' Inveraray Bell Tower SCIO
Preserving a Special Pkce of Historical & Cultural Significance
Annual Report & Financial Statements
for the Year Ending 31°, December 2025
The trustees h8v8 plea8ure in presenting their report together with the financial statements
forthe year ended 31" December 2025.
Reference and Administrative Information
Charity Name
Inveraray Bell TowerSCIO
Charity No
SC050075
Address
20, KingshiUAvenue
Blackwood
Cumbernauld
G68 9NF
Trustees
Jonathan Frye
Ruth Marshall
Robert Hancock
Rachelmilner
G jessica Durham
Chair
Secretary
Treasurer
Treasurer
Tru8tee
Resigned 2610712025
Elected 2610712025
Elected 2610712025
Inveraray BdITo¥v￿Scto 15 a ScottishChèritab￿InCorporated Oryanisation ISUOI regulatsj by the Scottlsh (harltyRegulator IOSCRI,
Scottish Rwistered Charitv No. SC050075

Structure, Governance & Management
Constitutlon
The Charity is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation la SCIOI. It was registered as
a new entity on 8"April 2020 and has a membership structure.
Appointment of Trustees
Trustees are elected at the annual general meeting. All trustees retire at the AGM and are
eligible to be re-elected. There is a minimum of three and a maximum of five trustees. Thè
trustees have the power to co-opt uptotwo trustees at anytime, subject to the maximum
number ot trustees.
At the 2025 AGM Robert H8nco¢k retired as a trustee and Rachelmilner and Jessica Durham
were elected.
Objectives & Activities
Charttable Purposes
The advancementofthe arts. herit8ge and culture.
To advance heritage by preserving the historic Bell Towerfor the benef it of the residents of
Inveraray and the public in gener81 as a place of historical a nd cultura I significance,
P8rticularly in the context ofthe Bell Tower's status as a Wortd Warone War Memorial
and it's internationally recognised ring of bells.
To advance heritage and the arts by providing a f unctioning set of full circle change ringing
bells for the benefit of bell ringers from across the UK and theworfd.
Actlvltieg
2025 was an exciting year forthe charity. At the beginning of the yèar the trustees signed a
licence with the Diocese of Argyll and the Isles for the use of the bell tower. This enabled the
charity to take on the full operation of the tower including opening to tourists over the
summer.
During the early part of the year many policies and procedures were put into place to be able
to operate the tower. This included taking out public liability & employer's liability insurance,
registering with HMRC and the Pensions Regulator. setting up a payroll. 8rr8nging to accept
contactless payment and writing risk assessments & procedures for each of ouractivities.
Thefirstevent oftheyear was the annualmaintenanceweekend. This was verywellattended
with 19 people contrlbuting to the work and 166 hour8 of volunteer labour given over the
weekend. Thefocus ofthe weekend was to preparethe tower for opening to the public and so
the majority of the work was pa inting and cleaning. This included repainting the downstairs
display boards, staining the ringing room floor, painting the roof with a specialist lead repair
paint. repainting the lantern shutters and thoroughly tidying the tower from top to bottom.
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During the weekend the tenor cLapper was found to be loose on Sts pin. This w88 thoughtto be
resolved duringthe weekend bytighteningfourgrub screws but itworked looseag8in. A
further twovisits and a phone callwith the manufacturerwere required. alongwith some new
grub screws, to get the right solution.
A group of charity members worked to deliver an update to the exhibition for 2025 including
three new large display boards, some new artifacts, a new AV exhibit and an updated website.
parallel with this anothergroup worked on branding and publicity. A logo, brandinga nd font
are now available. 5.000 leaflets were printed and distributed to advertise the tower to
tourists. Anew social media presence was created with accounts on Facebook, Instagram.
Threads and Blusky along with claiming Google and Trip Advisor entries. These were used to
good effect throughout the yearto advertise and give information to the public.
Thetower opened to the public Monday-saturdayfor 10 weeks runningfrom mid-juneto the
end of August. This was done with a p8 id position Monday- Friday a nd using volunteers on
Saturdays. The opening was very successfully with 1.791 visitors to the tower. Of these 1,350
175%) paid to ascend thetowerto see the higher levels and theview from the roof. Data was
gathered from the visitors including visit time, wsit day. nationality and age prof ile. This
information will be used to inform decision making in futUTe years.
The 51 si annual ringingfestival was held at the end of July. There was 8 hours of open ringing
across the weekend, available to all ringers. There were 8 peal attempts during the yea r and
one group of visiting ringers. In November half-muffled ringing was provided priorto
requiem for the departed held in All Saints Church. There was also ringing prior to the
Inveraray Carolservice in December. All ofthese pertorm8nce$ were free for members ofthe
public to listen to.
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Financial Review and Financial Statements
Statement of Receipts and Payments for the year ended 31 ¥1 December 2025
Year Ended
3111212025
Year Ended
3111212024
Unrestricted Funds
Receipts
Subscriptions
Ringing Fees
Donations
TowerAdmission
HMRC GiftAid
Debtor (Pealfee Nov 2024)
76
2,140
2,811
8,931
227
100
62
700
1,319
Total Receipts
Payments
Maintenance
All Saints Licence Agreement Maintenance
Wages
Insurance
Admin Expense and otherlincl. Sumup feel
Electricity
Set-up
Exhibition
Publicity
1.379
281
4.262
1,434
202
818
196
794
141
1,060
Total Payments
507
060
Surplus forlhe year
779
Statement of Balances at December 2025
Openingbank balance
Surplus forye8r
Closing bank balance
4,136
4,779
3,115
1,021
Other Assets and Liabilities
There wer8 no other assets and liabilities
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Notes to the accounts - for the year ended 31°, December 2025
Basis of accounting
These accounts have been prepared on the receipts and payments basis in accordallce with the
Charities & Trustee Investment (Scotlandl Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts Iscotlandl Regulations
2006 las amended).
Nature and purpose of funds
Unrestrictedfunds are those that may be used at the discretion of the trustees in the furtherance of the
objectsof the charity. The trustees maintaln a single unrestrictedfund forthe operation of the Inverargy
8ellTower.
Ringing Fees
cha￿eS are made for use of the bells mainly for the activity of peal ringing performances takingthree
and a half hours and for other ringing visitors who may ring the bells for a lesser period.
Donailon8
These are largely from the community of ringers both in Scotland and further 8f ield. We have had two
very generous personal donations this year. Over £1.700 was given at the time of the annual ringing
festival, held each year at the end of JL¢ly. We are gratef ul for donations from peal ringers in addition to
their peal fees, to our regular donors. and to those who add Gift Aid to their donations.
Tower Admission
Ticket sales and donations from visitors exceeded expectations for the 2025 season. We 8re grateful to
the volunteerswho manned thetowerexhibition onthe Saturdays, which proved to be a very worthwhile
undertaking.
Expenditure
Expenditure of £9,507 was made upofwages,the expenses ofthe March 2025 malntenance weekend,
set-up of the exhibition, and maintenance and electricity expenses a$sociated with the licence
agreement with All Saints Episcopal Church.
None of the trustees h88 been paid remuneration or expenses. All the trustees declare that they
benefitted from food items, and thTee of the trustees from 50% subsidisad Youth Hostel
accommodation, duringthe maintenance weekend 21st-23rd March 2025.
Funds
Funds are banked in a current a¢¢ount with Virgin Money Iclydesdale Bank)-
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Independent Examiner's Reportto the Trustees of Inveraray Bell Tower SCIO
I report on the accounts ofthe charity forthe yearended 31 St December 2025 which 8re set
out on pages 4-5.
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 Iscotiandl Act 2005 and the Charities
Accounts Iscotlandl Regulations 2006 las amended). The charitytrustees consider that the
audit requirement of Regulation 10111{dl of the Account Regulations does not apply. It is my
responsibility to examine the accounts as required under section 4411 }Icl of the Act and to
statewhether particular matters have come to myattention.
Basts of independent examiner's statement
My examination is carried out in accordance with Regu18tion 11 of the 2006 Accounts
Regulations. An examination includes a review of the accounting record8 kept bythe 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 expla nations
from the trustees concerning anysuch 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 opinion on the view given by the accounts.
Independent oxaminer's statement
In the course of my examination, no matterhas come to myattention.
which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the
requirements:
to keep aGcounting records in accordance with Section 4411 Ila) of the 2005
Act and Regulation 4 ofthe2006 Accounts Regulations. and
to prepare accounts which accord with the8ccounting records 8nd comply
with Regulation 9 ofthe2006 Accounts Regulations
have not been met. or
to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to en8ble a proper
understandirig of the accounts to be Teached.
AlasdairNichols. C4 8 Hillpark Brae, Munlochy, IV8 8PL
Date:
OG
26
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Plans for Future Period
Inveraray Bell Tower SCIO will continue to operate the tower in 2026 for use by bell ringers a nd
8s a visitor attraction during the summer. There are forward bookings for bell ringers for 211 of
2026 and into 2027. The SCIO intends to expand the belltower opening hours to 7 days a week
forthe 2026 season using paid employees and to open for a 15 week period.
Approved by the Trustees on 2910612026 and signed on their behalf ty..
Jonathan Frye
Chair of the trustees
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