**St Ernan's by the Loch Trustees’ Annual Report** Period From 1 January 2025 to Period End 31 December 2025
## **Charity contact information**
St Ernan's by the Loch
Scottish Charity Number: SC051441
Red Bay Cottage, Deargphort, Fionnphort, Isle of Mull, PA66 6BP
Telephone number: 07961016244
Email address: eleanor@nicdhughaill.co.uk
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## **Charity Trustees**
## 1. Mrs Diana Linda Cameron (chair)
## 2. Dr Eleanor Barbara Wagstaff (secretary)
3. Mrs Rhona Lindsay (treasurer)
4. Mr John Edward Cameron
5. Maj (retd) John Macdonald Wagstaff
6. Mr John George Noddings
7. Dr Andrew Todd (co-opted)
8. Mrs Gillian Morley
## 9. Rev Jennifer Earl (co-opted)
## **Objectives and activities**
St Ernan's by the Loch (StEL) became a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SC051441) on 8 December 2021. From the outset, its purpose was to acquire St Ernan's Church which was being sold by the Church of Scotland (CofS), and to develop the asset as a spiritual and cultural centre for members of the local community (that is, for anyone living within the postcode areas PA76, PA66, PA67, PA69 and PA70). Although StEL and the CofS agreed a price for St Ernan's in September 2023, it wasn't until the middle of this year that the acquisition process actually began. To our disappointment, this process was delayed while the Scottish Land Fund (SLF) considered a new 5-year standard security clause imposed on the sale by the of CofS. Following lengthy consideration, SLF accepted the clause in early September and a draft Certificate of Title was drawn up. Following minor alterations, this was approved by all parties and signed by StEL Trustees in December. We anticipate an entry date in early 2026.
Meanwhile, we were pleased to learn in January 2025 that we had been granted extra support (funded by the Architectural Heritage Fund) from Rob Robinson, the heritage consultant who had advised us in the previous year. Over the following two months, Rob helped us to draw up a revised refurbishment plan in light of delays in acquisition, changes to funding and increased prices. This plan is based
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on Option C in our Feasibility Study. While it is more modest than our preferred Option B, it nevertheless allows for further development at a later date.
As Trustees, we want St Ernan's to retain its essential character – the building is held in high regard locally, and we believe that any development should respect its age, history and heritage, and the beauty and tranquillity of its setting. At the same time, we want it to become a modern, safe and attractive place, welcoming people of all ages, faiths and backgrounds, and available for a wide range of cultural, spiritual and social activities. These might include all kinds of worship, meditation and spiritual reflection; small social gatherings; weddings, funerals and other ceremonies; practical support and conversation; hospitality; learning and cultural development; and programmes for health and well-being.
While waiting to acquire St Ernan's, we have continued to engage directly with members of the community through fund-raising and social events; at our Annual General Meeting (AGM); in the local press; and through our membership scheme, which is open to anyone living within the area defined above (associate membership is open to non-residents).
Throughout these activities, we seek to follow the principles set out in our governing document, these being the advancement of citizenship and community development; encouragement of the arts, heritage, culture and science; and the provision and/or organisation of social and recreational facilities for local people and others. We are especially concerned to bring people together through times of economic difficulty, and in an area defined as 'remote'.
## **Structure, governance and management**
## Type of governing document
St Ernan’s by the Loch is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) and our governing document is a constitution. The Charity began as an informal committee called ‘The Way Forward for St Ernan’s’ before changing its legal form to a SCIO on 8[th] December 2021. The fundraising cash held by The Way Forward for St Ernan's was donated to the SCIO at the same time. Additional funds raised by the original committee were lodged with the Trustees of The Church of Scotland (Parish of Kilfinichen and Kilvickeon and the Ross of Mull) and were transferred to St Ernan’s by the Loch in 2023. Further fund-raising activities have since continued, grants have been received from various funding bodies, and other sources of funding are currently being explored.
## Trustee recruitment and appointment
At the start of 2025, the members of our Board of Trustees were Linda Cameron (chair), Eleanor Wagstaff (secretary), Rhona Lindsay (treasurer), John Cameron, John Noddings, Andrew Todd (co-opted), John Wagstaff, Jenny Earl (co-opted) and Gill Morley. In accordance with our governing document, the Trustees stood
3
down at the AGM, which was held on 25 June 2025. All stood for election and were unanimously re-appointed, with office bearers retaining their roles. Andrew took on a new role as membership secretary.
All our Trustees share a strong affection for St Ernan's and believe it has a vital part to play in community life both now and in the future.
No external organisations are permitted to appoint charity trustees.
## **Achievements and performance**
During the early months of 2025, and with the support of Rob Robinson, we worked hard on our revised business plan. This identifies the costs of a phased project of improvement and refurbishment, and outlines the recommended priority funds for StEL to target moving forwards. It is also seen as part of the scope of works for a future paid Development Officer post.
As the acquisition process unfolded, we liaised with both our solicitor, at McLean and Stewart, Dunblane, and Laura Preston, our Funding Officer at SLF, on the preparation and completion of the draft Certificate of Title.
Throughout the year, we continued with fund-raising activities, these including the sale of cards and merchandise and the running of the popular second-hand book stall. We held our annual Torchlight Procession on the evening of Sunday 21[st] December – in addition to the procession itself, we enjoyed singing carols in celebration of Christmas, and getting together over a supper of mince and tatties. All stages of the event were well-supported by members of the community.
Our membership scheme has remained steady, with 100 full members and 33 associates. We were pleased to see some of our members (and others) at the AGM in May and to have an opportunity to share news and discuss ideas with them at a social gathering afterwards.
## **Financial Review**
## **Income**
Total income in 2025 was £470, raised through donations (£22), the Celebration of Christmas Torchlight Procession (£175) and the sale of merchandise and secondhand books (£273).
The Trustees are extremely grateful to all donors for their support.
## **Expenditure**
Our only expenditure in 2025 was £141 for the annual charge for hosting our website (www.sternansbytheloch.co.uk) and the associated email address.
This gave us a net surplus of £329 at year end.
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All of the income and expenditure in 2025 was from our unrestricted funds and by the end of the year we had £9,708 remaining in unrestricted funds.
Our restricted funds were unchanged from 2024 with £1,736 remaining in our grant from Rural & Islands Communities grant, £2,201 from the Faith in Community Scotland grant and £1,000 from the Waterfall Fund.
We have allocated future spend from our restricted funds as follows:
Rural & Island Communities
- £1,460 towards legal costs for the purchase of the building. This was committed as part of our Scottish Land Fund application.
- £250 for hall hire and materials for future fundraising events
## Faith in Community Scotland:
- £1,840 towards a planning application and ground condition survey. Again, this was committed as part of our Scottish Land Fund application.
Waterfall Fund:
- £1,000 towards the cost of a water connection
At the end of December our combined restricted and unrestricted funds balance was £14,645, an increase of £329 on the previous year.
## Statement of the charity’s policy on reserves
The Trustees’ policy will be to hold reserves equivalent to 6 months of normal running costs. Until such time as we acquire St Ernan’s, our costs will be restricted to planned expenditure which will only be approved when we have the funds in place. Our reserves policy will be reviewed annually to ensure that sufficient reserves are in place to honour all our financial commitments.
## Donated facilities and services
Our charity bookstall is located within St Ernan's Church and we are grateful to the Trustees of the Church of Scotland Parish of Iona and the Ross of Mull for the use of this space.
## Future Plans
Our next major step is to take ownership of St Ernan's and to start work on necessary repairs to the building. We plan to do this in small stages and using a range of funding bodies. Our Scottish Land Fund Stage 2 award includes funding
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for a Project Officer who will be tasked with updating and initiating our business plan, identifying grants to fund initial repair and refurbishment work, co-ordinating the first phase of refurbishment, liaising with stakeholders and engaging with the local community. We look forward to appointing the Project Officer as soon as possible after the transfer of St Ernan's has taken place.
We also continue to fund-raise locally through community events, sale of merchandise and the ever-popular bookstall. One of our first steps on acquiring the building will be to introduce refreshment facilities for users of the Loch Pottie Footpath. Other proposed activities include community meals and an art competition.
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**SC051441**
## **St Ernan's by the Loch Receipts and Payments Accounts**
## **For the period from 01/01/25 to 31/12/25**
## **Statement of receipts and payments**
||**Unrestricted**
**funds**|
**Restricted**
**funds**|**Total funds**
**current**
**period**|**Total funds**
**last period**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**to nearest £**|**to nearest £**|**to nearest £**|**to nearest £**|
|**Receipts**
Donations
Grants
Receipts from fundraising activities
Gross trading receipts
Gross receipts from other charitable activities|**22**
**175**
**273**||**22**
**-**
**175**
**273**
**-**|**100**
**-**
**157**
**279**
**-**|
|**_Total Receipts_**
**Payments**
Expenses for fundraising activities
Gross trading payments
Payments relating directly to charitable activities
Governance costs|**470**
**141**|**-**|**470**
**-**
**-**
**141**|**536**
**-**
**-**
**491**
**-**|
|**_Total Payments_**
**_Net receipts / (payments)_**|**141**
**329**|**-**
**-**|**141**
**329**|**491**
**45**|
|**_Surplus / (deficit) for year_**|**329**|**-**|**329**|**45**|
## **Statement of balances as at 31 December 2025**
|**Bank and Cash**
Cash and bank balances at start of year
Surplus / (deficit) shown on receipts and
payments account
**Cash and bank balances at end of year**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**Total current**
**period**
**Total last**
**period**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**9,379**
**4,937**
**14,316**
**14,271**
**329**
**-**
**329**
**45**
**9,708**
**4,937**
**14,645**
**14,316**|
|---|---|
## **Signed by two trustees on behalf of all the trustees**
|**Signature**|**Print Name**|**Date of**
**approval**|
|---|---|---|
**St Ernan's by the Loch SC051441**
**For the period from 01/01/2025 to 31/12/2025**
## **Notes to the Accounts**
## **1. Nature and purpose of funds**
Unrestricted funds are those that may be used at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the objects of the charity.
Restricted funds may only be used for the purposes detailed in our grant applications and are:
FiCS: Faith in Community Scotland William Grant Foundation - grant to cover hall hire, secretarial expenses and contribute towards cost of consultants to enable purchase of St Ernan's Church.
RIC: Rural & Island Communities Ideas into Action Fund - grant to contribute towards cost of consultants/architects to enable purchase of St. Ernan's Church.
Waterfall Fund - awarded to The Way Forward group to cover the cost of connecting St Ernan's to the water supply. This was passed on to St Ernan's by the Loch in 2023 from Church of Scotland.
## **2. Trustee remuneration**
No trustees received any remuneration during the year.
## **3. Trustee expenses**
No trustees received any expenses during the year.
## **4. Transactions with trustees and connected persons**
There were no transactions with trustees and connected persons.
## **5. Donations**
|Individual donations
**Total**
Torchlight Procession on
21st Dec 2025
**Total**
**Receipts from fundraising**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**Total current**
**period**
**Total last**
**period**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
22
**22**
**100**
**22**
**-**
**22**
**100**
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**Total current**
**period**
**Total last**
**period**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
175
**175**
**157**
**175**
**-**
**175**
**157**
**activities**|
|---|---|
## **6. Receipts from fundraising activities**
**St Ernan's by the Loch SC051441**
## **For the period from 01/01/2025 to 31/12/2025**
## **7. Gross Trading Receipts**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Unrestricted Restricted Total current Total last
funds funds period period
to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £
Sale of walking sticks 130 130 120
Second hand book stall
86 86 124
sales
Sales of books, cards and
57 57 35
merchandise
Total 273 - 273 279
**----- End of picture text -----**
## **8. Payments relating directly to charitable activities**
|Preparation of revised trades
budget cost
Website hosting 19/5/25 to
19/5/26 - Oban Web Design
**Total**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**Total current**
**period**
**Total last**
**period**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
-
**-**
**350**
141
**141**
**141**
**141**
**-**
**141**
**491**|
|---|---|
|**Additional analysis**||
|**Faith in**
**Community**
**Scotland**
**Rural &**
**Island**
**Communities**
**Waterfall**
**Fund**
**Total**
**restricted**
**funds**
**Total**
**restricted**
**funds last**
**period**
Balance at start of year
2,201
1,736
1,000
**4,937**
4,937
_Receipts_
**-**
-
_Payments_
**-**
-
**Balance at end of year**
**2,201**
**1,736**
**1,000**
**4,937**
**4,937**
**Breakdown of restricted funds**||
APPENDIX 3
OSCR
Independent examinerfs report on the accounts
Rèport to th• CharftyrA
trusté•slm•mbers of '
St Ernan's by the Loch
Registered charity SC 051441
number
On the aecounts of th•
P8ri(xi start date
charity for th• p•Ylod
Period end date
nth
Year
Jan
2025
31 1 Dec
2025
Set out on pages 1 to 3
nLw5 olal¥1500ts)
Respeetivè The charivs trustees are resF¥)nsible for the preparation of the accounts in aco)rdance
r•5ponsibilitie5 of with the tem)s of the chanb.es and Trustee Investment ISwUandl 2005 Act and the
trusto•s and •xamin•r
Chariiies Accounts (Scotlandl Regulations 2006 las arnendedl. The charity twslee5
consider that the aud¢t reqU1ment of Regulation 10111 Idl of the Accounts Regulations
does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts a5 required under 5e¢tson
4411} Ic) of the Acl and to stale whether particular mattets have come to my attention.
Basls of Indep•nd•nt My examinalion is carried oui in awdance vthh R8gulatK)n 11 Of the 2006 Accounts
•xamln•fs stst•m•nt Regulations. An examination include$ 8 review of the accounting records kapt by tha
charity and 8 COrnP8rison ol the accounts prèsènted thosè recoids. It also indudes
ConSeT8t10n of any unusual items or disdosures in the accounts and seeks
explanations from the trusiee5 conceming any such matters. The procgdures undertaken
do not provide all the ewdence that woukl bg r8quir8d in an audit and, consequenuy, I do
not express an audit opinion on the vtew given by thè accounts.
Indtptnd•nt •xamin•fs In th8 course of my examin8tsJn, no matter has cLsme to my attention l&qr>
statement
which gNes me reasonable cause to believe that in any m81erial respect the
requirements-
to keep acoxjnting reoyds in acc(xdance wilh seetion 4411) lal of the 2005 Act and
RegUlatn 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulation5, and
to prepare a(xx)unts which accord vriu) the accounting records aThJ comply with
Regulation 9 of the 2006 Accounts Regulan$
have nol been meL c
to which, my
nde
aThJing
inion. attentiiin should be drawn in order lo enable a proper
LL èir
un
to be reached.
Date:
Signer:
Nam•:
Rèlèvant prof•sslonal
qualifieationlsl or body
(rf any}-
Address:
614
paotr.
SCR 711 É*tyk*d siona
APPENDIX 3
Disclosure section
Only complete rf the examiner needs to highlight material problems.
Givè here brief detall$ of
any It•ms that the
•xaminer wl$he$ to
disclose