FRIENDS OF BRAIDBURN VALLEY PARK
Registered Scottish Charity No: SC040192
Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 October 2025
Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 October 2025
The Trustees present their Annual Report together with the financial statements of Friends of Braidburn Valley Park for the year ended 31 October 2025
Reference & Administrative Information Charity name
Friends of Braidburn Valley Park
Charity number
SC040192
Contact address
Steve Ambler, 105 Greenbank Road, Edinburgh, EH10 5RS
Management Committee (Trustees)
Steve Ambler Treasurer Paul Bailey Chair Alastair Bruce Membership secretary and website Margaret Bruce Minutes secretary Richard Bush Alan Fleming Honorary tree warden Susan Imlach Barbara Richardson Brian Smith Volunteer coordinator Arthur Trew Ian Vandepeear
Other roles and representatives on the Management Committee (not Trustees
Lucy Frankel Valley Voice editor Brian Barron Greenbank Parish Church Vacancy Schools Liaison
Structure, Governance & Management
Constitution and membership
The Friends of Braidburn Valley Park is an unincorporated association. It is governed by its Constitution which was adopted in January 2003 and last amended in February 2017. Charitable status was granted by the Office of the Scottish Charities Registrar on 15 January 2009. Membership of the Friends is open to any person who supports the objectives of the Friends on payment of an annual membership subscription which remains unchanged since 2002 at £3 & £5 (family).
Appointment of Trustees
The management committee, which normally meets quarterly, are the charity’s trustees. Membership of the management committee is open to all members of the
Friends. Members are elected at the Annual General Meeting. Under the constitution, there must be a minimum of five and not more than eleven elected committee members. The committee may co-opt two members of committee during the year to fill any vacancies.
Management
The Management Committee is responsible for policy decisions and general management of the charity. Post Covid-19 we have continued to have committee meetings online, with an occasional meeting in the park itself.
Aims and charitable purposes
To conserve, enhance and promote the Park for the benefit of people and wildlife, to encourage community involvement in the Park and to work with the Local Authority and other organisations to achieve these aims.
Chairperson’s report
2025 has been another good year for completing several improvements in the park.
Awards, events and projects
Conservation Volunteers: The Conservation Volunteers carried out work in three worn-out areas of the burn, using willow and reclaimed branches from nearby hazel trees which needed ‘coppicing’ – ie pruning to encourage better growth.
The volunteers then planted colourful wild flowers in various places which bloomed in the autumn.
Shrubbery: Extra volunteers helped to keep the shrubbery looking good. The geums, roses, anemones and nepeta were particularly impressive while the scabious struggled in the very dry summer. Globe thistles looked attractive though we didn’t plant them and had to remove excess ones. We also purchased extra plants like tiarella and choisyias.
Mowing: Edinburgh's parks are implementing relaxed mowing – a biodiversity project which supports pollinators by allowing native flowers and grasses to flourish. In our park this has been successful in creating attractive islands of longer grass as well as leaving one smaller triangular section nearer the south completely uncut. Less mowing meant that the council were able to stick to their regular schedule every two or three weeks.
The Exercise Equipment: The cross trainer which had been out of action for over three years was finally repaired! It needed the intervention of Cllr Munro to see some action after countless emails; apparently one reason for the long delay was that they did have the spare part at one stage but mistakenly used it on a different park! Even the repair was not faultless because they attached the handles back to front, and a loose part in the mechanism required additional work.
Incorrect Correct
Bridges : Two bridges have caused concern. The Rowan Tree Bridge (near the entrance) is only 16 years old but has rotten timbers which the council has promptly repaired twice as temporary measures. However there is a long term problem with the supports beneath the bridge and the council need to find the money to fit a completely new bridge. Thanks to former Friends chair, Andrew Swann, we are investigating whether the British Army’s Royal Engineers could help using a Military Aid to Civil Community (MACC) arrangement.
The Hornbeam Bridge (next to the Theatre) also had rotten beams and the Parks Department team has completely resurfaced it.
Green Flag: This was the nineteenth year that our park has been awarded the Green Flag - welcome recognition of the healthy state that the Council, Friends and volunteers have managed to maintain over the past year.
Park Quality Score: The council inspects all its parks and grades them on about 25 criteria. Our park improved another 3 percentage points this year to 85% and is the highest scoring park in the South East ahead of St Katharine’s Park (81%). It is ranked third in the whole city (out of 142). None of this could have been achieved without the help of our Friends group, committee members and volunteers, together with our Parks officers, David Kyles and Peter Davidson. One of the criteria is litter, and since the assessment was done on May 6[th] , that coincided unfortunately with a problem with overflowing litter bins and so we were downgraded on that aspect; ironically we decided to cancel the Autumn Clean Up because there was so little litter to clear up! A pleasant observation from the assessor was “ It is unusual to see so many elderly people taking their daily exercise and smiling to all who pass. ”
Tea in the Park: This year’s Tea in the Park and Dog Show on Saturday 30th August were great successes. A huge thank you to all the many volunteers who gave up their Saturday afternoon. We couldn’t do it without you! A new team, with superb leadership from Tracy Brocklehurst, organised the day; we had excellent sponsorship for extra prizes and the weather held just long enough before the rain.
Future projects: We will produce a Tree Trail in the New Year and are exploring the possibility of a Plinth with information about the Theatre. We met the convener of the Culture Committee who is interested in getting a mains cable installed from Comiston Road to the theatre to enable it to be used again for shows. Our Parks Manager has suggested making the area by the demolished pavilion a water feature.
Communications
Email: All members are encouraged to provide an email address. The resulting members mailing list (maintained in membership@braidburnvalleypark.org.uk) allows us to notify members about park developments and membership matters; and to receive feedback from members.
Website/Facebook: Our website ( www.braidburnvalleypark.org.uk) provides an archive of material about the park. The website and our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/BraidburnValleyPark) allow postings about park developments (matching those communicated directly to members by email) which are then
accessible to those who are not members. Numbers of followers continue to increase and we now have 2,300 following on Facebook. Feedback from the public comes by email through the website email account info@braidburnvalleypark.org.uk, through postings on Facebook, together with suggestions from members bumping into committee members in the park.
Newsletter : Two editions of our newsletter, The Valley Voice, are produced annually and distributed to members electronically. Lucy Frankel does a spectacular job, combining text and images to produce a professional document. An archive of all editions is maintained on the website and is well worth a read to reflect on our achievements.
Membership: In the course of the FOBVP year (ending November 2025) we welcomed 16 new members, making a (paid up) membership total of 215, one down on last year (some members forgot!). Please continue to recruit friends and neighbours.
Most subscriptions are renewed in January and many members will already have done so. Those in the habit of paying by cash or cheque are asked to consider setting up a standing order for future payments. It makes our administration easier; and will ensure your membership does not lapse accidentally! When you are doing so, please consider paying a little more than the stated subscription rates: they have not changed since FOBVP was formed more than 20 years ago. See the item What your friends do on our website for examples of how your money is used.
The number of members we are unable to reach by email is now down to 15. Any member able and willing to establish email contact with us needs only email membership@braidburnvalleypark.org.uk to say so. Please do this if you can: it helps save paper and trees!
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Friends of yg Braidburn
Ee apeses oF
FRIENDS OF BRAIDBURN VALLEY PARK Registered Scottish Charity No: $C040192
Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 October 2025
Financial review
This year we held an annual Fun Day. It was on the 30" August. This year this made a profit of £1,380.72. The importance the duck races (which made £664) is critical. One of the significant expenses was for “Target Goal” but hopefully that will go forward and yield a profit in future years.
Membership fees remain low at £3 / £5 and the income this year was £24 more than last year (2023/24 - £949). Several members pay more, and in 2024/25 members’ donations totalled £376.
We paid our insurance payment to Zurich of £188.87.
We now have £12,920.10 in the bank.
Approved by the trustees on January 05th 2026 and signed on their behalf by:
Steve Ambler, Treasurer
=
independent Examiner’s Report to the Friends of Braidburn Valley Park
| report on the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 October 2025 which are set out in succeeding pages.
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 10(1) (d) of the 2006 Accounts Regulations does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts as required under section 44(1) (c) of tne Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent examiner’s statement
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 | do not express an audit opinion on the view given by 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
-
to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 8 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.
Signed: h | “ al oo ad 0.
M Walsh
Name: Margaret F C Walsh
Relevant Professional qualification/professional body: Self Employed Accountant Address: 21 Gillespie Road, Edinburgh EH13 ONW
Date: s| Job
Statement of Receipts and Payments for the Year ended 31 October 2025
| Note/Table Total Total |
|---|
| 2023/24 |
| GiftAid re ee) 27) a a |
| payments — tCTt“‘icLSOOCCOCOCTCCd Charitable activities Table 2 3,673 1,381 |
| Table 3 |
| TotalPayments |
| Profitforthe year ee ee)ee |
Statement of Balance at 31 October 2025
Assets
Cash at Bank £12,920
Approved by the Trustees on January O5th 2026 and signed on their behalf by:
Steve Ambler, Treasurer
|
“
is
1. Basis Of Accounting
These accounts have been prepared on the Receipts & Payments basis in accordance with the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) 2006 {as amended).
2. Table 2 - Cost of Charitable Activities
----- Start of picture text -----
|||||
|---|---|---|---|
|Total|Total|
|2023/24|| 2024/25|
|eR|
|Annual|On|os a|
|Activity fun day||___858)|663]|
|days and Clean up days|i|aE|
|Picnicbenches|||
|MuralC—“‘LSCSCd|
|Printing - Valley Voice/cards/facebook||94]|
|Postage, stationery & telephone||gS|
|Tools and|materials|
|Trees|and plants|a|ae|
|TotalsCdEC C8673],|38]|
----- End of picture text -----
- Table 3 - Governance
----- Start of picture text -----
|||||
|---|---|---|---|
|Total|Total|
|2023/24|| 2024/25|
|ee|
|independent Examiner'sfee/honorarium|||80]|100|
|Rent (Greenbank Church)|
|insurance8]89|
|MiscelleneousTCC|
|Totals|C“‘CzLSCOC#«SOW:OOCG‘#|
----- End of picture text -----
4. Trustee Remuneration and Expenses
The trustees do not receive any remuneration but claim expenses for stationery and postage etc. These are recorded in Table 2.