SEA THE CHANGE SCIO (Registered Scottish Charity SC050664)
Trustee Report and Financial Statements
1st April 2024 - 31st March 2025
Prepared by Executive Officer
Approved by the Board of Trustees and signed on its behalf by
(Chair)
Signed__ __ _ Date______ 19/05/2025
Charity Information
The Trustees present their report with the financial statements of the Charity for the year ended 31st March 2025. The trustees have adopted the requirements of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP), in line with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), effective from 1 January 2019.
Reference and Administrative Details
Name: Sea the Change SCIO Scottish Charity Number: SCO50664
Principal Address
Sea the Change, Manse Road, Eyemouth, TD14 5JE
Contact details:
www.seathechange.org.uk
Bank
The Co-Operative Bank Plc, 1 Balloon Street, Manchester, M4 4BE
Structure, Governance and Management
Sea the Change is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) and operates in accordance with its governing constitution. Overall responsibility for the organisation rests with the charity’s Trustees.
Trustees
The charity employs four core staff members, along with a number of temporary staff to support the operation of the Cycle Shack. Additional support is provided by our dedicated volunteers, who are engaged as needed to assist with various activities.
Recruitment and Appointment of new Trustees
Prospective trustees are identified by existing board members based on their relevant skills, experience, and enthusiasm for the charity’s mission and work.
Charitable Objectives
In accordance with our constitution, Sea the Change pursues the following charitable purposes:
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The advancement of environmental protection or improvement
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The advancement of education
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The advancement of citizenship or community development
Sea the Change. Registered Scottish Charity SC050664
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Statement of Public Benefit
The Trustees confirm that they have met their obligations under the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 by giving due regard to the public benefit guidance issued by OSCR.
Our Vision
To create happier, healthier, more sustainable communities .
Our Mission
To connect communities with coastlines through events, activities, and campaigns—enabling everyone to enjoy and protect our natural environment.
Our Values
Fun. Ethical. Community-Minded (FEC)
Sea the Change delivers a wide range of events, activities, and campaigns aimed at raising environmental awareness and fostering a sense of community. A core priority is ensuring equal access and inclusion across all our projects and initiatives.
Achievements and Activities in 2024/25
In 2024/25, Sea the Change has continued to advance our vision of creating Happy, Healthy, Sustainable Communities .
Over the years, we have strengthened and expanded our key projects, including Coldingham Beach Wheelchairs , Greener Berwickshire , and Cycle for Change , building on the foundations of previous success.
Coldingham Beach Wheelchairs
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Since 2018, Sea the Change has offered a free Beach Wheelchair Scheme at Coldingham Bay, ensuring that everyone—regardless of age or physical ability—can enjoy access to the beach. The service now includes three beach wheelchairs and a hoist to support users with varying mobility needs.
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Unfortunately, severe winter storms in November 2024 caused significant coastal erosion, damaged the access road, and destroyed our newly installed beach access ramp. As a result, the service was forced to close until April 2025.
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With the support of the Scottish Borders Council, a temporary access point was installed, allowing us to reopen. The closure has had an impact on hires, with just 30 hires in 2024, compared to 44 hires in 2023.
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While the current access solution is not ideal, it does provide a workable short-term option. Scottish Borders Council is now developing a more permanent, long-term access solution to ensure continued beach access for all.
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Irrespective of the challenges, we still managed to provide a wonderful Art at the Beach session, a summer of Feel Good Friday drop ins, chair yoga sessions
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We are incredibly grateful to our fantastic team of dedicated volunteers, who play a key role in supporting this service. Looking ahead to summer 2025, we have established a rota to ensure the Beach Wheelchair hut will be staffed every Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 2pm throughout June, July, and August, providing support for drop-in users and helping raise awareness of the service.
Sea the Change. Registered Scottish Charity SC050664
3
Greener Berwickshire
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Greener Berwickshire Network - Since March 2022, Sea the Change has led the Greener Berwickshire Network—a series of events and community gatherings designed to bring people together, spark ideas, and take practical action to reduce our carbon footprint and build a more sustainable future. During the 2024/25 financial year, we hosted several key events, including:
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April 2024 – Coffee and EV Car Information and Advice Session
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June 2024 – World Ocean Day Community Litter Pick
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November 2024 – Why Not Scotland Film Screening and Discussion
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November 2024 – Letter-Writing Workshop for Political Action
Sea the Change plays an active role on the Steering Group of the Scottish Borders Climate Action Network (SBCAN) . In January 2025, a strategic decision was made to reduce duplication of efforts, with SBCAN taking over the coordination and delivery of events for the Greener Berwickshire Network. Sea the Change will continue to support and collaborate closely with SBCAN to advance our shared vision of a greener, more sustainable Berwickshire.
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Big Community Clean Ups- Since 2018, Sea the Change has been actively encouraging the Berwickshire community to come together and tackle the growing litter problem. Our bi-annual clean-up events have had a significant impact, fostering local pride and environmental responsibility. In the 2024/25 financial year, we organised a Big Clean in September 2024, which saw 410 participants collect a remarkable 643 kg of rubbish from our local area. In March 2025, we chose to align our efforts with the Keep Scotland Beautiful Big Spring Clean, offering support rather than hosting our own event. Looking ahead, we plan to focus our energy on delivering a single, larger-scale clean-up in September 2025 to maximise impact and community engagement.
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Berwickshire Anti-Litter Group (BAG) - The Berwickshire Anti-Litter Group (BAG) is a dedicated subgroup of Sea the Change, established in October 2022, with a mission to tackle litter through three core areas:
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Practical Action
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Lobbying for Policy Change
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Education and Engagement with Young People
BAG's committed team of volunteers not only support our Big Community Clean-ups but also carry out regular litter-picking efforts across the region. In addition to hands-on action, BAG actively lobbies for change—engaging with Scottish Borders Council, Bear Scotland, and the Scottish Government—and works to raise awareness through educational events and campaigns.
The Berwickshire Anti Litter Group efforts have garnered national attention, with recent features on BBC Scotland, The Seven, and Radio Borders, including Steven Jardine’s Morning Phone-In. The public response has been overwhelming, highlighting widespread support for tackling litter in Scotland. Sea the Change provides ongoing support as required by facilitating quarterly BAG meetings, managing funds for essential equipment, and coordinating clean-up activities, including the monthly Eyemouth litter pick in partnership with SPLASH.
- Berwickshire EV Support Group - In April 2024, Sea the Change hosted a well-attended and positively received Electric Vehicle (EV) Information Session at Ayton Castle. Following this event, our subgroup transitioned from holding monthly online meetings to offering ongoing, on-demand advice and support. Sea the Change now refers all EV-related enquiries to this dedicated team of knowledgeable volunteers, who continue to support the Berwickshire community in making a confident and informed transition to electric vehicles.
Sea the Change. Registered Scottish Charity SC050664
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Cycle for Change
Launched in March 2024, Cycle for Change is Sea the Change’s newest and fastest-growing initiative, addressing transport as one of Berwickshire’s key community challenges and a major contributor to personal carbon footprints. This project is delivering inclusive, sustainable transport solutions across Berwickshire, the Scottish Borders and beyond..
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E-Bike Hire & Led Rides -We established a fleet of eight electric bikes in Eyemouth with funding support, offering affordable hires, weekly led rides, and taster events like our Earth Day Free E-Bike Hire. In 2024, we delivered 12 led rides with 40 participants. We also offer long-term hires, and an e-trike has been added to support those less confident on two wheels.
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Upcycled Bikes with Eyemouth High School - In partnership with Cycling UK and Eyemouth High School, we launched a weekly bike maintenance programme in August 2024. Students upcycled 8 bikes, stripped 8 more, and raised income through bike sales—funds that will go back into the project for future repairs.
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Bike Maintenance - We now offer Bronze (£30), Silver (£55), and Gold (£80) servicing. With support from experienced volunteer Tim Astley (formerly of Berwick Cycles), we’ve repaired 60 bikes to date and are expanding to include quick-fix services like puncture repairs and tyre treatments.
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Learn to Cycle Sessions - As Cycle Trainer Approved providers with Cycling Scotland, we offer Learn to Cycle sessions for children and adults. Due to growing demand, we plan to expand these sessions in 2025.
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Bike Library - Our free six-month loan scheme, stocked with bikes donated by Cycling UK, supports local families. We aim to grow this resource, particularly with more children's bikes.
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Bike Upcycling - Thanks to our Acredale Workshop and an agreement with Eyemouth Recycling Centre, we now intercept bikes destined for landfill. Between April 2024 and March 2025, 23 upcycled bikes were sold.
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Training & Events - We’ve delivered a variety of hands-on cycling activities, including Fix-It Fridays, Kids Cycle Confidence Sessions, Gears Workshops, and more!
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Free Bikes - Generous donations included 12 bikes from Connect (Eyemouth), 6 from Greener Duns (via BHA), and 13 from Hapi Bike (Hawick), a charity supporting people with learning disabilities. These bikes are distributed through the Bike Library, schools, or sold to fund the project.
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Cycling without Age Bikes- In November 2024, we received our first Cycling Without Age Scotland Trishaw, now regularly used by residents of Saltgreens Care Home. A second Trishaw was added in March 2025 with the launch of the Eyemouth CWAS Chapter. With 12 trained volunteer pilots, we delivered 133 rides, reaching 269 individuals.
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Our new Eyemouth Cycle Shack - With generous support from South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE), we’ve transformed a former garage into a fully operational Cycle Shack in central Eyemouth. Significant renovations have been made, and we’re currently awaiting building warrant approval to install a fully accessible toilet, which will greatly enhance our ability to host inclusive events and services from this hub.
Cycle for Change is more than a transport initiative—it’s a movement toward community connection, sustainable living, and equal access to green transport. With continued community support and volunteer dedication, we look forward to expanding this work throughout 2025 and beyond.
Sea the Change. Registered Scottish Charity SC050664
5
Financial Review
These accounts relate to the financial year 2024/25, covering the period from 1st April 2024 to 31st March 2025. Total income for the year was £159,988, representing an increase from £128,435 in 2023/24. This figure includes grant funding of £152,792.02, received from a variety of sources.
Key contributions included £17,392.00 from Paths for All, £19,334.00 from the National Lottery, and two grants from the Scottish Borders Climate Action Network totalling £2,794.75. Additional support was provided by Quixwood (£5,000.00), the People’s Postcode Lottery (£25,000.00), and Hamish & Doris Critchen (£6,000.00). Further funding was received from Fallago (£3,000.00), Foundation Scotland (£10,280.00), South of Scotland Enterprise (£22,422.30), Tesco (£1,125.00), and SEStrans, who contributed £39,943.97 across two instalments. The Co-op also made a contribution of £500.00.
We were delighted to receive an additional £45,000 from South of Scotland Enterprise in July 2024 to purchase our new Eyemouth Cycle Shack. Following significant renovations, this investment allowed us to establish alternative income streams, generating a total of £7,196.07. This comprised donations (£3,145.74), merchandise sales (£95), Gift Aid from 2023/24 (£166.14), bike repairs (£1,187.34), bike sales (£2,124.04), and e-bike hires (£477.81).
Total expenditure for the year amounted to £134,556.79, up from £107,122.38 in the previous year. As of the year-end, the General Fund balance stood at £86,008.76. This includes restricted income of £26,054.67 and unrestricted reserves of £59,954.09. Of the unrestricted reserves, £32,707.66 is ring-fenced, leaving £27,246.43 available in line with our reserves policy. The accounts have been independently examined and approved by the Trustees.
Reserves Policy
The trustees have adopted a reserves policy to maintain a minimum reserve sufficient to cover four months of administrative expenses. We are looking to extend reserves to six months unrestricted income. All additional reserves are either designated or intended to be designated for specific future projects. The reserves policy and reserve levels will be reviewed regularly.
Our Funders
We extend our sincere gratitude to our funders for their invaluable support. Their contributions have provided the stability necessary to strengthen our team, establish a solid foundation for securing additional funding, and pursue initiatives that we believe make a meaningful impact in our local community. Their support has been instrumental in enabling us to move forward with confidence and purpose.
Future Plans
As Sea the Change looks to the future, we remain firmly committed to our mission of creating Happy, Healthy, Sustainable Communities. Our dedicated team of volunteers continues to be the backbone of our work, and it was a joy to celebrate their contributions at our Volunteer Gathering in April 2024 and Volunteer Brunch in December 2024.
Looking ahead, we will focus on strengthening and expanding our core projects—Coldingham Beach Wheelchairs, Greener Berwickshire and Cycle for Change—while placing a renewed emphasis on generating sustainable income. This strategic shift will help secure the long-term future of these vital initiatives, ensuring they remain accessible and impactful for years to come, with the continued support of our community and incredible volunteers.
Sea the Change. Registered Scottish Charity SC050664
6
APPENDIX 2
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Sea the Change|$C0050664|
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APPENDIX 2
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APPENDIX 2
Sea the Change
SC0050664
Section C Notes to the Accounts
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C1 Nature and purpose of funds
(may be stated on analysis of funds
worksheets)
Unrestricted funds raised through general donstions and the sale of charity related products are used to fund
miscellaneous expenses not directly related to specific charitable projects undertaken by the charity. Restricted funds are
raised through fundraising initiatives relating to specific projects undertaken by the charity and disbursed in line with the
project for which the funds were raised.
Individual / Number of grants £
Type of activity or project supported institution made
C2 Grants
Total -
C3a Trustee remuneration If no remuneration was paid during the period to any charity trustee or person connected to a trustee
cross this box (otherwise complete section 3b) x
Authority under which paid £
C3b Trustee remuneration -
details
C4a Trustee expenses If no expenses were paid to any charity trustee during the period then cross this box (otherwise
complete section 4b)
Number of trustees £
C4b Trustee expenses - details
Nature of relationship Nature of transaction Transaction Balance
C5 Transactions with trustees
and connected persons
C6 Other information
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Sea the Change
$C0050664
Additional analysis (1)
Analysis of receipts and payments
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1 Donations
Donations (ne GA) to nearest £ fo noarest £ fo noarest = to nearoct £ [332]to nearest £ [209to nearest£ |
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3 Gross receipts from other charitable activities
to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest 2 to nearest £ to nearest£
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4 Payments relating directly to charitable activities
to nearest £ to nearest £ fo nearest £ to nearest 2 to nearnst £ to nearest£
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APPENDIX 2
$C0050664
| 5 Breakdown of unrestricted funds |
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APPENDIX2
Sea the Change
$C0050664
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Independent Examiner’s Report
| report on the accounts of the charity SEA THE CHANGE for the year ended 31 March 2025
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner
The trustees (who are also the directors of the company for the purposes of company law) 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 trustees consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10(1) (a) to (c) of the 2006 Accounts Regulations does not apply.
Having satisfied myself that the charity is not subject to audit under company law and is eligible for independent examination, it is my responsibility to:
- e examine the accounts as required under section 44(1) (c) of the Act. e tostate whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent examiner's report
My examination was 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 seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true and fair view' and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
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:
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e Tokeep accounting records in accordance with section 44(1)(a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations and
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e To prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records, comply with Regulation 8 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations and with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities have not been met
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e Or, to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Borders Community Action Registered Office: 1 Drygrange Cottages, Drygrange Steading, Melrose, TD6 9DJ