2024-08-31-accounts - Aberdeen & District Transport Preservation Trust

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

ABERDEEEN & DISTRICT TRANSPORT PRESERVATION TRUST

TRUSTEES’ REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] AUGUST 2024

CHARITY NUMBER SC037877

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS OF THE CHARITY, IT’S TRUSTEES AND ADVISERS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] AUGUST 2024

Trustees

Charity Registered Number

SC037877

Principal Office

Independent Examiner

Tawse and Partners

Bankers

Bank of Scotland plc, 8 Lochside Avenue, Edinburgh, EH12 9DJ

TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] AUGUST 2024

The Trustees present their annual report together with the financial statements of Aberdeen & District Transport Preservation Trust (the charity) for the year ended 31[st] August 2024. The trustees confirm that the Annual report and financial statements of the charity comply with the current statutory requirements, the requirements of the charity’s governing document and the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice, (SORP), “Accounting and reporting by Charities” issued in March 2006.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

CONSTITUTION

The charity is governed by its Trust Deed.

METHOD OF APPOINTMENT OR SELECTION OF TRUSTEES

The management of the charity is the responsibility of the trustees who are appointed and co-opted under the terms of the Trust Deed.

The powers for appointment and removal of trustees are set out in the Charity’s Trust Deed.

It is the Trust’s policy to seek to appoint trustees who have a specific interest and background knowledge of transport preservation and whose skills can complement those already in place.

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE AND DECISION MAKING

The board of trustees administers the charity.

POLICIES AND OBJECTIVES

The Trust’s objectives set out in the Trust deed are to advance and promote the education of the general public by bringing together, holding, adequately housing, maintaining, preserving, and conserving a collection of historically important buses, coaches, tramcars or any other vehicle, along with any related equipment. The Trust will seek to:-

Stimulate public interest in the restored collection as a focal point of education
Display and publicise the restored collection for the public benefit and
Promote and assist in collating and recording of historical and other related information appropriate to the purpose of the collection of restored vehicles.

ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE

GOING CONCERN

During the following year, the will of the Trust’s founder, was settled and a legacy award of 200,000 FirstGroup shares was provided to the Trust. This legacy award will ensure the financial stability of the Trust for future years. As a result of this award, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the near future. For this reason, the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.

REVIEW OF ACTIVITIES

The Trust enjoyed an incredibly positive year where a great deal of progress was made on several fronts. We restarted our attendance at local transport events, achieved our highest ever number of visitors to our Open Day, and made satisfactory progress on our vehicle restoration projects.

All vehicle restoration and maintenance work at Alford is carried out with the help of a dedicated core team of six volunteers. In the course of the year the Trust has progressed restoration work on the following vehicles in its care:

Aberdeen Corporation Transport 11: A Daimler CVD6 single deck bus new 1947

A thorough rebuild of bus 11 is well under way. All the windows have been replaced, with all but three body panels still to be fitted. The original Daimler engine has been sent to a specialist firm in Dundee and is nearing completion.

Aberdeen Corporation Transport 14: A Daimler CVD6 single deck bus new 1948

The rebuild of this bus 14 is being carried out by Trust volunteers at a site in Central Scotland. The restoration work is well advanced with the bodywork gradually being returned to its original condition. To complete the full restoration, the engine has been overhauled and returned to full working order.

Aberdeen Corporation Transport 160: A Daimler CVG6 double deck bus new 1951

The restoration of bus 160 has been completed. Bus 160 was officially returned to service and relaunched at our annual Open Day in August 2024.

Grampian Regional Transport 55: A Leyland Tiger single deck coach new 1986

Preliminary inspection work on 55 was carried out in preparation for full restoration. A date to commence with the refurbishment has yet to be established.

Aberdeen Corporation Tramways 15: A Brush double decker tramcar new 1901

Fund raising and acquisition of specialist materials continues. A number of upper deck seat frames have been obtained from the public and a design developed for what is to be used on the car.

In addition to the specialist restoration projects, routine servicing, inspection and maintenance work has been carried out on Trust and First Group Heritage Trust vehicles by the team of volunteers to ensure that they are fit and roadworthy to be used on public roads.

Trust volunteers have also provided hours of training and guidance to volunteer drivers to educate them on how to drive older vehicles with sliding/constant mesh gearboxes. The proper use of such gearboxes has become something of a lost art and this training ensures that such skills are passed onto future generations.

INTERFACES WITH THE PUBLIC

Sunday, 4th August 2024, saw us hold our annual Open Day at Alford. The event was extremely well attended with just over 1000 visitors throughout the day. In addition, the Trust attended a number of local events using different vehicles, events and locations were:

Bon Accord annual steam and vintage fair held in the grounds of Castle Fraser.
R W Thomson Rally, Stonehaven.
Portlethen Gala.
Charity Event, Duthie Park, Aberdeen.

Considerable public interest was shown at each of these venues from both young and old. The Trust was also represented at the conferences convened by the National Association of Road Transport Museums in October and March.

Future Developments

We will continue to discuss and explore opportunities for partnership working with Grampian Transport Museum, which may provide benefit to both organisations, through increasing visitor numbers, or developing joint funding applications.

In addition to partnership opportunities, we have taken the decision to rationalise our fleet of vehicles so that we can house the majority of our fleet at Alford thereby significantly reducing our operating costs by leaving the storage facility at Whitecairns. We have identified a number of vehicles that are surplus to our requirements, and these will be offered for sale or donation to interested parties or sent for disposal. In parallel, we are in the process of sorting through the various parts, materials and equipment that have been built up over the years and stored at Whitecairns with a view to retaining only those that are relevant to the ongoing fleet of vehicles held by the trust. It is anticipated that this project will be completed during the next 12 months.

Our events programme for the year has been agreed, although they are dependent on the availability of suitably qualified drivers, and our ability to cover the costs of fuel, which are rising once again. The Trust will be considering how best to attract new volunteers in order to ensure continuity of care for its collection and continuity of knowledge in respect of what the collection represents to society.

Work will continue on the restoration of buses in our collection and there should be at least one major project completed during the year. We will also continue to provide help and support to the specialist working group overseeing the rebuilding of the Aberdeen Corporation electric tramcar within the Trust’s collection; this is a long-term project.

We are already planning for our Open Day in 2025, which we plan to hold on Sunday, 13[th] July, where we have set ourselves a significant challenge to repeat the success, we enjoyed in 2024.

We continue to build links and interest in the Trust using a variety of different media platforms. On our Website, Facebook, Instagram, and “X” combined, we have had circa three and a half thousand visits / followers during the year, from all parts of the world. In the past year we issued four Newsletters, which we intend to repeat during 2025, we already have over 480 people signed up to regularly receive copies of our Newsletters, posted direct to their personal mailboxes. In addition to recording Trust developments, the “Newsletter” also presents short articles on the background history to local public transport in the area and explanations of matters relating to transport technology.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

RESERVES POLICY

The net resources expended for the year amounting to £54,806 have been dealt with as shown in the Statement of Financial Activities.

The income of the Trust for the year ending 31st August 2024 was £62,939 which primarily consists of donations received in the year from restricted donations for the restoration of single deck Daimler bus 14, the restoration of tramcar 15 and payment by First Group Heritage Trust for garaging and servicing of their vehicles at the Alford premises.

Unrestricted funds at 31st August 2024 were £929,695. There is a restricted fund amounting to £1,637 for the restoration of bus 14 and £4,530 for tramcar 15.

Net current assets at 31st August 2024 were £25,451. The trustees consider it prudent to build resources to enable the cost of storage and building maintenance to be met in future years.

Gift Aid Claim

In order to have a consistent approach to claiming Gift Aid it was decided to make the claim during the 2024/25 financial year.

TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES STATEMENT

The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards.

The law applicable to charities in Scotland requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which gives a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

Select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently
Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP
Make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent
Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to assume the charity will continue in operation

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charity’s transactions and 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 and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 and the provisions of the charity’s constitution. 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.

This report was approved by the trustees on and signed on their behalf by:

Date of signing: 20 May 2025

ABERDEEN AND DISTRICT TRANSPORT PRESERVATION TRUST

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT

YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024

I report on the Accounts of the Trust for the year ended 31 August 2024.

Respective Responsibilities of Trustees and Examiner

The Charity’s Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the Accounts in accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. The Charity Trustees consider that the audit requirement of Regulation of 10(1) (d) of the Accounts Regulations does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the Accounts as required under Section 44(1) (c) of the Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of Independent Examiner’s Report

My examination is carried out in accordance with Regulation 11 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the Charity and a comparison of the Accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the Accounts and seeks explanations from the Trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit option on the accounts.

Independent Examiner’s Statement

In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention

which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
to keep accounting records in accordance with Section 44(1)(a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations, and
to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 9 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations have not been met, or
to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the Accounts to be reached.

Tawse & Partners Chartered Accountants 18 North Silver Street Aberdeen AB10 1JU 20 May 2025

ABERDEEN AND DISTRICT TRANSPORT PRESERVATION TRUST

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

incorporating bank receipts and payments account

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST AUGUST 2024

		2024	2023
INCOMING RESOURCES	Note	£	£
Incoming resources from generated funds
Voluntary Income	2	58,279	47,477
Incoming resources from charitable activities	3	4,020	4,103
Other Income		640	0
TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES		62,939	51,580
Charitable activities	4	54,446	79,112
Governance costs	5	360	-
TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED		54,806	79,112
NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS FOR THE YEAR - NET EXPENDITURE		8,133	(27,532)
Total funds at 1 September 2023		928,297	955,829
TOTAL FUNDS AT 31 AUGUST 2024		936,430	928,297

ABERDEEN AND DISTRICT TRANSPORT PRESERVATION TRUST

----- Start of picture text -----
|||||| |---|---|---|---|---| |BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 AUGUST 2023| |FIXED ASSETS|Note|2024|2023| |Tangible assets|7|910,979|910,979| |CURRENT ASSETS| |Debtors|8|0|0| |Cash at bank|25,451|17,318| |CREDITORS;|amounts falling due within one year|9|0|0| |NET CURRENT ASSETS|25,451|17,318| |NET ASSETS|936,430|928,297| |CHARITY FUNDS| |Unrestricted funds|929,695|922,130| |Restricted funds|6,735|6,167| |TOTAL FUNDS|936,430|928,297|

----- End of picture text -----

The financial statements were approved by the trustees on 20 May 2025 and signed on their behalf, by:

ABERDEEN AND DISTRICT TRANSPORT PRESERVATION TRUST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024

ACCOUNTING POLICIES

1.1 Basis of preparation of financial statements

During the year the Trust continued with receipts and payments accounting.

1.2 Fund Accounting

General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the trustees for the general objectives of the charity. Restricted funds are for specified projects.

1.3 Incoming Resources

All incoming resources are included when the charity receives the funds.

1.4 Resources expended

Expenditure is accounted for on a cash basis at time of spend.

Governance costs are those costs incurred with the administration of the charity.

ABERDEEN AND DISTRICT TRANSPORT PRESERVATION TRUST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024	NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
		2024	2023
2	Voluntary Income
	Donations	58,279	47,477
3	INCOMING RESOURCES FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
	Charity incoming resources	4,020	4,103
4	CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
	Building running costs	25,290	32,154
	Depreciation	0	0
	Tramcar restoration costs	0	250
	Insurance	4,473	3,716
	Vehicle repairs	23,271	41,464
	Marketing	817	0
	Bus acquisition and miscellaneous	595	1,528
		54,446	79,112
5	GOVERNANCE COSTS
	Independent examination fee	360	0
	Professional fees	0	0
6	NET EXPENDITURE / INCOME
	This is stated after charging:
	Depreciation	0	0
	Auditor's remuneration	0	0

During the year, none of the trustees received any remuneration or benefits in kind or reimbursement of expenses (other than direct reimbursement of trust costs). 2023: £Nil

ABERDEEN AND DISTRICT TRANSPORT PRESERVATION TRUST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS
	2024	2023
Cost
At 31 August	1,027,344	1,027,344
Depreciation
B/f at 1 September 2023 and 2022	116,365	116,365
Charge for year	0	0
As at 31 August	116,365	116,365
Net book value at 31 August 2024	910,979	910,979
Net book value at 31 August 2023	910,979	910,979

ABERDEEN AND DISTRICT TRANSPORT PRESERVATION TRUST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024

8 OPERATING LEASE COMMITMENTS

At 31 August, the charity had annual commitments under non-cancellable operating leases as follows:

			Land and	buildings
			2024	2023
Expiry date, in excess of	5	years	£1	£1

9 RELATED PARTIES

Control

Throughout the year the charity was controlled by the trustees.