2026-01-31-accounts - Dundee Civic Trust SCIO

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

qe] Dundee Civic Trust encouraging the best

Trustees’a Annual Report

The Trustees have pleasure in presenting their Report, together with the financial statements and the Independent Examiner’s Report, for the year ending 31 January 2026.

Reference and administrative information

Charity name:

Dundee Civic Trust (SCIO)

Charity number: $C001399

Address (Treasurer): Brian Smith, 9 South Tay Street, Dundee, DD1 1NU

Trustees:

Donald Gordon (Chairman) Brian Smith (Treasurer) Barbara Illsley Fionn Stevenson Roderick Stewart Ken Peebles Stephen Brand Libby Simpson Hugh Macrae (resigned 17 April 2025) Donal McHardy (elected 17 April 2025) Graham Nicholson (elected 17 April 2025) Keith Winter (elected 17 April 2025)

Our structure, governance and management

Dundee Civic Trust was founded on 6 February 1973. As in other towns and cities, the creation of a civic society was a citizens’ response to the rapid (and not always favourable) changes then taking place in the urban environment.

Having originally been granted charitable status, the Trust was converted to a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) in January 2014.

Our governing document as a SCIO, the constitution, was approved by the membership at the Annual General Meeting of 20 March 2014.The Board of Trustees forms the executive committee, which meets ten times per year. The Trustees are responsible for the strategic direction, governance and management of the Trust. We have no paid staff and all work to further the Trust’s aims is undertaken on a voluntary basis.

Service on the Board is open to any member of the Trust who is legally permitted to act as a charity trustee. The Board must contain a minimum of seven and a maximum of eleven trustees, who are normally elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). The Board may, however, co-opt a member to serve as a trustee at any time should a vacancy exist.

Our aims

The charitable purposes of Dundee Civic Trust are:

e to preserve and promote the natural, historic, artistic, cultural and social amenities and features of the City of Dundee and its neighbourhood in order to interest, educate and inspire civic pride in the local community; and, in furtherance of this:
e to encourage the maintenance of high standards of architecture and town planning in the City of Dundee and its neighbourhood in order to ensure the protection or improvement of the local environment.

Our activities and achievements in 2025-2026

The informal motto of a well-known organisation is that it aims to “inform, educate and entertain”. This could apply equally to Dundee Civic Trust, as we try to achieve all of those aims, in so many different ways. We communicate widely with our members and others, with our Events programme of talks, ably arranged by Roderick Stewart; our annual, high-quality print publication CivicDundee, whose team is efficiently lead by Stephen Brand; our two-monthly digital magazine “Newsflash”, whose editor, Barbara Illsley, is stepping down after several years of excellent work; the Trust’s website, expertly curated by Neale Elder, who will also be stepping down after a good number of successful years in charge; and, less publicly but equally significant, the Trust’s Planning Group, convened with expertise by Fionn Stevenson, which examines planning applications and comments, sometimes favourably, always positively, on the plans that have some significance for the city.

But DCT is also an organisation that uses our expertise to try to influence matters: policies, planning, design, in fact all aspects of our built heritage in the city, new and old. To this end, board members meet, engage with and support people and groups, such as, during the year, Dundee City Council, Dundee & Angus College, Eden Dundee, Camperdown football stadium consultants, Scottish Civic Trust, The Courier, Dundee Cycling Forum, and architects and developers, and others.

We have lobbied in connection with matters such as the proposed football stadium, the Dundee Housing Emergency Plan (with Shelter), Broughty Ferry train station, the Dundee International Festival of Stone, Community Ownership Support Service (for publicly owned land and buildings).

We have taken policy positions (and lobby hard) on matters such as extending Dundee’s boundaries, upgrading the A94 to relieve some pressure on the Kingsway, the imposition of VAT on the repair of existing buildings, the Waterfront, Buildings at Risk, and good housing design. As part of this past aspect, we again held our DCT Awards scheme, recognising and celebrating the best in good design over the previous two years.

We have an excellent relationship with many organisations, and have held events during the year with Friends of Dundee Heritage Trust, V&A Dundee, Dundee Institute of Architects and Dundee Historic Environment Trust.

Finally, we have tried to ensure that the influence of DCT extends well into the future, with a substantial response, lodged in March, to Dundee City Council’s ‘Call for Ideas’ to review the now-outdated Local

development Plan 2019. We have suggested many practical, sustainable and achievable ideas which, if adopted along with others, may have the best possible outcomes to develop the economic and social wellbeing of our city.

As chairman, now retiring at the AGM in April, | am very grateful to our Board, the other members of the various teams mentioned, our loyal and active members and other supporters, and the sponsors of our publications, notably Northwood Charitable Trust in relation to CivicDundee. All of them, acting together, continue to ensure that DCT remains as a significant and at times influential stakeholder in the development and conservation of the built heritage of our city.

Financial review of 2025-2026

As at 31 January 2026, our total funds amounted to £11,428 as against £11,240 in 2025. This figure represents the balances of our Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows bank accounts along with equipment valued at £228.

Income from membership subscriptions remained the Trust's principal source of revenue. This fell from £3,904 in 2024-2025 to £2,634 in 2025-2026. Overall income for the year was down by £1,112 and expenditure increased by £104. As a result, the accounts record a surplus of £8 compared to a surplus of £1,224 for the year ending 31 January 2025.

The General Fund of £3,332 remains the principal area of financial activity, and the Reserve Funds of Lifetime and Foundation Membership of £6,120 are sufficient to address any unforeseen financial commitments. Grant funds of £1,500 were previously received towards the cost of printing the still pending update on “Dundee Closes” and these funds are restricted for that purpose; and the Photo Project Fund of £296 is similarly restricted to that project.

In January 2026 our membership stood at 232, of whom 73 were Life Members.

The Trust's finances remain healthy and the Board is committed to regular monitoring of income and expenditure.

Services donated

The Board once again wishes to express its gratitude to BK Plus, Chartered Certified Accountants for independently examining the annual accounts free of charge.

Sponsorship

We remain grateful to the various local businesses and other organisations who lend their sponsorship to the Trust’s web pages, CivicDundee, and Newsflash.

Blackadders Solicitors; Caledonia Housing Association; Hillcrest Housing Association; Nicoll Russell Studios Architects; Thorntons Solicitors; West End Garage.

Looking ahead

The Board of Trustees will continue to advance the aims of the Trust by promoting participation in our programme of events. We will also seek to broaden our membership base and to encourage a diverse range of views regarding what is best for the local environment of Dundee.

Our members will continue to be kept informed through our regular Newsflash, CivicDundee and talks.

We will continue to monitor and comment on the standard of new developments and regeneration proposals in the

city and to recognise those which are worthy of award or commendation so that we may live up to our stated aim: ‘encouraging the best’.

This Report was approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by: GJ Donald Gordon, Chairman 2 April 2026 Appendices* to Trustees’ , Annual Report 2025-2026

e Treasurer’s report to be presented at the Annual General Meeting. e Accounts for the year ended 31 January 2026, including Statement of Financial Activities. e Independent Examiner’s Report for the year ended 31 January 2026.