035|| |**Сurrent liabilities**
Accounts payable
Other payables|-
-
-
-|-
1,292|| |Total current liabilities|-|1,292|| ||-||| |Total net assets|**112,478**|**95,743**|| |**Capital and reserves**
Funds brought forward
Surplus/Deficit for year|-
-
95,743
16,735|98,266
2,523
-|| |**Total capital and reserves**|**112,478**|**95,743**|| |of which restricted funds
unrestricted funds|35,694
76,784|31,462
64,281|9| 9 ## **RESERVES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024** |**Registered Charity**|**Opening**
**balance**|**Incoming**
**resources**|**Resources**
**Expended**
**incl salaries**|**Transfers from**
**unrestricted**
**funds**|**Registered**
**Charity**
**Closing**
**Balance**|**Registered**
**Charity**
**Closing**
**Balance**| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |**Restricted Funds**||||||| |More Natural Capital Manifesto|153|2,087|3,879|1,317|-|322
| |GoParks London|-|3,527|13,180|13,678||4,025| |Urban Tree Festival|3,341|7,869|9,713|-||1,497| |Healthy Streets|599|3,420|8,979|6,241||1,281| |Green Belt Woodland|9|6,523|6,657|-|-|125
| |Green Belt - General|-|6,488|6,992|-|-|504
| |Greener London Planting|2,368|178|296|-||2,250| |Whitewebbs|8,658|650|5,927|-||3,381| |Ten New Parks|-|6,299|4,469|-||1,830| |Tree Ring|-|15,658|627|-||15,031| |Hedgerow Heroes|16,334|4,177|13,162|||7,350| |**Total Restricted Funds**|**31,462**|**56,876**|**73,880**|**21,236**||**35,694**| |Unrestricted funds|64,281|41,472|7,733|-21,236||88,325| |**Total funds**|**95,743**|**98,348**|**81,613**|**0**||**112,478**| 10 ## **NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS** **1. Membership Income received by the Registered Charity. Treated as unrestricted funds and includes regional/branch subscriptions** ## **2. Restricted Earned income of £19,268 comprises £7,869 from Urban Tree Festival and £2,488 from More Natural Capital Coalition** ## **3. Grant income includes** |**3. Grant income includes**|||| |---|---|---|---| |Tree Ring|Various|£|15,658
| |Green Belt Woodland|Greater London Authority (GLA)|£|6,523
| |Green Belt - General|Various|£|6,488
| |Ten New Parks|National Philantropic Trust|£|6,299
| |Healthy Streets|Foundation for Integrated Transport (FIT)||3,420| ## **4. Gift Aid represents amounts received from HMRC as a result of donations from UK Taxpayers** ## **5. Salaries have been split between Restricted and Unresticted funds according to estimated time spent** 63% of Salaries allocated to restricted funds 37% of Salaries allocated to unrestricted funds ## **6. Q1 2024 rent was paid by Registered Charity, thereafter CIO** |**7. List of main projects and associated expenditure, excluding Salaries (see 2024 Resticted Funds)**|**7. List of main projects and associated expenditure, excluding Salaries (see 2024 Resticted Funds)**|| |---|---|---| |GoParks London|£|13,180
| |Hedgerow Heroes|£|13,162
| |Urban Tree Festival|£|9,713
| |Healthy Streets|£|8,979
| |Green Belt - General|£|6,992
| |Green Belt Woodland|£|6,657
| ## **8. Intercompany balance** Represents amounts transferred between the Registered Charity and the CIO during the year, including restricted and unrestricted funds ## **9. Restricted Funds of £35,694 not spent will be carried forward into 2025 on the projects to which they relate** 11 ## **APPENDIX A** ## **AGGREGATED FINANCES FOR CPRE LONDON CIO** ## **AND CPRE LONDON REGISTERED CHARITY FOR 2024** ## **Aggregated Financial Review** The table overleaf gives an aggregated picture of the financial results for the two legal entities of CPRE London. As described in the annual report, the organisation is changing its charitable status. Due to the parallel operations in 2024, the Annual Reports of both entities must be presented separately for approval, but Trustees consider it helpful for Members and other interested parties to see the combined results. Total income in the year, across both the CIO and Registered Charity, increased by 10.9% to £192,576 in 2024 (2023: £173,663). The diversity of funding sources means that the charity is not overly dependent upon one single income stream. At £36,399 (2023: £40,285) membership income remains the largest stable income source and a key part of the fundraising mix, especially given that this represents unrestricted income. Earned Income totalled £19,319 (2023 £7,910), largely generated from the increasingly successful Urban Tree Festival and the policy influencing activities of the More Natural Capital Coalition. Grants and donations came to £133,220 (2023: £123,255) and included grants from CPRE National for London Tree Ring (£25,000), GLA funding of £16,840 for Greenbelt Woodland and Go Parks and £9,800 from the National Lottery for the Urban Tree Festival. Total expenditure increased by 4.2% to £183,637 (2023: £176,186). Salaries, rent and office costs accounted for £10,373 of the increase, partially offset by lower project and governance costs. Overall, there was a surplus of £8,939 across both entities (2023: £2,523 deficit), although there was a deficit of £7,796 in the CIO and a surplus of £16,735 in the Registered Charity, as income items were slower to transfer to the CIO compared with expenses. Net assets across both entities at the end of the year stood at £104,682 (2023: £95,743). The level of unrestricted reserves across both entities on 31 December 2024 stood at £38,243 (2023: £64,281). Aggregated unrestricted funds across both entities are around four months’ running costs, ensuring the year-end position of the charity is sufficiently strong to continue its operation. The Trustees feel that this level of unrestricted reserves is appropriate to provide a cushion against economic uncertainty and unexpected fluctuations in income but is not excessive. 12 ## **AGGREGATED VIEW OF CPRE LONDON CIO + REGISTERED CHARITY STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024** **Income and Expenditure (£)** ||**CIO**
**Unrestricted**
**funds 2024**
**CIO**
**Restricted**
**funds 2024**|**CIO Total**
**2024**|**Registered**
**Charity**
**Unrestricted**
**funds 2024**
**Registered**
**Charity**
**Restricted**
**funds 2024**
**Registered**
**Charity**
**Total 2024**|**Total 2024**|**Total 2023**| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |**INCOME**
Membership income
Earned income
Grant income for projects
Donations and branch appeals|8,800
-
-
52
-
46,138
3,658
35,522|8,800
52
46,138
39,179|27,599
-
27,599
-
19,268
19,268
-
33,676
33,676
11,679
2,547
14,227|36,399
19,319
79,814
53,406|40,285
7,910
88,801
34,454| |Legacies and bequests
Gift Aid|-
-
-
-|-
-|-
-
-
1,663
1,385
3,048|-
3,048|-
1,554| |Bank interest|59
-|59|531
-
531|590|659| |Total income|**12,516**
**81,712**|**94,228**
**41,472**
**56,876**
**98,348**
**192,576**
**173,663**|||| |**EXPENDITURE**|||||| |Salary costs
Rent
Office expenses and sundry|29,452
50,966
10,536
-
5,849
-|80,418
10,536
5,849|-
-
-
2,814
-
2,814
1,562
-
1,562|80,418
13,350
7,411|75,941
10,680
3,821| |Projects and events|2,861
-|2,861|1,503
73,880
75,383|78,244|82,486| |Subscriptions
Insurance
Professional fees
Governance
Bank charges|265
-
-
-
1,447
-
587
-
60
-|265
-
1,447
587
60|10
-
10
1,653
-
1,653
-
-
-
-
-
-
191
-
191|275
1,653
1,447
587
251|25
850
990
1,317
76| |Total expenditure|**51,057**
**50,966**|**102,024**
**7,733**
**73,880**
**81,613**
**183,637**
**176,186**|||| ||||||| |**Surplus /deficit**|**38,541**
**-**
**30,745**|**7,796**
**-**
**33,739**
**17,004**
**-**
**16,735**
**8,939**
**2,523**
**-**|||| 13